EduTone™

Automating Technology Management and Maximizing Efficiency in Schools

Uniquely designed for the K-20 educational organizations, EduTone is a next-generation turnkey services delivery and IT automation infrastructure that enables organizations. of all sizes, to streamline the secure delivery, aggregation and administration of hundreds of software as a service or content channels to thousands of unique end-users.

e-Infrastructure

Streamlining IT management tasks
The EduTone Gateway simplifies system administration by streamlining the tasks associated with managing and maintaining end-user accounts and configuring services for each user or group of users:

Automating user management
This includes managing applications and services as well. With full directory services integration, EduTone Gateway provides policy-based provisioning, role and privilege management and profile synchronization.

Automating service management
EduTone Gateway allows for the configuration and delivery of disparate services to a variety of users. Whether services are district hosted or third party, they are easily configured for end-user consumption in a seamless manner.

Automating access management
EduTone Gateway provides authentication, authorization and access control for all services and applications delivered through the EduTone Passport. It also provides the platform for single sign-on, centralized authentication and remote access.

e-Integration

Since our inception in April 2000, VIP Tone's mission has been to connect all the dots for the K-12 education market with a strategy we call e-Integration. This means connecting web services-including software and content-into a single "ecosystem" that can be provisioned and delivered on demand to any organization through a vertically integrated platform (VIP). The EduTone Solution is an e-integration platform.

e-Integration requires customizing automated Connectors for provisioning, authentication and single sign-on for each end-user of every service channel. In many cases, certain application channels also require Data Zone Connectors to facilitate enterprise application interoperability within a single organization.

e-Services

Software solutions on demand.

To understand our e-Integration solution, think of the cable TV industry and its cable delivery model. Each cable company integrates various content channels (TV networks) into a single delivery platform accessible through a TV set-top box. Each group of channels is sold as a service bundle, with optional on-demand channels or shows that are available a la carte from a service menu.

Unlike video content, Software as a Service (SaaS) channels are more complicated to provision. Software applications require enterprise data uploads before they can be useful, and they also call for role-based and identity-based authentication for accessing each of the end-user accounts. For instance, in a school setting, administrators, teachers, students and parents would all have access to different types of data and features in the same application channel.

Leveraging its e-integration platform, EduTone delivers unique network-centric solutions for the K-12 education market.

e-Learning

Connecting learners with teachers through a 24X7 on-demand network to create a virtual learning management series, aligned to the State standards.
Many schools are seeking new instructional management tools that can be accessible over the web from any physical location, through a browser on any computing device, and by all of the school's stakeholders including teachers, students and parents.

VIP Tone can deliver state of the art instructional management tools for teachers that offer the following capabilities:

Enables the teachers to manage their lesson plans online through a web-based access to the system
Integrates state, local, national, and professional learning standards with the school district's unique learning requirements and a library of curriculum resources through a single curriculum management tool
Allows the teachers to access the student's state assessment data and to integrate it with classroom assessment data through a single assessment management tool
Simplified and automated student-teacher-parent workflow processes for tracking attendance, grades, assessment, counseling, profiling, planning and reporting
Integrated set of powerful ad-hoc reporting and decision support tools allows the district to respond to various reporting requirements and easily meet "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) requirements
Integrated with various other sources of student, staff and school data including state assessment, classroom learning, staff professional development, finance and special education
Web based user-interface enabling access through any standard html browser on any computing device (including PDA's & mobile phones) and any Operating System (including Windows, Mac OS, Win CE, Linux and Palm OS)
Centrally hosted application to avoid deployment in each school building

Scalable architecture allowing the districts or Certified Service Providers to host centrally in a centralized secure data center with 24X7 support needed for similar enterprise-level mission critical applications