7 Mindsets Introduces SELEQUITY Platform to Help K-12 Schools Prioritize SEL and Equity

While social emotional learning (SEL) and equity have always been important, the events of the past year have brought these issues to the forefront. From social isolation to civil unrest to equity gaps, students and educators are facing challenges that a myopic focus on academics cannot address. To help K-12 districts and schools support SEL and equity in education, 7 Mindsets, the leader in online SEL solutions, today announces SELEQUITY™.

Coming in summer 2021, SELEQUITY is the latest iteration of the 7 Mindsets portal. The 7 Mindsets portal currently includes a wealth of resources and tools to help build the social emotional health of educators and students, and support equity in schools and classrooms. With the new SELEQUITY portal, 7 Mindsets is taking intentional actions to infuse the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) into the 7 Mindsets curriculum and professional development for the 2021-2022 school year.

Within the 7 Mindsets curriculum, all lessons are aligned to 10 SEL competencies. For the 2021-2022 school year, all lessons will be aligned to the Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) Social Justice Standards, American School Counselor Association Mental Health Standards, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Standards.…Read More

Aver Launches Configurable 16 Device Build Your Own Cart Classroom Charging Solution

The AVerCharge X16 is an Adjustable and Configurable Student Device Charging and Storage Cart Designed for Today’s Ever-Changing Classroom

AVer Information Inc., the award-winning provider of video collaboration, distance learning and education technology solutions, announced today the launch of the innovative AVerCharge X16, a 16 device customizable charging and storage solution. Adjustable and configurable to meet the needs of today’s changing and uncertain student device requirements, the X16 offers a unique and flexible solution to manage student Chromebooks, laptops, tablets, or phones with up to a 15” screen.

The X16 boasts removeable and adjustable slot dividers, allowing educators to change the width of the slots as well as the number of devices the cabinet can hold for up to 16 devices. The unique peg board design provides a space where small shelves or pegs can be inserted to provide additional storage and easy access for small classroom items such as scissors, glue, rulers and other frequently used tools. Mountable, the X16 can be secured to a wall, or placed on a table for easy access to devices. If charging and securing more than 16 devices becomes necessary, additional cabinets can be stacked on top to accommodate the additional units. Optional 5” casters as well as a handle can be utilized to add mobility to the cart for classroom sharing or moving to long-term storage areas.  …Read More

McGraw Hill Acquires Kidaptive, an Adaptive and Personalized Learning Company

McGraw Hill today announced that it has acquired Kidaptive, Inc., an adaptive learning platform company with industry-leading expertise in learning science, early learning, and data analytics worldwide.

Kidaptive’s world-class team of learning scientists, psychometricians, data scientists and engineers will join a new Center for Innovation within McGraw Hill’s School group, led by Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Shawn K. Smith, who joined the company in November 2020. The team is focused on developing smarter and lighter student-centered solutions that will power even more personalized learning experiences.

“We see tremendous potential in this combination of McGraw Hill’s content development expertise, vast curriculum inventory and extensive student interaction data with Kidaptive’s ability to pinpoint each student’s position on a personal learning journey,” said Sean Ryan, President of McGraw Hill’s School group. “This is about delivering precision at scale to the benefit of students, teachers and families.”…Read More

PresenceLearning Hits Three Million Teletherapy Sessions Delivered

PresenceLearning, the leading provider of live online special education related services for K-12 schools, reached the milestone of delivering more than three million teletherapy sessions to students nationwide. This comes at the one-year mark of schools dealing with learning during a global health crisis.

“This year districts across the country embraced digital solutions to ensure that students receive the continuity of care they so urgently need, and more and more school providers experienced firsthand how teletherapy can positively impact the lives of their students. As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue working with our school partners to address gaps in equity and access,” said Kate Eberle Walker, CEO of PresenceLearning.…Read More

Sharp NEC Display Solutions Upgrades ME and MC Series Projectors for Classrooms

NEC’s breakthrough lamp technology lasts up to 20,000 hours, effectively eliminating lamp maintenance requirements for the life of the projector

Sharp NEC Display Solutions, a global leader in the projector and display market, today announced its upgraded ME and MC Series projectors. Primarily designed for K-12 education, the upgraded projectors leverage new lamp technology that increases the brightness to between 4,000 and 4,500 lumens and features the longest lamp life on the market, extending to 20,000 hours in ECO mode.

Increased lumens equals brighter projection, a feature that provides a distinct advantage for supporting students in socially distant classrooms and hybrid learning models. With many K-12 classrooms having to accommodate desks in every corner of the room for social distancing protocols, it’s imperative that each student benefits from the bright, crisp content being projected. Installing brighter projectors and larger screens, the students in the very back corners of the room still have full advantage of the content on the screen.…Read More

EdisonLearning and Pointful Education Partner To Expand Access To Online Career and Technical Courses

Pointful Education’s suite of CTE and elective offerings are now available to all secondary students enrolled in eCourses through EdisonLearning

EdisonLearning a premier provider of digital learning solutions for grades 6-12, and Pointful Education, a leading publisher of career and elective courses, today announced a partnership that expands EdisonLearning’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) and elective offerings with the integration of Pointful Education’s online courses.

The partnership will offer secondary students of all current and future EdisonLearning partners a wide variety of learning opportunities spanning several career pathways with courses ranging from eSports to Entrepreneurship. The courses feature project-based learning, engaging video content, a variety of assessments, and interactive activities. These CTE and elective courses add to the 150+ courses already available in the EdisonLearning library and expand schools’ access to well-rounded content to support students’ college, career, civic and life readiness.…Read More

Atlona and Lightspeed Partner to Elevate AV Capabilities for K-12 School Districts

Atlona, a Panduit company, has partnered with Lightspeed to promote professional classroom AV solutions for K-12 applications. The partnership will allow both companies to design integrated solutions that address the unique challenges of hybrid learning environments, while strengthening audio and video capabilities for educators inside classrooms and throughout school buildings.

Atlona and Lightspeed are both leading suppliers of classroom AV technology. The Omega™ Series from Atlona is a family of switching, extension, and video processing solutions with features and technologies specifically designed for today’s educational spaces. Lightspeed instructional audio systems engage the whole classroom, ensuring every student can clearly hear through low-volume, highly intelligible sound that is evenly distributed through the classroom.

The partnership will expose both firm’s customers to a range of solutions that span across all school budgets, from standard set-ups to more advanced classrooms with video conferencing capabilities. Regardless of scale, the partnership will bring together independent Atlona and Lightspeed products to serve a common purpose. This will provide integrators and IT departments with affordable and flexible options for streamlined educational AV systems.…Read More

Accelerate Learning Names Philip Galati as New President and CEO

Accelerate Learning, developer of the award-winning STEMscopes line of PreK-12 STEM curriculum, today announced the appointment of Philip Galati as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Dr. Vernon Johnson who is retiring from the position ­but will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Galati joins Accelerate Learning with a deep background in software and technology, most recently serving as CEO of Energy Services Group (ESG), a provider of back-office, billing and data management SaaS solutions for the energy industry. Under his leadership, ESG grew into an international technology leader serving millions of consumers in North America, Europe and Japan. Prior to that, Galati spent two years as CEO of Trillium Software, and earlier in his career he held numerous leadership positions in software, technology and professional services companies, including Sterling Commerce, Dell, IBM and Ernst & Young.

In his new position Galati will oversee Accelerate Learning’s continued expansion of digital product solutions for PreK-12 students, professional learning opportunities for educators, and the growth of the company’s recently launched STEMscopes Math product line.…Read More

Delta Security Management supports local schools during lockdown

Sussex based security firm, Delta Security Management has today launched a new security service, which includes keyholding and alarm response, security patrols and DNA asset marking, exclusive to schools in the Sussex and Surrey area.

The new service, known as School Protection, is delivered by a dedicated Delta security team, which has been providing expert security services and solutions in the region for over 25 years. To ensure the greatest levels of security and outstanding service Delta Security are so well known for, every element of the service is operated by the trusted and reliable team of officers at Delta Security Management.

David Graffham, founder of Delta Security Management said, “With 2021 continuing to be a difficult year for schools, we recognise that keeping our children safe and still learning as best as possible in very challenging circumstances, is vital. The last thing being considered with everything going on is school security and that’s why we’re here to help and offer School Protection”.…Read More

AVer Information Announces the Release of the M5 Distance Learning Document Camera

AVer Information Inc., the award-winning provider of video collaboration, distance learning and education technology solutions, announced today the release of the new M5 Distance Learning Document Camera.  

The new M5 Distance Learning Document Camera produces high quality document camera performance in a compact, foldable design that can easily fit in a backpack or purse to be carried between the classroom and home. The 360o swivel camera head makes it simple to use the camera to display documents or objects, but also to direct at the teacher or presenter as a distance learning web cam for students learning from home. The Ultra High Definition (UHD) 8MP camera produces high quality video that can show a clear view of documents, objects, teachers and student presenters, while reaching up to 60FPS for smooth, real-time video.

UVC and UAC compliant, the M5 works seamlessly with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and all other major distance learning platforms, making it the perfect solution no matter where teaching and learning are taking place. USB powered, the M5 is also easily plugged into the teacher computer without an additional power source needed. The included free AVerTouch software provides additional tools and interactivity to keep students engaged with the curriculum. …Read More