Winchester Public Schools (WPS) serve approximately 4,100 students in the city of Winchester, Virginia. Among these schools is John Handley High School which has been recognized as a 2022 Best High School by U.S. News & World Report by ranking in the top 40% of public high schools nationwide.
THE CHALLENGE
Like many schools, WPS had acquired a mixture of technologies throughout the district and wanted to focus professional development and promote consistency across schools by reducing redundancies where possible. One of the first opportunities to create efficiencies would be identifying the best digital lesson software compatible with their student devices and the two different types of interactive panels being utilized across the district. With an increase in virtual learning and in connection with WPS’s Empower 2025 Strategic Plan, the team was focused on identifying interactive software that would best engage students through personalized learning, active student participation, student engagement, and timely feedback.
The decision would also have financial implications as free and paid versions of this type of software were in consideration to best meet the needs of teachers and students. Kelly Carey, WPS Instructional Technology Coach, set out to evaluate and compare platforms currently being utilized within the district to assist with renewal and expansion decisions under the direction of the Director of Technology, Aaron McBride.
THE EVALUATION
With limited time and resources, Carey decided to engage a third party – Veracity Verification Solutions – to assist with an unbiased assessment of each application. The evaluation project began in February 2022 with Veracity assessing Lumio and alternative solutions tightly integrated – but independent of – the interactive displays in place at WPS. Veracity’s rubric would identify key categories for assessment including ease of use, accessibility, teaching and learning,
student engagement, data security, technical integrity, and product support.
The product evaluations (“Veracity Verifications”) and comparative analysis were reviewed with Carey the first week of April 2022 (just six weeks after project kickoff).
A culmination of dozens of hours spent by Veracity’s “Guardians” (experienced educators contracted for each product evaluation), was delivered in one 60-minute consultation, saving valuable time and resources for Carey and team. Lumio delivered high scores in every category, including the highest ranking possible in the categories of accessibility and student engagement. Just two weeks later, Carey and the technology team had decided how to proceed.
“The verification report validated how user-friendly Lumio is with simple, easy-to-understand controls, no downloads needed, and easy-to-join activities for students. Veracity’s Verification of the Lumio product identified key criteria for WPS including Immersive Reader, ease of switching from synchronous to asynchronous learning, thousands of templates and premade lessons, game-based activities, search by content standards, one screen for teachers, and critical integrations with Google, ClassLink, and Canvas,” shared Carey.
THE SOLUTION
Carey and team plan to promote further use of Lumio and are considering additional Lumio licenses (if/when needed) across the district for the 2022-2023 school year.
WPS plans to continue to engage Veracity’s services for future renewal decisions (and streamlining redundancies) as well as new purchasing decisions, saving the district valuable time and resources. “Veracity’s services were very helpful to all involved,” Carey concluded.
Educators can visit https://info.veracityvs.com/lumio to request free access to Veracity’s Verification Report for Lumio.