Consider technology as a fast-moving train. While it’s doing a great job picking up passengers along the way (think businesses), not everyone has the ability to get on board. Education is one of those travelers that hasn’t quite been able to hitch a ride, at least not 100 percent, and while the world around it is making leaps and bounds with updated systems and solutions, school districts are the ones falling short.
In a hyper-connected world, we’re used to seeing tablets replace books and styluses replacing pens, but in the classroom, we’re still seeing dated textbooks and archaic pencils. It’s up to the tech players in this space to give education facilities the boost that they need, and Lightspeed Systems is setting out to do just that.
Its products, like Web filters and mobile device management solutions, allow students to access the Web safely in school and at home, often from their own devices.
The company recently launched its Classroom Orchestrator, giving teachers the ability to monitor their students’ computer screens from one location, ensuring that students are, in fact, doing work and not engaging in a round of Plants vs. Zombies.
With a move to Austin, Texas, from its original HQ in Bakersfield, California, the company’s founder and senior software developer Rob McCarthy’s dream is to get back to his hometown with his sights on the educational sector, away from bustling corporate America.
"In business, companies don't like to talk to each other or share ideas because they're competitors," McCarthy said in an interview with The Bakersfield Californian. "But educators are working for the kids, so when something is going right they share best practices.”
Lightspeed’s My Big Campus offers a social aspect to learning and offers a collaborative community to bring students and educators together to facilitate learning in a safe online environment.
McCarthy is most pleased with My Big Campus, as it has acted as a medium to help kids in need.
"I don't know that Facebook (News - Alert) has ever saved a life, but I know we have," said McCarthy. "We've caught posts about kids thinking of suicide or horrible abuse going on at home and reported that to get the right interventions started."
Even without stats and studies, it’s a pretty safe assumption that using tools that can boost performance when it comes to learning will lead to positive outcomes. As technology improves, whether in devices for students, educational software, tools for teachers to better administer information or apps on handhelds, technology can make us all better educators and students.