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.

Are ransomware attacks the new snow days?

Key points:

In early January, the Des Moines Public Schools, the largest school district in the state of Iowa, fell victim to a ransomware attack that forced the district to take its network offline and students to miss more instructional time.

In addition to the disruption to operations, the district discovered that the attackers compromised the personal data of nearly 7,000 individuals, putting them at increased risk of identity theft and other crimes.…Read More

BenQ Introduces First Wireless Presentation System Purpose-Built for Classrooms

BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display and collaboration solutions, is ensuring teachers and educators can quickly and easily respond to new demands in the classroom with the launch of the InstaShow WDC20E. The first wireless presentation system (WPS) built for the education market, the WDC20E delivers the same intuitive screen-sharing functionality to meet user and IT standards as leading corporations but fit for a school budget.

“There’s no time to waste in the classroom, and teachers must be ready with easy-to-use, network-free tools that engage and immerse students smoothly and immediately,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ America Corp. “Our new InstaShow WDC20E was built in direct response to the rising need for educators and students to share their screens right from their seats and to do so easily, affordably, and securely. Learning is just a tap away.”

Tap & Teach …Read More

Schools struggle to recover amid years of cuts

The school budget crisis is far from over, as schools now face an end to federal stimulus money.

The Great Recession that began in late 2007 set in motion a growing budget crisis for American public schools that is far from over.

Around the country, states are cutting education spending to close gaping budget holes, while school districts are running out of federal stimulus money that had prevented widespread job losses over the past two years.…Read More

Seven proven ways to save on school budgets

As with personal shopping, it might be best to hold off on purchases until either a sale comes along, or some extra cash is freed.
As with personal shopping, it might be best to hold off on purchases until either a sale comes along, or some extra cash is freed.

Despite some small signs of an economic recovery, states continue to struggle with their budgets—and districts are still finding it necessary to cut costs wherever possible. But such drastic measures as laying off staff and cutting valuable programs are not always needed, especially if you’re savvy enough to know of some often-overlooked ways to save.

In this article, you’ll find seven helpful suggestions from superintendents, technology directors, and teachers, explaining how their schools have managed to save money—because if there’s one thing this tough economy has shown, it’s that money matters.…Read More

Survey: School budget cuts even worse next year

School budget cuts will be noticeably more significant for 2010-11 than they were in the previous two years, superintendents say.
School budget cuts will be noticeably more significant for 2010-11 than they were in the previous two years, superintendents say.

Although the economy has begun to rebound, K-12 education leaders say they are still facing serious budget shortfalls for the coming school year that threaten their ability to implement new technologies, raise the quality of instruction in their classrooms, and close achievement gaps among students, a new survey reveals.

Released April 8, Cliff Hanger: How America’s Public Schools Continue to Feel the Impact of the Economic Downturn,” the latest in a series of national surveys from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), identifies a number of key challenges that are compounding an already grave situation.…Read More