Tech & Learning - March 2011-TV

techlearning.
com
I D E A S A N D T O O L S F O R E D T E C H L E A D E R S | M A R C H 2 0 1 1 | $ 6
VOLUME 31
NUMBER 8
Best ways to afford interactive whiteboards
How to find value in your Web-based systems
BYOD
Time To
What are the
benefits for
your school?
Next Big Thing
Freemiums
Apple in School
Good or evil?
Blackboard
Mobile Learn 2.0
(Bring Your Own Device)
Brainchilds
Kineo
Mobi View
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8 Editors Desk
Stealing your soul
10 News & Trends

Next Big Thing: Freemiums

Apple: Good or evil?

Contests & Grants

A new projector spec

Todays young Einsteins?

Remember Dont copy that
floppy?

How do you determine the real ROI
on a Web-based system?

Sites We Like

Top 10 sites for educational
resources
58 They said it: A Scary Reality
By Ben Grey
Yes, bad things happen on the Internet,
but we can address them in a way that
doesnt keep students from using one
of the most powerful tools in history.
TECH & LEARNI NG | 3
10 20 38 49
contents
MARCH 201 1 | VOL. 31 NO. 8
PRODUCTS
Put to the Test: T&L editors take some
new products for a test drive.
20 Dabbleboard
22 Dell KACE K1000 Appliance
24 Capstone myON Reader
26 Sublime Learning Portal and Library of eTeachables
28 Wiffiti 4
The Long Review
T&L editors follow the stakeholders at Village Charter
School in Trenton, New Jersey, as they implement Pearsons
SuccessMaker software on a 40-seat Dell PC desktop network.
How to Afford Interactive Whiteboards
T&L asks districts how they pay for their whiteboards.
By Ellen Ullman
Whiteboards: A modest proposal
Gary Stager shares his opinion about IWBs and clickers.
Whats New
Calypso Systems ezRoom Follett Cognite 3.5 Google Apps
Edu Category HP 100B All-in-One Netop Vision7 and more
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
20
29
44
47
48
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
SchoolCIO
BEGINS ON PAGE 31
By Ellen Ullman, SchoolCIO editor
32 BYOD AND SECURITY
Last month we wrote about the evolution of one-to-
one computing and how districts are allowing students
to bring your own device (BYOD) to school. This
month we look at how they are handling security and
other issues so they can let students BYOD.
37 WHATS NEW AT SCHOOLCIO?
38 CIO PROFILE: KYLE BERGER, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SINCE 2004
DISTRICT: ALVARADO (TX) INDEPENDENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT
40 TRENDS & RESOURCES: THE LATEST NEWS
FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
42 BACK-OFFICE BUSINESS: HOW SCHOOLS ARE
SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH TECH
Tech & Learning (ISSN-1053-6728) (USPS 695-590)
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4 | TECH & LEARNI NG
Professional development, funding, and free stuff:
Check out our Web offerings from teachers, administrators, and tech coordinators.
new@techlearning.com

ondemand
Check out the
following resources
from our partner sites:
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Cloud Computing and
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FEATURED EBOOK
Intels Schools of
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from the Star Innovators
Sponsored by K-12
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SPECIAL
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Race To the Top
Update
Sponsored by Atomic
Learning, CTB/McGraw-
Hill, ELMO, GlobalScholar,
NetSupport, RM Education,
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PARTNER
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Top 10 IT Management
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Sponsored by Kaseya
Check techlearning.com for updates

THE MOST-READ STORIES ON
TECHLEARNING.COM
Homework: Jazz it up with technology
zge Karaoglu lists her favorite 2.0 digital homework
resources.
Google launches education apps
The new Google Apps Marketplace includes new Web
applications for education that integrate with existing Google
Apps accounts.
Top 10 sites for educational resources
David Kapuler shares his favorite educational resources, but
hed like to hear your votes too.
20 great STEM resources
Part Two of Mike Gormans STEM series adds 20 more STEM
resources to his list of tools.
AZ Web tools
zge Karaoglu kicks off her alphabet of Web 2.0 tools with
her favorites beginning with A and B.
How to grow a textbook
Joyce Kasman Valenza says that regardless of how you feel
about textbooks, this brave new world of open curricula,
academic sharing, and super-easy digital publishing may
be the best time ever to be without them. She shares some
textbook-growing strategies and some portals for selecting
text-y resources.
Seven reasons I really dislike public-
education reform
Dr. Jim Taylor is not a fan of the Obama administrations
public-education initiatives, including Race to the Top. In
his view, the programs are mislabeled, misdirected, and
misguided. Read his seven reasons to really dislike public-
education reform.
Follow us on TWITTER (techlearning) and
FACEBOOK (Tech&Learning Magazine)
MARCH 201 1
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editors desk
New technology is most often
portrayed in the mainstream press as a
bogeyman. And when it comes to its application
in education and its effect on the children? Turn
the hype knob up a notch or two. See much of
the current hysteria over Facebook for evidence.
Its not hard to look back and see just how silly much of the
coverage of earlier tech was. My first technology stories, in the
early 90s, had headlines like Email: Is It Right for Corporate
America? What about Dont copy that floppy (News&Trends,
page 12)? Even today you can find online the occasional debate
over simply having computers in the classroomironic, yes?
We like to think that Tech & Learning takes a progressive view
of the matter without being a cheerleader. Part Two of our
series on the BYOD (bring your own device) trend (page 31) is
a good example. Sorry, no horror stories about students sexting
and cheating here, just practical advice on creating a secure
environment in which students can learn.
Thats not to say we believe that all technology is good
for its own sake. Ill point to the essay on the evils of IWBs
(WhiteboardsA Modest Proposal, page 37) by our favorite
edtech provocateur, Gary Stager. My bet is that by the time
you read this in print, there will be a great comment thread at
techlearning.com. Go there to tell us your thoughts.
STEALING
YOUR SOUL
Kevin Hogan
Editorial Director
N THE WEB
www.techlearning.com
MARCH 201 1 | VOL. 31 NO. 8
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Lesson Planner, from OnCourse Systems, is a web-based program
that allows administrators to inspect what they expect about teaching in
their schools. Teachers use Lesson Planner to write their lessons, drawing on
the built-in bank of state and local standards and the work of colleagues
across the district. Administrators use Lesson Planner to review faculty
lesson plans, ensuring that daily instruction is fully aligned with the districts
curricular goals.
With OnCourse Lesson Planner:
r Theres no software to install or update because its web-based.
r Lesson-ready state standards are built in; local power standards
can be added easily.
r Plans, assignments and curricular resources can be shared across the district.
r Teachers can create classroom websites to post homework, calendars and
other information for students and parents.
r Districts save because Lesson Planner is more affordableand greener
than buying planning books each year.
For more information and a demonstration,
call 800-899-7204 or

visit www.oncoursesystems.com
systems for education
If this is how lesson plans
are reviewed in your district, its time
to join the Internet age.
The Original
Web-Based Lesson
Planning Program!
HOW IREDELL-STATESVILLE SCHOOLS TOOK STEPS
TO BREAK OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK.
Journey to a Top 10 District.
There arent many districts in the United States that can show
the progress that Iredell-Statesville Schools has made in the past
decadea move from 75th in the state in reading assessment to
15th, improved SAT scores from 57th in the state to 10th and a 99%
reduction in the amount of staff time spent on reporting.
To understand how Iredell-Statesville accomplished this is to know
their story, which began prior to 2001, when the district showed
decidedly lackluster student performance and ranked well below
state averages in many academic indicators. Improvements would
require a shift to a learning culture that focused on continuous
learning and ongoing improvements. Iredell-Statesville decided
to adopt a data-driven systems approach to teaching and learning
and adopted the Plan-Do-Study-Act model for continuous
improvement.
Iredell-Statesvilles rst step toward
a learning culture was to establish
professional learning communities, or
PLCs, which would enable, teachers
to collaborate on a weekly basis to
improve student achievement, focusing
on research-proven best practices, the
exchange of ideas, and facilitated analysis
of student performance data.
However, the district was at a crossroads in their journey. The
key to equipping the PLCs was the districts ability to deliver
assessment and demographic data into the hands of Instructional
Facilitators at each school who were charged with helping the
learning communities plan performance improvement strategies.
To avoid placing the burden of data management on teachers, the
district decided to purchase a data management system.
The district implemented Follett Software Companys TetraData

Warehouse with TetraData Analyzer
, allowing them to combine

student demographic information, state test scores, district
quarterly assessments, staff demographics and certication levels
and more into usable, actionable information. With the TetraData
system in place, both Instructional Facilitators and teachers have
access to data that is both relevant and timelycritical for making
informed instructional decisions.
More recently, the district added TetraData DASH
, which
presents key performance indicators in a familiar format for
teachers and administrators.
Today, Iredell-Statesvilles educators spend time where it needs to
be spentlooking at and talking about data instead of just pulling
data together. Teachers have access to data in a format that allows
them make decisions that impact instruction in their classroom.
While Iredell-Statesvilles journey is by no means nished, their
remarkable progress to date cannot be argued. With the Plan-Do-
Act-Study model in place and professional learning communities
empowered with data from the TetraData system, state reading
scores, SAT scores and other school performance indicators
increased dramatically and staff time spent on generating reports
dropped as much as 99%. Now, Iredell-Statesville is a state leader
in school performance improvement.
In addition, the district ranked among
the top 6% of all 2007 Baldrige National
Quality Program applicants, and was the
only education organization to receive a
Baldrige National Quality Award site visit
in that year.
Congratulations to Iredell-Statesville
Schools for achieving their vision to
become a top 10 school district in North Carolina. The districts
successes are an illustration of how schools can incorporate and
make data a part of their instructional practices and program
reviews. Hear more of the Iredell-Statesville story at
www.FollettSoftware.com/Top10District or call 800.323.3397.
www.FollettSoftware.com 800.323.3397
TetraData provides teachers
with data that are both
relevant and timely for making
instructional decisions.
- Sally Eller, Instructional Technology Coordinator
DISTRICT AT A GLANCE
Iredell-Statesville Schools
Statesville, North Carolina
Grade Levels: K-12
Students: 21,000
TO BREAK OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK.
Lets Build the Classroom of Tomorrow, Together
Follett Software Company combines proven thought leadership with digitally
powered K-12 technology solutions to support the life cycle of active learning.
Maximize district resources, from library materials, digital content, textbooks and
other assets, to school and student data. Sustain a rich, collaborative learning
environment that helps you instill 21st century learning skills. And give educators
more time to spend with their students, along with the right tools and training
to achieve better results.
Learn more about Follett Software Companys complete range of innovative
solutions, training, services and support at www.FollettSoftware.com/TL
INSPIRE STUDENT SUCCESS WITH
INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
Featuring TetraData
Helping districts make condent

decisions based on quality data.
Learn more about this robust suite of
data management, analysis and vision
alignment tools.
www.FollettSoftware.com/TetraData
www.FollettSoftware.com 800.323.3397
Connect with us on LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter
news trends
by T&L editors
Going Freemium
As the popularity of open source increases and more free content is added to the Web every
day, how will K12 edtech companies survive? Enter the freemium, content which is made
available free but which adds more robust features to a paid-for version of the product. ePals
was an early leader with this business model, and other examples were announced at FETC and
TCEA. One example is Qtopia, from the makers of Qwizdom, a Web-based program that treats
kids to 30 seconds of videogame play after they progress through a series of lessons from all
core subject areas. Another example is HPs new Classroom Management System. Both free
programs work well, but schools can upgrade to a paid subscription to add functions such as
district-wide reporting.
nextbigthing
What if a team of
world-class engineers collaborated with
administrators and teachers to develop
our most comprehensive, user-friendly
interactive teaching tools ever?
(Imagine that.)
2011 DYMO, a Newell Rubbermaid company
The NEW MimioClassroom family of products. We took award-winning
teaching technologies. We gathered meticulous input from teachers and
administrators. We then challenged some of the best engineering minds in the
industry to create an entirely new standard.
All MimioClassroom tools are designed to work together. Simply. The
MimioTeach interactive system transforms the whiteboards you already have
into interactive whiteboards. The MimioCapture ink recording system lets you
use dry erase markers to write, edit, and erase directly to your computer. The
MimioVote assessment system provides instant testing results with ahandset
thats easier for studentsit automatically renumbers in a convenient storage
and charging tray. The MimioView document camera displays high-resolution
images and launches the onscreen software simultaneously.
When Ken Royal of Scholastic experienced the new MimioClassroom tools,
he said they were simple to use, priced right, and not confusing for
teachers. Exactly what we had in mind.
Request your free information kit:
visit mimio.dymo.com/A49
or call 800.605.7552
In the world of interactive teaching, Mimio products stand apart.
TODAYS YOUNG EINSTEINS?
The results from the latest 2011 LemelsonMIT Invention Index are in and good
news: Young people say that you dont have to be a nerd to be an inventor!
Here are some highlights:
57% of young people think that creativity best describes an
inventor, outranking intelligent, problem solver, works in a technical field,
nerdy and quirky.
38% of respondents think that inventors work at home or in their
garage rather than at a small company or start-up, a large company, a
college or university, or elsewhere.
Japan outranks the U.S. in terms of countries leading the way in invention,
according to 57% of respondents. 32% ranked the U.S. first, still a
much higher percentage than other countries.
news trends
0%
Works well
enough, but
dont get
the hype.
87.92%
Love it.
World
changing.
12.08%
Hate it. Closed
source stymies
student innovation.
See more polls at
techlearning.com.
T&L ASKS READERS
APPLE: GOOD OR EVIL? What do you think of the
companys impact on education?
Remember
Dont
Copy That
Floppy?
No need to confess if you do. But
since digital piracy remains a prob-
lem, the Education Division of the
Software & Information Industry
Association (SIIA) released Dont
Copy That 2 as part of SIIAs
ongoing effort to help teachers
educate K12 students about the
ethical and legal use of copyrighted
materials, such as software, books,
articles, music, and movies. Dont
Copy That 2School Version is
a music video that addresses the
dangers of engaging in piracy and
the importance of respecting the
creative output of others. The
accompanying classroom resourc-
es include support materials for
the video, lesson plans for middle
and high school teachers, a glos-
sary, and other resources that can
be helpful to educators in teach-
ing these complex and important
concepts.
More information can
be found at http://
dontcopythat2.com.
ViewSonic and You.
ViewSonic delivers a complete line of award winning interactive short throw
and ultra short throw projectors for any classroom, application or budget. Our
projectors are backed with over 20 years of innovative design expertise and one
of the best warranties in the business. We focus on delivering reliable products
that lower your total cost of ownership with features like lter-less design, low
lamp replacement cost and Eco-mode for energy savings. For a limited time,
were offering educators an additional 2-year warranty, free screen and
mount, free lamp and free eval units on selected models (Restrictions apply*).
Top of the Class.
*For complete details please go to www.viewsonic.com/techlearning
Programs, specications and availability are subject to change without notice. Selection, offers and programs may vary by
country; see your ViewSonic representative for complete details. Corporate names, trademarks stated herein are the property
of their respective companies. Copyright 2011 ViewSonic Corporation. All rights reserved. [15407-00E-1/11]
news trends
ARE TEACHERS REALLY USING IWBS?
68%
of teachers report that
they value interactive
whiteboards
40%
they use interactive
whiteboards
17%
they want interactive
whiteboards but dont
have them
SOURCE: PBS AND GRUNWALD ASSOCIATES LLC, 2010, WWW.PBS.ORG/TEACHERS/RESEARCH/
GRANT NEWS
PBS innovative teachers
The second annual PBS
Teachers Innovation
Awards recognizes
educators who incor-
porate creative new practices and digi-
tal media into the classroom to improve
student learning. Twelve educators will
be selected as first-prize winners.
FOR MORE INFO: www.pbs.org/
teachers/innovators.
DEADLINE: March 31, 2011
Google Science Fair
The Google Science Fair is a global
online science competition designed
to inspire students interest in STEM
(science, technology, engineering,
and math) education, promote idea
sharing in these disciplines, and cel-
ebrate outstanding student talent.
Any student around the world with
a computer, an Internet connection,
and a Web browser can participate.
The competition is open to students
aged 13 to 18.
DEADLINE: April 4, 2011
Samsung launches
SUPERHERO video
competition
Samsung Techwin Americas Electronic
Imaging Division announced its new
SUPERHERO Competition. Any student
in grades K12 who attends school in the
United States or its territories is eligible to
enter a digital video of one to three min-
utes in length. Students are to portray a
historical character and will be judged on
presentation performance, character and
content accuracy, and content quality.
DEADLINES: Winter competition
entries, due March 18; spring competi-
tion entries, due June 17; autumn com-
petition entries, due September 23. One
student winner will be selected per
competition and will receive $500. In
addition, a SAMCAM 860 document
camera will be given to their class.
FOR MORE INFO: www.samsungk-12.
com
Young Scientist Challenge
Discovery Education
and 3M announce the
2011 call for entries
for the 13th annual
Discovery Education
3M Young Scientist Challenge for stu-
dents in grades five through eight. Ten
finalists will be selected to receive an all-
expense-paid trip to the 3M Innovation
Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, to com-
pete in the final challenge in October
2011. The winner will receive $25,000.
FOR MORE INFO: www.youngscientist
challenge.com
DEADLINE: April 15, 2011
Administrators know the challenge
of determining a products true ROI,
but without that data, we cant justify
purchasesespecially big, expensive
systems. At Vero Beach High School,
we developed a checklist of features
that, when combined, should provide a
clearer picture of a schools investment.
1
Less is more. A solution that
addresses the needs of all grade
levels and all core content areas pro-
vides a huge cost savings. The use of
one system eliminates the need for dif-
ferent technology configurations, mul-
tiple licenses, multiple trainings, sup-
port contracts, etc.
2
Put it to the test. No one likes
to say were teaching to the test,
but its certainly our job to prepare
students to do well on tests. The ques-
tion is, does your system help all
students prepare for all tests?
Thousands of dollars can be saved
by employing one system that
helps prepare all students for the
states high-stakes exams but also
prepares high school students for
Advanced Placement tests, exit
exams, and the all-important ACT
and SAT exams.
3
Open 24/7/365. Make sure
teachers, students, and even
parents can easily access your new
solution anytime, anywhere.
4
Assessing the situation. Does it
allow for customized ad hoc and
formative assessments to coincide with
teachers needs and prescribe activities
to support student-specific learning?
5
Does it fall in align? Any instruc-
tional program, whether supple-
mental or core, must be aligned to
your states standards and scalable to
the Common Core State Standards. If
you cant get that automatically with-
out spending thousands of dollars for
upgrades, the solution should receive
a failing grade.
6
Professional development on
demand. Be sure to select a pro-
gram that provides an economical and
easy way for teachers to gain skills
that can immediately be utilized in the
classroom.
7
A penny saved is a dollar earned.
Prices for instructional solutions
vary widely, so pay attention to the
bang you are getting for the buck.
8
Adding It All Up. Make sure your
online learning solution incorpo-
rates everything teachers need to effec-
tively engage learners, inform instruc-
tional decisions, and increase student
achievement. Without it, there is no ROI.
Eric Seymour is the prin-
cipal of Vero Beach (FL)
High School. Their district
uses Study Island.
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE REAL
ROI ON A WEB-BASED SYSTEM?
news trends
A new projector
spec
Theres a new spec to check off
your list as you shop for projec-
tors: color light output. The theory
behind this additional projector
specification is that while projec-
tors measure light output, resolu-
tion, and contrast ratio, there hasnt
been a specific measurement for
the projectors ability to reproduce
color. Enter color light output,
which uses the same approach as
white light output (brightness) but
provides the buyer with additional
information about color.
Sites We Like:
teachingjobsportal.com
Teaching Jobs Portal is a resource
outlining statistics and facts about
each states need for educators. The
goal is to build an online commu-
nity of teachers who: need a job, are
moving to a new job, are frustrated
where they are, or are looking for
career advice.
Looking for proven ways
to boost achievement?
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
I. Characters
A. Amanda Wingfield
Amanda Wingfield is the mother of Tom and Laura. She clings to the past where she was a Southern
Belle and could have had her pick of anyone, but instead married a man who was charming, but
irresponsible.
B. Laura Wingfield
Laura is Tom's younger sister who is painfully shy and has to wear a leg brace. She spends every day
playing old records from her father's collection and playing with her collection of glass animals
(menagerie). She is 23 years old.
C. Tom Wingfield
Laura's older brother wants to be a poet, but instead he has to work in a shoe warehouse to support
the family. At night he drinks and goes to the movies.
D. Jim O'Connor
The "gentleman caller." He knew Laura in high school where he was the model of success (in the
school play, popular athlete, very outgoing). His character contrasts with the Wingfield family.
E. Father
He only appears in a picture on the wall, but he is on everyone's minds. He deserted the family.
He is a symbol of how everything started to go wrong.
II. Settings
A. Past
The play is Tom's memory of the past.
B. Present
Tom telling the story to the audience is the present.

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NEW!
Thinkfinity: One of the most popular
educational resource sites on the Web.
Created by Verizon Foundation, it has
thousands of lesson plans, interactive
tools, etc.
Teachers.net: A wonderful site with
lesson plans created by teachers for
teachers. A ton of classroom projects
in all subjects and grade levels can be
found here too.
Shmoop: One of my favorite sites for
education. A very fun and friendly site
with a variety of resources, such as
links, lesson plans, and guides.
teAchnology: Thousands of lesson
plans can be found here, as well as
other resources on holidays, events, etc.
Super Teacher Worksheets: A mas-
sive list of free printable worksheets
for teachers in a number of
subject areas.
Educational World: A great
site with lesson plans and
other materials for teachers.
TeachAde: A social network
designed for educators that has
lots of free educational materials
and a beautiful user interface.
Cybraryman: An excellent site with
many links and resources for educa-
tors and students.
FREEFree Resources for Educational
Excellence: This site has it alllessons,
videos, documents and more.
Edhelper: A great collection of educa-
tional resources in all subjects. This is a
paid service for a low cost that can be
purchased in teacher packs of five as well.
David Kapuler is an educational
consultant with more than 10 years
of experience working in the K12
environment. For more information
about his work, contact him at
dkapuler@gmail.com and read his blog
at cyber-kap.blogspot.com.
Top 10 Sites for Educational Resources
Here is a sampling of great education resources on the Web, but that doesnt
mean there arent others qualified to be listed. Add your favorites to the list
under the comment section on this blog post (http://www.techlearning.com/
blogs/36546).
news trends
0
5
10
15
20
25
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2014
1.6 M
2 M
2.3 M
3.2 M
3.5 M
3.9 M
4.6 M
22 M
More than 1 in 4 students took
at least one online course
Online Education
Number of
students who took
a course online
66% of U.S.
universities offer
courses online.
In 2014
(projection),
3.55 million
students will
take all their
classes online.
SOURCE: HTTP://
CERTIFICATIONMAP.COM/
INFOGRAPHIC-SEE-THE-
FUTURE-OF-EDUCATION/
Sites We Like:
www.siia.net/visionk
20/survey/
SIIAs Vision K20 survey asks
K20 institutions to share their
progress toward an instructional
and institutional framework that
embraces technology and e-learn-
ing. The poll takes just a few min-
utes, and the results provide an
interesting snapshot of the reality
of digital education.
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PRODUCTREVIEWS
Put to the Test
T&L editors take some new products for a test drive
By Catherine Crary
Dabbleboard is a Web 2.0 tool that acts as an online white-
board. It allows teachers and students to work collaboratively
or individually to create pictures and graphic organizers.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS: Dabbleboard enables
teachers and students to easily create many graphic orga-
nizers, which can then be used as worksheets or filled in and
submitted online. The tool makes it easy to draw shapes
for lessons, such as models of atoms in chemistry, and to
illustrate problems in physics.
EASE OF USE: Drawing on Dabbleboard is fairly intuitive,
but there is also a video that shows users how to take
advantage of the tools helpful tricks, such as how to draw
shapes. The video also demonstrates how to work col-
laboratively (by sending collaborators a link to the page
or communicating via Webinar) and how to publish users
work so others can view it. It would be helpful, however, to
have more information on how to collaborate effectively.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: This product combines
the best aspects of a whiteboard and a word-processing
program. Furthermore, Dabbleboard creations can easily be
transferred to wikis and Web pages or simply downloaded
to a users computer.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT:
Because Dabbleboard is so easy to learn, neither the
teacher nor the students will require much prep or class
time to become familiar with it. Similarly, since it is a Web
tool, no equipment is needed for storing data. Students and
staff simply log on to their accounts online.
PRODUCT: DABBLEBOARD
dabbleboard.comRetail price: There are two types of accounts: a free account
and a Pro account, which has more security, storage, and support. Pro prices
range from $4 to $100 for educational and nonprofit institutions.
OVERALL RATING
Dabbleboard is a versatile Web 2.0 tool that can be
used to demonstrate many subjects and various types
of content more effectively.
Top Features
Easy to use and great for making
graphic organizers.
It is an online tool, so everything is
digital and requires no maintenance,
downloads, or storage space.
Schools can either use it free or decide
how many Pro accounts they need.
1. Plug in a mouse or an AVerPen
2. Draw, write, mark-up
3. Lesson explanation complete - its that simple!
With the AVerVision F50 document camera, just plug in a mouse or
AVerPen to enhance your image with illustration and words - all without
a computer! The result? No break in your teaching, and your curriculum
keeps on going.
For more information about the new AVerVision F50 document camera,
visit tl.averusa.com
Annotation. Simplied.
Copyright 2011, AVerMedia I nformation, I nc. All rights reserved.
By Ben Grey
The Dell KACE K1000 is a system-man-
agement appliance that provides an
impressive array of solutions for a tech-
nology environment.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS: The
K1000 provides inventory, asset man-
agement, license compliance, software
metering, security assessment, broad-
cast alerts, and many other manage-
ment services. It is fairly simple to set
up, and the client install for machines that will utilize
the service is quick and easy. All the services this appli-
ance offers are nicely executed in practice. The ability
to run software-inventory reports on
any machine makes overseeing licens-
ing compliance easier. The K1000 can
also report software usage through its
software metering and thus help admin-
istrators make decisions about purchas-
ing and professional development. The
appliance provides excellent cross-plat-
form support.
Though the client is fairly lightweight
and offers an amazing array of manage-
ment features, the reviewer noticed that
running it on his laptop increased startup and shutdown
time, though not enough to be annoying.
EASE OF USE: The K1000 system requires an appliance to
run on the network, and a client must be installed on the
machines. From there the management interface is Web
based, so its accessible from virtually anywhere. The only
challenge is the sheer breadth of services provided, which
will take users some time to learn; once they have done so,
they will find them easy to navigate and effective.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: The K1000 provides an
outstanding management solution and an excellent end-
user experience. Solutions for several platforms are found
within one environment, and the ability to use the myriad
tools from a single interface is highly useful.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: The
K1000 would be an excellent management solution for an
educational environment. Though it requires a significant
initial investment in terms of cost, Dell maintains that there
are ample opportunities for return on investment, such
as the energy saved by the power-management tool, the
potential decrease in the time required to support users,
and the lowered risk of incurring fines associated with out-
of-license compliance.
PRODUCT: DELL KACE K1000 APPLIANCE
www.kace.com Retail price: Starts at $8,900.
PRODUCTREVIEWS
OVERALL RATING
The K1000 is an impressive management utility that
offers numerous management services in one solution.
Top Features
Wide array of
services provided
Ease of use of the
entire system, from
setup to the Web-
based management
interface itself
Overall utility of each
service offered
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Hitachi is offering signicant savings with its new
Short-Throw Trade Up program. This enables owners of
projector/interactive whiteboard systems to exchange their old
projector for Hitachis new Ultimate Short Throw projector. The
Short-Throw Trade Up program allows you to turn your old
projector units into cash, while also saving material waste on
disposal of old projectors. Whats more, youll be upgrading to a
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Contact Your Troxell Account Executive For More Information!
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By MaryAnn Karre
myON reader is a personalized social reading environ-
ment that empowers students to choose books accord-
ing to their interests and skill levels and provides teach-
ers and administrators the tools to track, monitor, and
report on students growth.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS: With myON, students,
teachers, librarians, administrators, and parents can
have immediate and concurrent access to more than
800 digital books from
Capstone, Stone Arch
(lots of graphic nov-
els!), Compass Point,
Heinemann-Raintree,
and Picture Window
books; more than 1,000
books will be added by
years end. In addition,
Capstone Digital will
soon be adding titles
from other publishers.
myONs strength lies in
its personalized read-
ing assessments, which
address students interests and develop individual reading
recommendations. The first time a student logs in, he com-
pletes an interest inventory to determine which books out
of the 60 categories he may want to read. Then he answers
35 multiple-choice reading-comprehension questions. This
Lexile placement exam determines the reading level at which
he will be successful and provides a starting point for the
growth-trajectory report. The student is invited to repeat this
benchmark assessment after reading a few books.
EASE OF USE: The student interface is clear, colorful, and
inviting. The Home Page presents a selection of either rec-
ommended books, all available books, the teachers
list, or books saved from the students earlier
searches. Readers can choose to have books read
aloud or not and to have each word, sentence, or
both highlighted as the story is read. By clicking
the account button, students can view their reading
activity, adjust their reading preferences, and see
their projected reading growth.
The teacher interface is less colorful and straight-
forward but contains lots of information that can be
sorted by individual, group, or class. The teacher
interface also includes lists of
sets of books by topic; individ-
ual titles in each set, along with
their Lexile level and rating
and a synopsis, can be viewed.
Each set can be assigned to a
student or group of students,
but individual titles cannot be
assigned from this interface.
Teachers can also create sets
of books, searching the collec-
tion by subject, reading level,
or category. Directions are not readily available.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: myON provides a
simple way to integrate digital books into the curriculum.
Students can read books, review them, and share reviews
with this safe, monitored social network.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT:
myON merges students reading with evaluation by teach-
ers and monitoring by parents. Teachers have access to
the quizzes and assessments that the students complete
and can use these data to provide feedback, help formulate
reading strategies, and create personal reading plans.
PRODUCT: CAPSTONE MYON READER
www.myon.comRetail price: $6,500 per school for annual subscription; volume
discounts available
PRODUCTREVIEWS
Top Features
A student can select books according to their
appeal and the students reading level.
Teachers can efficiently monitor students
reading progress and create a personal reading
program for each student or group of students.
Parents can monitor their childrens progress
and participate in their successes.
ELMOf Package is an instructional tool combining
the award winning TT-02RX document camera and
the CRA-1 wireless tablet.
Now, for a limited time only, educators can try the
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Call 1-800-947-3566 or go to www.elmousa.com
'After using ELMO,
I don't know how I could
teach without it!"
We use ELMO everyday for writing. With it,
the kids can see print and pictures from
actual books up on the screen, as well as
their own writing. ELMO is great for revising,
combining and editing my students work. I
am already applying ELMO to my future
lesson plans, like using the camera instru-
ment to visually present the folklore storytelling
activities to my class.
Today, my third grade class used ELMO to
present their book reports to 3 other classes.
There was signicant improvement! With
ELMO as their aide, they were much more
prepared, better organized and exerted
more condence than they had in past
presentations.
ELMO has been a great teaching tool! It
allows me to showcase student projects
and its easy enough that the kids can
operate it. I will denitely integrate ELMO
more into next years curriculum. After using
ELMO, I cant imagine teaching without it!
Lakewood Elementary School
2-5
TH
grade teacher

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Computer is NOT included.

By MaryAnn Karre
Sublime Learning helps schools integrate existing technol-
ogycurrently Kidspiration and Inspirationinto instruction
to directly shape the reading, writing, math, and thinking
skills of students in pre-K through eighth grade.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS: Utilizing Kidspiration and
Inspiration software, eTeachables for Visual Learning, the
only eTeachables Library available at the time of this review,
helps instructors transform teaching. The database includes
200 online video tutorials that model effective teaching
strategies through the use of graphic organizers, as well
as templates to be used in the classroom to quickly apply
the strategies. These just-in-time professional-development
modules cover reading, writing, math, and critical-thinking
skills. Additionally, teachers can watch more than 200 one-
to two-minute tut orials that introduce
examples of different instruction for
various learning styles.
EASE OF USE: Searching the database
is very straightforward. Teachers can
browse the entire Library or search
by keyword, then modify the search
by subject and grade level, or search by standard. Sublime
Learning offers two hours of online learning sessions to sup-
port the effective use of eTeachables, online and in-person
seminars, professional community, classroom demonstra-
tions, and personal support. Help buttons are not evident
in the database itself, but the Library is clear-cut and easy
to navigate.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: Educators can easily
search, use, save, and index their own learning resources,
including templates, lessons, and video. While the cur-
rent Library includes Inspiration products only, Sublime
Learning plans to release an Electronic
Whiteboards Library soon. Also on the
drawing board are professional-learning
Community Libraries, to which teach-
ers will be able to add their own digital
resources to share with colleagues.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL
ENVIRONMENT: Sublime Learnings eTeachables can help
teachers focus on meeting instructional goals, integrating
technology, and engaging students in higher-order thinking
skills. The video tutorials address standards-based topics,
reading comprehension, writing frameworks, and often-test-
ed topics such as Main Idea, Authors Purpose, and Making
Connections to Text. The eTeachables libraries can also be
assigned to teachers, and teacher use is tracked and report-
ed, making this an effective professional-development or
mentoring tool. Any digital professional-learning resources
can also be saved, searched, and assigned.
PRODUCT: SUBLIME LEARNING PORTAL AND LIBRARY OF
ETEACHABLES
www.sublimelearning.comRetail price: Introductory price, $995$700 per
school; additional discounts for district-wide and multiple-year subscriptions
PRODUCTREVIEWS
Top Features
Districts that already have Kidspiration
or Inspiration will find eTeachables
valuable, as it quickly enables teachers
to engage students and teach core
curriculum skills with technology.
Sublime Learning provides easy access
to more than 200 video tutorials based
on specific K8 instructional goals.
Tying teacher-instruction videos to
templates for classroom use makes it
simpler to integrate technology within
core subject areas.
By Thomas Ward
Wiffiti is an online user-generated interactive dis-
play mechanism that creates a screen through the
users online interface. On this screen, the students
receive a directive to text a message to a particular
phone number. The resulting text messages then
appear on the screen in real time. A screen creator
can also designate a Twitter tag so that Twitter mes-
sages with the tag appear on the screen.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS: Wiffiti enables
dynamic and interactive collaboration among those
in the classroom. The graphics are sharp and can
be modified by the user. Furthermore, the service
has a built-in language-rating mechanism to prevent
the students from publishing inappropriate mes-
sages. It is not robust, however, so teachers must be
prepared for instances of inappropriate messages
appearing on the screen.
EASE OF USE: Wiffiti is extremely easy
to use. It is entirely Web-based, so there
is no software to install. The product
requires a free online registration. Once
registered, a user is directed to the
Create-A-Screen page. This interface is
straightforward and easy to navigate.
Including Twitter tags is simple also.
Wiffiti offers two viewing methods:
screen mode and timeline mode. Screen
mode simply displays messages as they arrive, switch-
ing between the six most recent messages, while time-
line mode displays all messages, in the order they were
received. A teacher can easily alternate between modes,
depending on the situation.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: Wiffiti integrates striking
graphics, Web 2.0 interactivity, and cell phones to create a
technology tool that has numerous classroom applications.
Not only can teachers create activities
that will engage students through the
use of cell phones, but they can export
the results to other Web pages or save
the results for students to view online at
home or as a review resource.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL
ENVIRONMENT: Wiffiti requires cell
phones, so it can be used only in schools
that allow these devices. Also, problems
can arise when students are using cell
phones with poor reception or service. That said, the prod-
ucts wide range of applications makes it easy to integrate
into any curriculum. For example, students can use it dur-
ing an exploratory activity to post their discoveries to the
screen in real time, as they are making them. The ability
to include Twitter messages gives a teacher the unique
opportunity to tie an activity to people and events outside
the classroom.
PRODUCT: WIFFITI 4
www.wiffiti.comRetail price: free
PRODUCTREVIEWS
OVERALL RATING
Wiffiti is a unique tool that teachers can use to create
engaging, interactive lessons. It does not provide
prepackaged activities, but its flexibility enables
the teacher to enhance lessons through the use of
technology and collaboration.
Top Features
Wiffiti is free.
It encourages
collaboration.
It is a novel, fun way
to learn and share
information that
engages students.
Problems can arise when students are
using cell phones with poor reception
or service. that said, the products wide
range of applications makes it easy to
integrate into any curriculum.
WWW. TECHLEARNI NG. COM
THIS MONTH: CUSTOMER SERVICE: WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN DR. MURPHY COMES TO CALL?
Trying to gauge the value of a companys customer service
is probably the most difficult aspect of the Long Review.
Merely having an 800 number doesnt cut it. Marketing spiel
about building relationships and brokering partnerships
sounds great, but what does that mean eight months into a
program, long after the honeymoon is over?
For Village Charter School head Leigh Byron, the
best customer service actually feels like none at
all. In all honesty, I cant recall a time when the
dam broke and we needed reinforcements to
come swooping in, he says. I cant come up
with some anecdote that speaks to that idea,
because so far our needs have been antici-
pated and met before they became needs.
Byron credits both Pearson and Dell with
having what could be termed preventive cus-
tomer service. He recalls being advised by both companies,
during the first stages of the implementation, about how to
avoid pitfallsthings like having improperly wired labs and
not understanding hardware requirements. He also says
there was continuous communication with account repre-
sentatives as well as with Pearsons curriculum specialist.
These people meet with staff at Village in person at least
once a month and are in touch via email, texting, and phone.
Byron likes being on the receiving end of the relationship.
Its very much like the dynamic a school needs to have with
parents, he says. You dont want to be calling them only
when there is a problem with their children.
Another key aspect of customer service that the Village
administration has discovered is that the team behind each
technology provider must have good relationships among
themselves as well as a strong rapport with whichever
third-party consultant the client uses. This may be another
reason Byron cant recall complaints: The phone calls about
a broken keyboard (reported by one of the reviewers first-
grade students) and a cracked screen, for example, prob-
ably never reach his desk, nor should they.
Finally, the Village administration has been pleased with
what could be described as future service. Now that the
Long Review venture has succeeded, Village is gearing up
to implement a one-to-one project. As part of its commit-
ment to form relationships with customers, Dell has
introduced the school to third-party developers, like
MoodleRooms, that can help shape the strategy.
Of course, while it is understood that Village may have
more attention paid to it by its partners as a result of its
participation in this special experiment (there has been no
cost to Village for the first year), Byron doesnt believe that
any company could create this sort of dynamic on the fly.
To achieve that preventive, continuous, and future service
makes these companies the gold standard to which all other
services should be compared, he says.
NEXT MONTH: FROM INSTRUCTION TO ASSESSMENT:
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR RESULTS
The Long Review
Too often reviews of edtech fall short of reality. Sure, speeds and feeds are important things
to consider, but how does this stuff work in the real world? T&L will try to answer that
question this school year, when our editors follow the stakeholders at Village Charter School
in Trenton, New Jersey, as they implement Pearsons SuccessMaker software on a 40-seat Dell
PC desktop network.
To walk through a SuccessMaker in
more detail, go to www.pearsonschool.
com/index.cfm?locator=PSZkBm
For Village Charter School head Leigh Byron, the best
customer service actually feels like none at all.
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BYOD and
Security
How to make it safe
PLUS
CIO PROFILE:
Kyle Berger, Executive
director of
technology,
Alvarado (TX)
Independent
School District
Biggest District
Deals of
the Month
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32 | SCHOOL CI O SPECI AL SECTI ON
BYOD
and
Security
How do you
protect students
from themselves?
By Ellen Ullman
Last month we wrote about the evolution of
one-to-one computing and how districts are allowing
students to bring your own device (BYOD) to school.
This month we look at how they are handling security and
other issues so they can let students BYOD.
The Do-It-Yourself
Approach
At New Canaan High School in
Connecticut, students are welcome to
bring in their own devices. With the
economy plummeting, this is the first
time in my 28 years that we have
more students in class than laptops on
carts, says Cathy Swan, technology-
integration specialist. Its great when a
kid can supplement the cart.
A student simply registers a
devices MAC address and the equip-
ment is enabled for Internet access.
Registration is simple: The Web site
https://sites.google.com/a/ncps-k12.
org/macaddress has detailed instruc-
tions for finding the MAC address,
whether its a laptop, a smartphone, or
an iPad. Students can fill out the form
on a classroom desktop or on a com-
puter in the library. Every week, the
technology staff updates the list and
adds the new devices to the network.
Since there is no school-wide man-
date about BYOD, teachers have the
flexibility to let students use their own
devices or not; the tech staff merely
makes it possible. Weve been doing
this for a couple of years and have had
zero problems since we started, Swan
says. Students who have their own
tech can use it; others use products
that the school supplies.
Network Segmentation
The Alvarado (Texas) Independent
School District has been working on a
one-to-one initiative since 2007. Today
all students in the fourth through eighth
grades have school-issued laptops. But
because state funding has dwindled,
the district has turned to BYOD.
Alvarado is already wireless, some-
thing Kyle Berger, executive director of
technology, began working on before
beginning the one-to-one program.
He plans to segment the network and
establish a quarantined network that will
validate student devices after checking
for updated antivirus tools and other
requirements. Basically, its like turning
the schools network into what youd
find at a hotel, Berger says. Students
will open their device and get a screen
asking, Do you want to connect?
Berger feels comfortable with the
technical aspects of BYOD but is less
sure about how to handle the changes
that will make instruction possible. Hes
concerned about teachers having to
provide lessons for a mixed population
of products. How do you teach about
Excel spreadsheets, for instance, if one
student has a two-inch screen and
another has a laptop?
To address this matter, Bergers
team is working with a couple of ven-
dors to deliver applications that will
be device independent. A lot of pro-
grams and resources are Web based
or going up to the cloud, but on a small
device the Web can be a problem, he
says. For instance, iPhones dont have
Flash. We have to know that kids will
get the content.
SCHOOL CI O SPECI AL SECTI ON | 33
Strategies for K-12 Technology Leaders
Making a Public, Filtered
Wi-Fi
Over at the Katy (Texas) ISD, content is
not a concern, because the district has
been preparing for BYOD in a number
of ways. Two years ago, when the tech
staff handed out mobile phones to fifth
graders for a pilot project, they saw
incredible instructional results, says
Lenny Schad, chief information offi-
cer. Security was a nonissue, because
Schad created a public Wi-Fi at the
elementary school that was filtered in
the same way the wired network was.
The Katy ISD has now distributed
1,500 mobile-learning devices to all
the fifth graders at its 11 elementary
campuses, and there is public Wi-Fi on
12 campuses.
When the children take their school-
supplied mobile devices home, they
connect to the Verizon network. These
devices can connect to only that net-
work or the Katy Wi-Fi network. Both
networks filter Internet access through
the districts filtering system, which
protects students from going to inap-
propriate Web sites.
This two-year program has laid the
foundation for next year, when every
campus will have a filtered public Wi-Fi
and the district will allow kids to BYOD
to school. In terms of curriculum, the
Katy ISD has focused for the past
couple of years on helping teachers
integrate Web 2.0 tools into the cur-
riculum; already most are comfortable
teaching this way. Its an important
thing people need to realize, Schad
says. If you havent prepared your
teachers for what to do [when you
start a BYOD program], you wont get
your bang for the buck.
Schad took a simple approach to
security because he knew that teach-
ers would need Internet access to
use 2.0 tools. In keeping with that
philosophy, teachers help students,
even the youngest elementary kids,
take digital responsibility and become
smart and informed digital citizens.
We allow them to take advantage of
Web 2.0 tools to collaborate, do their
homework, and so on, Schad says.
Otherwise, theres no need for BYOD.
The public Wi-Fi is just a continuation
of a lot of things were doing. Its a nat-
ural progression in this change cycle.
A final, and perhaps the most
important, reason the district is so
keen on using Web 2.0 tools is that
they are device neutral, and so another
potential burden is removed. I dont
want to add to a teachers overloaded
workload, Schad says. Taking device
specifics out of the equation makes it
so much easier.
www.schoolcio.com
Two Networks
Eric Willard, chief technology officer of
Community Unit School District (CUSD)
300 in Carpentersville, Illinois, started
his BYOD program by going through
all the districts policies and reworking
the pieces that dealt with technology.
He eliminated anything that stopped
him from moving toward Web 2.0. That
process took an entire year.
He spent another year working on
district-level administrative procedures.
Lots of our leadership was saying no;
they think cell phones are a nuisance,
he says. So he changed the procedures
to align with the new policies and
present no roadblocks to BYOD.
In September, Willard began imple-
mentation, but he then learned that
many of the schools had handbooks
that prohibited students from bring-
ing in cell phones. Rather than push,
he chose to delay for a year and go
to each of his 27 buildings. Hes now
listening to their concerns, informing
them of the benefits of BYOD, and
removing any lingering barriers. Thats
where we are now, he says. I intend
to be open next year, and it will be a
nonissue.
While Willard goes from school to
school, hes doing pilots and working on
infrastructure. He recently completed
putting in basic wireless access in every
building and is about to add more IP
addresses and build bigger firewalls
that will handle additional users.
Currently, if a teacher brings in her
own computer, she receives a password
with which she can log on to the guest
network. Once we get more access for
the kids, well set switches up, Willard
says. They will have a different network
they can access automatically; it will go
through our filter and have a limited
bandwidth pipe that doesnt interfere
with what school-owned computers are
using. It might be a slightly slower net-
work, but it will balance out.
The Right Building Blocks
Regardless of how a district chooses to
handle BYOD and security, a few key
steps make the entire process go much
more smoothly. Willard has dubbed
these steps Willards Pyramid, a not-
too-subtle homage to Maslows hier-
archy of needs. Here are the pieces of
Willards Pyramid:
Funding and leadership. These cru-
cial elements are the base of the pyra-
mid, he says. Without those in place,
dont bother going forward.
Technology planning and sup-
port. Make sure all stakeholders are
involved from the beginning. Figure
out what you have and where you
want to go. Build a team that supports
whats in place today or you wont get
the credibility to continue.
Standards and infrastructure. After
the tech planning, its time to develop
a series of standards, including hard-
ware, software, instruction, networking,
and infrastructure. At this point youll
know if you need fiber between build-
ings, and so on. Then you can start
buying hardware and software.
Ellen Ullman is editor of School CIO.
www.schoolcio.com
Actualize
Hardware &
Software
Standards &
Infrastructure
Tech Planning & Support
F
u
n
d
in
g
&
L
e
a
d
e
rsh
ip
U
ser N
eed
s
P
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o
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s
s
i
o
n
a
l
D
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v
e
l
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p
m
e
n
t
Williards
Pyramid
Even the youngest
elementary kids take
digital responsibility
and become smart and
informed digital citizens.
SCHOOL CI O SPECI AL SECTI ON | 37
www.schoolcio.com
We know T&L readers are smart, tech
savvy, and no longer need to read
primers about why teachers should
use Twitter. You deal with the nitty
gritty of getting your teachers trained,
your tech integrated successfully, and
maintaining the support of your school
community. We see SchoolCIO as a
partner to making these logistics hap-
pen on a district-wide level, a com-
munity level. How do you keep that
tech funding going once the grants
dry up? How will Common Core stan-
dards affect the technology plan you
finally solidified last year? How can
you change your district Acceptable
Use Policies to get that Bring Your
Own Tech program goingand should
you when half of your students are on
free and reduced lunch?
We hope that by providing both
perspectives through print, online, and
events, Tech & Learning can be your
partner in creating smarter schools and
successful learners. We invite you to
visit the new SchoolCIO.com, featuring:
New SchoolCIO
editor: Ellen Ullman has
been a magazine writer
and editor since 1987.
She worked at Small
Business Computing
and FamilyPC, and in
2003 began reporting
on K12 and higher edtech. Email Ellen
your stories, questions, or comments to
SchoolCIO@nbmedia.com.
Regular blog posts and editorial
guidance from our new SchoolCIO
Advisors: We have asked for insight
from some of the smartest leaders in
edtech who will be sharing their experi-
ence through blog posts, profiles, and
more. ScholCIO Advisors include:
Rob Mancabelli, chief information
officer for Trinity School in New York.
Doug Johnson, director of media
and technology for the Mankato (MN)
Public Schools and author of five books,
a long-running column in Library Media
Connection, and the Blue Skunk Blog.
Debbie Karcher, CIO for Miami-
Dade County Public Schools, the fourth
largest school district in the nation.
Thuan Nguyen, chief information
and operations officer for the Kent
(WA) School District, and one of T&Ls
Top 100 Education Leaders.
Karen Fuller, chief technology offi-
cer at Klein ISD, and a regular present-
er at education conferences, including
Tech Forum Southwest.
Nancy Caramanico, director of
technology, K-12, for the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia Catholic Schools.
Julie Carter, executive director of
technology from Minnetonka (MN)
School District, and one of T&Ls 2010
Leader of the Year.
Jim Klein, director of information
services and technology for the Saugus
Union School District.
Chad Maxa, director of IT at the
Intermediate District 287, MN.
Coby Culbertson, director of tech-
nology from the Western Dubuque
Community School District, IA.
Jen LaMaster, educational technol-
ogy coordinator from Brebeuf Jesuit
Preparatory School in Indianapolis, IN.
SchoolCIO.com will also keep you
posted on the latest industry trends
and resources, hires and fires, news
about districts that get it and districts
that dont, and much more. Watch
also for a new Web site design, com-
ing soon.
Whats new at
SchoolCIO?
There are some big changes happening at schoolcio.com, the Tech &
Learning site dedicated to big picture issues facing schools today.
Coming Fall 2011:
SchoolCIO Leadership Summit
The SchoolCIOLeadership Summit 2011 is a new invitation-only event for
top-level executives. This two-day event will include panel discussions and
roundtables, one-on-one meetings and networking-focused social activities.
Tell us some of your big-picture tech
goals for the year.
One is an advancement in technology
interface with special-needs children.
I feel that within the coming months,
what we are able to do with this tech-
nology will be exciting news for others
to use in their districts. We are devel-
oping applications to push content to
students and stakeholders where they
are, 24/7, mainly in the mobile plat-
forms preparing us for BYOD [bring
your own device].
More advancements in virtual-
desktop environment will allow us to
expand the lifelines of district devices but
also prepare us for the BYOD evolution.
We want to make our district more
data driven and be able to present
needed data in simple forms to all par-
ties involved.
Which tech accomplishment are you
most proud of?
The one-to-one movement in grades
four through eight is one that I am proud
of, because it shows that the district
values technology in the classroom and
because so many people came together
to make it happen. Our community-out-
reach program providing free Internet
access is another one that I enjoy,
because it turned out to be a completely
self-funded initiative that has reached
out to our community to provide needed
access. On the technical side, I am proud
of our award-winning disaster-recovery
initiative, which connects schools across
the country with disaster-recovery abil-
ity free, and our streamlined automated-
business process, which makes overall
user and program management a nonis-
sue because of advanced identity man-
agement and provisioning.
Are you planning to let students
BYOD? If so, when?
We are looking at the BYOD game plan
for our district. With us already having a
large one-to-one deployment in grades
four through eight, the need for one-to-
one computing at other levels is appar-
ent. Our overall thinking is that we stan-
dardize on district-owned devices in
the lower grades (possibly up to eighth
grade); at that point we want to let the
technology become more personal to
the user but also beneficial in the edu-
cation as well. So BYOD is targeted to
our high school students. We are look-
ing at pilot rollouts within the next nine
months for phase one.
Several factors have led to a slower
adoption of BYOD for our district. One
is the potential classroom difficulty with
a mixed population of devices to teach
to and the impact on instruction. Mainly
we want to ensure that the tools are not
a distraction in our educational environ-
ment. A have-and-have-not situation
among our students is also a factor.
The main thing driving us to this is, of
course, funding, as we are being hit with
dramatic decreases each year.
Traditional or online textbooks?
Our district already has a large collection
of e-books. We are moving toward more
textbooks online, as we have found the
content to be better and more appeal-
ing to our students. I believe that no
matter what advancements take place,
there will always still be some need for
traditional books in education. We still
have traditional books in our library.
Can your students and/or teachers
use Facebook, MySpace, and similar
Web 2.0 tools?
At this point, Facebook and MySpace
are limited internally for students. We
are constantly evaluating these tools
but moving a bit slower on those sites
because of an increase in cyberbullying.
However, the district and campus loca-
tions do have a presence on Facebook
and use it often to communicate.
Besides these two sites, we are open to
other Web 2.0 tools, like blogging and
podcasting, for students and teachers.
Professional development: face-to-
face, online, or blended?
In my opinion, blended is the key. The
need in some instances for face-to-face
is apparent, but online is valuable for
just-in-time learning and refresher-based
learning for end users and professionals.
What are some of your guilty pleasures?
I work too much!
CIO Profile: Kyle Berger
www.schoolcio.com
NAME: Kyle Berger
AGE: 33
TITLE: Executive director of
technology, since 2004
DISTRICT: Alvarado (TX)
Independent School District
At this point, Facebook
and myspace are limited
internally for students.
We are constantly
evaluating these tools
but moving a bit slower
on those sites because
of an increase in
cyberbullying.
ARE WEB APPS
SABOTAGING
YOUR NETWORK?
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Bad news for schools doing one-to-
one and mobile programs: A new
report from Trustwave reveals that
the target of computer attacks has
shifted from traditional infrastructure
to mobile users and end-point devices.
The Global Security Report 2011
found that malicious tools became
more customized, automated, and
persistent in 2010. Combined with
the popularity of mobile devices and
social media, they are providing the
perfect recipe for cyber-criminals
intent on compromising businesses,
customers, and users private and
sensitive information. Protect your
schools by learning about Trustwaves
client defense strategies.
The other study,
Arbor Networks sixth
annual Worldwide
Infrastructure Se-
curity Report, of-
fers a rare view
into the challenges
facing network op-
erators in the front lines of a global
battle against botnets and distributed
denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. De-
signed to provide data and insight to
help network operators make more
informed decisions about their securi-
ty strategies, this report focuses on
the preponderance of DDoS attacks
in 2010.
Brainchilds Kineo, which
debuted in February at
FETC, is the first
Android tablet e-book
reader created exclu-
sively for education, as
it has built-in features
to keep schools and
students safe. Kineo was designed in
close cooperation with teachers and
administrators, who stressed that secu-
rity features were criti-
cal. Unlike other tablets,
which can surf the In-
ternet at will, Kineo can
access only Web sites
that are prepro-
grammed by the ad-
ministrator or teacher.
In addition, messaging capabilities
have been disabled to make sure that
students use it for learning, not texting.
www.schoolcio.com
trends resources
Two new reports on
Internet security
New tablet for ed market
comes with extra security
US Cyber
Challenge
partners with
Lockheed Martin
and Microsoft
The US Cyber Challenge has
announced partnerships with
Lockheed Martin and Microsoft.
The two sponsors will support
the activities of the USCC, which
conducts online competitions and
on-site camps that help people
develop computer skills, gain
access to advanced training,
and achieve recognition through
scholarships, internships, and jobs.
The USCCs goal is to find 10,000
talented Americans to fill the
ranks of cybersecurity profession-
als, where their skills can be of the
greatest value to the nation.
The partnerships with Lockheed
Martin and Microsoft provide sup-
port for USCC programs, which
will include national and regional
contests for high school students.
Desktop
virtualization
helps districts
save money and
increase security
K12 districts that use Virtual
Bridges, Inc.s VERDE desk-
top virtualization solution report
more efficient IT, reduced labor
costs, extended PC life span, and
reduced security risks, accord-
ing to the company. On average,
Virtual Bridges education custom-
ers save $400 per desktop and
reduce their operating expenses
up to 50 percent by means of cen-
tralized management.
u
n
l
o
c
k
i
n
g po
t
e
n
t
i
a
l
isteconference.org
Thank you, Tech & Learning, an ISTE 2011 Media Sponsor
Presented by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications & Technology (PAECT).
experience
300 model lessons, bring your own
laptop sessions, lectures, and panels
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135 hands-on and seminar-demo
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500 exhibiting companies,
agencies, and organizations
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400 informal and interactive
learning activities
Philadelphia is the destination for learning next June!
At ISTE 2011, youll discover how educators all over the globe are using innovative
learning and teaching technologies to help students unlock their potential.
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www.schoolcio.com
BACK-OFFICE BUSINESS: HOW SCHOOLS GET IT DONE
Texas district connects
students, teachers, lessons
CHALLENGE: The Atlanta
Independent School District
in Texas wanted to become
a model for the use of
digital content, interactive
media, and educational
technology in support of
student learning.
SOLUTION: Lightspeed Systems My Big Campus lets
students and teachers collaborate and communicate
safely. It acts as an extension of the classroom, taking
discussions, assignments, and curriculum to a safe online
environment. The site is part of a Web filter and allows
administrators to assign, monitor, and report on user per-
missions and policies.
Internet filter offers security,
flexibility for California schools
CHALLENGE: An im-
portant element of the
mission of Californias
Lassen County Office
of Education is to en-
sure the safety of stu-
dents while accessing
online material: shielding them from inappropriate sites
while on campus but still providing complete use of the
Internet. Additionally, LCOE wanted a standard Web-
filtering system that would be flexible enough for the dispa-
rate policies set by the school districts.
SOLUTION: LCOE discovered Phantom Technologies, a
global provider of Internet filtering and security solutions,
including the iBoss. The education office chose the iBoss
with the clustering feature because the solution lets sites be
managed through one appliance and consolidates reports
from all sites into one centrally managed appliance. The
iBoss also generates graphs to show activities based on
time, allowing the LCOEs technology staff to adjust net-
work layouts, customize filtering, and identify risks before
they become problems.
Digital radio keeps large, hilly
district in touch
CHALLENGE: The
Dallas County R-I
School District is
located in the heart
of the Ozarks of
Missouri. The area is
beautiful and scenic,
but its steep terrain,
tree-covered hilltops, and large expanse make busing
children to and from school a challenge. The bus drivers
used analog two-way radios to communicate, a problem-
atic method: It was hard to get through, audio quality was
very poor, and drivers had to repeat themselves, creating
more radio traffic. The district set out to find a more reli-
able communication solution.
SOLUTION: Dallas County chose MOTOTRBO digital two-
way radios with IP Site Connect. Now the bus drivers have
access to nearly 100 percent coverage wherever they are
within the district. They can understand each other, and
radio traffic has cleared up.
Small New Hampshire district
makes big wireless change
CHALLENGE: Amherst
School District in New
Hampshire had to up-
grade its ad hoc wire-
less network after com-
plaints about frequent
dead spots and after
school board members
expressed concern about security problems.
SOLUTION: The district selected Enterasys Wireless
because it provided more comprehensive and reliable
network coverage than Amhersts existing system and an
intuitive management platform. In addition, the technol-
ogy ensures student confidentiality and data integrity.
Amhersts network administrator chose Enterasys because
of its technology capabilities, customer service and sup-
port, and expertise in the K12 education market.
FREE OnlinE REsOuRcEs
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We cover the topics important to
you, your classrooms and districts.
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and access our archived webinars
on demand at your leisure. Plus
download any of our free eBooks.
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have the most effective management systems in place.
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ARCHIVED WEBINARS:
EBOOKS:
How to Afford
Interactive Whiteboards
The school has a Promethean
ActivBoard in every classroom
and in special classrooms.
www.prometheanworld.com
Last year the PTA spent $25,000
on technology, including IWBs,
laptops, sound systems, and
professional development. We
pay for the entire package,
says Heather Traynham, PTA
president. Installation is
factored into our costs.
42 Epson BrightLinks. Thirty-
eight are in sixth- and seventh-
grade classrooms; the other
four are in eighth-grade and ELL
classrooms.
www.epson.com/brightlink
$73,910. (Each Epson BrightLink
450Wi, including wall mount, is
$1,799.) The district completed
the installation internally.
There are almost 3,000
Promethean interactive
whiteboard systems, including
the ActivBoard 500. There is
one in every classroom, and new
schools continue to buy them.
www.prometheanworld.com
The initial 1,500 boards cost
$5.4 million, which included
installation and training,
says Jill Hobson, director of
instructional technology. She
estimates that each board costs
$3,000, including installation.
100 SMART Boards. They are
in about 98 percent of the
classrooms. Were building a
new building, and when its done
there will be a SMART Board in
every room, says Mick Nealeigh,
technology coordinator.
www.smarttech.com
About $120,000; each SMART
Board costs $1,200. Teachers
who were expert trained others
and shared lesson plans they
found online, Nealeigh says.
We saved money by doing the
training and installation with our
tech and custodial staffs.
AUDUBON
PARK
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
ORLANDO, FL
HAMILTON
TOWNSHIP
(NJ) SCHOOL
DISTRICT
FORSYTH
COUNTY
SCHOOLS
CUMMING, GA
MILTON-
UNION
EXEMPTED
VILLAGE
SCHOOLS
WEST MILTON,
OH
HOW MANY IWBS
DO YOU HAVE?
Approximately 370 Luidia eBeam
interactive solutions (including
the eBeam slate, projector, voice
amplification, and document
camera) are in all K8 traditional
classrooms.
www.luidia.com
The district spent around $1.8
million to supply a standard
set of interactive tools for each
classroom, IT director Rick Edson
says. Installation cost about $500
per classroom including raceway,
power for the projector, installation
of the projector, and all cabling.
SAN MATEO
FOSTER CITY
SCHOOL
DISTRICT
FOSTER CITY,
CA
PRODUCTGUIDE
TOTAL COST (INCLUDING
INSTALLATION)
While it would be challenging to find a teacher whod turn down an
interactive whiteboard, finding the funds to pay for these high-ticket
items proves just as challenging. We thought it would be interesting
to ask districts how they pay for their whiteboards. We hope their
tales help other districts looking to increase their technology.
HOW DID YOU FUND THEM?
HOW WILL YOU SUSTAIN THIS FUNDING
AND/OR BUY MORE IWBS?
We bought 38 through the Teaching and Learning
with Essential New Technologies in the 21st Century
Grant [TALENT 21 Grant]. Its a federal stimulus project
funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, says Scott Scott, technology coordinator.
The district was awarded $1.43 million, which it used
for BrightLinks, additional staff, and professional
development.
Were looking for funding and grant opportunities from
a variety of sources, using some Title I funds for eighth-
grade Title 1 classes, and using basic-skills money and
other funds to put IWBs into additional eighth-grade and
ELL classes.
The initial IWBs came from a countywide multimillion-
dollar bond referendum approved in spring 2005 by
88 percent of the voters. Since then, Hobson says,
the district has passed more funding to help purchase
whiteboards, and new building proposals have
whiteboards factored into them. We continue to have
enormous community support for funding technology.
Well continue to have a commitment to the
Promethean ActivClassroom in all classrooms. As we
build, we intend to put IWBs in those rooms as long as
we have school-board and community support.
The PTA bought two ActivBoards to show parents to
encourage them to help buy enough for all classrooms.
We held golf tournaments and fund-raising campaigns
and partnered with the Orlando Chili Cook-off to bring in
partners and raise money for tech, Traynham says.
We have a lot of support that will continue for the
next few years. We plan to upgrade the software of
the whiteboards, pay for more training, and buy more
ActiVotes.
Some of the IWBs came out of the technology budget or
from general building funds, says Scott Bloom, director
of curriculum and special services. In addition, Nealeigh
asked principals if they had leftover textbook or other
moneys, and three principals scraped together a good
chunk to go to IWBs. The district also used stimulus
funding.
Five more IWBs were included in the new buildings
construction budget. Theres an occasional firmware
upgrade, Nealeigh says, but SMART software updates
are free, so his ongoing funding will go to replacing
projectors and professional development.
A voter-approved bond in 2008 provided each
classroom with a standard set of technology tools,
Edson says.
The bond funding was a onetime opportunity that
provided these technologies to most classrooms.
HOW WILL
YOU
SUSTAIN
THIS
FUNDING
AND/OR
BUY MORE
IWBS?
The school will keep going after grants. Race
to the Top will provide the continuation of
professional development by eInstruction for
the life of the RTTT, which is four years. The
technology is now the basis and measuring
stick as the staff begins to select a new
reading-science-history system to also mesh
with the technology.
We are five years into our leasing program
and have $450,000 built into next years
budget. We wont know about other money
until we get the funding estimate from the
state. Its a dire situation, so were keeping
our fingers crossed that cuts wont be too
significant.
HOW DID
YOU FUND
THEM?
Silver Hill Horace Mann used a combination
of grants, including the Horace Mann Charter
School startup grant ($525,000 for three
years), an ARRA (American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act) stimulus grant ($135,000 for
two years), and an IDEA grant ($125,000 for
two years), says Euthemia Gilman, executive
director. We used these grants to purchase
hardware, professional development, and
installation. The technology became the
foundation for curriculum.
Upper Darby uses three methods to purchase
technology: a lease-purchase program;
grants, home and school contributions; and
the Education & Arts Foundation. The lease-
purchase plan enables Upper Darby School
District to maximize our technology-equipment
budget allocation by minimizing the annual
impact on the local taxpayer, says Ed Smith,
director of business management. We finance
whiteboards and other technology over a five-
year period. Last year we financed $600,000
of equipment at an interest rate of 2.41 percent,
which translates to an annual budget impact of
$124,000. The foundation obtains smaller grants
that help pay for additional tech purchases.
TOTAL
COST
(INCLUDING
INSTALLA-
TION)
The education list price for a Mobi is $399. A
Student-Centered Learning Pack, containing
three Mobi Learners and one Mobi and a
docking station, is $899. An individual Mobi
Learner costs $299.
For the past three years, Upper Darby had a
total tech budget of $1.2 million, of which a
portion went to IWBs. The district handles
installations on its own.
HOW
MANY
IWBS
DO YOU
HAVE?
23 Collaborative Classroom Suites (includes the
Mobi System, CPS student-response systems,
and the ExamView Assessment Suite). As each
classroom has one teachers Mobi and four
Mobi Learners, there are more than 100 Mobis
throughout the school.
www.einstruction.com
200 PolyVision interactive whiteboards
(including the PolyVision TS, Walk and Talk,
and ENO) are in various classrooms.
www.polyvision.com
SILVER HILL
HORACE MANN
CHARTER
SCHOOL
HAVERHILL, MA
UPPER DARBY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
DREXEL HILL, PA
PRODUCTGUIDE
Resources
EINSTRUCTIONS Web site has a section on grants that includes
templates and a list of federal grants that eInstruction is eligible
for. Heres a link: www.einstruction.com/research-and-funding/
grants-funding.
PROMETHEAN and the NATIONAL PTA have launched a fund-raising
contest. www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.21617
Other IWB Vendors
HITACHI
www.interactive-boards.com
MIMIO
us.mimio.com/en-US.aspx
NUMONICS
www.numonics.com
IWBs and their clicker spawn are a terrible investment that
breathes new life into medieval educational practices. Aside
from producing an illusion of modernity, interactive white-
boards are a pre-Gutenberg technology; the priest chants
while the monks slavishly take dictation on their tablets. They
reinforce the dominance of the front of the room and teacher
supremacy. At a time of enormous educational upheaval, tech-
nological change, and an increasing gulf between adults and
children, it is a bad idea to purchase technology that
facilitates the delivery of information and increases
the physical distance between teacher and learner.
I work in schools all over the world. Many of
these schools have installed IWBs on every surface
of the facility, including the parking lot and football
field, yet they go largely unused. The unfortunate
administrative response to this top-down waste of
money is to purchase canned curricula provided
by the IWB vendors and our friends at the multina-
tional textbook conglomerates. This content is an
insult to 50-cent flash cards. It focuses on low-level
repetition, memorization, and discrete skills devoid
of any meaningful content. Some schools proudly
show cartoons followed by comprehension quizzes
on their IWBs with a self-confidence bordering on
parody. The IWB vendor demonstrations at confer-
ences are embarrassing and dont rise even to the
level of toddlers playing school. If such lessons
were presented in a teacher education course, the
candidate would now be selling churros.
Worst of all, the remarkable power of computers to liber-
ate learners and construct knowledge is squandered in the
service of test-prep and teacher agency.
Here are the inevitable reactions to my argument:
The kids are so engaged. Twitching is not interaction,
and fidgeting is not engagement!
Its just a tool. Technology is never neutral. It always
influences and shapes behavior. Some teachers may be able
to use the IWB in a creative fashion, but this hardly justifies
the investment of one for every classroom. The teacher
should get an IWB if they can justify its use.
It all depends on how teachers use it. We dont buy a chain
saw for every teacher. If we did, a few teachers would do
brilliant work with the chain saws, a few others would cut off
their thumbs, and the vast majority would just make a mess.
Even in the case of the great teachers, the best we can hope
for is one of those bears carved out of a lognot high art.
You should see it when the kids use the board! That usu-
ally means that a kid is permitted to stand up and click on
the right answer or present information to the class, effec-
tively substituting one lecturer for another.
We use it to share student work. Great! Buy a better
projector and use that.
Our ninth graders went to Israel for a month and didnt
miss a math lesson. If your lesson can be reduced to
screen captures, youre in trouble; and why not allow kids
to have authentic experiences?
Dr. Gary Stager is the executive director of the
Constructivist Consortium and founder of the summer
learning institute Constructing Modern Knowledge. He may
be reached at gary@constructingmodernknowledge.com.
Whiteboards: A Modest Proposal
EDITORS NOTE: Do you find interactive whiteboards to be an effective tool in
your schools? What the heck is wrong with you!? Each year, after T&L prints our
annual product guide on IWBs, we get a torrent of responses from a group that
T&L editors define as The Haters. These educators just dont like the darned
things. In the spirit of no ideas are bad, we thought this year to give one of the
most eloquent haters, Gary Stager, some inkspace to express his distaste:
Black Box Corp. (www.blackbox.com) has
launched a desktop-virtualization computer shar-
ing system. The VirtuaCore turns one CPU into
several workstations by using a single high-power
dual- or quad-core processor to serve two or four
users. This helps save up to 60 percent on hard-
ware and 60 to 70 percent on energy costs.
Hardware/AV
WHATSNEW
For more of the latest product releases,
visit us online at Techlearning.com.
Calypso Systems (www.calypso

systems.com) has developed
a new offering in its ezRoom
line of integrated AV solutions.
The ezRoom S300 is the first
solution in the line that is fully
enclosed in a powered class-
room speaker array and includes
a built-in wireless microphone.
It also has an integrated 32W,
multi-input amplifier; a three-
port network switch; and a wire-
less microphone receiver.
RM Education (www.
r me du c a t i o n . c o m)
released the RM Slate,
a new tablet designed
for K-12. The RM Slate
uses Windows 7 to run
Microsoft Office and
most other applica-
tions written for per-
sonal computers.
It weighs just two
pounds, is a half-
inch thick, and fea-
tures an 11-inch screen.
With the multi-touch screen, pen stylus (optional), and
handwriting recognition, it is easy for users to input and
manipulate data, notes, ideas, and more.
eInstruction (www.einstruction.com)
created a new radio-frequency
student-response system, CPS
Spark (starts at $1,295). Each
device has a built-in student-results
screen, and the system includes
state standards. Its user-friendly
interface instantly integrates with
ExamView and MobiView to pre-
vent loss of data and provide real-
time reporting data for teachers.
One projector.
Two ways to interact.
Make almost any wall interactive by installing
BrightLink with the included wall mount or
table install* for interactive use in small-group
learning centers and student workstations.
One simple solution, two ways to engage.
Epson is a registered trademark and Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. BrightLink
is a trademark and Brighter Futures is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. Copyright 2011 Epson America, Inc. Product
specifcations are subject to change without notice.
See how you can use BrightLink to create
i-walls or i-tables. Visit epson.com/itable
BrightLink
455Wi - Now with the

exibility of Interactive Table Mode.
* lnteractive Table Mode cannot operate without a mount specifcally designed for this purpose. The mount included with BrightLink 455Wi
is NOT an Interactive Table mount. Actual mount not shown. A suitable mount is in development and will be available soon through
Copernicus Educational Products. Please visit epson.com/itable for more information about Interactive Table Mode.
Image simulated
Epson (www.epsonbrighterfutures.
com) has released four projectors
designed for classroom use, the
PowerLite 92, 93, 95, and 96W
(starting at $649). Each upgraded
projector features a robust built-in
speaker, increased brightness, and
HDMI digital connection capability.
Additional improvements are the lat-
est 3LCD technology, which provides
an energy-efficient light engine, and
extended lamp life.
AmpliVox Sound Systems (www.
ampli.com) has unveiled a line of
20 A/V products designed to meet
the needs of multimedia presen-
tations. The carts, workstations,
and presentation stations offer a
range of connectivity and mobil-
ity options. The premier SN3330
Mobile Presentation Station holds
a variety of equipment and has
four work surfaces.
The HP (www.hp.com) 100B All-in-One

Business Desktop, which starts at $499, allows
schools to expand their technology programs
while still saving classroom space, thanks to
its sleek design (a 20-inch diagonal LCD dis-
play console). The PC integrates HD graphics
with dual-core processing and can be easily
upgraded as needed.
WHATSNEW
Macmillan (www.iclicker.com/iclicker2) has released

i>clicker2, an enhanced version of its student-
response-system remote. Improvements include full
numeric and alphanumeric functionality, an LCD
screen, a battery indicatorit also requires fewer bat-
teriesand an enhanced instructor remote with a laser
pointer. The update is still in beta testing and will be
available in the fall.
The education platform developed by mySpark
Technologies (www.mySparktech.com), available
on the companys Ideabook Android tablet, offers
students tools that can be integrated with a
schools existing systems. Students can take inter-
active notes in digital textbooks on the 10-inch
touchscreen tablet, which features a 1GHz dual-
core processor. The tablet enables social network-
ing, email, and sharing of multimedia.
Promethean (www.PrometheanWorld.com/NextGen) has released its next
generation of interactive whiteboards, the ActivBoard 500 Pro series. The
new whiteboards can be operated simultaneously by pen and gesture
touch, supporting more types of learning as well as permitting more col-
laboration in the classroom.
NewTek (www.newtek.com) has released a hardware control surface
(CS) for the TriCaster TCXD850 high-definition portable live-production
system, which schools use to provide extended programming and content.
The TriCaster TCXD850 CS supplies a physical connection to the systems
functions and effects, allowing operators to carry out commands instantly.
VMP (www.videomount.com)
now offers a low-profile
projector mount designed
with a high-load capacity,
the PM-LP. Compliant with
most projectors, the mount
is equipped with adjustable
tilt and pitch, 360-degree
rotation, high load capacity,
a telescoping mast up to 35
inches, and cable manage-
ment.
SMART Technologies (www.smarttech.com) will release

the Audio 340 and 360 classroom amplification
systems this summer. The speaker systems amplify
teachers and students voices and can be integrated
with existing SMART Notebook collaborative-learning
software. The Audio 340 and 360 each feature a
wireless infrared microphone, four speakers, and a
control unit that provides a USB interface and can be
used on their own or integrated with existing intercom
and paging systems.
Tyco Electronics (www.elotouch.com) has introduced the Elo

TouchSystems 2242L, an open-frame touch monitor available with
IntelliTouch Plus Multi-Touch surface acoustic wave touch technology.
The Elo 2242L provides a wide-screen display and light transmission
for an accurate touch response and bright images.
Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard 2.0 (www.qagraphics.com) is

a Web-based device that communicates with a buildings automation
system or metering device to access real-time data on the building.
The Data Manager collects the live building data and distributes it
internally and externally for viewing on the Dashboard. The Dashboard
consists of a series of graphical user interface screens that creatively
display the organizations energy efficiencies and green features.
MASTER OF EDUCATION
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AVI-SPL TRAINING COURSES
(WWW.AVISPL.COM)
AVI-SPL offers training and pro-
fessional development classes by
SMART-certified trainers that cover
topics including SMART Notebook
Basics, SMART Table Basics, and
SMART Grade Level Specific
Notebook Advanced. Participants
gain access to an online database
library of support materials and
receive a video of their training
session.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: training
BLACKBOARD MOBILE
LEARN 2.0
(WWW.BLACKBOARD.COM/MOBILE)
Blackboard has expanded access to its mobile
learning application with an updated release
that lets students and faculty create and
upload content to their courses. The rede-
signed user interface supports threaded dis-
cussions and the ability to set favorites for
easier access and management.
Price: free to Blackboard subscribers
Category: mobile applications
BRIEF REVIEW APP
(WWW.PEARSONED.COM)
Pearsons stand-alone app (for Apple products) fea-
tures a variety of interactive elements that help high
school students prepare for world-history exams and
supports any world- or global-history course. Brief
Review includes 80 questions in a diagnostic test
that covers eight subjects pertaining to the ancient
world through today.
Price: free through iTunes
Category: history
COGNITE 3.5
(WWW.FOLLETTSOFTWARE.COM)
Follett Software has upgraded
the learning-management system
Cognite. The new version includes
an enhanced database of content
standards, an Android app, and
integration with Turnitin software.
Teachers and administrators can
correlate their own content to the
updated standards.
Category: management
COMMON CORE
(WWW.COMMONCORE.PEARSONED.COM)
This new Web site provides resources
to help with the changeover to the new
state standards. Beyond explaining the
standards, Common Core offers assis-
tance in the form of online workshops
with video training modules, among
other training tools.
Price: Varies according to service.
Category: school standards
CONCEPTUA FRACTIONS
ENHANCEMENTS
(WWW.CONCEPTUAMATH.COM)
Conceptua Fractions now
includes Texthelp Systems
SpeechStream read-aloud fea-
ture with synchronous dual color
highlighting. The SpeechStream
technology offers read-aloud
to users who need auditory
support, especially those who
struggle to read because of
print-based learning differences,
students with learning disabilities, English-language learners, and users
with low vision.
Category: math/language
COURIER COMMUNICATION SUITE
(WWW.THINQED.COM)
TH(i)NQ Ed has introduced a host-
ed communication suite for K12
schools that provides the ben-
efits of an enterprise-wide solu-
tion while ensuring security for the
school system. Courier offers shared calendars and folders as well as
mobile access and integration with third-party tools and Web sites
and is 98 percent E-Rate eligible.
Category: digital communication
DS SECURE
(WWW.DIGITAL-SCHOOLS.COM)
Digital Schools has created a network-
ing and communications application
that offers secure advanced router
capabilities, secure firewall and anti-virus, spam
filters, and more. DS Secure supports the network and communica-
tions needs of K12 schools and offers more than 500 information
technology solutions.
Category: IT security
WHATSNEW
EASITEACH NEXT GENERATION FOR MAC
(WWW.EASITEACH.COM/USA)
RM has released a Mac version of its
whole-class teaching and learning soft-
ware that works with interactive white-
boards, slates, projectors, and student-
response systems. Easiteach Next
Generation includes 30 new features,
including Easiteach widgets, apps for
whiteboards and slates, JWB file sup-
port, and more than 250 interactive lessons and graphic organizers.
Price: Contact company for pricing; free trial available.
Category: interactive whiteboard lessons
E-RATE MANAGER FOR IPHONE
(WWW.FUNDSFORLEARNING.COM)
The E-Rate compliance services firm Funds for
Learning has released the first E-Rate applica-
tion for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The
app delivers the functionality and informa-
tion users are accustomed to receiving from
the companys E-rate Manager service, such
as easy navigation and access to up-to-date
funding-year information.
Price: free with active E-rate Manager account
Category: education compliance
GOOGLE APPS: EDU CATEGORY
(WWW.GOOGLEENTERPRISE.BLOGSPOT.COM)
Google has announced the avail-
ability of more than 20 education-
specific apps in the new educa-
tion category for the Google Apps
Marketplace. These include Web-
based learning-management sys-
tems, such as Haiku; student tools
for e-portfolios, like Digication; and
learning games, such as BrainPop.
Price: Varies according to app and
subscription service.
THE GREEN SCHOOLS PROGRAM
(WWW.SUSTAINOURPLANET.COM)
This online teaching resource
helps students learn about top-
ics such as recycling, conserving
energy, endangered species, and
the climate cycle in a fun and inter-
active way.
Price: Ranges from $3.95 to $12.95;
annual subscription, $250.
Category: environment
WHATSNEW
HP DIGITAL LEARNING SUITE
(WWW.HP.COM/GO/K12)
This new product brings technolo-
gy solutions together to encourage
classroom collaboration and improve
management capability. The suite is
available for three areas: early child-
hood and elementary education (pre-
K4), secondary education (grades
five through 12), and blended envi-
ronments and the cloud (pre-K12).
INFOCUS
(WWW.STI-K12.COM)
STI has developed an ad hoc
reporting module for its Web-
based student-information
system. The INFOCUS per-
mits cross-examination of
data from various STI sets,
such as attendance and
grades. Subscribers to STIs
InformationNOW receive the
module as a free upgrade.
Price: free to subscribers
ITHENTICATE FOR AUTHORS AND
RESEARC HERS
(WWW.RESEARCH.ITHENTICATE.COM)
iParadigms has released a service that
provides authors, researchers, and free-
lance writers access to their iThenticate
plagiarism-prevention software. It lets
users cross-reference their manuscripts
with a database of scholarly material in
scientific, technical, and medical fields to
ensure that content is cited accurately
before submission.
Category: writing
LEARNING.COM PARTNERS WITH LEGO
(WWW.LEARNING.COM/LEGOEDUCATION)
LEGO Education and Learning.com have
teamed up to deliver a curriculum module
(geared to grades two through eight) on
Learning.coms digital learning environment.
Teachers can find a module that focuses
on key physical science (STEM) principles,
assign the work to students, and track and
grade progress online.
Category: science
THIS
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Dont miss the chance to join Tech & Learning magazine for a high-
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MATH FACT FLUENCY
(WWW.HMHPUB.COM)
SkillsTutor has released a Common Core
State Standardsaligned version of its
Math Fact Fluency, an all-digital program
that helps students learn basic facts
about addition, subtraction, multiplica-
tion, and division. The program can be
used to replace flash cards with individualized instruction and practice
sessions.
Category: math
MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 FOR
EDUCATION
(WWW.MICROSOFT.COM)
Microsoft has expanded on its Office
365 cloud service to offer cloud pro-
ductivity software for K12 schools and
universities. Planned for release later this year, Microsoft Office 365
for Education will help students and educators communicate and col-
laborate from any location on any device.
Price: not yet available
MIMIOSTUDIO SOFTWARE FOR MAC
AND LINUX
(WWW.MIMIO.DYMO.COM)
DYMO/Mimio has released a new version of its
MimioStudio software for Mac and Linux users.
MimioStudio 7 works with the MimioClassroom
solution, which includes a device that enables
whiteboard interactivity, a document-viewing
camera, a student-assessment system, and an
ink-capturing system. The software provides
teachers with ready-made content for creating interactive lessons.
Price: free
Category: interactive whiteboard lessons
NETOP VISION7
(WWW.NETOP.COM/VISION7)
The new version of the Vision class-
room-management software brings
educators a fully redesigned interface
that focuses on increased function-
ality and easier access and naviga-
tion. Customers who use the Netop
Advantage annual support and upgrade program can receive Vision7
as a free upgrade.
NETTREKKER SEARCH EXPANSION
(WWW.NETTREKKER.COM)
netTrekker has partnered with Defined Learning to integrate premium
content from the Defined STEM collection of resources into netTrekker
Search. The upgrade gives teachers access
to the full collection of standards-aligned
digital content in the STEM subjects, as
well as videos, performance tasks, and
simulations.
Category: STEM
NEW DIMENSIONS MEDIA SOCIAL
MEDIA EXTRAS
(WWW.CCCVOD.COM)
New Dimensions Media is releas-
ing special access to its library of
more than 4,000 educational titles to users of Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribers, followers, and friends can access frequently updated
media clips from shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and productions
by Disney Educational.
Price: free
Category: video
NOVACHI ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM
(WWW.NOVACHI.COM)
This free online education platform inte-
grates technology in the K12 classroom
to give teachers greater control over
classroom functions by bundling SIS
(student-information systems), SMS (student-management systems),
and SES (student-enrollment systems) software into one program.
Price: free
PLATO LEARNING AP EDITION COURSES:
U.S. HISTORY AND CHEMISTRY
(WWW.PLATO.COM)
PLATO Learning has expanded its course-
ware to offer new Advanced Placement
(AP) edition courses in U.S. History and
Chemistry. Aligned with College Board
standards, the courses prepare students
for the AP exam and for college. All con-
tent is available through an online plat-
form, so the courseware is accessible and user-friendly.
Price: Contact company for pricing; subscription basis.
Category: high school curriculum
READ&WRITE 10 GOLD FOR WINDOWS
(WWW.TEXTHELP.COM)
Texthelp has released a new version
of its literacy-support software pro-
gram. New additions include Picture
Dictionary, Verb Conjugation Checker,
Vocabulary List Builder, Paragraph
Translator, and Confusable Word
Checker. Other notable enhancements
are highlighted in the softwares new-
feature video tours.
Price: Single-user licensing starts at $645
Category: reading and writing
WHATSNEW
SHMOOP ONLINE ACT PREP COURSE
(WWW.SHMOOP.COM)
The digital curriculum and test prep
company Shmoop has launched an
online ACT prep course designed to
capture students interest by incor-
porating snippets of popular-culture
television into its lessons. The course is
available for in-home purchase by indi-
vidual students or can be purchased
through site licenses for schools, dis-
tricts, and libraries.
Price: in-home use by students, $23; contact company for site-license
purchases
Category: testing
SMART NOTEBOOK 10.7
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING SOFTWARE
(WWW.SMARTTECH.COM)
SMART Technologies latest software,
available for download in March, sup-
ports multi-user writing and common
multi-touch gestures, such as pinching,
zooming, and tossing. The update enables
object awareness, which lets users interact
with digital content using their fingers,
pens, or erasers anywhere on the surface
of the SMART Board 800 series interactive
whiteboard.
Price: free download for licensed SMART
Notebook software users
Category: interactive whiteboards
STUDYSYNC
(WWW.STUDYSYNC.COM)
Powered by BookheadEd
Learning, StudySync offers
middle and high school edu-
cators an extensive library of
texts that help students improve communication and reading skills.
Price: Starts at $175 per teacher (up to 3 classrooms) per year.
Category: reading
WEBSPIRATION CLASSROOM
(WWW.INSPIRATION.COM/WEBSPIRATIONCLASSROOM)
Inspiration Software has launched an online
writing, visual thinking, and collaboration
tool. Students and teachers can work inde-
pendently or together on the online environment to develop their writ-
ing skills at any time and from any location that has Internet access.
Price: Subscription package pricing available at www.webspiration
classroom.com/pricing.
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AD INDEX
COMPANY PAGE
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For more information about the advertisers in this issue, please visit www.techlearning.com and click on the Advertiser Index.
THEY SAI D I T
By Ben Grey
Ask a parent, Whats the first thing that
comes to mind when you hear the term
Internet safety? The most common
answer is something about predators. And
thats what we have to address.
Yes, bad things happen on the Internet.
And there is no minimizing how serious and
how bad some of those things can be. But
we can address them in a way that doesnt
keep students from using one of the most
powerful tools in the history of humanity.
My message to parents regarding
online safety is essentially this: While
we shouldnt pretend there arent any
dangers online, we must understand
the true nature of the dangers in order
to help our kids responsibly navigate
the Web. The reality is, the instances
of abduction are unbelievably rare. An
online sexual crime is much more akin
to a statutory-rape scenario than to abduction. And that
scenario requires ongoing interaction between a predator
and a child. Which means we can teach our kids to end the
interaction before it develops into the crime.
Of the students in the study discussed in a recent journal
article above, only 13 percent said they received any sort of
solicitation online. And only 4 percent said they received
an aggressive solicitation. That means that 96 percent of
kids didnt experience even the first phase of an ongoing
process that the majority of adults seem to fixate upon
when talking about students using the Internet. Again, that
doesnt minimize what the 4 percent are experiencing, but
it does put it into perspective. And understanding the true
nature of what the 4 percent are encountering helps us
work with our kids to develop the capacity to address these
situations when they occur.
The more alarming statistic, to me, was that 33 percent
of students said their parents know little or very little
about what they do online. And only 5 percent of students
said they told their parents when they received a solicitation
online. Thats something adults can address.
We need to be communicating with our kids about this.
A lot. Keep talking to them about what they are doing
online. What they are doing at school. What they are doing
with their friends. Its a concept thats been around as long
as we have, and that doesnt change because the Internet
came along. In fact, the Internet simply amplifies it. It
scales a means of communicating in a way weve never
experienced before.
Perhaps we can soon move beyond talking about
Internet safety to talking about how we can help students
understand life online. How adults can understand life
online. And how we can all live it.
A Scary Reality
Read more of Ben Greys work
at Techlearning.com.
Yes, bad things happen on the Internet,
but we can address them in a way that
doesnt keep students from using one of
the most powerful tools in history.
A10TB GROWTH SPURT.
2011 CDWGovernment LLC. CDW
, CDWG
and PEOPLE WHOGET ITare trademarks of CDWLLC

SOLVED.
Your data is about to outgrowyour schools data center. No need to
panic. We have over 25 years of experience handling this very thing.
Through power, utilization and site audits, our solution architects
can increase efficiency, optimize your environment and prepare
you for growth. The end result? Students and teachers get a better
experience. And you survive datas formative years.
Avoid the pains of growing at CDWG.com/datacenter

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455Wi - Now with the

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Macmillan (www.iclicker.com/iclicker2) has released

SMART Technologies (www.smarttech.com) will release

Tyco Electronics (www.elotouch.com) has introduced the Elo

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Tech &amp; Learning - March 2011-TV

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techlearning.

, allowing them to combine

Helping districts make condent

Computer is NOT included.

Calypso Systems (www.calypso

455Wi - Now with the

The HP (www.hp.com) 100B All-in-One

Macmillan (www.iclicker.com/iclicker2) has released

SMART Technologies (www.smarttech.com) will release

Tyco Electronics (www.elotouch.com) has introduced the Elo

Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard 2.0 (www.qagraphics.com) is

and PEOPLE WHOGET ITare trademarks of CDWLLC

You might also like

Tech & Learning - March 2011-TV

Tech & Learning - March 2011-TV