EdTech Show Daily

Mitsubishi Intros 1080p Projector for Education Applications

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America’s Presentation Products Division, today introduced its FL6900U projector designed for commercial and education installations. At a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $9,995, Mitsubishi continues to lead the market for high-brightness 1080p projectors at lower price points than most with similar specs.

“Mitsubishi consistently offers high brightness and robust features at price points that are well below the competition, and our FL6900U is no exception,” says Wayne Kozuki, Product Manager, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America’s Presentation Products Division. “It’s designed for budget-conscious people who need high brightness and high definition at a reasonable price.”

Mitsubishi’s FL6900U offers a combination of 4000 lumens with full 1080p HD resolution for commercial venues with high ambient lighting such as sports bars, restaurants, hotel conference rooms, school auditoriums and corporate boardrooms.

The projector provides RS232 support for compatibility with third-party control systems. Installation is straightforward and efficient, with remote-controlled automated horizontal and vertical lens shift, automated zoom and focus and digital keystone correction. Optional lenses (short, long, tele-zoom and rear-projection) allow this projector to be easily installed in a wide variety of venues and applications.

For more information, visit www.mitsubishi-presentations.com.

TutorVista Preps OnlineTutoring: Instant, On-Demand with Talk2aTutor

TutorVista.com, the world’s leading online tutoring company, announced today a new generation of tutoring technology to provide the most effective and convenient one-on-one tutoring ever—TutorVista Connect Now with Talk2aTutor. Now, students around the world can instantly connect to a tutor for live, on-demand tutoring and speak instantly with their tutor with a simple click of a button—no complicated downloads or software installation needed.

“This is an incredible move forward,” says Dr. John Stuppy, President of TutorVista. “Most people speak over 120 words per minute, but type less than 30 words a minute. Typed chat-only tutoring is therefore much slower paced, and it can be hard to explain difficult concepts using only chat. The lack of real-time communication can be a real hindrance to learning. We found when students can point to different parts of a figure, graph or phrase and verbally ask a complex question it’s faster, more engaging and leads to quicker understanding and skill mastery.”

.With the launch of TutorVista Connect Now with Talk2aTutor, this advantage has been extended to student’s on-demand tutoring as well in a single, integrated platform. Students and tutors meet one-on-one in TutorVista.com's online classroom, equipped with a virtual whiteboard, document sharing, chat, and now a one-click audio connection.

The launch of TutorVista Connect Now coincides with another TutorVista milestone—500,000 students served in three years' time, a number representing students from over 29 different countries. TutorVista has also grown precipitously since its start-up, now with over 1,200 employees.

“I think our success comes from our motivation to provide affordable, effective online tutoring to our students,” says Stuppy. “We are constantly working on innovations that will improve the educational experience and make learning fun and easy. For us, that is the driving force.”

For more information, visit www.tutorvista.com.

Qwest Services Help Albuquerque Public Schools Reach Educational Goals

Qwest Communications International Inc. today announced a five-year, $7.2 million contract with Albuquerque Public Schools for a high-speed network that will deliver learning opportunities to students in New Mexico’s largest school district.

Using Qwest Metro Optical Ethernet (QMOE), the 87,000-student district is connecting 131 schools and administrative offices across the city. With speeds up to 100 megabits per second at each location, QMOE will enable the district to get the most out of bandwidth-intensive learning opportunities, including virtual classrooms, distance-learning and district-wide online testing.

“Technology constantly changes, and it is important for the success of our students that Albuquerque Public Schools keeps up,” Superintendent Winston Brooks, Albuquerque Public Schools says. “The partnership between Albuquerque Public Schools and Qwest gives our students exposure to cutting-edge technology that they would not otherwise have.”

The Albuquerque Public Schools network was made possible because of funds from the federal E-Rate program – the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism. The fund provides discounts to assist most schools and libraries in the U.S. to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access. Qwest worked closely with district officials to maximize the amount of funding the school district receives as part of the E-Rate program.

DeVry Inc. Completes Acquisition of U.S. Education

DeVry Inc., has completed its acquisition of U.S. Education, the parent organization of Apollo College and Western Career College, for $290 million.

“We are pleased to welcome U.S. Education to DeVry Inc. and to continue to grow our healthcare curriculum,” Daniel Hamburger, DeVry Inc. president and CEO, said about the acquisition. “The addition of Apollo College and Western Career College provides us with a strong platform to help prepare more high-qualified healthcare professionals to satisfy the robust demand in this industry.”

Apollo College and Western Career College prepare students for careers in healthcare through certificate and associate degree programs in such rapidly growing fields as nursing, ultrasound and radiography technology, surgical technology, veterinary technology, pharmacy technology, dental hygiene, and medical and dental assisting. The two colleges operate 17 campus locations in the western United States and currently serve more than 8,700 students and have more than 65,000 alumni.

Apollo College and Western Career College join Ross University’s medical and veterinary schools and Chamberlain College of Nursing as part of DeVry’s Medical and Healthcare segment.

For more information, visit http://www.devryinc.com.

SkillSoft’s Books24x7 Surpasses 20,000 Titles

SkillSoft PLC, a SaaS provider of e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small to medium-sized businesses, today announced that its Books24x7 offering has reached a major milestone and now boasts more than 20,000 titles. Books24x7 offers one of the largest online, on-demand book resources available comprised of digitized books, book summaries and executive reports that give users access to trusted information how, when and where they need it.

“Books24x7 has been expanding the skills and increasing the personal development of thousands of users at many of the world’s best-known companies for nearly a decade,” says John Ambrose, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Corporate Development & Emerging Business for SkillSoft. “This impressive milestone underscores SkillSoft’s commitment to ensuring comprehensive topical coverage throughout our Books24x7 reference collections. When users are searching a database like Books24x7 for business-relevant information, they recognize that depth and breadth of trusted content is critical because it raises the likelihood that they will find their answer.”

n average, the offering has grown by 38 percent each year since its creation. In fact, Books24x7 adds an average of more than one title per hour of each business day throughout the year and, in all, has 6.4 million pages of content.

For more information, visit www.skillsoft.com.

PLATO Learning Adds to Board of Directors

PLATO Learning, Inc., a leading provider of K–adult e-learning solutions, today announced that it has elected John G. Lewis as an independent member of its board of directors.

Lewis brings to the company’s board nearly 20 years of operating experience in executive positions at several technology and manufacturing businesses. Most recently, he served as CEO of GeoLogic Solutions, where he helped lead the turnaround of this software provider. Prior to joining GeoLogic, Lewis was COO and CFO of XATA Corporation, a provider of fleet management systems to large distribution companies, and CFO of PrimeYield Systems, a manufacturer of high-performance components utilized in the testing of semiconductor devices. He holds a bachelor of science degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, and an MBA from the university’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

The company also announced that Joseph E. Duffy, Ruth L. Greenstein and Dr. Warren Simmons will resign from the board effective after the board’s regularly scheduled December 2008 meeting, at which time the Company’s board will consist of seven members, five of whom will be independent.

Lewis will immediately serve as a member of the audit and compensation committees, and will become Chairman of the compensation committee after Duffy’s resignation in December, and Susan E. Knight, a current board member, has been appointed chair of the audit committee. Simmons, who serves as Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, will continue in a consultant role to the Company’s Marketing Committee.

For more information, visit www.plato.com.

'Mother Nudge' Offers Affordable SAT Pre with WilsonDailyPrep.com

When high school student Susan Hamilton took the SAT last year, she went up over 300 points with the help of popular SAT tutor Laura Wilson known as “The Mother Nudge.” And it only cost $139 for three months of tutoring, as much as one hour of traditional private tutoring.

This month Wilson launched WilsonDailyPrep.com so all students can access her personal proven approach without the usual high cost. Wilson, an English teacher and SAT tutor with 20 years of experience, believes all students should be given opportunities to excel, not just those who can afford expensive private tutoring. Her company, based in suburban Chappaqua, N.Y., has helped thousands of students improve their SAT scores and she guarantees a 200 point increase.

Besides the tremendous affordability factor, Wilson’s program is more personal than any other online SAT tutoring program because of how it connects with students. Wilson’s nudging comes in the form of sound bites -- a six question quiz e-mailed to students (five days a week) designed to break the SAT into manageable tasks that ensure the consistent practice students need.

Coaches who hold students accountable for daily, deliberate practice, give students immediate feedback. Those students who do not complete the online quizzes are put on their coach’s “Slacker List” and parents are contacted. In these ways, the program builds confidence and extinguishes anxiety and stress – for both students and parents.

For more information, visit www.wilsondailyprep.com.

South Bya Switches to Infinite Visions for HR, Financial Operations

Windsor Management Group (WMG), the leading provider of multifaceted financial and human resource business solutions for K-12 school districts, today announced that South Bay Union School District (SBUSD) in San Diego County, Calif., has chosen the company’s Infinite Visions® financial management system and iVisions™ Web Portal. After extensive review, SBUSD’s governing board unanimously approved the move to replace its legacy system provided by Escape Technology, Inc to the Infinite Visions solution.

Business representatives at SBUSD, which serve over 8,700 students, noted the need to replace their current antiquated finance, HR and business management system with a more comprehensive, robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution comes at a time when their district faces growing pressure to strengthen the connection between K-12 financial management and academic results.

“Most vendors of school business management solutions do not address the greater need districts face in being able to quickly monitor, analyze, forecast and report on a myriad of financial, HR, and business functions. It has been obvious for sometime that we needed a more finely grained software system to better monitor and control the school business environment we face to be sure we’re getting the best results,” says Scott Buxbaum, Assistant Superintendent, business services for South Bay USD. “Running schools, and improving them, cannot take place without the proper resources. With Infinite Visions, we now have a superior solution that will do it all.”

For more information, visit www.infinitevisions.com.