Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/840181
EdTech Show Daily 2 5 Wednesday, June 28, 2017 have continued to see an uptick in DDoS attacks against their networks in recent years. But just because these schools aren't high-profile global corporations, it doesn't mean the impact of succumbing to a DDoS attack doesn't have very real consequences. Here are five reasons that adminis- trators for K-12 school districts cannot afford to wait on procuring DDoS miti- gation software. 1. Student Hackers Unfortunately, it doesn't take a profes- sional hacker to conduct a DDoS attack. In many cases, students themselves have been able to perpetrate attacks. Because these students have access to the net- work, and often have a greater breadth of knowledge about computer programming than many of the faculty, administrators must invest in DDoS mitigation to pro- tect the rest of the students and maintain uninterrupted school operations. 2. Testing Outages DDoS attacks can do widespread damage to any educational operations that take place online. In many instances, testing and assignments are now done online. This includes homework assignments, exams and federally regulated standardized tests. Consider the case of Minnesota's Board of Education, which had to renegotiate a con- tract with an ACT testing provider after the provider suffered DDoS attacks that pre- vented students from taking their exams. 3. Data Loss In some cases, DDoS attacks are simply DDoS Mitigation (Cont'd. from p. 1) smokescreens for larger attacks intended to target highly classified data stored on the network. While victims scramble to mitigate the DDoS attack, hackers can gain access to personal, financial and medical records of students or staff, put- ting affected individuals in a position to be exploited further. 4. Budgetary Restrictions Most K-12 school districts today do not get the funding they desperately need to resolve cybersecurity conflicts in-house. A robust cybersecurity plan requires a fully staffed IT department of highly skilled, experienced individ- uals. But tight budgets make it diffi- cult to attract and retain IT talent, making it vital for administrators to seek help from an experienced third party. 5. Costly Cleanup As expensive as it can be to hire the per- sonnel needed to prevent an attack, the cleanup after succumbing to a DDoS attack can be even costlier. According to The Incapsula Survey: What DDoS Attacks Really Cost Businesses, 36 percent of busi- nesses reported that DDoS attacks cost them between $5,000 and $19,999 per hour. Given these findings, the potential for DDoS attacks to devastate school district operations cannot be understated. Fortunately, K-12 administrators don't have to resolve this challenge on their own. Visit Cox Business at booth #2638 to learn how your district can pro- tect itself against DDoS attacks. For more information, visit www.cox business.com/education or stop by booth #2638. schools and libraries. We are also proud to introduce MackinMaker, our latest division, which has already created a positive and successful stir in the Makerspace community. Our award-winning free digital con- tent management system, MackinVIA™, provides districts, schools, students and libraries with free digital reader apps for a variety of mobile devices and desktop computers, along with free content to start. MackinVIA has been recognized by Tech & Learning as a 2015 and 2016 ISTE Conference Best in Show Winner and is a 2015 and 2016 recipient of the Award of Excellence as an outstanding technology education product. In 2017, MackinVIA won a Platinum Award from Modern Library Awards. These achieve- ments are validation of the effort Mackin has put into making a superior product for users in education. We also have a free funding source for schools and libraries called MackinFunds. Hundreds of schools uti- lize this free program because it is a has- sle-free, online donation program that allows schools to collect donations and spend 100 percent of the proceeds on any print or digital resource Mackin sells. ESD: What trends are you seeing in the library and classroom market? RH: Today's school library market is presently enduring the largest paradigm shift it has experienced since the intro- duction of the stand-alone online auto- mated catalog. K-12 school libraries are being challenged to remain relevant in a world that is quickly transforming into a digital platform and I believe that this is the very biggest opportunity ever for school libraries and professional school librarians to showcase their importance and relevancy within the educational process. Teacher-Librarians must seize Mackin (Cont'd. from p. 1) the moment and take the lead as purvey- ors of knowledge and vital information sources and resources that will serve to accelerate and increase the ability of every classroom teacher and administra- tor to improve and enhance learning. ESD: How do you view your role as an educational resource vendor in today's market? RH: Our role is more crucial than ever as we provide schools and libraries with the most economical and versatile resources they need. Mackin has taken that involvement a step further with the for- mation of the Transform Your School Library (TYSL) Movement. We have assembled an accomplished board of pro- fessionals who are fully engaged in pro- viding support to librarians focused on transitioning their library to meet the educational challenges of today and the future. Librarians looking for support and information can learn more at www.mackintysl.com. ESD: In addition to visiting the Mackin booth, how can people learn more about your company? RH: People can visit our website at www.mackin.com for information about Mackin and all of our amazing divisions, or contact us online to start a live chat. We can also be found on Twitter, @Mackin_Talk and @MackinVIA, Instagram @MackinLibrary, and on Facebook (Mackin Educational Resources). For additional questions, email us at mackin@mackin.com, or call us at 800.245.9540. Every phone call is always answered in person – 24 hours a day, every day – and we pride ourselves on the fact that here, true customer serv- ice still exists. For more information, go to www.mackin.com or stop by booth #1852. our surroundings. Being numerate means students can reason and apply various aspects of mathematics including compu- tation, number sense, probability, statis- tics, geometry, algebra and measurement. The World Economic Forum, in their report New Vision for Education: Unlocking the Potential of Technology, identifies 16 skills that are essential to students in the 21st century. "In addition to foundational skills like literacy and numeracy, they need competencies like collaboration, creativity and problem- solving, and character qualities like per- sistence, curiosity and initiative." Mathematics teaches us to recognize patterns, understand how things are con- nected and trains the mind to think logi- cally with accuracy and rigor. Strengthening these skills will prepare our children to succeed. Our world is iterating at lightning speed. Traditional areas of mathematics are under pressure to be streamlined by the National Science Foundation, OCED and Royal Society to rebalance content to make room for statistics, probability, complex systems, computer science and mathematical modeling. Nearly every job requires a solid grounding in numeracy. This critical skill needs to be continuous- ly updated as the definition of numeracy is ever expanding, but what are the tools available to us to accelerate this work? Digital games are ideal for building numeracy. Other technological solutions Suntex (Cont'd. from p. 1) are encumbered by high-tech drilling for rote learning, digital textbook-style con- tent or passive videos that are not engag- ing for most children. Students need small chunks of information presented in an organized, goal-oriented manner to help the brain integrate new information permanently. A well-designed game engages a child in countless hours of mathematical thought. The secret to this engagement is rigor presented on a gradient. Using short cycles of play, games can intro- duce rigor incrementally to assure that a child is continuously stretched just beyond their comfort level, where growth occurs. To maintain engage- ment, a child must feel that the next level of challenge is within reach. Games boost learning by modifying the brain's reward and pleasure center, resulting in a long-lasting affinity for mathematics and problem solving. A comprehensive platform must offer hundreds of digital games to offer practice for a wide range of math skills and build perseverance. There is no magic formula for math- ematics success, but providing our chil- dren with a world-class digital-gaming tool in mathematics is a 21st-century solution that can best address gaps in numeracy, and provide an environment that lets children do what they do best – learn through exploration. For more information, stop by booth #3249 or go to www.firstinmath.com. environment with UP's proprietary multi-purpose, easy-to-clean and re-use- able UP-Flex™ build surface ensures the highest quality output. The UP BOX+ operates in near-silence and utilizes UP ClearAir™ technology – Tiertime's integrated HEPA filtering system. The UP BOX+ includes the power- ful UP Studio™ software, a simple-to- use, feature-rich software that is easy for 3D printing novices yet advanced enough for professionals. The UP Studio software features Smart-Support™ technology. The indus- try-leading support-generation algorithm automatically places a support structure only where it is needed, then breaks away with ease, allowing you to print even more complex models. Another feature is auto-calibration with Level-Lok™. UP's auto-nozzle detec- tion feature in conjunction with Tiertime's Level-Lok fixed level calibration means that printing is consistent and trouble-free UP BOX (Cont'd. from p. 1) with incredibly low failure rates. The UP BOX+ also includes UP Active-Resume™. If a print job needs to be stopped, UP Active-Resume allows you to seamlessly complete your print job where you left off. Also, UP Fila-detect™ senses when your printer is running out of filament, then automatically powers down using UP Active-Resume. Simply reload filament and resume your print to finish the job. UP 3D printers also come with inte- grated Wi-Fi connectivity that lets users send jobs with ease from iOS, Android or PC devices. The UP Studio software also sup- ports variable temperature control with upCTRL™. This allows the temperature for both the extruder as well as the build- platform to be controlled depending on the type of material being printed. Supported printing materials include ABS, ABS+ and PLA. The UP BOX+ also accepts 500g to 1000g filament spool sizes. For more information, call 713.683.8061 or go to www.edu2000plus.com.