An instrument for spotting the next edtech opportunity — generated ideas, each traced to the real-world signals behind it.
The evidence library — the raw signals the pipeline is watching across the education ecosystem. Every idea is built from these.
Wireless presentation tools have become necessity rather than a convenience. Teachers expect to walk into a classroom and share content instantly, without fumbling for adapters or waiting on IT support. The BenQ InstaShow WDC15 4K ultra-high definition (UHD) wireless presentation system is designed to meet that expectation while also addressing security and reliability. At its core, the WDC15 focuses on ease of use. Presenters simply connect a dedicated HDMI or USB-C connected button to their laptop and begin sharing content wirelessly with a single touch. No software installation is required…
When leaders of Huntsville City Schools in Alabama realized the district was outgrowing its career and technical education setup, it opted to build a centralized facility for its students interested in pursuing a workforce development track. The 81,000-square-foot Huntsville Center for Technology opened in August 2025 and houses a range of technical programs, from culinary arts and cosmetology to welding and precision machining. Technology is at the forefront of the facility, both from a networking perspective and embedded in each classroom. Click the banner below to read more…
Paper hall passes have been around forever. But they aren’t always the best tool for the job. “A conventional hall pass basically just says that this student has permission to leave the classroom. That’s where the information stops,” says Tyler Shaddix, co-founder and chief innovation officer at GoGuardian. Modernized tools can do a lot more. With digital hall passes, schools can support student safety, track trends around how spaces are used and automate permissions for who can be in the hall, when and where. Click the banner below to learn how CDW and GoGuardian support safer, more…
Weapon detection solutions have evolved from locked doors and metal detectors to AI-powered systems. What were previously one-off purchases are now integrated with a broader, layered approach to safety that balances security with a more welcoming environment. Here are tips CIOs and CTOs should keep in mind as they consider physical security and related solutions. Click the link below to discover the benefits of modernizing your physical security infrastructure.
When K–12 school districts implement a new technology, they typically invest significant time planning the technical deployment and far less time preparing the people who will ultimately determine the success of the change. “Most technology implementations do not fail because of the technology itself. They struggle because organizations tend to focus heavily on the technical rollout and underestimate the human side of change,” says Julie Whitten, CEO of Julie Whitten Consulting, a change leadership advisory firm. “I have seen districts successfully launch systems from a technical perspective…
Artificial intelligence has rapidly transformed K–12’s cyberthreat landscape, turning phishing scams into more sophisticated, multichannel attacks that exploit trust, familiarity and the platforms educators and students use every day. Phishing is no longer just an inbox problem — it’s an “everywhere” problem. For many years now, we’ve taught K–12 staff and teams to check an email sender’s address as one way to stay safe. In today’s threat landscape, the advent of AI-powered vishing, deepfake impersonations and automated social engineering, that advice is now obsolete. Cyber fraud is now…
Across K–12 schools, the conversation around student device use has shifted from whether phones belong in classrooms to how schools can manage them in a way that supports learning. As digital devices become increasingly embedded in students’ daily lives, educators are navigating a complex balance between maintaining safety and minimizing disruption. The challenge is no longer simply about restriction but about designing systems that are practical and sustainable at scale. One of the most pressing issues schools face is that mobile phone distraction is rarely limited to overt misuse. Even when…
The success of today’s modern classrooms relies on a combination of resources, technologies and policies to maximize learning for students. From the funding that brings technology to schools to the rules and regulations that govern how it is used, these factors work cohesively to ensure an optimal experience for teachers and students alike. At this year’s ISTELive conference, held June 28 to July 1 in Orlando, Fla., expert speakers will present on a range of topics that address the future of modern classrooms. K–12 instructional staff, technology leaders, superintendents and librarians…
Engaging in professional development is never simple for educators, who must juggle classroom learning, curriculum planning, grading assignments and administrative responsibilities. Too often, PD takes a backseat to everything else. With artificial intelligence–related classroom training, it’s even more difficult to accommodate the necessary instruction. “The pace of change with AI is so rapid, it can be daunting for educators to keep pace,” says Jennie Magiera, global head of education impact at Google. “And it’s a second-order change to incorporate AI into classrooms, creating novel ways of…
In a K–12 setting, deepfakes hold a lot of power. These falsified images or videos, virtually impossible to identify with an untrained eye, can be wielded to harm educators’ reputations, cyberbully vulnerable students, and blackmail individuals and schools. With artificial intelligence image generation, the problem is growing rapidly. Super-realistic images can be created quickly and deployed easily, creating a concerning scalability. Faced with the malicious use of AI-generated images — both of students and school officials — leaders must redouble their efforts around deepfake detection,…
Lately, school-related data breaches seem to keep coming. PowerSchool and Canvas made major headlines this year. Countless smaller incidents may not hit the news, but they disrupt instruction and expose sensitive student data just the same. For K–12 IT leaders, threats to their district are inevitable. The question is whether their teams will be ready when those threats materialize. After years of conducting maturity assessments, working alongside district security teams and witnessing the aftermath of incidents, we can say with confidence that most districts aren’t there yet — not because…
Raising your hand in class and patiently waiting until you’re called before speaking. Sharing with classmates in a group project. Understanding what you’re feeling and how best to express it safely. These are a few examples of what social-emotional skills look like in the classroom. Social-emotional learning (SEL) houses a variety of skills, all of which have always been embedded in the K–12 experience. As recent research points more directly to the value of weaving these learning moments into the K–12 curriculum, educational technology has risen to meet the demands. The Evidence for Social-…