eSchool News | hybrid page 1

ClassIn Launches its World-Class Teaching and Learning Platform in the United States

SAN DIEGO (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClassIn, a world leader in hybrid, blended, and remote learning solutions, today announced the launch of its globally recognized platform in the United States. The ClassIn platform has been purpose-built for education and based on nearly a decade of research, development, and in-market experience. Through its software and hardware solutions, ClassIn provides the digital infrastructure for the hybrid future of education by building classrooms in both the virtual and physical worlds. ClassIn is the only end-to-end education platform with a full suite of innovative tools and features, all designed with hybrid-first pedagogy at its core. It supports active learning, student flexibility, and various teaching and learning methods.

While schools have worked to embrace technology for decades, innovation has been slow and fragmented, and most new technologies have been designed to solve a singular problem. Today, the average US teacher uses 148 different EdTech products and the average US school district uses over 1,400 EdTech solutions. The pandemic exacerbated this issue, as most schools implemented “emergency remote teaching” instead of pedagogically aligned instruction, cobbling together many disparate technologies that were not built or designed for education.

“Remote and hybrid teaching brought long-touted but previously out-of-reach, student-centric instruction to life, making room for self-guided learning, flexible schedules, and additional time to explore volunteer, hobby, and work opportunities,” said Sara Gu, Co-Founder, and COO at ClassIn. “We’re at an inflection point. The classroom of the future will be networked, digitized, and intelligent, which means our learning solutions must be built on a solid foundation: based on hybrid-first pedagogy and backed by learning science. With over 50 million students using our solution in 160+ countries, our hardware and software solutions reduce districts’ need for the patchwork of over 1,400 different technologies by combining many of those capabilities seamlessly.”…Read More

Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success

Key points:

Virtual learning expanded access to student mental health support

Hybrid learning offers improved satisfaction during IEP meetings

In the business world, we’ve seen a sea change in the way people work. While some have returned to the office full time, some are still working remotely, and others are opting for a hybrid approach of being in-person just a few days a week. If the pandemic showed us anything, it is that flexibility is in the best interest of the employee and the company in a competitive marketplace.

The same lessons are true in schools. Forced to go online, in some cases for a year or more, schools quickly turned to video conferencing and online tools to facilitate the development of Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and even deliver mental health services to help students cope with the changes resulting from the pandemic. These new approaches offered ways to reduce many of the traditional barriers to services and support. Plus, they provided flexibility to create individualized plans that best meet the needs of students and their families. …Read More

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A 5-point plan for post-pandemic education

It seems hard to believe, but the pandemic in the U.S. started three years ago. With all the changes COVID-19 brought to schools, perhaps the one that most people forget is how the virus altered the delivery of education.

While everyone is happy remote learning and hybrid models are pretty much over, it isn’t accurate to say education has returned to what was “normal,” pre-pandemic instruction.

The main reason school looks different is that districts bought a heap of specialized technology just to keep instruction alive during those three years. A 2022 survey by the Consortium for School Networking shows that more than 80 percent of U.S. schools now have a device for each K-12 student. That’s way up from pre-pandemic numbers, where about two of three high schools and middle schools were one-to-one and less than half of elementary schools had a device for each student. And that’s only counting student devices–not the needed network improvements, teacher training, or the other myriad purchases required to create a robust network both in schools and at students’ homes.…Read More

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New Epson PowerLite and BrightLink Lamp-Free Laser Displays Now Available

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Providing technology that seamlessly merges with today’s “always-on” classrooms and hybrid workplaces is imperative in today’s display market. Epson, the number-one selling projector brand worldwide,¹ today announced 10 of its new PowerLite^® and BrightLink^® lamp-free laser displays are now available. Powered by Epson’s proprietary 3-chip 3LCD technology, the new models offer 4,000 to 4,600 lumens of equal color and white brightness² to deliver big, bright images. The new lamp-free laser displays also come equipped with built-in enterprise level wireless connectivity, convenient collaboration tools, value-added software, and ultra-wide options to ensure all participants can see, interact and be seen.

“As display technology continues to develop rapidly across different environments, Epson remains devoted to advancing its technology to align with the growing industry trends,” said Remi Del Mar, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc. “Aiming to provide smaller and more user-friendly, lamp-free laser display technology, Epson continues to focus on flexibility, compatibility and large, impactful images. The current lineup integrates new tools for seamless collaboration, simpler one-on-one student device connectivity, easier setup, and moreover enable wall-size images from a single display that is conducive to student engagement.”

Transform ordinary walls into giant interactive tablets with almost 85 percent more display area than a 75-inch flat panel. Epson’s new BrightLink 760Wi and BrightLink 770Fi ultra-short throw interactive lamp-free laser displays deliver big, bright, colorful images for dynamic digital collaboration. Designed for ease-of-use in collaborative learning environments, educators can easily access interactive whiteboard tools with flexible installation options or use BrightLink’s built-in pen-based interactivity and optional touch functionality. Wireless connectivity with casting capabilities from PCs, Mac^®computers, Chromebooks, and Android^™ and iOS^® devices,³ making it even easier for teachers and students to wirelessly display up to four screens simultaneously. The new BrightLink interactive displays are also compatible with frequently used software applications, including Office 365^® and Google Workspace^™, and are equipped with split screen support⁴ and whiteboard sharing to make collaboration easier. Additionally, educators regain access to their whiteboard when the projectors are not in use with the ability to display on a common whiteboard.…Read More

6 tips to help start an elementary esports program in your school

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 2nd most-read story focuses on creating an elementary esports program.

The benefits of esports are well documented. A significant body of research has found that students who participate in scholastic esports programs benefit from increased emotional regulation, academic achievement, and graduation rates.

These benefits only scratch the surface of the positive consequences for students participating in scholastic esports. Thus far, conversations around esports have centered on collegiate and secondary levels, however, a recent change in the winds has shifted the conversation to elementary esports. …Read More

How edtech insights impact all parts of school operations

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 3rd most-read story focuses on edtech insights from every part of a school and district.

In this episode of Innovations in Education, hosted by Kevin Hogan:

Why back-office systems are an essential element to successful learning
9 priorities for a future-focused education system
Some good news (sort of) on post-pandemic learning gains

5 ways to create a stellar online elementary learning program

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 4th most-read story focuses on creating an online elementary program.

Elementary education is the foundation for early learning, providing students with the skills and community they need for future success in school and life. Thanks to today’s technology, helping them start on the right foot is easier than ever – especially with online learning opportunities.

Online learning has become a growing trend among K-12 students, including elementary students. In fact, we successfully launched our own online elementary schools, which grew by 10,000 students over the past four years.…Read More

With online learning, the kids are all right

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 5th most-read story features an episode of Kevin Hogan’s Innovations in Education podcast that focuses on the state of online learning.

In this episode of Innovations in Education, sponsored by Galaxy Next Generation, host Kevin Hogan explores:

65 ways equity, edtech, and innovation shone in 2022

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 6th most-read story focuses on the predictions educators and industry experts made for learning in 2022.

As we wrapped up 2020, we thought for sure that 2021 might bring us a reprieve from pandemic learning. Well, it did–but it also didn’t. Virtual and hybrid learning continued into the spring, but then classrooms welcomed back students for full-time in-person learning in the fall. Many silver linings emerged and digital learning cemented itself as a “must have” in schools. Equity remained front and center, too, raising issues of inequitable technology access, along with racial and socioeconomic disparities and discrimination.

2021 brought with it new COVID-19 variants, the dreaded school COVID quarantine, and renewed calls to support the nation’s educators, who have worked tirelessly (and constantly) to support students’ learning, social and emotional needs, and more.…Read More

STEM learning makes this educator shine

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 7th most-read story focuses on a Hero Awards winner dedicated to STEM education.

One of three eSN K-12 Hero Awards winners and nominated by Bluum, Kim Leblanc was selected for the innovative STEM learning initiatives she champions in her district and for her students.

Conventional wisdom would say that economically disadvantaged schools across the country would need to think twice before making a major investment in technology. However, not all districts in that predicament have a technology director like Kim Leblanc.…Read More