Information Technology

Information, news and features for the education sector IT professionals


Frontline Education Being Sold to Roper Technologies

Frontline Education’s parent company, software investment firm Thoma Bravo, today announced an agreement to sell Frontline Education to Roper Technologies in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.725 billion, according to a news release.

Apple Launches New Education Community with Expanded Teaching Resources, New Forum for Educators

Apple has launched a new professional learning hub for educators called the Apple Education Community, which expands on the resources previously hosted on the Apple Teacher Learning Center and adds a brand new educator Forum, now live in beta.

How to Save Teacher Content and Data Before Edmodo Shutters and Deletes Everything on Sept. 23

Edmodo will permanently shutter on Sept. 22, and educators who have used the platform will no longer have access to their accounts, their instructional content, nor their student data, the company announced this week on its website — here's how to export all the teacher and student files and data before the platform shuts down and deletes all accounts and associated files and data.

Way Beyond Virtual Field Trips: The Surprising & Incredible Ways Educators Are Using ClassVR Virtual Reality in Schools

Educators and instructional technology experts Michael Jaber and Charley Suter describe the “endless” ways that ClassVR virtual reality headsets can help educators get students excited about learning — and share some incredible and surprising ways they are using ClassVR in schools, particularly for special education students, students with autism, and those with limited mobility.

Varsity Tutors' New Teacher Assigned Tutoring Platform Puts Educators in Charge, Connects Classroom Challenges to Sessions

Online tutoring provider Varsity Tutors today unveiled a new service that puts teachers in charge, enabling them to “prescribe” sessions to their struggling students, communicate with each tutor, ensure the extra help is focused on the topics students are struggling with in class, and monitor each student’s progress post-session.

Safety Software Provider Raptor Tech Partners with Alertus on Multi-Modal Mass Notifications

School safety software provider Raptor Technologies and emergency notification software provider Alertus Technologies said this week they will integrate their solutions to enhance security for K–12 schools and districts using Raptor solutions.

ParentSquare Partners with MyVRSpot, Expands Video Messaging Options for Educators

In response to requests from educators for more ways to send video messages to parents, ParentSquare this week announced a new partnership with video and digital media service MyVRSpot that will expand video messaging capabilities on ParentSquare’s school-home communications platform.

Illuminate Education Booted from Student Privacy Pledge, Referred for Potential FTC and State AG Action

The Future of Privacy Forum on Monday announced it has removed Illuminate Education from the nonprofit’s list of Student Privacy Pledge signatories — the first time a company has been de-listed from the voluntary data protection pledge — and said it sent its decision and supporting facts to federal and state authorities for potential legal action against the ed tech company.

How a Poor District in NY Leveled the Playing Field with Better Communications [and Lightened the Load for School Staff]

A district administrator explains how their new school-home communications platform gives them not just two-way communications with families, but also the ability to meet parents where they are — and how implementing the platform has solved numerous challenges for the district staff and teachers, for parents, and for students.

Nonprofit Groups Say ED Must Address Inequitable Harms of Student Online Activity Monitoring

In an open letter this week to U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon, 15 education, technology, and civil rights nonprofits called for the department to put schools and online activity monitoring providers on notice that such monitoring must not result in discrimination or violation of students’ civil rights and liberties.

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