Software & Online
BOCLIPS FOR TEACHERS VIDEO PLATFORM
(www.boclips.com)
Boclips launched its new solution, Boclips for Teachers, a video platform that offers an extensive library of material to bring academic topics to life for all ages. Boclips for Teachers is a school-safe alternative to unfiltered consumer-focused video platforms, it’s easy to use and has no video copyright issues to worry about. By cutting and pasting links, educators can supplement lessons in any school subject with short video clips that capture and keep students’ attention.
CDI TECHNOLOGIES EDTECH-AS-A-SERVICE
(cditechnologies.com)
CDI Technologies has created “EdTechas-a-Service” to help schools launch their technology programs and reach their 1:1 initiatives faster. School districts enrolled in the program pay an annual flat fee per student or per seat. They select technologies and support services from CDI’s menu of options. EdTech-as-a-Service combines hardware, software and services into a single subscription. Options include refurbished devices, charging carts, interactive displays, and service options including planning, deployment, professional development support, and more.
CERTIPORT UNITY CERTIFIED USER: PROGRAMMING EXAM
(certiport.pearsonvue.com)
Certiport announced the new Unity Certified User: Programmer exam. The Unity Certified User (UCU) certification will cover the basics of C# programming within Unity to create interactivity in games, apps, AR/VR, and other digital experiences. The UCU certification is built for high schools, community colleges, vocational schools, and non-profit organizations offering game design, computer science, coding, digital media, and AR/VR courses. The entry-level credential allows individuals to get started on interactive content creation.
FOLLETT & HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT PARTNERSHIP EXPANSION
(www.follettlearning.com) & (www.hmhco.com)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Follett School Solutions announced an expanded partnership to deliver HMH’s K-12 learning solutions including curriculum, professional development and services to students, teachers and schools throughout the United Arab Emirates. Follett will serve as the exclusive distributor. Representatives from both organizations will be visiting schools throughout the UAE to provide comprehensive support and work hand-in-hand with education leaders to develop a vision for curriculum and services to drive growth for each institution.
GAGGLE AND GOOGLE FOR EDUCATION
(www.gaggle.net)
Gaggle announced that it has joined the Google for Education technology program as a Premier Partner. Gaggle supports schools and districts that use G Suite for Education by monitoring Google accounts for early warning signs of students in crisis. Gaggle’s student safety solution uses machine learning and human safety experts to review students’ use of online tools, alerting school officials when students show signs of self-harm, depression, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, cyberbullying, and more.
KAHOOT! SMART PRACTICE FEATURE
(kahoot.com)
Kahoot! has added a new feature to help students better retain knowledge they obtained in class, restudy difficult questions, and be able to retrieve those learnings many weeks after content was taught. Smart Practice can be accessed after playing a challenge where some questions were answered incorrectly. Then, the features engages in a step-by-step procedure over the course of up to 72 hours that helps learners remember the answers to the questions they missed.
NORVANIVEL
(norvanivel.com/product-category/learning-spaces/steamspace/)
NorvaNivel recently launched in America to transform education through space. The company designs and manufactures agile learning spaces that cater to students’ individual learning styles and promote engagement. Their forward-thinking spaces facilitate pedagogies that empower students with the skills for the future. This is achieved through lightweight, multipurpose and mobile educational furniture designs that allow all learners to reconfigure their learning space – for an activity or their own preference – in sixty seconds.
RENAISSANCE AND FRECKLE EDUCATION ACQUISITION
(www.renaissance.com) & (www.freckle.com)
Renaissance announced its acquisition of Freckle Education, a company that provides a differentiation platform for all four core subjects: math, social studies, science and English language arts. This acquisition will enhance educators’ opportunities to accelerate student learning, especially when it comes to much-needed critical math skills. Combining Freckle’s differentiated lessons with the insights educators gain with Renaissance’s Star Math K–12 assessment solution will help deepen the learning connection between teacher and student.
SECURLY & SCHOOLOGY INTEGRATION
(www.securly.com) & (www.schoology.com)
Securly announced an update to ChromeTools that makes Schoology class rosters instantly and seamlessly available to teachers. Through this integration, teachers can begin a class session by selecting a class to view thumbnails of all screens and access a variety of tools. ChromeTools enables teachers to have better classroom management allowing them to launch websites on student devices, keep students on task with limited browsing, monitor overall browsing activity, communicate with students and much more.
THE VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL
(www.vhslearning.org)
The Virtual High School (VHS Inc.), has launched four new flexible credit recovery courses available for registration now. Covering a variety of subjects, the flex courses are instructor-led and can be completed at a flexible pace. Students have up to 15 weeks to complete any of the following new courses: Personal Fitness Flex & US Government Flex for 0.5 credits, and Chemistry and Pre-Calculus Flex for one credit.
TYPING.COM
(www.typing.com)
Typing.com has announced three new curriculum series that are fully integrated into Typing.com and are completely free to all users. The series include Tech Readiness, an Elementary-level tech literacy program that educates students on computer use and online safety; Career Prep, a secondary program that features units on workplace professionalism, word processing and more; Coding Essentials covers coding lessons and basic programming skills that can be worked on at class or at home.
VERNIER GO DIRECT FORCE AND ACCELERATION SENSOR WITH SCRATCH CODING INTEGRATION
(scratch.mit.edu/vernier)
The Vernier Go Direct Force and Acceleration Sensor now integrates with the Scratch coding platform. Now, students are able to engage with scientific and computational concepts through hands-on project-based learning. Students can control animated characters and objects using several new coding blocks and commands. Students can also write code to use the sensor to make a video game controller to drive a spaceship or play a virtual drum kit by interacting with the sensor.
MAXCases (www.maxcases.com) launched their new MAXCases EdgeProtect and EdgeProtect Plus custom-fit cases. The EdgeProtect is made of impact-resistant, clear polycarbonate, surrounded by a shock-absorbing TPE edge. When closed for carrying, the intended fit of the EdgeProtect extends and overlaps the corners of the Chromebook or laptop for maximum protection. The EdgeProtect Plus two-piece case features the company’s new FrameGuard bottom, which evenly distributes vibrations across a wider area of the device, offering greater drop protection.
TOA Electronics (www.toaelectronicsusa.com) N-SP80 series SIP Video Intercom System offers flexible audio and video communications using standard SIP and Onvif protocols. It can integrate with external SIP compatible systems through a SIP server. Peer-to-Peer mode is allows for standalone system operations without SIP server environment. TOA’s N-8000SG SIP gateway software is available to integrate with TOA’s N-8000 IP intercom system. Other features include network video streaming and recording, two contact relay outputs, and two tamper switch inputs.
Mobile Edge (www.mobileedge.com) offers a large selection of messenger bags, backpacks, totes, and briefcases for people on the go. Trending bags include Core Gaming Backpack, ideal for most laptops and gaming consoles, making them popular with students, gamers, and professionals. The SmartPack Backpack is ergonomically designed and super lightweight. The Eco-Friendly Charcoal Laptop Messenger Bag features a padded laptop compartment, a front workstation for miscellaneous items, and a separate section for documents and accessories.
LEGO Education and FIRST unveiled two new, exclusive architecture-themed LEGO (education.lego.com/en-us) & (www.firstinspires.org) sets created for the 2019-2020 FIRST LEGO League Jr. and FIRST LEGO League season. FIRST LEGO League Jr. teams will use the BOOMTOWN BUILD Inspire Set, while FIRST LEGO League teams will use the CITY SHAPER Challenge set. LEGO Education also announced that its new LEGO Education SPIKE Prime with the new SPIKE Prime Competition Expansion Set can be used with LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 in FIRST LEGO League.
