New EdsbyLive capability makes synchronous learning easier and safer for K-12 students and educators
ONTARIO, Canada (May 6th, 2021) – Edsby®, a multi award-winning, next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS), has introduced new built-in support for popular platforms to enable simpler and more secure real time synchronous learning in hybrid or online-only environments. A new EdsbyLive feature now programmatically connects Edsby classes to popular real-time online meeting services.
EdsbyLive initially supports Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and all of the rich, real-time video, chat, whiteboarding and other capabilities they offer. EdsbyLive has been built to be platform-agnostic, and support for other systems is planned in the future.
Once configured to use a school district or region’s official platform, teachers receive new “Go Live Now” buttons in their Edsby classes. These buttons launch online meetings and make them available only at the time a teacher has requested it, and only to students in the class. If configured by the district, only authenticated users may participate in meetings, and only with their real names, minimizing the chance of unauthorized intrusions.
“Educators no longer need to create and share links to video calls themselves, saving time and making synchronous sessions easy, even for non-technical teachers and students,” said John Myers, Edsby CEO. “And when video links aren’t exposed, abuse opportunities are minimized, which helps improve online learning for teachers and students.”
“Edsby took the time to build a strong integration that enables the many advantages of Microsoft Teams for Education,” said Tamer Erzurumlu, Microsoft Director of Partner Strategy, Education. “This is an easy and secure way for the many school districts and regions around the world that have standardized on Edsby to experience the power of Teams.”
About Edsby
Edsby is a next generation K-12 learning management system (LMS) with the broadest set of capabilities available in a single application made just for the specific needs of K-12. It goes beyond other LMSes, enabling improved teaching effectiveness and student success in and out of the classroom. Edsby features modern assessment and reporting, timesaving tools for teachers, analytics and more for the full spectrum of K-6 and 7-12 within a familiar, social-style user experience. Edsby has received more than 60 industry awards and distinctions. More information at https://www.edsby.com/.
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Questions & Answers about EdsbyLive
Can EdsbyLive be enabled school-by-school at a district?
Yes. EdsbyLive can be enabled for all schools in a district or region or for selected schools only.
Which classes can use EdsbyLive?
EdsbyLive is available in all classes if the feature is enabled in a school. It can be used in homeroom classes and subject classes. Elementary teachers with split classes can use the homeroom class if they wish to include all students in their combined class, or use a grade specific subject class if they only want that subset of students in an EdsbyLive session.
Which teachers can use EdsbyLive?
Any teacher or co-teacher in an Edsby class can launch EdsbyLive session from their classes once district administrators have configured Edsby to work with their district’s official meeting system. Teachers do not need to do any setup or config work themselves. Details about how EdsbyLive works for teachers here.
Does the teacher have access to setup options for calls?
Yes. The teacher has full access to the setup options of the call via the usual setup options in the meeting platform. Note that students are initially put in the lobby until the teacher opens the call, so options can be adjusted by the teacher before students join.
Do our Microsoft or Zoom environments need to be configured to know about class rosters for EdsbyLive to work?
No, they do not, and that is a major benefit of the EdsbyLive approach. It enables districts to have the benefit of managing class-based Teams or Zoom calls without worrying about synchronizing class rosters into the Microsoft or Zoom infrastructure.
How do notifications work for EdsbyLive?
Currently students are notified about a live session via Edsby notifications. This shows up within Edsby under the “bell” icon. In the future we will likely extend this to include email and mobile push notification options. The link to the session is available in the notification via the “Go Live” button.
Can parents participate in these sessions from their Edsby accounts?
Parents are not permitted to join EdsbyLive sessions. EdsbyLive sessions are only available to students.