The Future of Learning: How Technology is Changing the Game

The future of learning is rapidly evolving, and Lumen™ Touch is not only eager to see what the future brings but is also actively helping schools embrace the technologies that are at the forefront of this revolution. From online learning to virtual reality in the classroom, technology is changing the way students learn and interact with information.

What Does the Future of Learning Mean for the Traditional Classroom?

As technology continues to change the game for learners, educators, and institutions, how can we harness technology’s potential to create a brighter future for education? According to a study conducted by EdTech Magazine, 90% of students were already using technology to learn by the year 2020 and 60% of teachers reported that their students were more engaged in lessons when technology was used. Rather than resisting the ways in which technology changes the classroom, most educators are embracing the empowerment it provides to them.

Technology Makes Learning More Accessible and Flexible

As most of us discovered during the pandemic, technology helped make education more accessible to more people. Technology also offered the kind of flexibility that allowed educators and districts to provide a wider range of educational opportunities. More personalized learning – not just for SPED but for all students – can be achieved through technology in education. We’ve seen the power of technology in action, connecting students with others around the world for unique learning experiences, improving interaction between students and their teachers, and increasing engagement from both students and their families.

Secondly, technology has made education more flexible. Gone are the days when students must attend classes at specific times and locations. With online courses, students can learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. This has led to an increase in personalized learning, as students can choose courses that align with their interests and goals.

The Rise of EdTech

We are not proponents of edtech for edtech’s sake, but we do believe that the right edtech solutions can enhance learning and provide tools for teachers that allow them to spend more time working directly with students instead of just dealing with mounting paperwork and compliance requirements. As VR and AR become more commonplace in classrooms, technology will open up even more opportunities for educators to provide immersive experiences to their students, enhancing learning and engagement.

The Future of Learning Is Now

As technology continues to enhance education, we believe it will result in a new generation of teachers who are able to spend more time working directly with students and providing enriched experiences, without feeling overwhelmed with the teaching process. Technology offered by districts may even be a way of attracting and retaining teachers. Affording technology in education is made simple with Lumen Touch. With special modules for special education, a full library, and modules for individual user data dashboards, Bright SUITE™ is an all-in-one enterprise management solution that allows districts to save money, improve student retention, and create a secure and connected school district. Access to real-time data lets educators make the best decisions for all students. Learn more.

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Affording Technology in Education

We know that technology in education enhances learning and can be beneficial for both students and educators. The right technology can also provide district leaders with insights that help them to achieve better outcomes – both with students’ quality of education and with teacher hiring and retention. The biggest barrier? The perception that the cost of technology is too expensive to be worth the investment.

Lumen™ Touch’s Bright SUITE™ Makes Technology in Education Affordable

There are multiple ways in which Lumen Touch’s all-in-one school system, Bright SUITE, can help a district afford the cost of technology in education.

Measurable Financial Savings

In a recent case study that we conducted with a mid-size school district implementing Bright SUITE, the district realized actual savings of $32,000 annually. While every district’s budget is different, the average savings for a district implementing Bright SUITE is 30%, in addition to reduced attrition.

Happier Teachers

Attracting and retaining educators is a costly and time-consuming process for districts. Bright SUITE has a measurable impact in terms of reducing attrition. The all-in-one school system creates efficiencies that help teachers with routine tasks and allow them to focus on the one task that attracted them to the field in the first place: teaching. School districts experience improved loyalty and lower turnover when the right technology is in place to support teachers and make their jobs more efficient.

Increased Administrative Efficiency

Inventory management, attendance processing, and data reporting are all managed within the system, offering administrative efficiencies that save time and money. With better access to real-time data, district leaders are able to make quicker, more strategic decisions that improve the way their schools operate.

Improved Education Experience

Interactive assessment tools allow teachers to dedicate more time to helping students one-on-one. With the ability to automate processes and provide immediate feedback, teachers can improve the quality of education for students. The time savings afforded to teachers is almost immeasurable.

Accessible Anywhere

Lumen Touch prides itself on providing school districts with an all-in-one solution that can be accessed anywhere, any time, on any device. We strive to connect all students to opportunities, and this means that our system has to be accommodating of the latest technological advances. As a result, our system is web-based in order to serve as many students as possible on a number of devices, and our team is readily available for training, implementation, and customizations that make the system work the way in which each individual district needs.

Don’t just take our word for it:

Lumen Touch has been a lifesaver for the Fair Grove District. We switched to Lumen Touch from another vendor at the end of the first semester several years ago due to issues with that vendor. I believe Lumen Touch is the best student information system available. They do not accept status quo; they listen to school district needs and desires and are always looking for ways to provide enhancements they believe will benefit school districts. When you need help immediately, there is always a voice on the other end to assist you. Once, when I had an urgent need, I watched three programmers log into our system to solve the issue; all I can say is WOW. That personal and professional touch won me over as a lifetime user of Lumen Touch. I guess you could say I am one of their biggest cheerleaders. Thanks Lumen Touch for an awesome system and service.

– Julie Swadley, Instructional Technology Specialist, Fair Grove R-X school District

Technology in education is the future of learning, but there’s no reason it has to break the budget.

Learn more: https://www.lumentouch.com/

How an All-in-One School System Helps K-12 Education

Like an SIS on steroids, an all-in-one school system is the framework for an entire educational operation, freeing time for virtually every person who has a role to play in education from some of the minutia of running a school. Not only does an all-in-one school system enhance the process of educating K-12 students, but it can also save districts money through efficiency, consistency, and having an abundance of robust data in one place.

Benefits of an All-in-One School System

Providing K-12 students with a well-rounded education presents a variety of challenges that run the gamut of individual requirements, from unique health concerns and diverse backgrounds to different learning abilities and speeds. Yet students are put into classrooms, for the most part, based on nothing more than being in the same grade, putting pressure on educators to teach to a disparate group while also meeting district and state curriculum standards.

Lumen™ Touch is committed to providing best-in-class solutions to schools and school districts, making it easier to support teachers, students, families, and communities. Our ongoing mission is to revolutionize K-12 education. Lumen Touch’s Bright SUITE™ is a one-stop-shop for schools, incorporating everything a district needs, from a learning management system to student information systems to health-and-safety monitoring and reporting. An all-in-one school system like Bright SUITE can support the teaching process in the following ways:

Consistency

An all-in-one school system can ensure that students receive a consistent and high-quality education throughout their K-12 journey. Not only can the system track their progress from one grade to another, but it gives a complete picture of the student, including health, behavioral information, and gaps in achievement.

Collaboration

One of the additional benefits teachers can realize with an all-in-one system is improved collaboration. Teachers can share resources, lesson plans, and ideas – not only throughout their own school but with other schools as well.  The system also provides a centralized location for teachers to organize and store course materials, such as lecture notes, assignments, and multimedia resources, making it easier for students to access and review course content from any location.

Personalized Learning

Teachers can leverage the technology and data available in the learning management system to help meet the needs of students through individualized learning. While there is a SPED component to the all-in-one solution, the technology provides teachers with tools to differentiate instruction and personalize learning for all students. Teachers can assign different tasks, provide additional resources, and monitor progress, to provide targeted support for students who need it. It can be used to help students work at their own pace, pursue learning that is meaningful to them on an individual basis, and remain engaged.

Streamlined Communication

An all-in-one school system comes with a communication component that makes communicating with parents, teachers, and students easier. It improves parent engagement and promotes parental involvement in their students’ education. Our parent portal within the system allows for parents to stay current in to the health, nutrition, behavior, and academic performance of their students.  Parents can even schedule conferences with teachers. Communication is also documented for teachers and administrators, so everyone is in the know. This can help to improve student engagement and encourage more thoughtful and reflective responses.

Efficiency

The administrative tasks that divert teachers’ attention away from the actual function of teaching – grading, scheduling, attendance tracking, testing – can all be done through the Instructor Suite. This benefit frees teachers’ time and allows them to focus on teaching and student engagement. The Instructor Suite also allows teachers to create and distribute assignments online, which can be submitted electronically by students. This helps teachers to track students’ progress and provide feedback in a timely manner. It will also show teachers if the student has a 504 or an IEP, any health issues, such as allergies or asthma, and associated accommodations.

Why Lumen Touch

With special modules for special education, a full library, and modules for individual user data dashboards, Bright SUITE is an all-in-one enterprise management solution that allows districts to save money, improve student retention, and create a secure and connected school district. Access to real-time data lets educators make the best decisions for all students. Learn more.

Meeting Special Needs with Bright SPED

More students than ever before are receiving individual education accommodations through 504s and IEPs. These accommodations are important and necessary, but they can place a tremendous burden on the classroom teacher responsible for implementing and managing the accommodations. How do districts make it easier for educators to deliver the education that students need without overtaxing them? Call Lumen™ Touch.

Equipping Teachers with the Right Tools

Writing goals, reporting student progress, and developing transition plans is often a time-consuming and aggravating process, especially when forced to use archaic evaluation systems. Educators must often focus on filling out forms rather than on accommodating students, putting the emphasis on paperwork completion and reporting compliance rather than on individualized education. It can be dehumanizing for both the teachers and the students.  

Automate the Paperwork

Bright SPED™ by Lumen Touch lifts the burden from educators, as well as others on the special education team, by automating the cumbersome paperwork and reporting processes. Bright SPED is designed to address complexities and changing dynamics in special education planning, development, and reporting. Powered by a data-driven infrastructure that does not rely on forms processing, Bright SPED delivers a comprehensive, timesaving, web-based tool for special education programs that meets federal and state compliance modifications in a timely way.

What Does Bright SPED Mean for Your School?

Bright SPED makes it easier for everyone in the district to provide quality, individualized instruction to students with special needs. IEPs can be reviewed, updated, and printed from the Lumen Touch interface. It’s quick and easy to review accommodations and student goals. It also guides teachers through the entire IEP process, including the time-consuming phase of developing annual goals and building IEPs. The solution is designed to provide support to staff and students as well as simplify communication with parents. Bright SPED also provides the ability to have all documentation (IEP, other special education forms, etc.) fully translated into the parent’s native language.

If meeting special ed mandates has overwhelmed your school and district, let Lumen Touch demonstrate how we can free you to focus on what’s important: educating students and creating the leaders we need for the future.  Email us at sales@lumentouch.com, call us at 816.880.0066, or visit www.lumentouch.com.

EdTech Is the Future of Education

Educational technology – edtech – really came into its own during the pandemic. A concept that was experiencing slow adoption rates and some resistance in classrooms suddenly became an immediate solution when schools were closed, and students were forced into distance learning. The necessity of online education forced districts and teachers to acknowledge the power of edtech in managing curriculum – and it forced communities to find ways to bridge inequities and ensure that every student had internet access. While inequity remains an ongoing challenge, much progress has been made during the past few years.

EdTech Levels the Playing Field for Students

One of the ways in which edtech enriches the educational experience is by giving students access to more information and more opportunities than they would have had otherwise. Not only does edtech open up possibilities for students to individualize their learning and pursue diverse interests, but it also brings the whole world closer to them. It empowers students while fueling their curiosity; learning becomes more fun.

EdTech Provides Districts Solutions for Complex Challenges

Edtech solutions – from health and safety to security to communication – help districts manage their schools more effectively. Do you even remember the days of paper attendance sheets and manual grading systems? What about trying to keep track of student vaccinations and allergies? All-in-one school systems have removed the burden of administration from the districts while providing them with more comprehensive data so that they can make informed decisions about how to best serve students, parents, and their communities.

EdTech Empowers Educators

Edtech empowers educators by freeing them from the daily minutia involved with teaching, so that they can focus on that which motivated them to join the profession in the first place: impacting young minds. With tools that help grade homework, manage student information, and conduct basic testing, as well as provide solutions for SPED and the cumbersome reporting required, teachers can spend less time doing paperwork and more time with students. This allows teachers to devote more time to individualized educational goals for every student without feeling overwhelmed.

EdTech Is the Future

While there are challenges that must be continually addressed – cybersecurity, student data privacy, data management – edtech offers the ability for schools to deliver a better educational experience that is more efficient and more cost-effective. Edtech is the future of learning. It enables districts to be better partners in their communities, improve engagement with parents and guardians, and fuel student motivation by having the ability to offer new and innovative opportunities in learning.

Winter Break – Ideas for Educators to Recharge

Educators are under more pressure than ever with overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and so many more additional responsibilities. By the time winter break rolls around, you might feel as if there’s no time to really catch your breath before the chaos of the second half of the year begins. It’s more important than ever, teachers, to make winter break about focusing on you and about recharging your batteries. How? We’re glad you asked!

Let It Snow and Let It Go

You are good at what you do, but it’s okay to let go of the worry, stress, and concern you feel during the school week and just enjoy the break. Curl up with a good book, enjoy a spa day, putter in the garage, catch a game, bake cookies, go for long walks. And sleep in!

Pleasure before Pedagogy

Instead of reading student papers or the latest pedagogical research, pick up that mystery or horror novel you were reading last summer. Let your mind get completely sucked into a world of fiction. Disconnect. Make some hot cocoa or a cup of tea and get lost.

Coffee and Connect

How long has it been since you and your best friend have grabbed coffee or lunch or spent time together? Don’t let the break go without scheduling a little time to reconnect. During the holidays, people may be in town who you rarely have the chance to see; so, make the most of it.

Skip the Holiday Hustle

Find ways to simplify your holidays so that you have time to enjoy them, too. Don’t spend every moment cleaning and cooking only to be exhausted at the end of the winter break. Enlist help if you’re hosting the holiday meal; don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to extra requests when you’d rather have the downtime.

Doing Nothing Is an Important Thing to Do

As a teacher, you’re always on the go, with barely enough time for bathroom breaks and a lunch break during the school day. Even though the holiday season can create its own unique style of chaotic pressure, it’s okay – and recommended – to make sure you set aside time in which you don’t have to do anything. Whether it’s sleeping in and spending a day in your pajamas or skipping the long lines at the stores and having stuff delivered, take an actual break.

Winter break is an opportunity for educators to recharge. It’s good for you and good for your students.

Keep Your School from Getting Hooked – Avoid Phishing Scams

Cybersecurity incidents targeting schools and districts have grown exponentially over the last few years and show no signs of stopping. And cyberattacks – especially phishing attacks – on schools have never been higher. Phishing has become one of the most successful types of cyberattacks because it plays on people’s emotions, compelling them to act without thinking.

Cyberattacks Cost Schools Time and Money

Every school district is feeling pressured to improve protection of student data, to train employees and staff to recognize threats, and to prevent cyberattacks before they happen. The cost to districts in terms of time and money is significant. Yet, the cost of inaction is even more so: Schools may be closed for days or weeks; regaining access to data may cost thousands of dollars or more in ransom, and the risk exists that personal data of students and teachers may still be leaked on the dark web. These threats are not something to be taken lightly.

Take Action Now and Protect Your School’s Data

Hackers don’t take a break over the holidays, even though schools do. In fact, cyber criminals typically step up their efforts when they think people are distracted and paying little attention to the insidious methods used to access school networks. Here are some steps you should take to be more cybersecure as you learn more about protecting student data.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Hackers achieve the most success when all they have to do is crack a password. Let’s face it: We all reuse passwords, use passwords that are easy to break, and store passwords in our browsers. But if having a password isn’t enough to allow hackers network access because they still need a six-digit code that was sent to a phone, or a code from an authenticator app that has to be accessed from a separate device, then they are stopped in their tracks. Requiring MFA can nearly eliminate the risk of successful phishing attempts.

Employee Training

The single most important effort you can make to protect student data is to provide your staff with ongoing training. The more your staff know about recognizing phishing emails, and the more they are empowered to take action – or not –in response to an email request (whether it’s clicking on a link or providing secure data), the more they can become a frontline defense against phishing.

Let Lumen™ Touch Help Secure Your School

In order to know where you need to make improvements to your cybersecurity strategy, you need to know where your weaknesses are. That’s why Lumen Touch is offering a security audit service for schools: Bright LITE™. 

Our customized service offering provides individuals and organizations with the information and education necessary to efficiently evaluate both the risks and opportunities they face. Email sales@lumentouch.com to schedule your audit. 

How to Solve the Data Management Problem in Your District

Managing student and district data can be extremely time consuming and complex. It is a challenge for most school districts, regardless of size. In addition to security concerns, managing servers and integrating student data from multiple applications can be a huge burden to small district IT teams. When you pile compliance and reporting requirements on top of that, the commitment can be more than a district can manage.

If your district IT department is overwhelmed with basic day-to-day data management, hindering their ability to focus on creating a modern digital community that would benefit your entire district, it might be time to consider a different way forward.

All-in-One School Systems Manage Data More Efficiently

An all-in-one enterprise management system not only saves money but also helps create a connected and secure school district. Teachers and administrators gain access to real-time data, which allows them to make better decisions in support of their students. Communications are secure and allow for improved engagement with students and parents. With improved resource efficiency, schools can spend less time focusing on data management and reporting and are able to focus instead on delivering the best learning opportunities. Districts are able to save money while meeting the increased need for administrative tracking, performance analysis, and detailed local and state reporting requirements.

All-in-One School Systems Ensure Safe Rostering of Student Data

One of the biggest data management challenges that districts face is the risk involved in sharing roster data with edtech vendors. Protecting personally identifiable information (PII) is not just the ethical thing to do; in many cases, such safeguards are legislated by federal and state governments. Schools must remain in compliance with student privacy laws and ensure that the vendors with whom they share data are also using strenuous measures to protect that information. By employing an all-in-one school management system, rostering student data can be governed using a centralized, secure process that governs how schools share PII.

Lumen™ Touch Bright SUITE™ All-in-One System Is More than Just Software

Lumen Touch offers to districts an all-in-one solution that is more than just programming and software. Bright SUITE also offers a dedicated partnership with Lumen Touch experts who are part of ensuring your school’s success. Don’t take it from us; hear from one of our Midwestern school district clients:

Not many companies can boast about having a single-platform solution like Lumen Touch that responds to the customer and market demands, that decreases the cost of a comprehensive digital platform in a time of financial crisis and provides the security in a world of cyber insecurity.

– Director of Technology

To learn more about how Lumen Touch empowers the future of learning, get in touch. Email us at mailto:sales@lumentouch.com, call us at 816.880.0066, or visit www.lumentouch.com.

The Opportunity in Education

The recent COVID-related learning-loss numbers are being lamented across the country, becoming yet another weight on the shoulders of teachers who are often working in less-than-ideal circumstances as staffing shortages continue to mount. While learning gaps in math and reading are something to be addressed, the opportunity to change our approach and revolutionize learning in education has never been closer to reality. So where do we go from here, and how do we leverage this opportunity to transform education in a way that benefits students, teachers, and districts?

Stop Measuring Against What “Should” Be

We’re all for establishing benchmarks and using data to obtain the insights necessary to personalize education for each student. However, holding students to a standard based on previous test scores or outdated benchmarks isn’t fair to students or teachers. Instead, we must strive to meet the students where they are and move them forward.

From early on in a students’ education, we focus on measuring failure. Spelling and math tests are administered so that we can mark what they get wrong. Standardized tests focus on how far beneath the average they are. We then assume that wherever students are measured at that moment academically is where they will remain. This places an undue burden on students and teachers to always approach education as if it is remedial. Instead, we should focus on student successes and strengths, on each student’s interests, and on finding ways to improve motivation, engagement, and subject matter expertise by teaching to their passions.

Employ the Right EdTech to Help Improve Skills Quickly

Not every student is going to be in the same place academically – and that’s probably the greatest challenge for teachers. How do you teach to a classroom full of students who have all made different levels of progress in the previous two years while mostly schooling from home? Instead of adding that kind of stress to educators, let edtech play a role in individualizing the education of each student. Encourage students to work on personalized tracks, measuring their individual progress against their own starting point. This will free teachers to spend more one-on-one time with students who need additional instruction and support without holding back those who are ready for more.

Recognize the Opportunity Rather than the Adversity of the Moment

We are being presented with an opportunity to revolutionize education – to move away from standardized testing and toward individualized learning; to move away from grade level placements and toward individual education goals; to move away from changing classes and teachers every year to assigning students to the same education team across multiple years. The education system was completely disrupted by the pandemic, but why would we want to return to a system that was already outdated and underperforming?

Redesign the Curriculum – Eliminate Standardized Tests

We are doing our students a complete disservice by clinging to the old way of doing things, simply because we’ve always done it that way. We’re not preparing them to get a job in the workplace. The future of learning should look and feel radically different. Placing the priority on learning instead of on meeting standardized test score benchmarks is only the first step in recognizing that standardized testing does not test students for the functional education that they need to succeed in society.

Preparing Students for the Future

Our education system literally has not been updated in over a century, so the changes that have happened in the last two years out of necessity are ones we should sustain. A well-educated society is the backbone of an economically strong, socially engaged country – but today’s students need more than just great math and reading scores on standardized tests. They need to be prepared for a future that is inimitably more progressive than the one that any generation before them has experienced.

The future of learning should be individualized. Assessments should not be used to penalize students but rather to help encourage and customize learning. And what students learn should be modernized and revolutionized so that the students moving through the education system today are prepared to live, work, and engage in the society of tomorrow. Learn more about how Lumen™ Touch is contributing to the future of learning.

Don’t Be Scared to Embrace the Future of Learning

The spooky season might have left us all feeling a little frightened, but when it comes to preparing students for the future workforce, we can’t be scared to embrace the future of learning. The future of learning is not going to be anything like our current schools. The future of learning is exciting, innovative, active, and continually evolving. Here’s what we’re excited about:

More Individualized Learning

Right now, a student must be on an IEP or a 504 to be guaranteed individualized learning. Educational accommodations are often too labor-intensive, and if they are not required, they are typically not provided. However, technology is making it easier for educators to deliver the basic curriculum using digital content, edtech solutions, and automated grading and testing. This leaves time for teachers to engage more personally with each individual student, fostering their interests and allowing a more individualized experience across the board for all students.

Smarter Classrooms, Smarter Tech

We need to move away from education that is based on 100-year-old ideas. As we learn more about how technology can be used to enhance education and prepare students for the future workforce, we’ll see refinements in the way it is incorporated in the classroom. There will be more hands-on education – think robotics, programming, AI and VR – as well as better means of understanding and assessing which tools are actually impacting overall student achievement. Data will be the key to understanding what’s next, but technology will give us the information we need in a clear and easy-to-understand dashboard.

A New Generation of Digital-Savvy Educators

New graduates entering the teaching profession are digital natives who have spent their entire lives using technology. They will bring unique perspectives about how to teach the students of the future and provide insights on what those students will need to become more engaged. These digital-savvy educators will help revolutionize the classroom – if they are given the opportunity and freedom to lead us all into the future we need. Experienced teachers who are given the opportunity to improve their tech skills will bring the best of both worlds – in-depth pedagogical experience and modern tech savviness.

Buy-In from the Top

Administrators will begin to see the numbers and make connections between the programs they provide in the K-12 setting and the increased graduation rates, increased college attendance rates, and higher wages. It will create enthusiasm and excitement for the potential that every student has and how the K-12 school’s role will become integral in their lifetime success.

The future of education is bright, and Lumen™ Touch is excited to be a part of the education evolution with you. To learn more about how Lumen Touch empowers the future of learning, get in touch. Email us at sales@lumentouch.com, call us at 816.880.0066, or visit www.lumentouch.com.