EdTech Show Daily

Emantras Helps Educators Integrate Usable Learning Solutions, Tech

Christopher Segot, Business Development Manager for K–12 at Emantras, discusses identifying and delivering consistent education materials to students.

ESD: Emantras is a global digital education company. What does that mean?

CS: Emantras staffs more than 350 employees around the world. Our corporate headquarters is located in the Silicon Valley and we have business and project development offices all over the globe. We work with corporations, publishers and schools all over the world, helping our partners create distance learning plans, strategies and content. Emantras has over 20,000 hours of worldwide eLearning content experience giving us the edge in working with *your* needs.

ESD: Sounds like your experiences and partners have been very dynamic. What are some of your most interesting projects to date?

CS: We've excelled in custom learning content and delivery technologies for academic education and enterprise learning/performance. In today's technology and learning landscape, better usability means better accessibility, so if your child is most likely to carry a Nintendo DS, Sony PSP or iPod everywhere they go, why should their learning opportunities be tethered to a computer? Our most interesting projects have been in creating ubiquitous learning strategies that complement the everyday habits of learners. Usability also means creating content that actually captures the imagination and interest of today’s visually enhanced learners. 

ESD: Do most schools and corporations have a distance education plan or learning management system in place when they partner with Emantras?

CS: Some partners come to us with a plan and some don't. Two great examples from both sides of the coin are Danfoss and West Coast University. Danfoss is currently using our proprietary learning management system to push content and activities to employees worldwide, so they didn't have an existing plan when we partnered. West Coast University is using the eCollege LMS and is working with Emantras to develop consistent and engaging courses, online admissions and FA applications, demos and orientation materials to identify and train online faculty. WCU had a plan that we built upon. The real strength of Emantras is being able to collaborate on the right solutions.

ESD: Publishers provide some very good online content. Why not use their materials exclusively?

CS: Many of our partners are big publishing houses. We've found, through personal experience and partner feedback, that although materials from individual publishers are impressive, the student has a different experience with every piece of publisher content. To draw a parallel to face-to-face education, it's like going to math class and sitting in chairs and then going to English and standing on your head. With so many factors affecting student success, the last obstacle a student needs is inconsistent resources and courses. We frequently bridge the gap between the publishers and the educators to deliver the 'last mile' solutions required to deliver effective and easy to comprehend learning material. Having custom content mapping to your own learning objectives also allows you to use publisher content more effectively by providing greater control of the quality and consistency.

ESD: What would you like the attendees of NECC 2008 take away from this interview?

CS: With so many media outlets competing for your audience's attention, both online and offline, your educational materials must be able to keep your students' attention, engage to educate and ultimately empower. As an educator, you shouldn’t have to adjust your processes to fit a product or expect a single product to do everything; instead, educators must be looking for a solution.

For more information, visit www.emantras.com or stop by booth 859.

Vernier Makes ‘Logger Lite’ Free for Intel-Powered Classmate PCs

Vernier Software & Technology is offering its Logger Lite software free for Intel-powered classmate PCs, as well as other small, low-cost computer options. Logger Lite is award-winning software that provides fundamental graphing and analysis tools for K-12 science students. Combined with Vernier probeware, Logger Lite gives students the ability to explore the world around them, draw predictions, collect real-world data and make conclusions based on their analyses. Both a Windows and a Linux version of the software will be available from www.vernier.com/netbooks.

Vernier, a leading innovator in solutions for STEM education, is part of the Intel-powered classmate PC Ecosystem Vendor Alliance – an alliance formed by Intel with OSVs, ISVs, content and education service providers to provide comprehensive education solutions for the education segment.   Intel supports members of the alliance in developing, promoting and optimizing their applications, tools, content and accessories for Intel-powered classmate PCs.

For more information visit www.vernier.com.

Smart Provides Education Integration Solutions for 21st Century Learning

While schools and districts around the world work to rapidly integrate technology into their classrooms, educators are looking for tools and resources to help them get the most out of these technology products.

SMART Technologies is committed to providing educators with all the components necessary for improving student outcomes through ICT implementation. The following are just some of the ways in which SMART delivers on this commitment:

Extraordinary Products
SMART offers the most complete range of product choices to equip any learning environment with the most cost-effective solution. SMART products foster the highest levels of student engagement by providing intuitive and easy-to-use education tools.

Content and Resources
SMART offers digital instructional materials to support the entire range of teacher experience with products—from novice users to expert enthusiasts:

• SMART Learning Marketplace, a Web-based subscription service which provides more than one million pieces of disaggregated content, the largest repository of online education content available in the world.
• More than 4,000 teacher-created lesson activities correlated to the TEKS and other curriculum standards.
• SMART’s Lesson Activity Toolkit, a set of customizable tools and templates for educators who wish to make highly interactive lessons without learning to program with a complex multimedia tool.
• SMART-created lesson activities, professionally authored by experienced curriculum developers.

Professional Development and Community
Teachers using SMART products have access to a global community of educators with a wealth of knowledge, experience and insights to share:

• The SMART Exchange, an online community of teachers, administrators and SMART experts who regularly share ideas and advice on how best to use SMART products in the classroom.
• A SMART YouTube channel, where a simple search returns more than 100 user-created videos on using SMART products.
• A vast universe of online activity and resources enjoyed by customers who choose the most popular brand of ICT education products in the world.

Services and Support
SMART is able to support best practices in the planning, implementation, use and support of their solution offerings:

• Free, live online training now available on over 20 topics in five languages with 40+ sessions weekly.
• Free training materials such as the quick reference guides to provide educators with the information they need any time, any place, any pace and two-minute tutorials which allow customers to listen to instruction and follow along with their mouse.
• Consultation services to assess technology needs and model solutions.
• Extensive field staff to complete pre- and post-sales support for implementation.
• Professional curriculum developers available to accelerate integration of digital content to existing learning standards.
• Onsite training events such as customized training sessions by subject area and grade range and Train-the-Trainer & Certification events, in-depth sessions designed to help customers maximize use of their SMART products through hands-on practice and discussions.
• 24–7 online and telephone access to technical product support.

Engage, Motivate & Collaborate With New mimio Studio 6 Software

mimio Director of Research and Development, Manny Perez, discusses the applications of new Studio 6 software.

ESD: What makes Studio 6 different from earlier versions of the software?

MP: This is the biggest upgrade since we first introduced the software. It focuses on creating and presenting engaging lessons with rich interactive multimedia content. We also streamlined the interface to make it even easier to use.

ESD: How did you improve Studio 6?

MP: Our goal was to create an all-in-one tool to help teachers create, store and share dynamic, interactive lesson plans. Now you can easily add and control rich multimedia content such as video, audio and Flash animations. You can also easily incorporate a variety of document formats, such as PowerPoint, Word and PDF files directly into Studio.

ESD: What is your favorite feature?

MP: It's the content gallery. We preloaded educational content covering a wide range of subjects and grade levels. The live search function means you have quick access to images, movies and lesson plans putting content at your fingertips at all times.

ESD: Do these features make Studio 6 hard to use?

MP: The challenge for any software developer is to make feature-rich software easy to use. With a lot of feedback from our existing users, we tested and refined our application to be intuitive. The software has been designed to have a very small learning curve, but offer a lot of depth. One example of this is our new tool bar, which now offers more functionality, but has been reduced in size to fit nicely on the left side so you can keep tools available without minimizing and resizing. mimio has also put a lot of effort into its training resources.

ESD: How do teachers get Studio 6?

MP: The new version is available free to all Windows users of Studio 5 through the software updates menu.

For more information, visit www.mimio.com or stop by booth 2254.

ProQuest eLibrary Delivers Exceptional Multimedia Content, Quality

Digital content is becoming an increasing priority for many schools as they look to support 21st century instruction on hardware investments such as projectors, laptops and whiteboards.

Thousands of schools are discovering how eLibrary can deliver online content students want, the instructional quality educators need and the easy integration technologists require.

As one of the largest providers of digital text and multimedia, ProQuest brings together enriching media from leading publishers from around the world in eLibrary.

No other site makes accessible the thousands of magazines, newspapers and e-books and the millions of graphics, interactive simulations, Web sites and streaming videos available in eLibrary. Lexiles, lessons and assessments and standard correlations ensure content is on target. And, an intuitive Web interface and interactive tools easily integrates it all into the classroom.

Schools that implement eLibrary find it becomes an indispensable resource.

Helen Gooch, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, Tenn., states, “We have several online resources to which we subscribe and have used consistently for several years. Each year my 32 media specialists convene to review which ones to discontinue allowing for the adoption of new technologies. Troublesome, problematic subscriptions are not renewed. ProQuest’s eLibrary has *never* made it to the table. It’s a highly reliable product with quality information. We have no complaint and in this industry that is the highest compliment!”

Coming from Gooch, an Educational Instructional Specialist for IBM, a classroom teacher for 24 years and a Technology Staff Developer for 10 years, speaks volumes about the value of eLibrary from ProQuest.

eLibrary’s expansive multimedia-rich content, safe, user-friendly technology and affordable cost make it a resource schools should consider as they assess their instructional technology needs.

For more information, visit www.proquest.com.

Put More Digital Media, More Excitement Into The Hands of More Students

By Robert Grover, Executive Vice President, PCS Edventures

Students today embrace digital media through online communities, music services, cell phone networks, video games and a variety of other tools and services.

To more effectively reach them in the classroom, teachers need to speak their language, and a great way to do that is to incorporate engaging, digital activities that make their learning more student-centered, relevant and exciting.

Digital Media Labs from PCS Edventures, Inc. combines digital media technology, a comprehensive curriculum and a Web-based portfolio system into a tidy package that can help any teacher bring their classroom to life.

Each lab package focuses on a specific digital medium including photography, video or audio or educators can purchase a combination package that provides all three. The lab materials—such as industrial strength cameras, voice recorders, data cards, cables, etc.—are neatly organized into a hardshell storage case for protection and easy portability.

The curriculum has been designed from the ground up to correlate with ISTE standards, and it provides a comprehensive resource for infusing technology into the classroom. Each volume includes at least 40 detailed activities complete with background information and resources for the teacher. In addition, each activity includes specific adjustments so teachers can apply the lessons specifically to English, mathematics, science or history. 

The Web services provide an easy-to-use method of allowing the students to document and store their work, share it with others in the classroom and build an impressive digital portfolio that actively builds technology literacy and meets NETS standards.

The Digital Media Lab series from PCS Edventures provides a turnkey package for teachers looking to infuse technology into their classroom and versions are available for both primary and secondary educators. If you’re looking for a well designed solution that will help you put more digital media and more excitement into the hands of your students, you need to look no further than PCS Edventures.

For more information, visit www.edventures.com.

Cisco's Global Education PLan Equips Every Learner for the 21st Century

The Changing Tides of the Learning Process

It is becoming all too apparent these days that a sustainable economy in the 21st century demands a new approach to education. Wherever you live and whatever you do, you have a personal stake in the quality of education because without a highly skilled workforce, no community can progress, no country can prosper and no industry can grow and thrive. Yet despite the best efforts of educators, governments and individual stakeholders, school systems around the world are struggling to meet the evolving learning methods of today’s students and the requirements of their future employers.

Why Today’s Learning Isn’t Working

In the developed world, too often the curricula is still focused on equipping students for life in the last century rather than preparing them to face the challenges of the present and the future. These are challenges that require soft skills such as interpersonal communications and problem solving which offer powerful keys to success in the modern economy, replacing the narrowly focused, repetitive skills that are the earmarks of the industrial age. Literacy, numeracy and other fundamentals are still necessary prerequisites for employment, but today’s knowledge workers must also be trained to think creatively, innovate widely and use technology-based collaboration tools effectively.

Holistic Transformation is Key

The new paradigm for 21st century education will require a holistic transformation of learning systems, guided by a comprehensive roadmap that covers curricular and assessment reform, new teacher recruitment and training strategies, leadership development and the integration of collaborative technologies. This transformation will be facilitated by visionary leadership, exceptional teachers and supported by technologies that empower individuals to create, adapt and share content. Although this vision is global, the path requires a local journey, one that recognizes and responds to opportunities and challenges at the community level. The ultimate goal: a systematic restructuring that will result in a quantum improvement in both the quality and accessibility of education worldwide.

Cisco’s Global Education understands the power of collaboration and the human network. They believe that 21st century learning is a global destination that will require local stops in villages, towns and cities worldwide. But reaching that destination will require the collaboration of local officials and institutions as well as respect and understanding for diverse cultures and individual learners. In Cisco's conversations with educators and other stakeholders worldwide, they are seeing patterns of excellence that include:

• 21st century pedagogy that emphasizes learner-centric teaching, active facilitation and hands-on activities.
• Technology making a real difference in the classroom, when applied thoughtfully to ensure cost effectiveness.
• Teaching the teachers to use the new pedagogy is critical to instructional success.
• Transformation and lasting reform will require leadership that can form a broad coalition of stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.

To find out more, download the white paper, “Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century,” at www.transformglobaleducation.org or stop by NECC booth 7178.

MPC Offers Five Excellent Examples of !:! Programs to Take Note of

MPC has had the privilege of working with a number of visionary educators and innovative programs in the area of 1:1 computing. The following are some deployments that MPC believes offers excellent examples of how to effectively integrate technology in the classroom.

South Dakota Classroom Connections
The South Dakota Classroom Connections 1:1 program is part of Governor Mike Rounds’ 2010 Education Initiative, which stresses the importance of increasing 21st century skills through the use of advanced technology to enhance learning, and includes the implementation of a 1:1 laptop initiative for high school students. In May 2006, 20 school districts were chosen as pilot schools for the project. In March 2007, 21 new school districts were selected to participate in the program, bringing the total number of high school students with laptops to 9,600 in 41 districts across the state.

Auburn City Schools’ 21st Century Learning Initiative
Auburn City Schools in Alabama initiated a program to provide a Wi-Fi enabled tablet PC to every garde 9 student at Auburn Junior High School. Beginning in the 2006–07 school year, all students received tablet PCs to keep through their senior year at Auburn High School. A wireless network was deployed in the district schools to provide ubiquitous connectivity. The tablet-equipped student use computer applications such as spreadsheets and word processing programs, access online resources and use the Internet for researching projects and assignments.

Sergeant Bluff-Lutton School District
This Iowa school district purchased tablet PCs for all K–12 teachers in the summer of 2007. Teachers were trained on the use and care of the machines prior to the start of the 2007–08 school year. The district purchased wireless projectors, which were mounted in almost all the 3–12 grade classrooms and also provided projectors on a mobile cart for each K–2 teacher. In a survey of the staff just two months after deployment, 86 percent of the respondents reported that students were more engaged in their classroom.

The John Carroll School
All full-time faculty members at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Md., received Tablet PCs in May 2005, and the school is implementing a one-to-one computing program beginning with the Class of 2010. The school’s Tablet PC Laptop computer program aims to prepare students for college and the professional world. Each classroom will provide students with wireless access, and school leaders believe the one-to-one approach is the optimal way for students to search the Internet, compose documents, construct spreadsheets, send email, create graphics, organize presentations and build databases.

Chicago Public School’s Technology Immersion Project
The third largest school district in the nation is home to more than 400,000 students. The Technology Immersion Pilot Project created by Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois State Board of Education will create 1:1 computing environments in public schools across the state and will provide laptop computers for all participating students and teachers, along with professional development for teachers and technical assistance for school-based networks.

For more information, visit www.mpccorp.com.

With An Effective Testing Package, It's What's On The Inside that Counts

At Measured Progress, 25 years of experience in developing state assessments has taught that effective assessments must reflect simplicity, rigor and transparency. Each assessment item must measure specific content knowledge and provide students with a challenging, but comfortable testing experience. The Progress Toward Standards Online Assessment (PTS3) and Item Bank (*PTSi*) reflect those criteria.

PTS3’s expertly crafted items assess third through eighth graders, and tenth graders in reading and mathematics. By offering teachers easy access to test items and student scores immediately after testing, PTS3 sheds light on content areas in need of special attention for each student.

PTSi enables educators to use a combination of item types to create assessments across the same grades and content spans as PTS3. By building custom assessments that include constructed-response items, item prompts and other assessment tools, teachers can evaluate performance during instruction, enabling them to make necessary teaching adjustments along the way.

The technology behind Measured Progress’s online products allows students to experience an intuitive online testing experience and includes items similar to those found on statewide assessments. Teachers and administrators alike appreciate the advantages of immediate reporting and access to test items PTS products allow.

“As part of our commitment to help students learn at the highest levels, we know how important high-quality items and superior technology are to an assessment program,” says Measured Progress President Stuart Kahl. “By virtue of both, PTS3 and *PTSi* offer schools and districts an excellent opportunity to build a balanced assessment system.”

For more information, visit www.measuredprogress.org.

Technology Brings Science To Life For Elementary Students

By Dr. Dan Domenech

The National Research Council found in September 2006 that major changes in how science is taught are necessary to improve science education in elementary and middle schools. This issue has developed increased significance this year as students begin to be tested annually on science under No Child Left Behind.

The incorporation of technology into science curriculum is critical. In fact, the National Science Education Standards notes that, “The relationship between science and technology is so close that any presentation of science without developing an understanding of technology would portray an inaccurate picture of science.”

There are many ways leveraging technology in the science classroom can benefit students and teachers. While hands-on lessons and labs are important components of the science classroom, digital tools make it easier for teachers to get the most from science instruction time while using technology to bring science to life for students.

Building on an elementary student’s natural curiosity, technology expands lessons beyond the classroom. DVD’s provide the opportunity to view nature in motion. Audio clips allow students to hear the sounds of nature—a bird call or thunderstorm, for example. Animated illustrations and activities accessed online enable students to explore lessons more thoroughly and build retention and inquiry skills.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill’s Science: A Closer Look, a comprehensive standards-based program for grades PreK–6, is a terrific example of a new program that was heavily influenced by the National Research Council’s findings, reported in *How Students Learn Science*. This particular program changes the classroom dynamic by weaving technology into classroom management and the student experience, so students of all learning styles can master the content and skills needed for high-stakes testing.

Educators benefit from incorporating technology into science lessons too. For example, digital lesson planning helps busy elementary school teachers create quality, concise lesson plans. PowerPoint presentations at the beginning of a lesson can help set the stage for daily content. DVDs provide professional development for teachers who may want assistance in teaching strategies for science. Online assessment tools help provide differentiated instruction for all levels of learners, helping them develop the thinking skills and science knowledge they need to succeed.

As we continue to raise the stakes for science education in our schools, we look forward to new developments in technology to expand our students’ horizons even further.

Dr. Dan Domenech is Senior Vice President of National Urban Markets for McGraw-Hill Education. Dr. Domenech is a former superintendent and educational leader for several large school districts including Fairfax County Schools in Virginia. For more information about Science: A Closer Look, visit www.macmillanmh.com.