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20 Student Engagement Strategies for a Captivating Classroom

Tanner (2008) explains that exposure to natural sunlight is required to ensure that a student’s basic physiological needs are being met, which allows effective learning to take place. Although it may not commonly be realized, the need for natural sunlight is second only to the need for food and water (Tanner, 2008). Evidence of the benefits of providing for this need in an educational setting can be identified in a 1999 study that compared classrooms that were exposed to appropriate levels of sunlight to classrooms in which sunlight was lacking. Classrooms whose access to windows was limited, and in turn lacked sunlight, were stunted in their progress on both reading and math (by 26% and 20% respectively) (Heschong Mahone Group, 1999). Edwards and Torcellini’s 2002 comprehensive literature review relayed similar findings and Burke & Burke-Samide’s (2004) research does so as well. Research conducted in 1992 succeeded in dispelling the idea that plentiful window access in a classroom will distract students from activities outside. The study revealed that of all the distractions from learning, views from windows are typically the least drastic (Kuller & Lindsten, 1992). In addition to providing specific guidelines for optimal sunlight access via classroom windows, Tanner’s research also notes that light bulbs that are capable of mimicking natural light may be used as an alternative. Information on proper lighting and window sizes in a classroom is most beneficial to district school boards and the designers they contract to build schools. District school boards should be well informed about the need for natural sunlight in classrooms and the ability to gain such sunlight from larger windows. This would allow designers, who would also ideally be informed on the subject, to follow a board recommendation for larger windows (and skylights) and an overall school design that allows for all classrooms to have at least one wall of windows. This choice would provide the needed light and avoid the increased cost of employing full spectrum light bulbs. Information about the benefits of natural light on student learning would also assist teachers with the setup of their classrooms (planning to keep blinds open when possible, for example) and with planning lessons (allowing the possibility of designing lessons compatible with sitting outside during warmer weather).

Lighting: How it affects us both mentally & physically. — The Behavior Hub

Noise can affect the learning of students in a classroom environment both negatively and positively (Burke & Burke-Samide, 2004). Noise that emanates from outside the classroom (e.g., from the hallways, other classrooms due to thin walls or open doors, road traffic noise due to open classroom windows) is described as the main type of noise that negatively affects learning (Haines, 2001). This noise has been shown to distract students from the lesson at hand and to ultimately interfere with the mind’s process of retaining information (Hygge, 2003). Where noise within a classroom is concerned, there are several scenarios to be addressed. Noise within a classroom that is created by students (due to the activity at hand or disorderly conduct) has the tendency to distract and impede learning just as outside noise does (Shield and Dockrell, 2004). Though this can be corrected with the instructor’s redirection, it has been well-established that interrupting the natural flow of learning taking place in order to correct behavior significantly interferes with that learning (Woolner, 2007). Lundquist’s (2002) work describes how the acoustics of classrooms can also affect students’ learning. A room with poor acoustics can make it difficult to hear an instructor properly, whereas overactive acoustics can make it so that typical noise is brought to an atypically large decibel, distracting students. Following this, a room that is ideal in its acoustic design could assist with maintaining an optimal decibel level and contribute to the quality of learning (Burke & Burke Samide, 2004). When focusing on the ideal learning environment for an individual student, research on background noise shows that while many students prefer quiet to learn, others benefit from soothing sounds in the environment (Burke & Burke-Samide, 2004). A common example of this is students who claim they work better with the radio or television on. Information regarding appropriate noise levels for learning areas and common areas in schools would benefit school designers and school boards as well as building administrators and teachers. Designers who are tasked to create classrooms with ideal acoustics for lesson teaching would be better equipped to design school rooms. Information on sound insulation around hallways and other non-teaching common rooms would also assist designers in creating customized common areas. Given the likely increase in cost of enhancing these areas, this information would also be of use to school boards. Building administrators could make use of this information when developing policies concerning acceptable noise levels in common areas. Teachers would make most use of research about noise levels in the classroom and of research about the effect interruptions to correct excessive noise levels can have on the learning process.

Are you enjoying Part 2 of this series? If so, we encourage you to keep reading in [Part 3].

Part 2 References

Tanner, K. C. (2008). Explaining relationships among student outcomes and the school’s physical environment. Journal of Advanced Academics, 19, 444-471.

Burke, K., Burke-Samide, B. (2004). Required changes in the classroom environment: It’s a matter of design. The Clearing House, 77, 236-239.

Edwards, L., & Torcellini, P. (2002). A literature review of the effects of natural light on building occupants (Tech. Rep. No. NREL/TP-550-30769). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Haines, M. M., Stansfeld, S. A., Job, R. F. S., Berglund, B. & Head, J. (2001b) Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children, Psychological Medicine, 31, 265–277.

Heschong Mahone Group. (1999). Day lighting in schools. Fair Oaks, CA: Author.

Hygge, S. (2003) Classroom experiments on the effects of different noise sources and sound levels on long-term recall and recognition in children, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 895–914.

Kuller, R. and Lindsten, C. (1992), "Health and behavior of children in classrooms with and without windows", Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12, 305-17.

Lundquist, P., Kjellberg, A. & Holmberg, K. (2002) Evaluating effects of the classroom environment: development of an instrument for the measurement of self-reported mood among school children, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22, 289-293.

Shield, B. & Dockrell, J. (2004) External and internal noise surveys of London primary schools, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 115, 730–738.

Woolner, P., Hall, E., Higgins, S., McCaughey, C., & Wall, K. (2007). A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for building Schools for the future. Oxford Review of Education, 33, 47-70.

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Woodland Park, NJ – January 12, 2024– FSR is proud to announce that this Holiday Season marked another year of spreading joy as we had the privilege of sending 45 children from a Florida State Foster Care facility, accompanied by 5 supervisors, to a heartwarming movie night on Christmas evening.

These children, who find themselves in a state facility through no fault of their own, often face challenging circumstances, especially during the holiday season. Recognizing the potential for loneliness during this time, FSR took the initiative to brighten their holidays with an evening of entertainment.

Each child was provided with a movie theater gift card, covering the entrance fee and food expenses. The goal was to create a memorable experience for these children, allowing them to enjoy the festive season in a special way.

FSR collaborated with the esteemed charity, Kindness Shared Happiness Squared, to make this event possible. Kindness Shared Happiness Squared shares our commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of those facing challenges, and we are grateful for their support in facilitating this heartwarming event.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our amazing customers, specifiers, and friends who have consistently supported FSR's mission to give back to the community. Your contributions have made a significant difference in the lives of these children, and we are honored to have you as part of the FSR family.

About FSR

FSR, established in 1981, manufactures a wide variety of signal management and infrastructure solutions for the AV/IT, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), corporate, education, hospitality, government, and religious markets, including floor, wall, table, and ceiling connectivity boxes and wireways, as well as a full line of interfaces, distribution amplifiers, matrix switchers, seamless scaling switchers, and HDBaseT signal delivery solutions. FSR offers live, 24/7 technical and sales support nationwide from expertly trained technicians and sales representatives. The Company is also an HDBaseT Alliance Adopter Member.  For more information: www.fsrinc.com.

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Sixteen:Nine

ISE Stand #5H100

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Cutting-edge Offerings from FSR Provide Effective and Affordable Options for Integrators and End-Users

Woodland Park, NJ – USA – 19 December 2023 – FSR, a premier manufacturer offering an extensive range of products for the Pro AV and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sectors, reveals its intention to showcase a suite of infrastructure and power products at Integrated Systems Europe. Tailored for the global AV market, these solutions are designed to enhance budget efficiency and simplify installation processes. The products will be exhibited at Stand #5H100 throughout the event scheduled from January 30 to February 2, 2024, at Fira Barcelona – Gran Via. ISE stands as the primary international exhibition for AV and systems integration, spotlighting advancements from top technology and solution providers worldwide.

NEW PWB-323 EURO-2G / PWB-323 EURO-4G Brackets

FSR is introducing bracket options that allow its popular PWB-323 and PWB-323XL Project Wall Boxes to be used in any country. FSR's international series wall box brackets quickly adapt to any country's specific 45mm snap-in power outlet to fit into PWB-323 wall boxes. These economical large open wall boxes are priced specifically to ease the installer's bottom line while simplifying audiovisual and IT installations by providing space for routing cables, AC connections, and digital media products. The new PWB-323 EURO-2G bracket features two 45mm square openings for power outlets, while the PWB-323 EURO-4G offers four 45mm openings.

NEW Smart-Way Wall Raceway 

FSR’s Smart-Way Wall Raceway – the newest addition to FSR’s Smart-Way family – provides the ability to transition from a floor to ceiling Raceway system. FSR’s Smart-Way Raceway, now capable of supporting European connectors, is the most cost-effective and easiest way to get power, data, and AV across the room to where it’s needed. The Smart-Way is intended for offices, con­ference rooms, collaborative work environments, class­rooms, or anywhere wire management is desired. The wall unit consists of a ceiling flex conduit feed with soft edges for easy wiring and features floor to wall transition and new edging. Available in slate and aluminum, the Smart-Way Wall Raceway offers the same clean look as the floor version.

NEW International Wall Plate Adapters 

FSR’s International wall plate kits easily adapt any country’s specific 45mm snap-in power outlet to fit into the manufacturer’s 1-GANG and 2-GANG wall plates. These adapters seamlessly integrate into FSR’s complete line of floor boxes, wall boxes and other products. Both 1-GANG and 2-GANG kits include a mounting plate with 45mm opening(s), rear retaining plate and are available with select outlet(s).

FSR will also be showing international versions of its extensive series of Table Boxes including the CT6-EU for an elegant and affordable solution for any installation, and the RT6-EU for ultimate connectivity and functionality. The Company will round out the display with numerous Floor Boxes that combine rugged construction with a graceful design, and its Digital Ribbon Cables that utilize a proprietary technology to allow high speed, high-definition HDMI® signal transmission.

FSR manufactures its audio and video switching, control products, connectivity boxes and collaboration systems from headquarters in Woodland Park, NJ USA where ample inventory is available for immediate delivery.

About FSR

FSR, established in 1981, manufactures a wide variety of signal management and infrastructure solutions for the AV/IT, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), corporate, education, hospitality, government, and religious markets, including floor, wall, table, and ceiling connectivity boxes and wireways, as well as a full line of interfaces, distribution amplifiers, matrix switchers, seamless scaling switchers and HDBaseT signal delivery solutions. FSR offers live 24/7 technical and sales support throughout the country from expertly trained technicians and sales representatives. The Company is also an HDBaseT Alliance Adopter Member.  For more information: www.fsrinc.com.

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 18626-cb-22p-plus-shelf2-1000x1000_872872504 FSR Press Room

FSR is Debuting the CB-22+ Line of Ceiling Boxes, Bringing Many New and Innovative Features Along with it

Woodland Park, NJ (December 7, 2023) – FSR, a leader in innovative audio-visual solutions, is thrilled to unveil the CB-22+ line of ceiling boxes, a revolutionary advancement in ceiling box technology. Packed with cutting-edge features and designed for seamless integration, the CB-22+ series sets a new standard for versatility, security, and ease of installation in the ceiling box market.


The CB-22+ series introduces a range of innovative features designed to elevate your AV installation experience. Integrated threaded rod mounts eliminate the need for separate mounting kits, streamlining the installation process while ensuring a secure fit. This design choice enhances efficiency and convenience, setting the stage for a hassle-free setup.
Security and accessibility converge with the inclusion of a lockable cover latch. This feature provides peace of mind and allows convenient access to the equipment inside, striking a perfect balance between safeguarding your components and ensuring ease of use. The CB-22+ series boasts a larger mounting shelf, offering an expanded, removable dual-tilting equipment shelf. This addition provides ample space for your AV components, accommodating a variety of devices and enhancing the overall versatility of the ceiling box.


Regarding stability and durability, the enhanced load rating is a standout feature of the projector pole models in the CB-22+ series. Now supporting an increased load rating of up to 100 pounds, these ceiling boxes guarantee stability in any installation scenario, ensuring the secure placement of your valuable equipment. For those seeking a touch of customization, optional decorative metal plates are available to elevate the aesthetics of your ceiling box. These plates eliminate the need for ceiling tiles in pole rail and cover openings, providing a sleek and polished finish to your AV setup.The streamlined access door and hinge design facilitates effortless installation and maintenance. The quick-disconnect safety cable prevents the cover door from detaching completely from the box, adding an extra layer of convenience to the user experience. The CB-22+ and CB-22P+ models take temperature control and noise reduction to the next level with the optional temperature-controlled variable speed low-noise fan kit. This field-installed upgrade ensures optimal temperature control and minimal noise, enhancing the performance of these ceiling boxes.


Venturing into the future of AV installations, the smart enclosure features of CB-22S+ and CB-22SP+ models offer built-in projector state auto-sense, monitored unswitched outlets, and a thermostatically controlled variable speed low-noise fan kit. These intelligent features contribute to a cutting-edge AV experience, combining functionality and technological sophistication. The CB-22+ series presents versatile configuration options with configurable plates for the pole mount support rail cover. Installers can cover projector position slots without the need for cutting ceiling tiles, providing flexibility in installation and catering to diverse setup requirements. With these features, the CB-22+ series is a comprehensive solution for various AV installation needs.

 

About FSR

FSR, established in 1981, manufactures a wide variety of signal management and infrastructure solutions for the AV/IT, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), corporate, education, hospitality, government, and religious markets, including floor, wall, table, and ceiling connectivity boxes and wireways, as well as a full line of interfaces, distribution amplifiers, matrix switchers, seamless scaling switchers, and HDBaseT signal delivery solutions. FSR offers live, 24/7 technical and sales support nationwide from expertly trained technicians and sales representatives. The Company is also an HDBaseT Alliance Adopter Member.  For more information: www.fsrinc.com.

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FSR / Press Contact:  Donnell Johnson

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10 Benefits of Asynchronous Learning

Flex time is proving to be useful in the ongoing effort (by teachers, administrators, and parents) to increase student progress and achievement. Using a regularly scheduled flex period, such as a study hall or other period in which students have both free time and access to a helpful teacher, students can accomplish a number of critical tasks. Students who have fallen behind on completing required work, due to illness or another understandable situation, have the opportunity to make good on their promise to complete that work. Students who are current on the completion of their class assignments can use flex time to make progress on the goals established by their advisory committees (which often include the student, subject teachers, and the flex period teacher). There is, in fact, a seemingly limitless number of ways in which flex time can be used effectively. One area that is ripe for exploration is the integration of flex time directly into courses. And so, the question becomes, how can we do this effectively?

            Generally, we have a certain vision of what teaching looks like. Students come into classrooms, take their seats, and teachers stand at the front of the classroom and provide direct instruction. They give lectures, assign textbook activities to be completed in class, go over those activities, and assign homework. This style, and similar styles, can still be seen in countless classrooms throughout the country (and the world).

However, we’ve seen a great deal of classroom changes over the past decade. In 2003, for example, most teachers began working with computers and the internet daily. By 2008, nearly all teachers used computer and internet as a part of daily instruction and classroom management (email communications, attendance, etc.), and students were regularly taken to computer labs to work on computers and internet as well. By 2009 districts began (literally and figuratively) rolling out laptop carts which could be used by groups of teachers and classrooms. By 2015, teachers even began relocating to computer labs full time and modifying their methods of instruction to best make use of the technology available to them. And by 2017, many districts had integrated what is called a 1:1 (one to one) program, in which students have their own device to use for digital learning (such as an iPad, Chromebook, or laptop).

Still, in 2017 and the two years following it, many teachers still had the option of relying solely on their traditional instruction methods (namely, direct, synchronous, instruction). But with the entrance of COVID-19, teachers immediately lost the flexibility of being able to adhere to traditional methods. Following the shutdowns of school districts countrywide (and worldwide), the methods once seen as cutting-edge were now required for all teachers. Those teachers who struggled to adapt generally continued to teach using exclusively direct, synchronous, instruction via live streams. However, teachers who had already immersed themselves in methods for teaching digitally were able to see the possibilities associated with digital learning, and adapted their instruction practices to reach for those possibilities.

Examples of methods made possible by learning digitally are plentiful, however, one stands out: Transforming the structure of a course to be asynchronous, rather than synchronous. When teachers provide instruction synchronously, this requires the teacher and students to be together at one time. When in a brick and mortar classroom, this works. However, when teaching online this method tends to become less effective. The pandemic showcased the issues with synchronous online learning. During the pandemic related shutdowns, students and teachers all accessed online lecture halls (via Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc.) from their homes. Some students had superior internet connectivity. Some had inferior connectivity. Some students had consistency with their internet quality, while others did not. Happenings in student homes also varied greatly, and affected students’ ability to attend livestreamed sessions. Suddenly, asynchronous instruction began to look more and more appealing to teachers.

Teachers then began creating and deploying lessons that could be completed by students independently. One example of this is recording a lecture, and uploading that lecture for students to watch (and requiring students to take and submit notes on the lecture). Another is students watching an educational video made by a producer of educational material (that the teacher carefully selects and evaluates), and providing questions for students to answer.

The advent of asynchronous learning brought with it a wide-range of new approaches to teaching and learning online. While the focus has been on online learning, teachers would be wise to realize that these approaches can also be used in brick and mortar classrooms. Perhaps the most notable way that asynchronous learning can improve face-to-face classroom learning is that it allows for the installation of flex time directly into subject classes, rather than just during a scheduled flex period.

If teachers adopt asynchronous instruction for their in-person classrooms as they have done for their online classrooms, they can maintain the accommodating teaching and learning environment that they established while in remote learning. Teachers can publish the week’s work at the beginning of each school week, and allow students to complete the assignments as they see fit (i.e. in the order they choose, at the time choose, etc.) and actively monitor student progress on both the course assignments and their other academic activities (may it be other coursework, or other academic activities). This gives students the flexibility to both successfully complete the subject coursework and make progress on their non-subject related goals. In short, this scenario allows students have the best of both worlds.

Using an asynchronous course design and building flex time into the course period not only support students, but also supports teachers. Digital teaching tools are powerful ones, there is no doubt. However, these tools can take a great deal of time to test and implement. Maintaining the various components of a digital classroom can also be time consuming. However, by adopting an asynchronous course design fused together with flex time, teachers may also gain additional time that can be used to ensure the smooth operation of their face-to-face and digital classrooms.

Further Reading

            Are you interested in learning more about using flex time? If so, we think this article by the folks at Enriching Students did a good of explaining how to run a study hall flex period: Effective Study Hall Structures and Practices

Pricing Options - Edmodo - eLearning Industry

Small group Edmodo chats expand student audience and deepen meaning-making

Founded in 2008, Edmodo has evolved as a leader in education apps providing classrooms with a hub of connectivity and resources. In recent years, Edmodo has expanded its offerings to professional development resources and continually updated the classroom interface with student-friendly features like a daily agenda.

At its core, Edmodo creates a home base for classes to interact. Teachers also can utilize Edmodo much like any LMS to assign assessments, pose checks for understanding, or post materials. Edmodo’s strength, unlike some sites, lies in its ability to serve as a vehicle for easy discussion.

Aesthetically, an Edmodo classroom looks very similar to a social media feed, albeit a bit more academic. The “like” and “comment” feature invites students to quickly respond to teacher and peer contributions in a low-stakes, comfortable way. While some other LMS feeds and commenting systems are cumbersome and require multiple clicks, students often find the Edmodo feed much more intuitive.

Small Group Feature

Teachers using Edmodo in their classroom may find the small group feature to be particularly beneficial in setting up protocols for small-group discussion. Once students join the class, the teacher can group students within the class, either randomly or by ability. Teachers can choose to keep students in the same group for the entirety of the school year to build some community and continuity, or they can continually change groups throughout the year to expose students to new perspectives. Articles can be assigned to the entire class with ease—all groups—or teachers can opt to differentiate or jigsaw articles by assigning specific readings to individual groups.

Cross-Class Discussion

Small-group discussion within one section of students is in itself valuable: meaning-making, collaboration, academic discourse etiquette are just some of the benefits. Now, imagine expanding discussion beyond just one class—connecting two classes within the same school building, or even better, connecting classes across the country or world. When Edmodo teacher users connect their classes, the possibilities are endless.

Cross-class discussions up the stakes for students in discussion as their audience naturally becomes more authentic. Additionally, students are introduced to new perspectives that they otherwise would not have read. There are many ways to structure Edmodo small-group discussions depending on your task, readings, or population of students.

Here is an example of a protocol for ELA students to discuss novels:

  1. Teachers connect, either within the same building or team or across the country. Utilizing professional networks or even Twitter, teachers can find grade-level partners that share the same texts in their curriculum. This works well with literature from the canon, but any novel, even contemporary, works.
  2. Create the class on Edmodo and break down students into small groups of five or six.

For example, if teachers collectively had five classes of 11th grade, they could pull one student from each class to comprise the groups. While it’s a little bit of work up front, teachers will find that it’s a worthwhile investment of time. Students can remain in these groups while spanning multiple units. Even if classes aren’t completely synced up with curriculum, it can still be a neat outlet for students to connect with other teens during low-stakes discussions on poetry, hot topics, etc.

  1. Develop really strong questions to pose to the group after big chunks of reading. In novels, perhaps you pose a broad discussion question at the end of every three chapters. Crafting the question can be time-consuming, but again, worth it. You want this open-ended question to create a space for multiple perspectives. ELA teachers may also want to design questions to promote evaluation of the text vs. simply identification or even analysis.
  2. Post the question and roll out the discussion protocol. Review expectations, models, and discussion rubric with students. Do you want students to contribute a certain number of times? Have a certain number of replies? Using the agenda feature could be helpful to students here.
  3. After your discussion, spend some time walking students through commendable discussions, ones that reveal clear and appropriate academic discourse. Let them vent about their struggles, and be transparent about how collaborative online work presents a new set of problems and requires a different skillset. Use screen shots of their own dialogue.
  4. Pair your online discussion with in-class discussion. Anchor each due date for online discussion with a Socratic Seminar (or other discussion model) the next day. It’s remarkable to hear, “One thing that we talked about in my Edmodo group this week was…” or “Yeah, I know what you mean. We had a disagreement about this in our thread last night.” Students are inherently preparing for in-class discussion by working in their Edmodo groups.
  5. Formal reflection: Have the students write a formal reflection on how their understanding deepened as a result of online discussion. This is the best part for you as the teacher—you will truly see how they can unveil meaning on their own when given the chance.

Writing in an online academic setting

Small group discussion in Edmodo can be the avenue to teach online academic discussion norms. Undoubtedly, students need practice in how to conduct themselves in an online academic setting. Nearly all students continuing their post-secondary education will encounter online learning. Professors and instructors expect students to strike the right balance of formality and conversational tone within discussion threads.

Additionally, students need continual practice in using standard written English to grow as writers and intellectual thinkers. It takes time and energy to be able to articulate thoughts and communicate clearly, and teachers need to invest in this skill in order for students to find success when they leave their classroom.

Overall, Edmodo’s platform provides the space for students to grow as writers within a wider academic community. The student-friendly interface invites a high level of collaboration, creates a community, and allows teachers to see their students’ thinking visible on the feed.

Music Classroom  

Introduction

COVID-19 taught all educators that we have the ability to be resilient and adapt to a changing technological world, including those of us who teach music.  As we return to our normal classrooms, it’s important that we never forget the lessons we were taught during the pandemic.  This article will outline various ways we can implement technology into the music classroom. 

Music Technology for Elementary Music Specialists

 

Do you have old Music Play books in your classroom from decades ago?  Did you know that it is all online?  www.musicplayonline.com is a wonderful resource created by Denise Gagne for elementary music specialists.  All your favourite songs like “Lucy Locket” are there with lesson plans, lyric videos, chords for guitar and ukulele, orff arrangements and boomwackers. In addition to a comprehensive list of songs organized by grade, there are also learning modules in rhythm, solfege, vocal warm-ups and games.  This is a necessary resource for all elementary music educators. 

www.bucketdrumming.net is another great resource for upper elementary and early middle school teachers.  Sammy Foster has created an amazing bucket drumming curriculum that includes proper percussion technique as well as rhythm and pitch reading.  I highly recommend his “6 Days of Bucket Drumming” to get your students started right with warm-ups, techniques and play along to popular songs like “We Will Rock You” and “Rolling in the Deep.” 

Both Music Play Online and Bucketdrumming.net are perfect play and go resources to supplement your teaching in an engaging and fun way. 


Everyone has access to YouTube, a few great play-along channels are musication and swick’s classroom.  These are great extensions for the end of your lessons before students are scheduled to leave. 

Music Technology for Instrumental Music Specialists

 

Figurenotes

Have you ever worked with a student who was really struggling to read their music?  Maybe your student has learning challenges.  The band and music classroom has historically been a safe place for students to be.  As music educators we have technology at our fingertips to ensure that all our students are challenged and feel included.  Figurenotes is a software developed by Drake Music Scotland.  Drake Music Scotland is an arts organization that provides music making opportunities for people with disabilities.  The Figurenotes software is a music notation software that uses symbols and colours to help students learn how to play music.

Pitches are notated using specific colours.  For example, all C’s are red.  The teacher then places red stickers on all of the C’s on the piano so that the student can identify the pitch on the music and make that connection.  As the student progresses, you place the red C in the middle C space on your music and the student can progress in their music reading. 

In terms of rhythms, figurenotes illustrates pitches spaced out over a duration of time instead of using our traditional notation system using quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes, etc. The smallest duration of note showed is an eighth note.

Music Notation Software

It’s vitally important for every band/orchestra teacher to have access and be proficient in some kind of notation software for a few important reasons: 

1. Writing out missing original parts.

2. Transposing important missing parts in smaller ensembles (maybe your band doesn’t have a French horn player and you need to rewrite it for alto saxophone).

3. Simplifying music for struggling students.

4. Composing your own music.

As you may know there are many notation softwares on the market such as: Noteflight, Sibelius, Finale, and Musescore. 

Sibelius and Finale are more expensive, but are tried and true resources.  Noteflight works seamlessly with their marketplace of scores and Musescore has a great community of musicians that arrange music for unlimited kinds of ensembles. 

SmartMusic

SmartMusic is an incredible resource for instrumental music teachers.  They have a practice app that assesses and gives feedback to students on their pitch and rhythmic accuracy. As well, SmartMusic has a vast library of method books and scores so students can practice with accompaniment.  SmartMusic also has a tuner and metronome integrated into its practice tools.  SmartMusic provides teachers with tools such as a gradebook, custom rubrics and sight-reading tools.

John McAllister Music

 

Hopefully if you are a music teacher, your classroom will be equipped with a great sound system and a projector.  If you are, a great resource is John McAllister who has created a great series of warm-ups for all levels of players.  You can print off the warm-ups for your students to read or treat them to an engaging play along on YouTube. These are wonderful resources that every band teacher should know about. https://www.johnmcallistermusic.com/

Notion

If your classroom is equipped with a projector and you have access to an iPad, notion is a great app to use. You can download a music staff and illustrate rhythms, warm-ups, theory problems, etc. for your students to see.

JW Pepper and Alfred Music

There is something wonderful about having a physical score, or a physical piece of music.  However, there is something equally wonderful about purchasing digital music. If you are someone who is disorganized or doesn’t have time to shuffle through a library full of disorganized music, most online marketplaces such as JW Pepper and Alfred Music are selling e-music.  These scores sit in your own personal library ready to be printed and used any time.

Music Technology for Studio Teachers

Have you considered setting up a private studio online?  It has never been easier with conferencing apps like skype, zoom and google hangouts.  If you need help advertising your services, organizations like Outschool are a great marketplace of parents and students looking for learners.  It would be relatively little work to use zoom to project music and use an iphone or ipad as a secondary camera to show your students how to play the piano. 

Conclusion

Music Technology over the past five years has skyrocketed. It has never been easier, or necessary to implement music technology into music classrooms. Resources like Music Play, Bucketdrumming.net and various play-along videos have reduced the amount of lesson planning needed in order to have a robust elementary music education program. Music notation software, SmartMusic and digital scores have created engaging and organized instrumental music programs.  Finally, conferencing software has created an opening for teachers to connect with students around the world for lessons, and students at home in times of isolation. As we come out of a time of isolation and pandemic, it is vitally important that we don’t forget the resources we learned about and relied on to create strong music education programs.

Amazon.com: Makey Makey STEM Pack Classroom Invention Literacy Kit from  JoyLabz - Hands-on Technology Learning Fun - Science Education - 1000s of  Engineering and Computer Coding Activities - Ages 8 and Up : Office Products

Old school presentations centered around tri-folds and posters are an old-time favorite, but they seem obsolete in the modern world of Prezi and Powerpoint. However we can bring back the treasured tri-folds and poster boards, and more importantly, there is a way to make them interactive. By using a small device that is relatively cheap, you can convert an old-school presentation into a more interactive presentation that students, teachers, and parents will love.

            So what is a Makey Makey? It is a circuit board with alligator clips and a USB cable. It can turn any conductive material into an interactive component. People have turned liquids, balloons, play-doh, etc. into interactive musical instruments. The major concept of a Makey Makey is you are creating a circuit. In order for any project to be interactive, you have to complete the circuit. Often one may have to hold an alligator clip while touching an object in order to complete the circuit, but this isn’t always the case. Different projects have different ways of completing the circuit. If you can dream it, you can probably turn it into an inventive project with a Makey Makey.

            Some cool projects that you can check out on the website include making stairs into a keyboard (my personal favorite), making game controllers by shading on a piece of paper with a pencil, or the ability to make different games in conjunction with Scratch. There are hundreds of things you can do with a Makey Makey.

            One example that I enjoyed was the use of a Makey Makey to make an Operation game. One particular year, a school was putting on Shrek the play. The project was to create products for the show, and one team came up with the idea of creating an operation game with Shrek as the game board. It was a success and a blast to play as well.

Another project comes to mind which occurred during summer enrichment at the same school. A project was designed for a student with special needs that had limited use of their hands. However, they enjoyed the music. The students in the enrichment class designed gloves that could play music. The prototype was extremely rough at best, but it did function. It allowed the student to play music by moving their fingers to complete a circuit, which in turn played different notes. It was a great hands-on activity, and more importantly students came together for the betterment of a peer.

            The more important question is how can you quickly utilize a Makey Makey in your classroom with little setup and training. Fortunately, there are a ton of resources online where you can quickly learn how to utilize a Makey Makey. All you need is a Makey Makey, some conductive materials, and the will to invent. Once you have all of that, visit https://makeymakey.com/ to gain access to educator resources and videos of hundreds of Makey Makey projects. To save you some time, here are a few ideas that you can incorporate into your classroom.

Museum Walk

This is a great way to teach students about different eras in history, art movements, different literary movements, etc. For this example, I will focus on art periods discussed in AP European History. In AP European History, it can be difficult for students to keep track of the different art movements and their characteristics. A Museum Walk is a great way for students to get a refresher and to dive deeper into the art history they were unable to fully gain a grasp of during class. 

            One can easily assign a specific art movement such as Baroque to a student to research. They pick an example of Baroque art as their interactive piece. Different points of the artwork when touched by a visitor will complete the circuit which in turn will play pre-recorded information about the artwork and that art movement as well. As students walk around the room, they can write down essential information they learn from each interactive piece.

            This type of project gives ownership to the student and their education. As the teacher, you are mainly there to guide them in terms of making their project interactive with the Makey Makey, and to verify that the information they have gathered is correct. The rest is up to the student. It is hard to take a step back and allow students to have at it, but this type of project can inspire students to think beyond the box, and they will be better off because of that.

            This type of project can be utilized in every subject. In chemistry, you can explore the Periodic Table of Elements. In English, you can explore different literary techniques and elements or different authors. In Math, one can explore different math concepts such as hypotenuse and Pi.  In Spanish students can explore different Spanish-speaking countries. The possibilities are endless.

Gamification

            One of the hardest aspects of review games such as Jeopardy is the ability to keep it fair. For example, when students can steal, it is hard to determine who was first to raise their hand. However, with Makey Makey, you can create buzzers. The first hit the buzzer gets the steal. This keeps the game moving so you can get more reviews done. Buzzers can be used in a Family Feud-style review game as well. The biggest thing to remember is that you need to complete the circuit, so students need to hold one alligator clip while they touch the interactive “button” to complete the circuit.

            If you attended school in the 90s, you probably played the classic educational game The Oregon Trail. Students today don’t know what they are missing out on. All that work was for nothing when you died of dysentery halfway through the journey. Oh, the memories. What if you could turn your classroom walls into a giant gameboard? Well, you can with a Makey Makey. Students can follow the trail across your walls, and make different decisions along the way. Different decisions can lead to different outcomes. Your wall may end up looking like the mad ravings of a conspiracy theorist, but think of the fun your students will have.

            The sky is the limit with a Makey Makey. They are relatively cheap, but the fun you can have is priceless. Students will have a blast coming up with new ideas. It can be a great way to build teamwork as well. The possibilities are truly endless. Don’t be afraid to experiment with one as well. You may have more fun than the students. Go ahead and visit https://makeymakey.com/ right now to get your own Makey Makey, or to learn more about the endless possibilities.

6 Secrets of Active Learning Classroom Design -- Campus Technology

Teachers are often tasked with the challenging job of working in classrooms with large class sizes and difficult compositions.  Teachers are masters at catering their lessons to their students. You may wonder, what do you do when there is such a large range of needs amongst students in one classroom? Assistive technology can be a way to aid in leveling the playing field for our students who have diverse learning needs.
 
Assistive technology (AT) is defined as any product, piece of equipment or system that enhances learning, working, and daily living for persons with disabilities. AT can be high-tech and expensive, such as reading software like Kurzweil or Dragon Naturally Speaking, or it can be low-tech and budget friendly such as pencil grips for students who have dysgraphia. 

Some teachers shy away from the use of assistive technology because they believe that it requires additional specialized staff training, it’s expensive, it’s difficult to integrate into their lesson plans or they are concerned about technical difficulties.  Hopefully this article will highlight how this is untrue. 

Who Benefits from Assistive Technology?

In classrooms, AT will likely be implemented to support the following students:

1. Students with dyscalculia (deficit in understanding and learning numbers and math).
2. Students with dysgraphia (deficit with handwriting and fine motor skills).

3. Students with dyslexia (deficit with reading and language processing skills).
4. Students with nonverbal learning disabilities (deficits related to interpreting facial expression or body language).
5. Students with Oral/written language disorder and specific reading comprehension deficit (deficits in reading comprehension or spoken language).

6. Students with dyspraxia (a deficit in muscle control).

Students who have ADHD, executive functioning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and students with physical disabilities may also benefit from AT.

Although AT is often created and implemented to support people who have disabilities, AT is beneficial to all people.  Have you ever used the “Hey Siri” function on your iPhone, or Alexa on Amazon Prime? This is an example of assistive technology that has evolved to be accessible to anyone and be beneficial to everyone.  This is an example of universal design.  Although dictation and smart readers were designed for people who have learning disabilities, it has evolved to benefit everyone.  As such, implementing AT in classrooms benefits all students.

How can you implement AT in your classroom?

Creating an inclusive classroom should be ethos of all educators.  It starts with how we set up our classrooms. Is the atmosphere calming by reducing the overhead lighting?  Do you implement a visual schedule to reduce anxiety with students? Do you incorporate flexible seating, or use chair elastic bands or seat cushions?  These are all relatively low cost and easily integrated in your classroom.

For students who struggle with dyscalculia, have you considered utilizing hands-on math manipulatives like counting tools, or allowing students to use calculators?  Is it important to force all students to fit into a box and have memorized math fluency facts? I encourage you to ask yourself, how often do you use the calculator on your phone? What was the last math problem that you did using a calculator? As technology evolves and becomes more accessible, is it still important memorize facts when we can find information at our fingertips?  Would it be equally as beneficial for students to understand how to calculate those facts or find correct information, rather than then simply having the answer memorized?

As previously mentioned in this article, students with dysgraphia can utilize pencil grips but they can also use speech-to-text software.  Dragon Naturally Speaking costs approximately $625 however, a lower cost alternative could be Google Read & Write. The free version provides text to speech and some dual highlighting. 

Google Read & Write can also be a low-cost alternative for students who have Dyslexia, or other oral/written language disorders and students who have difficulty with reading comprehension.  The premium version of Google Read & Write costs $99 a year, which includes reading documents and PDFs. I encourage you to investigate whether your educational institution has educational licenses with google and if your school already has access to Google Read&Write.  As an aside, Google Read&Write is relatively user friendly and requires very little if any specialized training.

Students who have nonverbal learning disabilities will likely work with an occupational therapist and speech pathologist to implement a communication device. Again, AT for students with nonverbal learning disabilities can be high or low tech.  A low-tech option for students with nonverbal learning disabilities could be the use of Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).  These PECS could be laminated and used in conjunction with a first-then board with Velcro could be used in conjunction with a first-then board, or with an iPad app such as PECS IV+. 

I would highly suggest utilizing Widgit Software in your classroom.  Widgit allows you to create labels with PECS and worksheets with PECS embedded in them. Utilizing an app like Widgit to diversify student work can help both students with dyslexia and students who have nonverbal learning disabilities complete work when they otherwise would have not been able to.

Universal Design and Assistive Technology

 

Universal design (UD) is defined as the process of creating products and environments that are accessible to people with a wide range of abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics. An example of UD is large curb cuts which we can see at most crosswalks. Curb cuts were initially designed for persons who use wheelchairs, but they are also beneficial to bikers, skateboarders, people wearing rollerblades, someone walking with a stroller, or someone with a cart, the list goes on and on. 

If we approach AT with the same open mindedness as we do curb cuts, we know that the implementation of AT will benefit all students in our classroom.  Visual schedules using PECS, access to manipulatives, text to speech, speech to text, flexible seating, and an overall inclusive classroom environment benefits all students.  When lesson planning, consider allowing students the option to express their knowledge in multiple ways.  Does a test always have to be completed with a pen and paper?  Or could you give a student an oral test? Consider allowing students to engage in project-based learning to allow students to express their knowledge in a way that they otherwise wouldn’t be successful with.  Finally, although most AT doesn’t require any specialist training, the training is worth it for the benefit of all students, and ultimately our society. 

Advocating for AT in your Classroom

As illustrated throughout this article, AT can be low or high cost. When advocating for Assistive Technology in classrooms in a world where education is drastically underfunded and understaffed, it should be advocated for.  AT reduces barriers for students and makes education more equitable.  Assistive technology should not be seen as a special privilege or a way for some students to get ahead. Assistive technology is a way to ensure that education is more equitable, as opposed to equal.

If you are working in a school environment where budget is tight and only students who require AT have access, it should be clarified to students that equitable education is ensuring that every student gets what they need to be successful as opposed to everyone get

Duolingo Review

Introduction

 

How are you? cómo estás? Habari yako? These are just but some of the ways you can ask someone how they are doing in different languages. Trying to learn a new language or improve on the vocabulary of your language? Then consider using a language learning app. This can be very effective for students, whether they are beginners or are at an intermediate level.

An additional language is a key opportunity to interact with the world from an informed opinion and a different lens. However, learning a new language requires a lot of practice and dedication. That is why online language learning platforms like Duolingo have been gaining popularity over time.

Duolingo is a great platform because it can be seamlessly integrated into a classroom setting to teach native and foreign languages. The platform makes it easier to learn grammar and vocabulary and has an amazing feature that allows one to translate articles from the web.

In particular, Duolingo for schools is a great tool for teachers and students that makes learning fun and interactive with the different visual and audio cues.

As a teacher, here are some creative ways to use Duolingo in the classroom  

Progress quizzes

Quizzes are a great way to measure progress in the particular language being taught. They are also efficient in evaluating different levels of understanding while maintaining students’ interest in learning the language.  The Duolingo for schools’ platform has different quizzes in various languages that can be purchased by lingots, the Duolingo’s currency.

A teacher can create a quiz, for example, for the German language basics. This quiz could be retaken as many times as possible (or afford to buy with the lingots) depending on the students’ performance.

After taking the quiz, you can assess if and why the students passed or failed. For example, if you realize that many students answered greetings-related questions incorrectly, then you will have identified the gap and understood areas that need improvement or more resources.

Creating and sharing assignments

As a teacher, once you have created an account on the platform and added the students for your specific classroom, for example, the Spanish class, you can start engaging the students by creating short assignments that measure their understanding of the different language and grammar concepts.

You will be able to set the duration of the assignment with the progress being shown on the assignments dashboard how many students have completed it or not and if they completed it on time.

The Duolingo platform allows students to collect experience points (XP) as they navigate the different assignments. You can allocate how many points the students should collect for that particular assignment.

Assignments are a great way to use Duolingo in the classroom because they also help learners level up a certain skill. For example, an assignment could be about the basics of the Spanish language, and once the students pass this level, then they can move on to other levels like how to apply the language in travel or school setting.

Rewards

Students can be rewarded as they complete different levels of the language. Duolingo awards with lingots for completing a skill and bonus lingots for consistency.

As a teacher, you might decide, for example, to equate these lingots to tangible rewards to be given to students who excel in the different levels. This is just but a way to motivate the students so that they don’t feel like lingots are not important or are worthless.

You could also use the experience points(XP) instead of the lingots to award either individual students or teams.

Another good thing with Duolingo is that once one completes the grammar and vocabulary skills set, there is a certificate awarded. This is a great motivational tool that makes students look forward to completing the lessons hence learning in the process.

Measure Teacher efficiency and Progress

Wouldn’t you want to know as a teacher if the expected learning has actually taken place? While measuring progress, it would be important to know areas that need modification to best support your students’ learning process.

The overall students’ performance will give you an opportunity as a teacher to gauge your effectiveness in delivering the content. This could maybe force you to look at more efficient and fun ways to teach your class, like incorporating games and other fun activities.

Duolingo for schools has the Duolingo dashboard feature where a teacher can manage the overall progress of your class. For example, for the Spanish class, you will be able to get a clear picture of how many students are enrolled, how many levels are completed and the ones pending, the performance of the students, any assignments due, etc.

From the assessment of the progress, you might find out that some of the students need a personalized approach based on their progress.

Incorporate Remote Learning

Digital learning has made it easier and possible for students to continue learning from wherever they may be.

Students can continue learning Duolingo remotely to supplement the classroom lessons by logging into the classroom site on their individual devices. You can do this either by giving them more resources to continue learning at their own pace or in form of assignments that need to be submitted back.

Allowing students to continue learning on their own allows some of them to catch up with their peers if they are falling behind. It also allows learners to learn when they feel the environment is conducive, that is when their motivation and interest are at their peak.

Conclusion

Using Duolingo in the classroom is undoubtedly an effective and fun way to get students to learn new languages and improve their vocabulary in a fun and interactive way.  

Ready to get started using Duolingo in the classroom? Then check out the resources with everything there is to know about creating your account as a teacher and inviting students to join your classroom.

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.”

– Chinese Proverb

Why Podcasts Like

Podcasts are now more popular than ever. If you look closely at the raging trend, you’ll find a podcast on every other topic. These podcasts not only engage and entertain the audience but also help in providing an optimum teaching experience. The shift from text-based learning to audio-based learning has proved valuable for students.

Many schools have already adopted this growing trend to offer students a fun learning experience. It is also an ideal way to teach students who don’t have English as their first language. While listening to a podcast, they can follow along by reading the transcript.

There is immense diversity in the podcast industry, which can help provide an ideal learning experience to students. Podcasts can help students learn about unique topics that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Ways to Prepare Students for Podcast Sessions

Before a teacher adopts this practice, they need to ensure that all students are ready for podcast classes. They need to ensure that they have all the resources to conduct a podcast session with students.

Here are a few ways teachers can prepare students:

  • Give Access to the Supplies

One of the things that teachers need to ensure is that the classroom has enough resources to fulfill every student’s needs. If any lesson requires the student to hear a podcast, each will need a listening device or platform. They may require a phone and access to a streaming platform like Spotify and YouTube.

  • Ensure that the Material Keeps Students Intrigued

As a teacher prepares the learning material, they need to make sure that it keeps students interested to the very end. Additionally, the content should be appropriate for their age, and the language shouldn’t be too complex. The content needs to be targeted to students and should be relevant to their course material.

  • Allow Students to Choose

Teachers can also ask and consult students about topics they’re genuinely interested in whenever possible. Then, teachers can find content that interjects these aspects into subject-related material to make sure things stay relevant.

There are numerous other ways to prepare students for podcast learning. Since it’s a new learning method, it requires patience and discipline for effective implementation.

Advantages of Using Podcasts in the Classroom

Adopting the podcast session in a classroom can offer students and teachers many perks. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest advantages of a podcast for your classroom.

  • Flexibility

One of the best things about podcasts is that it offers flexibility in terms of time. Since it is accessible at all times, it’s a highly convenient option for students.

Students can easily listen to podcasts using different devices, including mobile phones and tablets. This helps students learn anytime and anywhere without putting in much effort.

Teachers can also make private podcasts and libraries that are only accessible to students.

  • More Student Attention

Compared to text, audio learning captures more attention and interest. It is easier for students to hear an article than to spend plenty of time reading it. It happens since reading requires more focus and attention than audio or video.

Many studies show that audio learning captures more attention than text-based material. Podcasts are also longer than videos, and thus, they capture in-depth details about the topic.

  • Student-Friendly Content

Since podcasts have plenty of content, they’re excellent for covering educational topics related to children and teens. With student-oriented content, teachers can make sure that they teach material closely related to the syllabus.

Children can also suggest topics of interest and create a healthy learning environment. Moreover, it also encourages taking control of their studies and boosts engagement. They can also contribute with peers to learn together.

Podcasts as Part of the Curriculum

There are all sorts of ways a school can incorporate podcasts as part of its syllabus. Numerous factors require consideration. For instance, age group, language, and the subject are factors that influence how you can incorporate podcasts into the curriculum.

Simply find the right one for the classroom according to the topic you’re teaching. Once a teacher identifies a podcast, they should introduce it slowly.

A teacher can hear the podcast with students during class or can it to them to listen as homework. It is preferable that a teacher goes with the first option since it’s a great activity to bring classmates together.

Most of the time, students forget to do their homework which will create a gap in learning. Therefore, it is important to do it collectively so that everyone remains on the same page.

Podcast Ideas for Different Age Group

Without knowing the right podcast for your class, it can be hard to adopt podcast learning. Therefore, we have suggested a few examples by age group.

 Elementary Students

  • Tumble (Best for science )
  • But Why? (Best for general topics)
  • Storynory( Best for language)

Middle school Students

  • The past and the curious (Best for history)
  • Brains On (Best for science)
  • KidNuz (Best for children news)
  • Youth Radio (Best for current affairs)

High school Students

  • Star talk (Science)
  • Serial (Criminal justice)
  • StoryCorps(Language)
  • Stuff you missed in history (history)

Final Thoughts

Using a podcast in the classroom can provide the schooling system with a better alternative to texts. It also kindles curiosity among students and ensures that they get the best out of academic learning.

References:

https://www.brown.edu/sheridan/teaching-learning-resources/teaching-resources/classroom-practices/teaching-podcasts

https://teach.com/resources/using-podcasts-in-the-classroom/

https://www.thepodcasthost.com/niche-case-study/podcasting-in-education/

3D Printers for School and Education

Have you ever dreamt of imagining something into existence? If so, then 3D printing is just the technology for you and your classroom. Students of all ages love the technology of 3D printing because it feeds into a basic instinct of creativity that all of us have. Learning and teaching how a 3D printer works has never been easier, and the prices of good models have been dropping ever since they first started making them for the masses. In this post, we will investigate different ways a printer can be used in the classroom, which are firstly, what we call "concept printing", secondly, printing models for a classroom, and finally, printing your imagination. We will also go through some things to look out for when you buy a printer for the classroom.

The world around us is changing every single day. Why should our classrooms be stuck in the 20th century? That is why we should always investigate ways to bring what makes the outside world interesting, into our classrooms. That may include laptops, phones, the internet, and now you can include a 3D printer in that list. Introducing a 3D printer into the classroom will give the students to actively implement what they have learned. Imagine a classroom where a teacher will teach a concept to a group of students, who then have to go and figure out how to print the concept into the real world. A teacher might be teaching how a pulley works, then the students might need to go and print the different types of pulleys themselves. This will cause students to make errors and learn from them. A trial-and-error method of learning is very effective if they are not stuck at a dead-end and get disinterested. This is where the teacher comes in, the teacher will guide the students along whenever they make a mistake. Learning will be very efficient with the help of a 3D printer.

There are many models and drawings that just do not seem right on a 2-dimensional paper. Take for example a model of a heart, or a model of a car, a diagram of them in the textbook just do not translate how beautiful and harmonious they actually are in the real world. A 3D printer will be able to print those 2-dimensional models and bring them into the real world. They used to say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but now we should be saying that a 3D model is worth a million words because it is that much more effective than a photo. In a classroom, a teacher can print out a model of a T-rex skeleton beforehand, and then teach the class with an example of how they used to look in the real world. The more senses you incorporate when learning, the more you learn. So, when students can see, touch, and feel what they are learning, they learn a lot faster. The teacher does not need to learn how to use a 3D modeling software to do this, they can go over to the Skriware website and get a whole library of printable models.

A learning environment will never be complete without a class completely dedicated to fostering the imagination of the young mind. A classroom that gives kids the ability to actually let loose on their imagination and bring their inner self into the real world would be the ideal classroom for them. This classroom can teach the kids methods to harness their imagination by teaching them 3D modeling software like Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a beginner-friendly modeling software that can then be used to print a 3D model from a printer. Students might create a new instrument, a new automobile, or anything that tickles their imagination.  

A 3D printer in a classroom sounds like rainbows and sunshine, so who is actually supporting it in the real world? There is a program called iDigFossils doing exactly that. iDigFossils is a program developed by the University of Florida, and the Florida Museum of Natural History. University of Florida associate professor of educational technology and principal investigator Pavlo Antonenko said that iDigFossils is essentially bringing the museum into the classroom. In this program, the teachers are trained professionally to use the 3D printing technology and get students to engage in the activities.

Now that you are all excited to buy a 3D printer for your educational institution, let’s look at the things you should know about when buying them. The first thing is the budget that you have. There might be grants, and funding you can apply to. You can find 3D printers that cost anywhere between $300 to $3,500. Which one to buy depends on how many you are going to buy, and the type of funding you have available. Some printer manufacturers also give an educational discount so keep an eye out for that. The next thing to consider is the type of printing material they print with. An affordable material might be a good choice but cheaper is not always better. A printing material called Antibacterial PLA is the best choice for a school. All 3D printers produce emissions when they work, so they should be in a well-ventilated place. Although some of the emissions are just smells from heated materials, others can be health risks.

In conclusion, a 3D printer is a perfect addition to a classroom if the classroom teaches complicated things that are not easily understood through figures in a textbook. A teacher can use 3D printed models in the classroom to teach various concepts. A 3D model will engage the tactile, and visual senses to aid a student's learning journey. Another way to use a 3D printer is to allow students to print out concepts they learned in the classroom. A student can print out a pulley, a wheel, or anything that will apply the concepts they were taught in the classroom. 3D printers can also allow students to foster their imagination by letting them bring their thoughts into the real world. There already are programs that help put 3D printers in educational institutions, and you should definitely consider getting one for your classroom.

FCC Approves School Bus Wi-Fi Hotspots Under COVID-19 Emergency  Connectivity Fund - School Transportation News

Introduction

Wi-Fi on school buses might sound like just a fancy idea but in reality, it is a trend that is already shaping up across different school districts.

Some people might argue that school buses are for relaxing or bonding between students, but have you thought about the students who come from marginalized areas characterized by limited broadband connection or no access at all?

In fact, a report by the Federal Communications Commission indicates that almost 19 million Americans don’t have access to fixed broadband service that meets the threshold speeds. The situation is also evident in rural areas, where approximately 14.5 million people don’t have access to this valuable resource.

Wi-Fi on school buses presents a huge opportunity to bridge this gap by helping students from marginalized areas stay connected even after school.

Here are some reasons why schools should embrace the idea of having Wi-Fi-enabled buses.

 

Equal Learning Opportunity

Lack of access to the internet is a huge stumbling block for some students because it means falling behind on assignments and access to other digital resources beyond the classroom.

While some kids find the school buses to be a perfect place for a nap or chit chat with friends, students from marginalized areas would find Wi-Fi on school buses to be a great opportunity to clear their assignments, either on their own or with the help of teachers, if any, present on the bus.

Having Wi-Fi on buses presents an equal opportunity for disadvantaged students to access school resources or generally be connected to the digital world just like their well-connected peers.

After School Support

Students need support not just while in school, but also outside school. While some students have the privilege of reaching their teachers digitally after school, some rely on that time during transit to use the available devices and get further assistance from their teachers.

Majority of school buses have devices like laptops and tablets for use by students and teachers during transit.

For example, if a student is working on an assignment and needs a teacher’s input, the present teacher could help them out before reaching home.

Keep Students Safe and Accounted for

The use of GPS on Wi-Fi-enabled school buses means that the administration and other stakeholders can track the bus’s movements. Some schools allow parents to follow the bus movements in real-time to know where their students are so that they get ready to pick them up from school or know when to get their children ready for pick up.

If for example, students go on a field trip, the administration will know if that is for sure where the students went. They can then track their whereabouts until they come back to school.

This also means that should an emergency happen that requires help, the bus can be easily located and immediate help dispatched.

Independent Learning

Learning should not just happen in the classroom with a teacher present. Sometimes, class time can provide such a controlled and limited environment, especially for slow learners who could benefit from some more learning time.

Wi-Fi-enabled School buses would be a great resource for such students to access classroom material to learn more at their own pace.

Instead of sleeping or moving up and down, as is usually the norm with younger students, this could be an opportunity, especially for students on long commutes, to dive into some extra learning on their own.

Entertainment

Well, even as some people argue that the idea of having Wi-Fi on school buses is not good because students would use them for non-academic purposes, students could use some little entertainment while on transit. 

Having Wi-Fi on school buses means that students can have access to a variety of entertainment resources to help lighten up their mood and keep them calm. Of course, the sites to visit have to be filtered out for children following the Children’s Internet Protection Act guidelines.

Young students, especially, those who like to be up and down even on transit would benefit from some entertainment to help them calm down.

Also, after a tedious day being in the classroom, maybe playing some cool music from permitted sources could help to lighten the atmosphere for the students as they go home.

Students could also indulge in more online activities like games and puzzles to help them stay put in their seats and keep them occupied.

For students from Neighborhoods with Limited or Lack of Broadband Access

Statistics show clearly that unlimited broadband access is still a dream for some students. With digital learning, teachers give out homework that would require further online research and even submission of assignments by email.

Students coming from neighborhoods that have limited to lack of internet access are at a disadvantage because it means lagging behind on finishing their homework and other assignments.

Students coming from places like rural Pennsylvania which have a high number of people with no access to high-speed broadband could greatly benefit from these buses.

Wi-Fi-enabled buses are a sigh of relief for such students as they are able to do their homework and access school resources on transit.

Apart from using the Wi-Fi inside the buses, the Wi-Fi-enabled buses could be used as mobile hotspots in these neighborhoods to ensure that students coming from these areas are not left behind in accessing school resources while at home.

An example is how the Coachella school district has implemented this program. The Wi-Fi on school buses doesn’t just benefit the students, but their families as well.

Conclusion

Having Wi-Fi in school is a good idea, but having it in school buses is even a better idea. Why should schools invest in Wi-Fi buses? Simple. Increase productivity and bridge the digital divide.

Even as more schools embrace the idea of having Wi-Fi on their school buses, caution needs to be taken so that learners are protected from accessing harmful material or being victims of cyber-attacks.

It is evident from the above reasons that Wi-Fi-enabled buses are in fact beneficial, not just to students but to the larger community as well.

Having Wi-Fi on school buses means catching up on assignments, accessing school resources after class, entertainment, and providing equal access to learning material for all students. 

If you don’t know where to start in implementing the idea at your school, companies like Kajeet will be happy to take you through the process and hopefully get your bus or buses connected.

What is Machine Learning Course

Artificial Intelligence is a term that is thrown around a lot. It is one of those buzz words that immediately captures the attention of people and kids alike. Although you might imagine A.I. as humanoid robots that take over the world by developing intelligence, the reality of it is very different. A.I. algorithms are computer programs that assist human beings in whatever they are trying to do. Just like how an Alexa made ordering things online much easier, A.I. algorithms in the classroom can make learning that much easier for students. We will go through all the different ways that an A.I. software in a classroom might be the teaching assistant that every teacher is looking for.

There is an argument to be made that the best way to improve the learning experience of students is to make sure that their teachers are only focused on teaching them. Bogging down teachers with tasks that are not related to teaching is a sure-fire way to decrease the quality of education. A.I. applications have progressed enough that they can check the attendance of the classroom with computer vision, they can also grade multiple-choice tests easily and accurately. A.I. applications can make sure that teachers spend less time grading tests and checking to make sure everyone is in the classroom, and more time focused on teaching. 

Another guaranteed way to make sure that students learn more is to get as close to a teacher-student ratio of 1:1 as possible. If every student had one teacher teaching them a subject, then there would never be a student that performs badly. This may seem impossible in the current times, but it is possible with the help of A.I. There are machine learning applications that can monitor student behavior. These applications can provide feedback to the teachers on the effectiveness of their teaching method, at what time students started paying less attention, their sentiment, and confusion amongst the students. With the help of all these information, a teacher can get a glimpse of the state of their classroom.

A.I. can not only help a student by paying attention to them externally, but also by providing instant feedback on many of their assignments. There are applications like Grammarly that can be very helpful for students learning English. These applications can also provide feedback on their writings and suggest them better phrases and words to use. Using A.I. applications might be the only way to achieve the 1:1 teacher-student ratio.

If a teacher wants help managing a classroom full of students, but they do not have a teaching assistant readily available, an algorithmic teaching assistant might be just what they need. Believe it or not, in an A.I.-powered classroom, the machine learning model will behave as a teaching assistant. An A.I. model will teach the students by giving them the required lectures and notes, it will also test the students to determine where each student is having problems. Then the algorithm can decide to supplement the student with additional materials on the specific topics that the student has not completely understood. This makes learning a student-focused endeavor.  

Everyone agrees that each child learns at their own speed. Putting children who learn at different speeds in the same classroom will hinder everyone’s learning process. A child who learns fast might lose interest when the teacher moves too slow, or someone who learns at a slower pace might find the speed of the teacher to be too fast. The only solution for this is a personalized learning profile for every student. There are applications like MagicBox that allow teachers to create e-Learning modules that adapt to a student’s learning speed. It allows students to move ahead based on how easily they grasp concepts.

Although there are so many advantages to using A.I.-powered platforms in our educational institutions, there are many disadvantages too. No A.I. model is perfect, and there will always be loopholes in the algorithms. Students can always find loopholes to skip past points they are not fond of. An obvious loophole in adaptive learning platforms is the fact that students can copy answers from the internet and the algorithm will be none the wiser. This will give the impression that the students are learning better than they actually are.

There is also an added risk of gamifying the process of finding loopholes. This will cause students to do anything and everything (except study) to find the right loophole in the algorithm. Although these students might have a future in finding bugs in software, this is not the goal of every class they take in school.  

Although new technology in the form of machine learning and A.I. are readily available, they are not replacements for human teachers. There are many things that a teacher provides that can never be provided by machines, like an emotional connection with students. An algorithm might be able to recognize the emotional states of a human being and they might know what to say in that situation, but they are not the correct medium of communication for a human being. Pleasant words always sound better when they come from human beings as opposed to computers. 

In conclusion, A.I. technologies can lighten the load of teachers by performing the administrative tasks for them, or by grading the assignments of students so that the teachers can focus completely on the students. Machine learning in the classroom can also help teachers keep an eye on the learning process of every student they have by collecting data from the students and informing the teachers of the students who are having difficulties in the classroom, or the ones who find it hard to pay attention. A.I. technologies will also behave as a teaching assistant in the classroom by making sure that every student is learning at their own pace. Educational institutions should accept that A.I. technologies will be able to focus on each individual and provide a personalized learning experience, but they should also recognize that human teachers can also never be replaced in certain applications.

What Schools Can Learn From the Biggest Cyberattack Ever on a Single  District

Part 2 – Multifactor Authentication & Mitigation Strategies

Once you enhance your security by integrating ideal password management practices, the next logical step is to integrate Multi-Factor Authentication (Henriquez, 2019). With Multi-Factor Authentication, you confirm your identity with both an account password and a secondary code. There are generally three (3) ways you receive this code. Via email and via text message are the two most common ways the average person receives a secondary code. This makes it so that if someone gained access to your account’s password, that person would not be able to gain access to the account without the secondary code. The idea being that a perpetrator is less likely to have gained access to both the account in question and, for example, the email address where you receive secondary codes. Receiving codes via text message could be considered more secure, because the device is with you and typically only accessible on your phone, rather than an email address which can be accessed anywhere via the internet. The third way to receive your code is, perhaps, the most secure way of making use of Multi-Factor Authentication. In this instance, you use an authenticator app to receive the secondary code. You set this up by first enabling the authenticator app you will use within your password vault. This first step can be as simple as pressing a button labeled “Enable” next to the one you’ve selected. Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator are likely to be options on any password manager you choose. You then visit the app store on your phone (Google Play or the Apple Store, for example) and download the authenticator app you will use. Once the app is downloaded, you will then connect your password manager to the authenticator app. You can do this by re-visiting the section in your vault where you enabled Multi-factor Authentication. Your password manager’s system will show an option for connecting your authenticator app, and once clicked, it will display a QR code. When you re-visit your authenticate app and click the necessary button to add an account (a simple plus icon in Google Authenticator, for example), your camera will automatically scan the QR code and add the account (of course, you need to make sure your phone’s camera is pointed at the code). From this point on, whenever you access the account in question with your password, you will be prompted to enter the code sent to the authenticator device on your phone. This means that no one will be able to access your account unless they have your account password and your phone. You may now see why this is such an effective practice.

The avoidance of phishing scams, password management, and Multi-Factor Authentication are clear actions teachers and students can take to prevent initial or subsequent cyber-attacks. However, it is also worth noting how one can prepare for a cyber-attack that has succeeded in crippling a district’s operations.

The first action that one can take in anticipation of a potential successful cyber-attack is to remain current on crisis management strategies, often provided by one’s school district and state and national agencies. The day of the attack, our district’s phone system and internet were disabled, which prompted our administration to distribute walkie talkies to each Department Coordinator, myself included. Faculty members were instructed to direct all critical communications to their Department Coordinator, who would use the walkie talkie to contact the administration. Guidance counselors served as messengers, carrying secondary information to individual classroom as needed. ALICE procedures, designed to guide district members if there is an active shooter in a school, were also in place. This is because cyber-attacks can be the prelude to a traditional attack.

Remaining current on crisis management strategies often involves informing and training students. For example, I, as a Homeroom teacher, am responsible for reviewing the ALICE procedures referenced above with my Homeroom students. In times of crisis, I am responsible for keeping those students current on any useful information. In the same way, it would be wise to keep students current on the cyber-attack (unless directed not to). Each day, I would pass on what information I knew to both my Homeroom and German students. It seemed to me that they appreciated being given that information. I also took the opportunity to speak with them about what they can do to help prevent cyber-attacks (including much of which I am describing here).

Another action teachers can take to be in a better position to handle the effects of a cyber-attack is to develop flexible instructional practices and plans for such an event. This can be as simple as developing general concepts for teaching under these circumstances or be detailed enough to include pre-made lesson plans. Using my recent experience as an example, there are three (3) specific scenarios a teacher might be wise to prepare for.

  1. No internet available for instruction With the push to transform traditional face to face instruction into instruction that can be delivered in any format (in-person, synchronous, asynchronous, remote) came major changes in the way teachers operate on a day to day basis. Even teachers who had avoided relying on technologies such as our district’s Learning Management System had to do so when Covid-19 came. Once one changes, it can be difficult to change back. However, this is exactly what teachers in my district needed to do. For the first week, we had an operating phone system but neither teachers nor students had internet access. All lesson planning and implementation, instruction, and assignment completion and submission had to be done without the internet. In my own example, this required pulling textbooks last used nearly ten (10) years ago out of the closet and putting them back into use. Learning occurred slowly by comparison to modern methods, but it was a viable temporary solution. Using textbooks allowed my students and I to operate entirely without the internet. Teachers without an in-place textbook series might be wise to find (or develop) materials and place hard copies of them into their classrooms. We worked without any internet for one week.
  2. Internet available to teachers, but not to students After restoring the phone systems, our technology staff then restored internet for teachers. However, student internet access was not restored for another week. In this scenario, teachers can use the internet to research whatever topics are needed to prepare activities, lessons and assignments, that students can complete without the internet.
  3. Internet available to everyone, but services missing After three weeks, internet was restored for all district members. However, certain services, such as our Learning Management System, were still unavailable. In this scenario, teachers could prepare activities that are internet-based but do not rely on the Learning Management System to distribute assignments and collect submissions. It might also be wise, from a practical standpoint, to hold the collection of all assignments until the Learning Management System is operational again, so that students can be directed to submit all work to it. Managing hard copy submissions may prove to be unappealing to those who have grown accustomed to using an online system.

During the restoration process, we saw a number of new faces in our school buildings. This was because a common part of dealing with a cyber-attack is bringing in a third-party service to assist with restoring operations. These companies are tightly focused on, and experienced with, aiding school districts with cyber-attack recoveries. One might be wise to make every effort to be welcoming to representatives of the third-party.

Unfortunately, it seems cyber-attacks on school districts are likely to continue. However, previous attacks have prompted everyone affected by them to carefully consider how to handle successful attacks and how to better prevent future attacks. It is my hope that this overview of the current status of cyber-attacks against school districts, my first-hand account of a cyber-attack, and these prevention and mitigation strategies, will aid practitioners who wish to appropriately respond to potential and successful cyber-attacks on school districts.

Cyber Attacks on Schools: Who, What, Why and Now What?

Part 1 – Ransomware Attacks & Password Management

In December of 2021 my school district suffered a cyber-attack. For us, this was an entirely new type of crisis to cope with. However, we learned that this is a phenomenon that many public-school district’s in the United States have experienced, are currently experiencing, and are likely to experience going forward (Klein, 2022a).

The attack on our district was a Ransomware attack. This type of cyber-attack is one in which the perpetrator gains access to your system and then locks you out of your own data (Goldsborough, 2016). Through the process of recovering from the attack, we learned that coverage for Ransomware attacks is now an integral part of many school district insurance policies. Organizations that are locked out of their data often decide to pay the ransom rather than loose the data. In our case, specifics about the attack were restricted, and so we (the teachers) primarily learned what we did about the attack by making observations.

While cyber-attacks are a more recent occurrence for public school districts, cyber-attacks and Ransomware attacks have been occurring, in general, for the past decade. This causes one to wonder what has led to the increase in attacks on districts, specifically. The answer requires us to examine the changes school districts have undergone in order to meet the needs of students during the Covid-19 pandemic (Klein, 2022b). Simply put, the initial shutdown of school districts and subsequent periodic shutdowns required districts and their teachers to teach students remotely. Previously, learning activities occurred in schools themselves. Even when online activities occurred, they occurred within the networks of the district. The expansion into remote learning has greatly expanded the networks used to access district learning spaces, such as a district’s Learning Management System, which teachers use to distribute assignments and collect and grade submissions. This has made the district and its members significantly more prone to cyber-attacks.

Once one gains a broad understanding of the situation, one might feel powerless to prevent a cyber-attack. While it is true that there are limitations to what individual district members can do to prevent such an attack, there are still clear actions one can take.

To begin with, individuals can be careful not to succumb to a phishing scam. Such scams have been an ongoing problem since well before the pandemic. A phishing scam is an attempt to get a user to divulge sensitive information such as a password, or to get a user to download a file which can be used as a tool to conduct a cyber-attack on the user’s system (Thomas, 2018). If one is careful not to divulge sensitive information, or download items from contacts one does not know, a cyber-attack can be avoided. Teachers can learn to detect the signs of a phishing scam, and pass on that knowledge to their students.

            The next action one can take is to effectively manage their account passwords (Szumski, 2018). Developing, deploying, and maintaining a fleet of highly effective passwords is one of the most important elements of cyber security, and is primarily in the hands of the individual. In order to be highly effective, a password should be 15 characters in length and contain characters beyond lower case letters, such as uppercase letters, numbers, and other punctuation and symbols. Passwords should be updated regularly. Once a year is sufficient.

            Proper password creation, updating, and management is severely lacking among many teachers. The lack of appropriate password creation and management practices makes password management an important topic for teachers and students to focus on (Richardson, 2020). It is understandable that the average person does not follow ideal practices. Doing so can be time consuming and tedious. If done manually, by creating passwords from one’s mind when needed for a new account and writing them down on various pieces of available paper, the task of creating and maintaining a fleet of viable passwords seems, and often is, unmanageable. However, the advent of password managers has made what previously seemed undoable quite doable.

A password manager has four (4) primary functions which allow users to efficiently and effectively create and manage passwords as they work. As you will see, these four functions not only ensure that each user is employing ideal password management practices, but is also increasing the work speed of that user.

  1. Save passwords as you create them Once you set up an account with a password manager and create a long, memorable password, it will become the only password you will need to remember. After sign-up, you will be prompted to install both (A) a web browser extension provided by the password management company via the browser’s extension store and (B) an app for your cell phone, again, provided by the company via the phone maker’s app store. You will log in to both the extension and app with your password manager credentials. From that point on, each time you create a new password for a new account, the manager will ask you if you want to add the newly created password to your vault, and you will say yes.
  2. Generate passwords when you need new ones When people are prompted to create a new password, they often choose very simple passwords and re-use existing passwords since they already know them by heart. Rather than continuing with this habit, people can now rely on the extension or app to generate and enter new passwords for them. In the example of the web browser extension, you click on the extension’s icon (often in the upper right-hand corner) and select the option that allows you to generate a password. The plugin will then create a password for you. You can adjust the parameters as needed. This includes the password length, and what types of characters you want included (lower-case letters, capitalized, letters, numbers, symbols, etc.). Being able to adjust the parameters is useful because different accounts have different password requirements. Once the password is generated you can click a button that fills the password in for you, or copy and paste it.
  3. Save updated passwords as they are created In addition to saving passwords as they are created and generating new passwords as needed, password managers also recognize when you are updating a password for an account already in your password vault. They are able to do this because when they saves the initial password, they log the URLs of the pages you create the passwords on. This enables the managers to recognize the websites later when you return to them. When updating a password in a web browser, the plugin will ask you, via a pop-up prompt, if you would like to update a password in your vault. A similar prompt appears on the app.
  4. Provide feedback on the strength of your security Once your fleet of passwords has been saved in your password vault, it would be well worth your time to visit the security section of your password manger. This is most likely to be found by within your password vault, which can generally accessed via the web browser plugin, app, or via the password company’s website. The security section can show information that will allow you to address any gaps in your security. The system will highlight accounts that use the same password as another account. This will prompt you to visit the account in question, and change the password using the methods described above. The system will also show you when a password is considered to be too weak. For example, it may be too short, or too simple. Finally, the system will note when a password you are using has been involved in a security breach, again, prompting you to change the password. I recently saw this feature in-action. My school district password was saved in my password vault, and the system noted that it had been involved in a breach (which I knew was accurate).

While the features and processes I have described should be generalizable to any password manager, I use LastPass. This is the company and service I have pictured when describing ideal password management. I have no affiliation with LastPass, nor do I receive any incentives for naming them. I have simply used their service for over five (5) years and can speak to the quality of its product and service. LastPass offers both free and paid subscriptions. With a free subscription, LastPass allows you to use the service in either the web browser or on your cell phone, but not both. I subscribed to the free version for several years, as I used LastPass exclusively on the computer. I upgraded to the paid version two years ago so that I could also use the app to my cell phone. I tend to use more and more apps, and it is convenient to have my passwords (which are now long and complicated) automatically filled into apps. An example of how that would be helpful is if you needed to log into your Hulu streaming account to activate the service on a Roku. The paid subscription (called Premium) costs $40 per year as of March 2022.

9k= FSR Press Room

New distributor relationship underscores manufacturer’s commitment to the U.K. market.

Woodland Park, NJ (October 9, 2023) — FSR has expanded its presence in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the appointment of Alto Technologies Limited as a distributor. The newly formed relationship underscores FSR’s commitment to bringing exceptional sales, marketing, and technical support to its U.K. market base by partnering with a company rich in experience and proficient in Audio Visual and UCC applications. Alto Technologies will focus on FSR’s popular infrastructure product lines, which include the company’s flagship floor, wall, table, and ceiling boxes, as well as its award-winning Smart-Way floor raceway series. 

Chaz Porter, FSR’s Director of Global Sales, said, “This is an exciting time for FSR, and we’re delighted to announce this new partnership with Alto, a young company with a strong portfolio that fits well with our brand. Alto’s philosophy mirrors our own – maximizing market share quickly and economically by connecting people with solutions that work. Their management is very well respected in the U.K., and they have earned a reputation as trusted problem solvers. We’re delighted to have them as a partner.

John Vickerage, Managing Director of Alto Technologies Limited, said, “Often meeting rooms, workspaces, and classrooms are built without prioritizing technology. This presents a problem as organizations expect more from these spaces.  FSR’s rich portfolio of products helps overcome these problems in an elegant and cost-effective way, delivering technology solutions that look great and work the way users demand. We couldn’t be happier to be working with such an experienced and accomplished partner.”

FSR is a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of products for the Pro AV and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) markets. FSR manufactures its audio and video switching, control products, connectivity boxes, and collaboration systems from Woodland Park, NJ headquarters.

About FSR

FSR, established in 1981, manufactures a wide variety of signal management and infrastructure solutions for the AV/IT, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), corporate, education, hospitality, government, and religious markets, including floor, wall, table, and ceiling connectivity boxes and wireways, as well as a full line of interfaces, distribution amplifiers, matrix switchers, seamless scaling switchers, and HDBaseT signal delivery solutions. FSR offers live, 24/7 technical and sales support throughout the world from expertly trained technicians and sales representatives.  For more information: www.fsrinc.com.

About Alto Technologies

Alto Technologies Limited is a trade-only, value-added distributor of essential technologies for the workplace and education spaces. Alto Technologies combines its partnerships with market-leading brands and industry experience with a commitment to quick delivery, high standards of support, and customer service. Alto Technologies is Headquartered in Newbury in the UK and partners with Sky Group Communications in France and South Africa to broaden its Global support capabilities. To learn more about Alto Technologies, visit www.altotechnologies.co.uk, call +44(0)1635 496051 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

FSR Contact:  Chaz Porter

973-785-4347 • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press Contact:  Donnell Johnson  

973 998-2010 • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FSR and The Farm v2

Leading AV Provider FSR Teams Up with AV All Stars The Farm to Deliver Comprehensive AV Solutions and Support

Woodland Park, NJ (October 5, 2023) - FSR, a leading audiovisual solutions provider, is thrilled to announce its strategic partnership with The Farm, a distinguished AV representation firm that specializes in providing end-to-end services. Effective immediately, The Farm will serve as FSR's trusted representative across Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and select regions of Montana and Idaho.

The Farm, known for its team of AV experts who offer comprehensive services ranging from design and engineering to quoting, procurement, programming, commissioning, and training, is set to provide FSR with a dynamic presence in the Pacific Northwest. Their commitment to objective, independent advice and recommendations ensures clients receive tailored solutions that align with their unique needs. The Farm's dedication to values such as honesty, trust, transparency, and mutual support has enabled them to cultivate a remarkable team of professionals, making them an ideal partner for FSR. With this strategic alliance, FSR and The Farm aim to streamline and simplify AV infrastructures, providing unparalleled support and expertise to clients in the region.

“Our brief time apart from FSR was not our best time,” says CEO and President of The Farm, John Hood. “Their graciousness and generosity in taking us back after the monumental mistake we made tells you just what kind of people make up FSR. Nothing makes me prouder than to represent the FSR brand in any way they let us.”

The partnership between FSR and The Farm represents a significant step forward in expanding FSR's reach and ensuring that customers in the Pacific Northwest have access to cutting-edge AV solutions and unmatched support.

“We are excited to be working with the Farm. They will offer our clients excellent service,” said Jan Sandri, president of FSR.

 

 

About FSR

FSR, established in 1981, manufactures a wide variety of signal management and infrastructure solutions for the AV/IT, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), corporate, education, hospitality, government, and religious markets, including floor, wall, table, and ceiling connectivity boxes and wireways, as well as a full line of interfaces, distribution amplifiers, matrix switchers, seamless scaling switchers and HDBaseT signal delivery solutions. FSR offers live 24/7 technical and sales support throughout the world from expertly trained technicians and sales representatives.  For more information: www.fsrinc.com.

FSR Press Contact: Donnell Johnson

973 998-2010 • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

About The Farm

TheFarm enterprise horizontal

Since 1994, The Farm has been a renowned AV representation firm that specializes in providing end-to-end services, including design, engineering, quoting, procurement, programming, commissioning, and training. With a focus on honesty, trust, transparency, and mutual support, The Farm has cultivated a team of AV experts dedicated to delivering exceptional solutions and support to clients and partners. For more information: www.thefarmav.com.

The Farm AV Media Contact: Kelly Perkins

(612) 298-7688

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Opinion: Media literacy is essential education - The Fulcrum

Understanding Media Literacy

     In 2013 Andrea Quijada spoke about the importance of media literacy education via a TED Talk, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In this talk she describes her childhood and the desire to have the power to know the absolute truths of the world (from knowing if someone was telling the truth, to knowing if a widely accepted societal truth was valid). As she grew, she found herself inundated with lessons regarding media literacy education, namely via her parents. Quijada describes key elements of media literacy, which primarily include the understanding of a media’s text, subtext, and the ability to deconstruct media using both. She uses several advertisements to demonstrate the uses of these items. The text is shown to be the literal message that a particular media is giving to the viewer. The subtext is described as the personal connections one has to a particular message, and the many potential ways in which one interprets the message (and hidden message if applicable) based on their perspective. Quijada explains that deconstruction is the process that one undergoes in order to unravel the meaning and hidden meanings of a media and to ultimately evaluate that media’s truth.

Media Literacy and Problem Solving

     During Andrea Quijada’s TED Talk regarding media literacy education, she provides several rationales for its use and ultimately the strong need for its inclusion in learning environments at all levels. To begin with, the understanding of media text is a very basic skill that is required by all citizens to function on a daily basis. Understanding the subtext of media becomes essential for those who wish, and/or need, to understand the true message that is being disseminated via the media.

An example provided by Quijada are company advertisements. A credit card company, for example, is shown using the text of their advertisement to promote their new and easily procurable credit card. Understanding the subtext of the tagline, however, requires one to delve deeper. In this particular example, the advertisement equated a line of credit with financial freedom. As one deconstructs the advertisement using both text and subtext and combines each with knowledge of how credit card companies function (ex. how they make money, the accruement of debt etc.), it becomes clear that the advertisement is not promoting a truth. While this knowledge may be commonplace for some, it seems to be Quijada’s message that the majority of the population does not delve deeper than the text of media (or deeper than subtext that is bias and superficial in nature).

Ultimately, it seems as though Quijada is making the case that media education leads to the development higher level thinking skills, which may then lead to the ability to problem solve for the betterment of one’s own life and of society as a whole. It is this ability to problem solve that allows one to become aware of truths, as Quijada desired when young.

Media Literacy and Traditional Literacy

Using literacy education individuals can be taught to think carefully about their own thinking and to ultimately deconstruct a particular text so that they may understand that text at the deepest possible level (Keene & Zimmerman, 1997). It appears that media literacy education accomplishes this as well. In fact, media literacy education may be an effective segue into traditional literacy education given that it strongly connects students to literacy in their own lives (i.e. the world directly around them). Quijada discusses this as she provides examples of students who were successful with media literacy assignments over other assignments due to its practical nature.

Media Literacy in the Literature

     Following a review of the literature regarding media literacy education, it appears that Andrea Quijada’s call for familiarity and use of media literacy at all levels of education is a logical one. Pereira et al.’s (2012) article, for example, establishes a clear need for such media literacy education. They cite the European Union’s acknowledgement of the need via their establishment of media literacy education councils, which have been successful with stimulating the teaching of media literacy learning methods to European Union citizens. An integral part of this success has been a well-developed, highly modern, booklet that has been disseminated to a significant number of these citizens. Mihailidis and Hiebert’s (2005) article also describes the importance of media literacy education, and Camps’ (1993) article describes how media literacy education councils can further assist the wide-spread acknowledgement of media literacy’s importance (through the upholding of media literacy education standards).

In addition to the need for general citizens to be aware of media literacy learning methods, Schwarz’s (2004) article describes the need for higher education instructors in particular to teach future teachers media literacy learning methods. Lacina’s (2005) article supports the declaration of this need and offers specific recommendations for classroom media literacy education. These recommendations range from simple classroom activities to detailed methods that may be taught to students in order for them to deconstruct media at the level Quijada identifies as ideal in her talk. Ziegler’s (2006) also article provides several examples of media literacy education’s use in the higher education classroom.

Media Literacy Education and the 21st Century Learner

     It seems that Andrea Quijada and the many media literacy researchers present in the literature support the idea that such education will create students (and ultimately citizens) that are able to think at a higher level and to use that skill to not only solve problems of today, but to solve unforeseen problems that lay in the future of society. This makes media literacy a type of education that may very well lead to the attainment of problem solving skills that are, and will be, needed most by the world and its people.

 

References

Camps, V. (2009). Media education beyond school. Comunicar, 16(32), 189-196.

Hiebert, R., & Mihailidis, P. (2005). Media literacy in journalism education curriculum. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 9(3), 162-166.

Keene, E. O., & Zimmermann, S. (1997). Mosaic of Thought: Teaching comprehension in a reader's workshop. Portsmouth, NH: HeinemannCamps, V.

Lacina, J. (2005). Media literacy and learning. Childhood Education, 82(2), 118-120.

Pereira, S., Pinto, M., & Pereira, L. (2012). Resources for media literacy: Mediating the research on children and media / Recursos para la alfabetizacion mediatica: Investigacion y propuestas para ninos. Comunicar, 39(20), 91-99.

Quijada , A. (2013, February 19). Creating critical thinkers through media literacy [video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAApvHZ6XE

Schwarz, G. (2004). Media literacy prepares teachers for diversity. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(1), 224-228.

Ziegler, S. G. (2006). Media literacy: (Mis) shaping women's sports. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(3), 90-94.

320,900+ Ai Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock

Introduction

The audio-visual industry has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, thanks to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. One of the prominent players in this AI revolution is OpenAI, along with several other cutting-edge tools and platforms. These AI tools have enhanced the quality of audio-visual content and streamlined production processes, pushing the boundaries of creativity. In this post, we'll explore how the audio-visual industry harnesses AI tools, including OpenAI, to usher in a new era of innovation.

Content Creation and Enhancement

AI-driven content creation tools are revolutionizing how audio and video content is produced. OpenAI's text generation models, like GPT-3, have been used to automate the creation of scripts and captions. These models can generate engaging and coherent content to serve as a starting point for further development by simply providing a brief description or summary. This saves time and fuels creativity by providing inspiration and ideas.

Moreover, AI-based video and audio enhancement tools are making improving the quality of raw footage easier. Noise reduction, image upscaling, and color correction are just a few examples of how AI algorithms can transform mediocre visuals into stunning, professional-grade content. Companies like NVIDIA and Adobe are actively integrating AI into their editing software to empower content creators with these capabilities.

Personalized Content Recommendations

The audio-visual industry has seen a surge in the development of AI-powered recommendation systems. Streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube leverage AI algorithms to analyze user preferences and viewing habits. By doing so, they can provide highly personalized content recommendations to keep users engaged for longer periods. OpenAI's models have also been employed to improve the accuracy of these recommendation systems, ensuring that users discover content that resonates with their interests.

Why AI Has Not Mastered Language Translation - Atlas LS (Chicago)

Real-time Language Translation

Live events and international broadcasts often require real-time language translation to reach a global audience. AI tools are now capable of providing accurate and instant translation services. Whether it's subtitles for a live stream or an on-the-fly dubbing service, AI-driven language translation has eliminated language barriers and expanded the reach of audio-visual content.

Content Moderation and Copyright Protection

AI tools are being utilized to monitor and moderate audio-visual content across various platforms. They can automatically detect and filter out inappropriate or copyrighted material, ensuring that content complies with community guidelines and copyright laws. This not only reduces the workload on human moderators but also enhances user safety and copyright protection.

Conclusion

The audio-visual industry is amid an AI-driven transformation, with OpenAI and other AI tools playing a pivotal role in shaping its future. From content creation and enhancement to personalized recommendations and accessibility features, AI is making audio-visual content more engaging, inclusive, and efficient than ever before. As AI continues to evolve, we can expect even more groundbreaking developments in the audio-visual industry, pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology. Content creators and consumers alike have much to look forward to as the industry continues to leverage the power of AI; this is only the beginning.