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.

Five key steps to upgrading your wireless network

Are you ready for the nation’s $3 billion wireless overhaul for education—or the move to online testing? Here’s what you need to know

wireless
70 percent of K-12 schools currently lack the wireless network performance to support online testing.

In early February, President Obama made a $3 billion commitment to improve internet access in the nation’s schools to meet the new technology standards required by Common Core online testing.

Approximately $2 billion of that funding is earmarked for an FCC imperative to provide high-speed broadband internet access to 15,000 schools. And private-sector companies—among them Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon—have pledged $1 billion in free and discounted products, connectivity, and professional development.

While this is no doubt cause for celebration, it marks the beginning of a very long road to fully realizing the benefits for education. This funding could cause a tremendous leap in the quality of education for U.S. children, helping them better compete in a world economy when they enter the workforce.  However, if not properly put into place, it could result in a debacle on par with the Healthcare.gov rollout—and a squandering of educational opportunities for the country’s students.…Read More

AT&T, DOJ square off in a battle with implications for schools

The Justice Department filed 138 antitrust cases in federal courts from 1999 to 2008 and lost just four of them.

The Justice Department’s rejection of AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA will test new federal guidelines on challenging mergers, as well as the companies’ resolve in forming the nation’s largest wireless carrier. Schools and other consumers, meanwhile, will be watching the battle to see how it plays out—and what the landscape for wireless service will be as a result.

The Justice Department on Aug. 31 took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit to try to block AT&T’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, arguing that the proposed merger would lead to higher wireless prices, less innovation, and fewer choices for consumers.

The move comes as more schools are integrating into their instruction smart phones, tablets, and other devices that connect over a 3G or 4G wireless network.…Read More

Texas district streams video wirelessly on demand

Keller ISD installed a video-on-demand solution to enable the school district to deliver rich digital educational content to classrooms throughout the school district.
Keller ISD installed a wireless video-on-demand solution to deliver rich digital content to students' mobile devices.

A Texas school system has set up a wireless network infrastructure that is capable of streaming high-quality video to students’ mobile devices—enabling true anytime, anywhere learning to occur with the help of visual media.

The Keller Independent School District recently began using a wireless video streaming solution that supports its effort to put mobile devices in the hands of every student. Using the Video-on-Demand (VOD) and Digital Media Management solution from SAFARI Montage, Keller ISD can stream rich digital content to students throughout the school district wirelessly, which enhances their overall learning experience, said Chief Technology Officer Joe Griffin.

“Our existing wired infrastructure limited where and how users could access the content,” he said. “We needed a cost-effective solution that could provide high-speed, district-wide coverage and ensure seamless delivery of multimedia content to students and teachers, while supporting our efforts to expand these capabilities to all classrooms.”…Read More