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.

6 strategies for better K-12 cybersecurity

The education sector has had to rapidly adopt and scale new technologies to enable remote and hybrid learning as a result of the pandemic. This has created an expanded threat landscape, and malicious actors have taken this opportunity to target academic institutions to an even greater extent.

In mid-March, the FBI issued a warning about an increase in specific ransomware targeting education institutions in 12 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. This alert follows a steady wave of cyberthreats facing educational institutions in recent months. We first saw a spike when remote learning kicked off last fall.

Education leaders must take a proactive stance to mitigate risk. Remote school, and the hybrid approach many districts have switched to in recent months, have placed new challenges for network security that cannot be ignored. Cybersecurity posture must be baked into educational IT infrastructure in this ever-evolving threat landscape.…Read More

Hall Technologies Announces the Launch of HIVE Control



Hall Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer in the AV industry, announces their latest leap in technology innovation, HIVE Control. This scalable and affordable AV solution leverages the best in modern IoT, legacy control, and automation. HIVE Control will offer major improvements to the industry’s three major pillars of AV control technology: software, interface, and hardware.

HIVE Control is comprised of three key elements:

  • HIVE Cloud Control provides users with 24/7 control to configure, manage, and service multiple clients from anywhere in the world. This subscription-based asset management platform allows users to connect an unlimited number of rooms under one subscription for quick and easy integration and infinite scalability.
  • Unlike other AV control systems on the market, HIVE Control utilizes a node-based architecture that does not require the need to maintain a centralized server or the purchase of gateway devices. Instead, the HIVE Touch and HIVE Node are designed to directly connect to all existing AV hardware, including legacy devices without the need for programming.
  • The HIVE Touch is an all-in-one, elegant touch panel display engineered to seamlessly control any ProAV hardware and automation devices in a room. The HIVE Touch is adaptable to any space and application.


“HIVE Control’s advanced design and features make the system truly unique in the AV industry,” said Jason Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of Hall Technologies. “With this cutting-edge technology, we are the first to bring REST API to the Pro AV industry, and feel proud to offer a world-class solution that sets a new standard in AV control and integration.”

The innovative HIVE Control system is a solution to frequent issues seen in education, corporate settings, hospitality settings, and everyday life. For more than three decades, Hall Technologies, formerly known as Hall Research, has designed state-of-the-art, pro AV products to solve problems seen in various applications and meet the needs of a continually evolving industry.

HIVE Control is the first of many holistic solutions the brand will launch over the course of the year, including their newest presentation switcher, the EMCEE200 that also launches today. The
EMCEE200 is HIVE compatible and gives presenters and educators the ability to confidently
present their content at up to 4K@60 with zero latency, and in multiview form, record to an
external storage device or capture it in 4K to stream live.

The suite of HIVE Control products and the EMCEE will start shipping in early Q2.

For more information on HIVE Control, visit www.halltechav.com.

About Hall Technologies
Founded in 1984, Hall Technologies is a leader in the Pro A/V industry with a longstanding
reputation for providing top-quality, highly-reliable end-to-end solutions. From its research and
manufacturing headquarters located in Tustin, California, Hall Technologies provides the next
generation of A/V technology across many applications and has been trusted in thousands of
installations worldwide.

Learn more online at www.halltechav.com.
…Read More

Bolstering cybersecurity with Zero Trust

Like all other sectors, the pandemic expedited digital transformation in education. School districts and universities around the globe found themselves making years’ worth of changes rapidly, as the coronavirus shutdown resulted in a mad dash to a new, fully remote “normal.” As schools continue to make sense of distance learning strategies, it is imperative that they factor long-term cybersecurity considerations into their plans.

Each day since the pandemic began, educators and administrators are forced to confront systems that have seen an overwhelming and tremendous surge in usage. The process of implementing new e-learning technologies at scale created significant gaps in security. In fact, according to one report, “the average number of weekly attacks per organization in the academic sector increased by 30 percent July through August of 2019.”

Given the number of individuals involved in, and affected by, the education system, the idea of “move fast break things” may leave those who lack a proper cybersecurity infrastructure at a particularly high risk from cyber threats. Prioritizing cybersecurity in education has never been more pertinent.…Read More

Hall Technologies Announces the Launch of HIVE Control

HallTechnologies, a leading designer and manufacturer in the AV industry, announces their latest leap in technology innovation, HIVE Control. This scalable and affordable AV solution leverages the best in modern IoT, legacy control, and automation. HIVE Control will offer major improvements to the industry’s three major pillars of AV control technology: software, interface, and hardware.
HIVE Control is comprised of three key elements:

  • ● HIVE Cloud Control provides users with 24/7 control to configure, manage, and service multiple clients from anywhere in the world. This subscription-based asset management platform allows users to connect an unlimited number of
    rooms under one subscription for quick and easy integration and infinite scalability.
  • ● Unlike other AV control systems on the market, HIVE Control utilizes a node-based architecture that does not require the need to maintain a centralized server or the purchase of gateway devices. Instead, the HIVE Touch and HIVE Node are designed to directly connect to all existing AV hardware, including legacy devices without the need for programming.
  • ● The HIVE Touch is an all-in-one, elegant touch panel display engineered to seamlessly control any ProAV hardware and automation devices in a room. The HIVE Touch is adaptable to any space and application.

“HIVE Control’s advanced design and features make the system truly unique in the AV industry,” said Jason Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of Hall Technologies. “With this cutting-edge technology, we are the first to bring REST API to the Pro AV industry, and feel proud to offer a world-class solution that sets a new standard in AV control and integration.”

The innovative HIVE Control system is a solution to frequent issues seen in education, corporate settings, hospitality settings, and everyday life. For more than three decades, Hall Technologies, formerly known as Hall Research, has designed state-of-the-art, pro AV products to solve problems seen in various applications and meet the needs of a continually evolving industry.…Read More

Nureva receives Frost & Sullivan 2020 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award

Nureva Inc., an innovator in advanced audio conferencing solutions, announces it has received Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the award to the company that has demonstrated uniqueness in developing and leveraging new technologies that deliver significant customer value. The prestigious award recognizes Nureva’s Microphone Mist technology as a high value innovation in audio conferencing. Nureva’s advanced audio systems leverage the technology to provide consistent full-room microphone pickup, continuous autocalibration and intelligent sound targeting to eliminate unwanted sounds, like HVAC, making them an ideal match for today’s hybrid meeting and learning spaces. The product line includes the  HDL200 for small rooms,  HDL300 for mid-size rooms and  Dual HDL300 for large rooms, featuring easy DIY installation.

The Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award is part of Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards that recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets that have accomplished an innovative or disruptive breakthrough in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research.

“Our rigorous selection process highlighted the extent of Nureva’s technology leadership, and we are thrilled to honor the company with this award,” said Roopam Jain, senior director ICT, Frost & Sullivan. “We see Nureva as a forward-thinking company that has the potential to disrupt the meeting-room audio experience with products powered by its Microphone Mist technology.”…Read More

FSR Receives US Patent for Smart-Way Raceway Wire Management System

FSR, a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of products for the Pro AV and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) markets, has announced that it has been issued a patent by the US Patent Office for its Smart-Way Raceway wire management system. Smart-Way houses electrical and connectivity cables in a track configuration that can be adapted for use on or embedded into different flooring. The US Patent No. 10.862.283. B1 is the latest of numerous patents FSR holds which confirms the Company’s leadership role in bringing inventive infrastructure solutions from drawing board to market.

The Smart-Way raceway system is a simple, affordable, and effective way to organize messy cables and wires, and get them across the floor to where they’re needed for connectivity, power and communications signals. The Smart-Way is the only floor Raceway system that provides in-feed options to transition power and low voltage cables from the wall, ceiling or below the floor. Designed to fit today’s working, educational, commercial, residential and retail environments, the Smart-Way greatly reduces the trip hazards inherent in loose wiring,  and prioritizes functionality without sacrificing design or aesthetics.

FSR manufactures audio and video switching, control products, connectivity boxes and collaboration systems from its headquarters in Woodland Park, NJ.…Read More

LenelS2 Announces Strategic Agreement with Bosch Building Technologies

LenelS2 today announced a strategic agreement with Bosch Building Technologies to resell Bosch IP cameras in North America and Europe. As a result of the agreement, end users will have access to the complete Bosch IP camera portfolio through LenelS2’s Value-Added Resellers (VARs). The Bosch IP camera portfolio integrates with all LenelS2™ video management solutions to enhance critical video analytics capabilities that help protect people and assets and optimize building health and efficiency. The integrated solution joins the Carrier Healthy Buildings Program suite of offerings to help deliver healthier, safer, more efficient and productive indoor environments. LenelS2, a global leader in advanced security systems and services, is a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), a leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions.

The relationship provides a convenient, single source for LenelS2 VARs to procure and build their video surveillance solutions. VARs will be able to leverage a unified support infrastructure for products across both company product lines. LenelS2 and Bosch are developing tighter integrations between products to enable advanced features for future product releases. Bosch cameras integrate with all LenelS2™ OnGuard® and NetBoxÔ ecosystem video management solutions including LenelS2 NVR (LNVR), UltraView, VRxÔ, and NetVRÔ. Bosch cameras also integrate with Milestone XProtect® in support of LenelS2 and Milestone’s distribution agreement.

“Bosch Building Technologies is a longtime partner and member of the LenelS2 OpenAccess Alliance Program (OAAP), so this was a natural step to take,” said
Jeff Stanek, president, LenelS2. “This alliance further supports our commitment to providing open platforms and comprehensive Healthy Buildings solutions, enabling our customers to select the best solutions for their security needs.”…Read More

Rave Mobile Safety Launches Rave Collaborate for Tactical Incident Collaboration

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave), the critical communication and collaboration platform customers count on when it matters most, announced the launch of Rave Collaborate™, a new solution for Tactical Incident Collaboration. Rave Collaborate addresses needs unmet by traditional incident management solutions with an intuitive tool to coordinate preparedness and response for both planned activities and unplanned emergencies. In addition to task management, reminders and activity tracking, Rave Collaborate is integrated into Rave Alert™, a proven, industry-leading mass notification system, as well as other communication and IoT technologies, to provide a central platform to manage your organization’s preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation needs.

Developed with extensive customer input, Rave Collaborate is designed to bring order and clarity to chaos and confusion in the critical early minutes and hours of an event. Rave’s solution supports the full spectrum of compliance, business continuity, health, safety and security scenarios. From regulatory compliance and daily COVID-19 protocols to severe weather or server outages, the ability to immediately notify stakeholders, establish clear responsibilities and provide direction for tactical decisions is key to providing and restoring a safe and secure environment.

“Safety is a collaborative exercise, and responding to any situation requires immediate notification, decisive action and coordinated response,” said Todd Piett, CEO, Rave Mobile Safety. “With Rave Collaborate, responders and incident managers have a central command system integrated with critical communication technology to increase situational awareness and monitor the response timeline. Our goal is to enable response teams to do all they can to keep employees, students and communities safe.”…Read More

FSR Extends Symphony Collection with Release of New Pedestal

FSR, a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of infrastructure solution products for the audio/video, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), education, corporate, hospitality, and government markets, has released its new Symphony Pedestal, extending the company’s popular Symphony Collection of power and charging solutions. The new Symphony Pedestal power and charging tower makes waiting areas and workspaces an inviting place to plug in, offering 4 AC outlets for users to remain charged and ready!

The new Symphony Pedestal offers a form factor that allows for customization options to connect a CAT6, 6a or 7 along with AV cables to bulkhead AV connections. This floor standing unit provides AC power and USB charging, along with snap-ins and a cable passthrough. A 9’ AC cord supplies power from a standard 125VAC 15A outlet. Sized to fit under a desk or table, the pedestal can give people peace of mind in waiting areas, at home or at work.

The Symphony Pedestal is available in two height sizes,  24” or 30”.  An attractive aluminum housing adds to its sleek and refined design giving it great appeal for any environment, plus a black or white color option offers the freedom to match any interior. It is both lightweight and easy to relocate wherever access to power is needed.…Read More

New guide provides on-ramp and interstate for novice and veteran teachers

As educators around the globe swiftly moved to online teaching in the spring, Aaron Johnson, associate dean of Education Technology at Denver Seminary, was coordinating the course transitions from in-person to online at the Seminary, while putting the final editorial touches on his book Online Teaching with Zoom: A Guide for Teaching and Learning with Videoconferencing Platforms.

This newly published guide, available on Amazon, provides tips for teachers, presenters, and trainers who instruct in a variety of settings from elementary school through postsecondary institutions, as they navigate the new normal of remote instruction with videoconferencing technologies.

“Teaching with technology requires a thoughtful approach, because the tools we use shape our communication,” said Johnson. “The challenge right now is that few of us have time to ponder such things. My goal with Online Teaching with Zoom is to save teachers hours by providing practical guidance that’s been tested in the classroom and is informed by how media affects learning.”…Read More