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.

BenQ Sponsors the Undisputed Texas High School Esports State Championship

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, sponsored the Undisputed Texas High School Esports State Championship, April 28-29 at the Esports Stadium Arlington. The crowd was up close to the action, thanks to BenQ’s donation of 40 BenQ Board smart boards. Also at the show, BenQ’s esports product line, ZOWIE, showcased its premium gaming monitors.

The Undisputed Texas High School Esports State Championship is put together by the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation, a teacher-run, 501c(3) nonprofit organization serving Texas schools with a mission of making esports an accessible, inclusive, and equitable path to college, career, and military readiness for all Texas students. Over two days, the championship brought together 500 competitors, 30 high schools, and five titles — Valorant, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

“BenQ has a long history of supporting teachers and the esports industry with state-of-the-art visualization solutions built around an arsenal of tools and features that define a positive learning and gaming experience,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ Education. “Designed to be an intuitive and innovative hub in the classroom, our BenQ Boards are unlike anything else on the market and now attendees will see them set up to support an esports competition. We’re excited to be part of this local event and showcase BenQ’s investment in education and esports in one place.”…Read More

BenQ Board RP03 Series Recognized as First Smart Board to Achieve Eyesafe® Certification for Low Blue Light

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, is helping to minimize blue light emission with the Eyesafe® Certification of its latest interactive display, the BenQ Board RP03. The industry’s only interactive display to meet the safety standard, BenQ Board RP03 features built-in EyeCare™ technologies that have been tested and certified to protect users’ eyesight by reducing high-energy blue light while maintaining optimal color performance.

“Blue light may contribute to visual discomfort and sleep problems,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ Education. “Our built-in blue light technology and Eyesafe Certified screen effectively reduces the potential risks from blue light. Together with our other EyeCare technologies — flicker free and antiglare features, germ-resistant screen and accessories, air-quality sensors, and air ionizer, schools and other organizations can feel confident that the increased screen time that comes with the demand for greater interaction and engagement doesn’t come at a risk to users’ health.”

Minimizing Blue Light is Critical…Read More

SMART Technologies Rolls Out Two New Editions of the ONLY True Multi-User Interactive Display

CALGARY, AB – Today SMART Technologies debuts the latest industry-leading SMART interactive displays for education at the 2023 TCEA Convention & Exposition in San Antonio, Texas. This new release includes the new SMART Board® MX (V4) series, and the SMART Board GX (V2) series. These new displays join the SMART Board 6000S series as the only interactive displays that allow multiple users to freely write, erase, and gesture at the same time, across platforms and applications. 

SMART displays provide the best annotation experience on the market, along with other key, unique features that make them a true ‘walk up and teach’ experience for teachers and students. 

“At SMART we care deeply about the ease of use of our products, and we are working tirelessly to make the most advanced and intuitive tools,” said SMART Technologies CEO Nicholas Svensson. “These products are designed for teachers to ‘walk up and teach’ and to make their days easier – reducing lesson prep time and allowing teachers to provide more collaborative and engaging learning experiences for their students with ease.” …Read More

Unistellar Research: Got Questions About Outer Space? Forget Google—Just Ask Your Kids

San Francisco—February 3, 2022— A pathbreaking study just confirmed something that many parents already suspected: young Americans have a voracious interest in outer space, already know a lot about it, and are eager to learn much more. But while most parents are excited to know that their kids are interested in space, and are eager to encourage that interest, they’re unsure about how to do it. The study was released today by Unistellar, the pioneer of New Astronomy, whose smart telescopes give space lovers novel tools so they can explore the cosmos in new and exciting ways. The survey queried more than 500 American parents with children ages 7-14.

Our kids have their eyes on the skies

According to parents, there are a vast number of young space lovers in the U.S.—93% of American kids are interested in outer space, and 84% became even more interested in the subject over the last year. The numbers tell a dramatic story:…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

Teknikio Releases Tekniverse for K-12 Students to Collaborate in Building Remote or In-Person

Teknikio has released a new collaborative learning kit called Tekniverse, which gives students the ability to make and remake connected smart objects in partnership with their classmates and teacher. Tekniverse can be used in remote learning or in-person classrooms because there is a cloud-based platform to program the hand-held circuit boards which can be programmed in endless ways.

“Tekniverse gives students instant feedback from physical sensors which can be programmed to act as weather stations, walkie talkies and more,” said Deren Güler, founder of Teknikio. “Tekniverse offers a unique opportunity to create a virtual classroom experience where tools can be used and shared digitally across the Internet and feel as if students and educators are physically looking over each other’s shoulders, sharing real-time discovery and excitement.”

Tekniverse is a hardware and software ecosystem that provides a gateway to code and connect projects and people. It was designed for remote-learning, digital justice, and open-ended exploration. The boards are cost effective and durable, which is especially important for students using them at home. Teknikio’s components are designed and tested to appeal to boys and girls, and the lesson resources are intentionally gender-neutral. As classrooms around the country grappled with how to use manipulatives that were designed for classroom settings, Teknikio’s iterative, project-based, and experiential learning could still occur remotely.…Read More

Black Box Makes the IoT Building a Reality With Its Connected Buildings Solution

Black Box, a global solutions integrator, today introduced Connected Buildings — a suite of solutions and services that enable digital experiences in smart, IoT buildings. Black Box designs, deploys, manages and maintains the foundational technology that connects the internal ecosystem of interoperable devices and sensors that work together to enable human-to-human, human-to-device and device-to-device interaction. Black Box’s Connected Buildings services modernize IT infrastructure, solve in-building connectivity challenges and link clients’ devices at locations around the world.

“Demand for the IoT building is growing exponentially. Now more than ever, our customers need spaces that are interactive, adaptive, automated and secure,” said Doug Oathout, senior vice president, Portfolio and Partnerships, Black Box. “At Black Box, we apply our broad portfolio of IT solutions to take the complexity out of connected buildings and make it simple for our customers by giving them one trusted partner to handle their IT services. Whether updating hundreds of existing locations or outfitting one location from the ground up, our team of project managers, engineers and technicians works with our clients to craft a solution that creates consistent customer experiences and reliable communications at every location.”

The Black Box Connected Building is enabled by several faster, more robust technologies: 5G/CBRS and Wi-Fi to augment existing wireless systems and create fully connected buildings; edge networking and data centers to collect data where it’s created and combine it with AI to make smarter devices; and cybersecurity for governance and assessments, incident and event monitoring, endpoint detection and response, and VPN and firewall services.…Read More

Powerful training LMS at no charge

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Edified is offering it’s powerful training LMS at no charge to any educational institution through the end of the school year. We have added training courses to help teachers record their lessons to be delivered remotely. These include Zoom, Google Hangouts, Snag-it, SMART and more. Simply follow this link to fill out a short form to get started!

If you are interested in gaining access to Edified you can request access here.

Tools For Learner Productivity
Relevant courses covering the educational hardware and software of leading manufacturers
On-demand training that’s available any time, from anywhere, and from any device…Read More

Here’s my secret for better classroom management

At Flagstaff Academy in Colorado, I am lucky to head up the SmartLab facility and offer guided lessons to all K-5 classrooms. Couple this with 15 years of teaching technology, and you could say I’ve learned a thing or two about bringing technology into the classroom successfully.

Over the past few years, advancements in technology have greatly improved the classroom experience for both students and teachers alike. Tools like Chromebooks, SMART Boards, and even virtual reality headsets have allowed teachers to bring instruction to life and make learning more engaging.

But these tools are only as good as the classroom environment in which they exist. Truly successful education depends on teachers’ ability to create and maintain organized instructional environments that keep kids engaged and on task while encouraging the sharing of ideas and questions.…Read More

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