As our CEO Jim May shared in his recent letter (link to the letter can be found here), Echo will sunset after June 30, 2027. Nothing changes for the rest of the 2026–27 school year. Below you'll find details on the transition, including Bright Thinker and our first administrator FAQ.
Introducing Bright Thinker Powered by Buzz
After June 30th 2027, the New Tech Network’s (NTN) Learning Management System (LMS) you have known as Echo, will be retired and NTN will no longer contract with schools to provide an LMS. In its place we are excited to offer Bright Thinker, a modern LMS powered by the Buzz platform from Agilix. Echo and Bright Thinker both leverage Agilix’s Buzz platform that supports personalized project‑based education, designed to adapt to students’ needs and foster successful learning outcomes with a multi-outcome scoring gradebook.
Who is Bright Thinker?
Bright Thinker is a nationally recognized K-12 publisher of both digital and printed K-12 educational curriculum. As a preferred Agilix partner, Bright Thinker offers the Buzz LMS platform for LMS access, support, and digital learning solutions.
Bright Thinker currently supports more than 250,000 students nationally and internationally and also offers optional access to a catalog of more than 200 aligned digital courses. The platform may additionally be enhanced through the BusyBee Intelligent Companion, an optional AI-powered support tool fully controlled and governed by each school or district. More information about Bright Thinker can be found on their website.
Why Bright Thinker?
- Built on Buzz: Bright Thinker is built on Buzz, the flexible learning delivery platform that supports personalized, project‑based and mastery‑based learning. The current Echo platform has been built on Buzz for the past decade. This means that schools that choose Bright Thinker will maintain their ability to leverage key Echo differentiators, such as customizable branding, SIS roster syncing, single sign‑on, and a rich set of tools for communication and student engagement.
- Project‑Based Learning: Echo was designed to support project‑based and deeper learning practices. Bright Thinker will still have the ability to build project templates and use a multi‑outcome scoring gradebook, ensuring that teachers can evaluate multiple NTN learning outcomes within a single assignment. Teachers will still be able to create daily agendas, course landing pages and digital libraries; students will continue to post journals, self‑assessments and collaborate through discussion boards.
What This Means for Your School
Continuity with Familiar Tools. Many of the features you love in Echo will carry over into Bright Thinker:
| Feature | Echo Features in Bright Thinker |
| Retain Multi‑Outcome Scoring (MOS) Gradebook | Bright Thinker includes a robust gradebook with customizable options that allow NTN teachers to assess assignments across multiple learning outcomes and use Standards-Based Grading. |
| Agendas & Course Organization | Teachers can post daily agendas and create course landing pages and organized folder structures. |
| Courses & Folders | The course management tools let you build custom activities, import content and organize materials for projects into folders. |
| Peer Feedback / Peer Assessment | Bright Thinker discussion boards and peer‑assessment tools support peer feedback and collaboration. |
| Project Templates | The same built‑in project organization folder structure that exists in Echo will be available in Bright Thinker |
Smooth Transition and Support.
- Domain Port: For schools that renew with Bright Thinker, your entire Echo domain will be moved directly to Bright Thinker's platform exactly as it exists at cutover. This includes courses, users, enrollments, and grade data. Workflows will remain familiar, and operational disruption will be minimal.
- Training & Onboarding: Bright Thinker will provide direct onboarding, training, and support services to educators and administrators. Professional development opportunities will be available to help you make the most of the new platform.
- Pricing: Current per‑user pricing for the 27/28 school year will remain at 26/27 level
How to Inform Your Staff
- Share the Transition Timeline. Let teachers and staff know that Echo will no longer be available after June 30, 2027. For schools that renew with Bright Thinker, all courses and materials in Echo will be accessed through Bright Thinker at a new URL beginning July 2027.
- Highlight Feature Continuity. Emphasize that the tools they rely on: MOS gradebook, agendas, course folders and peer feedback will continue to be available in the new platform, with a new name and interface.
- Promote Training Opportunities. Encourage staff to learn more about Bright Thinker via the NTN Bright Thinker landing page and be on the lookout for onboarding opportunities (webinars, etc) in the spring!
- Encourage Exploration. As time allows, invite teachers to explore additional features such as digital libraries, journals, badges and project templates to enhance project‑based and mastery‑based learning.
Questions & Support
We have started a high level FAQ article that we will continue to update as we provide more information about the Echo transition in the future. We know change can be challenging, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. If you have questions about the transition, please reach out to Mark Stolan, Senior Manager of Digital Platforms, at mstolan@newtechnetwork.org or open a ticket through the Echo Help Desk by emailing help@echo-ntn.org. We will also share detailed migration schedules and training dates as they become available.
We look forward to partnering with you to bring Bright Thinker and Buzz’s flexible learning platform to your classrooms. Together, we’ll continue to support the authentic, project‑based learning experiences that make New Tech Network schools special.
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