SEPT 7, 2018

Illinois’ School District U-46 Expands Collaboration with Discovery Education to Maximize Investment in Educational Technology

– New Professional Learning Initiative Powered by Discovery Education to Help District Educators Transform Classrooms into Digital Learning Environments-

 

Silver Spring, Md. (September 4, 2018) –  Illinois’ School District U-46 (U-46) today announced it is expanding its collaboration with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.  In the latest phase of this partnership, Discovery Education will provide U-46 educators sustained, job-embedded professional learning that will help the district maximize their investment in educational technologies and accelerate the district’s efforts to transform its classrooms into dynamic digital learning environments.

 

Nearly 30 percent of School District U-46’s incredibly diverse student population are English Learners participating in the district’s acclaimed Dual Language program.  Earlier this year, U-46 partnered with Discovery Education to provide math teachers supporting the Dual Language initiative the company’s award-winning Math Techbook.  A digital textbook that connects students to math through real-world problems, Math Techbook is currently being used by students and teachers across the district’s high schools in both English and Spanish. Students are developing bilingualism and biliteracy skills with Math Techbook as they develop long-lasting mastery of mathematical concepts.

 

Recently, U-46 began implementing a new 1:1 initiative that will ultimately put 14,000 Chromebooks into the hands of students districtwide and create digital classroom experiences that mirror students’ interaction with digital content and technology in their lives outside school.  To support the deeper integration of digital content into the Dual Language program and to facilitate the district’s transition to 1:1 learning, School District U-46 will soon launch a new professional learning initiative from Discovery Education called Digital Leader Corps.  Featuring a unique combination of professional learning, pedagogy, and tools, Digital Leader Corps provides participating educators proven strategies and approaches for integrating educational technologies and digital media into classroom instruction.

 

These strategies and approaches are then practiced in educator created, student-centered Learning Labs. There, teachers practice and adapt new skills in a classroom setting before sharing their successes broadly with their colleagues. The Digital Leader Corps program provides teachers continuous customized, job-embedded consultation, with on-going modeling, coaching, and feedback from Discovery Education experts in the pre-planning, stakeholder communications, and implementation phases.

 

“We all know that today’s students need to become familiar with a wide variety of educational technology tools,” said School District U-46 CEO Tony Sanders. “But strong professional development for our educators must go hand in hand with technology in order to properly integrate new and emerging resources in the classroom so that we help all students succeed.”

 

Throughout this partnership, U-46 educators will continue to receive support from the Discovery Education Community. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

“The team at Discovery Education is very excited to expand our partnership with School District U-46 as they continue transforming district classrooms,” said Emily Keith, Discovery Education Senior Partnership Manager. “We look forward to helping teachers maximize the district’s investment in their digital content and other technologies and to supporting the continued academic growth of all U-46 students.”

 

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.

 

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About Discovery Education

As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

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Carolina Biological’s New Innovators in Science Biographies Inspire Students with Diverse Scientists’ Accomplishments

            BURLINGTON, NC, Sept. 4, 2018 – In time for back-to-school, Carolina Biological Supply Company, the leading school science supplier, launched the new Innovators in Science digital literacy resource for students in grades K to 8. The online resource of biographies presents diverse examples of notable scientists and engineers as part of Carolina’s core science curriculum, which is enriched with opportunities for students to access informational texts, literature, simulations and media related to science and engineering. The goal of this new resource is to bring relevance to all students in science and engineering and the message that science is for everyone. This digital literacy resource is available now and instantly accessible to students and teachers as part of Carolina’s digital science curriculum programs. Carolina developed Innovators in Science as it was creating new science education products for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Calif. NGSS. These biographies specifically meet Calif. Science Framework requirements for diversity in science education. Teachers are invited to preview Innovators in Science at www.carolina.com/innovators.

Innovators in Science includes short, easy-to-read profiles of a diverse selection of 49 scientists from around the world, selected for their diversity, as well as interesting accomplishments and awards in many different fields of science. Carolina will continue to expand the resource by adding more profiles automatically and seamlessly online. Among the initial scientists profiled, 19 are women who are/were leaders in anthropology, astrophysics, botany, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, chemistry, invention, marine biology, medicine, physics, planet geology, primatology, seismology, theoretical physics, and volcanology. From a couple of popular names like Sally Ride and Jane Goodall, to lesser known names such as Youyou Tu from China who discovered the best medicine to treat malaria and Rosaly Lopes, a NASA scientist who discovered volcanos on the planet Jupiter’s moon, girls and young women can learn about many female innovators and role models.

Among the male scientists students will meet as they explore Innovators in Science is engineer Mark Dean, who helped design IBM’s first personal computer and the color computer monitor. In 1996, he was named an IBM fellow, the first African-American ever to receive the honor. Another unlikely science star had a lackluster academic performance at high school and may have had ADHD. He is Craig Venter, a veteran who became one of the most influential people in the world for identifying the human DNA genome with his team. His work can help treat major diseases. In addition to the same science fields explored by female scientists above, other fields introduced by male scientists’ profiles include biochemistry, biophysics, engineering, evolutionary biology, genetics, glaciology, mathematics, meteorology, nuclear engineering, and neurobiology.

“Carolina Biological’s goal with Innovators in Science is for students to begin to make meaningful connections between the importance of their science education and their everyday lives,” said Heidi Duty, Product Developer at Carolina. “As we prepared science curriculum for the NGSS, we saw an opportunity to create a resource that would provide students with exposure to the diversity that exists among the scientists and engineers. This digital literacy resource showcases relevant and notable people from all different walks of life, enabling students to understand that the diversity of individuals making contributions to the body of knowledge of science and engineering is a reflection of the diversity in our world.”

The digital literacy resource emphasizes the importance of science education to all members of society. As required and listed in California’s Science Framework, Innovators in Science includes examples of people who used their learning and intelligence to make important contributions to society through science and technology from different demographic groups, specifically including: Native Americans; African Americans; Mexican Americans and other Latino groups; Asian Americans; Pacific Islanders; European Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans; persons with disabilities; and women.

Features

The profiles are correlated to each Carolina curriculum unit, so that teachers using those programs can easily see a list of whichInnovators in Science profiles relate to their current unit or any upcoming unit. Profiles can also be viewed as a table of contents, where all profiles are visible and listed alphabetically by the innovator’s name, noting their field(s) of science. Each innovator profile includes a photograph and several links from reputable organizations or sources to encourage students at higher grade levels to explore and learn more about each person. Teachers can also use the links for lesson planning, saving them time preparing for class discussions, assignments or activities.

The sources have been thoroughly researched and vetted by Carolina to provide the most appropriate and best quality of online background information about each scientist. Teaching students about reliable sources for research, they include education sites, universities, nonprofit organizations, government departments, museums, professional science and engineering associations, science organizations, science journals, encyclopedias, biography databases, and firsthand blogs or websites of the scientist profiled.

Some of the sites that students will visit if they explore the curated links at the end of each profile are Biography, Encyclopedia Britannica, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Nobel Prize, NASA, Scientific American, and Stanford University.

Digital Portal
           To meet the changing needs of the modern classroom, Carolina core science curriculum provides a digital experience for students and teachers through a newly updated online portal. Whether there is one computer in a classroom or 1-1 accessibility, teachers and students can access the programs in a digital format. This includes access to the new Innovators in Science digital literacy resource, the Teacher Guide, interactive Student Readers and Literacy components, digital simulations for every unit, interactive whiteboard activities and summative assessment for each product.

Availability

            Innovators in Science is available now as a new digital resource included in Carolina’s digital core science programs for grades K-8, including Building Blocks of Science™ 3D  (K-5) and Smithsonian Science and Technology Concepts Middle School™. Prices start at $374.95 for one kit through Carolina. For information, visit Carolina’s website atwww.Carolina.com, call (800) 334-5551, or e-mail curriculum@carolina.com.

Carolina Biological Supply Company
           From its beginnings in 1927, Carolina (www.carolina.com) has grown to become the leading supplier of biological and other science teaching materials in the world. Headquartered in Burlington, NC, Carolina serves customers worldwide, including teachers, students, and professionals in science and health-related fields. The company is still privately owned by descendants of the founder, geology and biology professor Dr. Thomas E. Powell Jr.

 

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Impero Software partners with Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program to Provide Schools with Student Safety and MDM Software

 

Austin, TX, Sept. 6, 2018 – Impero Software, global specialists in remote monitoring and management software for education, has partnered with the Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program, a statewide cooperative of Illinois K-12 educational entities, to provide Illinois schools with student safety software and mobile device management solutions.

The partnership offers Illinois K-12 schools exclusive pricing for Impero’s flagship classroom management, network admin and student safety solution, Impero Education Pro, and its education-specific mobile device management solution, Impero EdLink.

Impero Education Pro is a cross-platform solution consolidating classroom management, network management and student safety. It is compatible across Chromebooks, Windows, Mac OSX and iOS. The software provides real-time monitoring of student devices and keyword detection to help schools and districts identify potentially harmful or inappropriate content and activity. Impero has developed its keyword libraries by working with leading charities and specialist organizations, including Mental Health America (MHA), the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), SafeBAE and Hey U.G.L.Y.

When the software detects a keyword or phrase that may indicate risk, it captures the activity as a screenshot or video clip to provide contextual insight. School staff are able to respond to these incidents appropriately with counter-narratives and support. Schools can also use this insight to identify localized trends and issues in order to support teaching digital citizenship to Illinois students. The software also provides teachers with a suite of easy-to-use classroom control tools and enables school technical teams to streamline the management of a school network, including over multiple sites.

Impero’s mobile device management solution, Impero EdLink, is compatible with iOS, ChromeOS and Android. It supports geo-location and offsite filtering and is fully integrated with Impero Education Pro to enable schools and districts to manage mobile devices effectively.

Richard Fuller, CEO of Impero Software, comments, “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with the Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program to help provide K-12 schools in Illinois with the tools to facilitate digital learning and help protect students.”

Hope Hardin-Borbely, the Marketing Manager for ILTPP, adds “The relationship with Impero represents a powerful opportunity for ILTPP to significantly expand our presence in K-12 Illinois schools, a vibrant and very important market. Impero applies cross-platform solutions and expertise for real-time classroom monitoring. We’re excited to partner with Impero as we focus our combined energies toward serving a broader range of schools by providing industry-leading mobile device management solutions.”

 

About Impero Software

Impero Software offers remote monitoring and management software, relied upon by education establishments around the world. Founded in 2002, Impero software is now accessed by over 1.5 million devices in over 90 countries. Impero is used by more than 1,400 UK high schools and in more than 500 U.S. districts.

Impero’s cutting edge EdTech software consolidates a range of powerful classroom, network and device management features enabling schools and colleges to reduce costs and improve both staff and student productivity. Impero’s sophisticated online safety functionality uses keyword detection technology to help schools safeguard students online. For more information visit: www.imperosoftware.com.

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Epson Now Shipping PowerLite L-Series Laser Projectors

 

Award-Winning Compact Laser Projectors Deliver Incredible Value for Education, Corporate and Houses of Worship

 

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Sept. 6, 2018 – Epson, the number-one selling projector brand worldwide¹, announced it is now shipping its new compact PowerLite^® L-Serieslaser projectors within the 4,500 – 6,000 lumen range. Weighing between 17 and 19 pounds, the PowerLite L-Series are compact, making them versatile for convenient portability and installation in educational institutions, corporate spaces and houses of worship with high ambient lighting.

“Epson’s new PowerLite L-Series answers a need for strong value laser solutions within the mid-lumen range in a convenient design,” said Remi Del Mar, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc. “We continue to drive laser projection with compelling solutions for the business and education marketplace. By combining 3LCD technology with state-of-the-art laser light source, Epson delivers uncompromising image quality, high color brightness and truly reliable performance.”

Epson’s award-winning laser technology delivers remarkable color accuracy, easy set-up and virtually maintenance-free operation with up to 20,000 hours² of laser light source. In addition, the PowerLite L-Series supports advanced wired and wireless solutions, including HDMI and HDBaseT, and with the laser light source’s Instant Off power, users can achieve maximum brightness in seconds for quick presentation setup.

To support BYOD classrooms, the projectors provide enhanced wireless display technology, allowing teachers to connect the projector to up to 50 Chromebooks, PCs and Mac^® computers, and iOS and Android devices. Educators can also simultaneously display up to four screens with the Epson iProjection^™3 wireless display solution. The high-end PowerLite L610U and L615U models offer wireless screen mirroring from a smartphone or streaming device with Miracast^®.

The new PowerLite L-Series laser projectors deliver powerful performance with vibrant, bright images, as well as advanced installation features and enterprise-level wireless security support for education and business applications. The projectors include the following features:

• Solid-State Laser Light Source and Electrostatic Air Filter – Provide virtually maintenance-free operation up to 20,000 hours²

• Versatile Connectivity and Control – Supports a full range of inputs, including HDBaseT, 3G-SDI, and is compatible with Crestron RoomView, AMX, Extron XTP, Control4, and Art-Net for easy integration

• Professional Installation Features – Full 360-degree installation flexibility, including Portrait Mode, Instant Off power, quieter performance, and high contrast ratios

• Quick and Easy Setup – Get up and running in no time with easy image adjustments, convenient controls and models with built-in wireless

• Outstanding Service and Support – Epson’s unrivaled customer support goes the extra mile with a limited warranty of 20,000 hours of usage or three years, whichever comes first

 

PowerLite L-Series Specifications:

 

Product	Color Brightness4	White Brightness4	Housing Color	Resolution	HDBaseT	360-degree installation	Lens Shift	Screen Mirroring	MSRP
PowerLite L615U	6,000 lumens	6,000 lumens	Black	WUXGA (1920 x 1200)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	$3,499
PowerLite L610U	6,000 lumens	6,000 lumens	White	WUXGA (1920 x 1200)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	$3,499
PowerLite L510U	5,000 lumens	5,000 lumens	White	WUXGA (1920 x 1200)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	$2,799
PowerLite L400U	4,500 lumens	4,500 lumens	White	WUXGA (1920 x 1200)	No	Yes	No	No	$2,499
PowerLite L610W	6,000 lumens	6,000 lumens	White	WXGA (1280 x 800)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	$2,599
PowerLite L610	6,000 lumens	6,000 lumens	White	XGA (1024 x768)	No	Yes	Yes	No	$2,399
PowerLite L500W	5,000 lumens	5,000 lumens	White	WXGA (1280 x 800)	No	Yes	No	No	$1,999

Availability and Support

The new PowerLite L615U, L610U, L510U, L400U, L610W, L500W, and L610 models are available now through authorized Epson resellers. The projectors come with a limited warranty of three years or 20,000 hours, whichever comes first, with next business day replacement, including free shipping both ways⁵. For additional information, visit https://epson.com/LaserISE.

 

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, watches and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 76,000 employees in 87 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.

 

Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/EpsonAmerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

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¹Epson is the #1 projector brand worldwide and in the U.S. according to most recent quarterly data from PMA, a leading high-tech market research and publishing firm specializing in the display market

² 20,000 hours is the estimated projector life when used in Normal Mode in an ordinary environment. Actual hours may vary depending on mode and usage environment. The Pro L-Series projectors have a limited warranty of three years or 20,000 hours, whichever comes first.³ For wireless functionality, including via the Epson iProjection App, the projector must be configured on a network, either through the Ethernet port on the projector (check model specifications for availability) or via a wireless connection. Check your owner’s manual to determine if a wireless LAN module must be purchased separately to enable a wireless connection. Not all Epson projectors are able to be networked. The Epson iProjection App does not support all files and formats. See www.epson.com for details.

⁴ Color brightness (color light output) and white brightness (white light output) will vary depending on usage conditions. Color light output measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4; white light output measured in accordance with ISO 21118.

⁵ Expedited shipping not available in all areas. Road Service orders must be in by 3 p.m. Eastern Time for Next-Business-Day delivery.

Note: EPSON and PowerLite are registered trademarks. EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark and Epson iProjection is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Brighter Futures is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. Miracast® is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance®. Mac and iOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android and Chromebook are trademarks of Google Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2018 Epson America, Inc.

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