News - KEH Communications

New Webinar Guides Clinical Professionals Through the Decision to Pursue Telepractice/Telehealth

PresenceLearning’s webinar shows the path to becoming an independent telepractitioner for SLPs, OTs and behavioral/mental health professionals

SAN FRANCISCO, May 5, 2015 – Many clinical professionals serving children with special needs in schools find themselves overloaded, burned out or just ready for a lifestyle change that allows them more flexibility and freedom. Practicing their profession online—known as telepractice or telehealth—offers the compelling possibility of attaining a unique work/life balance. But how can a professional practitioner learn what they need to know before deciding to go this route? To introduce practitioners to the world of telepractice/telehealth, PresenceLearning presents "Live the Possible Dream: Become an Independent Telepractitioner” on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at 10 AM Pacific time (1 PM Eastern Time). This 90-minute webinar will be presented by a team of professionals who have helped hundreds of independent clinicians deliver over half a million live online telepractice/telehealth sessions to schools and families: PresenceLearning’s Vice President of Clinical Services Melissa Jakubowitz MA CCC-SLP, Senior Clinical Consultant Marcus Rose MSP CCC-SLP, and Director of Telepractitioner Recruiting Lisa Stacy. Moderated by Dr. Shari Robertson CCC-SLP, an early advocate of telepractice, this lively session will unfold the roadmap to becoming an independent telepractitioner.

Epson Expands Large Venue Projector Lineup with PowerLite 4770W

New Model Delivers Advanced Connectivity, Crisp Image Quality and High Brightness at an Affordable Price

LONG BEACH, Calif. – May 5, 2015 – Epson, the number-one selling projector brand worldwide1, today introduced the PowerLite® 4770W, a widescreen projector delivering brilliant color and amazing image quality for almost any venue. The PowerLite 4770W ($1999*) delivers 5,000 lumens of color brightness2, 5,000 lumens of white brightness2 and WXGA resolution, as well as advanced connectivity options and cutting-edge video processing for a range of installation applications at a competitive price point.

Vernier Software & Technology Announces Winners of Its 2015 Engineering Contest

Three STEM teachers each win $5,500 in prizes for their innovative use of Vernier sensors in teaching engineering concepts

BEAVERTON, Oregon, April 30, 2015 – Vernier Software & Technology recently named the winners of its 2015 Engineering Contest. The three winning educators – Tate Rector of Beebe Public Schools in Beebe, AR; Ross Gunderson of Delaware County Christian School in Newtown Square, PA; and, Gioya De Souza-Fennelly of Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York, NY – were chosen for their innovative teaching of engineering concepts and practices using Vernier sensors in the classroom.

PresenceLearning Launches New Online Service Delivering Live Special Education Instruction

Schools experiencing chronic shortages of special education teachers can now access highly qualified educators via a secure, interactive videoconferencing platform

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2015 – The many services that special education departments must provide students can be taxing on schools, particularly those schools experiencing chronic shortages of special education teachers. Districts are doing their best to spread already thin resources further. State departments are trying to alleviate the shortage by creating alternate certification programs to allow individuals to obtain temporary licenses while receiving on the job training and/or attending college, however this is leaving schools with inexperienced special education teachers. To truly help special education departments with staffing issues, PresenceLearning is now offering access to online special education teachers. PresenceLearning connects schools with fully credentialed, highly qualified special education teachers located remotely who can deliver special education instruction to students with mild, moderate and severe needs.

Apperson’s Evo Social & Emotional Learning and Evo Academics Win the 21st Annual BESSIE Awards

Online K-12 assessment programs recognized in Teacher Tools category

Charlotte, N.C. – April 24, 2015 – Apperson’s Evo modules, Evo Academics and Evo Social & Emotional Learning (SEL), were named winners of ComputED Gazette’s 21st Annual Best Educational Software Awards (BESSIE Awards). The programs won Best Assessment Tool and Best Counseling Tool respectively in the Teacher Tools category. In addition, both Apperson Evo modules are finalists in the 2015 SIIA CODiE Awards, with the winners to be announced on May 5, 2015.

PresenceLearning’s Newest “Special Agents of Change” Webinar Helps School Leaders Reimagine Special Education

World renowned presenter, Dr. Frances Stetson, uses humor to introduce new ideas for systems change in the education of students with special needs

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2015 – The changing special education population and the emphasis on results AND compliance can lead some special educators to get off track and sometimes fail in education. To encourage self-examination and personal skill-development for systems change, relationship-building and cultural proficiency, PresenceLearning presents “Five Easy Ways to Fail in Education: The Imperative for Reinvention in Special Education” on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 10 AM Pacific time (1 PM Eastern Time). This 90-minute webinar hosted by special education expert Dr. Francis Stetson will address five major shifts in thought and practice required of today's school leaders who are working to transform special education services.

Evo Academics Free Teacher Edition Brings Student Assessment to the Cloud in one Easy-to-Manage Tool

Creating, sharing, delivering and grading of tests, along with analysis of results, happens in real-time all in one platform

Charlotte, N.C. – April 17, 2015 – Being able to easily create and deliver quizzes and tests to students in the classroom, and then put the results of those tests to work immediately to help improve student learning was the motivation behind Apperson, Inc. making its Evo Academics assessment platform available free-of-charge to educators everywhere. The Free Teacher Edition, which was designed by teachers, allows educators to create online quizzes and tests, share tests with colleagues, build and store rubrics, assign tests to students through a student portal, access assessment results in real time, and generate student proficiency reports for the standards assessed.

Montgomery County Schools to Use i-Ready to Help Improve Student Achievement as Part of District’s i3 Grant Project

Curriculum Associates to support district as it implements its new “A Culture Creating Effective Systems for Success” (ACCESS) program

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., April 20, 2015—Curriculum Associates has partnered with Montgomery County Schools (MCS) in Troy, NC to help the district improve student achievement through the implementation of a new development program funded by a three-year Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready® Diagnostic & Instruction online program for reading and mathematics will be a part of the district’s new A Culture Creating Effective Systems for Success (ACCESS) program, which was designed to create a district-wide culture of technology-based education.

Apperson’s Evo Academic and Evo Social & Emotional Named Finalists in the 2015 SIIA CODiE Awards

Online K-12 assessment programs recognized in two education categories

Charlotte, N.C. – April 14, 2015 – Evo Academic and Evo Social & Emotional Learning (SEL), both Apperson Evo modules, were named finalists in the 2015 Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) CODiE Awards, the premier awards for the software and information industries. Evo Academic was chosen in the Best K-12 Course or Learning Management Solution category and Evo SEL was chosen in the Best Instructional Solution in Other Curriculum Areas.

PresenceLearning Applauds Federal Policy Clarification for Reimbursement of Telemedicine Services by State Medicaid Programs

New guidance declares that states can unilaterally reimburse for telemedicine in schools without further federal approval

SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2015 – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued official written guidance announcing that states can unilaterally reimburse for telemedicine without the need for further approval by the CMS. This guidance is significant because now states can easily access federal education funds through a simple regulatory change at the level of their Medicaid department, making telemedicine services more accessible and affordable to students and schools in need.