During a recent Tech & Learning webinar, education and technology leaders discussed the importance of using an LMS as a consistent foundation for teaching and learning—both in and out of the classroom—for all students and a variety of learning experiences. 

“I often say that an LMS is the building for our online experiences, just like a gymnasium is the building for athletic experiences. You can have a lot of athletic equipment spread all across your campus, but it’s more effective to have it all in one place,” said Dr. Kecia Ray, education expert and the webinar’s host.  

Among the topics covered:

• Building a foundation for digital learning 
• Differentiating instruction in and out of the classroom 
• Enhancing the digital learning experience for young students 
• Engaging with students anytime, anywhere 

View the on-demand version here

Key Takeaways

All together now. “We surveyed parents after our pandemic response, and not surprisingly, they told us we had too many systems for our students and families,” said Janie Stach, director of IT at Grapevine-Colleyville ISD in Texas. The district subsequently decided to move to one common LMS for everyone, choosing Canvas Instructure. 

“Every decision we made, we made sure there were lots of voices in the room,” said Karsyn Jackson, lead IT coach for Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. “So not only was it district leadership, but also stakeholders, parents, and students, so that we were all aligned. We’re constantly working with our teachers to make sure that we’re meeting them where they are in terms of what they need.”

KISS Your LMS. When considering which LMS to choose, Trenton Goble, Instructure’s VP for K12 Strategy, had some basic advice:

- Keep it simple
- Build out templates, engaging teachers in the process
- Engage leaders at all levels

Goble also stressed the importance of having a consistent place for students to log into every day to see what they have to, and also a place to find support and receive feedback is critical for student success. And an LMS provides that.

“We want to really create an environment where we're setting people up for success,” he said. The goal for districts implementing an LMS to start with should be to get every teacher comfortable with the platform, and then as that happens, they can evolve up the ladder at their own pace.

Professional development. When the decision was made that online learning is not going away, the Grapevine-Colleyville leadership supported the Canvas LMS adoption fully so teachers were forced to buy in, said Jackson, which boosted participation in subsequent training. “If that is your goal then mandate it because that is a way to get buy-in and go through the right steps and implementation to make sure that you are changing the attitudes and behaviors of your teachers so that they have genuine, authentic buy-in and they enjoy using it.” 

“If you’re going to mandate something, you need to make sure that teachers understand why and how it’s going to benefit their students in the classroom,” said Goble.

The district first piloted the platform with teachers who were ready to use it, and then created Canvas Academy, which features district-aligned professional learning courses. The Canvas course creation guidelines, which are rooted in universal design, were the starting point, and that was adopted for the district with different targeted levels of skills to meet teachers where they were.

When a district can come in and create a template and develop best practices, it provides consistency, which is critical for teachers, parents, and students, said Goble. “I could see new teachers coming in and saying, ‘I feel hyper overwhelmed, I don't have the time or the energy to learn this,’ and when a district comes in and creates those templates and that structure, and creates consistency, it takes some of that anxiety away. And then over time, the teacher starts to feel more comfortable, and then they may want to customize some of the functionality.

“We're working continuously with teachers to grow those skills to make sure that we are constantly meeting them where they are when it comes to the needs that they have with Canvas,” said Jackson.

• Recent Tech & Learning Webinars

Since the pandemic began, most educators have learned just how important and helpful an LMS (learning management system) can be. But many educators don’t avail themselves of all the features with which most are equipped. And while it’s not necessary, or even advisable, to use every feature for every class, there are some LMS capabilities that are underutilized by many educators. 

Shawndra Shelton, district technology assistant at Barrington 220 School District in Illinois, shares how an educator can get the most out of an LMS. These tips can help save time and facilitate efficient student learning. 

Front-End Work Saves Time Overall  

The first thing to realize about an LMS is that the more time you put in at the beginning of the year building your LMS modules, the more time you’ll ultimately save later in the year. And once you put in that initial work building content it will serve you for years to come.  

“You can save your entire course in a resource area,” Shelton says, noting this feature is something many educators don’t fully utilize. “You don't have to recreate the wheel every time, right? You can just pull in all the things that you've done, and set them up for the next year.” 

The Course Module Is Just a Shell Until You Build It 

Many schools automatically generate an LMS module for each class but Shelton says some teachers don’t realize this is not a complete course module. 

“I think our teachers had a little bit of trouble wrapping their minds around the idea that the course that comes in from our student information system, that is created for them, it's just a shell,” she says. “It's more of a container for things that you want to add to as opposed to a creation in itself.”

An LMS Can Save Time With Grading 

If set up correctly, the right LMS can save a lot of time both in entering and tracking student grades and with the actual grading, for certain assignments. It can also integrate with MAP tests and can automatically grade multiple choice and short-answer tests, and create weighted averages for each student. While teachers still need to grade essays, some systems can help by searching essays for key words and can also offer feedback on which students read assignments or clicked on required links.  

“There are so many features that it gets overwhelming for educators -- they're busy trying to teach,” Shelton says. Her advice: “Choose a couple of features that you want to be really good at.” 

Get Help From Colleagues  

You can organize your LMS around a weekly schedule, by topic, or by learning units. Since there are so many options, it can help to look at how other teachers organize similar classes. 

As you learn new features, the Help function on most systems is a good resource, Shelton says, as are other teachers. “Finding forums and people you can speak with to get that peer counseling on ‘How are you using this?’” she says. “That's where, as educators, we get a lot of our ideas -- being able to share and share alike.”

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The best learning management systems, or LMS, for K-12 and higher ed can be the difference between a seamless learning experience and more hard work. These platforms can also help to make teaching from home far easier. The main goal of these online wonder tools is to streamline learning in schools so both students and teachers spend less energy on administrative tasks and more time focused on learning.

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A learning management system is a software platform for educators to manage courses online, which allows them to provide students a single location for all course content. This is essentially comprised of a document management component and a communication part.

An LMS allows a teacher to upload assignments, calendars, gradebooks, learning resources, videos and more. The educator can also create chat rooms and forums to communicate with students or allow them to add to a thread.

Some LMS platforms also offer online assessments such as tests and quizzes that  can also be graded online. Many also allow teachers and students to integrate video and images. 

A fast-growing platform is Google G Suite for Education in the form of Google Classroom , which features 100 million users. Thanks to how easy it is to uptake, it's an ideal LMS for K-12, in which there may be less digital infrastructure in place than, say, a university. It's also free, which fits into every K-12 budget. Check out our full review of Google Classroom .

Here are the best learning management systems for K-12 right now, in alphabetical order.

Best LMS 2020

Alma

Supplanting traditional student information and learning management systems with a modern platform, Alma unites student and learning data into an integrated, intuitive experience that empowers educators with increased visibility for data-driven decisions. The platform positions schools for progressive education strategies and models, while simultaneously recovering lost time and expense spread across multiple, disparate systems. Alma provides a flexible, scalable solution that can work for any school and any budget.

Alma combines a student information system (SIS) and learning management solution (LMS) into one streamlined, holistic platform, providing a cost-effective solution for schools and districts and access to timely, meaningful information for all stakeholders. Alma’s intuitive, modern design enables administrators, educators, parents, and students to quickly and easily understand their data and take action. Alma offers schools and districts a flexible technology infrastructure that seamlessly integrates with any system, such as other LMS and data analytics providers, for a custom-made solution.

Blackboard Classroom Unite

Blackboard Classroom is a comprehensive digital learning environment, with Unite specifically designed for K-12 schools and districts to increase student engagement, differentiate instruction, and boost teacher productivity and student achievement. This modern LMS incorporates both synchronous and asynchronous learning and collaboration tools to promote digital literacy and college and career readiness. It includes deep integration with productivity tools such as Google and Microsoft, as well as two-way SIS integration.

Responsive design and offline interactive access to support digital inclusion enable teaching and learning anytime, anywhere. The solution includes two-way integration with the district’s SIS to drive adoption. Real-time data analytics and visualization provide the district, schools, teachers, students, and parents with the information they need to improve student achievement.

D2L Brightspace

D2L’s Brightspace, a next-generation learning platform, helps schools and districts deliver personalized learning in a classroom or online. Created for the digital learner, Brightspace is cloud-based, runs on mobile devices, and offers rich multimedia to increase engagement, productivity, and knowledge retention. Brightspace makes it easy to design courses, create content, and grade assignments. Analytics reports track and deliver insights into the performance levels of departments, classes, or individual students.

D2L’s Brightspace makes it easy for teachers to reach every learner with an engaging and modern experience. Its broad video capabilities and support for game-based learning creates even more compelling ways to keep teachers and students connected and engaged.

Canvas

Canvas is an LMS which is specifically designed for all levels to help teachers use learning tools to enhance the education of students. Thanks to scaled curriculum and instruction tools it makes district level views of school performances clear and easy to see. While Canvas offers specific assessment tools to help get a clear picture of a child or class' progress, it also works to meet the social and emotional needs of the child.

The Canvas Parent App is a sub structure of this platform that allows parents or designated guardians to monitor their children’s education and progress at a glance. As part of that service the Canvas Parent app is available to all iOS and Android users to help parents of K–12 students stay informed on their children’s overall schooling. Canvas enhances the potential for parents to engage in their children’s education and empowers parents to take a greater role in their children’s academic work.

Canvas Parent is designed to lower the barriers to parental engagement. It allows parents who want information regarding their children’s education direct access to their assignments and progress. Using the Canvas Parent app, parents can view assignment descriptions, assignment grades, course grades, and course announcements, as well as set reminders for assignments and alerts for specific grade activity.

itslearning

itslearning’s K-12 LMS is a cloud-based, best-in-class solution for curriculum management and content integration. Its framework is designed in partnership with schools and districts to ensure the platform grows in functionality as it evolves with unique 21st-century elearning initiatives. itslearning connects all the instructional needs of educators, including curriculum development/planning; delivery of course and instructional activities; student assessment; and data analysis, including standards mastery reporting, via its powerful content recommendation engine that facilitates remediation and acceleration.

itslearning offers educators a full searchable content library complete with more than 1.7 million standards-aligned resources, 14,000 collections (organized sets of resources), and 35 full curriculum courses, including assessments, for grades K-12 in core subject areas, including science, mathematics, English language arts, and social studies.

Otus

Otus is more than just an LMS; it’s also an assessment platform (with 65+ question types and a 45K item bank), a data warehouse, and a collection of classroom management tools—all on one platform. As teachers, students, families, and school leaders use Otus, the platform generates and gathers data so that educators can efficiently analyze and take action with the data to best meet the needs of all learners.

Otus allows teachers and school administrators to view all student performance data (third-party tools/assessments and Otus-generated data) in one place and leverage that data to make its LMS features more powerful for learning. Most LMS platforms were designed for higher education but end up being marketed to K-12 schools. Otus was designed for K-12 teachers and students, which means faster adoption rates and better usage by everyone.

PowerSchool Learning

PowerSchool Learning is a learning management and classroom collaboration solution that empowers teachers with real-time student interaction inside and outside the classroom. Teachers can quickly create and deliver rich engaging lessons, electronically collect, annotate, and grade work, and easily collaborate and share with other educators. Schools can leverage the LMS to scale key initiatives, such as 1:1, BYOD, and PD, and streamline communication and collaboration throughout the community.

PowerSchool Learning is an LMS designed specifically for K-12 educators to create interactive lessons and scaffold instruction in highly visual, meaningful contexts. PowerSchool Learning gives students choice and a voice in demonstrating their learning through content creation, Web publishing, and project collaboration with peers and teachers.

Schoology

Schoology puts collaboration at the heart of the learning experience with an easy-to-use LMS. It connects the people, content, and systems that fuel education. Designed with users in mind, Schoology incorporates the best of modern interfaces for easy access to relevant information on any device. Millions of students, faculty, and administrators from more than 60,000 K-12 schools and universities worldwide use Schoology to advance what is possible in education.

Schoology understands that education is complex and requires coordination among many moving parts, both in and beyond the classroom. Consequently, its LMS connects everyone in a single, easy-to-use environment, transforming how they learn, communicate, and collaborate at every level. Recently, Schoology developed the first assessment management platform built directly into an LMS, enabling standards-aligned assessments to be created at the institution level and delivered within the normal course workflow for clearer views of student performance.

Twine

Twine is a combined SIS and LMS developed specifically for K-12 private schools to connect administrators, teachers, students, and parents to the information they need. With Twine, attendance, grades, schedules, assessments, communication, and more are located in one place for easy access. Using Edsby’s rich functionality as a base, Twine is purpose-built to fit the needs of teachers and students in private schools. Twine is simple to integrate in small to mid-size schools and requires no technical staff time to implement.

Twine is centralized so teachers can work together, administrators have insight into everything on the system, and teachers don’t have to do any setup. This allows for community-wide announcements, groups for extracurricular activities and clubs, a detailed student panorama where staff can coordinate on the needs of each student, personalized schedules, and more. As a single platform with a focus on small to medium-sized independent and private schools, Twine offers reasonable monthly pricing based on the size of a school’s student population.

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• Top 15 tools for self-paced learning
• How to use a document camera for remote learning

Flexible, feature-filled LMS facilitates focus on whole child

Pros: By using its Groups feature and integrating with Google Classroom, it's easy for teachers to see student progress and keep families informed.

Cons: The number of features and lack of design polish means teachers will have to tinker a lot ot get up and running.

Bottom Line: Being able to access lots of customizable data, group students beyond classes, and communicate easily with families gives teachers a clear picture of each student that they can share.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

The idea of personalized learning reaches an “inflection point” today as PowerSchool, a leading provider of student information systems (SIS), completes the acquisition of Schoology, a leading K-12 learning management system (LMS). In an interview with Tech&Learning on Friday, PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati and Schoology CEO and Co-Founder Jeremy Friedman discussed how the merger will give school administration, faculty, and parents more features and functions to manage student progress without disrupting their current workflow, instead making it more efficient. 

Schoology’s LMS will continue to function as a distinct product within PowerSchool Unified Classroom and will receive up to $100 million in research and development funding to deliver the current roadmap and new innovations. “In fact, the combination of resources will give customers even more customer support,” says Gulati, “This addition will all be part of the natural upgrade process.”

The company’s combined technologies are intended to enhance the ability of districts and educators too:

• Centralize key aspects of learning to get a complete view of every student, giving teachers all of the tools they need in one unified solution 

• Embed formative assessments to allow real-time feedback and adaptation of individual learning plans 

• Empower teachers with their own professional learning based on students’ instructional needs 

• Put parents, teachers, and students on the same team with one source of real-time collaboration and communication 

• Develop personal learning paths based on specific student needs and information across student information system (SIS), learning, assessment, special education, and teacher professional development enabling them to learn in their own way based on their learning styles 

Also announced today are plans for simplified workflows between Schoology and PowerSchool’s existing core solutions. The company will also continue to support the broader education technology ecosystem through open standards-based and out-of-the-box integrations with all SIS platforms, Google, Microsoft, and other third-party education tools, as well as providing more robust benchmark and summative assessment with PowerSchool Performance Matters, special education, and gradebook tools. PowerSchool is also committed to supporting industry-leading open standards, such as OneRoster and LTI from the IMS Global Learning Consortium and Ed-Fi. 

“Our customers have been telling us they are excited about our roadmap and have been asking us to deliver a more unified solution with additional capabilities. We are excited to provide that to them on a much greater scale with the investment we get by being part of PowerSchool, and some of the additional capabilities that our customers wanted will become a reality,” says Friedman. 

ANN BAUM, Instructional Technology Director at Gettysburg Area School District in Gettysburg, PA

Here’s how our district uses the itslearning learning management system to manage our commitment to providing personalized, blended, and online learning to our middle- and high-school classes.

Personalized and blended learning are quickly becoming educational standards in K–12, and our 3,000-student district was an early adopter of online learning as a key to creating a more customized experience for our students. At the high school in particular, we’ve implemented both a 1:1 initiative and an online learning approach that finds students learning 80 percent online and 20 percent in the traditional classroom setting.

Of course, any initiative of this size requires good organization, orchestration, and technological support. For us, that meant implementing a learning management system (LMS) that would serve not only as a central hub for all of our learning content and interaction but that also would integrate directly with Google Classroom. Here our top tips for successful LMS implementation:

• Kick it off with a pilot program. Don’t expect to throw everyone on the new LMS and have them pick it up and run with it. Instead, start with a few teachers and branch out from there. When I came on board a few years ago, we started using the enriched virtual model for a few pilot classes. For 12–18 months, the kids were online 80 percent of the time and in the physical classroom 20 percent of the time. We began onboarding with our high-school seniors, with the students coming in at the beginning of the course, and then we brought on the teacher handling the assessments. Teachers could also schedule certain days throughout the semester, but the majority of their work was done online and managed through the LMS. I helped those teachers build interactive, engaging online courses that could be completed almost totally off campus.

• Show them how to use it. We brought two classes of high-school students together in a combined class so they could learn more about how this new development would apply to them. Teachers discussed the collaborative nature of Google and how students could leverage those capabilities. One session, for example, focused on how to use Google to complete assignments and its role as a collaborative tool that works both in and out of the classroom environment. That was a valuable exercise, because we basically trained the students and teachers how to use Google with itslearning and set them up for success.

• Emphasize interactivity. We helped teachers build interactive, engaging online courses that could be delivered remotely, starting with advanced social studies and English classes. Using the LMS’s messaging feature, for example, students can have quick “touch-base” conversations with teachers on an as-needed basis. We prepared the kids to take online classes, but we used more of a blended approach that included teacher support.

• Develop coursework with the end in mind. Figure out what you want students to accomplish in a specific unit or lesson, and then work backwards to map out exactly how they should get there. Do this before asking students to jump into the system and get started on their work. Standards and objectives come first, so gather any outside resources that are needed (for linking). When working with teachers, I always tell them that once they’re ready to get into their modules and activities, they need to ask themselves questions such as: How am I going to create those? How am I going to set those up? What assessments am I going to build into the system?

• Create interesting learning spaces on campus. We created some interesting learning spaces at our high school, including some learning commons places. Some of our seniors took advantage of the option to not come in for second period. In other words, a lot of them still came in for first period, but then they worked in the learning commons area. That way, they could talk to a teacher in person if they needed to.

This helps students see that what it “looks like” to be in school can be online, offline, at home, or at a coffee shop.

Google Classroom

Simplify communication, collaboration, and document sharing

Pros: Easy-to-learn interface; integrates with lots of apps and websites; seamlessly share, collect, and grade G Suite documents.

Cons: Integration with student information services is still in development; no standards-based grading options.

Bottom Line: Google Classroom is a great way to manage and organize learning, though teachers who need more features may need to look elsewhere.

[Add Fun to Classroom Communications with Today's Top Pick]

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

The newest release of the itslearning learning management system (LMS) has improved the workflow for OneDrive and G Suite users, added more security features such as password protection for tests, and made text easier to read. It also adds new functionality for communication and for viewing event details.

The update improves users’ work experience with OneDrive by making the OneDrive file picker clearer and more accessible. In addition, the file picker now works better on larger and smaller devices, including mobile phones.

Users can now use the Google Single Sign-On from Google Apps or on a Chromebook, if it is enabled for the site. Users logged in to their Google account can access the LMS by going to the Google app drawer in their browser and clicking the itslearning icon.

Test 2.0 customers now have the added security option of using passwords to access tests, which means that a test can be embargoed until the password is shared. This will help districts, schools or organizations better manage centralized tests. This feature will be added to other versions of the test tool in the near future.

The new update enables students to start a conversation with group members directly from a group assignment. A new profile setting also allows administrators to have increased control of bulletin comments, prohibiting them whenever appropriate such as during online tests. It is now possible to prevent a single user, multiple users, hierarchy or a whole profile from adding new comments to bulletins in any course.

Gale, a Cengage company, is making enhancementsacross its portfolio of products, improving the functionality and user experience of its research tools to make its content more discoverable. 

Gale’s product portfolio enhancements include:

• Enhanced User Experience: helps users identify content relevant to their needs, encouraging critical evaluation and selection, allowing quick access to search tools and relevant content, fostering digital literacy. 
• Smarter Search Results: highlights important evaluative information to support successful user outcomes and helps users discover relevant content with new features like:
  The Explorer Panel: highlights “More Like This” document recommendations and other supporting information that users value without detracting from the reading experience. 
  Topic Finder: now given more prominence, encouraging further exploration and discovery of content. 
• User-Preferred Interface: described by nearly 800 students as “innovative and eye-catching.” Students preferred it over competitor interfaces based on the graphics and imagery, color scheme, layout and overall design. 
• Enhanced Accessibility Features:
  Sticky Toolbar: scrolls with users as they read and maintains easy access to valuable research aides like Citation Tools, Highlights and Notes, and integration with Google and Microsoft.
  Adjustable Text Size: allows users to change the text size of the document for increased visibility. The text size persists throughout the user’s session. Improved Readability: use of larger default font sizes, sans serif fonts, optimized screen width and optimal contrast ratios facilitate a better experience when reading on screen.  

For more information visit: www.gale.com/product-enhancements. 

HoverCam will demonstrate its full hardware and software learning platform for digital classrooms in Booth 2144 at the International Society for Technology in Education Conference (ISTE), June 23-26 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The company will feature its Pilot Series of digital teaching stations; next-gen document cameras; and the debut of ClassFusion, a presentation and learning management software platform for today's digital classrooms.

At ISTE 2019, attendees will have the opportunity to see a live demonstration of ClassFusion, HoverCam's new, comprehensive software platform for 21st-century, fully digital classrooms. ClassFusion integrates a classroom presentation system with a learning management system. Designed for wireless and interactive collaboration in a multidevice ecosystem classroom, ClassFusion features dynamic lesson and notes capture; a lesson plan builder with access to a database of over 4 million resources; teachers' calendars; space-saving, vector-based lesson recording to the cloud; whiteboarding with tools including handwriting and object recognition; online homework submission and student messaging; Hopscotch multisplit; and more.

The Pilot X, the mobile addition to HoverCam's Pilot series, is a tablet-based, battery-operated, wireless digital teaching station. The tablet can be charged while docked in the station or be removed to grant teachers more flexibility around the classroom.  Pilot X offers connectivity options similar to the Pilot 3integrated wireless digital teaching station, which will also be on display at ISTE 2019. Both models feature a Windows® PC and 13-megapixel document camera, with Pilot 3 including a 21-inch multi-touchscreen with wireless HD mirroring functionality in a mobile podium. The Pilot series' wireless transceivers beam the teaching station's screen and touch annotations to any interactive flat panel, projector, or TV in uncompressed 1080p HD resolution.

Also on display will be the latest models from the company's line of document cameras. HoverCam's Ultra 10 features a 7.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, true 4K HDMI output, and a 16-megapixel sensor, and Android computer. The built-in multitouch viewing monitor allows educators to see exactly what their students see without having to turn their backs. Users can connect a display, IFP, or projector — via wired HDMI or a wireless 4K transmitter without a PC — to record lessons, capture images, and show live video. The Solo 8 Plus is a lightweight and compact document camera with a 13-megapixel lens that captures images and live video with clarity up to 4K; supports 1080p full HD video recording; and provides connectivity with iPads®.

More information on HoverCam's full line of education solutions is available at thehovercam.com.

CYPHER LEARNING has announced it will be showcasing NEO, its learning management system (LMS) for schools and universities at ISTE 2019, in Philadelphia, between June 23-26.

Attendees can visit NEO in the expo hall at Booth 900, where the NEO team will provide attendees with insights on how to manage online classroom activities and showcase the newest features including drag and drop widgets, proctored assignments, and public profile pages. 

The drag and drop widgets allow users to choose from a library of built-in widgets to customize their dashboards, groups, classes, or learning paths. 

Proctored assignments allow teachers to add restrictions to assignments, so that students can only access them if certain conditions are met, such as entering an access code, if the start time of the assignment has been reached, and/or if the student is accessing an assignment from a specific IP address.

The new public profile pages allow users to share their NEO profiles with the public and pass on their achievements in learning.

NEO was recently selected as the winner of the “General Classroom Resources” category in the UK’s Education Resources Awards 2019. The platform was also named the #1 LMS for Higher Education in 2019 by the Craig Weiss Group.

To find out more, visit the NEO team at Booth 900 in the expo hall or go to www.neolms.com

itslearning, announced today that Durango School District R-9 has selected the itslearning teaching and learning platform to deliver personalized, competency-based learning districtwide.

The district began its search for an LMS in 2017, intending to find a partner that would not only support the district’s commitment to students' owning their learning, but would also track and report on student progress and achievement.

During 2018, the district focused on making personalized learning paths accessible by putting its standards, performance indicators, scoring rubrics, and curriculum resources in one central location, the itslearning platform.

“Now our teachers will be able to easily create and centrally house individual learning plans through a variety of optional curriculum-aligned learning resources that will ultimately better facilitate the academic success of our students,” said Leanne Garcia, Durango’s director of curriculum and assessment. 

IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS) announced today the first IMS Global members to achieve certification for LTI Advantage.

LTI Advantage is an interoperability standard for learning platforms and application integration. It provides educational institutions and edtech suppliers with a core integration strategy for enabling plug-and-play interoperability that improves usability and secures data. 

Blackboard, Instructure, Moodle, and Sakai learning management platforms are the first organizations to pass IMS certification requirements for all components of LTI Advantage—Assignment and Grade Services, Deep Linking, and Names and Role Provisioning Services. The LTI Advantage designation means that a product has successfully implemented and achieved IMS certification for the latest version of the core Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) standard, which includes an upgraded security model, and all three extensions. 

“LTI Advantage represents an unprecedented collaboration among the leading learning platform, tool, and application suppliers to respond to requirements from institutional leaders for a more secure, reliable, and cost-effective way to integrate learning technology,” said Dr. Rob Abel, chief executive officer, IMS Global Learning Consortium. “Thanks to Blackboard, Instructure, Moodle, and Sakai for their leadership accelerating the transition to LTI Advantage as the new model for extending the digital learning ecosystem.”

On 7 February 2019, at the IMS Quarterly Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, there will be a dedicated LTI Advantage boot camp offering implementation guidance and assistance to all solutions providers working toward IMS certification for LTI Advantage. Another intensive boot camp will take place on 22 May 2019, at the Learning Impact Leadership Institute in San Diego, California.

IMS offers an Alliance membership for educational technology providers that want to implement certified-LTI Advantage now. To facilitate adoption, IMS has developed an innovative test reference implementation for learning tool providers to build out and test their deployment. LTI Advantage will be available to non-IMS members upon its public release.

For more information on LTI Advantage go to www.imsglobal.org/TakeAdvantage. 

Boxlight Corporation (Nasdaq: BOXL) (“Boxlight”) today announced two partnerships with Critical Links and Modern Robotics, Inc.

Critical Links, provider of microcloud solutions for e-learning environments, will deliver Mimio MicroCloud, a complete cloud-enabled learning environment for any classroom in the world regardless of Internet connectivity or infrastructure limitations.  Previewed at Bett Show 2019 in London, the C3-based Mimio Micro-Cloud will provide secure in-classroom WiFi access to curriculum, content, and a Learning Management System.

The Mimio MicroCloud will also underpin the company’s newest STEM, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) program developed by Modern Robotics, Inc. – MyBot. The educational robotics program will help students from pre-school to University levels develop skills and a passion for programming and robotics.

Cerego today announced it is working with BBC Bitesize, a free online study resource for students in the United Kingdom. BBC Bitesize will integrate Cerego’s learning platform within its online guides for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) courses, delivering an interactive and personalized method for students to learn.

Cerego’s AI-driven learning platform and data insights aim to simultaneously educate students and measure their performance, while also providing students with access to their own learning data. Cerego’s predictive analytics allow moderators to analyze each student's interactions to help encourage more efficient study habits and provide relevant content based on what they already understand and what they need to review, as opposed to following a predetermined workflow. 

Cerego is used by over 1,000 educational institutions in the United States with plans to continue expanding offerings internationally. 

In booth 1119 at the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), Jan. 27-30 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, HoverCam will showcase its Pilot Series of digital teaching stations; wireless Ultra 10 document camera; and ClassFusion, a classroom presentation and learning management system.

At FETC 2019, HoverCam will showcase the  Pilot 3, the fully integrated wireless digital podium as a teaching station. The Pilot 3 combines a Windows PC, 13-megapixel document camera, and 21-inch multi-touchscreen with wireless HD mirroring functionality in a mobile podium, while the wireless transceiver sends the podium's screen and touch annotations to any interactive flat panel, projector or TV in uncompressed 1080p HD resolution.

Also during the show at its booth, HoverCam will be showing the Pilot X, the next addition to the Pilot family. Offering connectivity options similar to the Pilot 3, the Pilot X is a tablet-based, battery-operated wireless digital teaching station that's designed for ultramobility. 

HoverCam's Ultra 10 is a  document camera, featuring a 7.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, true 4K HDMI output, 16-megapixel sensor, and driven by an Android computer. The built-in multitouch viewing monitor allows educators to see what their students see without having to turn their backs. Users can connect a display, IFP, or projector — via wired HDMI or an optional wireless 4K transmitter without a PC — to record lessons, capture images, and show live video.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to see a demonstration of ClassFusion, HoverCam's software for the digital classroom. ClassFusion integrates a classroom presentation system with a learning management system designed for wireless and interactive collaboration. ClassFusion features dynamic lesson and notes capture; lesson plan builder with access to a database of over 4 million resources matched to curriculum; teachers' calendars;  vector-based lesson recording to the cloud;  whiteboarding with smart tools including handwriting and object recognition; online homework submission and student messaging; Hopscotch multisplit; and more.

More information on HoverCam's full line of education solutions is available at thehovercam.com.

itslearning, has been named an approved provider by the Washington Learning Source (WLS) program, a statewide program developed to provide a place for Washington districts to choose products and services that meet their needs efficiently. 

The company recently publicized its collaboration with Google for Education, delivering the first phase of a comprehensive technology roadmap and announced wins in France for 338,000 in 600 schools, as well as major districts in Florida, Arkansas, and Texas.

In addition to connecting a class or district's digital solutions under a single platform, itslearning enables its network of global educators and administrators to share curriculum resources including nearly 2 million free and open resources and 14,000+ playlists that are included as part of the LMS. Teachers can also share best practices and personal experiences.

For students, collaboration extends to their coursework, classroom and beyond, allowing them to participate in discussions, gain new perspectives, and work together for deeper understanding. 

Without leaving the itslearning LMS platform, Washington’s educators will also find it easier to synchronize their preferred cloud service with their itslearning accounts and cloud apps.

For more information, visit https://itslearning.com/us/

Faria Education Group Limited through its wholly owned subsidiary ManageBac, has acquired Rubicon, the provider of Atlas curriculum management, from Quad Partners.

Faria will continue to support schools on the Atlas platform with no changes to the service, its pricing, or customer support.

[Turnitin Acquires Gradescope]

Over the coming year, Faria will deliver a new version of Atlas, combining the curriculum planning functions that Atlas is known for with the learning management (LMS) functions of ManageBac. This will include assessment and reporting, service learning, and project-based learning to offer schools a fully integrated curriculum-first learning platform. Schools will have the option of upgrading to the new version of Atlas with full control over timing.

Managing assignments in Google Classroom, especially when providing feedback on student work, has typically been pretty awesome but a bit clunky and bumpy. Classroom has rolled out a new look with some pretty great features. Giving students feedback on their work is one area where the new Classroom has really knocked it out of the park. Check out how in the video above!

[To LMS or Not To LMS: 3 Questions To Consider]

cross posted at busedcrev.blogspot.com

Sean Crevier is a Technology Integration Coach and Business Teacher at Vernon Hills High School in Illinois. He is a TEDx Organizer, Chrome Classroom Certified, FlipClass Certified, and Google Certified Teacher. Read more at busedcrev.blogspot.com.

This past week the incredible Alan November and I delivered mini keynotes for the Rethink Learning Summit hosted by ItsLearning. Huge thanks to Noah Geisel (@senorg) for recording both keynotes. In the recording, you will first be blown away by Alan November‘s keynote, which would motivate any teacher to see the powerful ways students learn with technology. He also provides insights about the Internet of Things. I follow with my talk about transforming classrooms into thriving learning communities with a Learning Management System (LMS). Below, I’ve shared my slides and the recording.

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.

Wayne Township Metropolitan School District and itslearning have been awarded a bronze medal in the 2018 IMS Global Consortium’s Learning Impact Awards program. Their entry in the Established Projects Category, Using LMS Interoperability to Power and Drive Student-Centered Learning, was recognized at this year’s annual Learning Impact Leadership Institute held in Baltimore, Maryland.

[IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces 1EdTech Initiative]

An expert panel of judges used eight criteria for determining the learning impact of entries. Out of the 26 projects that competed as finalists in this year’s competition, eight medalists were selected for their outstanding achievement. The award aligned to the theme Evolution to Next Generation Digital Learning Environments and was chosen among applications and platforms to manage the creation and delivery of learning experiences, including personalization, accessibility and mobility.

In their submission to the awards program, Wayne Township and itslearning highlighted five key goals of their LMS partnership, the Wayne Learning Hub: Curated Resources; Digital Community; Safe, Collaborative Learning Spaces; Individual Learning Paths; and Readily Available Access.

Innovative educators know they have to update classroom management strategies in the modern classroom. Here are twelve strategies to do just that.
[May take a moment to load]

[The Key to Differentiated Learning - Develop Student Experts]

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has chosen D2L’s Brightspace as the Learning Management System (LMS) for ISTE U, which offers online courses on digital citizenship, computational thinking, artificial intelligence, personalized learning and more.

[FOUR TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL LEARNING INITIATIVE]

ISTE sets standards and best practices for using educational technology in learning from kindergarten through university in countries all over the world through their ISTE Standards for learning, teaching and leading with technology.

More information about learning opportunities with ISTE can be found here: https://www.iste.org/learn/professional-learning

Lenovo today launched LanSchool Air, a cloud-based classroom orchestration platform that aims to help teachers keep students engaged in a safe online environment. Designed to meet the instructional needs of connected classrooms, LanSchool Air minimizes digital distractions, keeps students focused and on track and increases collaboration in the classroom

[Make the Most of Your Budget with These Great Products: Makerspace Product Roundup 2018]

LanSchool Air is available for use in single classrooms as well as entire school districts. Compatible with a Google Classroom™ account, the subscription-based platform can support a variety of tasks:

• Push Website allows teachers to instantly launch the same webpage on every classroom device, eliminating the need to retype, correct or walk around to help students navigate to the correct URL.
• Thumbnail Monitoring gives teachers thumbnail views of all student screens, easily seeing what students are working on and identify when additional assistance is required.
• Web Limiting keeps students on task by limiting web browsing to approved websites through whitelisting and by blocking unwanted websites via blacklisting.
• Blank Screens empowers teachers to blank all student screens, and lockdown keyboards and mice, with one click.
• Snapshot lets instructors take screenshots of student screens, whether to showcase great work or share activities during parent-teacher conferences.

A valid Google Classroom™ account is required to start a free 30-day trial of LanSchool Air. Once Google Classroom™ integrates with LanSchool Air, all updates made within Google Classroom automatically sync to the classroom orchestration platform.

For more information and to start a free trial, visit www.lanschoolair.com.

D2L has launched its Emerald Release, the newest version of its Brightspace LMS.

Social features include the Activity Feed, which lets users embed social content like TEDx or YouTube videos and images inline. Faculty and teachers can also upload materials from OneDrive and Google Drive and take advantage of smart formatting options to draw attention to important information, send notifications to students and pin posts to keep essential items front and center.

[Apple, Google, & Microsoft... Oh My! Which is Best for Your School?]

The Emerald Release also features additional socially driven capabilities:

• A Professional Learning offering for K-12 and a Professional Development offering for Higher Education
• A new content experience that provides users an intuitive way to create lessons aligned to standards and expectations for K12
• Advanced analytics tools allow educators access to student data quickly and more efficiently through daily differentials

IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS) announced that 19 educational technology suppliers have committed to early LTI Advantage adoption and IMS certification.

[IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces 1EdTech Initiative]

The organizations that have joined the LTI Advantage early adopter program to date are AEFIS, Blackboard, Cengage, D2L, Edmentum, eLumen, GoReact, Gradescope, Hoonuit, Instructure (Canvas), Kaltura, McGraw-Hill Education, Perusall, Realizit, RedShelf, SAFARI Montage, VitalSource/Ingram, Voicethread, and YouSeeU.LTI Advantage streamlines key classroom management tasks and making it easier to integrate multiple sources of digital tools and content. It leverages IMS Global’s new Security Framework, which aligns with industry best practices for learner privacy and data security.

Educational technology providers who want to learn more about joining the early adoption program and IMS members who want to test LTI Advantage certification should contact ltiadvantage@imsglobal.org.For more information on LTI Advantage go to www.imsglobal.org/TakeAdvantage.

IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the non-profit collaborative supporting educational technology innovation, impact and interoperability announced that it is launching the One EdTech Ecosystem™ (1EdTech™) initiative, a collaboration between school districts and suppliers that will make it easier for school districts to make digital resources and applications available to teachers and students.

[Apple, Google, & Microsoft... Oh My! Which is Best for Your School?]

1EdTech consists of a secure trusted cloud-based registry and connection service that will enable any educational technology provider to connect to any school district’s learning platform, portal, or student system using the IMS OneRoster standard. Once a participant organization has integrated they will be able to connect to any of the institutions or suppliers on the other side. 1EdTech will be free to all IMS member organizations that have OneRoster certified products.

A list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding 1EdTech is available on the 1EdTech website.

This week the #NYCSchoolsTech Team brought innovative educators a chance to hear directly from “The Big Three: Apple, Google, and Microsoft” (listed alphabetically). During this day-long event at state-of-the-art #NYCSchoolsTech center, educators from across the city came together to learn first-hand which is best for their schools.

School Platform Preference

#NYCSchoolsTech leader JoJo Farrell got the day started by asking educators to stand up if they were primarily:

A) Apple school.
B) Google school.
C) Microsoft school.

Who do you think the winner was? Watch this video to find out.

Read more.

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.

Apple had an event focused on education on March 27, and if anything it clarified Apple's place in the EDU market. With that, I think it's worth taking a look at where each of the three big companies stands in regards to Ed.

Apple

Recommended Device: IPad

Other Possible Devices: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air

Device Management Options: Apple School Manager (Apple Ids), Classroom (classroom management), Third Parties such as AirWatch (overall management)

Device Insurance: 2 year Apple Care

Has a software admin panel: No

Email Service: Does not have one that can be set up in a private domain for schools

LMS Style Tool: School work

Office Suite: Pages, Keynote, Numbers

Does it Support Others: Google And Microsoft apps can be native to the device

Browser: Safari, Chrome, Other 3rd Parties

Native Creation Apps: iMovie (video), Clips (video) GarageBand (Audio)

Coding Curriculum: Swift Coding App

Outside Developers Interest Level: High

• IPad is a leading creativity tool with access to a camera, creative apps, and everyone can create
• High developer interest with access to the consumer side of IOS users
• Easy to connect 3rd party blue tooth devices like coding robots
• Had both native video and audio creation apps
• Natively supports all three office suites
• Easiest access to coding curriculum

Negatives

• Price
• Overall Device Management is still cumbersome
• Insurance is less than others
• No admin panel
• No email service
• Office Suite has the lowest level of adoption

Google

Recommended Device: Partner (Acer, Asus, Samsung, Dell, others) Chromebooks

Other Possible Devices: Chrome Tablets

Device Management Options: All management is done through the Google Admin Panel

Device Insurance: a combination of partner warranty and private insurance

Has a software admin panel: Yes

Email Service: Gmail

LMS Style Tool: Classroom

Office Suite: Docs, Slides, Sheets

Does it Support Others: Microsoft has Chrome Apps, Apple has to be in the browser

Browser: Chrome

Native Creation Apps: Drawing (Interactive Canvas), Sites (Websites)

Coding Curriculum: Google CS First

Outside Developers Interest: Moderate

• The ease and comfort of Google’s collaboration workflow is better than competitors
• Email option makes it an option as an email provider
• Lots of device options through partners
• Ease of Management: Devices, Apps, and Users are easy to manage from the same tool
• Developers are developing add-ons, apps, and extensions to add to existing Google products
• Has native support of Microsoft apps

Negatives

• Needs internet access to function fully
• Can be a tough road to connect and use Bluetooth devices such as coding robots
• Depends on web-based 3rd parties for things like video and audio creation (such as WeVideo and Soundtrap)
• Finding the best avenue for a task is not always straightforward because of the vast scope and differences between apps, extensions, add-ons, and Android
• Android experience still needs improvement

Microsoft

Recommended Device: Partner (Acer, Asus, HP,, Dell, others) laptops

Other Possible Devices: Surface Tablets, Surface Laptops

Device Management Options: Third Party Management Software like LanDesk

Device Insurance: a combination of partner warranty and private insurance

Has a software admin panel: Yes for software

Email Service: Outlook

LMS Style Tool: Class Notebook, Teams

Office Suite: Word, PowerPoint, Excel

Does it Support Others: You can Access Both from Browser

Browser: Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Others

Native Creation Apps: Sway (Interactive Canvas)

Coding Curriculum: Minecraft

Outside Developers Interest: Low

• Has the office suite with biggest market share and the one that people are used to
• Uses most complete email client Outlook
• Lots of device options through partners
• LMS style platform (Class Notebook) allows work to be done within platform rather than just turned in through the platform

Negatives

• Developer interest is VERY low. Many tasks will either require expensive software or need to be web-based
• Can be a tough road to connect and use Bluetooth devices such as coding robots
• The best avenue for creation is web-based 3rd parties for things like video and audio creation (such as WeVideo and Soundtrap)
• There is little native innovation as most tools are either purchased or direct copies of another company.
• The recommended devices (partner laptops) can have wildly different specs
• The boot time on recommended devices can be slow
• Lms style platform has a high entry point with a major need for PD
• The entry point into coding (Minecraft) has a limited scope
• 365 only had one native creative app (sway)

FreshGrade

A fresh way to capture, document, and share student learning

[Free Classroom Collaboration Tool Earns Educator Enthusiasm]

Pros: Teachers can use mobile devices to document student learning and share information instantly with parents and students.

Cons: Lacks some tools for creation, like drawing tools and voice recording.

Bottom Line: Multimedia documentation tools help communicate learning and expand assessment, and the addition of a gradebook sets this tool apart; still, student experience could use some polish.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

Otus

Free LMS feels rich in offering data-driven differentiated instruction

Pros: Extensive features and options for classroom management rival those of many paid systems.

Cons: Laborious data entry and high learning curve may intimidate some teachers.

Bottom Line: This teacher-created site solves more problems than it causes, but it will take some up-front professional development to take full advantage.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

WeVideo, provider of video creation solutions for education, today announced the integration of WeVideo for Schools with Learning Management Systems Canvas and Schoology. Integration is available at no additional cost to paid WeVideo for Schools license-holders.

Features include:

• Single sign-on means no additional passwords needed to get to WeVideo from the LMS
• Video creation is always within convenient reach for teachers and students
• WeVideo works with LMS classroom management tools such as assignments, messaging, submissions, and grading

Support for Canvas and Schoology is available now to WeVideo for Schools license-holders. WeVideo will facilitate the integration with the existing LMS, free of charge. For more information and to request WeVideo integration with Canvas or Schoology, contact the WeVideo for Schools support team.

Schools and districts can now try the solution as part of WeVideo’s no-cost structured pilot program. Schools that start a free, 90-day pilot program by March 15th, 2018 are eligible to save 25% on WeVideo for Schools when the school or district purchases 500 or more licenses by June 30, 2018. Visit here for details.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

Chalkup

Elegant LMS tool keeps classroom conversation, collaboration going

Pros: Courses organized well to foster collaboration and student engagement.

Cons: Hands-on, experiment-based, and/or math courses may find difficulty transitioning, but could benefit greatly.

Bottom Line: The rare LMS designed for ease of use, and it doesn't sacrifice functionality with tons of opportunities to maximize learning, collaboration, and organization.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

Blackboard Inc. today announced a new collaboration with VitalSource, provider of “Inclusive Access.”

The collaboration provides students with access to course materials in an Inclusive Access model within Blackboard’s leading learning management systems (LMS), Blackboard Learn and Moodlerooms. The collaboration also makes VitalSource’s extensive catalog of digital textbooks and publisher learning platforms available, while also lowering the cost of course materials for students.

Features include:

• Delivering materials directly in the LMS
• Providing students with the ability to purchase digital course materials at a significantly lower cost
• Ensuring that all students automatically have access to the correct course content on or before the first day of class

VitalSource provides students and educators access to the catalog of digital learning materials which are consumed on Bookshelf, the company’s exclusive eTextbook platform. All content consumed in Bookshelf can be integrated into courses within Blackboard Learn or Moodlerooms.

The integration is expected to be available for clients of both companies in the U.S. in spring 2018.

A learning management system (LMS) should support every aspect of your district’s digital infrastructure. How do you choose an LMS that will best fit the unique needs of your school or district? Find out what these educators have to say about why they chose their LMS and how it’s working in their context.

LMS: itslearning

District: The Evansville (IN) Vanderburgh School Corporation (37 schools, 1,600 educators, and 23,000 students)

What they love about their LMS: Tim Wilhelmus, innovation, curriculum, and technology specialist, says itslearning serves as a centralized hub and digital playground for teachers and students. The platform offers Google integration and its flexible architecture allows teachers to bring in “outside” Web tools and other functionalities, thus expanding the LMS and letting it “live outside of the itslearning space.” Wilhelmus particularly likes itslearning’s planner and pages features. The fact that it can be used with primary grades is also important for this K–12 district.

LMS: D2L

District: The District School Board of Niagara in Ontario, Canada (109 schools, 3,000 educators, 36,000 students)

What they love about their LMS: Robert Dunlop, blended learning resource teacher, says, “we love that we have a platform that can grow along with the students and their needs,” documenting student learning with D2L Portfolio from kindergarten through grade 12. Primary teachers can keep parents informed and extend learning at home, while middle school teachers love that D2L provides assessment tools and houses learning materials that are accessible to students on any device. “In high school,” Dunlop says, “we use D2L for both blended learning and e-learning. With a district-wide voluntary adoption rate over 80 percent and improved workflow, Dunlop says, “D2L has changed the way that teachers teach … and many could not imagine not using D2L now.”

LMS: Canvas

District: Springfield (MO) Public Schools (54 buildings, 2,500 educators, 25,000 students)

What they love about their LMS: In a pilot, Springfield students unanimously chose Canvas for its clean design, mobile device capability, and user interface. “Canvas is so easy, even our teachers can use it!” one student quipped. The district uses Canvas for everything from their online school, Launch, to credit recovery, curriculum, digital libraries, professional development, and student courses. “Canvas is one simple package with all the tools and resources that a teacher needs. It’s an all-in-one, out-of-the-box solution,” says director for blended learning Dr. Nichole Lemmon.

LMS: Edsby

District: The Greater Essex County District School Board in Windsor, Ontario, Canada (70 schools, 36,000 students, 4,700 employees)

What they love about their LMS: John Howitt, Superintendent of Education, says Edsby is a K–12 solution “with menus and workflows simple enough for kindergarten but robust enough for senior students.” Integration with their existing SIS was a key factor. One key to success, Howitt says, has been to “limit the expectations of use.” While everyone uses Edsby for attendance and group communication, teachers in this district with a robust infrastructure to support BYOD use the many other available features at their discretion. This “authentic implementation model” means that the use of Edsby in each classroom and school will look different. “As the user(s) become more comfortable with Edsby,” Howitt says, “they grow into other uses.”

LMS: PowerSchool

District: Community (IL) School District 300 (27 schools, over 20,000 students, over 1,200 educators)

What they love about their LMS: “By creating an onboarding curriculum to orient students to the Chromebook and Google apps as well as systems for obtaining support, we were able to have students fully engaged in PowerSchool learning activities such as discussions, polls, and formative assessments during the second week of school,” says director of digital literacy and innovation Anne Pasco. Since they began the rollout in 2016, they’ve seen “an increase in teacher-to-student feedback, differentiated learning activities, student ownership of learning, and collaborative teacher innovation.” Pasco also appreciates PowerSchool’s intuitive interface, ease of use for learning analytics, and focus on K–12 environments.

LMS: Blackboard

District: Alpena (MI) Public Schools (9 schools, 3,800 students, and 195 educators serving over a 600-square-mile area)

What they love about their LMS: “This is our first year using Blackboard Classroom,” says superintendent Dr. John R. VanWagoner II. “Our staff looked at multiple LMSs and found Blackboard Classroom to be easy to navigate, yet comprehensive enough to do what we want. This includes the ability to adapt it to a competency-based education platform. Our junior high and high school students take over 900 online classes per year and Blackboard Classroom will allow us to be less dependent on vendors and empower our own teachers to blend their classrooms or offer 100 percent online courses.”

LMS: Otus

District: North Shore (IL) School District 112 (12 schools, 339 educators, 4,076 students)

What they love about their LMS: Eighth-grade science teacher Ida Fiore says, “After reviewing many different products, I felt Otus was the best tool to successfully integrate and incorporate all my instructional materials and resources into one location for my students.” Otus, with its graphically pleasing and intuitive interface, is “essentially the Apple version of LMSs.” Fiore says her students have become more organized learners with Otus. “Their executive functioning skills have improved significantly. Otus encourages students to be creative and active learners by allowing them focused access to instructional resources. As a result, they are also better researchers who work to critically evaluate the quality of various content. The Otus system has also increased learning accountability as my students are required to independently manage their own learning activities.”

itslearning today announced that Little Rock School District (LRSD) has chosen itslearning as its new learning management system (LMS).

In Arkansas, schools must have class for 178 days each school year, but the state can waive that number on a case-by-case basis. In this instance, LRSD received a waiver for five days due to the itslearning LMS features that support learning away from schools.

Features include:

• Integrations to content providers like Infinite Campus and Knovation as well as cloud apps like G-suite and Microsoft Office
• Streamlined workflows for common daily tasks such as creating assignments and assessments, providing feedback to students and grading
• Rich messaging and fully mobile apps

INDIANA CHOOSES CANVAS

More than 70 K–12 districts in Indiana have signed on with Instructure (instructure.com) in the last five months. Indiana now has 80 school districts using the Canvas learning management system. “Canvas has really put simplicity back in education by streamlining every step of the learning process on its platform,” says Donald Chase, director of technology at Southwest Allen County Schools. “It’s important for us to integrate technology in a way that enhances, and doesn’t disrupt, the learning experience, and our teachers and students have responded positively to Canvas.” With its modern functionality and user-friendly design, Canvas makes it easy for teachers to create digital assignments, to communicate with students and parents through group messaging, and even to live-stream lectures.

GROWING DISTRICT CHOOSES CONTROLLER-LESS NETWORKING

Lamar County (MS) School District, the state’s fastest-growing district, needed to provide reliable wireless connectivity to all schools. It selected Aerohive’s (aerohive.com) controller-less networking solutions to provide resilient wifi access to 10,000 students and 1,300 faculty members across 15 schools. With Aerohive, the district can now support its 1:1 initiative. “When you make a significant technology investment, it removes a lot of pressure from the IT team when you have a solution partner that is responsive and engaged,” says Ross Randall, director of technology. “As one of the first Aerohive customers to use 802.11ac access points, we took on some risk, but the rewards have been outstanding and far outweighed any hiccups we encountered.”

NC GOES DIGITAL

North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury School System expanded its partnership with Discovery Education (discoveryeducation.com) in support of its transition to digital learning environments. In the latest phase, the district purchased Math Techbook for its middle and high schools, as well as the award-winning Science Techbook for high-school science instruction. Both products are aligned to standards and include robust professional development. “Discovery Education’s dynamic digital resources and professional development are helping our teachers change the culture of instruction and are ensuring our students are fully engaged, thinking critically, and collaborating with other students to apply real-world meaning to their learning,” says Dr. Lynn Moody, superintendent.

SCHOOLS PERSONALIZE WITH LMS

Seven districts recently adopted Schoology’s (schoology.com) learning management system because it allows teachers to personalize education, increases collaboration among faculty, and connects students and educators outside of the classroom. The districts are Seattle (WA) Public Schools, Boulder Valley (CO) School District, West Aurora (IL) School District 129, Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Princeton (NJ) Day School, New Legacy Charter High School in Aurora, Colorado, and Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. In addition to connecting a class or district’s digital solutions under a single platform, Schoology enables its network of educators and administrators to share curriculum, resources, best practices, and personal experiences to create better educational outcomes. For students, this collaboration extends to their coursework, classroom and beyond.

WI-FI ON THE GO

Miami-Dade County (FL) Public Schools, the country’s fourth largest school district, purchased the newest offering from Kajeet (kajeet.net)—the Kajeet SmartBus solution—for its WiFi-on-the-Go program. “Advanced technology has made Internet connectivity in the classroom fundamental to teaching and learning,” says Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “But connectivity in non-traditional spaces is becoming increasingly relevant. Our students will benefit from WiFi-on-the-Go, transforming school buses into vehicles for learning and expanding opportunities to learn before and beyond the bell.” With Kajeet SmartBus, districts can purchase data in bulk from their choice of the two leading 4G LTE wireless broadband networks in the nation. The data pool is placed in the account and available for use across all buses. Data does not expire and rolls forward each month.

FILTERING COMPANY OFFERS TX DISCOUNTS

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) awarded a Cooperative Contract to ContentKeeper (contentkeeper.com), a Web filtering and reporting company. Through this new partnership, Texas K–12 districts can purchase ContentKeeper products at a discounted price and will save time by issuing purchase orders directly to DIR vendors, as the DIR contracts have already completed the procurement process. That means districts can quickly implement ContentKeeper Mobile to keep students safe when using any mobile device both on and off campus. With ContentKeeper, districts can manage learning on devices in 1:1 and BYOD programs, and if a student goes astray districts have the data needed to get the student back on task.

NC AND AZ BLEND THEIR LEARNING

Two large districts recently selected Edgenuity (edgenuity.com) for their primary online and blended learning solution: Charlotte-Mecklenberg (NC) Schools (CMS) and Phoenix Union (AZ) High School District. At Charlotte-Mecklenberg, Edgenuity will provide access to its full curriculum and offer blended learning, instructional services, initial credit, and credit recovery to the district’s 78 secondary schools. “CMS has always been a leader in online learning and we believe that all students should have access to the best education available anywhere,” says Hope Kohl, director of virtual learning and media services for the district. “Working with Edgenuity, we know that we will be maximizing the impact of our online and blended learning program and we look forward to seeing significant improvement in student performance this year.” At Phoenix Union, Edgenuity will provide access to its full curriculum and offer blended learning and blended learning services to the district’s 16 schools and 27,000 students. “Phoenix Union chose Edgenuity because we needed a comprehensive online and blended learning solution to provide extended learning opportunities for our students,” says Seth Beute, facilitator, virtual instruction. “Edgenuity’s blended learning offering truly met our district’s goal of increasing choices for student success and providing teachers with a variety of methods of instructional delivery and support.”

MATH/ELA PROGRAM ALIGNS WITH 3 NEW STATES

Triumph Learning (triumphlearning.com) unveiled new versions of Waggle to align with learning standards in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida. The three state-specific versions help students master math and ELA skills while educators monitor real-time progress. “We researched for months looking for a product that closely aligned with the format of the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA),” says Angela Whiddon, principal of W.E. Cherry Elementary in Clay County, FL. “We were at the point of giving up when we found Waggle. It is exactly what we needed to provide our students with daily practice and exposure to the format of the FSA.” All practice skills for math and ELA instruction are correlated to each state’s standards. The New York and Florida versions help students in grades 2–8 master math and ELA skills, while the Pennsylvania version covers grades 3–8. Teachers can assign lessons to students online within Waggle or use Coach print resources in their classrooms.

ONE-TAP EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS

St. Charles Parish (LA) Public Schools are now using SchoolDude’s mobile safety platform, CrisisManager (schooldude.com). The mobile app details instructions for emergency response scenarios so parents will have immediate access to the district’s parent/guardian emergency guide. The customized app offers one-tap emergency calling and the most up-to-date building maps, emergency exits, and lockdown locations. “As a school district known for its cutting-edge approach to technology, it was critical for us to get important safety information into our parents’ hands on their mobile devices,” says Felecia Gomez-Walker, superintendent. “We will continue to enhance our safety plans and their accessibility to ensure a safe, positive school experience.”

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