Ed Tech Show Daily - Feb. 10, 2011 by Oser Communications

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH TCEA

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

AWARD PUBLISHING DEVELOPS TEXTBOOKS FOR THE DIGITAL LEARNER

Wendy Pye, President and Publisher of AWARD electronic textbooks, discusses why the company chose to go digital.

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FREE HIGH QUALITY FRACTIONS SOFTWARE FROM CONCEPTUA MATH

Arjan Khalsa, CEO of Conceptua Math, discusses the company’s first product launch.

ESD: As a developer and creator of shared and guided reading products that

ESD: The company has launched their first product, Conceptua Fractions. Arjan, why are you focusing on fractions?

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NOVA SOLUTIONS MANUFACTURES HIGH QUALITY OFFICE FURNITURE

It all began when John Lechman, Co-founder of a kitchen cabinet company in Denver, Colo., discovered a unique computer desk concept at an office furniture trade show in Chicago, Ill. All of the computer hardware was contained beneath the work Continued on Page 77

TI DLP’S INTERACTIVE 3D PROJECTOR AND DUAL-PEN FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING

Further advancing collaboration in the classroom, DLP’s new dual-pen and 3D interactive projector bring added opportunities for collaboration between teachers and their students, as well as between students and their classmates.

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CREATOR OF UNITEDSTREAMING INTRODUCES ESPRESSO ELEMENTARY

Johnjoe Farragher, CEO of Defined Learning, talks about bringing a new, unique multimedia learning service from the UK to elementary schools across the U.S.

Austin

EDUCATION 2000 AIMS TO PUT MIMIO INTERACTIVE TECH IN EVERY CLASS

Doug Pennekamp, CEO of Education 2000, discusses how to effectively integrate interactive technology into the classroom.

A LADIBUG–THE WORLD’S ONLY TRULY WIRELESS DOCUMENT CAMERA

ESD: Tell us about Education 2000 and the products you represent.

Ladibugs are the world’s first wireless document cameras designed to address the need for teachers to present from any location in their classroom. With this increased range, teachers can determine the

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READY TO MAKE THE JUMP TO WINDOWS 7? GOVCONNECTION CAN HELP

SP CONTROLS’ IPAD INTERFACE REVOLUTIONIZES THE CLASSROOM

ESD: What is Espresso and why is it

Many organizations are planning to roll out Windows 7 to enhance usability, performance and security. Migrating to a new operating system can be a daunting experience full of unknown and potential obstacles but it doesnt have to be. Melissa Kaleskas, Professional Services Manager

The education market is a key focus for SP Controls of San Francisco, California. Gary Arcudi, SP Controls’ Director of Marketing, says attendees at TCEA will see a revolutionary suite of products designed to give the instructor the

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LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE WITH MARK ELLIOTT Mark Elliott, President of Promethean North America, reflects on what lies ahead for his company.

ESD: Thinking back on 2010, what were the high points for Promethean? Continued on Page 77

SAVE TIME WHEN FURNISHING YOUR FACILITY

ISTATION GIVES EDUCATORS THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED

ESD: How can you save schools time versus other furniture manufacturers?

ESD: Tell us a little about your company and its role in K-12 education.

Brandon Gerard, Regional Project Manager, Interior Concepts, discusses how they can help you save time. Visit Interior Concepts in booth 404 to learn more.

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Richard H. Collins, Chairman and CEO of istation, discusses how the company is using technology to transform education.

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EdTech Show Daily

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR KAL RAMAN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF GLOBALSCHOLAR Kal Raman is an accomplished technologist and businessman, and has held leadership positions at companies such as Amazon, Drugstore.com and Wal-Mart. Passionate about education, Kal founded GlobalScholar in 2006 to provide instruction management software to K-12 schools. The company was acquired by Scantron Corporation in January 2011. We sat down with Kal to talk about the company, the recent acqui-

sition and his views on technology in education.

ET: To start off, can you briefly tell us about GlobalScholar?

KR: Glad to—GlobalScholar provides software and online services that empower educators, parents and students through the entire learning lifecycle. Our comprehensive instruction management software, Pinnacle Suite,

SAMSUNG EXHIBITS PRODUCTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM AT TCEA 2011 EdTech Show Daily caught up with Doug Albregts, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, for Samsung Enterprise Business Division. ESD: Tell readers a little bit about your company. What’s your main line of business? DA: As one of the fastest growing IT companies in the world, Samsung Enterprise

Business Division [EBD] is committed to serving the needs of consumers ranging from the home user to the Fortune 500 elite and supporting the valued channel partners who serve our customers. Samsung EBD offers a complete line of award-winning color and mono-laser printing solutions, desktop monitors, laptop computers, digital signage solutions and projectors. ESD: How do you handle sales?

supports all aspects of managing education at K-12 schools and includes a student information system, gradebook, learning management system, as well as teacher development, analytics and online learning.

We are committed to empowering the world to learn, so our support doesn’t end with K-12 software; GlobalScholar also provides online resources for parents and students, including school finders, a tutoring marketplace and homework help. By combining Pinnacle Suite’s instructional management platform with its online resources, GlobalScholar helps elevate student performance in school and also extends Continued on Page 72

DA: We have a geographic sales force that calls directly on end users. The extended team also includes various types of specialists—i.e., Mobile, Printers, Displays, etc. Actual order acceptance and fulfillment is through our network of dealers and resellers.

ESD: Please assess the marketplace as it relates to your product line. DA: The marketplace for our products

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AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH TCEA

Lee M. Oser

CEO and Editor-in-Chief

Steve Cox Kate Seymour

Senior Associate Publishers

Kim Forrester Lyle Sapp

Associate Publishers

Lorrie Baumann

Editorial Director

Carrie Bui Brandon Derrow Justyn Dillingham Associate Editors

Valerie Wilson Art Director

Yasmine Brown

Graphic Designer

Selene Pinuelas Traffic Manager

Paul Harris Billy Lolos James Martin Joe Matteson Bill Morris

Account Managers

Enrico Cecchi

European Sales EdTech Show Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2011. All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520-721-1300/Fax: 520-721-6300 www.oser.com / www.edtechshowdaily.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy.

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EdTech Show Daily

CLOUD COMPUTING WITH CSI TECHNOLOGY OUTFITTERS OFFERS GREATER FLEXIBILITY You may not have seen this coming, but 2010 was the year for cloud computing, and it had an astounding impact on our educational systems. CSI Technology Outfitters CSI@K12 Education Cloud now offers greater flexibility utilizing cloud computing to implement an platform in Unified advanced Communication and Collaboration. At CSI Technology Outfitters, the goal is to create an instructional communication platform that continuously leverages evolving cloud technologies in

order to facilitate focused, safe and effective instructional communication for students, teachers, parents and community.

The first benefit to schools is financial. In the K12 world, 1:1 computing is the goal, but most schools can’t afford to buy all the devices. With cloud technology, applications and full PC platforms can be quickly provided for students. This allows students to interface within the cloud regardless of the device, while still providing access to special

THE BENCHMARK UNIVERSE— ENGAGING STUDENTS WITH INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD RESOURCES Benchmark Education Company is leading a new age of innovation with technology resources for learning, teaching and assessment that will engage students in increasing their achievement. Through the Benchmark Universe™, Benchmark Education Company reaches the 21st Century Classroom with digital content

through Interactive Whiteboard Resources, Talking E-Books, Audio Libraries, Online Assessment and OnDemand Professional Development. All of the products are Web-based and accessible by teachers and students at any time and location with an Internet connection. Interactive Whiteboard Resources

CEV LAUNCHES SERVER-BASED CURRICULA FOR NEW STANDARDS In response to the high demand for curriculum that fits the new standards for Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses while allowing more flexibility in the classroom, CEV Multimedia, Ltd. has developed enhanced versions of their product to better suit teacher and student needs. “What we’ve learned from working with teachers is they want our product to be more versatile for self-paced students while correlating to the current TEKS

standards,” said Jeff Lansdell, President of CEV. “These server versions will provide students with hands-on access to the curriculum.” CEV developed server versions of their Business Computer Technologies Pathway, Advanced Business Computer Technologies Pathway, Career Cluster Explorations Pathway and their Principles of Business, Marketing & Communications Pathway. Lansdell

applications. CSI Technology Outfitters helps provide schools with a solution set that provides a predictable cost structure. Many technologies that were previously expensive or unavailable are now becoming free to anyone with a Web browser. This is true for websites, blogs, video sharing, collaboration software, editing/presentation and publishing. Students already use many of these technologies in their personal lives. Education systems should take advantage of the trend, which will both enrich a student’s technology-enabled education, and most importantly, reduce the budget impact. The second would be the practical daily benefits. CSI cloud computing tools allow educational institutions to have the best of all worlds. By providing highly scalable and

through the Benchmark Universe make instruction engaging and effective. They are designed to work with all kinds of interactive whiteboard hardware including Smartboard™, Promethean™, RM™, Polyvision™, Mimio™, and more. In addition, each interactive title includes built-in pen tools that turn any computer projection and flat surface or monitor into an interactive whiteboard. This flexibility allows teachers to use Benchmark’s software in every classroom. Benchmark Education Company’s language and literacy series of interactive whiteboard resources offers more than said the server versions allow entire classrooms to access worksheets, projects, activity sheets, vocabulary activities and chaptered videos on their own computer desktops. “Students can review a video while taking notes on the provided worksheets simultaneously on the same screen, allowing students to have a more focused and personalized style of learning,” Lansdell said. “And when they are finished, students can print out their worksheets, save or even e-mail them to their teachers.” Lansdell said materials provided in each Pathway are compatible with classroom

simple collaboration tools, data can be accessed using a Web browser or VoIP. CSI@K12 Voice provides natural communication through existing voice services.

Third is security. The need for hardware or software isn’t being eliminated—it’s being shifted into the cloud. For example, intranet Web-based applications that are currently published by supported portals can be centrally authenticated through the use of CSI’s Simple Sign-On, which eliminates the need for a user to enter additional application logon names and passwords. Lastly, is collaboration. With the CSI Education Cloud, students Continued on Page 72

500 science, math, social studies and fiction titles designed for use in the classroom. Each title contains leveled reading texts and activities to support core content standards and motivate students. The interactive titles may be used in conjunction with the print books during wholegroup and small-group instruction—or as stand-alone instructional tools to strengthen literacy. Learners at every reading level are engaged by being able to see, hear, speak and touch words. Everything a teacher needs for Continued on Page 72

management systems, such as Moodle. The product also allows students to access curriculum at their own pace, as well as review for content reinforcement. “The server version is designed to give teachers flexibility with their curriculum while empowering students through the use of their own personalized, digital student workbook,” Lansdell said. Visit www.cevmultimedia.com to learn more about CEV and all the resources needed to integrate multimedia-based curriculum into your classroom. Stop by booth 217 for a hands-on demonstration of CEV’s server versions and questions about pricing.

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KINEO: BRAINCHILD’S THIRD GENERATION TABLET Brainchild Corporation invented the first handheld device for schools in 1992, followed by Study Buddy, which added color and multimedia 10 years later. The latest evolution in its mobile technology is Kineo, which combines Web-based reporting with mobile learning. Kineo is 100 percent designed for schools. It has a “Student Mode” for safe operation. The “Administrator Mode” lets administrators control how Kineo is used.

With more than a decade of studying how handhelds help struggling learners, Brainchild offers a wealth of experience to help schools reach the goals they determine for their specific student populations. Award-winning software in English and Spanish assesses your state standards and provides individualized instruction in the Achiever! series. Basic skills instruction for students who perform far

HOW MUCH ENERGY ARE YOUR COMPUTERS WASTING? If your school district is searching for fresh green initiatives that save money, you need to consider a PC power management solution. It is one of the most immediate and cost-effective ways to reduce your school district’s power bill and energy consumption. With the creation of its PC power management software, Faronics has become a recognized industry leader in reducing enterprise IT energy waste.

Faronics Power Save provides organizations with centralized computer energy management and real-time savings reports, allowing companies to continuously maximize their savings by powering IT down daily. Faronics Power Save can deliver a full ROI in as little as eight months—less if you qualify for a rebate. Depending on the number of PCs, districts can annually save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

EDUCATION 2000 PROMOTES NEW LINE OF MIMIO PRODUCTS: SLEEK, AFFORDABLE AND PRACTICAL Mimio has released a new family of products to use in the classroom. The MimioClassroom products are designed to be easy to use and practical, and are inexpensive when compared to other interactive technologies that are on the market today. The MimioClassroom products are made to fully integrate with each other and also work on their own as individual products. The MimioTeach is a bar that is placed on an existing whiteboard and transforms an ordinary whiteboard into Conceptua Math (Con’t. from p. 1)

AK: Children study fractions from second grade to seventh grade—longer than any other topic in mathematics. This is content that people actively use as adults, and must have to move forward in school. Unfortunately, fractions are difficult to teach and difficult to learn. ESD: Why do you think your software will make a big difference?

AK: Conceptua Fractions is about using software for both the student and teacher. The student is engaged in a deeply instructive experience. If the student is struggling, the teacher is alerted on the spot and given the tools to help out, remediate and differentiate. ESD: What makes the instruction so deep?

AK: We emphasize the use of visual

an interactive whiteboard. There is no need to buy or set up a complicated and expensive board to have an interactive classroom. The MimioTeach is an updated version of the Mimio Xi Interactive. The new version of the MimioTeach comes with wireless capabilities already in place; there are no wires connecting the computer to the board. Another new addition to the MimioTeach is that the bar comes with magnets already built-in; this allows for easy portability and storage. The MimioTeach comes with a models. Students progress from concepts to procedures, incrementally, problem by problem. We employ a variety of visual models, as indicated in the research. And we also employ rich language, with text that is highlighted and read aloud to the student using technology from TextHelp Systems.

ESD: You said that your software is for teachers and students. What do you mean?

AK: We have faith in teachers. Rather than using our software to push them out of the way, we use the software to bring teachers closer to students, and to help teachers meet authentic needs. For instance, our software has special features for interactive whiteboards, and teachers who visit us at booth 310 can enter to win a PolyVision board.

ESD: So, what does the teacher actually

EdTech Show Daily under grade level in language arts or math is offered in the Mechanics series. Kineo will assist schools in achieving educational goals while connecting students, faculty and administrators with Web-based reports. The rewards of implementing Kineo into schools are engaged students, increased administrative efficiency, safety and security. Significant features of the Kineo include a high output battery for long operation, manual controls in addition to touchscreen controls for commonly used functions for ease of use, a Flash player, and an HDMI output for use with whiteboards and LCD projectors for group

instruction. Designed with students in mind, Kineo boasts a high quality 7-inch touchscreen, eBook reader and a sturdy case to fully protect the device. Try out Kineo and other products at TCEA booth 1835.

Last year, Faronics teamed up with industry analyst Forrester Consulting and conducted a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study verifying that organizations reducing their computer energy waste by deploying Power Save can achieve a substantial and rapid return on investment (ROI). The study focused on the deployment of Power Save on more than 8,000 computers at a Canada-based utility giant. Power Save outperformed initial estimates and saved the organization 1.2 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. Also among the growing list of more than 1,000 Power Save customers

is California-based Chaffey Joint Union High School District, which is currently saving $350,000 annually by shutting down their inactive PCs. As regulations slowly increase, more and more schools will be mandated to adopt a green IT approach. Educational facilities have a strong responsibility to help create a greener, cleaner future. Irresponsible PC energy consumption is not just a waste of energy; it’s a waste of money. To learn how your organization can benefit from PC power management, visit Faronics at booth 2145, or download a free 30-day evaluation at www.faronics.com.

stylus that allows for interactivity with the information from a computer. Mimio has also introduced MimioVote, a new student response pad system that tracks student progress through instant feedback and also tallies scores over time. The MimioVote system comes with many unique features and is designed to be intuitive and easy to use for both teachers and students. The response pads ensure student accuracy because only the available answer button options light up. There is no need to replace batteries because the response pads charge while they are in their storage tray. Also, the handsets can be placed anywhere in the storage tray because each pad renumbers automatically to the number it was placed in. The MimioView is a document

camera that allows educators to easily add pictures or live video to their interactive whiteboard lessons. The document camera connects to the computer through a USB port and also functions as the power source; the USB cord is the only cord required to operate the MimioView. The gooseneck camera arm and the two gooseneck lights on the document camera allow for optimum image capturing. MimioCapture is an ink recording system that saves whiteboard notes and drawings into the computer. This allows educators to pull up the same whiteboard notes for multiple classes. MimioCapture also lets students who were absent be

do to remediate student shortcomings?

of the leading math curricula and aligns with the TEKS. Students use it two to three times per week when studying fractions, and as needed for review and test prep.

AK: Each student activity ends with a skills check. If the student fails, they see our Conceptua Formative Evaluation screen. They raise their hand, call the teacher over, and the teacher engages in a 30-second review and assignment process.

ESD: How does the teacher know what to assign? AK: For every activity, we have designed three branching activities for differentiated instruction. The teacher is delivering targeted instruction within seconds.

ESD: How is the software used in the classroom? Is it a complete curriculum?

AK: Conceptua Fractions is a supplemental software program. It supports all

About Brainchild Brainchild Corp. supports school improvement by providing self-paced, individualized instruction through mobile and Web-based educational software. Call or click for more information: 800-811-2724 or www.brainchild.com. Follow Brainchild on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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ESD: Which part is free, and which part requires a subscription payment?

AK: There are three main components of Conceptua Fractions. Student practice and student investigations involve logins, record keeping, and the use of more than 400 activities. Those require a paid subscription of about $3 per student. The teacher tools for whole class instruction are free and anyone can use them at www.conceptuamath.com. Find Conceptua Math in booth 310, where visitors can enter to win a PolyVision interactive whiteboard. For more information about Conceptua Fractions, visit www.conceptuamath.com.

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EdTech Show Daily

BRITANNICA IMAGE QUEST GIVES STUDENTS AND TEACHERS PHOTOS THEY CAN USE Students and teachers who need photos and other images for research, papers and projects can now find them easily in Britannica Image Quest, a new online database from Britannica Digital Learning. Image Quest provides images from more than 60 of the best collections in the world, including Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dorling Kindersley, Getty, the National Portrait Gallery of London, the National Geographic Society and Oxford Scientific. The collection contains more than

a million images, with more added each month. Suppliers of content to the site come from the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Australia and New Zealand—“a truly global representation of the finest historical, fine arts and contemporary images,” according to Michael Ross, a Senior Vice President at Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., and General Manager of Britannica Digital Learning. Image Quest provides easy access

EASI-SPEAK™ USB AUDIO RECORDING LINE: GET STUDENTS ENGAGED AND KEEP TRACK OF THEIR PROGRESS Do you want to engage your students across various subjects while tracking their academic progress? Easi-Speak™ is a full line of USB recording devices and accessories from Learning Resources®, the global leader in providing hands-on educational products for the classroom. The Easi-Speak line is centered on a microphone-shaped digital wireless MP3 device that enables up to four hours of audio recording time and includes a

built-in speaker for playback, a headphone jack for quiet listening, and most importantly, a USB connection to download recordings. Easi-Speak is a great cross-curricular tool that helps educators leverage technology into lessons. It is ideal for engaging students as young as age 4 in storytelling, fluency, phonics, math facts and much more. For group listening activities, the Easi-Speak Sound Station amps up the USB Recorders via a

HOW CROWLEY ISD CUSTOMIZED LEARNING FOR CREDIT RECOVERY, CORE CURRICULUM AND IMPROVED TEST RESULTS Crowley ISD, located outside of Fort Worth, Texas, began its search for a more rigorous online curriculum and assessment solution three years ago to improve school performance. Only two of Crowley ISD’s 17 schools were designated Recognized by the Texas Education Agency; one middle school was ranked Unacceptable and was under state and federal sanctions; and one of two high schools in the district did not meet Average Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2007–2008 school year. Crowley administrators wanted expanded student access to curricula, especially for its high school students. District administrators also wanted to ensure that their students had easy access to academically rich and rigorous content. With such a solution, Crowley educators felt they could narrow the achievement gap and strengthen the district’s credit and course recovery effort. Based on all their requirements, Crowley administrators chose to implement CompassLearning Odyssey® in 2007.

Personalized Instruction for All The personalized learning provided by CompassLearning, based on identified

instructional strengths and weaknesses, means that all students can reach their potential at their own pace. For struggling Crowley students, personalized learning paths spark student interest and accelerate knowledge acquisition. Additionally, Odyssey assigns district students working above grade level more challenging and academically rigorous learning paths. With personalization, Crowley students have begun to take control of their learning, resulting in improved student outcomes and teacher accountability. Theresa Kohler, Chief Instruction Officer at Crowley ISD, noted, “We tell them what the targets are and expect that they will be intimately involved in keeping pace with their educational goals.” Response to Intervention = Full Potential Crowley’s school improvement solution enabled educators to better measure academic progress and to fine-tune response to intervention (RtI) efforts, so students can avoid Tier III strategic intervention involving intensive or Continued on Page 52

to high-quality photos from trustworthy sources for students of all ages on a wide range of topics. Images are organized by subject matter, and the site is fully searchable. Each image, which is cleared of copyright restrictions for educational use, includes a caption, citation, copyright information and other metadata. With all the images in one convenient place, it simplifies the search for photos because researchers don’t have to comb through multiple websites or worry about permission to use them. The product has many uses. Students can turn to Image Quest for homework assignments and course projects, and teachers can use the images in lesson plans and classroom

activities. It’s ideal for whiteboards, school websites, newsletters, newspapers and bulletins. “Students today don’t just write reports; they produce rich expositions that combine research and relevant illustrations,” said Ross. “But it can be hard to find the right images, to identify what’s in them when you do find them and to know if you’re allowed to use them. We’ve made all of that a lot easier.” Britannica Image Quest is produced in collaboration with the Universal Images Group. Schools, universities and libraries interested in Britannica Image Quest can call 800621-3900 or go to http://info.eb.com/ for more information. Free 30-day trial subscriptions are available. Visit them at booth 2334.

sleekly-styled docking station that amplifies the recordings throughout the classroom. The Station provides a perfect simple technology solution for oral language activities in early childhood and elementary classrooms, listening centers and media labs. The Easi-Speak USB Recorders are available in both Standard and Pro versions. At $69.99, the Easi-Speak USB Recorder offers 128 MB of built-in memory in a fun, microphone shape with a single button to record. It is easy to use, even for the youngest students. The charging hub (sold separately) eliminates

the need for batteries. The Easi-Speak Pro USB Recorder offers all the same functionality and value with the added benefits of a built-in LCD screen, a fully integrated menu system, editing capabilities, two headphone jacks and a high-end professional handset design. At $89.99, the Easi-Speak Pro provides today’s educators with an affordable, multi-capability MP3 recording solution in a fun to use design. Already field tested in thousands of classrooms, Learning Resources’ new Easi-Speak line helps today’s teachers and students reach beyond by making learning as fun as it is educational. For more information, stop by the TCEA Learning Resources booth 435, visit them online at www.learningresources .com/TCEA or call 866-374-8124.

CLEAN SLATE IS VASTLY SUPERIOR TO REBOOT TO RESTORE PRODUCTS AT PROTECTING SCHOOL COMPUTERS Achieve reliable Windows computer security to reduce support costs and eliminate computer downtime. Clean Slate is ideal to secure school computers. Students are allowed full computer access to learn and explore, then at logoff and reboot, the computers return to the original configuration, removing all changes the user made. Keeping your lab and 1:1 computers free of accidental or mischievous changes is an ongoing battle; with Clean Slate desktop protection software, your computers are secure all day, every day. Benefits of using Clean Slate to protect school computers: • User changes are cleared at reboot and log-off, providing a clean and troublefree computer for every user. • Students have full computer access to learn. • Computers are safe from accidental or mischievous use. • Computers are virus-free. • Computers look and act the same for every user, no matter what changes the previous user made. • Drastically reduces help desk calls. • Ideal for 1:1 computing. • The computers always work.

Compare Clean Slate to other protection

software by trying the 30 day demo at www.fortresgrand.com. Clean Slate provides flexibility and security that cannot be found in similar products. Clean Slate offers many advantages over traditional reboot to restore products: • All user changes are cleared at log-off providing a clean, consistent, and virusfree computer for every user instantly, no need to waste time to reboot to restore. • Windows updates run normally and are permanently saved while security is on: no configuration or security downtime needed. • Perfect for 1:1 computers because no security downtime is needed, minimizing the computer’s vulnerability to security risks. • Zero-day rootkit and master boot record (MBR) protection. • Antivirus updates run properly and are permanently saved while security is active: no configuration or security downtime needed. • Works well with third-party administrative software while security is on (LANDesk, Altiris, Zenworks). • Computer security can be disabled, enabled, and altered on the fly—no time Continued on Page 52

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EdTech Show Daily

HARRIS SCHOOL SOLUTIONS eTRITION 7: INCREASE SCHOOL NUTRITION PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY Harris School Solutions has recently released eTrition 7, an enterprise school nutrition solution. Built on the best technology, eTrition 7 will significantly increase the productivity of school nutrition departments and offer benefits that have not been available until now. eTrition 7 utilizes a secure, centralized SQL Server database. This means that the data is maintained in just one

place. Backup and other maintenance tasks are done only at the administrative level and do not rely on non-technical users for these critical functions. Preferences and setup options are also done centrally, which prevents invalid or harmful data from being introduced by school site users. With the responsibility of maintaining the data in the hands of central

THE NO. 1 THING YOUR EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT IS NOT DOING Imagine a math test. 100 questions: 50 on subtraction, 50 on addition. Now let’s say two students, Christina and Alex, both take it and receive the same grade: 50/100. What can you do with this information? You know both students need additional instruction, but not much more than that. When you closely examine their tests, you notice Christina excelled in addition but didn’t answer a single subtraction question. Alex had the opposite problem. This is a simple example of something that happens in classrooms every day. In actuality, there are many more students, their misunderstandings are rarely so clear-cut, and teachers

simply don’t have the time to analyze every child’s answers in such detail. Unfortunately, many early childhood assessments are still very much like this. They tell a teacher what a child can or cannot do without specifying WHY. The additional analysis needed to get to the root of each misunderstanding falls on the time-constrained educator. Surely we can do better. Picture a smart assessment that asks follow-up questions and analyzes a child’s pattern of responses to get to the root of any misunderstanding. Visualize an instant report that outlines individual needs and groups children based on concept performance—practical steps that help

K-12 SCHOOLS GO GREEN WITH NEW GENERATION OF PAPERLESS HOMEWORK SYSTEMS Going green has never been easier for today’s K-12 schools, and advances in technology are allowing teachers and students alike to reduce their use of paper by an order of magnitude. At Clarkstown Central School District (CCSD), based in New City, N.Y., school administrators estimate that for every 16.7 reams of paper used, one tree is cut down. This fact alone has motivated teachers and students alike at the award-winning district to get the most out of their paperless homework system from School Web Lockers, a leader in the Web-based file sharing and storage market. Over a five-month period, CCSD teachers uploaded 91,000 total documents

to School Web Lockers, potentially saving more than 5 million sheets of paper (when you consider that each uploaded document would typically be printed and shared with up to 60 students). CCSD students are also playing a role in the green initiative through School Web Lockers. During that same five-month period, student usage on the system increased to an average of 13,000 logins per month and an average of 21,220 files exchanged either uploaded, downloaded or both in the same five-month period. At another school district in the San Diego area, teachers have calculated a savings of approximately 260 reams of paper per year with School Web Lockers,

ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION— A GREEN SOLUTION Frequent and continuous classroom assessment has been compellingly documented as a key factor for delivering academic progress for students. In order to achieve these formative assessment

results, teachers are required to create, grade and act on these assessments in a short period of time. The challenge for the teacher is to effectively execute assessment strategies to deliver on

office staff, the data is less prone to corruption. Administrative users will take comfort in the fact that data is safe and secure. The centralized database also means that patrons (both students and adults) are eligible for service at any location. This enables school districts with special feeding programs to provide meals when and where they need. Students who attend one school and receive services in other schools are readily recognized and eligible at any location. This ability will increase sales and reimbursements by allowing school districts to take advantage of every opportunity to serve students, regardless of where they may be. Students are also able to share a meal account balance with siblings, even

if they attend different schools within the district. This is a tremendous convenience for parents because they can make a single payment at any location to provide the funds for all their students. Because administrative users require only a connection to the database and a browser, they are free to work from virtually anywhere, including from their home if allowed to by the school district. This empowers central office staff to be more productive and not be constrained to a single computer workstation. To learn more about eTrition 7 or any of the technology solutions for K-12 school districts, visit Harris School Solutions at TCEA booth 2375, contact K12Solutions@harriscomputer.com or visit www.harrisschoolsolutions.com.

differentiate instruction. The good news is that this kind of assessment exists. You may have heard of adaptive testing, which adjusts in difficulty in response to a student’s answers. It is much more efficient and appropriate than the one-size-fits-all tests of yesteryear. However, there is still one critical thing that a basic adaptive assessment does NOT do. It does not use scaffolding (targeted hinting) to get to the bottom of each student’s misunderstandings (the WHY) to identify his or her zone of proximal development (ZPD). This unique, proven and patented scaffolding process is built into the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA). The concept of the ZPD (coined by renowned child psychologist Lev Vygotsky) is the idea that the target zone where instruction is most effective for each student is right in between what (s)he can do independently and what (s)he can do with a bit of targeted

assistance. Children’s Progress has built an assessment that identifies this zone for every child. Two students who receive the same grade are not the same. Our goal is not merely to measure achievement, but to guide that achievement in the right direction for each student. Our software does not aim to replace teachers, but to offer them a powerful instrument that was missing from their toolkit for too long. The Children’s Progress Academic Assessment is a Pre-K–Grade 3 assessment and reporting tool (used by schools, districts and state agencies nationwide) that employs an adaptive, scaffolded structure to dig deeper and deliver rich information to guide instruction. To find out what this program can do for your early childhood classroom and learn how you can pilot it at no charge, see the Measured Progress booth 116 or visit ww.measuredprogress.org.

and students’ use of the system is bringing further savings as well. “It’s very gratifying that paperless homework systems such as ours are dramatically reducing paper usage,” said Kelly Smith, Manager of Sales and Marketing for School Web Lockers. It’s also an added bonus that this translates into a significant cost savings for today’s budget-strapped schools. With School Web Lockers, each student and teacher is given access to their own Web locker, which is available via password from a secure, centralized website. The idea behind the system is that users can create work on one computer, and then stash files in their personal Web locker for completion later either on the same computer or on another one at home or elsewhere, without the need for a single sheet of paper. The paper-saving process begins with teachers simply uploading a document file and posting it into all student

lockers, instead of making multiple handout copies. This process takes seconds, requiring only a single mouse click to distribute a file to an entire class. In turn, students complete the assignment on any Internet-connected computer, uploading the finished product into the teacher’s “homework due” folder. “From there, a new digital mark up feature makes it easier than ever for teachers to go about grading assignments online,” said Smith. “Teachers love our new mark-up feature because it allows them to mark directly on the files that students have submitted through School Web Lockers, and then return the marked up files to the students electronically,” said Smith. It not only saves paper, but a tremendous amount of time as well. To learn more about School Web Lockers stop by booth 1143, call 866499-6527 or go online to www .schoolweblockers.com.

formative assessment without destroying any semblance of a balanced lifestyle. ALL In Learning provides a simple, cost-effective strategy to address the effectiveness and sustainability of delivering assessment for instruction. Their solution is a green solution, eliminating the time-consuming and tedious grading for objective type assessment items while supporting constructed response

and rubric assessment instruments. This solution builds on the assessment instruments built into all major textbooks, especially in the K-8 textbooks. These assessments are typically standardsbased and constructed by education professionals. Additionally, any assessment instruments educators currently utilize Continued on Page 52

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

COOLEY LAW SCHOOL SECURES ID ENTITIES FOR CLOUD-BASED GOOGLE APPS WITH NOVELL IDENTITY MANAGER Novell Identity Manager tightens security controls and improves cost savings for future integrations.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School, the largest American Bar Association accredited law school in the United States, deployed Novell Identity Manager to provide a consistent framework for managing more than 5,500 student identities across physical, virtual and cloud environments. According to a recent total cost of ownership analysis from Rencana, many customers have indicated their intention to manage tens or hundreds of applications

through integration with an identity and access management environment. Using a cost-per-application integration approach, the difference in TCO represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings. By choosing Novell, Cooley Law School is both strengthening security and reducing costs for the school. Novell Identity Manager helps organizations to manage identities inside and outside of their enterprise, with real-time provisioning, reporting and roles management. Using Novell Identity Manager, the school gained an intelligent framework for managing identities no matter where applications reside, benefiting the school

ALLOTMENT FUNDS AVAILABLE TO EIGHTH GRADERS Effective with the spring 2011 semester, the state virtual school allotment is available for eighth grade students to advance into high school courses offered through the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN). Students must have: • A strong academic record and the need to advance into course work to meet the requirements of the Texas Recommended or Distinguished Achievement Graduation Plans. • Demonstrated mastery of the middle school essential knowledge and skills prerequisite to the high school course to be taken (TAKS, credit by exam, or other local measure). • Demonstrated readiness for the online environment and ready access to a computer and the Internet. The TxVSN provides an online tool for participating districts to pre-assess student readiness

for online learning. • A mentor assigned by the district to provide local campus support and to serve as an exam proctor.

TxVSN offers foundation and elective courses, as well as dual credit courses. A current list of courses is available by semester on the TxVSN website, www.txvsn.org, under the Course Catalog tab.

ESD: What are the eligibility requirements for students to be able to participate in TxVSN?

A: A student is eligible to enroll in a course provided by the TxVSN only if the student: 1. is younger than 21 years of age on September 1 of the school year, 2. has not graduated from high school,

EDUCATION DRAWS ON WACOM FOR STUDENT PREPAREDNESS Designed specifically to meet the demanding needs of professional creators of digital content, Wacom® Technology Services Corporation’s Intuos® pen tablets and Cintiq® interactive pen displays are quickly becoming the standard for educators offering classes in such disciplines as graphic arts, industrial design, photography, animation and illustration. Students will appreciate learning their trade on the same equipment they will be using in the field, and educators are assured that they are preparing their students for the

future by outfitting their classrooms with the right technology mix. The Intuos4, an opaque tablet, and Cintiq 21UX, a color-accurate interactive pen display, each offer unparalleled creative control, comfort and productivity and deliver state-of-the-art pen performance and innovative ergonomics. The Intuos4 and Cintiq 21UX experience starts with amazing pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet or LCD surface, as well as offering 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity. The

PANDA SECURITY REMOVES COMPLEXITY OF SECURITY Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company and one of the leading security

vendors in the world, is exhibiting at TCEA (booth 2392) and represents the

EdTech Show Daily and students alike. Cooley Law School now uses Novell Identity Manager to integrate GoogleApps* with eDirectory™, which authenticates users to various academic systems via its Web-based student portal. When a user account is created, changed or deactivated, this information is reflected through all connected systems without the need for manual intervention. Using CosmoKeys Novell IDM Connector for GoogleApps, the school was able to provision students to GoogleApps in record time. “We set out to improve the way we performed authentication to gain efficiencies and adapt to the emerging needs of our student population,” said Greg Colegrove, Director of IT Operations for the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. “Securing cloud-based applications, such as GoogleApps, was part of that vision. Novell Identity Manager has given us an intelligent and secure approach for adopting new cloud applications without adding administrative challenges. We’re

now well-positioned to strengthen security and achieve significant productivity gains while meeting the evolving needs of our students.” “Efficient identity management is key to increasing security and streamlining business operations,” said Jay Roxe, Director of Identity and Security Solution Marketing for Novell. “We’re pleased to see that the Thomas M. Cooley Law School had the vision to leverage Novell Identity Manager to bring the same levels of security and accountability to its cloudbased environment as it has for its physical on-premise environment.” For a chance to win a Nike VR STR8-FIT Tour Driver visit us at booth 409. Find out more at www.novell.com. Copyright 2011 Novell, Inc. All rights reserved. Novell, the Novell logo, and the N logo are registered trademarks and eDirectory is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All third party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

and 3. is otherwise eligible to enroll in a public school in Texas.

ESD: How can I find out if my student is prepared to take an online course?

ESD: How do students access courses offered through TxVSN?

A: In order to access courses through TxVSN, a student should speak with their high school counselor or designated TxVSN Site Coordinator. Only a Site Coordinator is able to enroll students to take courses through TxVSN.

ESD: What is the maximum number of courses a student is allowed to take through TxVSN in a semester?

A: A student is able to take two semester courses per semester. For example, during the spring semester a student may take a Government course and an Economics course. A student could not take English 2 A&B and Biology A&B, as this would equal four semesters of coursework.

A: All districts and open-enrollment charter schools that have completed the TxVSN registration process will be given access to an account with SmarterMEASURE at no cost to the district. It is highly suggested that districts and open-enrollment charter schools use SmarterMEASURE to assess whether students have the knowledge, aptitude and skills that have been shown to support student success in an online learning environment. Several examples of the areas SmarterMEASURE assesses include: onscreen reading rate and recall, persistence, typing speed and accuracy, procrastination, availability of time, and use of technology.

TxVSN Central Operations staff are located in booth 2361 and are available to answer your questions and assist you in getting your school connected with TxVSN. Utilize this opportunity to help your students further develop their 21st century learning skills.

pen greatly improves the accuracy of pressure-sensitive effects such as controlling line weights or opacity adjustments in such applications as Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator key software programs in any design-oriented curriculum. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two customizable side switches that can be programmed for commands such as double-click and right-click. Other innovative enhancements include Touch Strips that are ideally placed for fingertip access while working. Each Touch Strip has an accompanying Touch Strip Toggle button that controls up to four different userassigned functions per application such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment

and canvas rotation. Customizable, application-specific ExpressKeys™, eight located on each side of the tablet (Intuos4) or display’s (Cintiq 21UX) bezel, are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands at the fingertips. The close proximity of these tools to the actual work area is efficient and comfortable, and helps save valuable time by minimizing dependence on the keyboard without taking focus away from the pen hand. The Intuos4 pen tablet comes in four sizes with a starting price of $229 (USD). The Cintiq 21UX, allowing students to work directly on screen in a natural and fluid fashion, is priced at $1999 (USD). Visit Wacom’s booth 1938 at TCEA 2011 for a demonstration.

best choice for educators who need security solutions for districts of all sizes. Working with schools ranging from 50 all the way to 70,000 seats, Panda Security is a completely scalable and customizable solution that ensures that the PCs of school administrators, district IT

networks, teachers and students are protected from todays vast and sophisticated malware environment. In todays educational environment, it is an unfortunate but widely known fact Continued on Page 49

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

MOBILELEARN HELPS WALDEN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TAILOR LEARNING EXPERIENCE Cutting edge technology offered by Walden allows students to access coursework through handheld mobile devices.

Walden University has unveiled MobileLearn™—a new tool for online course content delivery that allows students to access course materials in a way that best fits their own learning styles. MobileLearn is part of Walden’s ongoing effort to make its courses as adaptable and accessible as possible so students can maximize their learning outcomes. Students can watch course videos and field experience simulations, read assigned texts, and listen to lectures and guest speakers. MobileLearn also allows students to download and access content using personal mobile devices, such as

smartphones and MP3 players. “Walden is always looking for ways to use technology to make it easier to access and successfully complete our degree programs,” said Jonathan Kaplan, President of Walden University. “We realize that each student has his or her own learning styles, and we believe meeting those needs is a key factor in helping students achieve deeper understanding and retention of knowledge. MobileLearn allows students to interact with content in a way that best fits their individual learning preferences and lifestyles.” Among the students participating in a pilot program, an overwhelming majority said they would be more likely to complete their program with the addition of MobileLearn, and also had

HITACHI INTRODUCES NEW CP-A220N LCD PROJECTOR Hitachi is introducing its CP-A220N LCD projector, the latest addition to the company’s Ultimate Short Throw Series line-up. The CP-A220N’s free-shaped lens and mirror improve throw distance ratio and enable it to project clear, bright, high-definition images up to 80 inches from a distance of just 21 inches, making it ideal for educational applications, conference rooms and any location with limited space. The CP-A220N’s sleek, low profile, lightweight design enables it to be easily mounted close to a projection screen or whiteboard, which prevents

obstructed images and shadows with no light shining in the presenter’s eyes. The CP-A220N can also be used seamlessly with an interactive whiteboard. The CP-A220N delivers 2,200 ANSI lumens brightness with XGA resolution and 16.7 million colors. It includes HDMI, S-Video and composite video inputs, RGB computer monitor inputs and outputs, stereo mini-jack, RCA and microphone audio inputs, and audio and video outputs. The projector also has an RJ-45 Ethernet jack for connection to a local area network (LAN), providing the abili-

FASTER, SAFER, MORE ACCURATE, MORE EFFICIENT: TOOLS4EVER STREAMLINES SCHOOL DISTRICTS USER-ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Case Study: Judson ISD

Summary Judson Independent School District is located in San Antonio, Texas. The public school district covers nearly 56 square miles and serves the cities of Converse, Kirby and Selma, as well as portions of Live Oak, Universal City and San Antonio. Like nearly every other school district in the U.S., Judson is suffering from increased financial pressure. Steve Young, Judson’s Chief Technology Officer, stated, “Because of tight funding, we’re unlikely to gear up staff-wise. But on the other hand, we’re still adding more schools and more students, and pressure for system support is also on the rise. Each year we see more systems that need to be brought online, which means more users and administrators. That means we’re expected to do things cleaner, leaner and more efficiently.

That also counts for user administration.”

Keeping Systems Connected The Active Directory, SIS (eSchoolPlus) and the ERP system comprise the core of Judson’s network. All of these systems are interconnected and require users/data to be synchronized. However, Judson didn’t have a way to automate synchronization of identities between systems. The lack of automation in this complex network resulted in user errors and added a substantial amount of man hours for maintenance tasks such as adding and removing users and creating file shares. To make student-account management more accurate and efficient, Judson decided to implement User Management Resource Administrator (UMRA) by Tools4ever. “When we started looking for software to automate these administration tasks, we talked to several vendors,” said

EdTech Show Daily a deeper understanding of content covered in the course after using MobileLearn. “I found it easier to learn with MobileLearn because it enabled me to access my courses online and download my materials,” said Anne Brooker-Grogan, a pilot program participant and Walden Education Ph.D. student with a specialization in Educational Technology. “I’m a visual learner, and I enjoyed being able to watch the video presentations at home. With MobileLearn, I could watch and listen to presentations at my convenience, helping me to better manage a huge workload.” MobileLearn is currently available for many of Walden’s programs. All programs began offering this technology in 2010. Walden is exploring future expansions of MobileLearn capabilities, including applications for iPhone, Kindle and Facebook.

About Walden University Since 1970, Walden University has

supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 33,000 students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 42 online and campus-based universities in 20 countries. Walden offers more than 36 degree programs, with more than 140 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, education, public health, nursing, public administration, technology and engineering. For more information, visit www.waldenu.edu. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association (www.ncahlc.org).

ty to network, control and maintain the projector from a remote location. The CPA220’s Campus Notification System allows an administrator to send messages to each projector on the network. The CPA220N provides USB computer and mouse inputs, and an RS-232C port that enables it to be controlled as part of an integrated A/V system. A built-in speaker and 10-watt amplifier eliminate the need for external speakers. The Hitachi CP-A220N offers a host of useful performance and convenience features. Its Perfect Fit 2 image adjustment system enables the user to adjust

the four corners and sides of the image one by one to achieve optimum picture quality, eliminating problems such as barrel or pincushion distortion. The CP-A220N offers easy maintenance with features such as a 4000-hour hybrid filter, which requires less frequent cleaning and makes longer operation possible. An exclusive Input Source Naming feature lets the user customize the names of input sources instead of using the factory default settings. Unique to Hitachi, the projector’s Template function displays lines, circles or a world map, making it easier to write on an interactive whiteboard.

Young. “Most of the products we investigated were too complex or completely out of our price range. We needed a simple, high-quality, affordable solution with the right service. We found all that in UMRA.” With UMRA, student information is now automatically synchronized between systems. When a new student account is entered into the SIS system, UMRA detects it and automatically creates an account in the interconnected systems.

Increasing Security Tools4ever’s solution ensures accounts are immediately de-provisioned so users can’t gain unauthorized access to the network. “Security isn’t something you can quantify,” Young said, ”but it is something you know you should put money into. It’s a way to ensure users can’t access the things they shouldn’t. Thanks to UMRA, we’re able to be proactive on security by quickly disabling accounts.”

Stabilizing Labor Costs According to Young, the benefits gained from implementing this project are clear. While the workload of the back office is increasing, UMRA keeps account maintenance man hours from growing in tandem. Additionally, the IT department is now able to redirect resources and take on tasks that previously would have gone by the wayside. For users, UMRA now creates accounts immediately, meaning they get online faster. A new student coming into the district will have access to the network and home directories the very next day. “We’ve never had this kind of speed before,” Young explained. “It usually took maybe a week before students had an account.”

Enable Full Provisioning In the final phases of deployment, Judson will also be using UMRA to manage its staff accounts. Judson staff needs immediate access to their accounts; providing staff members with readily available user accounts will reap huge benefits for the district. In a final component of the project, Tools4ever will be installing a Live@edu connector to manage e-mail related entities. “Tools4ever really knows what they are talking about,” Young said. “They have a deep understanding of the problems we face trying to manage identities, users and data, and they offer the right service and support behind the products.” For more information on the UMRA, visit www.tools4ever.com or visit our booth 2516.

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

EdTech Show Daily

MORE THAN 250 NEW ACTIVITY PACKS FOR THE SMART TABLE NOW AVAILABLE Thousands Of Multitouch, Multi-user Activities Available Via The SMART Exchange™

SMART Technologies announces the addition of more than 250 activity packs for the SMART Table interactive learning center. Themed activity packs each contain a number of individual activities for the SMART Table, which can be downloaded at no charge via the SMART Exchange website (exchange.smarttech.com). With more than 250 subject- and grade-specific activity packs, such as the Learning Colors activity pack for the SMART Table for K3, teachers now have access

to thousands of multitouch, multi-user SMART Table activities. Teachers can use the SMART Table Toolkit to quickly and easily modify existing activities to suit their lesson themes and learning objectives. Teachers can also create custom-made lesson activities to use and share via the SMART Exchange. The comprehensive collection includes SMART Table activities created by teachers from around the world, activities created by SMART and activities created by a number of thirdparty publishing companies. In an effort to provide teachers and students with a broad selection of engaging activities,

SMART is committed to continually working with third-party publishers to develop additional content. Additional information on the SMART Table interactive learning center can be found at smarttech.com/table. “The SMART Exchange website is a teachers dreamyou can sort activities by standard, by grade level or by state,” said Mary Kate Hagmann, first grade teacher at Gilbert Elementary in Buena Park, Calif. “I’m constantly downloading activities, providing feedback, gathering information and uploading my own activities so they can be useful for everyone. It’s a great tool that gives me all the activities and support I need in one place.” “As teachers around the world continue to adopt interactive technology products into their classrooms, they require content and activities that will engage early learners,” said Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. With the broad range of multi-touch, multi-user activity packs available for the SMART Table, teachers have the necessary tools

ESPRESSO ELEMENTARY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH USA TODAY Espresso Elementary, the online teaching and learning site for Pre-K through fifth grade, has partnered with USA TODAY, who will provide news for its weekly ‘News Roundup.’ This unique partnership provides Espresso with a weekly USA TODAY article along with two additional edited ‘versions’ created to address the needs of different levels of learners. Espresso Elementary is a crosscurricular, multimedia learning site with a wide range of interactive, video-rich resources that inspire children to learn. Each week in its news service, Espresso strives to engage children in the world around them. Videos and news articles are selected for their educational relevance, keeping in mind children’s interests and creativity. Each piece of news

has a curriculum objective, and is linked to one or more subject areas depending on the news topic. It is intended to build subject knowledge as well as encourage skills such as reading, listening, critical thinking and discussing. All ‘News Roundup’ items are aligned to both state and the Common Core Standards. The USA TODAY partnership launched with the article “Blind hikers know no limits at Grand Canyon,” written by Dennis Wagner. It’s a very interesting article with curriculum ties to the study of natural wonders and geographical landforms in social studies. The story also has cross-curricular links into physical education—hiking, rock climbing and facing physical challenges. The hikers featured in this article were visually-impaired, and their trek through the difficult Canyon

ADAPTIVE CURRICULUM ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF ADAPTIVE CURRICULUM TEXAS— A CUSTOMIZED PRODUCT FOR THE TEXAS SCIENCE ADOPTION Adaptive Curriculum is pleased to announce its application to be an approved vendor for the Texas Science Adoption. Adaptive Curriculum’s awardwinning instructional solution builds middle and high school math and science mastery through dynamic, interactive learning. Its real-world active learning approach motivates learners to explore, make hypotheses, manipulate items, and see the impact of their decisions. Adaptive Curriculum’s more than 450 standards aligned Activity Objects, or lessons, and hundreds of customized

animations represent thousands of learner objectives. Its easy and flexible delivery allows it to be used for whole group, small group or individual instruction. With Adaptive Curriculum, students acquire core mastery through active participation in an immersive, differentiated and exciting learning environment that provides real-time feedback and assessment. Unlike other programs developed from print, Adaptive Curriculum was developed as a digital solution to take full advantage of the online environment and

trail is an inspirational one. USA TODAY has made a commitment to education that is unparalleled in the industry. Its education department has been in existence since 1983 and is currently in place in more than 25,000 K-12 classes across the country, as well as in 500-plus universities and community colleges, impacting more than 1 million students daily. Lewis Bronze, Espresso CEO, commented, “When we were seeking a partner for our news service in the U.S., USA TODAY was at the top of our list. USA TODAY is a household name, wellregarded for its non-fiction text and its vast, quality coverage of news across the world. We believe that its inclusion in our ‘News Roundup’ is a great fit. There cutting-edge instructional tools such as interactive white boards. Adaptive Curriculum’s immersive learning environment engages students to explore concepts, create and test hypotheses and manipulate items. Adaptive Curriculum lessons or digital Activity Objects are built utilizing the most recent research and proven instructional strategies and pedagogy. Incorporating rich multimedia and realworld scenarios, Activity Objects are intentionally created to engage today’s digital age learners and promote active learning. This guided discovery approach builds deep concept mastery and lasting understanding. In preparation for the Science Adoptive, Adaptive Curriculum is introducing a specialized version of its software solution—Adaptive Curriculum Texas™. Adaptive Curriculum Texas provides schools with licenses for both teachers and their students and provides access to

to help their young students collaborate, explore and succeed.

About SMART SMART Technologies is a leading provider of collaboration solutions that transform the way the world works and learns. They believe that collaboration and interaction should be easy. As the global leader in interactive whiteboards, SMART Technologies brings more than two decades of collaborative research and development to a broad range of easy to use, integrated solutions that free people from their desks and computer screens so collaborating and learning with digital resources are more natural.

2010 SMART Technologies. SMART Table, SMART Exchange, smarttech and the SMART logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SMART Technologies in the U.S. and/or other countries. Find more information on SMART Technologies at www.smarttech.com.

seems to be no end to the wealth of excellent, cross-curricular stories that we can use to excite teachers and children!” Diane Barrett, Vice President, USA TODAY Education, commented, “Students like reading USA TODAY because of our unique style, bold color and graphics, and easy-to-access information. We believe that we cover contemporary issues in a way that is relevant and motivating to young people. The news is a great way to help students make connections to what they are learning across different subject areas. It made sense to partner with Espresso, whose goals related to news and education are similar to ours. We look forward to being part of their new product success in the U.S.” Espresso is the leading educational multimedia service in the U.K. It’s trusted by teachers and children in 10,000 schools. Visit Espresso Education at booth 115 to learn more about the partnership and see how Espresso can make every lesson memorable. You can also visit their website, www.espressoeducation.com, for more information. TEKS-aligned digital content consisting of Activity and Animation Objects. Activity Objects, or AOs, are interactive lessons that typically start with an engagement section, then instruct students through the use of interactive labs and virtual manipulatives, and finally end with a summary of the concepts covered. Activity Objects vary in length anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. Each Activity Object also includes (1) an extensive Teacher Guide that not only covers the content of the Activity Object, but also provides sections on overcoming learner misconceptions, extension activities and suggested discussion questions; (2) a 10question multiple-choice assessment with detailed explanations for each item; and (3) an Activity Sheet in both a teacher and student version. Animation Objects are short, focused animation sequences that last approximately two to three minutes. Both Continued on Page 72

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

EdTech Show Daily

OKI PRINTING SOLUTIONS SHOWCASES NEW PRODUCTS AND TAILORED SOLUTIONS THAT CAN SOLVE YOUR PRINTING WOES Ed Lydon, Consultative Public Sector Sales Manager for OKI Data Americas, answers your printing questions.

School IT Director: My school needs new printers for administrative areas and our computer labs. Most printouts are black and white, but we still need the option for color. Our IT budget was reduced so were looking for affordable options.

Ed Lydon: We do have devices that are tailored to meet multiple printing needs and are affordably priced to accommodate reduced IT budgets. OKI has just refreshed a line of color MFPs providing the option of color when and where you need it, as well as a new line of mono products that are specific to education

and will be showcased at TCEA. They are more compact, faster and have higher consumable yields for increased efficiency. These products also feature banner capabilities and, as an added bonus, OKI provides a free School Communications Pack DVD filled with over 100 educational banners perfect for the classroom.

School IT Director: Half of my IT budget goes towards printing. I know printed materials are important to the students education, but the costs have been overwhelming.

Ed Lydon: It sounds like you’re having issues with properly managing your print fleet, and we can help you with that. OKI Printing Solutions conducts a free,

GROW YOUR PURCHASING POWER WITH ĒNO THE LOWEST TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD ON THE MARKET Although the implementation of interactive whiteboards is becoming increasingly more widespread in schools around the world, many districts are still hesitant to invest in solutions due to budget constraints. When performing comparisons of interactive whiteboards based on longterm total cost of ownership, some boards are clearly cost-prohibitive.

However, one interactive solution stands out from the rest—PolyVision’s ēno. Ēno’s three-in-one surface enables teachers to use just one board for magnets, markers and multimedia, eliminating the need to buy an additional static whiteboard for traditional classroom needs. Since ēno is cordless and cablefree, districts can forget about the high

comprehensive assessment which analyzes device usage and the level of color and mono printing to better understand your school’s printing habits. We then propose a strategic plan of action that will help you better manage your printing operations and save you money. This may consist of removing underutilized products, consolidating devices and/or replacing expensive printers with costefficient OKI products to significantly improve overall performance. As a testament to the potential cost-savings, just recently OKI identified a savings of more than a million dollars over a five-year span for the Donna Independent School District, in Donna, Texas, by upgrading their old fleet to OKI Printing Solutions. School IT Director: I’ve read studies on how color printouts help enhance students learning, but I don’t think my school can afford the costs associated with color printing. Is it possible to bring color into the classroom affordably? Ed Lydon: I’m familiar with the studies which support our belief that colorful

cost of hiring a contractor and the staff downtime that comes with other interactive whiteboard installations. PolyVisions ēno has an open architecture, meaning there is no need for teachers to master a new software to successfully use the board. The learning curve is minimal, and professional development resources are available when needed (but not required). Most novice users can interact with the board in less than 20 minutes. Paula J. Reber, Principal and District Technology Supervisor of Lewisburg Area School District in Pennsylvania, commented on her district’s recent implementation of ēno: “One of my teachers who began using ēno today is a self-described technophobe. She just sent

educational materials really do improve a students learning experience; in fact, one study shows that color documents increase learning and retention by up to 78 percent1. Recognizing the impact of color, OKI developed Color Access Policy Manager (CAPM), allowing schools to utilize color printing without waste through accountability. With CAPM, schools can control everything from username to application to the number of color or black and white pages printed, helping you better manage your color printing and have more control over costs.

If you would like to speak to Ed Lydon about your schools print fleet, please stop by the OKI Printing Solutions booth 1346.

1Loyola

College, Maryland, U.S.A., by Ellen Hoadley, Ph.D.,Laurette Simmons, Ph.D., and Faith Gilroy, Ph.D. Case & Company, Management Consultants Bureau of Advertising, Color in Newspaper Advertising Maritz Motivation, Inc., Southern Illinois. me an email that she loves it and she’s only had it up and running for about four hours! I think that says a lot about ēno and its ease of use.” The durability of PolyVisions e3 environmental Ceramicsteel™ surface, coupled with the Forever Warranty™, make the decision to put cutting edge technology in the hands of students simple, despite preexisting budgetary concerns. Visit www.polyvision.com and use the online ēno TCO calculator to see how ēnos savings for you add up. Visit PolyVision at booth 2335 to learn more about how your district can grow its purchasing power with ēno.

SURVEY SAYS: WEEKLY READER CONNECT IS HUGE HIT

RAPID DEVELOPMENT IS THE NORM FOR SCHOOLCITY

What do the users of Weekly Reader Connect think of this new K-6 online reading comprehension program? Fully 98 percent of respondents to a recent poll said they would recommend WR Connect to a colleague. Now listen to what they said when asked why they would recommend the program: “It is an excellent way to teach current events and teach reading comprehension strategies together.” Angie Taub, Rutherford County Schools, Cliffside, N.C. “It has available all comprehension strategies that students need to assist with comprehension skills.” Kim Chatman, Alma Intermediate School, Alma, Ark. “It fulfills the needs of the visual learner.” Deborah Famini, Meadowvale Elementary, Maryland “ It is an excellent resource to have in the classroom.” Lisa Newberry, Cross Street Christian School, Anderson, Ind. “It is such an interactive teaching tool.” Marcia Jolley, Harris Elementary, Forest City, N.C.

SchoolCity Inc., a Silicon Valley-based K-12 education technology leader, released its online assessment delivery tool as a part of their STARS™ Suite in 2009. The online testing module now allows users of STARS to deliver benchmark assessments via the Internet, in addition to the paper/pencil and scanning system currently provided. “We are convinced that schools and districts are ready to make the leap to online test taking,” said Vaseem Anjum, SchoolCity’s President and CEO. Vaseem added, “We have had so many requests to add this feature; we had to act in order to support our existing and future customers. SchoolCity’s rapid development process allowed the tool to be added quickly to the main platform.” Online testing has been available in K-12 education for years, but a lack of student-available computers and low bandwidth for schools and districts has traditionally kept online testing from widespread use. However, technology grants, Microsoft anti-trust settlement dollars and E-Rate funding over the years have gradually changed the landscape.

Less than a year after its launch, Weekly

Reader Connect has already been adopted by hundreds of schools in 44 states, and has won major educational and technology awards. But the highest accolades the program has received are from educators who say that Weekly Reader Connect is a superb teaching tool. The program presents hundreds of high-interest nonfiction articles, enriched with meaningful multimedia that deepens student’s understanding. WR Connect complements those stories with 129 on-screen lessons that teach reading comprehension in a clear, concise and consistent way. WR Connect requires no additional software or tech expertise, and brings the following elements to all subscribing schools: • Exclusive interactive Weekly Reader digital editions presenting timely, highinterest, and grade-specific nonfiction content that has been carefully crafted to align to state curricula. • Downloadable companion Teacher’s Guides that incorporate wide-ranging background information, informal Continued on Page 52

The economy and related education budget reductions have driven the need for a more cost-effective, paperless assessment method. “Online testing reduces paper consumption and costs, not to mention the positive effect using less paper has on the environment,” said Kris Jensen, SchoolCity’s Director of Educational Partnerships. As a key Microsoft partner, SchoolCity’s online testing module is built using the Microsoft platform including Microsoft .NET and Microsoft SQL Server database backend. The new tool will also allow standards-aligned questions to be added from SchoolCity’s Assessment Item Banks, making their STARS Assessment Suite completely electronic, if desired.

About SchoolCity Inc. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., SchoolCity Inc. is a leading provider of continuous improvement, assessment and analysis software to the K-12 education market. SchoolCity’s comprehensive Continued on Page 49

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EdTech Show Daily

and applications are highly engaging for the students, while providing them with new ways to approach self-directed learning and educational productivity. By creating their own learning environments—including the use of a wide range of learning resources, tools, applications, outside experts and their peers—they are generating their own personalized experiences. They are essentially taking their educational destiny into their own hands. Students learn best from interactions with peers. Alan November, Founder of November Learning, states that the strongest learning occurs in a collaborative environment, and this requires that districts provide new ways for teachers to engage students in the learning process so that they have the skills to apply knowledge in the real world. This research suggests that in order

for districts to positively impact student achievement, it is a strategic imperative for districts to provide students with a collaborative and interactive learning environment that engages them in the learning process. Likewise, districts must find ways to safely integrate new, social and emerging technologies into the classroom experience so that students will learn the skills they need to be successful in the real world. With Centricity2, districts can provide students with the tools they desire. The solution features snapon Web 2.0/social media functionality for almost every aspect of the districts family of websites to create a fully integrated and socially interactive experience for learners, teachers, parents and the community at large. Many districts today are using the integrated communication technologies within Centricity2 to create more engaging learning experiences for their students to achieve better academic success. To learn more about Schoolwires Centricity2, visit Schoolwires at booth 2429.

than before to provide similar coverage at higher performance. Another performance-crippling problem faced by schools is the reduction in available bandwidth that comes from having a large number of clients connecting to the same access point. As shown in Fig. 1, this “loss contention” problem starts to become severe with relatively few clients (at five or more clients, less than half of the available bandwidth is usable by those clients). This problem occurs because older microcell networks are not designed to support large numbers of clients. As more come onto the network, the amount of bandwidth chewed up by managing them becomes significant. In a microcell network, the clients control the connection to the access point, so as more clients come onto the network more of the airspace is consumed by client connectivity, not data

traffic. In a classroom environment with dozens of clients connecting, the right solution is to use a WLAN where the network controls client access–such as Meru’s virtualized WLAN technology. Not only is bandwidth for data traffic preserved, but the intelligence of the network can also be used to ensure that all clients are receiving equal access to that bandwidth. The fast-moving minds in your classroom need the instructional materials to keep pace, and by assessing your current solution you might find that delivering higher speeds is possible. Meru Networks serves over 1000 educational institutions with the ability to deliver high speed to a high density of clients; check out our website at www.merunetworks.com for examples and case studies on how we have solved problems like these for schools like yours.

ment decision made. Today, Tyler’s school software and services—with solutions for student information, human capital management (human resources and payroll), financials, student transportation, information warehousing and district planning—integrate school data across the district. The role-tailored dashboard provides administrators with a 360-degree view at the district, school and student levels. Powerful programs make it easy to add, modify and access key data. Technology is continually upgraded to integrate fully with other Tyler products, streamlining processes and improving the flow of information. Tyler’s information warehouse, Tyler Pulse, is an important tool that can help schools focus on school and student improvement by changing the way they use information. Designed for the K-12 school market, Pulse turns raw data from multiple databases—regardless of vendor—into meaningful, aggregated information which, according to

the ISTE, is crucial to school success: “…we must provide educators with the systems, knowledge and support they need to effectively tailor their teaching strategies and better meet the individual needs of each learner.”3 By utilizing Pulse, schools can determine what factors affect student achievement, predict future student performance and target early intervention, increasing the chances that each student will succeed. And that’s what the mission of schools is all about. For more information visit www.tylertech.com, e-mail info@ tylertech.com, call 800-772-2260 or stop by booth 2259.

ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA Schoolwires Centricity2 helps K-12 school districts across the nation support collaborative teaching and learning by providing access to a variety of technologies and Web 2.0 tools that enable their staff to create the learning environments that are so critical to student engagement and success. These technologies allow teachers to create stronger collaboration and interaction between students and their peers, and give them the capabilities to develop social-based learning experiences that transcend the classroom walls—all within a safe, secure environment. At the end of 2009, Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization, surveyed more than 368,000 K-12 students, parents, teachers and administrators in regard to their vision for 21st century learning. According to their 2009 Speak Up

survey, the students articulated their vision for 21st century learning to include social-based learning. Students responded emphatically that they wanted to leverage emerging communication and collaboration tools to create and personalize their networks of experts and to inform their education process. Todays students don’t want limitations on their learning, and often go beyond the classroom, beyond teachers, and even beyond the education process to find the information they need to best inform their learning. Students are immersed in the use of digital media, tools and content in most aspects of their lives. They use social technologies to document their lives with photos, videos, blog posts, favorites, networks of friends, status postings and rankings from online games, and opinions on just about everything. As digital natives, these resources

SLOW NETWORK IS THE ENEMY OF FAST-THINKING MINDS Keeping students engaged with course material is a challenge every teacher is familiar with. That’s why the last few years have seen an upsurge in the number of classrooms wirelessly connected to the Internet, enabling students to access and use information to help in the educational mission. That mission is compromised when the network is slower than the student’s rate of absorption, and just like we all would, the student fills in the time they spend waiting with something other than the coursework at hand. “Networkinduced ADHD,” “Creeping Browser Syndrome,” or “That #%#^ Network” are all the right sort of name for this condition, but whatever you call it, rest assured–there are solutions. There are a few root causes of slow network performance to investigate. The easiest is to check if your wireless access points (APs) are capable of supporting

the latest (and fastest) wireless networking standard, IEEE 802.11n. Many networks currently installed in schools are only capable of supporting the slower 802.11b or 802.11g standards (which offer 11 Mbps and 54 Mbps respectively) but not 802.11n, which can operate up to 150 MBps. With all new laptops, handheld devices, and dual mode smartphones supporting 802.11n, it is possible that your school has the clients already capable of 802.11n, but waiting for the wireless network to be broadcasting at that speed. Upgrading existing networks to 802.11n is much easier than a new installation–all the wiring and AP placements are often reuseable. With newer .11n products like Meru’s AP1000i, not only is the price very low on a per AP basis, but more than likely (due to the higher range and Meru’s virtualized WLAN technology) you will need fewer APs

TYLER TECHNOLOGIES: PROVIDING THE BACKBONE FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT “Establish technology in education as the backbone of school improvement.”1 According to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), this is an important priority facing school decision makers. Why? Because technology— specifically software designed for the K12 market—is crucial to the organization, effectiveness and efficiency of schools. The education industry gathers more data than any other industry, yet it can be difficult to utilize that information in effective ways. The right technology can change this, but for schools to experience the full benefits technology has to offer, companies must offer solutions that work the way school districts do—as enterprises, with disparate

departments working together to achieve a single goal. Each day buses travel to and from school, students are fed, attendance is taken, grades are posted, budgets are reviewed—all with the goal of successful student education.2 By making data accessible and easy to understand, analyze and interpret district-wide, school software enables every school employee to focus on providing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in life.

Complete Solutions for K-12 Schools For Tyler, student achievement and improving the way schools educate students is at the forefront of every technology upgrade and application develop-

“Top Ten in ’10: ISTE’s Education Technology Priorities for 2010.” International Society for Technology in Education. http://www.iste.org/Content/ NavigationMenu/Advocacy/Top_Ten_in_

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APPLES TO APPLES We have all heard the term ‘apples to apples.’ Although the thought might make you hungry, it refers to making a comparison while choosing the same qualifying factors. This should also apply to the E-Rate consultant you choose. Some important factors to help guide you in your decision should be the following: What is the background of the consultant? Do they have telecom and E-Rate experience, and if so, how long? Another factor is accessibility. When you contact the consultant,

do you get an automated answering service or do you actually talk to a real live person? We believe having your questions and concerns addressed immediately alleviates frustration and anxiety. Another important question to ask is what are a few of the districts the consultant currently has as clients. A consultant should be able to give you multiple references so you can get direct information and opinions from that district about the consultant’s knowledge and service. Finally, but definitely a crucial factor:

A STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM THAT WORKS: IRESPOND The iRespond personal response system is a cost-effective way for any instructor to instantly become more productive. Combined with our proprietary Teachers Dashboard Software, you may take attendance, collect homework, track formative assessment, give timed tests, engage every student, reduce the drudgery of grading, produce meaningful state standards reports and much more.

Increase Instructor Productivity Because iRespond handles the grading process, from short quizzes to end-ofterm assessments, teachers have more time for teaching. Imagine how much

more productive you can be when freed from the burden of grading tests.

Achieve 100% Student Participation With iRespond, every student is engaged in the learning process and is an active participant. Students love the technology. EDCO customers say that attendance is always better when their students know they will be using iRespond remotes. The iRespond-Lite is a wonderful addition to any classroom from kindergarten to graduate school. It’s perfect for the individual classroom or a meeting where you want to capture everyone’s opinion.

NEW REPORT URGES EDUCATION POLICYMAKERS TO INVEST IN COMPETENCY-BASED APPROACHES TO HELP HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS A new report by leaders in the youth development field encourages state education leaders to lift barriers and invest in innovative schools that implement dynamic competency-based approaches (CBA) to help over-age, under-credited students earn their diplomas. CBA is a holistic, student-centered method of development with explicit and measurable learning objectives for youth. Services and support vary depending on the need of each student. The paper was compiled by leaders from MetisNet, a consulting firm that helps foundations and nonprofit organizations

maximize their community investments; Our Piece of the Pie®, (OPP®), a youth development agency based in Hartford, Conn.; the International Association for K–12 Online Learning (iNACOL), a nonprofit association based in the Washington, D.C. area; and Ephraim Weisstein, an independent education consultant who is piloting the Schools for the Future program. According to the report, “Clearing the Path: Creating Innovation for Serving Over-Age, Under-Credited Students in Competency-Based Pathways,” education policymakers

SchoolCity Inc. (Con’t. from p. 42)

Panda Security (Con’t. from p. 32)

STARS Suite combines continuous improvement planning, curriculum management, formative assessment, item banks, accountability, analysis and reporting solutions–all in one integrated, easy-to use application. Since 1999, SchoolCity’s solutions have been helping educators across the United States to make better decisions, dramatically improving instruction and student achievement. For more information, visit www.schoolcity.com.

that budgets are continually decreasing. As such, greater responsibility is being put on network administrators to manage the security of entire districts, even multiple districts, in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. In addition, as more servers and workstations are added to growing networks, these managers are finding that traditional security solutions can no longer scale effectively to support the growing infrastructure. Panda Cloud Protection (PCP), one of

Does the consultant just “advise” on how to fill out the E-Rate forms and when they are due, or will they do all the work for you so you can concentrate on what you do best? VST Consulting and Management offers over 25 years of telecom and ERate experience. We also take pride in the fact we are hands-on service and will be glad to answer questions you might have when you call, as well as keep you informed on the status of your reimbursements. Our clients range from districts with 500 students to districts with 58,000 students; this wide range of districts brings the assurance that VST can relate to whatever your needs will be, no matter the size of

your district. Finally, VST manages the E-rate process from the beginning to the end. They fill out and submit all necessary forms and gather required documentation accurately and on time so you will have peace of mind that your E-Rate reimbursements will get to you in a timely manner. They do the work and you get the “credit.” Please stop by at booth 117. Meet the VST team—President Russell Neal, V.P. Of Operations Tracy Neal and V.P. Marketing of Sales Maryann Staab. They look forward to meeting you, and will be glad to answer any questions you might have. You can also call them at 817-430-5842 or go to their website, www.vstservices.com.

Flexible and easy to use, iRespond allows for a wide variety of questions: multiple choice, true/false, multiple response, yes/no, numeric, fill-in-the blank and survey. The iRespond-Lite remotes have a display window to show students the question number they are answering and the answer they selected. This window can display the student grade, class average, messages from the teacher and feedback. Teachers are free to move around the classroom and can remotely send prepared questions. The system is also easy to use for questions on the fly. More reasons to come by booth 966 and see iRespond in action: fully integrates with Power Point; built-in state standards to correlate to your test questions; create a quick answer key for instant testing; unique PIN login allows

students to use any remote; foster classroom excitement and competition; supports paper-based, oral and projected tests; allows assessment of individual students, teams or the entire classroom; easy to create reports that can be printed or e-mailed; radio frequency for fail proof two-way interactive communications; runs on AA batteries; and online easy-to-follow video tutorials. See how engaging your students and improving performance is as easy as 1…2…3! Select a class, choose a lesson, and pick your remotes. That’s it. Now you do what you do best―teach. iRespond’s Student Response System collects student answers and scores each response in real-time, whether delivering

must offer flexibility to reorganize functions and staffing, expand highquality content and instructional systems, and incorporate new tools, technologies and supports. In addition, policy needs to be amended to replace the current time-based system with a learning-based system allowing students to earn credits based on demonstrated proficiency, not seat-time. The report urges policymakers to lift barriers allowing students to enroll in competency-based online courses, transfer competencies across schools, and recognize proficiency in learning objectives developed outside of the traditional school day (including jobs, participation in clubs and community service). “Clearing the path for this innovative method of education is essential in ensuring over-age, under-credited students have the tools to succeed,” said Bob Rath, President/CEO of OPP. “States and school districts that focus on

competency-based approaches can reap tremendous economic benefits averaging over $300,000 for every student that graduates high school instead of dropping out,” Rath said. According to the report, a set of policy conditions must be in place for state education agencies to realize the full benefit of CBAs. Competency-based approaches offer a new value proposition for our education system, according to Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL. It focuses on a departure from seat-time requirements to concept mastery—a vital change toward student-centered learning. “There are too many young people who have been left behind with gaps in their skills because of our time-based system,” said Ephraim Weisstein. “Competency-based models are invaluable for addressing our dropout crisis by offering a high-engagement, accelerated path to a high school diploma.”

the companys flagship products, is a highly robust solution for managing email, endpoint and Internet security from an easy-to-use console. Since PCP is entirely cloud-based, network administrators can eliminate the need for complex and expensive servers, yet still give individual school staff access rights while retaining global management control at the district level. Cloud-based security is especially important in the educational setting because malware samples are immediately identified and remediated, which should be a crucial requirement for any school district security

solution. Virus updates are exponentially faster with cloud-based security, happening in minutes, as opposed to traditional clientserver solutions, which can take up to 48 hours for updated protection. PCP is also becoming a top choice for school districts across the country because hardware is no longer needed to be maintained and additional cost savings are realized, which is always a boon for educational institutions. For more information on Panda Security products, please visit www.panda security.com/usa or stop by booth 2392.

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Interior Concepts (Con’t. from p. 1)

BG: When you work with Interior Concepts we will schedule a Web conference to show you a 3D layout of your furniture. You will be able to see your workstation designs and modify them live in real-time. This allows you to customize the furniture to fit your exact needs.

Our process is different from other manufacturers and will save time for several reasons. First, Interior Concepts does not build a standard one size fits all product. With our ability to work in 1-inch increments, the furniture is customized to fit your needs without extra costs or lead Samsung (Con’t. from p. 4)

and solutions consist of every aspect of education. In K-12 it can be found in various settings including classrooms, administrative areas, labs and more. Our products are great solutions for on-campus acquisition from computer stores and bookstores.

ESD: Are you introducing any new products this year?

DA: Samsung is introducing several new laptops, monitors and printers this year that are aligned for the education market. The Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series combines the benefits of a laptop and tablet PC in one device. The PC 7 Series has a compact design and CompassLearning (Con’t. from p. 18)

district-sponsored special education services. Detail-rich progress monitoring reports have enabled teachers to make instructional adjustments in realtime, thus helping all students excel individually. In addition to RtI support at the middle school level, Crowley ISD has found the solution helpful with skills intervention. Credit Recovery and Extra Credit

Weekly Reader Connect (Con’t. from p. 42)

assessments, and other engaging extension activities along with practical tips and techniques on how to broaden the lessons. • Concepts of Comprehension© Skill Builder lessons, with teacher tips and additional reading passages specifically designed to build reading skills and scores while improving students’ underClean Slate (Con’t. from p. 18)

is wasted rebooting the computer to make security changes. • Can easily restrict executables running from flash drives, with the flexibility to still allow saving to the drive. • Free technical support. iRespond (Con’t. from p. 49)

a random single question or a comprehensive “test for record” to all students. Both you and your students know in seconds what has been mastered and what still

times. Second, instead of waiting for drawings after each change, the workstations can be modified in the Web conference without waiting for days for new drawings. And because the workstations are being modified live, the furniture will arrive as shown, with no issues after the order.

ESD: What are the advantages of the new 3D Virtual Product Tours?

BG: With the 3D Virtual Product Tours, Interior Concepts can show you how your furniture will look in your educational environment before the furniture is purchased. This leaves nothing to the

incorporates a sliding keyboard for easy typing, enhanced productivity and performance.

ESD: What products are you showing at the booth?

DA: At this years TCEA, Samsung will showcase our comprehensive lineup of solutions for the 21st century classroom. Products on display include the interactive whiteboard, LED projectors, the latest netbooks and laptops, printers and monitors. Our products can be used individually or complementary to create a fully interactive classroom.

For more information, call 800-SAMSUNG, visit www.samsung.com, or stop by booth 2570 at TCEA.

EdTech Show Daily imagination in terms of how the space will look, resulting in a faster order process and better idea of how the finished space will actually look.

The floorplan layout can also be converted into a movie for placement on YouTube to showcase new plans and designs to the community. This is especially helpful for bond issues.

ESD: What are some specific product advantages that Interior Concepts has to offer?

BG: Everyday we strive to provide the best furniture purchasing experience in ALL In Learning (Con’t. from p. 29)

can be executed as well with ALL In’s solution. ALL In Learning populates individual teacher instruction centers with these cloud-based assessment maps (blueprints). Thus, a fifth grade math teacher using the Pearson Envision Series would have the initial chapter assessments, end of chapter assessments, four chapter spiral assessments, mid-term and final assessments available in their instruction center. Using reusable bubble sheets and their iPod/iPhone cameras they can quickly scan in results from the bubble sheets using the ALL In Learning ASSIST app and then upload it to the teacher’s cloud-based instruction center. Once in the instruction center, the

Expanded access has been critical in the district’s efforts to prepare students for end-of-course exams and aid with credit recovery. Additionally, Crowley students falling behind on credits—as well as those wanting to earn additional credits—continue to benefit from the implementation of an always-on, Webbased, standards-aligned digital curriculum. And the benefits extend beyond the student population. For example, a summer program pilot offering students the opportunity to

Results Since 2007, the district’s number of Recognized campuses has increased from two to nine, even with the state competency level increasing from 75 percent in 2009 to 80 percent in 2010. Crowley has seen: • Improved AYP status within the district.

standing of texts. Weekly Reader Connect is built on the Concepts of Comprehension, a research-based framework of 21 inferential thinking skills developed by the nonprofit Urban Education Exchange. This framework enables students to expand their reading skills from year to year, and uses proven methods that teach kids to read for understanding.

We could tell you more, but we’d rather let a teacher tell you: “I am thrilled with what Weekly Reader Connect provides me,” said Laura Havill of the Turning Point Elementary Program in Ithaca, N.Y. “The material is highly motivational for my students. The multimedia resources are targeted and appealing. The additional work sheets support classroom learning and have been

• Visit Fortres Grand booth 514 at TCEA to learn even more about keeping your computers secure, clean, consistent and virus-free.

updates, antivirus updates, or using thirdparty administration tools like Altiris or LANDesk.

receive credit using Odyssey from home resulted in all participating students earning high school credit and the district saving money on transportation, utilities, and personnel.

Achieve 24/7 security. Never leave computers vulnerable. Keep security consistently on, even when running Windows

Learn more about Clean Slate to protect your computers. Visit www.fortres grand.com, call 800-331-0372, or visit Fortres Grand at TCEA booth 514.

needs to be learned. Visit www.edcousa.biz and see how iRespond allows you to link questions to the standard you are teaching, as well as identify and track each student’s mastery of objectives. Combined with EDCO’s

instant reporting features, teachers may modify lessons or assist individual students who need further help. EDCO also offers assessment solutions and statealigned content. Both work seamlessly and dynamically with iRespond.

the industry. We have served the educational market for over 20 years. On top of being able to customize your furniture solutions, Interior Concepts furniture is backed by a lifetime warranty and is MAS Certified Green. Visit Interior Concepts in booth 404 in the TCEA exhibit hall to learn more about their furniture solutions, call 800678-5550, or visit www.interiorconcepts.com. Interior Concepts manufactures green educational furniture that benefit students, teachers and administration alike. Interior Concepts furniture can be purchased easily through the TX Buyboard purchasing contract.

outcomes can be evaluated with ALL In’s Assessment Evaluation System. Part of that evaluation may be to compare the teacher’s outcomes with others that have used that assessment. This comparison can be campus-based, district-based, state-based or nationally. Wipe the bubble sheet clean and do it again. Data is accumulated, providing a rich and immediate assessment track for each student, parent and administrator. With ALL In Learning’s solution, teachers are empowered with a productivity and data tool that gives them access to unprecedented student and class data which flows out of the classroom into campus and district reports. Visit ALL In Learning at booth 1235 or call them at 877-637-5353 to learn more. • Increased credit recovery. • Enhanced RtI framework. • Improved TAKS performance in mathematics and science. • Improved TAKS performance across all student subgroups.

Said Kohler, “We are extremely pleased with these results and look forward to achieving even better results in the future.” Visit CompassLearning at booth 717 and at www.compasslearning.com. an excellent way for my students to go home as ‘experts’ to their family and demonstrate their new learning. In short, you have made us believers! Thank you for providing this terrific resource!” Want to know more? If you’re a principal, school district leader, media or technology specialist, or classroom teacher, visit www.wrconnect.com and get a preview at booth 1822. Tyler Technologies (Con’t. from p. 43)

10.htm. 6 May 2010. 2 Technology in Schools: Suggestions, Tools and Guidelines for Assessing Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education. Nov. 2002. National Center for Education Statistics. 10 Sept. 2009. <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs 2003/tech_schools/chapter7.asp>. 3 “Top Ten in ’10: ISTE’s Education Technology Priorities for 2010.” International Society for Technology in Education. http://www.iste.org/Content/ NavigationMenu/Advocacy/Top_Ten_in_ 10.htm. 6 May 2010.

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RELANPRO.NET AND RELANPRO MOBILE: LEARNING LANGUAGES OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM AND ‘ON THE GO’ ASC Direct Inc. has released the ReLANpro Mobile, the world’s first language lab app for iPad, iPhone and iTouch devices, and the ReLANpro.NET, an Internet-based language lab program allowing students to practice languages from any PC―just as they would in their school computer lab. It’s now easy for

students to work on teacher-directed assignments from outside their school language lab environment. The ReLANpro Mobile iPhone app offers mobile language learning possibilities in the palm of your student’s hands. The app is available as a free download for students from the Apple

ARE YOU GETTING THE FULL BENEFITS OF YOUR CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY? You’ve taken the steps to invest in audiovisual technology that enriches your learning environment, but what’s next? How can you be sure that you’re using the technology to its maximum benefit? With these questions in mind, AVISPL’s education team has turned its focus not just on the students, but the teachers as well. “We want to ensure that our customers make as much of an impact as possible in the classroom,” said Rob

Moss, Vice President of Education Sales, AVI-SPL. “Our goal is to help educators become fully trained to utilize the available technology. In turn, this will allow for more informed decisions when it comes to planning for curriculum and future technology investments.” There is a wealth of flexibility that today’s technology provides, noted Moss. For example, with the power of SMARTTechnologies, instructors can make media-rich lessons, highlight key

BRITANNICA UNIQUE IN ITS RANGE OF PRODUCTS, ABILITY TO ADDRESS DIVERSE MARKET NEEDS Michael Ross, Senior Vice President/Education General Manager, Britannica Digital Learning, talks about his company.

ESD: Tell our readers a little about your company. What’s your main line of business?

MR: Britannica serves the entire PreK through university market with a variety of educational websites throughout the world and in multiple languages―including Spanish, French, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. Under the umbrella of our online marketing division, Britannica Digital Learning, we are pleased that more than 75 million students and faculty members have access to Britannica’s subscription products and are finding Britannica indispensable for their research and daily classroom needs. We are proud that 13 states have adopted Britannica products for their entire state, and that we even have national agreements with Ireland, Finland and South Africa. Last year the government of Brazil commissioned Britannica to create a learning portal for their K-8 students in Portuguese, all based on Britannica’s existing websites. We believe that the interaction we have with our global customers and partners improves all of our product offerings and benefits our customers everywhere. ESD: What would you say makes your

company unique?

MR: Britannica is unique in its breadth and depth of product content, its editorial approach, and its ability to address the needs of a variety of markets across the globe. First, we have unparalleled products for all age ranges, particularly with our two flagship products, Britannica Online School Edition and Britannica Online Academic Edition. We address the specific needs of preschoolers with our Learning Zone feature; elementary students with our young learner’s database; middle schoolers with our Compton’s branded database; and high school through university users with the senior Britannica database. All of these sites are edited and maintained daily by our own in-house staff of editors, who work with experts around the world, including Pulitzer Prize winners and Nobel laureates. This ensures that all of our content is best of breed, up to date and meets the highest standards possible. We revise or add more than 1,000 articles a month to our sites, which is by far the largest output of any English-language reference and e-learning publisher. As a further benefit to our users, we have our own in-house staff of programmers, who are responsible for innovative site development and performance.

ESD: Are you new products?

introducing

any

Store to their devices. ASC’s ReLANpro.NET can also access video lessons and allow the student to take written and multiple-choice tests. ReLANpro.NET plays ALL Windows™ audio and video formats supported by the Windows Media Player. ReLANpro Mobile app and the ReLANpro.NET both include free server space. Teachers can upload assignments and tests to the ReLANpro content server, eliminating undue loads placed on the school server or restrictions in a school’s available bandwidth. Once the student has downloaded the lesson they can practice just as they would in the school language lab.

Students can listen to the lesson, record their comments and/or responses to the lesson (i.e., listen and repeat exercises), and then by pressing the “submit” button send the lesson and their recording back to the server. Teachers can then listen to and grade a student’s work. ReLANpro.NET and ReLANpro Mobile offer a new level of ease and sophistication to language learning hitherto unavailable. They can now listen, perform makeup exercises or practice for AP tests anywhere, anytime, holidays, weekends, snow days, etc. For further information, contact ASC Direct Inc. at 800-613-9554 or e-mail carlakay@ascd.u.

points, encourage student participation and even save their lessons for future reference and use. These are just a few of the areas that are covered in AVISPL’s professional development training. Teachers who master technologies like the SMART Wireless Slate and document camera develop a powerful complement to their classroom, one that facilitates full engagement with their lessons. AVI-SPL’s professional development classes, ranging from 30 minutes to full day courses, are taught by SMARTcertified trainers. Courses include SMART Notebook Basics, SMART Table Basics and SMART Grade Level Specific Notebook Advanced, among others. Because learning doesn’t stop

when class is over, registered participants gain access to an online database library of supporting training materials. They’ll also receive a video of their training session for future reference. “We want our teachers to learn as much as possible when it comes to technology’s versatility in the classroom. They can then use this knowledge to help improve their interactions, as well as student engagement,” said Moss. “Professional development training is a critical step in the right direction, one that can benefit not only teachers, but their students as well.”

MR: In the last two years we have launched several exciting products that complement our flagship products. SmartMath is our new elementary, online formative assessment product, which uses wonderful animated characters and a fun and engaging interface to help young learners master important math skills. The program is unique in its ability to adapt to the learners’ levels so that they never get frustrated and continue to make progress. It’s perfect for both struggling learners and gifted learners, and an ideal product for differentiated learning. SmartMath is part of Britannica’s groundbreaking line of math programs, which includes the highly acclaimed Mathematics in Context, a reform math program for middle school that has been adopted and used successfully in many districts across the country.

products from Britannica that will address the needs of students at different learning and reading levels. Right now we are developing a science product for middle school that will also have a strong differentiated learning component that will be available next fall.

ESD: Where is your current product emphasis?

MR: There is a great need for differentiated learning across the curriculum, and last year we addressed that need with our 21st Century Explorer online product. 21st Century Explorer is a two-tiered general reference product that is geared to the reading level of struggling readers but has an interface that will appeal to older learners. It has a very readable font and uses Britannica’s read-aloud feature so that learners can follow along with the text as they hear every word pronounced. It also has all of Britannica’s standard reference features, including the Merriam-Webster dictionary, our very popular workspace and a multitude of multimedia. 21st Century Explorer will be part of a growing line of e-learning

You can contact AVI-SPL by calling 866559-8197 or visiting www.avispl.com/ professional-development/.

We have just released a fantastic new product called Image Quest. This product addresses the need for students at all levels, and teachers as well, to have instant access to educational images―photos, illustrations, maps, and, in the near future, video clips―that they can use freely in all of their projects, presentations, websites, lesson plans and interactive whiteboard activities. We have over 1 million images available now and will soon have 2 million. All image rights have been cleared for use for education, and the database is searchable by keyword, subject or image provider. We have brought together more than 50 of the best image providers in the world, and have provided important metadata for each image, including captions, full copyright information, keyword and related subject areas, and citation information. Image Quest is a unique product and should have broad appeal―from elementary school through university. ESD: What distinguishes your products from the competition?

MR: Britannica today is distinguished among reference and e-learning publishers in a variety of ways. Our mission is to make sure that our customers have access to the highest quality content on any Continued on Page 69

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

EdTech Show Daily Lumens Ladibug (Con’t. from p. 1)

optimal teaching location, encouraging students to pay closer attention to lessons as they are presented. Students are becoming more technologically savvy, meaning teachers must find innovative ways to capture their attention. The Lumens line of Ladibug document cameras provides educators an interactive tool to present a wide variety of materials with the best image clarity and color reproduction in the industry. Teachers are more effective when they have the ability to SP Controls (Con’t. from p. 1)

freedom to teach and interact with all their technology tools anywhere in the classroom from an iPad.

ESD: SP Controls is well known for its educator-friendly audio-visual control systems. Whats new for TCEA 2011?

GA: We are really excited about this years show. We think that our new product offering will truly revolutionize and unify how teachers work with various technologies in the classroom. This new suite of products will allow them to present lessons by taking control of the classroom computer, annotate (similar to the functions of an interactive whiteboard), and control the AV gear in the classroom, such as play the DVD player or document camera—all from anywhere in the room. Texas Instruments (Con’t. from p. 1)

DLP’s interactive projector allows teachers and students to manipulate projected images on any surface with the touch of a pen or from a distance—without the need for calibration. Using a special interactive pen that functions similarly to a wireless mouse, teachers and students can interact with an image on the screen from up to 7 meters away by simply rolling, pointing, clicking, scrolling, navigating and writing. With new dual-pen capabilities, classrooms can have two students interacting with the projected image at the same time. DLP dual-pen interactive projectors also work in conjunction with 3D to create interactive 3D istation (Con’t. from p. 1)

DC: istation was founded in 1998 from the desire to drive innovation in the classroom and transform our schools. The bulk of students sitting in classrooms today are at least a year behind from where they should be. They are in need of immediate intervention to prevent future failure in all subjects. Our market focus is developing computer-based products for these students: Pre-K through sixth grade intervention students that are simply struggling to learn how to read.

ESD: What would you say makes your company unique?

DC: We design and develop our technology and curriculum, keeping in mind

utilize all areas of the classroom, but the ability to teach by moving around the classroom can be hindered by poorly placed classroom control panels or unwieldy carts. “Teachers are doing it for themselves,” proclaimed Lumens Product Manager Chris Laughary, a former Broward County teacher and technologist. “You no longer have to sacrifice image quality when a long VGA cable or USB connection isn’t feasible,” he continued. As with any valuable teaching tool, the Ladibug wireless document camera is intended to empower educa-

tors to spend more time teaching and less time transitioning between materials. Freedom from wires allows teachers to send an image from any location in the classroom. This means no moment will be missed, whether in a lab table, classroom learning station or even a student’s desk. All Lumens Ladibug document cameras are compatible with interactive whiteboards and boast superior image clarity. Included is an unmatched and unlimited five-year replacement warranty. Teachers surveyed chose the Ladibug as their

favorite classroom technology tool for convenience and ease of use. Hampton City Schools (Virginia) asked 40 high-tech teachers to try numerous classroom technology tools, and they unanimously selected the Lumens Ladibug document camera as the best. The group studied used interactive whiteboards, wireless tablets, student response systems and Ladibug document cameras. For more information on the exciting Lumens Wireless Ladibug document cameras, visit www.myladi bug.com or stop by booth 2127.

To give you some more detail, we are using the Apple iPad as the user interface to the system. We’ve created an application that controls the classroom computer, allowing the teacher to navigate seamlessly, among all the digital resources at handwhether they’re on the classroom computer or DVD, software-based or Web-based. Our application gives the teacher the flexibility to stand anywhere in the room, interact with the students, annotate the lesson, control softwarebased curriculum, and do free-form notetaking, all through a what you see is what you get interface from the iPad.

the use of technologies in the classroom much simpler—no more multiple remotes!

Doceri system?

ESD: What are you calling this new product?

GA: We are calling it Doceri™, which is Latin for to be taught or shown. ESD: Sounds like SP Controls is making

teaching opportunities. Imagine multiple students racing each other to solve math equations projected on the ceiling, or students viewing Earth in 3D and taking turns using the pen to break apart the earth into layers—all from where they are sitting in the classroom. 3D technology for the classroom is providing schools a rich interactive learning experience and being aggressively adopted worldwide with more than 1 million 3D-enabled projectors on the market today. TI DLP is driving 3D adoption through unique technological capabilities such as these: • Serving both passive and active 3D solutions and a variety of light sources. • Acting as the sole technology able to provide 3D through a single-projector solution.

GA: Our goal is to unify the classroom technology experience into one user interface, with the iPad controlling the many other things that are used in the typical classroom: DVD players, audio systems, projectors, etc. We have made cost-effective products to control these devices for the past 13 years, and our experience was incorporated into the development of the Doceri system. When used with our Networked Room Controllers, Doceri allows the teacher to control all of the AV gear in the room effortlessly through the iPad interface. The Networked part means that the NRC sits on the network, so it can be centrally maintained and managed by the school’s IT/AV staff. ESD: Are there cost advantages to the

GA: It’s surprisingly inexpensive. Like other SP Controls products, this system is priced so school districts can afford to put them into every classroom—not just one or two specialized AV rooms. Also, because Doceri can easily integrate with your existing technologies, there is no need to buy expensive, new all-in-one solutions that can cost several thousand dollars per room. Doceri from SP Controls brings it all together, giving the instructor mobile and intuitive access to the technology in their classroom. Easier to use and control, these devices now become a seamless resource to connect with students and creatively integrate into lessons. Be sure to visit our booth 614 for a demonstration.

• Enabling 3D-ready and interactive projectors to also function as standard systems, essentially future-proofing. classrooms by allowing for self-paced technology adoption. • Offering lamp-free projector solutions to save time, money and energy consumption.

School, both located in Dallas. Taught in a variety of grades and subjects, 3D learning has significantly added to student engagement and collaboration by providing a fun and effective learning experience. You can check out their stories at www.dlp.com/projector/case-studies. To experience this technology firsthand, be sure to check out Texas Instruments in booths 2155 and 2255 and visit DLP projector manufacturers exhibits throughout the show floor. To access the latest news, images and other information for DLP products from Texas Instruments, check out www.dlpcom. You can also follow DLP on Twitter at @TI_DLP, and view videos on DLP’s YouTube page, www.youtube.com/dlptechnology.

what students are experiencing at home with all media versus the traditional school experience. Our mission has always been to create inexpensive, easy to use, cost-effective programs that make computer-based learning easily available and simple for teachers and students to use, while enhancing the classroom experience. We have successfully utilized video gaming technology with Disney-like animation that allows students to be engaged in an interactive assessment or curriculum that closes the achievement gap.

through third grade Spanish reading assessment called ISIP Español. In fall 2011 we will introduce our ISIP Math assessment for fourth and fifth grade students, as well as a new interactive writing program called Writing Rules! for fourth through 12th grade students.

DC: We introduce new products each year. We now have a complete Pre-K

ESD: What distinguishes your products from the competition?

DC: We were convinced that, by designing best practices into Internetbased teaching and continuous assessment software, individualized instruction could become the norm. The automaticity of our assessments, curriculum and reporting tools gives educators the information they need to drive instruction. Many educators discuss the lack of time available to meet the needs of all students. Our products save them hours of time, which can be used to instill best practices and differentiation into their teaching. It is critical that today’s students receive the most innovative education so that they are prepared to compete in the world.

ESD: Are you introducing any new products this year?

TI DLP 3D Worldwide Pilot Program: TI DLP has driven further adoption through the success of its 3D pilot school programs taking place in the United States, Europe, India and rolling out in Latin America later this year. Among the 30 U.S. classrooms piloting DLP 3D technology are Texas schools, including Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet School and the Shelton

ESD: Where is your current product emphasis?

DC: The cornerstone of our products and emphasis will continue to be reading and language arts. We will continue to add assessments and programs in other content areas to enhance the total educational experience.

To learn more about istation, visit www.istation.com or visit booth 1327.

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

EdTech Show Daily Education 2000 (Con’t. from p. 1)

DP: Education 2000 represents the Mimio interactive whiteboard solution and various interactive technologies for group instruction. With the new MimioClassroom products introduced in 2010, Education 2000 is able to offer a total solution for the classroom. MimioTeach is the new Mimio interactive whiteboard device; the MimioView is Mimio’s new easy-to-use document camera; and the MimioVote lets all students participate during instruction. Add the MimioPad to all of this and Mimio has a low cost and is easy to use in the classroom.

ESD: Why does Education 2000 represent solely the Mimio interactive whiteboard solution?

DP: Education 2000 represents only Mimio because it is cost-efficient and easy to use. Districts and campuses are Espresso Education (Con’t. from p. 1)

good for schools?

JF: It is a multimedia-based service designed specifically for Pre-K through fifth grade. In today’s world, it’s so important to engage kids in learning in a variety of ways. Espresso has thousands of fantastic videos, interactives and learning paths that bring lessons to life.

ESD: What subjects does Espresso cover?

JF: Espresso covers math, English, social studies, science, health and the arts. It also includes cross-curricular connections, an important element of the Common Core. And it has a weekly current events section called ‘News Roundup’ with topical news clips, ageappropriate voiceovers and a quiz that bring the real world into the classroom. Espresso introduces fresh resources each GovConnection (Con’t. from p. 1)

at GovConnection, an IT solutions provider, offers some strategies and approaches that can ensure a relatively painless migration to Windows 7.

ESD: There was a lot of initial hype and a lot of people have made the move to Windows 7. What have people been saying that motivated them to make the jump?

MK: It’s different for everyone, but the reason that is resonating the most is a demand for the next true business class operating system (OS). It’s been about eight years since customers last had real confidence and desire to move forward as quickly as they are today. Because of that, there has also been some hold off with desktop refreshes. With Windows 7, there are so many wonderful benefits and enhancements that many people are excited and ready to make the jump. ESD: If someone is ready to go, what are one or two steps they need to think about when it comes to taking on an OS migration?

spending too much money on expensive interactive whiteboards. The Mimio solution will do the same thing for considerably less, permitting schools to impact more students and to purchase other teaching tools for the classroom.

ESD: How does Education 2000 envision the Mimio interactive whiteboard solution being used in schools and by educators?

DP: The three basic things a teacher does with an interactive whiteboard is click, move and write. Schools are discovering the Mimio solution can impact more classrooms with their budgets.

One district in Texas allocated $3 million for interactive whiteboards. With the route they ended up choosing, the district will only impact about 700 classrooms. If they had decided to go with the Mimio solution, the district could have placed interactive whiteweek and the news is archived in the site for future use in lessons. ESD: How would a school use Espresso?

JF: Espresso is perfect for use on whiteboards. Kids really engage in class when a video is played full screen or they are up at the board completing an interactive. Espresso can also be used in a computer lab for collaborative learning in small groups or for independent learning. I think Espresso is an excellent way for districts and schools to make best use of their technology and to gain value out of the investments made in hardware and infrastructure.

ESD: Is Espresso aligned to the Common Core?

JF: Yes, Espresso is correlated to the new Common Core and all applicable state standards.

MK: The first step is to have a conversation about getting a Windows 7 Assessment done. This will give a better understanding of the current environment and determine the readiness to move to a new OS, where there will be new system requirements. It gives a detailed look into what’s happening in a system today, what’s ready to move to a new OS, and perhaps whats not going to work. When they get to the planning stage, they will already know what is needed and where to go.

ESD: I’m sure this changes for different organizations, but what is a normal timeline for an assessment? MK: In general, we run an assessment for 30 days. That gives a good snapshot of the trending of what’s going on in their environment and how everything is being utilized. It gives us a really good look at a full working environment. We can tailor shorter or longer time frames based on customer needs, but we recommend a full 30 days.

ESD: What type of information are most people going to get out of that assessment to start moving the project along?

boards in 5,000 classrooms.

Education 2000 envisions Mimio in every classroom in Texas. With school districts having a limited amount of money to spend on technology, Mimio becomes the affordable interactive whiteboard solution.

ESD: How does your previous teaching experience help with your business?

DP: As an educator with classroom experience, it really helps to know what a teacher does as a teacher. Knowing what teachers encounter daily, I understand the need for products that are 100 percent reliable and easy to use. Teachers don’t have time, or often the desire, to spend hours learning how to use an interactive whiteboard. Mimio can easily be learned and quickly implemented in a classroom. ESD: What distinguishes Education 2000 from the competition? ESD: What instruction?

about

differentiated

JF: A lot of our customers are using the Espresso’s specific ‘learning paths’ for differentiated instruction in school and at home. One of the nice features is that a teacher can adapt our learning paths or make their own to address the needs of individual students. ESD: What makes Espresso different from other services?

JF: We believe Espresso is the one of the world’s largest producers of multimedia content for Pre-K to Grade 5. It’s like no other service available today. The combination of videos, Web-based simulations and individualized learning paths empower and motivate children to learn at such an important stage of their education.

ESD: We understand you discovered Espresso on a trip to the UK?

MK: We stay very much involved throughout the entire process, from the initial conversations about the OS to the differences and the benefits throughout the assessment. After the assessment, we take a look at the data that is collected from system speed and hardware to compatibility requirements and underutilized software applications. We then sit down with them and go through the data to show them where things are.

ESD: What are your top two tips for an OS migration?

MK: First, go back to the importance of an assessment; planning is critical to the success and outcome. Second, make sure you have partnered with someone who understands what they are doing and can walk you through the process as a collaborative effort. Be sure they understand what you are looking to get out of this so that the plan is tailored to your needs and you are happy with the end result.

Visit the GovConnection booth 223 and talk to them about your migration projects or call 800-800-0019.

DP: Education 2000 offers an interactive whiteboard solution, Mimio, which is easy to use and affordable. We also provide training for the products purchased. Training is the key to Education 2000’s success. By providing a two-hour training with a Mimio purchase, teachers are shown how easy Mimio products are to use. Then with the additional online support from Mimio, these teachers are ready to use Mimio in the classroom. ESD: Is Education 2000 offering any promotions at the show?

DP: Yes, Education 2000 is offering free on-site training with the initial purchase of five or more Mimio products. Stop by our booth for a free Education 2000 Mimio cap.

For more information, visit www.edu2000plus.com, call 866-2904646 or contact mimio@earthlink.net. Visit Education 2000 in booth 730.

JF: Yes, I was visiting BETT [the largest educational technology show in Europe] and immediately saw its potential to fill the gap here for resources in Pre-K to Grade 3. Founded in 1997 by Lewis Bronze, CEO, Espresso is used in 10,000 schools [nearly 60 percent of the elementary schools] in the UK. It has a loyal following and has won numerous awards. I met with Lewis and Richard McGrath, Managing Director, who were enthusiastic about extending Espresso to schools in the U.S. We developed a partnership, and started developing U.S. content and selling the service in September. ESD: Why the name ‘Espresso’?

JF: It’s an unusual name but a memorable one. Like the name, Espresso is fresh, energizing and hot!

For more information, visit Espresso Education at booth 115. Britannica Digital Learning (Con’t. from p. 62)

format they prefer, including print, ebooks, websites, mobile devices and apps. Through our unique ‘universal Access’ technology, our school and public library users have access to Britannica Online content through any search engine. ESD: What’s next at Britannica?

MR: We are constantly innovating, changing and improving the experience that our customers have with all of our products. Our editors work with more than 3,000 experts in their fields in order to keep up with the latest scholarship, to separate fact from fiction, to maintain neutrality, and to appeal to a variety of reading levels. Our designers and media specialists are constantly updating our video offerings, interactivities, maps and other illustrative content so that our users benefit from information provided in multiple forms.

Schools, universities and libraries interested in Britannica Image Quest can call 800-621-3900 or go to http://info.eb.com/ for more information or trial subscriptions.

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

COURSESMART’S DIGITAL BOOKS, EREADERS APPS ARE ‘MUST-HAVES’ CourseSmart, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, is currently offering easy, free mobile app access to more than 90 percent of core college textbooks in use today at up to 60 percent off traditional print prices. CourseSmart’s apps provide a user GlobalScholar (Con’t. from p. 4)

learning and development support beyond the traditional classroom. ET: Describe your customers.

KR: We currently support more than 1,000 school districts, with a student population of more than five million. We work with schools of all types and sizes, from small schools with hundreds of students to large districts with tens of thousands of students. Many of our customers are leading the way in education reform, including school systems that have received funding under the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

ET: What are your thoughts on how technology can improve education?

KR: I firmly believe that technology and innovation are essential to raising the level of student achievement for everyone, in the U.S. and worldwide. At GlobalScholar, our focus has been on the intelligent use of data to raise the quality of education and help every student succeed, much in the same way that companies such as Google or Amazon have used data in new ways to transform their industries. We’re extremely excited about the prospects of building on this vision as part of the Scantron Corporation.

ET: Now that you’ve been acquired by Scantron, what’s next for GlobalScholar?

KR: The acquisition was announced in mid-December and closed in January. It followed Scantron’s recent acquisition Education 2000 (Con’t. from p. 12)

filled in on what they missed. The MimioPad is a lightweight wireless tablet that controls the computer from anywhere in the classroom. This allows for better classroom management because educators can easily move around. Multiple MimioPads can be connected to one computer. Students can then take turns using the MimioPad Adaptive Curriculum (Con’t. from p. 39)

Activity and Animation Objects are rendered with realistic, 3D graphics that engage students and facilitate learning. Through My Adaptive Space, teachers in Texas will be able to search for Activity and Animation Objects by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), by topic, by textbook, or by conducting a

experience today’s digital natives seek—a replica of their textbooks, with value-added functionality, in an affordable and portable option. Students can download CourseSmart’s apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch by visiting www.course smart.com/go/mobile. of Spectrum K-12, which provides response to intervention [RTI] solutions. Now that the transaction has closed, we’re very focused on integrating the businesses in a way that best serves our customers’ needs.

The overall goal of the combined entity is to empower educators, administrators and parents with the information, analysis, instruction and software resources necessary to improve achievement levels for all students. Combining with Scantron provides integral resources necessary to realize this mission.

ET: How does the combined company impact your customers, educators, students and the industry as a whole?

KR: For decades, the education industry has been lacking comprehensive software that makes it easy for administrators and teachers to achieve the kind of insights and efficiencies that corporations using ERP and CRM software have achieved for years. Pinnacle Suite helps solve this by providing integrated SIS, gradebook, learning management and professional development modules within a single interface. But now, with the combined testing and assessment resources from Scantron and Spectrum K-12’s RTI and special education solutions, we can provide a better end-to-end solution with the technical support necessary to help schools not only deploy the software, but ensure they are getting the maximum return on investment. For more information, call 800-4734572, visit www.globalscholar.com or stop by booth 2529.

to click on the whiteboard without leaving their seats. There are also shortcuts embedded on the MimioPad that give easy access to the MimioStudio software tools. For more information about the MimioClassroom products, visit www.edu2000plus.com, call 866-2904646 or contact mimio@earthlink.net. Visit Education 2000, an authorized Mimio reseller, in booth 730. keyword search to create customized lesson plans by grouping different objects together and assigning them to students. Objects are organized by the TEKS and ordered into sequences by each course to facilitate the use of Adaptive Curriculum Texas. Visit Adaptive Curriculum at booth 317, go online to www.adaptivecurricu lum.com or call 888-999-9319.

EdTech Show Daily AWARD (Con’t. from p. 1)

have affected major changes in American classrooms, why did you move to digital textbooks to create new packages for early learning?

WP: Digital natives come to school with different expectations. They may only be five years old, but they have already begun the journey to literacy in a variety of interactive ways with gaming consoles and other technology. Research shows that this early exposure impacts how their minds work and how they see the world. They expect that they will continue to learn using this technology. This is the reason why I developed AWARD as a response to the digital revolution in our everyday lives—I’m taking it to the classroom. I also wanted to build a program that offered everything a young reader needs to succeed. ESD: How are teachers using AWARD, and how does this differ from other approved Texas textbooks?

WP: AWARD Reading was carefully designed from the beginning with the digital learner in mind, and it took over six years to develop. It offers a range of more than 200 original, rich and engaging stories, the best in balanced literacy for use with shared or guided reading. AWARD is also a program designed with teacher support in mind. The website provides teachers with easy-to-use hyperlinks from the TEKS correlation to AWARD lesson plans to support their skills instruction. We have found through research projects that once teachers and

Benchmark (Con’t. from p. 9)

instruction and whole-group demonstration is included with each title. Teachers may use the supplied daily lesson plans or customize their own. An interactive Talking E-Book is also included for each title. The professionally recorded, dramatic audio track has synchronized highlighting providing modeling and practicing to build fluency and comprehension. Students build listening and speaking skills with additional reading practice. The on-screen tools built into the software include pen tools to write, draw or highlight words. Zoom tools allow teachers to highlight or magnify areas to focus on. New, highly interactive features for whole-group demonstration allow teachers CSI (Con’t. from p. 9)

can create customized, personal Webbased environments to support their social and academic activities using whatever tools they prefer.

Schools are also taking advantage of CSI@K12 Education Cloud, which embeds Microsoft Live@EDU into a contextually-aware communications system that leverages Microsoft Live@EDU as the nexus for interpersonal, instructional communications, including e-mail, tasks and calendars. In partnership with Microsoft®, CSI is able to provide K12 specific enterprise hosted e-mail with the ability to take advantage of the standard

students begin using AWARD, they are guaranteed success.

ESD: Are the books graded in levels of difficulty, and how different are they from e-books that everyone talks about?

WP: The 200 titles are animated and voiced with interactive skills activities connected to the text. These are not just e-books or digital copies of a printed book. AWARD gives teachers and students the opportunity to explore text through animation, video clips and a range of text types. Each title is expanded with vocabulary, phonics, fluency, comprehension and writing tasks. Each text, each grade level, is scaffolded— building on the skills previously taught and advancing the learning in a gradual progression within an easy-to-follow digital format. ESD: Does AWARD work alongside existing basal programs?

WP: Yes, it can easily fit into any program where it can become a valuable resource for teachers to use with students who need extra instruction and practice. AWARD Reading is a large digital package that Texas has listed and in so doing Texas is leading the way for classrooms across America to support the National Education Technology Plan: Transforming American Education, Learning Powered by Technology. We are proud to be part of this new wave in education.

Find AWARD Publishing at TCEA booth 202.

to extend instruction with hyperlinks to external websites. Interactive games built into the newest interactive whiteboard resources build vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. The games and activities make learning fun. Additional features of each interactive title include on-screen comprehension activities and image banks so teachers may use the book images and photographs in other classroom presentations. Individual classroom and schoolwide subscriptions are available to the Benchmark Universe. Attendees at TCEA may visit the Benchmark Education exhibit booth 2150 to receive a FREE trial subscription to the Benchmark Universe. Visit the site at www.benchmarkuniverse.com. components of Microsoft Exchange, Outlook®, and Outlook Web Access and now Voice. The CSI Voice application is a very cost-effective alternative for expansion and enhancement of voice service. K12 school systems are in the midst of major data network implementations and upgrades funded by E-Rate allocations and other information superhighway initiatives. When voice is treated as an IP data application and categorized as an enhanced data application, telephony systems can leverage existing data infrastructure investments. For more information call 800-9536847, visit www.csioutfitters.com/ver3 or stop by booth 2790.

Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011

EdTech Show Daily NOVA Solutions (Con’t. from p. 1)

surface, with the monitor positioned at an angle beneath the desktop. Lechman secured the rights to produce the product in wood and laminate, purchasing the parts and materials from an Effingham, Ill.-based company. Production began on the new line of wood computer furniture in Denver in 1988. He began selling the product to corporate offices across the United States and Canada. Soon after, users began to report experiencing less neck and eye discomfort after using the new desk technology. The “Downward Gaze”™ angle was, in fact, a viable, ergonomic solution that helped to alleviate many of the physical problems experienced by computer users. In 1990, John Lechman moved the operation to Effingham, Ill. In 1995, the company changed its name from Nova Office Furniture to Nova Solutions, Inc. The new name better reflected the company’s quest to provide furniture solutions for computer users in a variety of market segments. In 2003, Mr. Lechman began a partnership with award-winning designer Sava Cvek of SCA Development International, Inc. The goal was to find an innovative solution for computer users who preferred to view their monitor in the traditional, straightforward position while maximizing desktop workspace and providing a level of security and privacy. After years of testing, field research, and several prototypes, The Trolley™ was born. The Trolley is a Personal Monitor Arm System that raises and lowers a flat panel display from beneath the desktop on demand. The Trolley gets its name from the inner workings of the mechanism; the display mounts to an arm that moves up and down on a track much like a trolley car. Today, Nova Solutions, Inc., remains one of the industry’s fastest growing and most innovative manufacturers of unique computer desks and Promethean (Con’t. from p. 1)

ME: Last year was filled with many terrific opportunities. We helped improve teaching and learning in hundreds of thousands of classrooms around the country. Additionally, we had a successful IPO that prepared us for continued future success. Our acquisition of SynapticMash in July increased our ability to support assessment for learning. Other highlights include our participation in NBC News Education National Summit that launched a national debate on school improvement needs, and in the network’s school makeover show, “SchoolPride”, during which we helped rebuild seven deserving schools.

ESD: What are your predictions for 2011? How will the use of technology in the classroom evolve?

ME: I believe the use of interactive technologies in the classroom is reaching its tipping point. Certainly, interactive technology makes learning fun and, when effectively integrated into lessons, it produces a tremendous increase in student achievement.

high quality office furniture. Although integrating technology via the Downview or The Trolley remains an important part of Nova’s success, the company has grown to be much more than just a computer workstation company. Nova provides a comprehensive array of furniture that allows users to make the most of available workspace. NOVA recently released NOVALinked™—a networking system that provides complete control of NOVA’s Trolley E-Class units in a classroom or training room setting. When in “networked” mode, NOVALinked allows the instructor or presenter to raise or lower every Trolley unit in the classroom simultaneously. When in “local” mode, NOVALinked relinquishes control of The Trolley units to each workstation, allowing individual students the ability to raise or lower their own computer screens. Instructors/presenters now have complete control over technology use within the learning environment. Teachers can control all computer use by raising and lowering computer displays with the touch of a button. This is an ideal solution for multi-use classrooms where both computer and non-computer classes are conducted. When it’s time for computer class, the teacher can raise all of the computer screens via The Trolley E-Class. When computer time is over, the instructor can simply lower all the computer screens to their resting position beneath the work surface. Additionally, testing centers can use the NOVALinked system to maintain strict controls during examination sessions. This system is currently in use at various universities throughout the U.S., including California University of Pennsylvania (see photo). From reception areas and training rooms to mid-management and executive offices, Nova provides complete solutions for a variety of work environments. Its solutions and accessories are used in virtually every electronic environment imaginable, including: offices, call centers,

banks, hotels, medical facilities, airports, training companies, classrooms, kitchens, homes, and many other locations. Overview of NOVA’s product line: Audio/Visual Lecterns Providing a complete solution for instructors, presenters, facilitators, and trainers is the goal of the Audio/Visual Lecterns series. NOVA has designed a unique set of multi-functional lectern products (standing and seated height) that accept today’s latest technology products. Incorporating document cameras, visual presenters and digital projectors is now easier than ever. Add one of NOVA’s patented Visual Display Options to create the most comprehensive A/V lectern solution available.

Teachers are increasingly being asked to do more with less, and easy to use, effective interactive technologies that have been designed for the classroom will help them. In 2011, I predict that we’re going to see a greater focus on the application of technology to support learning and the use of data to deliver personalized instruction.

promise―superior hardware, awardwinning software, trusted product warranty and support.

ESD: What are your plans to help district leaders stretch budget allocations in 2011?

ME: In these tough economic times, teachers are having to do more with less and it’s imperative that schools utilize technology to boost efficiencies as businesses do and we want to show them how we can help. As a proud national partner of the National Parent Teachers Association, we are offering matching funds that local PTA chapters raise to support the purchase of interactive technology. Additionally, our ActivBoard Mount System, introduced this fall, offers educators a low-cost answer to what the market demands: affordability with quality. This system is backed by Promethean’s quality

Computer-based Training Computer-based Training products were designed with both the user and the network administrator in mind. With three distinct styles (workstations with Total Access™ modesties; workstations with iMod™ modesties; and tables with iMod™ modesties), these products are ideal for the classroom and training facility environments. The Total Access removable modesty provides network professionals complete access to computer cables and wiring. The iMod is a unique built-in wire management compartment. With a removable modesty cover in laminate or metal, the iMod provides full access to the back of your computer hardware. Cables and wires for your computer’s electrical and data requirements are neatly tucked inside the compartment. Both modesty options provide easy access, making networking a breeze. With every square foot of space so valuable, adding a Visual Display Option allows you to create flexible, multi-tasking learning centers. The Downview Technology or The Trolley Personal Monitor Arm System with Intelligent Motion Technology™ secures your flat panel monitor below your work surface, which is the ideal solution for any reconfigurable,

ESD: How will the enhancements to your current products or innovative new products benefit educators and students?

ME: As you know, technology is constantly evolving. In 2011, we will introduce many exciting new products that will carry forward our tradition of solutions that boost student achievement and help teachers be more productive and effective. One of our first new products to be announced in 2011 is our ActivBoard 500. This next generation interactive whiteboard introduces, for the first time, leading-edge technology that allows for simultaneous use by both pen and touch for a more natural and intuitive interface. This added flexibility allows teachers to reach students in a variety of ways or modes, supporting a wider range of learning types.

Another new product on the near horizon is ActivProgress, an online platform that district leaders can use to analyze and leverage data from formative, summative

space-constrained workspace.

Tables Do you need flexible, lightweight solutions for your learning, training, or conference room environments? NOVA’s Table solutions, ranging from nesting to conference tables, give you the tools and flexibility to create ideal configurations for any need. You’ll discover an extensive list of diverse products that include a mix of laminate and metals to create the perfect design for all types of environments, from traditional to trendy.

Library From study carrels to bookshelves, the Library series offers an extensive array of products specifically selected for learning resources facilities. Add one of NOVA’s patented Visual Display Options to study carrels or a circulation desk, and you’ve created a comprehensive, clutterfree work center. Choose from a number of options and styles to meet the specific needs of students, staff, faculty and other library patrons. Office Our Office series demonstrates our commitment to offer quality laminate furniture layouts, with or without Visual Display Options. From entry level to the executive office, you can tailor your workspace to fit your specific needs and budget. Select from a variety of suggested layouts and upgrades, or create your own unique office environment. Retrofit Wish you could add Visual Display Options to your existing furniture environment? Retrofits allow you to integrate the Downview or The Trolley technologies into your existing furniture. Productive, flexible, and secure working or learning environments are available to everyone.

Learn more about Nova online at www.novadesk.com or drop by TCEA booth 2658.

or benchmark assessments to enhance learning. This robust system, when used with our market-leading LRS devices, will enable educators to customize instruction to individual student needs. But it doesn’t stop there. ActivProgress includes tools teachers can use for both peer-to-peer collaboration and parent communications. ESD: What do you anticipate being the greatest opportunities in the year ahead?

ME: I believe 2011 is about shifting our paradigm. By working together, we can weather the storm that is brewing and come out stronger, with students who are prepared for post-secondary opportunities that are not yet created. However, effective use of technology is critical to our success. If educators want to maximize existing investments, sustain progress and accelerate student achievement, then true technology integration is needed so that teachers have more time to teach, which we know positively impacts student achievement.

For more information, visit TCEA booth 831.