Together At Last

amily had come together—and did we ever have reasons to celebrate! Our team had one of their busiest E-Rate seasons to date, ensuring schools across the Southeast are outfitted to overcome challenges presented by the pandemic. For many attendees, it was their first time visiting our new headquarters in Easley, where we moved Encore operations in January of 2020.

Read More

New Emergency Educational Connectivity Funding

Earlier this year, Congress signed off on the American Rescue Plan, which allocated 7.1 billion dollars to schools and community libraries to support internet connectivity and connected devices. Headed by the FCC, the legislation states that all E-Rate participants are eligible for this the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) and although similar measures, rules, and processes will be used to streamline and leverage existing infrastructure, the program will be administrated separately.

Read More

Don’t Miss What Hackers See: The Importance of Network Audits

In 2019 there were a series of air freshener commercials highlighting how we can become “nose blind” to the odors in our homes and personal spaces. While these ads were mostly lighthearted and comical, they demonstrated a very real problem in our personal lives; when we encounter the same smells all day, everyday we no longer notice them, and can even miss them when they’re not there.

Read More

Reimagining the Classroom: Teaching in a Hybrid Environment

As teachers, we are always learning and growing; finding new and more effective ways to meet the ever-changing needs of our students. This year has been no different; although we may be teaching from home, or with some students in the classroom and others in their own homes, we are all doing our best for every student in our care. 

Read More

Network Analytics: Work Smarter, Not Harder

By its most basic definition, network analytics is the collection and examination of network data to identify underlying patterns. Using reports generated by analytics software, administrators can make educated choices about how to improve network performance, such as routing traffic away from congested areas.

Read More

“Oh No, Not Another Webinar!”

With work going remote and staying remote for many people even after the pandemic subsides, webinars have become the go-to tool for companies to share information, both internally and with outside partners. However, with the oversaturation of online seminars available, webinar fatigue is a legitimate problem. Traditional presentation-style webinars lack the opportunity for larger group participation and networking that was taken for granted when live, in-person events were the norm. To help you better engage your audience, we’ve compiled a list of virtual events to supplement your webinar offerings: 

Read More

New Microsoft Teams Features

As many of us have shifted to working, learning, teaching, and socializing remotely over the past year, numerous video conferencing platforms have risen to the challenge of keeping us connected, but few have done quite as well as Microsoft Teams. During the pandemic, Microsoft…

Read More