classroom

Bulletproof whiteboard designed for classroom defense

The world has come to this. An armor manufacturer in Maryland has created a bulletproof whiteboard designed to protect teachers and students in the event of an emergency.

Hardwire specializes in military and law enforcement armor ranging from ballistic armor panels to bulletproof shields. It's now turning its expertise in military armor towards creating armor for the classroom.

The Bulletproof Whiteboard comes with two handles on the back. If there is a threat, the teacher is supposed to take the whiteboard and hold it out. It is designed to absorb multiple clips of ammunition. The product description also says, "Blends well with classroom - no psychological impact on students."… Read more

San Diego schools spend $10M on iPads for students

The purchase, reported by several local media outlets, is said to be one of the largest educational iPad rollouts in the U.S. K-12 market. The 26,000 iPads will be spread out in 340 classrooms starting this fall.

Apple's push to get iPads and digital textbooks in the classroom appears to be paying off. The SDUSD was able to draw on funding though Proposition S, a fund approved in 2008 by a 69 percent vote, dedicated to getting classrooms up-to-date technology.

The iPad is nothing if not up-to-date. And, despite some local head-scratching (read: "Why would we … Read more

iPads in classroom provide 20 percent jump in math scores, study says

After a yearlong pilot program in California initiated by publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the math scores of students using iPads jumped 20 percent compared with classrooms that used traditional paper textbooks.

HMH Fuse: Algebra I was instituted at Amelia Earhart Middle School in the Riverside Unified School District as the world's first iPad-driven algebra curriculum. According to the HMH official press release, 78 percent of students in the pilot program scored "proficient" or "advanced" on the California Standards Test for spring 2011.

Compared with the 59 percent of students that had the same rating using … Read more

Enhance your classroom with Totally Free Teacher Tools

Teachers these days need all the help they can get. Totally Free Teacher Tools is a suite of five tools that can be useful to teachers and plenty of other people, too. Although none of the tools are must-haves, they're not bad to have around just in case.

Once Totally Free Teacher Tools is installed, users have the option to download each individual tool one at a time. This is useful if you don't want to clutter up your computer with unneeded programs, but a bit of a pain if you want to try everything out. We started … Read more

Tablets enroll in remote, paperless classroom

The new EchoSystem 4 from Echo360 is looking to add another important tool to universities that want to build and utilize a virtual, paperless classroom environment. It should be a welcome tool for students everywhere (until they realize it'll make cutting class obsolete).

The new software platform records and relays the classroom experience in HD to iPads, Android tablets, laptops, and desktops. The system requires compatible hardware and simulates attending and participating in the classroom by allowing real-time collaboration through question submission, polling, and commenting while watching the recorded lecture. By taking the classroom mobile, EchoSystem 4 could enable students of any age to take classes from their dorm rooms, roofs, treehouses, or across the country. … Read more