How the next generation of edtech empowers teachers
The edtech industry has rapidly grown in recent years, with tech giants, start-ups, and everything in between embracing educational initiatives. A simple analysis of the market’s growth reflects an emphasis on education reform Craig Scott, VP of technology at ViewSonic, explains how the most effective edtech resource is one which empowers teachers… Teachers shouldn’t have to learn tech to teach, and the next generation of EdTech is on a mission to provide holistic solutions to educators through interoperability, streamlined communication, and improved user experience (UX). However, greater consideration reveals that the EdTech market is at a crossroads that straddles commercially-driven oversaturation, and altruistic educational goals. When it comes to EdTech, I say without hesitation, the most effective resource you can have is an empowered teacher. However, through little fault of their own, teachers often lack the confidence to teach using tech. Many have either been insufficiently trained on specific resources, limiting them experiencing the full benefits of its functionality and capabilities, or simply don’t have the confidence to use the technology that appears in their classrooms overnight, much less how to teach it to students. As a result, the decisions they make about using it in their classroom often fail to make any real impact on teaching or learning. Empowering teachers For technology to be embraced and adopted by teachers, it needs to be holistic, reliable, streamlined, easy-to-use and simple to implement; from experience, this is exactly what the next generation of edtech providers is determined to provide to educators. When fully understood and used correctly, audio-visual (AV) systems such as digital whiteboards, interactive screens with multi-touch functionality and tablets for example, have the potential to create a wholly immersive and engaging learning environment. Through the use of digital whiteboards alone, teachers are able to display rich content and dynamic example, making their lessons more effective, engaging and creative. And as teachers become more confident with these types of technology, they can encourage students to interact with activities and tasks relating to the lesson – be that through full-colour images, detailed diagrams, or even video content, helping to encourage active learning, all the while promoting a more inclusive environment. We have to remember that today’s students are digital natives; they gravitate towards technology and use it with ease. Being able to use technology to bring concepts to life in a visual way, either through images or video, can really improve their classroom experience, and in turn, significantly increase their level of engagement. Benefitting students Active learning is also a good way to bring students together, regardless of their abilities or skills. Traditionally, students are put in pairs or small groups and asked to work around one computer or several books. However, the challenge here is that one student tends to take the lead, leaving the others to sit either side, meaning they often lose interest or switch off. Introducing effective edtech resources means teachers are able to simply and easily set tasks and get groups working on the same board at the same time, giving each member more of an active role, and equal responsibility. The quality of the work carried out by students is also improved as teachers become more confident introducing new technologies to set homework and incorporating it into projects. When edtech empowers teachers, it empowers each and every student sitting in front of those teachers – the edtech leaders of tomorrow. Surely, this should be the ultimate aim of all edtech providers? It certainly is for ViewSonic. Visit ViewSonic at Bett 2019 at Stand D180 or go to viewsonic.com for more information.
Cybersecurity disconnect poses problem for school technology
An employee study has revealed the education sector is investing in smart workplace technology and seeing better productivity, skills and wellbeing, but that risky behaviour is opening up potential cybersecurity threats. Employees in the education sector are reporting greater productivity, wellbeing and the development of new skills as a by-product of the introduction of digital technology, according to a global study from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. Our study of 1,096 employees revealed what those in the education sector, both independent and state schools, want and expect from technology, how they rate the performance of their workplaces, and what the priorities for investment should be going forward, as institutions face up to the opportunities and challenges of becoming a digital workplace. Key themes and findings include: · Investment leads to improvement: Two-thirds (64%) of education employees revealed that tech investments had been made in the last year, improving connectivity and allowing staff to conduct their jobs more efficiently. These investments also looked to be paying off: Over seven in ten (74%) reported increased productivity, as well as greater staff well-being (65%) and the opportunity to develop new skills (74%). · Education of the future: Nearly half (45%) of respondents working in private education believe digital technologies are helping foster better collaboration among team members, while state education employees see it as a means to simplify tasks so they can accomplish more during the day (43%). With this in mind, the sector’s desire for more automation within the workplace is perhaps unsurprising – more than two-thirds (68%) of employees across both state and private education agreed that automating tasks would be beneficial for the future of work. · A security disconnect emerges: A worrying disconnect is forming among employees between their understanding of the importance of security, and their willingness to take risks. Just under half (49%) of education employees admit they rarely (if ever) think about cybersecurity, despite 91% acknowledging the importance of cybersecurity when questioned. In addition over three-quarters (76%) believe there is room for improvement in the way connected tech is managed and controlled. The road to a smarter, secure classroom Jonathon Hickey, Operations Director at Crofton School, recently implemented a new wireless network across the school: “Staff are more productive, they can move from class to class without their connection dropping,” he said. “Before, we were limited to three to four classrooms with strong enough wireless connectivity, but now we can turn any room into an IT suite.” In regard to technological innovation, Hickey is optimistic for the future: “We’re just at the tip of the iceberg. The challenge we currently face is to not be content with what we have, but to push ourselves to investigate what other technological innovations we can implement in order to improve the way we teach. Of course, it can be hard for any educator to find the time to think about improvements, but by streamlining processes and enabling a more digital workplace, we can drive greater efficiencies which will free up space in the day to innovate and try new things.” According to Simon Wilson, CTO, UK & I, at Aruba, the education industry has the opportunity to evolve the way teaching is conducted, using enhanced technology in a secure way. He said: “Educators have only just scratched the surface when it comes to tech implementation. Many are seeing improvements and greater efficiency through better wireless connectivity alone but there is so much more they can do – particularly if they want to match the IT experience most children have today at home. “Now that many institutions have invested and built the digital foundations, they have an opportunity to take advantage of children’s natural enthusiasm for using IT and really innovate and challenge the traditional way of teaching. In order for teachers to be able to do so, however, they can’t be shackled by the fear of cyber risk. By implementing automation technology it will provide the assistance and protection educators need to push themselves further.” A CARTA approach to security An autonomous approach to security is increasingly becoming an imperative as mobile and remote working becomes the norm. This new paradigm creates the need for smart digital workplaces that deliver secure and reliable, optimised and personalised experiences that will foster employee creativity, collaboration, and speed, without clunky security systems causing barriers. To succeed, Gartner has recommended a Continuous Adaptive Risk and Trust Assessment (CARTA) approach to security which leans heavily on AI, Analytics and Automation to embrace the opportunities and manage the risks of digital business. This leads to a more productive and more motivated employee, with a greater sense of job satisfaction. To what extent are you prioritising security within your workplace? Take the Digital Workforce IQ assessment to find out. Research methodology A total of 7,000 employees were interviewed in April and May 2018 by Vanson Bourne, an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector. The respondents were from organizations of all sizes, across both public and private sectors, with a focus on the industrial, government, retail, healthcare, education, finance, and IT/technology/telecommunications sectors. Interviews were conducted both online and via telephone using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate. Respondents were interviewed in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, the United States, Singapore, Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, Mexico, China and South Korea. About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of next-generation networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes worldwide. The company delivers IT solutions that empower organizations to serve the latest generation of mobile-savvy users who rely on cloud-based business apps for every aspect of their work and personal lives. To learn more about cybersecurity, visit Aruba at arubanetworks.com. For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook, and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com/
CLA and Kyocera introduce new app to simplify copyright
The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) has partnered with KYOCERA Document Solutions UK to create a new app that collects information about school copying, thereby reducing the burden of administration for schools. ‘CopyScanPublications’ is a free app that can be installed on the school copiers and scanners to collect the copying data that is required by CLA to make royalty payments to authors, visual artists and publishers. The app captures copying done by staff of any articles, chapters or other extracts from publications that they use for teaching. Currently, although the process works it is largely manual and can be time-consuming for school staff who are asked to fill forms and provide separate copies for CLA. This takes time and often leads to incomplete returns or important details missed through human error or time pressures. The KYOCERA app will reduce the inconvenience and administration time taken in providing this information. CLA will be able to capture accurate real-time data on the copying made in schools and school staff will be able to make copies and scans as normal. Kevin Gohil, Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Transformation Officer at the Copyright Licensing Agency said: “Our mission is to simplify copyright for content users such as schools and colleges and to make sure that copyright owners receive fair payment when their work is copied or re-used. A big part of this is making it easier for our customers to tell us what they are copying so we can make more accurate payments to the copyright owners – the authors, visual artists and publishers. We asked KYOCERA to use their expertise to help develop the technology to digitise the capturing of the copying information we need. The end result is an innovation that streamlines the process for us, school staff and the copyright owners.” Rod Tonna-Barthet, Chief Executive Officer at KYOCERA Document Solutions UK commented: “With nothing else like this app on the market today, our devices now offer a more complete solution to schools. While KYOCERA is best known for print, everything we do focuses on improving document workflow. This project combined our talent for innovation with our company ethos of doing the right thing. “According to the National Education Union one of the main reasons teachers leave the profession is because of the burden of paperwork they have to do. Our app is genuinely making a difference in cutting that burden down, helping teachers to spend more time doing what they do best: teach.” More information on CopyScanPublications be found here: kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk
Bett 2019: BenQ to demonstrate how collaborative technology is reinventing education
BenQ UK, the internationally renowned provider of digital lifestyle devices, will showcase its latest classroom-ready collaboration solutions at Bett 2019 (23 – 26 January 2019) at the ExCeL London on stand B180. BenQ will showcase its extended range of flagship products for the education market including new Mainstream and Premium Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs). These new IFPs are optimised with a flexible user interface, multi-account management system and EZWrite annotation software to bring a truly collaborative learning experience into classrooms. The enhanced IFP panels also feature InstaQShare software, which is designed for seamless wireless presentation and collaboration. It allows for smooth streaming of both visual and audio files, plus users can mirror content from mobile devices and invite up to 16 participants. The Premium IFP range also supports multi-touch capability up to 20 points, allowing more students to participate in discussion and engage in group activities. BenQ ensures classrooms embrace innovation without compromising student’s health and the team will demonstrate its IFP features that create a healthy learning environment for students. For a comfortable viewing experience, the BenQ IFP’s automatically activate Flicker-Free, Anti-Glare and Low Blue Light features by detecting the movement of users close to the screen. However, the BenQ Premium panels are also equipped with a Germ-Resistant Screen which is powered by a multi-layer coating of a non-toxic enduring nano, ionic silver agent that kills germs accumulating on screen surfaces, even after thorough cleaning or long periods of use. The BenQ Premium panels also incorporate an air-quality sensor to help monitor CO2 concentration levels in classrooms and remind teachers to adopt necessary mechanisms to keep students highly productive during class. On the show floor, BenQ will host presentation sessions throughout Bett 2019, with education product advocates. The speakers will share their knowledge of BenQ’s latest interactive classroom-ready collaboration solutions and provide live case studies of their experiences using the products in the classroom. Visitors are also invited to join BenQ on stand B180 for a drink every day during Bett 2019 or drop by the stand to take advantage of refreshments, charging points and meeting tables. See the Bett 2019 website for more details on BenQ
NetSupport Announces Latest Updates
NetSupport is delighted to announce the latest updates to three key areas of its education solutions – school IT Management, school Safeguarding and Classroom Instruction – as well as the introduction of an all-new Observations and Assessment tracking solution for primary years. Building on the already comprehensive features in NetSupport DNA’s IT management suite, this latest release contains a host of enhancements and added support to make it indispensable to IT managers as they monitor and manage all the technology across a school or Trust. Extended features in version 4.7 include enhanced software distribution, endpoint security with encrypted drives, user tracking, custom searches, enhanced device inventory, centralised remote management and much more. Alongside the existing Windows, Mac, iOS and Chrome support, NetSupport DNA now includes the ability to monitor and gather inventories from Android devices and display panels. In addition, there is greater platform support for deployment within MDM devices, plus extra security options. Within the school eSafety and Safeguarding solutions space, NetSupport is the first vendor to take the concept of keyword filtering and monitoring to the next level by using key components of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to utilise ‘CI’ – Contextual Intelligence – in a new module that delivers a Risk Index for keywords triggered by students. NetSupport Group MD, Al Kingsley, explains: “We know that professionals’ ‘eyes and ears’ are the best tools for keeping children safe in the classroom. The Risk Index, using CI, provides as close to a digital equivalent as we can for online activity: it automatically assesses the context and history of a child’s activities; whether they are vulnerable; what device they’re on; the time of day; library or supervised classroom; which websites they’re visiting; what previous alerts they may have triggered; what earlier activities may have set the scene – and in doing so, creates a numerical risk indicator when a keyword is triggered. “Critically, we ensure that all monitoring is kept in-school and that alerts are shared with the local Designated Safeguarding Leads to capitalise on their knowledge of their own students and thereby removing any requirement to use any external monitoring. “To complement this leap forward, we have also introduced an all-new cloud-based safeguarding console to allow Designated Safeguarding Leads to access key information and alerts from triggers across the school’s local network while on the go. This fully secure, Azure-hosted console also includes a smartphone-optimised user interface to help them quickly search for a specific child and review any recent alerts or concerns.” Within the classroom, NetSupport School extends its capabilities with a range of platform enhancements. These include a new unified Classroom and eSafety app for iOS, a new ‘universal’ Student app available from the Windows 10 Store, as well as extended support for Chromebooks. To further streamline the start of lessons in a BYOD environment or when laptop carts are used, integration with leading Student Information Systems is now included to automatically provide the expected list of students for the start of each lesson. To help those schools who use a mix of classroom devices, we are also delighted to introduce NetSupport School for Mac. This offers complete flexibility for the Mac-led classroom, allowing teachers to connect to their students’ Macs, PCs or Chromebooks directly from their Apple device and ensures thatschools only need a single solution to manage all their devices. Given that NetSupport is deeply embedded in the education space (with several of our business leaders having roles within education alongside their NetSupport responsibilities), we recognised that there were weaknesses in the current solutions available for monitoring child development and progress – particularly in EYFS and KS1. Therefore, at Bett 2019, we release our latest product, ReallySchool: an intuitive and easy-to-use tool for tracking and monitoring children’s progress through their foundation stages and into KS1. Already selected as a finalist for the Bett 2019 awards, it creates learning journals of all activities including pictures, video and teacher audio notes; provides tools to develop further parental engagement (a current challenge for many schools); offers the ability to track and identify students who have gaps in their progress; and allows quick identification of those children who are secure in their learning and those who require intervention. ReallySchool completes NetSupport’s portfolio of education products and ensures that through each stage of school life, NetSupport technology is on hand for support. “Technology isn’t a panacea for all of the challenges within schools and Trusts, but it can be a powerful enabler when used for the right reasons to address the right challenges,” says Al Kingsley. “We fully understand the pressured environments that our education colleagues work in and our objective is to collaborate closely with teachers, IT managers, safeguarding staff, education sector professionals and specialist organisations – to take their lead and work to deliver genuinely useful tools for schools, while making sure they are as intuitive and easy to use as possible. “This year, we celebrate our 30thanniversary – something we are hugely proud of and also, we hope, is testimony to the continued evolution of our solutions as a result of working within education and delivering the tools schools actually need. To mark the occasion, at Bett, we are excited to be hosting over 25 leading education speakers on our stand throughout the week, as well as broadcasting NetSupport Radio live each day from the show floor. Finally, we also launch our new Online Safety Almanac and free copies will be available for teachers from our stand all week.” To learn about NetSupport DNA 4.70 or to download a free trial, visit www.netsupportdna.com/education To find out more about NetSupport School or to download a free trial, go to www.netsupportschool.com For more information about ReallySchool, please visit www.reallyschool.com
Climb Academy – 84% of pupils feel there isn’t enough information on digital careers
A concerning 84% of young people have advised they don’t feel there is enough information available on how to pursue a career within digital sectors, according to new research by the Climb Academy, an online training platform founded by BBC Apprentice Winner, Mark Wright. The research, which surveyed 1,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 34 on their perceptions of digital skills, also revealed that nearly half of respondents [46%] felt that obtaining experience within a digital sector, such as coding or digital marketing, would improve their job opportunities, where a further 26% felt that an understanding of digital sectors would future-proof their job roles. The survey follows recent reports that the digital skills gap could cost the UK £141 Billion in GDP growth*, as more and more professionals struggle to keep pace with the advancing technological landscape. On discussing the Climb Academy’s recent findings, Mark said: “Despite the continued advances in technology and exponential growth in digital industries, it’s clear that we as a society simply cannot keep pace. “What’s most interesting about the survey results, however, is that this skills gap evidently extends to young professionals as well, where the majority have confirmed they don’t feel there is enough information or support on the different career paths available through digital. “This is somewhat alarming, but with the right careers guidance and training platforms and opportunities in place, it can be rectified.” Other take outs from the research include: Over one third [38%] of young professionals spend in excess of 4 hours per day on their mobile device. Half of respondents [53%] selected Facebook as their preferred social media channel, closely followed by Instagram [37%]. A massive 83% of respondents felt that professionals of all ages would benefit from learning digital skills, including digital marketing and coding. A quarter of young professionals learn best by watching video content Mark finished: “Digital industries offer a wealth of exciting career paths for young professionals, ranging from web development to cybersecurity. The educational sector needs to place as much importance on promoting the benefits of these roles as they do vocational careers. “Without a growth in digitally skilled professionals, very few members of society are going to be able to grasp and understand the tech landscape as it continues to develop and evolve, where cybersecurity breaches will become a paramount concern.” Launched in Spring 2018, the Climb Academy has been developed in partnership with leading edtech firm, e-Careers and digital marketing professionals from Climb Online, the digital marketing agency owned in partnership between Mark Wright and Lord Sugar. Its entry-level course provides the opportunity for professionals to enter the digital marketing sector or for existing professionals to enhance their digital skillset. For more details, visit: climb.academy
Protecting Students Online Through Safeguarding Software
Craig Fearnsides, product expert at Smoothwall monitoring solutions, talks to QA Education about the rise in teen suicides in the digital era… The number of teen suicides has risen dramatically in the past seven years. Cyberbullying is clearly more widespread and more impactful than face-to-face bullying. Why do you think this is? “There are a number of contributing factors, however it boils down to a constant access online and potential negativity. Now more than ever young people are in possession of more than one internet connected device and spend much of their social time interacting online, even when in physical proximity to their social groups. What this means is that passing comments or off-hand replies are now permanently accessible to be dredged over and read into, creating an echo chamber of negativity that would not otherwise be possible.” How does RADAR work? “Smoothwall RADAR is an intelligent real-time monitoring solution that alerts safeguarding staff to incidents as they happen. RADAR monitors both online and offline keystrokes, and can capture static imagery, video streaming and webcam activity when activated. The intuitive interface for RADAR gives safeguarding staff a visual picture of incidents in real-time, both during and outside school hours on any supported device.” What is its impact on teens, and have you been able to research on RADAR’s effectiveness? “At Smoothwall we have been building up our monitoring and filtering offerings and incorporating anonymous statistic gathering; these are fed into the Smoothwall Insights programme which informs our product marketing and direction. Although we cannot separate out RADAR from overall monitoring, we do notice interesting trends across the Smoothwall estate.” Is RADAR for use on personal devices or school devices? “RADAR is software based so is designed for use on school owned devices, although with RADAR Lite we are able to plug into the Smoothwall web filter, meaning that we can monitor web traffic and search engine usage without the need to install software.” Does RADAR work with all social media apps? “For Windows and macOS, RADAR monitors all keystrokes typed and content viewed on the screen, including applications such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.” Do teens need to give their permission for RADAR to be used on their devices? “In certain circumstances students do need to give their permission for RADAR to be used, although schools usually include this within their Acceptable Use Policy and don’t allow the use of school resources without accepting it. However, since September 2016, The Department for Education has stipulated that all schools should have appropriate filtering and monitoring in place.” How much would RADAR typically cost for a secondary school to implement? “RADAR is delivered as Software-as-a-Service therefore there are no servers to manage and maintain keeping implementation costs down to a minimum. Deploying the RADAR software is usually achieved with group policy, SCCM, or an MDM solution, all of which are familiar to schools meaning that the software can be rolled out by a school without needing additional resourcing. RADAR is licensed on a per-pupil basis and there are price breaks for all sizes of schools to keep it very competitive within the market.” See smoothwall.com for more safeguarding options.
EducationCity host best PlayLive Challenge Week ever!
The EducationCity annual PlayLive Challenge, which took place between the 17th and 22nd June, was a phenomenal success, with a record number of children taking part. All in all, over 7,340 students participated in the two-day competition. The aim of the week was to crown the PlayLive Maths and English Champions for the year, as well as boost excitement and engagement surrounding Maths and English, and to this end, the company opened up the competition to all schools, not just their subscribing schools and schools already taking a trial with them. Individual PlayLive Maths and PlayLive English competitions were run for each year group, with the two UK-based schools and two international schools gaining the highest score overall being given the PlayLive Maths and English Champion title for their geographic area. EducationCity is delighted to announce that the winners for each year group are as detailed below: PlayLive Maths Results UK Schools (scores in brackets) Year 1 – Powick Church of England Primary School, Worcester (17) Year 2 – St John The Baptist RC Primary School, Lancashire (43) Year 3 – Magherafelt Primary School, Magherafelt (51) Year 4 – Lady Royd Primary, Bradford (48) Year 5 – Eastgate Academy, Norfolk (52) Year 6 – Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School, Leeds (62) International Schools Year 1 – GEMS Al Barsha National School United Arab Emirates 57 Year 2 – Harrow International School, Hong Kong 55 Year 3 – Scholars International Academy (SIA), United Arab Emirates (49) Year 4 – British School of Ulaanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar (51) Year 5 – Aloha College, Spain (41) Year 6 – Aloha College, Spain (45) The overall 2018 champions for PlayLive Maths are Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School in Leeds and GEMS Al Barsha National School. PlayLive English Results UK Schools Year 1 – Grasslot Infant School, Cumbria (40) Year 2 – Seaton School, Aberdeen (68) Year 3 – Latymer Prep School, London (89) Year 4 – Abbotskerswell Primary School, Devon (114) Year 5 – The Divine Mercy RC Primary School, Lancashire (190) Year 6 – Crawley Ridge Junior School, Surrey International Schools Year 1 – Scholars International Academy, United Arab Emirates (34) Year 2 – Al Mamoura Academy, United Arab Emirates (38) Year 3 – Scholars International Academy, United Arab Emirates (70) Year 4 – Repton School Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (66) Year 5 – GEMS Founders School Dubai, United Arab Emirates (39) Year 6 – GEMS Founders School Dubai, United Arab Emirates (73) The 2018 champions for PlayLive English are The Divine Mercy RC Primary School in Lancashire and GEMS Founders School Dubai in the UAE. The 2018 champions for PlayLive English are The Divine Mercy RC Primary School in Lancashire and GEMS Founders School Dubai in the UAE. “We are absolutely delighted by the number of students who took part in our PlayLive Challenge Week this year, especially given how busy schools are at this time of year,” says Richard Whalley, Managing Director of EducationCity. “It’s great to see, and fantastic to be part of. We love to throw down the gauntlet with this challenge and are always amazed by the students’ speedy recall and input. It’s really tough to get 190 points in just 60 seconds!” Upon hearing of their win, Matt Livesey from Beeston Hill St Luke’s C of E Primary School was delighted and quick to endorse the use of EducationCity in the classroom. He said: “EducationCity has become a staple of our learning here at St Luke’s. When it’s mentioned the first reaction from the children is always, ‘Can we go on PlayLive?’ The pupils have a level of engagement that is unparalleled and we can see the results in their work.” The PlayLive Maths challenge included challenges dedicated to addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The PlayLive English challenge is a word-formation challenge where the objective is to make as many words as possible. EducationCity is an award-winning online teaching and learning resource, used in schools in over 80 countries across the world. Founded in 1999, EducationCity’s online teaching, learning and assessment resource is designed to support the teaching of students aged 3-12 years in English, Mathematics, Science, Computing, French, Spanish and English as an additional language. Follow EducationCity on Twitter @EducationCity and see www.educationcity.com
LocknCharge to launch its new charge and store device, the Putnam 16 Charging Station, at BETT 2018
LocknCharge is committed to making teachers’ lives easier by manufacturing high quality solutions for syncing, charging, transporting, securing and storing iPads, Chromebooks, tablets and other mobile devices. Technology has many advantages in the classroom, but unlike textbooks, devices have to be ‘managed’. LocknCharge helps solve this problem. On stand E190 at BETT, LocknCharge will launch its brand new Putnam 16 Charging Station focusing on convenience, effectiveness, and space saving in the classroom. In collaboration with Putnam City Schools, the Putnam Charging Station was developed by recognising the needs that similar schools face in charging and securing iPad or tablet devices, and working together to solve these in an ‘education specific’ manner. The Putnam is designed to individually store, charge and secure up to 16 iPad or tablet devices. The Putnam comes pre-wired and equipped with 16 perfectly sized MFi approved Lightning cables – an important feature for schools as time is often limited. With a colour-coded LED charging status display for each slot, teachers can easily know if the devices are charging (red) or ready to use (green). With numbered slots, teachers can even assign students a slot, so they know whose devices are charging or being used at a glance. With an integrated mechanical combination lock, there are no keys to worry about either. Plus, the charging station includes a master override key for school administrators in case of forgotten combinations. Another common problem in schools is a lack of space, which is where the Putnam is particularly accommodating. With a small footprint, and lightweight frame, a school can easily mount the unit to the floor, wall or desk to save space. With a pedestal and bracket, they can even stack the charging station to provide additional slots when required for charging devices. James Symons says: “LocknCharge products keep tablets safe, synced and charged, and always ready for use. This makes the management process so much easier for individual teachers and schools, freeing up their time to do what they do best – teach. By working with Putnam City Schools in this way, we have been able to focus on what really works for schools and fits their needs, and we think we have found that with this new product through our journey together.” For more information on LocknCharge, please visit their website at www.lockncharge.com or telephone: +44 (0) 208 441 4107.