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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10418538" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard-collaborate">Blackboard Collaborate</keyword> offers <keyword id="178474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard">Blackboard</keyword> instructors and moderators private, dedicated course rooms for breakout sessions, one-on-one meetings, and office hours. </li><li>Available as part of the standard or Ultra Blackboard experience, Blackboard Collaborate is located in your Course Tools and is accessible through a desktop or mobile device.</li></ul><p>Blackboard is an online learning tool that allows students and instructors to host or take online classes as part of a school, university, or corporate environment. The educational platform is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their digital classroom experience to an institution's and learners' needs. </p><p>In Blackboard, students can view assignments, submit work, have discussions, and even meet for a video conference. Meanwhile, instructors can make announcements, post course materials, and grade assignments and classes. Blackboard's apps also help students stay connected on their phones, and other features include calendars, discussions, groups, and assessments. </p><p>Within Blackboard, several advanced features enhance or expand the interactive element of online learning. Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra are just one. The video-based conferencing tool within the Blackboard platform hosts private "rooms" for real-time educational collaboration. </p><p>Here's everything you should know about Blackboard Collaborate. </p><h2>What you need to know about Blackboard Collaborate</h2><p>Blackboard's video conferencing tool works with both the original and Ultra versions through different interfaces. Both allow users to meet in real-time, add files, and more. You'll need to install the Blackboard Collaborate utility before you launch video sessions but will be prompted to download it when you click on a video session link. </p><p>Blackboard Collaborate rooms are located in the "Tools" section of a course. In Blackboard Original, there is one video "room" associated with a given course if enabled. In Ultra, the instructor may create additional sessions for other uses, including breakout or group-study sessions that can operate regardless of whether the instructor is present. Instructors can also customize the rooms to allow private messaging, allow simultaneous speakers, share their desktop, or set recording options. </p><p>The dedicated "Course Room" lasts for the entirety of the course, and instructors and students can join at any time without scheduling or without the need for an instructor to hold bigger classwide sessions. Instructors have an additional "My Room" that can be used for office hours or other smaller meetings with students. </p><p>And much like Zoom, in Collaborate, instructors can create a unique session link. Instructors can use the link to direct students immediately from another course area (a folder, for example) to the Collaborate session.</p><h2>Blackboard Collaborate interactive features and mobile access</h2><p>Collaborate offers several features to help students and instructors get the most out of the "room" experience. Users can participate in polls, raise their hand (like the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-raise-hand-on-google-meet">Google Meet</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-raise-hand-in-zoom">Zoom</a> feature) to share a question or comment, and use the chat to message other students or the room moderator without disrupting the larger conversation. </p><p>Collaborate will test your audio and video before you join the session or room, but in the case where your audio is not up to par, you have the option to call in and join the sessions using your phone. Or, you could go completely mobile by joining a Collaborate session from your mobile browser. Android users should sign into their Blackboard account using Chrome, while iPhone users can use Safari to join live classes and meetings, view instructor-shared content, and use all the same whiteboard and communication tools as a desktop device.  </p><h2>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-zoom-guide">What is Zoom? A comprehensive guide to the wildly popular video-chatting service for computers and smartphones</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-google-jamboard">'What is Google Jamboard?': How to use the 4K UHD touch display and cloud-based whiteboard's G-Suite app for virtual collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-dropbox">'What is Dropbox?': How to use the cloud-based file-storage service for collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-create-a-google-classroom">How to create a Google Classroom on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bluejeans">'What is BlueJeans?': Here's what you need to know about using the video-conferencing service</a></h3></li></ul>

What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="178474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard">Blackboard</keyword> Learn is a highly customizable online learning application that allows users to take or host online courses.</li><li>Students and teachers can interact using assignments, video conferencing, discussion groups, tests, and more in Blackboard Learn and its upgraded version, Ultra.</li><li>Blackboard's mobile apps and accessibility tools allow students to participate remotely and flexibly in classes. </li></ul><p>Blackboard is a customizable online learning tool that can replace or supplement traditional face-to-face classes for a school or any other classroom structure. Many conventional classroom functions have equivalents in Blackboard Learn, allowing students and teachers to emulate just about every physical classroom experience element. </p><p>In a fully online format, the teacher might assign all materials to the students digitally, communicate outside of class using online tools, and have students discuss and collaborate online. But in a hybrid model, the class might meet in person only a few times a week and use Blackboard activities that students complete outside the course. Finally, in a web-enhanced model, the classes may be face-to-face, but instructors may post supporting materials like syllabus, assignments, or optional discussions online. </p><p>Here's what else you should know about Blackboard. </p><h2>Blackboard's features and tools</h2><p>Blackboard is host to many virtual and digital learning tools, but all revolve around its core component: courses. </p><p>Courses, which instructors can only start, are accessible through the "Home" section of a student's Blackboard account under "My Courses." Classes are supplemented by various tools, focusing on several critical areas of the classroom experience: content, interaction and discussion, and announcements and scheduling. </p><h3><strong>Courses &amp; Content</strong></h3><p>Instructors can post content, including files, text, images, audio, and video, in their courses. That content can then be organized using learning modules, folders, or lesson plans. To help students navigate their course content, instructors can post a syllabus with descriptions of the course materials, assignments, grading expectations, and more in a section of the course menu or elsewhere within a course. </p><p>Other content that you'll likely see includes surveys, tests, and assignments. Instructors can customize grading for and assign grades to submissions. Students can view assignment and class grades by navigating to the "My Grades" section in the dropdown menu by their name. Meanwhile, surveys and tests are highly customizable and may be multiple-choice, timed, or written. While tests are graded, surveys are not. Surveys may instead be used to poll students or assess their knowledge and are marked as complete or incomplete. </p><h3><strong>Announcements &amp; Calendars</strong></h3><p>Blackboard offers several ways for students and teachers to stay on track throughout their class. Instructors can post announcements on changes to a syllabus, due dates, exam schedules, and more. Notifications may appear on the "Home" page of a student's Blackboard account for their institution or within specific classes. Instructors and students can also keep track of important dates through the calendar tool, combining course, individual, and institutional schedules.</p><h3><strong>Interaction &amp; Discussion</strong></h3><p>Instructors can set up discussion boards within their classes, with both students and educators can start new discussion threads and reply to an original prompt. Students in a class can also send direct messages to one another by clicking "Messages" in their course menu.</p><p>Instructors may set up groups of students within their class to complete group projects, have discussions, or share work. In addition to sharing files and having group-specific conversations, this feature lets users create shared journals. These are a way for students to interact privately with their instructor. Instructors create journal topics within the journal topic page, and students respond with entries that can be graded. </p><p>There's also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard-collaborate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a video-conferencing feature of the platform called Blackboard Collaborate</a>, which allows for virtual discussions in group sessions or one-on-one meetings.</p><h2>Additional Blackboard features</h2><p>Blackboard has some other features that help students and instructors stay connected, whether with <keyword id="10418537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard-ultra">Blackboard Ultra</keyword>, the mobile apps, or the accessibility toolkit. Here's what you should know about them. </p><h3><strong>Ultra</strong></h3><p>Blackboard Ultra is a cloud-based service like Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-dropbox">Dropbox</a>, rather than a downloaded or installed software. It's an updated version of the original Blackboard that institutions can access if they opt for SaaS ("Software As A Service") deployment. </p><p>Blackboard Ultra's updated user interface and workflow include a responsive design that works on any device. It also features an "activity stream" that allows students to see updates from all their classes together in an organized list rather than class-by-class. Ultra's calendar gathers due dates from all courses and offers a grades page that features all your performance together without navigating to each class. </p><p>If you're unsure if you have the Ultra or Original version of Blackboard, look at your browser window's left panel after log in. If your name is shown in the left-hand menu, you're using Ultra. If it's in the top right, you're using Original. </p><h3><strong>Mobile apps</strong></h3><p>Blackboard's apps, including Blackboard and Blackboard Instructor, are iOS 11+ and Android 5+ compatible mobile tools that work with both Original and Ultra interfaces. Once downloaded, the app will ask you to find your institution and log in with your Blackboard Learn login information. </p><h3><strong>Accessibility tools </strong></h3><p>To optimize accessibility on Blackboard, instructors can design content for students with visual, hearing, learning, and mobility-based disabilities in mind. </p><p>Blackboard Learn is compatible with screen readers, and pages are designed to follow a common structure to allow quick navigation. Others can enable high-contrast styles on the login page of Blackboard Learn to match their computer configuration. Students who use keyboard navigation will find commonly used web formatting, while those who rely on key commands to navigate through pages can access them in the Quick Links tool or through hitting Shift+Alt+L. </p><p>Instructors can caption all media types that they upload so that students can read information instead of listening. To reduce visual clutter and increase executive function, users can collapse menus or set up Blackboard Learn to send notifications and reminders. Instructors can also design tests with accommodations for extra time, varying visual displays, or more attempts. </p><p>The Blackboard App also offers built-in accessibility features, like VoiceOver navigation, zoom for enlarged visuals, color filters, navigation through Bluetooth switch hardware, AssistiveTouch in iOS, and Switch Access for external devices in Android. </p><h2>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard-collaborate">What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-google-jamboard">'What is Google Jamboard?': How to use the 4K UHD touch display and cloud-based whiteboard's G-Suite app for virtual collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bluejeans">'What is BlueJeans?': Here's what you need to know about using the video-conferencing service</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-create-a-google-classroom">How to create a Google Classroom on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-join-google-classroom">How to join a Google Classroom meeting from a link or code on any device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-submit-an-assignment-in-google-classroom">How to submit an assignment in Google Classroom, or retract a submission, on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li></ul>

What is Blackboard? Everything you need to know about the online learning platform

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You can delete a <keyword id="6634744" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipgrid">Flipgrid</keyword> video as either an instructor or student in a few steps.</li><li>Flipgrid is an educational tool by Microsoft used to create video message boards and discussion topics for <keyword id="3216" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="students">students</keyword> of all ages.</li><li>Posted video responses appear in a grid, where they can be played by both teachers and students.</li></ul><p>Educators use <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-flipgrid-education-video-2018-6">Flipgrid</a> to create message boards where students video record their answers instead of typing them out for more interactive and engaging learning. </p><p>This free, website-based platform works by letting teachers create tiled "grids."</p><p>Teachers pose discussion questions and students' video replies appear in a grid display below. Flipgrid is useful for teachers who want to emulate in-person conversations from a distance, but also without the pressure of a live <keyword id="6356216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="classroom">classroom</keyword>. </p><p>If you're a teacher or student who has posted a video to Flipgrid, but would like to re-do it, deleting a video question or response is easy.</p><h2><strong>How to delete a Flipgrid video if you're an educator</strong></h2><p>Teachers can create a free Flipgrid account <a href="https://admin.flipgrid.com/">here</a>. Once you've created an account and posted your first video, you'll be able to hide or delete it. You can also delete responses from your students if they reach out for help.</p><p><strong>1. </strong>Log in to your educator account <a href="http://admin.flipgrid.com/">here</a>.</p><p><strong>2. </strong>Visit your discussions page.<div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 1" height="1600" width="2560" msid="80273881" hostid="261"></div></p><p><strong>3. </strong>Select the group and topic of the video you'd like to delete.</p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 2" height="1600" width="2560" msid="80273883" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>4. </strong>Find your video under "Responses."</p><p><strong>5. </strong>To hide it, click on the Active button and select "Hide Response" in the dropdown menu. </p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 3" height="1600" width="2560" msid="80273885" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>6. </strong>To delete it, click "Actions" and select "Delete Response" in the dropdown menu.</p><p><strong>7. </strong>Check the box next to "I want to permanently delete the Response(s)."</p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 4" height="1600" width="2560" msid="80273889" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>8. </strong>Click "Delete." You've deleted your response.</p><h2><strong>How to delete a Flipgrid video if you're a student</strong></h2><p>After posting a response to your instructor's video, you can hide or delete it.</p><p><strong>1. </strong>Visit <a href="https://my.flipgrid.com/">my.flipgrid.com</a>.</p><p><strong>2. </strong>Log-in or click "Request access by email." This way, you'll have access to every video you've posted using this email account.</p><p><strong>3. </strong>If requesting access by email, you'll receive an email link from Flipgrid to deactivate your video.</p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 5.PNG" height="2001" width="1125" msid="80273891" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>4. </strong>Click "Actions" and select "Delete this video" or "Hide this video" in the dropdown menu.</p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 6.PNG" height="2001" width="1125" msid="80273892" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>5. </strong>Check the box next to "I want to permanently delete the Response(s)."</p><p><strong>6. </strong>Click "Delete." You've deleted your response. </p><div type="image" title="How to delete a Flipgrid Video 7.PNG" height="2001" width="1125" msid="80273893" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>7. </strong>For assistance, contact your teacher.</p><h2><strong>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</strong></h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is Blackboard? Everything you need to know about the online learning platform</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard-collaborate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-trello" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is Trello? Here's what you need to know about the online project management tool</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-join-google-classroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to join a Google Classroom meeting from a link or code on any device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-download-bluejeans-recording">How to download a recording of your BlueJeans meetings in 4 simple steps</a></h3></li></ul>

How to delete a Flipgrid video as an educator or student in a few simple steps

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="190609" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="asana">Asana</keyword> is a workplace <keyword id="13778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Management">management</keyword> dashboard that helps streamline communication across companies and teams.</li><li>Asana is customizable, and allows users to break down projects into tasks and set clear goals for teams.</li><li>Asana also has integration with hundreds of other apps that businesses use, like Google Drive and Outlook.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/asana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asana</a> is a customizable workplace content management system (<keyword id="15615" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="cms">CMS</keyword>) which is designed to help a wide range of companies achieve their organizational needs. More plainly, it's an advanced organizational tool to help streamline projects.</p><p>Asana is made so that workplaces of any size can analyze their progress and address issues all in one place, eliminating the need for constant meetings, email updates, and memos.</p><h2>What to know about Asana</h2><p>Asana has a wide range of features available to help companies and the teams within them find a system to get things done as efficiently as possible. These features include:</p><h3>Project and task management</h3><p>Asana's main feature is its project and task management tools. You can create lists or boards to host certain projects as a whole - these will detail all the initiatives, meetings, and programs involved in said projects.</p><p>From there, you can break these projects into tasks and subtasks to make them more manageable, and list the steps to complete them. You can also: </p><ul><li>Give tasks to specific people so everyone knows who is working on what</li><li>Group tasks into sections or columns to keep them organized</li><li>Assign start dates and due dates, which can also include timed deadlines</li><li>Create reusable templates to make certain tasks easier to start</li><li>Add task dependencies to specify when some tasks need to be completed before others start</li><li>View your tasks in a timeline so everyone can see the project chronologically</li><li>Create rules to automate processes like assigning tasks and triaging</li><li>Add attachments from a number of integrated software</li></ul><h3>Communication tools</h3><p>Of course, one of the most important - and difficult - parts of teamwork is communication. Asana has tools to streamline this as well. </p><p>Your Inbox tracks all your messages and their associated tasks. Here you can attach tasks to messages and use project conversations to have ongoing discussions. You can also proof images and PDFs, and any comments can even be turned into tasks so the team knows what corrections need to be made.</p><div type="image" title="asana4" height="1390" width="2808" msid="82093632" hostid="261"></div><h3>Multiple ways to view work</h3><p>Because Asana is made to adapt to your workforce. As such, it offers several ways to view your projects and tasks:</p><ul><li><strong>My tasks:</strong> A view that gives you a personal to-do list</li><li><strong>List:</strong> View and group your tasks in a grid structure</li><li><strong>Board:</strong> Displays your upcoming tasks in a bulletin board style format</li><li><strong>Calendar: </strong>Shows a list of tasks based on deadlines</li><li><strong>Files: </strong>Groups together all the files uploaded to project</li><li><strong>Inbox: </strong>Groups together all your conversations</li></ul><div type="image" title="asana" height="1405" width="2756" msid="82093633" hostid="261"></div><p>There's also a Search view for those who don't want to painstakingly organize all their tasks.</p><h3>Management and reporting tools</h3><p>If you're in charge of an <keyword id="179834" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Organization">organization</keyword>, Asana's reporting tools make it easy to keep project updates organized and send update reminders when necessary. </p><p>You can use Asana to set "Goals" to keep everyone on the same page, and "Milestones" to reward and encourage hard work. </p><p>You can also craft status updates for projects and portfolios to send messages to your team quickly, and check your Dashboard to see the status of all ongoing projects and tasks at once, and identify problem areas if necessary.</p><p>Creating Teams lets you group people together to collaborate on projects. The Team page includes an Overview tab to track projects, a Messages tab for group conversations and announcements, and a shared Calendar tab. You can add teammates as followers on tasks not assigned to them, to keep them updated and alert them if there are problems they can help with. </p><div type="image" title="asana2" height="1209" width="2739" msid="82093634" hostid="261"></div><p>Administrators also have privacy controls - you can add permissions and other privacy controls to limit access to certain work, or even keep some teams that do sensitive work hidden. </p><h3>Easy app integration</h3><p>One of the things that makes Asana so easy to use is its app integration. There are a number of apps that work well with Asana, but the most notable are:</p><ul><li>Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, Office365, OneDrive, and Adobe Creative Cloud for file creation and sharing</li><li>Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Power BI for communication</li><li>Harvest, a built-in time tracker tool</li></ul><h2>How to get Asana</h2><p>Asana is available in three pre-set, tiered plans: Free, Premium, and Business. You can sign up for any of these packages <a href="https://asana.com/pricing?&amp;utm_campaign=Brand--NAMER--EN--Low_Funnel--All-Device&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=pd_cpc_br&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw38-DBhDpARIsADJ3kjlVMk1mVVH4VaBtgwBtUzfufTf2chNMWwS7psGy5MgYAPCHQXPOrbQaAj7WEALw_wcB&amp;gclsrc=aw.dswcB&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Asana's website</a>.</p><h3><strong>Asana Basic</strong></h3><p>This free version includes the following features:</p><ul><li>Unlimited tasks, projects, messages, file storage, and entries in your activity log</li><li>List, Board, and Calendar Views</li><li>Project briefs and overviews</li><li>Mobile apps for both iOS and Android</li><li>100-plus app integrations, including time tracking</li></ul><h3><strong>Asana Premium</strong></h3><p>Premium plans are $13.49 per month, billed each month, plus $10.99 per month per user, billed annually.</p><p>Asana Premium includes all the features the free version does, plus:</p><ul><li>Timeline view and Dashboard reporting</li><li>Advanced search features</li><li>The ability to create custom fields</li><li>Unlimited free guests - guests are users who don't share the company's email domain.</li><li>Forms, Rules, and Milestones</li><li>Admin controls</li><li>The ability to create private teams and projects</li></ul><h3>Asana Business</h3><p>Asana Business is $30.49 per month, plus $24.99 per user per month annually.</p><p>Like Premium, it comes with all the features of the plans beneath it, plus the following:</p><ul><li>Portfolio and Goal reporting</li><li>Workload view - allows you to see how much of your team's resources are being used, and on which projects</li><li>The ability to build and customize rules</li><li>More customizable forms</li><li>The ability to request and give approvals on any project or task</li><li>Proofing for photos - allows you to leave commentary directly on pictures.</li><li>More advanced integrations with Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, Tableau, and Power BI</li></ul><h3>Asana Enterprise</h3><p>Asana Enterprise is designed for businesses with high-security needs and support on call. There is no set price for this plan - Asana recommends that you <a href="https://asana.com/sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contact its sales team directly</a> to discuss pricing that will work for your company.</p><p>You get all the features listed in the packages above, plus:</p><ul><li>Extra security features</li><li>Data export and deletion</li><li>Advanced user controls</li><li>Custom branding</li><li>Priority support from Asana staff</li></ul><a data-type="5e8235421378e353641a5b96">How to get Asana notifications in Slack for your tasks and projects</a><a data-type="5fb2d36484aa30005518580d">What is Microsoft Teams? Here's what you need to know about the workplace communication tool</a><a data-type="5fa19da51e1b35519d294257">What is OneDrive? Everything you need to know about Microsoft's cloud storage service</a><a data-type="5fce9de7e182322b370a60e4">What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms</a>

A guide to Asana, the workplace management tool that helps streamline communication across teams

<ul class="summary-list"><li>TikTokers are using audio from the 2002 movie "Drumline" as part of a meme.</li><li>The audio is from a scene in the film in which Nick Cannon's character fights for a snare drum solo.</li><li>People are using the sound to mimic typing, showing furious exchanges or deadline rushes.</li></ul><p><keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> has revived what's arguably the most famous movie in the percussion film canon: "Drumline," the 2002 film starring Nick Cannon as a teen snare drum prodigy who has to fight upperclassmen (and his own ego) for a spot on the drumline at Atlanta A&amp;T, a fictional HBCU with a renowned marching band. Nearly 20 years after its premiere, one sequence from the film has found new life on TikTok as part of a meme that depicts people furiously typing to try and finish their work on time.</p><p>The audio - a repetitive, energy-filled drumline cadence - is lifted from a <a href="https://youtu.be/JaGoM25tGVA">sequence in "Drumline"</a> in which Devon, Nick Cannon's character, challenges upperclassman Sean for a snare solo on the field. While the sound was uploaded by user @soundsforslomo_bro, the original video appears to have been deleted.</p><p>It's not completely clear where the meme originated, although early instances trace back to the first half of January. One of the earliest instances appears to be a January 8 video from user @mrdapper_ captioned, "When you're trying to get off at 5 on a Friday!" @mrdapper_ went on to post <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mrdapper_/video/6915857594062064901?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1p=v1">several</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mrdapper_/video/6916230294941060358?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1p=v1">other</a> instances of the meme that same week.</p> <p>One of the earliest viral videos associated with the sound was a January 11 video from @tyerenae, whose current TikTok bio reads "CEO of the [snare drum emoji] sound." In a video that's amassed nearly 825,000 likes captioned "when your assignment is due at 11:59 pm," @tyerenae furiously types on a laptop to meet a school deadline.</p> <p>On January 13, @mrdapper_ and @tyerenae collaborated on a video set to the "Drumline" sound that features an exchange between a professor and a student. </p> <p>Since those early days, the meme has taken off on TikTok, with people recreating similar scenarios like asking for a project extension, chatting with a boss, or cleaning the house.</p>   <p>As of now, the hashtag <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/drumlinechallenge?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1p=v1">#drumlinechallenge</a> has nearly 27 million cumulative views, and the sound upload is associated with over 12,000 videos. </p>   <p>Ultimately, the "Drumline" sound is so well-suited for TikTok - and this meme in particular - because of its nostalgia pull, dramatic arc, and resemblance to typing sounds. It's easy to map any kind of intense exchange or deadline rush onto the mounting tension of the audio, which culminates in an explosive solo snare moment. It's nigh-impossible not to feel the energy just from the sound alone.</p>

TikTok is reviving one of the most iconic scenes from 2002's 'Drumline' as a meme about fights with your boss, school, and other daily dramas

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In the autumn, students across the world will be learning remotely as Coronavirus forces <keyword id="48403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="universities">universities</keyword> to close campuses.</li><li>Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker has been <keyword id="6356090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="teaching">teaching</keyword> 80 students, holed up from Beijing to Illinois, since June.</li><li>Working under pressure, he and his colleagues had to work out how they could deliver their informal, interactive teaching to people on opposite sides of the planet. Here's how they made it work.</li></ul><p>Universities will soon welcome students to the new normal that coronavirus has forced upon them. Rather than cramming into lecture halls and sitting in group seminars, most teaching will be done remotely, and both students and staff wait with trepidation. </p><p>But delivering an International Multimedia Journalism master's degree to 80 students across the world, from Beijing to Illinois, has taught me there's a way to make <keyword id="9171976" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="remote-learning">remote learning</keyword> just as useful as face-to-face contact time.</p><p>When the pandemic first hit, Newcastle University quickly began shifting online. We used "digital learning environments" — online spaces that mix slideshows and message boards, basically — like Blackboard and Canvas more. It was a chaotic and stressful second semester for everyone. As students began preparing a dissertation over the summer, staff at most universities were granted a reprieve to consider how best to move to a digital system more permanently.</p><p>But we didn't have time for a break. We had just a few weeks to turn an on-campus, 30-hours-a-week journalism programme into something that could be taught digitally over the summer to students around the world. </p><p>Thankfully, those of us who, like me, still work as journalists are used to being under pressure and adapting to new technology. When we began the summer module in mid-June, many students were worried the immersive <keyword id="6355445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="education">education</keyword> they'd signed up for would be replaced by something sub-par. But halfway through, students have so far responded positively.</p><p><em><strong>Read more...</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scott-galloway-coronavirus-pandemic-reshaping-higher-education-universities-may-close-2020-4">NYU professor Scott Galloway: The pandemic will reshape the future of higher education — and many universities may not make it</a></em></p><p>We tried to focus on the benefits technology might bring. Some learning is through Microsoft Sway, a flexible layout tool that allows us to better format video and text for the classroom (think of it like Squarespace, but for academia). In one class, it enabled me to embed a live Excel spreadsheet of data that students could play with. Just as we would in person, we then set exercises within Sway that students can go off and complete, and for a personal touch, we insert videos of ourselves going into more detail on anything they find difficult.</p><p>That's only part of it. We have regular one-hour lectures, delivered through Microsoft Teams, recorded, and then available on demand, that complement other materials. Twice-weekly two-hour workshops take place at 9am UK time, for students in this and later time zones, and again at 4pm for those in earlier ones. They're full of quizzes, discussions, and collaborative exercises, all in Microsoft Word.</p><p>In a workshop about how to pitch stories as a freelancer, we asked students to write three single-line story ideas in a shared document. We then went through some, explaining how to fine-tune them — after we'd discussed how to write a full pitch, we had them pick one idea and craft an editor-ready email. </p><p>Other times, they've scrambled to find an item near their laptops that they could build a story around, developing the inquisitive skills a journalist needs, then explained to classmates on camera what stories they might tell. They've also used social media to find a case study that illustrated an issue high on that day's news agenda, and drafted a message to ask for an interview. Our style of teaching remotely has kept their attention because we emphatically avoided the stereotype of stuffy lecturers droning on, as they have for decades. </p><h3>"We signify our arrival at a drop-in session with a GIF of Judge Judy"</h3><p>But rewriting a timetable for students in time zones across the globe can leave even teachers uncertain what's next, which is why, every morning, we flag up what's scheduled that day. As well as lectures, workshops, and masterclasses with industry professionals, there are drop-in sessions, where students can video chat with a teacher about any concerns. Teaching staff use  spreadsheets to track contact with students to make sure anyone we don't speak to one-on-one  is okay, and still working towards their final assessment. There's a lot of work that goes into what, hopefully, looks like effortless delivery. </p><p>Some teachers will have to learn new ways to communicate. I'm usually informal with students, preferring to talk to them like peers rather than pupils. Online, we signify our arrival at a drop-in session with a GIF of Judge Judy tapping at her watch, and respond to messages of thanks with GIFs of The Rock's character from "Moana" saying "You're welcome." </p><p>That may seem alien to lecturers who didn't grow up with the informality of online forums, Reddit groups, and instant messaging. But it's one way teaching staff can connect with students who are now so detached from each other. A supportive message, or a chat with a student who fears their English skills are on the wane because they're talking less with people outside their halls, is harder to do digitally. But it's possible.</p><p>It has been a tumultuous four months for students midway through their studies. But the standard of my teaching has been just as high as if I were in a physical classroom. Remote teaching has forced me and others to adapt and test our limits — so far, everything has worked, and the journalism programme is now seen by the university as the Gold Standard for online teaching.</p><p>But don't take my word for it. On Friday, July 17, I delivered a lecture about reporting out a real-life story on chess that will shortly be published on Insider, as well as a more in-depth session on Sway that went through the steps I took researching and writing an article for the <em>New Statesman </em>that week. Afterwards, a student emailed me to  say how much they'd learned. They are one of many over the last month to say the same. </p><p>We can't escape the "new normal", but we have worked to make sure it is as normal as it is new.</p>

Remote university learning can be just as good as a physical classroom. I've been teaching 80 students, from Beijing to Illinois, online since June — here's how I've made it work.

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Will Emerson / YouTube" title_caption="Emerson Walker" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51f7beeeeab8ea7071000012-960/will-emerson.png"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Will Emerson / YouTube</p><p class="caption">Emerson Walker</p></div></div>Emerson Walker is 14 years old and — if he gets his way — he's about to change the way schools all over America handle their schedules.</p>
<p>He has developed a calendar app, called mPlanner, that solves school's trickiest problem: Coordinating the differing schedules of classes, parents, sports teams, doctors and so on. As his <a href="http://mplanner.co/blog/the-kickstarter-campaignis-about-to-be-funded/">almost fully funded Kickstarter page describes it</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">School assignments are posted online, their school events calendar is on the school webpage, their sports calendar is on the fridge, their doctor appointments are on their parents’ phone, and their social events are on social media sites.</p>
<p>The mPlanner app syncs them altogether:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The mPlanner syncs with assignments from school portals (such as Schoology and Blackboard), and presents each assignment to them to "triage" into a study plan.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The app also benefits parents by providing them with a parent interface, allowing instant access to their child's schedule so they can be on the same page.</p>
<p>The idea is genius, because if you know anything about school calendaring web sites like Blackboard and Classes, you'll know they are balky, complicated and annoying to use — in addition to being stored on separate sites. (I can attest to this personally from my experience using three different class scheduling systems at Columbia and NYU.) If mPlanner "solves" this problem, it could easily become the Facebook of calendars. Remember, Facebook started off as a literal "face book" for college campuses.</p>
<p>Emerson, of Turpin High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his collaborator, Will Muller, a senior at Indian Hills High School, already won a Cincinnati Startup Weekend contest, getting themselves some free office space and advice. They've already got <a href="http://www.mplanner.co/">mockups of the app on their web site</a>. And there's an adorable/impressive pitch video on YouTube (below).</p>
<p>Emerson only needs $5,000 from Kickstarter to get his project done this summer, he says.</p>
<p>Lastly, <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rywalker/mplanner-0">don't worry (too much) about him spending it all at the mall</a>: "My dad, Ry Walker, Partner at Cincinnati venture studio Differential (http://differential.io), is formally running the project, and will manage the money," he writes.</p>
<p></p>

This 14-Year-Old Got Funding For His Simple-But-Brilliant Startup And Wants To Change School Forever

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-dominating-apple-in-the-classroom-2017-6">Google for Education</a> tools have taken off "like grass on fire," industry analysts say.</li><li>The software is completely free and Chromebooks, which are laptops manufactured by other companies running the Google Chrome operating system, are deeply discounted for classrooms.</li><li>These tactics have worked: Google-powered devices made up almost 60% of computing devices purchased for US classrooms in 2017, up from 5% in 2012.</li><li>Eighty million teachers and students use the platform worldwide, and there are 30 million <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/chromebooks">Chromebooks</a> in classrooms.</li><li>Teachers have expressed suspicions about why the mega-corporation is giving away the valuable software.</li><li>"There is a bit of a mistrust to Google in some way from the teacher standpoint because it is such a large corporation offering everything for free," Danny Wagner at <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org">Common Sense Media</a> said. </li></ul><p>Michelle Alphe's French classes in Franklin High School, about 40 miles southwest of New York City, begin the same way most days: with a Chromebook.</p><p>"Before class, I'll post their assignments [on Google Classroom] and the students get right on the computers, log into Classroom, and can start working right away," Alphe told Business Insider.</p><p>Advanced classes might read an article in French, then record a video in which they discuss what's different between the US and the country they read about. They then post the video on Google Classroom, and their peers watch and comment on the video.</p><p>"At first I was resistant to it - I'm a technophobe," Alphe told Business Insider. "Now, I really like it. It's made my life a lot easier. I think it has made students' work easier too."</p><p>This scene is repeated in classrooms around the US, where <keyword id="6355445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="education">education</keyword> is increasingly starting to revolve around Google for Education apps and Google's Chromebook laptops. </p><p>Google says there are 80 million educators and students globally using <a href="https://edu.google.com/gsuite-editions/?modal_active=none">G Suite for Education</a>, which allows users to access Gmail, Google Cloud, Google Docs, and other productivity tools. There are 40 million global users of Google Classroom specifically.</p><p>Worldwide, there are 30 million Chromebooks in classrooms, the majority of which are in the US. Fifty-eight percent of the classroom laptops ordered in the US <a href="https://futuresource-consulting.com/Press-K-12-Education-Market-Growth-Forecast-in-2018-0318.html">last year</a> were Chromebooks. These laptops, which cost from $179 to $999 <a href="https://www.google.com/chromebook/find-yours/?utm_source=en-ha-na-sem&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_content=bkws&amp;utm_campaign=chromebook2018Q3&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlcaJ5Luz3gIVw8DICh2scQ86EAAYASAAEgJUrPD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds#">for typical customers</a>, are manufactured by brands like Lenovo, Acer, and HP. </p><p>Google is not alone in trying to making inroads on the hardware and software sides of the classroom. There are software tools like Canvas, where students can access documents and information for their classes, or Safari Montage, a repository for textbooks and other class materials.</p><p>The average cost for learning management software is $5 to $8 per student annually, according to Ben Davis, a senior educator analyst at the market-research firm Futuresource Consulting. For a district such as <a href="http://www.bcps.org/system/">Baltimore</a>, which has over 113,000 students, that could cost nearly $1 million a year. </p><p>But Google Classroom and G Suite for Education are totally free. Google has tens of millions of users for its education software, but it chooses not to make a cent off of them.</p><p>As for the laptops, they're deeply discounted. Institutional pricing for an iPad, once the standby education hardware nationwide, <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/03/27/apple-offers-new-ipad-to-schools-and-education-customers-at-discounted-299">is $299</a> while Microsoft devices <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/devices/default.aspx">start at $189</a>. Google said a single Chromebook starts at $149 per unit for classrooms.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Andy Kiersz/Business Insider; Google, Apple, and Windows education pricing</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Google has <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/fundamentals/preview">created teaching courses and certifications</a>, engages in educator outreach nationwide, and creates tools like a closed-captioning function for students giving presentations on Google Slides.</p><p>"You could argue that part of it is philanthropic," <a href="https://www.jonathanrochelle.com">Jonathan Rochelle</a>, a product management director for G Suite for Education, told Business Insider. "But for us, having educators and students experience our products is important."</p><p>He added: "Our motivation is to make sure people have an option to work better."</p><p>But Google for Education has raised suspicions for ed-tech analysts and educators.</p><p>"They are still selling their Google products to kids, who are being taught to trust them," Keith Chiappone, an eighth-grade English teacher at Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. "Then, when they are of age where they can legally make decisions, that's going to be their default."</p><h2><strong>The first push for educational tech came from state legislatures, not Silicon Valley</strong></h2><p>Classrooms like Alphe's, where students have their own laptops, may seem over the top to those who managed to learn to read and write without computers or with occasional visits to the school computer lab.</p><p>But districts that furnish each student with a laptop aren't doing so by their own choice alone. Since the late 2000s, legislatures in states such as Florida, Virginia, and California <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED522907.pdf">began passing laws</a> to call for digital classrooms and textbooks.</p><p>"There's an increasing push to have our students become digitally literate and move into the workforce seamlessly through the use of digital tools," said Elita Driskill, the director of technology for <a href="https://www.aisd.net">Arlington Independent School District</a> in Arlington, Texas, which serves 61,000 students. "The state recognizes the need for students to be ready for the workplace."</p><p>Initiatives for "digital content" initially put undue pressure on district administrators, said Dwayne Alton, who is in charge of information technology for the <a href="https://www.leeschools.net">School District of Lee County</a> in Fort Myers, Florida, the 33rd-largest in the US with 93,000 students.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-technology-is-shaping-the-future-of-education-2017-12">Here's how technology is shaping the future of education</a></em></p><p>"The legislature thought, 'Hey, we're going to be super modern,'" Alton told Business Insider. "'We think that books are old-fashioned. Kids should be learning with technology and school districts should be required to transition from paper to digital content.'"</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/6782113386/in/photolist-bkj72q-ofQ9tP-nYCqfX-ohTfcg-bye1YP-9JW23R-oRe56Q-qGpN3Y-rmQbby-rmXCXB-rk5Yb2-a2B6vJ-bye1Sc-nGcgx8-bzVpft-Kdqe5y-Kdq73C-e9ZqfC-Kdqjdj-Kdq7iY-Kdqks3-KAFiDs-KdqkjY-Kdq7VE-qLSvE2-bn1xyL-oq7v6A-bmykR1-rDScp7-eXN55J-oTn5gb-a9JX2W-qKa14J-29CatRF-nhV4xn-jZDKpj-eRPE4Q-cMSJXw-eRPEoU-eRPEwy-hhcrDo-dB8wRp-eRCemz-eRCetB-bv47GK-em1D3u-fBQiXG-oQDcJS-e45L7f-bzyULm">Kevin Jarrett/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Around 20 to 30% of US school districts have one laptop for every child, according to Futuresource Consulting.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>At first, digital content meant PDFs of textbooks. Now teachers can track students' progress through in-class activities in real time and assess where a student is excelling or needs help. It's allowed for individual learning beyond separating kids into slow and fast reading groups.</p><p>"We know that students move at different paces," Alton said. "We want to make sure we're not just teaching to the middle, but providing enrichment for the higher levels and remediation for the lower levels."</p><h2>Tech companies have taken advantage of the shift to digital classrooms</h2><p>That shift to digital has fueled fast growth in the US ed-tech market, which has been growing by 8.8% <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjWrIW9kKDeAhXwRd8KHRanAegQFjAAegQIABAC&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.austrade.gov.au%2FArticleDocuments%2F5085%2FEdtech-US-market-snapshot.pdf.aspx&amp;usg=AOvVaw1iGI0Qs5JrVCWYVZ08krFN">since 2014</a>. Ed tech is expected to hit $43 billion in value <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjWrIW9kKDeAhXwRd8KHRanAegQFjAAegQIABAC&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.austrade.gov.au%2FArticleDocuments%2F5085%2FEdtech-US-market-snapshot.pdf.aspx&amp;usg=AOvVaw1iGI0Qs5JrVCWYVZ08krFN">by 2019</a>, just under half of which is based in K-12.</p><p>"The market is right at the beginning of digital transformation with devices coming into student hands, and so lots of companies across the education ecosystem are investing in digital," Davis of Futuresource told Business Insider.</p><p>Education-only companies such as Blackboard, which was founded in 1997, and corporations like Microsoft and Apple had been <a href="http://wildej.pbworks.com/f/rpt08.pdf">long positioned</a> in the classroom, and they looked poised to benefit from this growth.</p><p>But then Google entered the fray, and in a big way.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-flipgrid-education-video-2018-6">Microsoft buys a classroom video startup with 20 million users as it pushes against Google</a></em></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-wagner-4b7099105/">Danny Wagner</a> was a middle-school science teacher in his native Kentucky for nine years before he moved to the Bay Area to become a tech lead at San Francisco Unified School District. He was a teacher as Google Classroom first made its big push into the ed-tech market in the early 2010s, when state legislatures were pushing for digital classrooms.</p><p>"Going paperless was a big deal, and Google Classroom was the first tool that solved that problem," Wagner, who is now an editor of ed-tech reviews at Common Sense Media, told Business Insider.</p><p>"Google Classroom took off like grass on fire," Gartner Research vice president Kelly Calhoun Williams, who focuses on K-12 education and was in public education for 25 years, added. "Just crazy growth."</p><p>Chromebooks and other Google devices made up 58% of all devices purchased for US classrooms in 2017, according to <a href="https://futuresource-consulting.com/Press-K-12-Education-Market-Growth-Forecast-in-2018-0318.html">Futuresource data</a>, up from 5% in 2012. Not every Chromebook-enabled school uses Google Classroom, and many classrooms without Chromebooks use Google Classroom or G Suite for Education. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Futuresource Consulting, Andy Kiersz/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In contrast, Apple's market share in mobile devices for education sank by 33 percentage points from 2012 to 2017, while Microsoft's decreased by 21 percentage points, according to Futuresource.</p><h2>Teacher-tested, administrator-approved</h2><p>Franklin High School has had G Suite for Education for only about four years, but Maggie Muir, who teaches Spanish at Franklin, has been using Google products in her classroom for a decade. </p><p>Muir is enthusiastic about Google Classroom's features. She can quickly see how her students are performing on certain tasks. Absent students can keep up with assignments and activities by simply checking the Google Classroom homepage. It's easier for clubs to organize and for teachers to share learning resources with each other, she said.</p><p>As for the Chromebook, Muir said she's happy her students, many of whom are low income, have access to the technology. All Franklin students have Chromebooks thanks to a one-to-one initiative, in which each student has his or her own Chromebook starting in middle school. Davis of Futuresource said between 20% and 30% of US classrooms have similar one-to-one programs. </p><p>Muir has used Angel, Blackboard, Canvas, and other education apps, but says Google is just better.</p><p>"I can edit a Google Doc on my phone," Muir went on. "I can connect with Google Classroom on my phone no matter where I am. There are a lot of options and accessibility. It makes it so easy. Everything is there."</p><p>According to Rochelle, the G Suite for Education product manager, Google created Google Classroom as a response to educators using Google Docs as a collaboration tool among other teachers and for their students.</p><p>Google Classroom doesn't address every classroom need. Muir still uses Genesis to record grades, attendance, and higher-level demographic and conduct information. Its simplicity is part of why it's won over so many teachers, Williams of Gartner Research said.</p><p>"It was hugely popular because it was just so darn simple," Williams said. "Anybody could pick it up and understand what it was for and use it."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90580388@N05/29159314590/in/photolist-LqH7kh-nXjqh7-SV8XzF-ELvMyd-LAmEmY-RyJqVB-rumLXB-Hb2AB3-vXqQiq-Cd1ajh-H3UNZa-22xPU1S-RyJqFP-BhNAgm-FA6h8g-LP6jeY-KUZpQE-A27qPt-zj19uJ-KUZmjw-LK4mpx-Kdqfw1-yDK8c4-qzUQvY-LP6ggd-LK4nz8-yDK7YZ-LGCEFW-LqH7Vf-LK4o9z-tkn27N-JGZBKm-yDK8HK-tBD8zS-KVfo6M-KAFhP1-tBWEbv-rV8sQJ-M3DTPg-Jqdn4w-Kdqf3W-KVbkYD-KdqjN7-JH5wF2-M5v1gE-HD3XbG-PvBF6h-Ms6jEF-PvBFT9-JGZBem">BUF Simrishamn/Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Jennifer Guzio, a teacher at Parsons Elementary School in North Brunswick, New Jersey, said Google Classroom is incredibly easy to use, particularly because she already had a Gmail account. That familiarity with Google products is good for tech-averse educators, she said.</p><p>"I know a lot of teachers who are overwhelmed by the technology and feel a little lost," Guzio told Business Insider.</p><p>But one benefit overshadowed all the rest, Wagner of Education Reviews said. "It was free. You cannot [overstate] how important that was for Google Classroom's success."</p><p>Digitizing classrooms is expensive. Driskell said that Arlington purchased Chromebook carts, allowing one laptop for every student, because it was "an affordable option."</p><p>Alton said the Lee County School District is using more free content, such as Khan Academy, and that its spending on technology has increased over the years. It has 70,000 Chromebooks in the district.</p><h2>Google's motives are 'clear,' but teachers use it anyway</h2><p>Joanna Petrone, a middle-school English teacher in the Bay Area, uses Google Classroom every day, but finds the tool "a little creepy."</p><p>She said she feels that with Google's <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/certification">teacher-certification programs</a> and <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/resources/general/details?key=ahpzfmd3ZWItZWR1LXRyYWluaW5nLWNlbnRlcnIcCxIPR2VuZXJhbFJlc291cmNlGICAgPiI8Z4KDA">suggested curriculum plans</a>, the company is overstepping certain legal boundaries. While including corporate messaging in schools is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/education/16naming.html">typically met with resistance</a>, Google for Education liberally includes its branding in <a href="https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en">digital citizenship courses</a> that several teachers told Business Insider they had their students take.</p><p>So through Classroom, Google can acclimatize millions of children to its products.</p><p>"It's pretty clear what motive Google has," Williams at Gartner Research said. "This is not a product they're selling; this is not a commercial product. It's getting lots of people very used to working in a Google environment."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90580388@N05/29412610026/in/album-72157673395234815/">BUF Simrishamn/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Nearly 60% of devices shipped to US classrooms in 2017 were Chromebooks, according to Futuresource Consulting.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Even teachers who feel squeamish about the product don't have an option but to use it. Chromebooks are the technology furnished in Petrone's district, while Chiappone of Piscataway said he was required to use Google Classroom in his previous district.</p><p>"It's not our choice what software we use," Chiappone said. "Every school district will purchase a license for specific software. We can't really go and say, 'I'm going to go use this other software,' because just about everything has a subscription fee."</p><p>Above all, teachers said they were already strapped for time and energy. There simply aren't enough hours in the day to ponder how their district-provided software might be affecting them and their students.</p><p>"There is a bit of a mistrust to Google in some way from the teacher standpoint because it is such a large corporation offering everything for free," Wagner said. "They know there's a manipulation at work, they are aware that there's a manipulation, but no one really knows to what end."</p><p>He added, "But while we ponder these overarching questions, teachers still have to get things done."</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-co2-planting-trees-cant-save-us-2017-5">There's so much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Teachers love Google's free education products, but worry they're being lured into a more sinister plan

<br /> If you are sceptic about run-of-the-mill online courses or can’t decode the learning materials on your own, it’s time to go for the best of both worlds. How about <keyword id="1928389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="WizIQ">WizIQ</keyword>, a <keyword id="406113" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Virtual-classroom">virtual classroom</keyword> that can be accessed from anywhere, from any device, while teachers handhold students just like they do in a physical institution? But there’s more to it. Even premier institutions such as IIT-Delhi, Vellore Institute of Technology and <keyword id="59489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-School-of-Mines">Indian School of Mines</keyword> (Dhanbad) are tying up with this Mohali-headquartered firm for certificate courses and distance learning programmes. Overseas organisations using the solution include <keyword id="1928396" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Atlantic-University-in-Virginia-Beach">Atlantic University in Virginia Beach</keyword> and Des Moines Area Community Colleges in Iowa, among others. The SaaS-based (<keyword id="753967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="software-as-a-service">Software-as-a-Service</keyword>) education platform is hosted on the Cloud and successfully operates a marketplace where teachers can sell their courses to its 3-million-strong student community.<br />
<br /> WizIQ offers a collaborative and flexible platform for delivering and enhancing any online course – be it high school maths, hybrid courses for university students or employee training programmes. What sets it apart from other <keyword id="1928409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="edu-tech">edu-tech</keyword> companies is its focus on teacher-and-learner-centred methods instead of just providing gigabytes and gigabytes of content. It is also an excellent interface for conducting <keyword id="1071995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Massive-Open-Online-Courses">Massive Open Online Courses</keyword> (<keyword id="1539483" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="MOOCs">MOOCs</keyword>). Best of all, WizIQ’s Virtual Classroom software works cross-platform – on PCs, <keyword id="75489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="IOS">iOS</keyword> and <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> devices. It can also be integrated with <keyword id="1928395" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="learning-management-systems">learning management systems</keyword> like Moodle or Blackboard or with an organisation’s own website.<br />
<br /> True to its global stature, the platform has a multilingual interface and supports 19 languages. The company also opened an office in Bangalore yesterday in a bid to expand further. WizIQ has other offices in Hyderabad and North Carolina as well. Here is a snapshot that captures the vision and viability of the <keyword id="13178" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mohali">Mohali</keyword> start-up gone global.<br />
<br />
<strong>Who runs WizIQ: </strong>The venture was started by <keyword id="222685" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Harman-Singh">Harman Singh</keyword> (CEO) in 2007. The parent company is <keyword id="1696366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Authorgen-Technologies">authorGEN Technologies</keyword>, which was founded in 2002 by Harman and late Harbir Khurana. Harman holds a master’s degree in Computer Science from <keyword id="283601" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-Carolina-State-University">North Carolina State University</keyword>. Prior to WizIQ, he had also founded authorSTREAM, an online PowerPoint sharing platform.<br />
<br />
<strong>What inspired the venture: </strong>The concept of making quality education accessible to all at reasonable charges. Harman came up with the idea during his graduation years and the goal was to make teaching and learning easier for everyone.<br />
<br />
<strong>What’s the pitch:</strong> Do more than stand and deliver – engage your students. Content might be the king but at WizIQ, teachers are back where they belong and replicates the classroom experience online. That creates a distinctive style and ensures a great engagement model.<br />
<br />
<strong>How it works: </strong>WizIQ enables teachers and trainers to hold ‘live’ classes and share tutorials in all possible formats – PowerPoint presentation, PDF, Word document, virtual whiteboards, voice and video. Learners only need an Internet connection to ‘attend’ those classes and don’t require to download anything or pre-install cumbersome client software. An integrated chat is there as well to make each session interactive.<br />
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<strong>Technology:</strong> The platform leverages Microsoft technologies. For real-time communication between students and teachers, it uses Flash Media Server (FMS) and Flex at front-end. Amazon S3 is used for data storage and wherever heavy computation power is needed, Amazon EC2 service is used. To optimise the ‘live class’ experience, servers are placed at multiple locations like the US, Singapore, Sao Paulo and Ireland.<br />
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<strong>Claim to fame: </strong>Traction and awards. WizIQ claims that over 250,000 teachers and 3 million learners are using the platform across 100-plus countries. The company also says it has the largest collection of paid courses created by educators on the Internet and hosts more than 2,500 live classes daily via WizIQ Virtual Classroom. Teachers and organisations are also using WizIQ to conduct successful MOOCs.<br />
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<strong>Show me the money: </strong>It is essentially a paid platform for teachers looking to conduct online classes. Fee starts at $19 per month (or $190 a year) and can go up to $69 per month (or $690 annually). WizIQ offers a freemium model and some features on this platform are free. For instance, teachers can hold 2 classes per month free of cost and there’s a 30-day free trial for those who want to try out its advanced features. Around 8,000 of the total 250,000 teachers are paid members, the company claims.<br />
<br /> Unlike many other start-ups, this one has been well funded all along. Educomp, India’s largest <keyword id="255607" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="education-technology">education technology</keyword> company, invested an undisclosed amount in the very first year. In January 2013, WizIQ also raised a Series B round of $4 million from education-focused PE firm <keyword id="342246" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kaizen">Kaizen</keyword> and German media major Bertelsmann.<br />
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<strong>Biggest challenge: </strong>Poor Internet penetration and stiff competition from those in the same space. But the toughest one is positioning. Web-enabled distance learning is definitely looking up in India, but it is yet to catch up with mainstream courses administered offline. Until that happens, scaling up will remain a major problem.

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