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G Suite EDU Savings and Meet Enhancements

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G Suite Enterprise for EducationG Suite Enterprise for Education Savings

As schools and districts continue to rely heavily on Google Meets, Classroom, and other services that facilitate remote and hybrid learning, Google is extending its 50% discount for full domain upgrades to G Suite Enterprise for Education through October 31, 2020.  Student licenses will remain free provided the ratio of student to faculty/staff licensing is 10:1 or less.

Click here for more information and to request a quote.

Rapid Enhancement of Google Meets

Responding to feedback from educators and competitive pressures, Google is accelerating the rollout of features for Google Meet. As announced at Google’s recent The Anywhere School 2020 event, Google Meets will see the addition of the following features, some of which (as noted) will only be available in G Suite Enterprise for Education.

September
  • Moderator Controls: Teachers will be able to end meetings for all participants once class ends, better manage join requests, disable in-meeting chats, require the teacher to join before students can enter the meeting, and prohibit participants from joining after being ejected or denied entry twice.
  • Larger Title Views: Support for up to a 7×7 grid will let up to 49 students be seen at once
October
  • Breakout Rooms: G Suite Enterprise for Education teacher accounts will be able to split classes into smaller group discussions.
  • Custom Background Support: Students and teachers will be able to blur or replace backgrounds to prevent distractions and keep things consistent for all students.
  • Attendance Tracking: G Suite Enterprise for Education teacher accounts will be able to see and track which students attended virtual class.
“Later this year”
  • Temporary Recordings: This will be available to all Education customers as opposed to the premium recordings only available to G Suite Enterprise for Education, allows teachers to record meetings and share the recording within their district for up to 30 days before the recording expires and is deleted.
  • Hand-Raising System
  • Q&A Features (limited to G Suite Enterprise for Education)
  • Polling : To Engage students (limited to G Suite Enterprise for Education)

 

Study Confirms: Education Faces Highest Risk of Ransomware

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As reported in EducationDIVE and Information Week, a recent study of 20,000 organizations by security firm BitSight found educational institutions suffered ransomware attacks at rates 2 to 10 times higher than other sectors of our economy. 10% of educational institutions have been attacked, compared with 6% of government entities, 3.5% of healthcare organizations, and 1.5% of financial institutions.

Ransomware by Sector (Source: BitSight)

Ransomware by Sector (Source: BitSight)

With the rate of ransomware attacks continuing to rise, schools and districts need to enhance their protections. Beyond traditional endpoint protection, user education and communication, web filtering, protection for advanced persistent threats (APTs), and tools/processes for recovery need to be in place.

Our Business Guide to Ransomware eBook provides valuable information covering the types of threats, protections, and recovery systems you should consider.

 

 

iOS 10 is Budget Risk for Schools

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ipad2On September 13, 2016, Apple will release iOS 10 and will stop providing updates for iOS 9.  While iOS 10 is reported have some great new features, the real story for schools — particularly those with iPad programs — is the impact on existing devices and budgets. ZDnet remotes that as many as 40% of existing iPads will become obsolete — a statistic that will certainly push many schools to consider accelerating new iPad purchases and/or move to other devices.

With the release of iOS 10, the following devices will no longer receive iOS updates:

  • iPad 2
  • iPad 3rd Gen
  • iPad Mini
  • iPhone 4s
  • iPod Touch 5th Gen

Schools committed to using iPad 2s, and iPad 3s through the 2016-2017 school year now face the prospect of increased security risks and loss of application support.

Apple is shortening the lifecycle of its devices.  Sold from March 2011 through March 2014, schools may find their devices becoming obsolete in less than their planned 3 year lifecycle.  Looking forward, this trend will impact lifecycle planning and budgets for schools with iPad classroom and 1:1 programs.

Cumulus Global Study Shows Technology Professional Development for K-12 Educators is Often Ineffective

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Cumulus Global Publishes Survey Results on the State of Technology Professional Development in K-12 Education

Cover.State of Tech PDOur January 2016 survey finds that 48% of K-12 classroom educators feel that technology professional development (“Tech PD”) is not timely for use in the classroom nearly 60% of educators feel they need more professional development focused on integrating devices, apps, and online content into lesson plans and delivery. The study also found that while most districts are offering more technology professional development, the timeliness, focus, delivery methods, and overall effectiveness of these programs is not meeting the needs of many K-12 classroom educators.

As the use of technology in K-12 classrooms continues to expand, educators face new challenges. More than devices, educators are using new applications, tools, and online content. Teachers need to be capable and comfortable managing all of this tech in the classroom, as well as integrate these resources into their lesson plans.

In our white paper, The State of Technology Professional Development in K-12 Education, we publish the preliminary analysis of survey results from nearly 300 K-12 classroom educators participating in the 2016 Future of Education Technology Conference held in Orlando, Florida in January. The initial analysis of survey results indicates a need for more balance in the focus of Tech PD programs, as 68% want more training on using applications and tools for lesson planning, collaboration with peers, and other activities. The survey also indicates that some of the most common formats for Tech PD are not the most effective.

Classroom educators are on the forefront of the educational technology revolution. By understanding how well, or poorly, our current Tech PD efforts are helping educators, we can design and delivery better training and support services.

Click here to view and download The State of Technology Professional Development in K-12 Education.