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.

What will it take to protect schools’ digital landscape?

Malicious actors have been turning their attention to the nation’s schools in a significant and unwelcome way. The State of K-12 Cybersecurity: 2020 Year in Review report found an 18 percent increase in publicly-disclosed incidents over 2019 – the equivalent of more than two incidents per school day in 2020. Education was the second-most targeted sector in the first half of 2021, according to the a midyear threat report.

The shift to remote learning last year is partly to blame for this rise in attacks, as teachers and students relied on technology to deliver lessons, complete homework, and interact with students. When attackers target schools, learning is often disrupted, sometimes for days, as critical systems are taken offline.

The problem is significant enough that President Joe Biden signed into law the K-12 Cybersecurity Act, strengthening federal efforts to examine the cyber risks facing these institutions. And just what are those risks – and what needs to happen next? Read on.…Read More

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SETDA Names Dr. Karen Richardson the Recipient of the 2021 Candice Dodson Influencer Award

June 17, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) – The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) announced that Dr. Karen Richardson, Executive Director, Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) was selected as the recipient of the inaugural Candice Dodson Influencer Award (CDIA). The recipient of the Candice Dodson Influencer Award was selected through a competitive application process and was presented to Dr. Richardson during the 2021 SETDA Emerging Trends Forum on June 15, 2021.

The aim of the Candice Dodson Influencer Award is to commemorate the values, professional influence and personal contributions to the field of educational technology that Dodson championed every day, and to recognize similar qualities in EdTech leaders who can carry on this important work in the future.

Dodson was the Executive Director of SETDA from May, 2019 until her sudden passing on July 22, 2020. The award will be funded annually through donations to the Candice Dodson Memorial Fund and sponsorships.…Read More

Think Together Brings in More Than $500,000 at Annual Raise A Hand Event to Support Expanded Learning, Afterschool and Student Learning Recovery Programs

The live virtual event held April 23 was attended by more than 300 guests from across the state of California.

Santa Ana, Calif. (April 28, 2021) – Think Together, California’s largest nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning, and school improvement programs, held its annual Raise A Hand event raising $515,000 on Friday, April 23.

Think Together’s annual fundraiser was reimagined this year as a virtual experience with nearly 300 guests registered to attend. The event brought together passionate individuals and corporations to raise funds for student learning recovery programs amid the COVID-19 pandemic and honor students who have overcome challenges in pursuit of their education.…Read More

Gale and New Mexico State Library Launch Free Program to Provide Adult Residents Accredited High School Diplomas

New Mexicans can obtain their high school diploma through their local public library. New Mexico State Library now offers Career Online High School (COHS) from Gale, a Cengage company, making it the first program in the state that gives qualified residents the chance to earn an accredited high school diploma through their public library.

Currently, six public libraries in New Mexico are offering Career Online High School to qualified adults (19 and older) who are looking to advance their careers, prepare for workforce entry or continue their education. There is no cost to students for the program, but enrollment is limited and requires a library card. The six participating libraries include: The Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, Belen Public Library, Santa Fe Public Library and three of New Mexico’s Rural Bookmobiles: Bookmobile East (Tucumcari), Bookmobile Northeast (Cimarron Library) and Bookmobile West (Los Lunas).

The New Mexico State Library decided to invest in the COHS program in order to help New Mexicans and New Mexico public libraries meet the immediate needs of the communities the libraries serve as they confront adverse education and economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.…Read More

6 teaching resources for the Presidential Inauguration

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021. The Presidential Inauguration will be a departure from years past due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, but there are still a number of engaging learning opportunities for in-person and virtual students.

The inauguration also comes on the heels of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and students are bound to have questions about the state of our nation’s government, priorities, civil rights, and where things go from here.

Traditionally, the public has been able to attend inaugurations, but people are discouraged from doing so due to COVID-19 restrictions. The ceremony will be broadcast on television news stations and most are expected to also offer a livestream.…Read More

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Protect and Recover Your Data with creative.space’s New Snapshot Features

In response to COVID-19, many creatives are being required to work remotely. This often presents technical challenges that can be difficult to overcome, especially for small production teams. To be successful, the creative process must remain easy, reliable, and secure. Collaborative storage is the main hub connecting remote locations, and recently there has been a 148% spike in ransomware attacks. Cyberattacks cost businesses of all sizes an average of $200,000, but with the right storage partner there is hope. creative.space has just released the industry’s most comprehensive storage “snapshot” tools, logic, and web app to protect and recover from accidental or networked file encryption and deletion attacks.

 

A snapshot is simply an exact picture of the state of your data at a certain point in time. It is based upon a single dataset (we call it a “Space”). Snapshots and rollbacks are almost instantaneous and don’t require additional storage space until any active files are deleted. creative.space’s enhanced features allow users to not only take a protected snapshot of their data, but also schedule future snapshots, set an expiration date, and assign administrative access based upon user roles.…Read More

Dean Transportation to treat all vehicles with MicrobeCare™ antimicrobial

For over 50 years, Dean has placed the safety of its passengers above all else, having a long history of advocacy for passenger safety. As students begin returning to school this fall, Dean Transportation has worked diligently to create safety protocols for staff and passengers that aim to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. To augment regular disinfectant use, Dean has announced an industry-leading commitment to treat the more than 1,600 school buses it operates throughout the State of Michigan with MicrobeCare™. Application of MicrobeCare™ represents one of the first industry deployments of antimicrobial technology in school buses.

“As our education system returns to operation, our number one priority is the health of our passengers, our employees, and the general public. In response to COVID-19, we are enhancing our cleaning procedures and operating practices to suppress the spread of illness,” said Kellie P. Dean, President, and CEO of Dean Transportation. “Since June we have looked at various emerging technologies to increase safety and augment our regular use of a disinfectant. Our commitment to applying MicrobeCare™ on all Dean Transportation owned and operated school buses is about our student’s and staff’s health, safety, and support for our districts when they return to in-person instruction. Dean Transportation transports a high number of special education student passengers, many of whom rely on in-person education and services provided by our public education system. It is our mission to help them get back to school by increasing the health protections on our school buses.”

MicrobeCare™ is an antimicrobial with unique bonding technology that is long-lasting and effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, and yeast on surfaces. It is registered with the FDA and EPA as a safe and effective antimicrobial that will help reduce cross-contamination of dangerous microorganisms on surfaces to which it is applied. The product is often used in health care facilities and common public spaces. MicrobeCare™ has been shown to eliminate >99.99% of microorganisms on surfaces quickly. By continually combating and neutralizing microbial threats before they have an opportunity to grow and spread, the protection of MicrobeCare™ persists even in between cleanings and disinfection. The antimicrobial is applied by experienced application specialists using state-of-the-art electrostatic sprayers to ensure complete and total coverage of all surfaces.…Read More

3 ways educational data helped this district improve outcomes

In the Wilson County School District, using educational data to inform our decisions has reinvented the way students learn, and it has given educators a newfound confidence in their teaching practices.

Last year, we were recognized by the state as an exemplary district, and we’ve achieved level five status, meaning our students are growing at a rate that’s two years beyond what’s expected.

We’ve achieved these results through the hard work of our faculty—and by using educational data to support how we instruct and evaluate our students. Other district leaders hoping to achieve similar results can follow three essential steps to creating a data-centric culture.…Read More

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