Author: Hope

INTUITIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. AT A LOW PRICE.

Posted on | by Hope

Class Instructor

An affordable classroom management tool for teachers. Class Instructor is intuitive, easy-to-use, with a simple instructor interface featuring hot keys. Setup is simple, making it an accessible tool, perfect for those teaching in district level education.

Why class instructor?

Focussed on affordability and adoption, Class Instructor has been designed to allow schools to access classroom monitoring technology at a low price with a focus on giving teachers the core tools without over-complication.

Developed for teachers.
Its clean interface boasts module hot keys for ease of access to your favorite classroom management tools.
Simplified yet powerful.
Class Instructor’s features provide next-level classroom management whilst offering a user-friendly experience.
Integration Support.
Class Instructor integrates with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom and ClassLink to seamlessly sync your classroom data.
Affordability.
Class Instructor’s price point makes classroom management tools accessible to those within education.

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Alex Ball
US Sales Manager
866- 664-1520
a.ball@renatosoftware.com

Learn More About Senso.cloud

Newsela’s Philosophy on AI Tools for Education

Posted on | by Hope

At Newsela, they believe the best education solutions power great teaching, they don’t replace it. Regarding AI tools for education, there are opportunities for positive classroom impact, potential areas of caution, and steep new learning curves. No matter how clever or powerful these new solutions are, there will always be a need for the uniquely human ability of teachers to empathize, connect, inspire, and smile with students.

What is Newsela’s philosophy on AI in education?

As you navigate this new frontier, they want to be transparent about our position on artificial intelligence in education and how Newsela uses it in our products:

  • They strongly believe that teachers know what’s best for their students and should always continue to be the architects, planners, and decision-makers in the classroom.
  • The teacher-student interaction is where learning is at its best. AI should be used to save teachers’ time and make certain tasks easier, creating space and time for teachers to have more powerful one-on-one moments in the classroom.
  • Privacy is always a priority. They ensure that all user data—whether from students, teachers, or other stakeholders—is meticulously blinded. This means that the teams and AI systems involved in leveraging the data won’t be able to associate it with an individual.
  • Their models thrive on aggregated data during the rigorous training process, and each iteration is quality-checked by our team before release. This dual-layered approach ensures the highest standards in the development of our AI systems and never loses the human element of what teaching and learning are all about.
  • They also know that education products must be built with teacher input. We leverage robust research, teacher feedback, and in-classroom experiences to drive the most valuable solutions at every step in the development process.
  • They believe the more specific the application of AI, the better. They always apply it to solve for a clear classroom use case. They focus on ensuring that our machine learning models have the right context and behaviors to deliver valuable outputs, specifically in a classroom setting.

How does Newsela use AI in its products?

For Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, and Newsela Science, we leverage AI in:

  • Article planning supports—including main idea, key terms, discussion questions, and before-reading activity ideas for each text
  • Article topic tags
  • Generating Tier 3 vocabulary definitions
  • Generating writing prompts

For Formative, AI supports:

  • Generating questions, answer hints, and writing prompts
  • Flashcard and practice set generation

For EverWrite (beta), we use AI to power:

  • Real-time student writing feedback delivery, aligned to a chosen rubric
  • Assignment writing prompt generation

At Newsela, their goal is to open up teachers’ abilities to do what they do best: bring learning to life for their students in a deeply personal, human way.

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

General inquiries: iltpp@newsela.com

Districts with 3000+ students
Patrick Gaffney
Illinois Partnerships
312-626-5370
patrick.gaffney@newsela.com

Districts with less than 3000 students
Claire Vock
Illinois Partnerships
630-965-0109
claire.vock@newsela.com

Learn More About Newsela

Revolutionizing the K-12 Experience: A Smart School Layout

Posted on | by Hope

Student outcomes are suffering, but enhancing the learning experience can be easier than you think. We’ve seen schools with the biggest success go beyond standards, salaries, and curriculums to a focus on the network.

With a smart network, they’re optimizing school operations with:

  • Cloud management that saves on operational and support costs
  • AI automation to simplify backend processes
  • E-Rate-eligible networking solutions that put dollars back in the budget
  • Sophisticated Wi-Fi connectivity for an advanced student and staff experience
  • Advanced intelligence to take on redundant IT tasks
  • Built-in security layers that bring peace of mind from cyber threats

The result is a school network that can support the connectivity and operations that help make education easier for everyone – from students and teachers to parents and administrators.

Want a closer look? Take a peek at our infographic, Revolutionizing the Education Experience: A Smart School Layout.

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Extreme Networks
Joe Yeagle
Senior Account Executive
630-287-0228
jyeagle@extremenetworks.com

Matt Ward
VSAM / Extreme Networks
630-287-0228
maward@extremenetworks.com

Contact your Reseller Account Managers:

CDW-G
John Buttita
Sales Manager
877-325-3380
johnbut@cdw.com

Learn More About Extreme Networks

The Best Chromebooks for Students

Posted on | by Hope

To find the best Chromebooks for students, it’s important to think about how technology and education are connected. Today all students need reliable, durable, and high-performing computing devices with seamless connectivity to achieve what the National Education Association has termed “digital equity,” defined as:

“Digital equity ensures that all school-aged children have equal access to the resources they need for remote learning. These resources include internet and computer access. It is important for all children to have these resources, regardless of their circumstances. This ensures that they can fully engage in remote learning from home.”

— National Education Association, “Digital Equity for Students and Education Report”

Schools have done a great job at providing Chromebooks to students and there is a lot to choose from. However, making the right Chromebook technology investment is essential. IT departments at school districts and private schools should consider Chromebooks based on three essential criteria: future-proof performance, flexibility, and sustainability.

Future-proofing for technology challenges with student Chromebooks

Many schools offered 1:1 devices to students during the pandemic. Today, because of the age of these devices and the increasing computing power needs for applications such as AI, it’s time for a technology upgrade. Consider devices that can withstand the constant demands of schoolwork, can connect from anywhere, and offer a long-term plan for updates to ensure school district investments enjoy an excellent return on investment (ROI).

Chromebooks provide all the latest technological advancements with the processing power that students need today. Consider 4G and 8G RAM, at least 64G flash memory, and the processing power of Intel’s N100 or N200 chipsets.

Additionally, consider your connectivity plan. Some schools are now extending their networks beyond the school walls with private LTE networks, as demonstrated in a recent implementation in Tukwila. School districts are looking to provide connectivity at home in addition to at school, regardless of student’s economic situation and availability of a home network. Ensure your Chromebooks for students offer LTE connectivity capability. Thinking ahead, also ask about 5G potential connectivity plans as 5G reduced capability networks will eventually replace LTE.

One advantage that Chromebooks deliver over traditional laptops in the future-proof category is what’s commonly called “AU,” or Automatic Updates. According to Google, “Chrome devices (e.g. Chromebook, Chromebox, Chromebase, Chromebit) receive automatic updates that enhance both the device and its software. Automatic updates deliver the latest features, maintain device security, and apply across the operating system, browser, and hardware. Chromebooks receive 10 years of AUE.” Longevity of use is built into Chromebooks, maximizing a school district’s technology investment.

 

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Maureen Cooney
Account Manager
571-386-9797
mcooney@ctl.net

Learn More About CTL

Check out the current line of Chromebooks from CTL.

Why Is Data Security Important?

Posted on | by Hope

Most K-12 technology directors can’t stop talking about cybersecurity. But have you ever wondered why?

The truth is there are many reasons why safeguarding personal data is essential. From reputational damage to student safety, the list is practically endless.

Luckily, we’re here to explain in simple terms. Read on to learn why data security is so important to your school district and what you can do to protect sensitive information today.

WHAT IS DATA SECURITY?

Cybersecurity. Information security. Data protection.

Call it what you want, but the definition remains the same. Data security is the process of protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access and exposure. More specifically, it involves implementing as many security measures as necessary to stop insider threats, cyber attacks, data breaches, and other incidents from manipulating or leaking personal information.

You might wonder: How does that differ from data privacy? It can get confusing, so let’s break it down.

Both involve protecting sensitive information, but they work a little differently:

  • Data security refers to the security policies and controls your school district uses to prevent data loss, data erasure, or data leakage. In other words, they maintain the integrity of your information.
  • Data privacy is more concerned with access control. It involves making strategic decisions about who and what should be able to see certain kinds of data. For example, a student wouldn’t need access to a fellow student’s grades, just as one staff member shouldn’t be privy to a colleague’s email.

Notably, both processes impact one another. Poor data protection, such as allowing a breach to happen, can violate a student’s data privacy if their personally identifiable information is exposed.

3 TYPES OF DATA SECURITY

When cybersecurity professionals talk about data security, they normally refer to one of three broad categories:

  1. Endpoint security: This refers to security measures that directly impact hardware, such as school laptops and computers. It may involve monitoring how students and staff use these endpoints or installing malware protection onto the device.
  2. Network security: Data flows across your school network, which means it can be intercepted if not protected. That’s why schools usually implement data encryption, which ensures files can’t be read even if they’re accessed.
  3. Cloud security: Over 90% of school districts use cloud computing, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. This category, as the name implies, aims to protect data stored in cloud applications like Google Drive, Microsoft Word, etc.

It’s important to remember that not all security measures carry over from one category to another. Some districts mistakenly expect network security tools to safeguard cloud data when that isn’t always the case. That’s why it’s best to have an additional layer of cloud security on top of your endpoint- and network-based data security solution.

 

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

David Waugh
Sales and Marketing Vice President
303-415-3643
dwaugh@managedmethods.com

Learn More About ManagedMethods

How-to Action Plans to Navigate Developing K-12 Education Trends

Posted on | by Hope

by: Brian Thomas, President and CEO of Lightspeed Systems

Educators are quite familiar with overcoming challenges, as the last four years have presented more disruption to school districts than at any time in recent history. Despite the unparalleled levels of disruption, several developing K-12 education trends have emerged.

This post highlights four prevailing education trends and provides an overview of how-to action plans to get your district proactively addressing its highest-priority challenges.

Cyberattacks on K-12 Schools Continue to Rise

Cybersecurity attacks present a costly threat to school districts across the United States. According to Comparitech, a cybersecurity and online privacy product review website, global ransomware attacks against K-12 and higher education institutions—breaching over 6.7 million personal records—cost over $53 billion in downtime between 2018 and mid-September 2023.

Cyberattacks on K-12 school districts are rising as cybercriminals identify districts as lucrative targets. Student information systems (SIS) store personally identifiable information (PII) of both students and staff, and many districts simply lack the resources to layer essential cybersecurity measures. The result is district data remains increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The Lightspeed Systems 2022 EdTech App Report showed most districts have more than 2,000 apps in use across their student population, but that only 300 apps account for 99 percent of student use. Regardless of usage rates, district IT leaders are responsible for safeguarding students’ personally identifiable information (PII) on all apps in the district, including the remaining 1,700 infrequently used apps. Unsecure websites and “rogue” apps, those used by staff and students but not vetted by IT, easily slip through the cracks, creating openings for cybercriminals to enter.

Recovering systems after an attack is both costly and time-consuming. In addition to often paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom, district networks are down an average of four days, and require30 days to fully recover.

Action Plan:

  1. Audit all applications in use across your school district, their privacy policies, and data security practices. Third-party analysis of privacy policies provides a reliable source of expertise. These steps can be completed manually or accelerated with digital intelligence software.
  2. Block students and staff from accessing new and unknown websites. Millions of new sites come online each day and the vast majority aren’t educational. These sites can be malicious and until they are categorized by your web content filter, the safest option is simply to prohibit access. If you’re using a web filter with an AI-driven dynamic database, educational or appropriate sites won’t remain uncategorized for more than a couple of hours.
  3. Inform all stakeholders about the importance of cybersecurity and data privacy to empower them with the knowledge to protect their privacy and the community. Mitigate risk by teaching staff and students about phishing emails and rouge apps to help prevent them from unintentionally opening malware that will leave them and your district vulnerable.

 

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Lightspeed Systems
Mike Durando
Vice President of Sales
512-439-3995
mdurando@lightspeedsystems.com

sales@lightspeedsystems.com

Learn More About Lightspeed Systems

Tech Out Your Classroom

Posted on | by Hope

Incorporate technology into K–12 classroom design 

Technology is pervasive in today’s world — including the classroom. Schools everywhere are turning to technology to enhance their classrooms and provide students with the best possible learning experience. They use technology to make spaces more learning-friendly and focused in countless ways: to support the existing curriculum, broaden students’ access to information, meet students where they are in their development, address mental and physical health (including alleviating teacher burnout), and integrate with the portable technology students are adopting. 

Interactive Whiteboards 

One way to use technology to make classroom spaces more efficient is by using interactive whiteboards. Interactive or smart whiteboards are large touch-sensitive displays that are connected to a computer and can be used to display images, videos, text, and other multimedia content. These whiteboards allow teachers to access and display course materials quickly and easily while allowing students to engage with the material in a more interactive way. In addition, interactive whiteboards can be used to facilitate communication between students and teachers, which can help to foster a more collaborative learning environment. Boards like the i3Touch E-One have a realistic-feeling writing surface, which allows you to save work and accommodate streaming multiple screens at once. Since it replaces existing whiteboards and can be wall-mounted, it takes up no floorspace. This makes it perfect for space-conscious classrooms.  

Charging and Power Solutions

add power for charging

In a post-covid era, individual tablets or computers are common in classrooms (and often required for student use). But all those batteries need a boost now and then, so offering enough charging options is essential. Towers are a great solution for classrooms where desks or tables are arranged in groups. Why? They offer equally accessible outlets or USB ports in the center instead of the walls, and they take up minimal floor space. If device storage is more of a concern in your classroom, then consider a tower that charges as it stores group tablets or laptops.

 

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Please contact the Demcom inside sales department for everyday orders and general inquiries. Please reference C10903 for contract pricing or inform them you are an ILTPP member.

McKenzie Encarnacion, Inside Sales Specialist

mckenziee@demco.com

For larger projects needing installation or design, please contact the Demco Business Development Representative

Lynne Gruneberg, Business Development Representative
608-242-2374
Fax: 800.730.8094
lynneg@demco.com

Learn More About Demco

Demco Portfolio 

 

Frictionless Learning, Fortified Security: AI’s Role in Protecting Students and Boosting iPad Learning

Posted on | by Hope

Writer's picture Kevin Kuckkan, M.Ed, Deledao Education

In today’s digitally driven K12 classrooms, iPads remain popular educational learning tools, unlocking a world of interactive possibilities. However, ensuring a safe and productive online environment remains a pressing challenge. Conventional content filters often fall short, leaving students vulnerable to inappropriate content while inadvertently blocking valuable educational resources. This creates a delicate balancing act for K12 IT teams, burdened with maintaining student safety while navigating complex technical hurdles and juggling limited resources.

The limitations of traditional filtering methods are undeniable. Static blocklists, easily circumvented by tech-savvy students, prove ineffective against new and emerging threats. They often rely on keyword matching, leading to unintentional overblocking of legitimate educational content. This disrupts learning and frustrates students and educators alike. Additionally, deploying and managing these filters across numerous devices requires dedicated IT personnel, straining already stretched resources.

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Greg Richman
Director of Sales & Channel Partnerships
309-256-6616
greg.richman@deledao.com

Download the Portrait of a Graduate Toolkit

Posted on | by Hope

Prepare Every Student for Their Future With Personalized Plans That Track College and Career Readiness Metrics

Many schools struggle to align their education goals with a clear and comprehensive “Portrait of a Graduate,” making it challenging to prepare students for success in an ever-changing world and communicate their skills and abilities effectively to colleges and employers.Schools require a solution that facilitates the development and tracking of a “Portrait of a Graduate.” This ensures a structured framework for defining essential skills and competencies, enables ongoing assessment and documentation of student progress, and offers data-driven insights to adapt curriculum and instruction accordingly — all of which will better prepare students for their future.

DOWNLOAD TODAY

Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Paul Kaskovich
Account Executive
paul@otus.com
773-789-5444 x110

Learn More About Otus

How Microsoft 365 Education Creates Secure And Productive Learning

Posted on | by Hope
December 8, 2023, Trafera

How secure is the data in our schools? In a single breach, cyberattacks–such as the use of ransomware–have the potential to expose sensitive student data and disrupt the very tools that support learning and teaching. The impact can be immediate and the subsequent data theft and network outages can lead to serious disruption to learning and even temporary school closures. In fact, in 2022, there were over 50 schools with reported ransomware attacks, four of which were forced to cancel classes due to ransomware (StateScoop)

These scenarios bring to light the role of cybersecurity in education—as a nonnegotiable measure to ensure learning continues smoothly, day after day.

When it comes to your digital education landscape, your chosen tools and apps can play a big role in fortifying your environment. Take, for instance, the productivity suite your students and teachers use. Everything from email to file storage to spreadsheets are potential entryways for bad actors to obtain private school data. On the bright side, the right apps can act as solid bricks in your fortress walls, keeping hackers out.

Microsoft 365 for Education steps up to this challenge with a promise: to create secure, seamless educational experiences where productivity and protection go hand in hand.

What is Microsoft 365 Education?

It’s common to use Microsoft 365 and Office 365, but there are differences between the two. Office 365 for Education is an application suite that contains familiar app names like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Microsoft 365 Education extends beyond the applications Office 365 with the addition of services and tools like Minecraft Education and security features.

You’ll find Microsoft 365 Education broken down into three tiers – Microsoft 365 A1, Microsoft 365 A3, and Microsoft 365 A5. Each plan is loaded with tools that include both educational and security aspects, giving you the flexibility to choose an option that fits your specific needs.

Microsoft 365 A1

The A1 plan offers a straightforward, no-cost option for eligible students and educators, focusing on the essentials for modern educational workloads. It includes key cloud-managed services, delivering basic tools necessary for a secure and productive learning environment. This plan sets the stage for schools to build a digital foundation that supports everyday learning and teaching activities.

Microsoft 365 A3

Alongside all the benefits of A1, the Microsoft 365 A3 tier introduces full desktop versions of applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, offering more tools for creative and complex tasks. The standout feature of A3 is its advanced security and analytics, making it a go-to choice for schools aiming to enhance their digital capabilities while safeguarding against cyber threats.

Microsoft 365 A5

Think of A5 as the all-in-one package, offering the most comprehensive range of features, including streamlined licensing, top-tier security measures, and advanced management tools. Ideal for schools that demand the best in both safety and functionality, A5 is the premier choice for those who want to ensure their technology is not just up-to-date, but ahead of the curve in protecting and empowering their educational community.

For more details on what each tier offers, check out Microsoft’s comparison table.

 

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Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

Tim Peters
Account Manager
651-209-1098
tim.peters@trafera.com

Learn More About Trafera