Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Impero Software Acquires Netop

Impero, a leading provider of online student safety and classroom and network management software, today announced that it has acquired Netop, an international software solutions provider to the education and corporate sectors, from Consolidated Holdings A/S.

The addition of Netop will significantly increase Impero’s scale and presence in the United States and could meaningfully increase Impero’s total and recurring revenue base. The transaction expands Impero’s market reach while diversifying its customer base by providing an entry into the corporate sector, primarily in financial services and retail.

The acquisition will allow Impero to serve customers in both education and corporate markets with a broader suite of offerings, and it will have the potential to both accelerate Impero’s product roadmap and help it realize significant additional revenue by incorporating Netop’s complementary technology into its existing portfolio. The transaction is expected to close within the next four weeks, subject to customary closing conditions.…Read More

5 key network steps for supporting educational technology

Today’s K-12 students are coming to the classrooms toting three or more mobile devices, from smartphones and laptops to tablets and smart watches. Teachers are putting more of their educational content online and streaming it to their students, administrators are storing more student information in the cloud, and district officials are automating more of the schools’ operations. There is the Internet of Things, digital signage, and video being used to monitor cafeterias. Technology continues to shape the future of how we educate our children and operate our schools, from flipped classrooms to the use of augmented and virtual reality.

At the center of all this is the network, and more and more the wireless network. Where connectivity was once a nice luxury, it is now a must-have, and increasingly the focus of many school district CTOs is making sure that those networks are up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that they’re secure.

Here are five network issues that tech directors must focus on.…Read More

Building a smarter network

Given the data, networking, and security implications of upcoming technology trends, K-12 schools will require a variety of innovations to meet dramatically increased wireless and wired network performance demands without adding more stress on overworked IT staffers.

We recommend the following strategies:

1. Adopt smart infrastructure.
To keep IT overhead low while delivering the performance required to power Internet of things (IoT) devices, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications and whatever comes next, invest in more intelligent networking infrastructure. At the wired networking layer, replace your outdated switching paradigm with a modern platform that supports the new IEEE 802.3bz standard for multi-gigabit Ethernet and is driven by an advanced software operating system.…Read More

EnGenius introduces K-12 schools to a new network solution

Neutron Series Distributed Network Management Solution provides fast wi-fi connectivity without licensing or subscription fees

EnGenius Technologies, Inc., a provider of high-performance, versatile networking and telecommunications solutions for businesses and consumers, recently introduced its new Neutron Series Distributed Network Management Solution.

The Neutron Series Distributed Network Management Solution is a highly-scalable managed wireless LAN solution that makes it easy and affordable to deploy and centrally manage a high-performance, secure wireless network throughout a campus, or even across multiple campuses in a school district. Addressing the tight budget concerns of many K-12 school districts, the Neutron Series requires no licensing or subscription fees to monitor or manage its products, lowering operating expenses and freeing up budgets for other education initiatives.

Key features and benefits:…Read More

Lightspeed Systems releases updated school web filter

Version 3 of Rocket Web Filter features increased speed, live reports, easy SSL traffic handling

Ed-tech solution provider Lightspeed Systems announced the release of version 3 of Rocket Web Filter for content filtering in K-12 schools.

The release features a new user interface as well as a variety of new features to simplify school network management.

Rocket Web Filter — which is powered by Lightspeed Systems’ proprietary Rocket appliances, either on school networks or in a cloud — was built specifically for schools. With a reputation for robust content filtering without over-blocking, Web Filter quickly became the K-12 market leader for filtering. The new version features improvements to filtering speed, scalability and SSL handling as well as live traffic reports and other tools to make filtering and reporting fast and easy.…Read More

Ed-tech innovations curb cell phone cheating—and more

Here are six new ed-tech innovations you should know about

innovations
Here are six new ed-tech innovations you should know about.

Each week, I’ll highlight new ed-tech innovations that readers should be aware of. This week’s column includes a next-generation wireless infrastructure, more powerful voice recognition software, a blended learning curriculum to prepare students for college, and a device that could help prevent cell phone cheating on exams.

Control app use over your Wi-Fi network

On March 12, Aruba Networks unveiled a new Wi-Fi architecture that gives school leaders tremendous visibility and control of the apps their students are using on a wireless network.…Read More