Enhancing Student Engagement in Hybrid Classrooms With Video and Lecture Capture Tools

Enhancing Student Engagement in Hybrid Classrooms With Video and Lecture Capture Tools

Hybrid learning has become a foundational approach in modern education, but it also presents new challenges, especially when it comes to keeping students engaged across in-person and remote environments. Fortunately, technology is helping educators bridge the gap.

Vizrt’s original article explores video-based tools, such as lecture capture, which gained massive popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, have revolutionized how students consume and interact with course content. These systems allow teachers to record and distribute high-quality videos of lectures, lab demonstrations, and classroom activities, making them available for both live streaming and on-demand access.

Empowering Students With On-Demand Learning

Lecture capture technology does more than just provide convenience—it transforms how students engage with academic material. By giving learners the ability to revisit lessons at their own pace, these systems support deeper understanding and better retention of complex topics. In fact, combining recorded video content with traditional face-to-face instruction has been shown to boost student performance and satisfaction.

Real-Time Engagement, Anywhere

Tools like Vizrt’s TriCaster help hybrid classrooms stay interactive by integrating real-time polls, chat functions, and Q&A through platforms like Microsoft Teams. Whether students are physically present or joining remotely, these features promote active participation and make the learning experience more cohesive and collaborative.

With lecture capture and hybrid-ready video production tools, educators can create immersive, engaging environments where all students can thrive, regardless of location.

Learn more about Vizrt below:

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The 10 Best Managed WordPress Hosting Providers in 2025 — Speckyboy

Choosing a managed WordPress hosting plan can make running a website much easier, especially for those who aren’t overly familiar with WordPress. They will handle server maintenance, security updates, backups, migrations, and performance optimization. This means less work and fewer technical concerns for you.

Managed hosts also offer expert WordPress support, which can be helpful when looking for a quick fix to keep your website running smoothly.

The downside of a managed hosting plan is the price. They’re usually a little more expensive than a shared or an unmanaged hosting option. Some managed plans may limit traffic, storage, or the number of websites you can host. For smaller websites or those with lighter traffic, those extra features may not justify the cost.

Every hosting provider on this page includes the key features expected from a managed service — automatic updates, security, backups, and optimized performance. Some plans focus on affordability, while others cater to high-traffic businesses needing advanced infrastructure.

The best approach is to determine what your website needs — storage, bandwidth, support level — before comparing plans. A lower-cost managed hosting plan might work for a personal blog, while a larger business may need something more powerful. Take your time and choose the best managed plan for you and your website or business.

Prices may change based on discounts, renewal rates, and contract length.

WordPress.com Business Plan

This host is built and maintained by Automattic, the team behind WordPress.org. WordPress.com removes almost every technical task from your plate. Software updates, performance tuning, daily backups, and security monitoring are all included. You also get access to Jetpack features like CDN, downtime monitoring, and advanced SEO tools.

The support team is highly trained in WordPress and available 24/7. If you run a business or blog and just want everything to work without constant tweaking, this is one of the most stable managed hosting options.

However, it has limitations on certain plugins and themes, which may frustrate advanced users or developers who want more control.

Read more about WordPress.com

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.9/10

Pressable Personal Plan

Pressable offers a reliable and easy-to-use platform specifically built for WordPress. The Personal plan includes one site with generous bandwidth and storage, along with daily backups, free migrations, and staging.

What sets Pressable apart is the thoughtful, consistent support. The team understands WordPress inside and out, and you can often get quick answers without being bounced between departments.

Their dashboard is clean, and performance is fast enough for small business sites, portfolios, and local service providers.

Read more about Pressable

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.9/10

Cloudways DigitalOcean Plan

Cloudways acts as a middle layer between you and infrastructure providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, and Vultr. You choose your server location and size, and Cloudways adds a management panel, automated backups, one-click staging, server monitoring, and caching via their Breeze plugin.

This option isn’t beginner-friendly. Support is available, but more technical. For developers or users with some experience, the control and scalability are a big plus. You can install multiple WordPress sites on one server, configure settings, and scale resources as traffic grows.

Read more about Cloudways

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.8/10

WP Engine Startup Plan

WP Engine is one of the longest-running names in managed WordPress hosting. Its platform is well-optimized for speed, using EverCache and integrated CDN. Daily backups, malware scanning, free SSL, and one-click staging are all included.

The dashboard is clean and functional. You can easily manage site settings, access logs, and roll back if something goes wrong. Support is strong across chat and ticket systems, with staff who know WordPress intimately.

Resource limits are strict, so you’ll pay overage fees if your site exceeds visits or storage. However, the trade-off is strong infrastructure and real reliability.

Read more about WP Engine

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.8/10

Kinsta Starter Plan

Kinsta is built on the Google Cloud Platform and optimized with isolated containers for each site. The result is excellent performance, especially under load. Their MyKinsta dashboard is polished and easy to navigate, with access to staging, logs, analytics, and more.

You get daily backups, free migrations, hack fixes, and server-level caching that’s automatically handled. Kinsta’s support team is quick to reply and often includes former developers, which shows in the quality of responses.

Kinsta feels like it’s built for agencies or businesses with high expectations. The only drawback is pricing. They are a premium service, and that’s reflected in the cost.

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.8/10

Flywheel Tiny Plan

Flywheel’s interface is clean and approachable. The Tiny plan supports one small site, making it great for personal portfolios or brochure-style business websites. You get nightly backups, managed plugin updates, a free staging site, and Flywheel’s own caching system.

Flywheel also offers collaboration tools that make it easy for designers to hand off sites to clients. Performance is solid for smaller projects, and support is friendly and accessible.

Visitor and storage limits exist, so this plan isn’t built for high-traffic sites. But if you value simplicity, and your site is lightweight, it’s a good place to start.

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.6/10

Liquid Web Nexcess Spark Plan

Nexcess, a brand of Liquid Web, focuses heavily on WordPress and WooCommerce. The Spark plan supports one site with 15GB storage and built-in caching, CDN, and automatic image compression. It also includes staging, free SSL, and plugin performance monitoring.

What makes Nexcess unique is its focus on resource-heavy websites. It handles larger plugin stacks and eCommerce functionality without slowing down.

If your store runs a lot of extensions, this is one of the better-value options. Support is helpful and responsive, especially around WordPress and plugin issues.

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.6/10

SiteGround StartUp Plan

SiteGround’s StartUp plan allows multiple sites and offers more server resources than their lower-tier plans. You get built-in caching, a staging environment, on-demand backups, and WP-CLI support.

Support is solid (available via chat or ticket), and the knowledge base is deep. Performance is fast and reliable, especially if your visitors are in Europe or North America.

Renewal prices are a downside, as they nearly triple after the first year. However, the initial value is high, especially if you need to manage more than one WordPress install.

Read more about SiteGround

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.6/10

DreamHost DreamPress Plan

DreamHost’s DreamPress plan is an affordable option for managed WordPress hosting with just enough features to keep most users happy.

It includes daily backups, a staging environment, and caching built for WordPress.

It uses its own panel instead of cPanel, which is simpler but may take some getting used to. Performance is solid for personal blogs, brochure sites, and small business websites.

Read more about DreamHost

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.5/10

Hostinger Premium Plan

Hostinger offers an entry-level experience with managed-like features at shared hosting prices. The Premium plan includes WordPress-optimized servers, staging, caching, automatic updates, and daily or weekly backups.

It’s a shared hosting platform with good speed for its price range. Support is improving and available 24/7. While not a full managed WordPress experience, it offers enough tools to build and maintain a site without much hassle.

Read more about Hostinger

Starting Price
*PER MONTH
Our Rating: 9.5/10

Managed WordPress Hosting Comparison Table

Provider Plan Monthly Price Best For Staging Support Quality
WordPress.com Business $25 Simplicity Yes Excellent
Pressable Personal $25 Freelancers Yes Excellent
Cloudways DigitalOcean From $14 Developers Yes Good
WP Engine Startup $25 Growing Sites Yes Excellent
Kinsta Starter $30 Performance Yes Excellent
Flywheel Tiny $13 Designers Yes Good
Nexcess Spark $14 WooCommerce Yes Good
SiteGround StartUp $17.99* Multi-site Yes Very Good
DreamHost DreamPress $19.99 Small Sites Yes Average
Hostinger Premium $10.99 Budget Users Yes Improving

How These Hosts Were Chosen

To keep things fair, each hosting provider was evaluated using the same criteria:

  • Speed: How quickly does the host load real WordPress sites?
  • Uptime: Is the site available when visitors need it?
  • Support: Is help actually helpful when something breaks?
  • Pricing: Are you getting value for the monthly cost?

Final Thoughts

There’s no perfect host for everyone. What matters is choosing one that fits your needs right now.

  • Best for hands-off hosting: WordPress.com Business.
  • Best balance of performance and support: Kinsta.
  • Best for budget-conscious users: Hostinger.
  • Best for developers: Cloudways.
  • Best for WooCommerce: Nexcess.

If you’re running a client site, agency, or your own growing business, it’s worth paying a bit more for stability and real support. But if you’re just starting out or rebuilding, some lower-cost options will still give you a solid foundation.

Pick based on what your site needs today—not where you think it’ll be years from now. It’s always possible to migrate later.

Prices are accurate as of June 2025 and may change.

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Is It Time to Upgrade Your MacBook for NLE?

Is It Time to Upgrade Your MacBook for NLE?

If you’re editing video on a 2018 MacBook Pro, you’re likely starting to feel the strain. With a 6-core Intel i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Radeon Pro 555X graphics, this system was a solid performer in its day. But in 2025, as video resolutions grow and editing software becomes more resource-intensive, even well-configured Intel Macs are starting to show their age. This article explains that while your current setup may still handle HD or light 4K editing, you’re missing out on the massive performance gains delivered by Apple’s newer M-series silicon.

The question of whether to upgrade comes down to your workflow and budget. If you only edit occasionally, meet all your deadlines, and your system remains stable, you may not need to rush into a replacement. But for professionals tackling 4K multicam, motion graphics, or long-form projects, switching to Apple silicon, especially M2 or M3 Max models, can provide a dramatically faster and smoother editing experience. These machines offer unmatched speed and efficiency, easily outperforming older Intel systems while consuming less power and running cooler. Even used Apple silicon laptops are a worthwhile step up for many editors.

Beyond the chip, storage is a critical factor. External SSDs connected over Thunderbolt can eliminate bottlenecks and improve overall system responsiveness. And while spinning hard drives still serve well for backups, SSDs or SSD RAIDs are essential for editing active projects. Apple’s internal storage is fast but expensive, so a hybrid approach often makes the most sense. Ultimately, if you’re editing professionally or want to future-proof your system, upgrading is a smart investment. But if your current Mac still gets the job done, you may be able to stretch it a little further, just be prepared for Apple to phase out support soon.

KMH Integration Looks Ahead: Embracing New Tech, Talent, and the Future of Systems Integration

KMH Integration Looks Ahead: Embracing New Tech, Talent, and the Future of Systems Integration

As media and broadcast workflows evolve, so too must the companies supporting them. KMH Integration, now celebrating 20 years in business, is preparing for the next era of AV systems design with a clear focus on new technology adoption and talent development.

President Kevin Henneman says the path forward lies in adapting to IP- and cloud-based systems while growing a workforce ready for that shift.

“Technology doesn’t stand still. We’ve made ongoing training a top priority so our team understands how emerging software-driven solutions complement or replace legacy systems.”

KMH is already supporting clients through hybrid workflows that blend traditional baseband setups with IP video, cloud-based production tools, and software-defined infrastructure. This approach ensures scalability, long-term ROI, and future-ready design for stadiums, studios, and enterprise clients alike.

Growing Talent to Match Changing Technology
One of the biggest challenges the industry faces, according to Henneman, is building the next generation of technical professionals.

“We’ve partnered with local universities and found smart, passionate people who just needed exposure to the systems integration world. Some of our top team members came from those programs, and now they’re mentoring the next wave.”

KMH’s approach fosters a culture where every team member learns across disciplines — from cabling and installation to systems design and client consulting — creating a dynamic and well-rounded workforce.

Planning Projects for Maximum Flexibility
As the pace of technology change accelerates, KMH is also rethinking project timelines and purchasing strategies.

“We encourage clients to reverse-engineer the project timeline,” Henneman says. “You don’t want to buy gear too early and miss the next big upgrade. With good communication, we can plan for the right moment.”

Whether designing modern control rooms or integrating broadcast-grade infrastructure in corporate or education environments, KMH remains committed to providing flexible, scalable, and intelligent systems tailored to each customer’s goals.

Read the full article here

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