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Early trials of automarking software for maths papers indicate 99% accuracy

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Automarking software developed by Cambridge AI company, Blutick, achieves 99% accuracy across marks in two GCSE papers when checked by a human marker.

 

Ofqual research suggests that, in maths, 30,000 students (4%) receive a mark which does not align with the ‘definitive grade’ given by the principal examiners. However, following a successful trial, an automated marking tool developed by Blutick was found to be 99% accurate when assessing scripts across two GCSE exam papers. This is an important step in helping to significantly reduce any margin of error, and ensure students receive the grades they deserve. 

Blutick is a Cambridge AI software company focused on teaching, learning and assessment in maths. The organisation is currently working with exam boards to improve marking consistency by augmenting and supporting the work done by examiners, and ultimately, champion a fair system for all students.

Once the automated marking was conducted across the exam papers, an examiner reviewed the students’ responses and the Blutick mark, correcting any marks where necessary and returning an accuracy rate of 98.6% to 98.75% by the AI software.

Currently, a sample of only 1.2% of questions are double marked (Ofqual 2018, p. 9). However, a 2013 review of literature on marking reliability research by Ofqual indicates the value of multiple marking for exam scripts. Despite this, it raises the recruitment of examiners, cost implications, time constraints and logistical issues as barriers to its introduction across the board. With other experts also disputing the accuracy of the current examination and grading system, this new automated marking software would help remove these barriers and challenges, increasing the feasibility of multiple marking.

Rob Percival, Blutick’s CEO and a former maths teacher, said:

“With so few questions double marked, there is a lot of scope for error. A system like this can review 100% of marked papers and flag potentially erroneous responses for further checking.

“It in no way replaces the work done by examiners, but instead acts as a safety net in ensuring more students get the grade they deserve with almost no extra cost or increased workload for examiners.”

Beyond eradicating errors, more automation in marking processes is a growing focus for exam boards and for Ofqual. With barriers to recruiting suitable examiners exacerbated by Covid, automarking software provides a solution to these problems that benefits students, teacher–examiners and exam boards.

Simon Armitage, Deputy Head at The Perse School, Cambridge, said:

“Whilst examination grades should never be the sole measure of ‘output’ from a school or the nature of any student’s achievements, it is self-evident that any grades must be fair.

“Anything that helps exam boards to deliver accurate results more reliably is good news for everyone – students, schools, universities and employers. It is one of the reasons why The Perse School has been pleased to be involved in the Blutick Maths project.

“If an Artificial Intelligence system is part of this improvement, then it also helps reduce inevitable human error and could help exam boards to circumnavigate the difficulties of finding well-qualified markers.”

 

Unlocking a new level of learning: Enhancing the connection between parents and their school community

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By Giancarlo Brotto, Global Education Advisor at SMART Technologies

 

As we look towards the start of a new term, educators as well as parents, will be contemplating what more they can do to supercharge the learning of their children and students. Students have had to contend with a lot over the past few years which in turn, distanced them from their teachers, and it’s safe to say that there is a lot of catching up to do.

 

With this in mind, it’s crucial that strong connections within the students’ support network – whether that’s between student and teacher, or teacher and parent – are taken to new levels with enhanced collaboration. This way teachers and schools can make up for the lost time in the classroom over the pandemic, by providing comprehensive support for their students both in school and at home.

 

We know, from data collected by SMART’s very own Edtech Assessment Tool, that schools can achieve better performance outcomes by creating a more symbiotic relationship between teacher and parent. Feedback from the assessment tool shows a clear connection between improved learning for students when the full school community is involved, resulting in greater efficiency in how learning is delivered.

 

With school set to return for the 2022-23 year, what do the key priorities look like for educators to enhance their connection with parents and ultimately benefit the student throughout the year?

Knowing who your pupils and parents are

 

The impact on learning brought by the pandemic has been widespread. Enforced social-distancing took students out of the classroom and siloed them and their parents away from the school. In some extreme cases, new students wouldn’t go on to meet their teachers and classmates in person for over six months.

 

Now normality has resumed, parents and teachers can refamiliarise themselves with one another and form a bond that helps preserve student wellbeing for the foreseeable future and like every connection, it takes effort to nurture.

 

What does this look like in practice for teachers? It means taking the opportunity to talk to your pupils and their parents, not just in the classroom or when an issue arises, but in a wide array of times like at pick-up times and during regular check-ins around performance and wellbeing. This active effort to connect with pupils and their parents on a one-to-one basis brings a multitude of benefits, like building increased trust and keeping parents up to date with the ongoing activity in the classroom.

 

To this point, remember to share the positive news! Parents are always open-eared about their children’s work and progress, so make sure to share their strengths – whether that’s a new skill they’re learning, academic improvements or their positive attitude in the classroom.  Sharing these anecdotes with parents will only help to reinforce positive behaviours outside of the classroom.

 

How EdTech is breaking down the barrier between school and home

Necessary steps were taken during the Covid pandemic to ensure learning continued and one of the steps was a seismic shift towards online learning and technology-based teaching, which enabled the ability to remotely teach and learn. Now with an increased presence of edtech in schools, what can educators do to take advantage of it?

 

To put into context just how quickly the adoption of education technology was, our research shows that almost two thirds (64%) of schools in the UK are now embedding technology in everyday teaching and learning practices, using it to transform teaching approaches and learning outcomes with 84% of schools in the UK reporting positive outcomes for students, and 76% reporting to have met their teaching and learning goals as a result of this adoption,

 

One of the greatest attributes of modern edtech is its deployment in a variety of settings. Whether in-class or at home, educational portals brimming with content provide teachers and students alike with a variety of methods to teach & learn. It is this accessibility that meant that in a matter of days, kitchen tables and living rooms became the classroom for thousands of students during the pandemic. This presented a new and exciting opportunity for parents to engage with their child’s education like never before.

 

Technology is able to break down the barriers between parents, teachers and staff, allowing a free flow of communication, which we all know to be vital in a child’s education. Finding that blend between school life and home life is pivotal to guarantee that both are areas where children feel comfortable to learn, to ask questions and to engage with the material. 

 

For an example of this integration between schools and parents that utilises technology, we can look at Shireland Technology Primary. Shireland actioned a plan that transformed the ways in which communication with parents was handled by integrating SMART technology throughout their education programme, both through interactive displays or the SMART online portal ‘Lumio’. This means that all content and resources that were being taught throughout the school were readily available to parents and students at home.

 

Going forward into term

With this information, teachers can go into the new term with the goal of building out  students’ wider support network by setting out goals for the year early on, so that parents know exactly where the focus of their child’s learning is headed and can contribute.

 

Parents know, just as well as teachers, that students need increased support following the disruptions of the past few years. To place this responsibility solely at the feet of teachers means that a student’s learning is put on pause at the end of every school day. Through an increased relationship and connection between teacher and parents, students can be guaranteed a consistent support system, home and in-school, that helps them engage with the curriculum through enjoyable educational technology. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early trials of automarking software for maths papers indicate 99% accuracy

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Automarking software developed by Cambridge AI company, Blutick, achieves 99% accuracy across marks in two GCSE papers when checked by a human marker.

Ofqual research suggests that, in maths, 30,000 students (4%) receive a mark which does not align with the ‘definitive grade’ given by the principal examiners. However, following a successful trial, an automated marking tool developed by Blutick was found to be 99% accurate when assessing scripts across two GCSE exam papers. This is an important step in helping to significantly reduce any margin of error, and ensure students receive the grades they deserve. 

Blutick is a Cambridge AI software company focused on teaching, learning and assessment in maths. The organisation is currently working with exam boards to improve marking consistency by augmenting and supporting the work done by examiners, and ultimately, champion a fair system for all students.

Once the automated marking was conducted across the exam papers, an examiner reviewed the students’ responses and the Blutick mark, correcting any marks where necessary and returning an accuracy rate of 98.6% to 98.75% by the AI software.

Currently, a sample of only 1.2% of questions are double marked (Ofqual 2018, p. 9). However, a 2013 review of literature on marking reliability research by Ofqual indicates the value of multiple marking for exam scripts. Despite this, it raises the recruitment of examiners, cost implications, time constraints and logistical issues as barriers to its introduction across the board. With other experts also disputing the accuracy of the current examination and grading system, this new automated marking software would help remove these barriers and challenges, increasing the feasibility of multiple marking.

Rob Percival, Blutick’s CEO and a former maths teacher, said:

“With so few questions double marked, there is a lot of scope for error. A system like this can review 100% of marked papers and flag potentially erroneous responses for further checking.

“It in no way replaces the work done by examiners, but instead acts as a safety net in ensuring more students get the grade they deserve with almost no extra cost or increased workload for examiners.”

Beyond eradicating errors, more automation in marking processes is a growing focus for exam boards and for Ofqual. With barriers to recruiting suitable examiners exacerbated by Covid, automarking software provides a solution to these problems that benefits students, teacher–examiners and exam boards.

Simon Armitage, Deputy Head at The Perse School, Cambridge, said:

“Whilst examination grades should never be the sole measure of ‘output’ from a school or the nature of any student’s achievements, it is self-evident that any grades must be fair.

“Anything that helps exam boards to deliver accurate results more reliably is good news for everyone – students, schools, universities and employers. It is one of the reasons why The Perse School has been pleased to be involved in the Blutick Maths project.

“If an Artificial Intelligence system is part of this improvement, then it also helps reduce inevitable human error and could help exam boards to circumnavigate the difficulties of finding well-qualified markers.”

Clearlake Capital-Backed Discovery Education Acquires DoodleLearning

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Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”)—today announced the acquisition of DoodleLearning. The Bath-based DoodleLearning’s maths and English products create personalised learning experiences that help improve students’ academic achievement and confidence. Terms were not disclosed. 

 

The acquisition of DoodleLearning supports Discovery Education’s mission to prepare learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world. DoodleLearning complements Discovery Education’s other award-winning digital services, which include Discovery Education’s K-12 platform, Mystery Science, STEM Connect, the Math, Science, and Social Studies Techbooks, Espresso, Coding and Health and Relationships. 

 

“Discovery Education is dedicated to creating a best-in-class edtech ecosystem that supports our mission to prepare today’s students for future success,” said Discovery Education Chief Executive Officer Scott Kinney. “This acquisition is an important milestone in that effort, and we look forward to both partnering with the talented DoodleLearning team and scaling the reach of their innovative, adaptive maths and English products.”

 

Prior to founding DoodleLearning, Chief Executive Officer Nicola Chilman and Chief Operating Officer Tom Minor taught maths. In 2011, after experiencing firsthand technology’s ability to accelerate student learning, Chilman and Minor created an app combining high-quality digital content and educational supports that encouraged children to learn in an engaging and personal way. 

 

Today, DoodleLearning offers four products supporting instruction in maths and English for ages 4-14 that have been used by over one million children in the U.K. and around the world. As part of the Discovery Education family of services, DoodleLearning will continue to apply its educational ability to building and deploying affordable learning solutions for students worldwide.

 

“The entire DoodleLearning team is excited to join Discovery Education’s efforts to build and scale a powerful edtech ecosystem of digital resources serving teachers and learners worldwide,” said Nicola Chilman, DoodleLearning Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. “Our team will naturally fit into Discovery Education’s mission-driven culture, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues on our joint mission to prepare today’s students for future success.”

 

“DoodleLearning is excited to join the Discovery Education team,” said Tom Minor, Chief Operating Officer, and Co-Founder of DoodleLearning. “The company has laid out exciting plans to increase the number of instructional minutes it supports each day, and DoodleLearning is poised to play a significant role in this effort.”

 

DoodleLearning is Discovery Education’s latest acquisition. In October of 2020, Discovery Education acquired Mystery Science and in July of 2020, Discovery Education purchased Spiral. In August of 2019, Discovery Education announced the acquisition of Inspyro.

 

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.co.uk, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

Discovery Education’s Augmented Reality App Earns Spaces4Learning New Product Award

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Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place—recently earned the Spaces4Learning New Product Award in the K-12 Remote Learning Technology category for its Sandbox AR app. The Spaces4Learning New Product Award programme honours the outstanding product development achievements of companies whose products or services are particularly noteworthy for their ability to enhance the learning environment.Spaces4Learning is a leading publication for companies and organizations interested in creating high-quality facilities in both K-12 and higher education.  

 

Discovery Education’s Sandbox AR app empowers students and teachers to create, share, and even inhabit virtual environments. Within Sandbox AR, users can create virtual worlds and populate them with some of the hundreds of unique objects from history, the built world, science and nature, and more. Sandbox AR also gives students new ways to express themselves and demonstrate their learning through a feature that lets learners take photos or record a video walkthrough with their own voice over. Sandbox AR even offers a mode that allows users to scale up and inhabit their own life size virtual environments.

 

For those new to AR, Sandbox AR includes many pre-built sandboxes exploring diverse subjects such as ancient Egypt, space exploration, Mayan civilization, road construction, and more, with additional sandboxes coming soon. Discovery Education is also making available several free, pre-built lessons educators can use with the app to familiarize themselves with integrating AR into classroom instruction. Sandbox AR is available for download here.

 

The development of Sandbox AR was led by Discovery Education’s UK-based Immersive Learning team who have been pioneers in creating Virtual and Augmented Reality experiences for schools for over 30 years. 

 

Sandbox AR received its world premiere at the BETT Show in March, where it was launched on the Main Stage with London-based educator Simon Pile sharing how he has used the app in his school.  

 

“Since its inception, Discovery Education has been an early mover in bringing innovative technologies—such as streaming video and digital textbooks—into the classroom, and we are now excited to put the power of augmented reality into the hands of educators with the Sandbox AR app,” said Howard Lewis, Managing Director, UK and International, at Discovery Education. “We are honoured by this recognition as it validates our work to provide all educators state-of-the-art resources that connect students to the world around them. Thank you to the Spaces4Learning team for this recognition.”

 

The winners are determined by a panel of judges. Learn more about the New Product Awards and the 2022 winners here.

 

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.co.uk, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn. 

 

Discovery Education Announces Latest Enhancements to Award-Winning Discovery Education Espresso Service

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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022— Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place—today announced a host of new enhancements to its award-winning Espresso service. These improvements make it easier for educators to find, build and deliver compelling lessons that capture pupils’ attention and drive deeper engagement no matter the subject. 

 

Among the latest enhancements made to Discovery Education Espresso for back-to-school are: 

 

More ready-to-use tools to assess pupil outcomes and address learning gaps.

 

Educators can refine instruction to keep pupils motivated with the classroom engagement tool, Quiz. Quiz gives multiple ways to promote active learning in the classroom and track progress in real time. 


Real-time tracking of pupil progress with My Classrooms, an intuitive new way to navigate between tracking pupil progress and assignments. The redesigned interface will help teachers better understand where pupils are and how to differentiate learning to meet their unique needs. 

 

A new time-saving educator experience enhances the use of high-quality instructional resources.

Discovery Education understands that one of a teacher’s most valuable resources is time. Espresso’s search features have been more finely tuned to help educators find just the right piece of digital content they need to capitalise on the teachable moment.  

 

A brand-new Explore page empowers educators to easily browse Espresso’s unique treasury of digital resources by subject, then offers suggestions based on their grade levels and topics of interest. 

 

Enhanced ability to easily adapt ready-to-go lessons and activities.

 

Studio—Discovery Education’s creative lesson-building and presentation tool included with Espresso—empowers educators to quickly modify a ready-to-use activity, create a lesson from a template using proven education strategies, or construct a new digital lesson from scratch. 

 

In addition to improving the overall workflows of Studio, educators are now able to:

  • Quickly preview Studio lessons or activities from the pupil perspective.
  • Use images as buttons for pupil navigation through activities.      
  • Enliven lessons with fun fonts and animated buttons. 

 

A new pupil interface builds agency, inspires learning and promotes time on task.

Discovery Education has updated Espresso’s pupil interface with a refreshing new look and improved overall experience that builds pupil agency, encourages learning and promotes time on task. New features of the improved pupil interface include:

 

  • Personalisation options for pupils to customise the look and feel of their home page. 
  • A refreshed Assignments section that makes it easier for pupils to prioritise, launch and complete assignments. 
  • A brand-new Explore page that offers pupils the opportunity to follow their interests, with content recommendations based on searches, and what is timely, relevant, and new at Discovery Education.

These updates to the Discovery Education Espresso service build upon the high-quality curriculum content that educators across the UK have been using in their classrooms for more than twenty years, ensuring that the Espresso service continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s classrooms. 

“Continuous improvement is one of Discovery Education’s core values,” said Discovery Education’s Managing Director, UK and International, Howard Lewis. “The newest updates and features added to  Espresso support educators’ efforts to engage and inspire pupil learning wherever and whenever it is taking place. By providing teachers access to timely, relevant content and useful teaching tools all in one place, Discovery Education is making it even easier for teachers to find or create the engaging lessons we know will stoke the natural curiosity in all learners.”

 

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.co.uk, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn. 

 

AVer Europe announces Zoom certification for DL10 and PTC310UV2 auto tracking cameras

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AVer Europe, the award-winning provider of video collaboration and education technology solutions, announces today that the innovative DL10 and PTC310UV2 cameras are certified as Zoom Rooms Certified Hardware by Zoom Video Communications, Inc.

The DL10 is the newest Distance Learning Tracking Camera from AVer that features a 6X total zoom, camera tracking AI, and USB plug-and-play functionality, allowing educators to teach classes anywhere without having to worry about manual framing or tracking adjustments. The DL10 is the ideal choice for space conscious rooms and hybrid teaching environments, perfectly balanced between classroom needs and school budgets. The PTC310UV2 is part of AVer’s latest auto tracking PTZ cameras, featuring an all-new chipset and an incredible zoom power of 144X (12X optical and 12X digital zoom). With its 4K resolution and AVer’s highly accurate AI functions, including various auto tracking capabilities and human detection processing, the PTC310UV2 offers the ultimate experience for broadcasting, streaming, and recording.

“The DL10 and PTC310UV2 camera are from our extensive range of solutions available to the European market, to optimise the potential of teaching environments and enrich the learning experience,” said Rene Buhay, SVP of Sales and Marketing, AVer Europe. “The Zoom certification highlights their enhanced capability for creating high quality and accessible content for audiences.”

The Zoom Certified badge is a certification given by Zoom representing hardware devices that have been tested for compatibility and performance with Zoom software. As AVer offers camera solutions that cover a wide range of room sizes, from elementary classrooms to large auditoriums, users can find a suitable camera that is Zoom certified and tailored to their needs and enjoy a highly efficient video performance when paired with the Zoom platform.

“At Zoom, we consistently deliver high-quality video communications technology that is easy to use and manage. We are pleased to certify AVer’s distance learning and Pro AV PTZ camera for use with Zoom Rooms in classrooms and any settings where a professional video experience is needed,” said Eric Yu, Head of Hardware Partnership, Zoom.

“AVer is committed to providing users with innovative technology solutions that delivers seamless video collaboration performance,” said Andy Hsi, CEO, AVer Information Inc. “We are thrilled to receive this Zoom Rooms Certified Hardware certification to give our customers a continued peace of mind.”

COBIS AND DISCOVERY EDUCATION 2022 CODING CHALLENGE: INTERNATIONAL COMPUTING COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED

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COBIS (Council of British International Schools) and Discovery Education are delighted to announce the winners of the 2022 Coding Challenge – a competition for British International Schools which sees students compete with their peers around the world to create a computer game or app.

 

Now in its third year, the prestigious challenge invites students aged 5-12 to unleash their creativity by designing an app using Discovery Education Coding – the award-winning resource for primary schools. Open to COBIS member schools in 76 countries, the competition reaches over 165,000 students globally. 

 

The theme of this year’s competition was ‘A Difficult Journey’ and students taking part were encouraged to create an app simulating a quest. The judges were highly impressed by the wide range of entries and the programming skills shown by entrants as young as 5. 

 

The 2022 winner is 12 year old Kobe, a Year 7 student from Doha College in Qatar. Kobe’s winning app was ‘Fit the Gap’ – an impressive block coding game which sends players on a journey in search of a missing star. The user-friendly app was described by the judges as “sophisticated and mature” with a “very professional and authentic design.”

 

Kobe said: ” I am ecstatic that I won the COBIS App competition, I didn’t believe I could do it, I thought I had a small chance of winning second or third prize, but never imagined that I would come first! My game was based on games like Tetris that I love playing in my free time. I finished the game with only a few hours to spare and I didn’t think much of it. After a while, I had almost forgotten about it, I even wondered if I had submitted it correctly, then I got the email that I had won, and honestly, I’m surprised out of my wildest dreams!” 

 

Kobe’s teacher Ruhul Chowdhury said, “We are very pleased to learn that Kobe has won first place. We would like to thank COBIS and Discovery Education for giving our students an amazing opportunity to participate in this event. It provided them with a platform to create an app based on the theme given. I believe all our students should learn how to create apps, and other digital products and services by learning to program. They need to become creators of technology rather than just the end-users.” 

 

The second place winner was 12 year old Ojas from The Arbor School in Dubai. Ojas’s winning app was ‘The Adventures of Indiana Jones’ – an exciting game in which players search for missing treasure. The game was described by the judges as “exceptionally well designed and authentic.” 

 

Ojas said, “Discovery Education Coding  provides an amazing platform for the students’ interest in programming and STEM. It is an honour to learn and compete with the best and brightest of students across the world. My game program was based on the adventures of Indiana Jones where I attempted to combine fiction with joys of programming. I am really thankful to my teachers at The Arbor School who have always taught me to go that extra mile.” 

 

The third place winner is 11 year old Gosha from English International College in Marbella, Spain. Gosha’s winning app was based on Minecraft, with 3 levels of exciting play. The highly creative app was described by the judges as “complex, inventive and really immersive.”

 

Gosha said, “I loved participating in this year‘s coding competition. I love coding and my teacher, Mr Carlos.Coding is very important to me and I want to be a programmer of games when I grow up. I worked really hard on my game and I’m really proud of myself for achieving this award.”

 

The three winning students were presented with their certificates at special school assemblies this week. First prize winner Kobe also received a $250 Amazon voucher, with the runners-up Ojas and Gosha receiving $150 and $100 vouchers respectively. 

 

Colin Bell, CEO of COBIS, said:

 

“As a student-centred organisation, we are committed to offering enriching opportunities for students worldwide, and so we were delighted to partner with Discovery Education to deliver our third Coding Challenge for students at British international schools. The competition allowed students as young as five to learn how to code and develop valuable skills such as problem-solving, computational thinking, digital literacy and creativity. It was fantastic to see so many students take part, and we were once again blown-away by the impressive talent that the competition showcased.”

 

Howard Lewis, Discovery Education’s Managing Director UK and International said:

 

“Today’s students will do jobs that we can only imagine, so it’s vitally important that we equip them with future-ready skills. Discovery Education is delighted to partner with COBIS to deliver the Coding Challenge to British international schools for the third year running. The competition helps teachers to introduce coding in a fun and accessible way, encouraging a love of computer programming in children from an early age.”

 

Online Parent-Teacher Conferences should be encouraged

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Once or twice a year, parents pay a visit to the school to meet with teachers and discuss about their children. Whether it’s about the academic progress their kids have made, or how they are doing in general within the school environment, the annual parent-teacher conference is a vital component within the education systems from all over the world.

So, what happened when the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic? Well, naturally when the schools closed down, parent-teacher conferences were also cancelled indefinitely. But now that the schools are largely back to normal, it is time again for teachers and parents to come together and work towards creating an even better learning experience for the children. Many schools have shifted towards hybrid education, combining and alternating between in-person and remote learning. Consequently, there is also a growing trend of school administrators hosting both virtual and physical meetings for parent-teacher conferences.

According to Rene Buhay, SVP of Sales and Marketing at AVer Europe, “By utilising the latest education technology such as video conferencing, online parent-teacher conferences can be a powerful and effective way in building meaningful relationships between the families and educators. Contrary to what some may believe, having parent-teacher conferences online are not inferior to in-person meetings. In fact, these virtual conferences can bring many advantageous factors in areas where face-to-face meetings may be limited.”

 Here are some key reasons why online parent-teacher conferences should be encouraged.

Flexible and Accessible

In a time of uncertainty where the world is trying to establish new “norms”, flexibility is crucial in ensuring a level playing field for all children. The traditional parent-teacher conference often did not have a concrete schedule that the parents could follow. Instead, there would be some general timetable for when each teacher is available to talk, but often parents would end up waiting in line for prolonged periods before they got their turn. It’s also not surprising that sometimes parents can’t make it to the conference due to work shift hours, prior commitment, or long-distance commute. With the option of having the parent-teacher conferences online, it eliminates these problems and increases the chance of both parents being able to attend. An internet connection, a video conferencing camera, and open platform such as Zoom, TEAMS or SKYPE,  is all a parent needs to join a virtual conference. Parents can now communicate with teachers from the comfort of their home, or virtually anywhere through the tap of a few buttons.

Efficient and Easy

While parents can enjoy the flexibility and accessibility of attending virtually, teachers also benefit from these online conferences. No longer do teachers have to struggle with presenting students’ work to parents in a noisy gym filled with overlapping conversations, nor will they be restricted to stay at a designated table due to limited space. By implementing educational technology in online conferences, teachers can stream and show all the work a student has done through a visualiser that’s equipped with a rotatable camera head, giving them the option to show their face and the student’s work interchangeably. Alternatively, if the teacher also likes to move around the room and gesture to points written on a blackboard, a simple tracking camera with plug-and-play USB connectivity would allow them to do so in seconds. With the utilisation of these two, we can say goodbye to distracting noises and poor visibility in a room full of waiting parents.

Build an Engaged Community

Choosing to participate in online parent-teacher conferences is essentially taking a more digital approach. With technology weaving its way more into the field of education, the level of convenience and visibility it brings can encourage parents to attend online conferences more often and in turn allow both parties the opportunity to get consistent insights and communication from each other. In doing so, this will create a sense of community that is connected based on collaboration for the sake of the children’s growth and development.

About AVer Europe

AVer Europe provides intelligent technological solutions which harness the power of visual communications for business and education. With over 20 years of research, development and manufacturing excellence AVer holds numerous international design, innovation, application, and service awards for exceptional product usability, reliability and customer satisfaction.

http://www.avereurope.com

The evolution and future of Edtech: A chat with Aaron Webb, Sr Product Marketing Manager at Jamf

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How has the pandemic impacted the way we view edtech?

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the way that edtech is viewed within the education system. In the last two years, we have seen technology brought to the forefront, as schools have adopted platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom in order to enable teachers to provide learning to children of all ages. There has also been an increase in device purchases or repurposing of existing devices in order to provide students with access to these platforms. While some schools have relied on student having access to their own device at home in order to keep teaching as best they could, others already had devices in the hands of students and the systems in place adapted in a different way. What started as reactive for most and a forced move to use technology has become a learning curve where all schools, even if they already had an established 1:1 programme or already used Teams or Google to reset. Technology in education has many benefits and schools have seen that, from accessibility and providing differentiated resources to cutting the amount of paper used. They have realised what can be done outside the walls of the classroom and they saw the importance of having a structure in place to flip to online learning whenever required. However, during the pandemic, there was little time to implement a strategy or enable staff with the new tools and skills. Some schools still had key worker children on site while teaching remotely so had to juggle both face to face and online learning. We are now in a period where schools are focused on students who are back in the classroom but they are also able to review the workflows they were using both prior and during the pandemic. Many schools are reflecting on those free offerings to blend with other paid-for solutions, for example using Google Classroom as a free offering but moving to Showbie for digital assessment and feedback. Apple devices are being used to blend Google tools with the Apple ecosystem and the need for both teaching training and IT management of devices has grown rapidly. There is also more focus on security, with devices being issued without the knowledge, skills or tools to secure them, and an increase in cyber attacks on schools and universities means protecting students, devices and the networks are now a huge requirement in education. The pandemic has certainly fast-tracked the digitisation of education considerably and will continue to shape the future of learning, professional development with tools and platforms to support.

 

What is Jamf and how are you making a difference in the education sector?

Jamf is the leading Apple enterprise management solution of scale that remotely connects, manages and protects Apple users, devices and services. Our flagship education solution, Jamf School, recently surpassed 5 million devices and provides simple education-focused tools and value-added workflows, not only for the IT admin to manage and secure Apple devices but Teacher, Student and Parent apps to empower student success. Jamf provides a holistic management solution for schools of all sizes that manages every aspect of Apple devices through to provisioning devices right from purchase, through to the deployment with zero touch for IT which gives the ultimate buy in for staff and students who unbox their brand new device, power on and see all their apps and setting configured based on their sign in. With our security solutions and management offers, we can help schools monitor and prevent malware threats, and provide safe online learning environments, all without invading user privacy. We support the use of our devices and tools with training and robust help for IT admins but also free online professional development for the Jamf Teacher app with our Jamf Educator platform. Teachers can learn, try and apply in a simulation environment before rolling out across the school. We celebrate their success with a Jamf educator badge to share on social media and as part of their professional development but also invite them to join our dedicated education hub within Jamf Nation, our online community of IT professionals.

 

What differentiates Jamf from other edtech solutions?

Jamf empowers student success. We know that many stakeholders play a huge part in this and we have tools and solutions to support those key personas. IT, teachers, the students themselves and parents and carers. Each tool and workflow enhances engagement between teachers, students and parents while simplifying IT workflows. It is a unique proposition that presents a variety of capabilities that allow for management of devices by a number of different stakeholders and participants regardless of IT knowledge and skills. Each of these is adapted and created specifically for its role in this journey. Jamf has carefully considered what is required for each participant and developed a capability to support their function.

 

These solutions become even more powerful with our integrations and solution partners. Our integrations with Microsoft and Google mean schools can choose Apple and use the systems they know and love to form a powerful combination that suits their needs. By choosing Apple they can still use their Google or Microsoft systems but blend the Apple ecosystem for a better together approach.

 

We extend that experience even further with solution partners through our Jamf Marketplace. There is a wealth of solutions and integrations that allow schools to use systems they already have or are looking to adopt with Jamf, whether that be IT solution or teaching and learning specific apps such as Showbie, Explain Everything or digital signage solutions for their Apple TV fleet such as Carousel or Trilby TV.

 

How is Jamf combating some of the main security concerns in the edtech space?

The technological landscape is constantly evolving, and it is imperative that learning institutions take the necessary measures to combat the latest threats and security risks to prevent any potential problems. The use of technology in the classroom can be invaluable but steps need to be taken to protect both children and teachers alike, while also respecting and conserving their privacy.

 

Our solutions offer an easy way to remove concerns around security and harness a safe learning environment. Jamf has a robust and comprehensive knowledge base of the potential threats and has solutions that work to mitigate them, giving teachers and students the tools for success while keeping them safe from harm.

 

Jamf have announced their latest tool to keep users safe while they work. Jamf Safe Internet will be available for macOS, iPadOS and iOS this summer, combining content filtering and network threat prevention features that block unsafe content and malicious attacks so students can learn safely anywhere. This protection also includes software to stop malware and phishing attacks in their tracks. Jamf Safe Internet uses a vast content-filtering database and lightweight technology, so the learning experience of the user is not hampered and continues to provide the best Apple experience teachers and students know and love, while avoiding an invasion of student’s privacy. This is yet another layer of protection in place in addition to the existing safeguards in place throughout the Jamf’s Education solutions.

 

What do you think about the future of edtech?

Edtech, at its core, looks to empower teachers, parents and students, both inside and outside the classroom, to use technology as a tool to simplify and progress learning methods and make education as effective as possible. We know that the pandemic has accelerated its progress, but I think we are still yet to see the best to come. Technology is constantly evolving and developing, and the possible applications are vast. However, there are still areas that need to adapt. Exams and assessment were impacted during the pandemic. Schools need to rethink how students are assessed and consider digital assessments – edtech can definitely play a huge part in it.