Category Archives: Technology

Its no secret that the worlds of OT (operations technology) and IT (information technology) are becoming ever closer. The growing connection of plant floor devices to enterprise networks for Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things initiatives is driving this convergence of OT and IT. Thats why these two technology groups cannot remain isolated from each other in a world that increasingly requires operations visibility across supply chains for manufacturers to stay competitive.

To better understand how IT and OT are merging, and the kinds of technologies enabling this, we connected with James Destro of ServiceNow, a supplier of digital workflow software to connect people, functions and systems across organizations, and Carey Blunt of Fujitsu, one of the worlds largest IT services providers, for a recent episode of the Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered podcast series.

Beginning with an exploration of how OT devices can be discovered, secured, and managed with the same kinds of tools used by IT, we focused on the core plant floor issues of asset management and security to understand why it benefits a manufacturer or processing company to secure and manage operations technology in a similar fashion to IT.

James Destro of ServiceNowCompanies are starting to look at how they can have a proactive stance toward plant floor technologies that typically have been air gapped or disconnected from the enterprise network, said Destro. To effectively manage this connection, companies are looking for a better way to find and understand the current topology of OT systems on their network and be able to manage them proactively to respond to vulnerabilities and security incidents. IT tools have a long-standing framework of doing just that for cloud systems and servers in data centers, as well as laptops and distributed devices. This leveraging of IT best practices on the OT side promises a lot of strength and value for industry.

Explaining how this process of connecting IT and OT can best be started, Blunt said, When you're trying to get standardization between your IT and your OT teams, youre really focusing on getting your processes, your people, and your technology working in the same way. Most of our customers approach this by focusing on the technology and process parts firstintegrating a little bit at the network level to find out what assets exist on the OT network, linking those assets in the same place, and keeping them there.

Carey Blunt of FujitsuAs you discover assets on the network, store them in a database, and map their relationships, you need a tool that can help with your security responses and with predictive and proactive maintenance for those assets. When youre pulling these data points into your IT structure, that's where workflow technologies like those offered by ServiceNow are important, said Blunt, because they've got the CMDB (configuration management database) and the capability to exercise the workflow for both the IT and OT worlds.

In both IT and OT, relationship mapping is considered one of the fundamental pillars to understanding how IT and OT systems can be impacted by network changes, incidents, or a vulnerability in any of these systems.

Relationship mapping happens across two different vectors, explained Destro. The first vector involves understanding the data and communication relationships of the actual OT system. This could mean an HMI (human machine interface) managing a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system or a SCADA system controlling a PLC (programmable logic controller) or exchanging data with a historian. The second type of relationship mapping is understanding the context of the operational technology as it's used for manufacturing. This means that we not only need to understand if were dealing with a SCADA system, a PLC, an HMI or historian, but also automating the process of how we interact with these technologies in the manufacturing facility. This provides an overarching contextwhat we call a manufacturing system dependencyso that whenever we're changing configurations, doing configuration compliance, change management, or incident management, we can understand the potential impacts of these actions on other operational technologies, as well as what the potential impacts could be to the actual production process.

Beyond asset management, Destro noted that relationship mapping is also an important aspect of cybersecurity. Relationship mapping is critical to cybersecurity, especially around vulnerability response, incident response, and understanding how things are connected to the network, what relationships they should have by default, and what relationships might be established if an incident occurs, he said. This knowledge helps identify what systems may need to be taken offline when applying a patch, for example.

As the concept of predictive maintenancewhere sensors on equipment feed data into analytics software to provide advance warning of failures so that unplanned downtimes are mitigatedgains ground across manufacturing and processing companies, its application predominantly applies in the OT arena. But when OT assets are connected to IT systems, you can also apply the IT concept of predictive outage avoidance.

Having a comprehensive OT change management systemand all the metadata it provides about systems and their relationshipsenables manufacturers to apply incident management. This occurs when there's an upset to a process, asset, or to the systems management technology itself.

Blunt explained that once an asset is connected to the enterprise network and you have access to operational data about that asset and how its interacting with other devices, that datalike event and error messagescan be used to see patterns. These patterns give you something more thorough than a time-based prediction of roughly when these components are going to wear out.

Transferring asset data into action on the plant floor is the core function of field service management applications, which helps direct engineers to the right place at the right time with the right parts, said Blunt. Field service management is about making a better experience for the engineers, because their time is used more productively, and it provides a better experience for the operations team because downtime is reduced and they're able to plan better, he said. Ultimately, this translates into a better experience for the companys customers, employees, and board because you have fewer outages and your production time is working to its optimum efficiency.

As manufacturers focus on the management and governance of OT systems, change management becomes a critical capability. Its importance stems from the fact that having a managed workflow process for changes helps the manufacturing workforce better understand numerous applicationsfrom attaching a new sensor to the system, upgrading or changing configurations and bridging these changes across the engineering network, to applying patches and ensuring that all the appropriate approvals to make any change have been received.

Having a comprehensive OT change management systemand all the metadata it provides about systems and their relationshipsenables manufacturers to apply incident management. This occurs when there's an upset to a process, asset, or to the systems management technology itself.

Destro said incident management can come in two forms. It could be one of the systems is not respondingdue to a device or electrical failureand in response we're driving workflows towards solving that particular challenge. Or it could be a security or operational incident that triggers security workflowswhat we call a security incident response, he explained. Both of these are critical incidents that need to be handled in in different ways with particular workflows. One towards solving the problem and returning the system to normal, and the other towards mitigating the impact of this incident moving forward. In either case, the technology will help you determine which systems need to be isolated, what mitigation factors need to be put in place, and what actions need to be completed as part of the response workflow.

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Managing Operations Technology with IT - Automation World

It has been seven years since Palmer Luckey appeared on the cover of WIRED magazine. The June 2014 issue declared, This kid is about to change gaming, movies, TV, music, design, medicine, sex, sports, art, travel, social network, educationand reality. In 2016, Facebook acquired his virtual reality company, Oculus, for $2 billion. It now invests $18.5 billion annually into research and development, and Facebook Reality Labs, the companys Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality division, accounts for as much as 20 percent of its entire workforce, with no sign of slowing down. But despite the many years, billions of dollars, and year-long pandemic requiring at-home entertainment, the results thus far have been pretty lackluster. The headsets are spiffier and the games are more lucrative, but our minds nevertheless remain collectively un-blown.

Its not just Facebook and Oculus. In May 2016, WIREDs cover story introduced readers to Magic Leap, A mysterious startup, a mountain of money, and the quest to create a new kind of reality. Magic Leap was developing a set of semitransparent Mixed Reality goggles that could integrate virtual objects into the users physical environment. The company raised more than $2 billion in funding from A-list Silicon Valley investors. It looked like the biggest leap forward in hardware since the iPhone. But the actual product never lived up to the breathtaking demo. The company laid off 1,000 employees in 2020, hired a new CEO, and pivoted to focus on narrower enterprise applications. The Mixed Reality future is still, well, the future.

Somehow, none of these less-than-ideal outcomes have affected confidence in VR. In fact, Facebook doubled down on Monday, announcing a new group within the company dedicated to developing its Horizons VR world. Mark Zuckerberg recently told Facebook employees that over the next five years he expects to transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company. Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists, it seems, are incapable of saying no to a fancy headset with a big dream. And this dates back 35 yearsJaron Lanier was the Palmer Luckey of the 1980s and early 1990s!

The technology is always about to turn a corner, about to be more than just a gaming device, about to revolutionize fields like architecture, defense, and medicine. The future of work, entertainment, travel, and society is always on the verge of a huge virtual upgrade. VR is a bit like a rich white kid with famous parents: It never stops failing upward, forever graded on a generous curve, always judged based on its potential rather than its results.

One reason that VR has been offered such an endless string of second chances (VRs proverbial lineage, if you will) is that it has played an outsized role in the popular science fiction that our collective image of the future is built around. William Gibson coined the term cyberspace in his 1984 book Neuromancer. The term later became synonymous with the World Wide Web, but Gibsons initial rendering was of a virtual realm that console cowboys could enter and exit. Gibson and his cyberpunk peers heavily shaped the culture of 1980s techbefore the dotcom boom, before the tech bros.

When Lanier unveiled his bulky head-mounted display and dataglove in 1987, he was inviting tech hobbyists to be the first inhabitants of the virtual future they had glimpsed in cyberpunk novels. Neal Stephensons 1992 Snow Crash and Ernest Clines 2011 Ready Player One later were massive science fiction hits whose stories unfolded in a future where VR is a fixture.

When Zuckerberg says that he has been thinking about some of this stuff since [he] was in middle school and just starting to code, it isnt hard to guess what books he was reading at the time. For the Gen X and Millennial tech entrepreneurs who dominate Silicon Valley today, the science fiction stories of their youth have always treated VR as an ambient part of the future technological landscape.

Just as the current billionaire space race is, at least in part, evidence that inside every tech billionaire is an inner child who dreamed of flying his own rocket ship, the VR arms race is premised on an assumption that mass adoption is inevitablethe only question is when that future will arrive, and which company will get phenomenally wealthy when it does.

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Virtual Reality Is the Rich White Kid of Technology - WIRED

During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 10 years. You can see all those collections from the first nine years here.

Here are the ones Ive published so far:

The 11 Most Popular Classroom Q&A Posts of the Year

Race & Racism in Schools

School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis

Classroom-Management Advice

Best Ways to Begin the School Year

Best Ways to End the School Year

Student Motivation & Social-Emotional Learning

Implementing the Common Core

Challenging Normative Gender Culture in Education

Teaching Social Studies

Cooperative & Collaborative Learning

Todays theme is on using tech with students . You can see the list of posts following this excerpt from one of them:

* Teacher-Recommended Tools for Online Learning

Four teachers offer several suggestions for online tools to promote interactive learning, and many others offer readers comments about their favorites.

* 10 Favorite Online Teaching Tools Used by Educators This Year

Three other teachers and I share our favorite online tools to use during this unusual year.

* Five Ways to Differentiate Instruction in an Online Environment

Examples from two educators include giving students the time to take physical breaks as well as pausing academic presentations to give students time to think.

* Seven Ways to Support ELLs in Online Content Classes

I offer seven suggestions on how to help English-learners when doing remote teaching, including by providing graphic organizers and models.

* Start With the Content & Not With the Tech

Danielle Herro, Blake Harvard, Michael D. Toth, Michael Fisher, and Kenneth Tam wrap up this three-part series on using technology with students.

* Ways to Use Tech in the Classroom

Jayme Linton, Eric Sheninger, Cindy Garcia, Suzanne Lucas, Ari Flewelling, Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, Carolyn Brown, and Jerry Zimmermann contribute their ideas on how to use ed-tech.

* Technology Doesnt Replace Good Teaching

Anne Jenks, Michelle Shory, Ed.S, Irina V. McGrath, Ph.D., Kim Jaxon, Beth Gotcher, Elizabeth Stringer Keefe, Ph.D., and Keisha Rembert share their suggestions for using tech effectively in class.

* Technology Will Never Replace a Great Teacher

Mark Estrada, Jenny Grant Rankin, Sarah Thomas, and Tom Daccord share their ideas about what ed-tech will look like 25 years from today.

* Ways to Use Tech in Math Class

Bobson Wong, Elissa Scillieri, Jennifer Chang-Wathall, and Anne Jenks offer their recommendations on using tech in math classes.

* Tech Does Not Replace PedagogyIt Complements It

Kristan Morales, Cathy Seeley, and Madeline Whitaker Good write about how to use tech effectively in math classes.

* Tech Tools Have the Power to Enhance Academic Work

Jeryl-Ann Asaro, Sean Ruday, Carolyn Brown, Jerry Zimmermann, and Sarah Thomas offer their ideas on tech in the English classroom.

* Ways to Use Tech Effectively in English Classes

Jennifer Casa-Todd, Jenny Vo, Maggie Verdoia, Sarah Acosta Landry, Ingrid Nelson, and Stephanie Affinito share suggestions on how to use tech in English classes.

* Ways to Use Tech in Science Class

Erin Bridges Bird, Peggy Harte, Patrick Brown, James Concannon, Nick Cusumano, and Donna Markey share ways to use ed-tech in science classes.

* Ways to Use Tech in Social Studies Classes

Sarah Cooper and Ken Halla share suggestions on how to use tech in social studies classes.

* Social Media Helps Teachers & Students Flatten the Schoolhouse WallsGuests Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski, Steve Wyborney, and Brandon C. Waite write their thoughts about the roles of social media in education.

* Using Social Media Wisely in Education>

Lorena German, Shaeley Santiago, Jeremy Hyler, Troy Hicks, and Mary Howard share their ideas on using social media in education.

* Embracing Technology as a Tool for Differentiation

Elizabeth Stringer Keefe, Becky Shiring, Katie Robinson, Sonny Magana, and Monica Burns contribute their suggestions on using tech to differentiate instruction.

* Ways to Use Tech to Differentiate Instruction

Anne Jenks, Ge-Anne Bolhuis, Nancy Sulla, Sarah Shartzer, Daniel L. Schwartz, Jessia M. Tsang, and Kristen P. Blair share their suggestions on using technology to differentiate instruction.

* Using Videos to Enhance Learning Experiences for Students

Amber Chandler, Jen Schwanke, Dawn Wilson, Katie Alaniz, Laura Greenstein, Russel Tarr, and Sarah Thomas share their ideas on using video as a teaching tool.

* The Best Ways to Use Video in Class

Jason Griffith, Ken Halla, Rebecca Alber, Jennie Farnell, Cheryl Mizerny, and Michele L. Haiken share their suggestions on how teachers can most effectively use video in the classroom.

* Double Flip Your Classroom

Daniel Schwartz, Jeryl-Ann Asaro, and William Kist share their thoughts on flipped learning.

* Flipped Learning Does Not Just Mean Posting Videos

Rita Platt, Kristina J. Doubet, Eric M. Carbaugh, Sarah Thomas, Troy Cockrum, Sonja Cherry-Paul, and Dana Johansen share advice with teachers exploring flipped learning.

* Make 1:1 Programs About the Learning, Not the Device

Brady E. Venables, Djamal Balbed, Boyd Adolfsson, Joyce Cluess, and Robert Dillon share their ideas on how to implement one-to-one computer programs in schools.

* Guidelines for Successful One-to-One Computer Programs

Anne Jenks, Heather Staker, Larissa Pahomov, and Stephanie Smith Budhai share their suggestions on how schools can successfully implement one-to-one computer programs.

* Tech Helps Us Be a Little Less Common

Kristin Ziemke, Amber Teamann, Erik M. Francis, Shelly Lynn Counsell, Marsha Ratzel, and Richard Byrne share their ideas on the role of tech in meeting the Common Core State Standards.

* The Role of Tech in Common Core

Julie D. Ramsay, Michele L. Haiken, Laura Taddei, Melissa Oliver, and Michael Casey contribute their thoughts on the connections between ed-tech and the Common Core State Standards.

* Tech Tools That Increase Learning

The final post in this series on web tools and apps for learning features ideas from Laura Taddei, Amy Benjamin, Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski, and Carolina Prez Ramrez. I also include comments from readers.

* Tech Tools Can Facilitate Learning in Powerful Ways

Kristina J. Doubet, Eric M. Carbaugh, Jules Csillag, Tahnja Wilson, Rajesh Kripalani, Marsha Ratzel, and Zachary Walker share their suggestions for tech tools to use in the classroom.

* Educators Favorite Tech Tools

Anna Bartosik, Jared Covili, Sam Patterson, Anabel Gonzalez, Richard Byrne, and Russel Tarr share suggestions on how to navigate through the ed-tech jungle.

* Children Need Both Paper Books & Digital Texts

Katie Keier, Stacy Nockowitz, Barbara Paciotti, and many readers share their thoughts on the debate between reading digitally or on paper.

* Reading Digitally vs. Reading Paper

Daniel Willingham, Kristin Ziemke, Lester Laminack, and Kimberly Carraway explore that topic of reading digitally compared with reading on paper in this post.

* Blended Learning Is the Next Generation of Education

Angel Cintron Jr., Connie Parham, Catlin Tucker, Sheri Edwards, Cheryl Costello, William J. Tolley, and George Station explore what blended learning is and how it can be made most effective.

* Ed-Tech Has Overpromised & Underdelivered

Jon Bergmann, Aaron Sams, Jake Goran, Steven Anderson, Derek Cabrera, and Rebecca Blink contribute their commentaries on the trials and tribulations of using ed-tech.

* Be Patient When Dealing With Ed-Tech Problems

Larissa Pahomov, Anne Jenks, Jared Covili, Billy Krakower, and Heather Staker will share what theyve found to be common ed-tech problems and how to respond to them effectively.

* Start With Goals, Not Tech or Curriculum

Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Pontus Hiort, Rebecca Blink, Leah Cleary, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, and Barbara Blackburn share their ideas on the role of tech in schools.

* Technology in the Classroom Is Simply a Tool

Andrew Miller, Jennifer Orr, Michael Fisher, Cheryl Mizerny, and Travis Phelps discuss which should come firstcurriculum or tech?

* Start With Learning Goals Before Thinking About Tech

Educators Suzie Boss, Ken Halla, Jennifer Gonzalez, Kristina J. Doubet, Eric M. Carbaugh, Heather Staker, Katie Muhtaris, and Kristin Ziemke provide their suggestions on how to balance the use of technology in the classroom.

* Personalized Learning Is Based on Relationships, Not Algorithms

John Spencer, Andrew Miller, Heather Staker, Jeffrey Benson, and Louis Cozolino discuss the definition, and practical impacts, of personalized learning.

* Personalized Learning Is a Partnership With Students

Diana Laufenberg, Allison Zmuda, Pernille Ripp, Barbara Bray, Kathleen McClaskey, and Steven Anderson share their thoughts on what personalized learning looks like in the classroom.

* Ways to Help Students Develop Digital Portfolios

Several educators volunteered to write responses for this postRusul Alrubail, Michael Fisher, Frank Serafini, Kristin Ziemke, Kate Muhtaris, Jeb Schenck, and Joe Rommel.

* With 3D Printers, Youre Only Limited by Your Imagination!

Laura Blankenship, David Malpica, David Thornburg, and Terry Graff have contributed commentaries here.

* Ways to Shrink the Change of Tech & CCSS in Your Classroom

Sonja Cherry-Paul, Dana Johansen, Mike Fisher, Andrew Miller, and Amy Roediger share their advice.

* Slow & Steady Wins the Race for Making Changes in Teaching

Charlene Stone, Jeremy Hyler, and Harry Dickens contribute their suggestions.

* Simply Putting Tech in Front of Students Wont Engage Them

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Q&A Collections: Using Technology With Students (Opinion) - Education Week

The Pegasus Project investigation has shown that the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group is systematically used for surveillance that violates the most fundamental human rights safeguards. Just the number of journalists targeted by this technology nearly 200 confirms the degree to which the surveillance technology sector is escaping regulation.

The Wassenaar Arrangement which is the main multilateral agreement for controlling the exportation of dual-use products and technology and which dates back to 1996 has once again proved largely inadequate and inoperative.

There are many reasons for this, starting with its area of application, which is not limited to surveillance technology and covers all types of dual-use products and technology, and its purpose, which is to regulate them in their entirety, treating them all as one, rather than treating each type separately. Its legal scope is limited and it lacks any independent control mechanism. It groups only 40 countries, which dont include two dual-use exporting countries, Israel and Cyprus. And it functions by consensus, giving each participating government a right of veto, which encourages minimal regulation.

The European Unions 2009 Dual-Use Regulation was finally updated in a laborious process completed in March and is due to take effect in September. Inspired by the Wassenaar Arrangement, and without any influence on exporting states that are not parties to the regulation, it will not suffice to fill the gaps.

The law of the jungle cannot prevail any longer, said Iris de Villars, the head of RSFs Tech Desk. The Pegasus affair must serve as the trigger for adopting a general moratorium on the surveillance technology exports and for starting work on an international regulation worthy of the name.

On 19 July, RSF asked democratic governments to impose an immediate moratorium on the sale of surveillance technology until safeguards have been established to prevent its oppressive use. And on 21 July, RSF urged the Israeli Prime Minister to impose an immediate moratorium on surveillance technology exports until a protective regulatory framework has been established.

The announcement by the head of the Knessets foreign affairs and defence committee on 23 July that a panel was being set up to review export licences was a step in the right direction but nothing indicates that this unilateral review will lead to guarantees that the same will not happen again in the future.

RSF recommends the development of a global legal framework for regulating surveillance technology based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and providing for adaptation to national legislation.

Legislative reforms are needed in all the countries concerned in order to impose a due diligence requirement as regards human rights on companies that produce and export this technology.

Companies should be required to identify, prevent and mitigate the potential and actual negative effects of their activities and value chain on human rights, and to report publicly and regularly on the obstacles encountered and the measures taken, with the possibility of being held criminally liable if they fail to do so.

Governments should be required to publish at least quarterly information on the surveillance technology export licences they have approved or denied, and to include information about the nature of the equipment, a description of the product, the country of destination, the end user and the final use.

Governments must also improve their capacity to investigate the circumvention of export controls when there are serious grounds for suspecting that human rights violations have been committed using exported surveillance technology.

RSF will join initiatives calling for a moratorium and aimed at beginning work on drafting international regulations of this kind.

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Urgent need to escape the surveillance technology jungle | Reporters without borders - Reporters sans frontires

Adam Stone| USA TODAY

Prior to COVID-19, the Pleasanton Calif.Unified School District (PUSD) was already issuing a digital device to every middle and high school student. During the pandemic, the district expanded its 1-to-1 policy to all elementary-level students, as well.

Anybody who needed a device got a device, says Patrick Gannon, the districts communications and community engagement coordinator. Thanks to that rapid deployment, We were able to pivot 14,500 students from in-person to remote instruction in the course of a week.

PUSD isnt alone: Around the nation, virtual learning needs spurred rapid adoption of 1-to-1 policies across K-12 education. While the final numbers on device adoption arent in yet, Theres clearly been a huge effort to secure more devices, says Keith Krueger, CEO of the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking.

Going forward, educators say, this broad availability of computers will change the way teachers interact with students, and it will change how kids learn.

In schools with 1-to-1 device programs, students have access to a wider and deeper range of learning resources. It allows the student to pull in information that they might not have been able to access before, Gannon says. In the past, youd go to the library, and depending on whether you were first or last in line, you would get stuck with whatever book was left over. Now, students have the entire internet available to them.

This base of knowledge could have a profound impact, says Steve Langford, chief information officer for Oregons Beaverton School District. Theyre not constrained to just looking something up in a textbook, he says. They can go get real-time information with all of the resources on the internet to help them answer questions or think of new questions to ask.

At North Canton City Schools in Ohio, Director of Technology Kim Nidy says the tools available on a laptop or tablet expand the learning experience. In the past, a student might have been constrained to present a written report. Now they can write it up as a Google document or they can create a slideshow. They can create a PowerPoint or record themselves, she says. It allows for a lot more creativity.

A 1-to-1 device deployment introduces a learning management system (LMS) as a new means for teachers to interact with students and guide the educational experience.

These management systems are software tools for the administration and delivery of educational courses and development programs.

LMS applications such as Canvas, Schoology and Google Classroom give teachers the power to monitor what students are doing on their devices and to interact with learners outside the classroom.

Now teachers can engage with students to answer a quick question in the evening, Langford says. Its a way to move the classroom outside of their physical space and time.

Teachers can use a LMS to post learning materials such as online links and videos. They can also track each individual students efforts. Maybe the student has veered off. Now the teachers can go in and add a comment in real time, Nidy says.

A LMS also can be a collaborative space where students share comments and work on projects together.

Those side conversations in the past have been considered cheating, Gannon says. When you bring that into the LMS, then those discussions become evidence of collaboration, which is one of the key skills we want to prioritize among the students. In that way, 1-to-1 gives school systems a way to begin to change that mindset.

Educators say the 1-to-1 device policies also support educators efforts to teach each child at his or her own pace, a practice known as differentiation.

Supported by 1-to-1 computing, Teachers are able to see where students are at and address them where they are, versus teaching to just one proficiency level, Langford says. For students who need extra support, teachers now can access that digital content and provide interventions for them, while for students who maybe have already mastered the content, the teacher has new tools tokeep their interest.

With a 1-to-1 environment, you can allow for different pacing, Nidy says. Instead of saying, everybody has to do this worksheet, or everybody has to do this poster, the teacher can offer kids a creative outlet to take what theyre learning and show that learning in the way that is most meaningful to them.

As 1-to-1 becomes more common, school systems will have to address some potential hurdles in order to make the most effective use of their technology investments. Personal computers arent a one-time expense. Langford, for instance, cycles out his districts devices every four years, and he suggests school districts will have to budget for repairs and replacements as they look to go long term with 1-to-1 computing.

School districts also will need to ensure that students have some guidance around the appropriate use of school-issued devices. As many parents know, digital access can be a Pandoras box of distraction.

Schools and families need to be aware of the impact of this technology, Langford says. Parents need to be able to see the signs of technology addiction when a student is in hour six of YouTube videos that arent connected to their learning. They may need help from the schools in addressing that.

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Access to technology is changing the U.S. education system for good - USA TODAY

July 27, 2021 | A new technology that uses sonic waves to blast calcium deposits out of arteries is now available at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The treatment option for advanced heart disease debuted in central Arkansas on June 16 when UAMS cardiologist Subhi AlAref, M.D., used it to successfully open and clear a patients severely calcified stent.

Stents are tiny tubes that can be inserted into narrowed arteries that have been pried open with balloons, to keep them open and restore blood flow. But as heart disease progresses, bone-like calcium deposits can form, causing rigidity in the artery and increasing the risk of complications such as perforation of the arterial wall while trying to insert or open a stent.

A new treatment called intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) allows doctors to shatter the calcium using sonic pressure waves, or shockwave technology, delivered through a catheter mounted on a balloon. The waves pass through soft arterial tissue and create a series of micro-fractures in the calcium, allowing the artery to be expanded at low pressure and a stent to be safely implanted to improve blood flow, with minimal trauma to normal arterial tissue.

The technology is a novel application of lithotripsy, which has been used for decades to safely break up kidney stones.

Before it was available, doctors had to use small drills to crack the hardened calcium and open the artery, but that procedure, known as atherectomy, has a steep learning curve, is difficult to perform and can result in serious complications for the patient. In addition to being safer, shockwave therapy also provides much quicker results.

AlAref, an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine , used the new technology to treat a 70-year-old woman who came to UAMS after repeatedly visiting another hospitals emergency room with complaints of chest pain that were related to the severe calcification of an old stent that was 95% blocked. The woman had been told there were no treatment options available, but the cardiology team at UAMS decided to try to open the old stent using the newly approved shockwave technology.

We ballooned the stent successfully the first time, and the second time we used the shockwave technology to expand the stent even more, in order to treat the calcium that was outside the stent and prevented it from being adequately expanded, AlAref said. We also stented another artery.

The woman has a follow-up visit scheduled but hasnt returned to the emergency room.

The technology was granted a breakthrough device designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prior to its approval in February. The coronary application of the technology has been widely adopted in Europe and since 2018, more than 25,000 patients have undergone a procedure using it, according to Shockwave Medical, a public medical device company headquartered in California whose founders adapted kidney stone lithotripsy for the cardiovascular application.

With this technology, we should be able to treat heavily calcified vessels more easily and hopefully with fewer complications, said Gaurav Dhar, M.D., a cardiologist and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.

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UAMS Cardiology Team Clears 95%-blocked Artery With New Shockwave Technology - UAMS News

[author: Jim Gill, Legal Technology Writer]

The rise of electronic evidence -- and the advent of the legal technology needed to handle that data -- has certainly changed the way attorneys practice.

While initial adoption was slow, the continued growth of legaltech cant be ignored, particularly when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics, which enable legal teams to search and better handle previously unmanageable volumes of data.

But often when technology makes one part of life easier, it tends to make us grow lax in other areas. Sometimes this doesnt cause a major issue (e.g. not memorizing phone numbers anymore because theyre all saved in our phones), but when compounded, they can certainly add up.

This is why developing and practicing the processes that complement legal technology -- well call these the soft skills of eDiscovery -- is more important than ever.

Here are 5 eDiscovery Soft Skills which can help your legal team increase effectiveness:

Interdepartmental / Intradepartmental Communication

This is something that humans will need to work on for the rest of time. Any good therapist will tell you communication issues are at the heart of any relationship problem, and this seems to hold true with professional relationships, both within a team and between departments.

Often, managers will just create task forces or throw more technology at the problem without getting to the root causes. Once, I was on a sub-committee created to figure out why people werent using the comms platform the organization had invested in. After the first meeting, it was suggested the committee invest in another comms platform, so we could more easily talk about why no one used the old one.

Often, it helps to have dedicated personnel in place to develop protocols and manage such issues. Which takes us to the next soft skill.

Legal Operations

Legal Operations (or Legal Ops) has been a growing profession in the past several years, particularly on corporate legal teams, but also within large law firms. According to a white paper published by the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC), Legal Operations is defined as, a set of business processes, activities, and the professionals which enable legal departments to serve their clients more effectively by applying business and technical practices to the delivery of legal services. Legal Operations provides strategic planning, financial management, project management, and technology portfolio investment expertise that allows legal professionals to focus on providing legal advice.

This notion of allowing attorneys the time and focus to practice law and leave the management up to other professionals makes a lot of sense, particularly with the increase of data and technology required to do so. Legal Ops professionals can also come up with strategies which leverage processes, analytics, and technology to turn legal department activities which were traditionally cost centers into profit centers.

Legal Project Management

If Legal Ops covers the big picture, then Legal Project Management handles the day to day. Project Management is nothing new in business, but its still gaining its footing in the legal world. Doug Austin, editor of eDiscovery Today, wrote a great two-part blog covering 20 eDiscovery Project Management Tips (which you can read here and here).

One standout from Dougs list is understanding the Triple Constraint of Project Management, which he describes in this way:

All projects are carried out under three specific constraints time, cost and scope. These three factors (commonly called the triple constraint) are represented as a triangle, with the idea being that: projects must be delivered within cost, projects must be delivered on time and projects must meet the agreed scope no more, no less. Ive been involved with eDiscovery projects where the scope has grown sometimes considerably for a variety of reasons and when it does, the time or the cost, or both, to complete the project will have to be greater. The typical saying for a project manager to set client expectations is to say you can have it fast, cheap or good pick two. Make sure your clients understand that too.

Templatized Workflows / ESI Protocols

I recently read an analogy from a legal professional comparing the current legal technology industry to the early automotive industry. Adoption is growing, the benefits are clear, and there are lots of players trying to get in the game.

But the 100 years ago, the real game changer wasnt some breakthrough automotive technology, but Henry Fords revolutionary process around the moving assembly line.

Repeatable, templatized workflows are the key to streamlining any process, and eDiscovery is no different. Having established workflows for common scenarios and set protocols around handling common forms of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) seems like a no brainer, but there are still many legal teams who handle things on a case-by-case basis.

I remember a question once on a webinar where we were discussing this very topic and an attendee asked the clarifying question, Whats a workflow? (which we gave a nod to in this months eDiscovery Blues cartoon). Its not a jab at that persons intelligence; on the contrary, it highlights a very real challenge in the legal place: people are often so busy and overwhelmed staying afloat in their current process, they dont have time to consider anything else.

Which leads us to our final eDiscovery Soft Skill.

Training

Its no secret that eDiscovery and other legal technology related areas are not taught in law school or paralegal training. This is why so many organizations within the industry provide learning opportunities for practitioners, both experienced and new. Technology changes at a rapid pace, so what worked well five years ago may need updating today. And as technology becomes easier and more intuitive (which is a good thing), the skills needed to effectively use that technology grow as well.

A great example of this is good old boring run-of-the-mill Microsoft Excel. We all say we know how to use it. Some of us maybe even put it down as a special skill on our resumes at some point.

But have you ever seen someone who really knows how to tap into that software? Its a pretty remarkable tool for something all of us have been taking for granted since the early 90s.

Now imagine a highly specialized eDiscovery platform with high end data processors, AI, analytics, and more. Sure, someone who has been working in eDiscovery for a while could probably jump in and start using it right away. But chances are, they wont be able to use it to its full potential without dedicated training.

The same holds true for the processes around eDiscovery, including the soft skills listed in this article, which are often overlooked. Continuing to train and understand your teams weak spots can really make a difference on how your corporate legal team, law firm, service provider, or government agency operates.

So, while youre working on sharpening those technology chops, dont forget to hone those soft skills as well!

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Even with Advanced Technology, You Still Need the Soft Skills of eDiscovery - JD Supra

COMPANIES

Lockheed Martins vision and road map of connecting people, platforms and systems into a single networking architecture certainly has the companys own offerings in mind.

But the worlds largest defense company is also mindful of helping the U.S. military avoid being locked into a single provider of the technologies that are shaping Lockheeds own 21st Century Warfare concept that corresponds with 5G.mil.

During Lockheeds second quarter earnings call Monday, CEO Jim Taiclet told investors the end game is to eventually build out the network effect across all the platforms out in the field.

The company is building an internal road map for how its own products and platforms fit into the larger vision given it has more control over the trials, demonstration and production aspects.

At the same time, we're open to collaborating with our industry partners that are traditional in defense and aerospace and eagerly and already successfully with some of my old counterparts and my former counterparts in telecom and tech where we're trying to build out the Internet of Things network of the future here, Taiclet said to analysts.

Lockheed has already taken one public step in that direction through its partnership with Omnispace announced in March to build out a space-based 5G global network with the ability to let users switch between satellite and terrestrial connectivity.

The bigger picture idea at Lockheed is to take an approach based on open architecture, a concept Taiclet knows well given his tenure as CEO of American Tower Corp. That company owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure as a real estate investment trust.

As Taiclet pointed out, the telecommunications and technology industries became what they are because open architecture was the baseline for building up those networks.

One internal example Taiclet brought up during the call saw the company demonstrate an open radio architecture in a U-2 aircraft as basically a cell tower in the sky connecting F-35 and F-22 data lengths back to the first platform.

We could add an F-18 or another aircraft, even an allied aircraft, a Eurofighter, for example, down the road, Taiclet said.

He also brought up the obvious example of how the F-35 fighter jet would figure into the broader network of people, platforms and systems.

Taiclet said the F-35 becomes a much more valuable platform when you take advantage of the network effect that it can deliver by connecting sensors across domains, adding 5G.mil capability to our (communications) system so that we can communicate with satellites directly. You end up getting a whole network effect with the value to the defense enterprise and the deterrent value is going to go up by implementing this across our technology road map over the next number of years.

Creating that network effect and bringing partners into the fold are key pieces in Lockheeds push for mid-single-digit revenue growth over the next five years. Lockheed is holding to its outlook for this year of $67.3 billion-to-$68.7 billion in revenue and $7.38 billion-to-$7.52 billion in operating profit.

Second quarter revenue of $17 billion was roughly 5-percent higher over the same period last year, while net earnings of $1.8 billion included a $225 million loss on a classified program in the aeronautics segment.

That charge is for the development portion of the program with 40 percent of the cost already incurred, Chief Financial Officer Ken Possenriede told investors. The other 60 percent is embedded in the new schedule.

Possinriede said the unnamed program will ultimately turn into a production program and Lockheed believes there are additional opportunities out there.

Meanwhile, Lockheeds agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne remains under an antitrust regulatory review at the Federal Trade Commission and examination by DOD.

Taiclet said Lockheed remains in the process of responding to the FTCs second request for information sent in February, but still expects to complete the deal in the fourth quarter of this year.

About the Author

Ross Wilkers is a senior staff writer for Washington Technology. He can be reached at rwilkers@washingtontechnology.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rosswilkers. Also connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Lockheed wants industry partners to help connect people & platforms - Washington Technology

ZHUHAI, China, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:PBTS) ("Powerbridge" or the "Company"), an innovative technology services provider, revealed that the Company is currently building a Blockchain enabled Supply Chain Management SaaS Platform, embracing Blockchain technology to optimize and integrate traditional supply chain systems.

Powerbridge Technologies is an innovative technology company focusing on providing AI, loT, Blockchain, and financial technologies, as well as SaaS solutions and operational services in various fields such as cross-border trade, smart cities and government services.

Powerbridge's Blockchain enabled Supply Chain Management SaaS Platform will serve to connect suppliers, logistics service providers, distributors, retailers and end users into an integrated feature network, implementing real-time information sharing for all participants, while ensuring the efficiency of information transmission and the credibility of the information.

Stewart Lor, President and Chief Financial Officer of Powerbridge, commented: "We hope that through our Blockchain management platform, Blockchain technology can be applied into more practical scenarios and deeply integrated with businesses. We will continue to perform more trials and innovations in the Blockchain applications as well as SaaS. We expect the application of Blockchain technology to bring continued growth to the company's revenue. Powerbridge will also extend its application to supply chain financial technology and other fields in the future."

About Powerbridge

Established since 1997, Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd., a Nasdaq listed company (stock symbol PBTS) provides a series of smart-technology based products and solutions, including global trade related ports and customs management platforms, cross-border and global trade solutions, smart city technology products and solutions, as well as technology-enabled financial services, utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as Big Data, AI, Blockchain and IoT.

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, our expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for our business. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of performance. Company cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Words such as "may," "can," "should," "will," "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target," "look" or similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. There is no assurance that the supercomputing center will be established as planned, when it will start operation nor any of the planned activities will be implemented by the supercomputing center. Specifically, forward-looking statements may include statements relating to the Company's:

ability to execute its business plan;

changes in the market for Company's products and services; and

expansion plans and opportunities.

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release and our management's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but not are limited to, the risk factors described by Powerbridge in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). These risk factors and those identified elsewhere in this press release, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance.

Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements in deciding whether to invest in our securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact our expectations and projections can be found in our periodic filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Powerbridge SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Powerbridge disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information, please contact:

Corporate:Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd.Stewart LorPresident and Chief Financial OfficerEmail: stewartlor@powerbridge.com

Investor Relations:ClearThinkPhone: 917-658-7878nyc@clearthink.capitalEmail: IR@powerbridge.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powerbridge-technologies-to-build-a-supply-chain-management-saas-platform-based-on-blockchain-technology-301341794.html

SOURCE Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd.

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Powerbridge Technologies to Build a Supply Chain Management SaaS Platform Based on Blockchain Technology - Yahoo Finance

Gray sludge, left, is transformed into clear water, right, in these screenshots from a demonstration ... [+] video.

So-called toxic forever chemicals are a concern across the United States. A recent analysis by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group found nearly 30,000 sites where man-made perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are likely used or discharged into water.

A North Carolina company called 374Water recently announced an agreement with an Indiana biosolids company called Merrell Bros. to help tackle the problem. The pact means Merrell will be making and servicing 374Waters AirSCWO NIX systems and installations throughout the United States and Canada.

SCWO stands for supercritical water oxidation, which 374Water says may fundamentally change the way waste management is deployed. Simply said, this technology just makes toxic sludge turn to water!

The AirSCWO NIX systems are advanced oxidation units for recovering valuable resources from waste. The units are compact and prefabricated so they can be installed at existing treatment plants.

At a wastewater treatment plant, thesystem treats sludges and biosolids, reducing volume by 97% and rendering the material into recoverable and reusable clean water, inert minerals, heat and electricity, according to the company.

Our vision is to transform wastewater treatment plants to water resource recovery facilities, says Rick Davis, director and officer at 374Water.

The first of two commercial units are being fabricated at a Merrell Bros. facility in Kokomo, Indiana.

Of course, this doesnt mean PFAS contamination is solved. But 374Water says its technology can go a long way toward cleaning up the environment when it comes to discharges.

SCWO uses the unique properties of water above its critical point (374 C and 221 bar), the company explains.

In these conditions, in the presence of oxygen, organics are rapidly converted to clean water, inert gases, recoverable mineral salts and reusable heat with >99% reduction in solids volume. The process has proven effective at eliminating emerging contaminants such as PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane, drugs, microplastics and pathogens.

Davis notes that a unit with 1 metric ton capacity (the equivalent of sanitary waste from 1,000 people) has beenoperating on the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina, since 2015.

It has operated over 1,000 hours, treating dozens of different waste streams, ranging from wastewater sludges, biosolids and food waste to firefighting foam that contains PFAS.

The supercritical water oxidation process developed at Duke and now being commercialized by 374Water was unofficially coined by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency as the "3rd generation of SCWO" during AFFF and PFAS elimination testing, Davis says.

AFFF stands for aqueous film forming foam, a type of firefighting foam that contains PFAS. The process is unique, he adds. It incorporates several important patented improvements that eliminate the historical issues off corrosion, charing, and clogging experience by previous generations of supercritical water oxidation processes.

The 374Water project was launched in 2013 and initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In April, a merger with PowerVerde Inc. was announced.

The units in production in Kokomo are six times larger than the one at Duke University, Davis says.

We are in discussion with two U.S. municipal wastewater treatment utility authorities as well as several waste service firms for deployment at one of their sites.

Once these units have been successfully deployed, we will commence mass producing of the 6-ton units while designing the next scaled up unit, which will be 30 tons per day.

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Cleantech Company 374Water Touts PFAS-Eliminating Technology That Makes Toxic Sludge Turn To Water - Forbes