OrlandoOser Communicat ions GroupWednesday, February 2, 2011

Mark Elliott, President ofPromethean North America, reflectson what lies ahead for his company.

ESD: Thinking back on 2010, whatwere the high points for Promethean?

ME: Last year was filled with manyterrific opportunities. We helped improve teaching andlearning in hundreds of thousands of classrooms aroundthe country. Additionally, we had a successful IPO thatprepared us for continued future success. Our acquisitionof SynapticMash in July increased our ability to supportassessment for learning. Other highlights include our par-ticipation in NBC News’ Education National Summit thatlaunched a national debate on school improvement needs,

An interview with Edward S. Marflak,Chairman and Founder, Schoolwires.

ESD: Tell our readers a little aboutyour company.

EM: First and foremost, we are total-ly dedicated to the success of K-12districts. I personally have strong ties to K-12; both myparents were teachers. Today, Schoolwires provides oneof the leading website and community management plat-forms to more than 1,200 districts nationwide. A key rea-son for our success is that we make technology easy touse, which in turn increases the usage of the tools andthe value they deliver. For example, administrators andstaff can easily add content to their district and school

Wendy Pye, President and Publisherof AWARD electronic textbooks, dis-cusses the move to e-books.

ESD: As a developer and creator ofshared and guided reading productsthat have affected major changes inAmerican classrooms, why did youmove to digital textbooks to create new packages forearly learning?

WP: Digital natives come to school with different expec-tations. They may only be five years old, but they havealready begun the journey to literacy in a variety of inter-active ways with gaming consoles and other technology.Research shows that this early exposure impacts how

Meet Jeff Cameron,President of Brainchild, atFETC booth 231, the creatorof Kineo, the only Androidtablet created and developedjust for education.

ESD: Tell us about Brainchild.

JC: In 1992 we developed the first handheld device forschools, with a black and white screen and limited mem-ory. Ten years later, we introduced the Study Buddy, witha color screen and multimedia, offering self-paced studywith feedback. When the online assessment became pop-ular, we created Achiever!, an online assessment andinstruction program built on specific state standards. For

Michael Ross, Senior VicePresident/Education GeneralManager, Britannica DigitalLearning, talks about his company.

ESD: Tell our readers a little aboutyour company. What’s your main lineof business?

MR: Britannica serves the entire PreK through universitymarket with a variety of educational websites throughoutthe world and in multiple languages―including Spanish,French, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. Under theumbrella of our online marketing division, BritannicaDigital Learning, we are pleased that more than 75 mil-lion students and faculty members have access to

Continued on Page 20 Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 17

The World’s Only Truly WirelessDocument Camera!

Ladibugs are the world’s first wirelessdocument cameras and designed toaddress the need for teachers to pres-ent from any location in their class-room. With this increased range,teachers can determine the optimal teaching location,encouraging students to pay closer attention to lessons asthey are presented.

Students are becoming more technologically savvy,so teachers must find innovative ways to capture theirattention. The Lumens line of Ladibug DocumentCameras provides educators an interactive tool to presenta wide variety of materials with the best image clarity

Continued on Page 25 Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 20

LOOKING INTO THE FUTUREWITH MARK ELLIOTT ANDPROMETHEAN

SCHOOLWIRES: CONNECTINGCOMMUNITIES IN SUPPORT OFSTUDENT AND DISTRICT SUCCESS

TEACH FROM ANYWHEREIN YOUR CLASSROOMWITH A LADIBUG

AWARD TEXTBOOKS OFFERUNIQUE ADVANTAGES FOREARLY LEARNING

BRAINCHILD’S KINEO SCHOOLTABLET MAKES ITS DEBUTAT FETC 2011

BRITANNICA UNIQUE IN ITS RANGEOF PRODUCTS, ABILITY TOADDRESS DIVERSE MARKET NEEDS

EdTech Show Dai lyWednesday, February 2, 20114

Former Astronaut Dr. Sally Ride ToDeliver Keynote

Building on more than two decades ofsuccessful runs, Texas Instruments Inc.convenes the 23rd annual T3International Conference to bring togeth-er math and science teachers from acrossthe globe to discuss and learn about lead-ing edge innovations in education andtechnology used in teaching.

The professional development con-ference takes place Feb. 25-27 at theHenry B. Gonzalez Convention Center inSan Antonio, Texas. Registration infor-mation is available at education.ti.com.

The T3TM―Teachers Teaching withTechnologyTM―International Conferencefeatures Dr. Sally Ride, the first Americanwoman to travel in space, as the confer-ence keynote speaker. Her address,“Reach for the Stars,” opens the event.

“Speaking in front of thousands ofdedicated math and science teachersabout the importance of math and scienceeducation is a real honor and privilege,”Ride said. “More than anyone, they knowhow important it is to educate and sup-port young students who will becometomorrow’s high-tech workforce.”

Melendy Lovett, President of TexasInstruments Education Technology, said,“We are thrilled to have Sally Ride as thekeynote speaker. We are hosting thousands

of excellent math and science teachersfrom across the U.S. and around theworld, and Sally is the perfect person toinspire them as they return to the class-room with new ways to engage and inter-act with their students.”

The T3 International Conferenceincludes more than 500 sessions coveringmath, science and other special topics.Individual math sessions focus on alge-bra, geometry, calculus, precalculus, sta-tistics, elementary and middle schoolmath. Science sessions break out intobiology, chemistry and physics. Othersessions provide the latest innovations intechnology integration, assessment andeffective teaching.

A special all-day CalculusConference-in-a-Conference, the secondannual, examines a variety of topics onthe subject, including teaching advancedplacement, or AP®*, calculus and aninternational panel discussing perspec-tives on calculus instruction. TheMathematical Association of AmericaPresident-Elect Paul Zorn presents a tai-lored address during the CalculusConference-in-a-Conference. The clos-ing session of the mini-conference prom-ises an electric discussion on “Calculusor Statistics: Which is more important formathematical literacy?”

“Advanced mathematics is funda-mentally important to getting students

ready for college and for educating themfor the science, technology, engineeringand mathematics [STEM] careers of thefuture. Our Calculus Conference-in-a-Conference centers on helping educa-tors have a forum for thinking aboutissues, innovations and ideas that caninform and improve the learning andteaching of calculus,” said Tom Dick,professor of mathematics, Oregon StateUniversity, and T3 InternationalCalculus Conference-in-a-Conferenceorganizer and speaker.

Another all-day session specificallydesigned for pre-service teachers helpsprepare future teachers for the rigors andrewards of a profession in education. Theconference and associated T3 resourcesfor pre-service teachers help emergingeducation professionals transition suc-cessfully from learning in a classroom toinstructing in a classroom.

Ashley Thurnau, a first-year mathe-matics teacher at Pontiac TownshipHigh School in Pontiac, Ill., attended thePre-service Teacher Track during lastyear’s conference. She credits the con-ference with placing her at the top of thehiring list.

“It was an incredible experience,”she said. “My principal told me that mybackground and expertise with T3 andthe TI-Nspire technology was one of thedetermining factors in my being offered ajob. He also mentioned that my willing-ness to teach other teachers about tech-nology, which I learned from the T3resources, put me high above the rest of

Thousands Of Multitouch, MultiuserActivities Available Via The SMARTExchange™

SMART Technologies announces the addi-tion of more than 250 activity packs for theSMART Table interactive learning center.Themed activity packs each contain anumber of individual activities for theSMART Table, which can be downloadedat no charge via the SMART Exchangewebsite (exchange.smarttech.com). With

more than 250 subject- and grade-specificactivity packs, such as the Learning Colorsactivity pack for the SMART Table forK–3, teachers now have access to thou-sands of multitouch, multiuser SMARTTable activities.

Teachers can use the SMART TableToolkit to quickly and easily modifyexisting activities to suit their lessonthemes and learning objectives. Teacherscan also create custom-made lessonactivities to use and share via the

Buena Park, Calif. “I’m constantlydownloading activities, providing feed-back, gathering information anduploading my own activities so they canbe useful for everyone. It’s a great toolthat gives me all the activities and sup-port I need in one place.”

“As teachers around the world con-tinue to adopt interactive technologyproducts into their classrooms, theyrequire content and activities that willengage early learners,” said NancyKnowlton, SMART’s CEO. “With thebroad range of multitouch, multiuseractivity packs available for the SMARTTable, teachers have the necessary toolsto help their young students collaborate,

Continued on Page 20

Continued on Page 25

MORE THAN 250 NEWACTIVITY PACKS FOR THESMART TABLE NOW AVAILABLE

RAMPING UP FORT3 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH FETC

CHANGING THE WAY TEACHERSINTEGRATE CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

Doceri™ From SP Controls Makes ItSimple And Affordable

At this year’s FETC show, SP Controls(booth 756) introduces the DoceriSystem. Doceri gives the instructor themobility to teach and interact with alltheir classroom technology tools fromone simple to use interface―the AppleiPad. They can present lessons by takingcontrol of the classroom computer, anno-tate―similar to the functions of an inter-active whiteboard, and control the AVgear in the classroom, such as play theDVD player or document camera―allfrom anywhere in the room.

The interface starts with DoceriRemote, allowing teachers to see andcontrol a computer desktop on their iPadfrom anywhere in the room. Run a pres-entation, select applications, bring up aWeb browser―anything the computercan do can be done wirelessly via theiPad. AV control is also simple, with a tapof the screen bringing up a control panelfor selection of media, buttons for play-ing, pausing, etc. along with volume con-trols. The iPad interface is rounded outby free-form annotation that can be doneover any presentation. Doceri allowsteachers to draw, circle, graph and writeon the iPad screen in a “what you see is

what you get” interface, with the resultsgoing out in real-time over the classroomprojector. Doceri automatically savesyour annotated images, which can beedited and replayed at any time.

“Doceri gives you an amazingamount of freedom while keeping yourclass engaged,” said Gary Arcudi, SPControls’ Director of Marketing.“Teachers love the technologies thatare available to enhance the learning

experience, but they’ve been frustratedby the actual use of those technologies.Interactive whiteboards tether the teacherto the front of the room, frequently withtheir back to the class as they make notesor annotate content. The teacher usuallyhas to move back and forth to activatedevices or launch a software application.With Doceri, the teacher can access alldigital resources in the classroom, anno-tate the content that students are viewing,and always remain in control of thetechnology in the room.”

SP Controls’ mission is to makeclassroom technology simple and intu-itive. Said Arcudi, “Doceri takes the useof technology to the next level. We’reextremely excited about this product andwhat it represents for seamless classroomflow.” For more information, stop bybooth 756.

SMART Exchange. The comprehensivecollection includes SMART Table activi-ties created by teachers from around theworld, activities created by SMART andactivities created by a number of third-party publishing companies. In an effortto provide teachers and students with abroad selection of engaging activities,SMART is committed to continuallyworking with third-party publishers todevelop additional content. Additionalinformation on the SMART Table inter-active learning center can be found atsmarttech.com/table.

”The SMART Exchange website isa teacher’s dream–you can sort activi-ties by standard, by grade level, bystate,” said Mary Kate Hagmann, first-grade teacher at Gilbert Elementary in

Lee M. OserCEO and Editor-in-Chief

Steve CoxKate Seymour

Senior Associate Publishers

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Associate Publishers

Lorrie BaumannEditorial Director

Carrie BuiJustyn DillinghamAssociate Editors

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Yasmine BrownGraphic Designer

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Account Managers

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EdTech Show Daily is published byOser Communications Group ©2011.

All rights reserved.Executive and editorial offices at:

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EdTech Show Dai ly 9Wednesday, February 2, 2011

ASC Direct Inc. (booth 243) has releasedthe ReLANpro Mobile, the world’s firstlanguage lab app for iPad, iPhone andiTouch devices, and the ReLANpro.NET,an Internet-based language lab programallowing students to practice languagesfrom any PC―just as they would in theirschool computer lab. It’s now easy for

students to work on teacher-directedassignments from outside their schoollanguage lab environment.

The ReLANpro Mobile iPhone appoffers mobile language learning possi-bilities in the palm of your student’shands. The app is available as a freedownload for students from the Apple

Store to their devices.ASC’s ReLANpro.NET can also

access video lessons and allow the stu-dent to take written and multiple-choicetests. ReLANpro.NET plays ALLWindows™ audio and video formatssupported by the Windows Media Player.

ReLANpro Mobile app and theReLANpro.NET both include free serverspace. Teachers can upload assignmentsand tests to the ReLANpro content serv-er, eliminating undue loads placed on theschool server or restrictions in a school’savailable bandwidth. Once the studenthas downloaded the lesson they canpractice just as they would in the schoollanguage lab.

Students can listen to the lesson,record their comments and/or responsesto the lesson (i.e., listen and repeat exer-cises), and then by pressing the “submit”button send the lesson and their recordingback to the server. Teachers can then lis-ten to and grade a student’s work.

ReLANpro.NET and ReLANproMobile offer a new level of ease andsophistication to language learning hith-erto unavailable. They can now listen,perform makeup exercises or practice forAP tests anywhere, anytime, holidays,weekends, snow days, etc.

For further information, contactASC Direct Inc. at 800-613-9554, e-mailcarlakay@ascd.us or stop by booth 243.

as well. “We want to ensure that our cus-tomers make as much of an impact aspossible in the classroom,” said RobMoss, Vice President of Education Sales,AVI-SPL. “Our goal is to help educatorsbecome fully trained to utilize the avail-able technology. In turn, this will allowfor more informed decisions when it

comes to planning for curriculum andfuture technology investments.”

There is a wealth of flexibility thattoday’s technology provides, notedMoss. For example, with the power ofSMARTTechnologies, instructors canmake media-rich lessons, highlight keypoints, encourage student participationand even save their lessons for future ref-erence and use. These are just a few ofthe areas that are covered in AVI-SPL’sprofessional development training.Teachers who master technologies likethe SMART Wireless Slate and documentcamera develop a powerful complement

to their classroom, one that facilitates fullengagement with their lessons.

AVI-SPL’s professional develop-ment classes, ranging from 30 minutes tofull day courses, are taught by SMART-certified trainers. Courses includeSMART Notebook Basics, SMARTTable Basics and SMART Grade LevelSpecific Notebook Advanced, amongothers. Because learning doesn’t stopwhen class is over, registered participantsgain access to an online database libraryof supporting training materials. They’ll

RELANPRO.NET AND RELANPROMOBILE: LEARNING LANGUAGESOUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOMAND ‘ON THE GO’

You’ve taken the steps to invest in audio-visual technology that enriches yourlearning environment, but what’s next?How can you be sure that you’re usingthe technology to its maximum benefit?

With these questions in mind, AVI-SPL’s education team has turned its focusnot just on the students, but the teachers

ARE YOU GETTING THEFULL BENEFITS OF YOURCLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY?

Continued on Page 25

SURVEY SAYS: WEEKLY READERCONNECT IS HUGE HITWhat do the users of Weekly ReaderConnect think of this new K–6 onlinereading-comprehension program? Fully98 percent of respondents to a recent pollsaid they would recommend WRConnect to a colleague.

Now listen to what they said whenasked why they would recommend theprogram:

• It is an excellent way to teach currentevents and teach reading comprehensionstrategies together. —Angie Taub,Rutherford County Schools, Cliffside, N.C.

• It has available all comprehensionstrategies that students need to assistwith comprehension skills. —KimChatman, Alma Intermediate School,Alma, Ark.

• It fulfills the needs of the visual learner.—Deborah Famini, Meadowvale

Elementary, Md.

• It is an excellent resource to have in theclassroom. —Lisa Newberry, CrossStreet Christian School, Anderson, In.

• It is such an interactive teaching tool.—Marcia Jolley, Harris Elementary,Forest City, N.C.

Less than a year after its launch, WeeklyReader Connect has already been adopt-ed by hundreds of schools in 44 states,and has won major educational and tech-nology awards. But the highest accoladesthe program has received are from educa-tors who say that Weekly ReaderConnect is a superb teaching tool. Theprogram presents hundreds of high-interest nonfiction articles, enriched withmeaningful multimedia that deepens stu-dents’ understanding. WR Connect com-plements those stories with 129 onscreen

lessons that teach reading comprehensionin a clear, concise and consistent way.

WR Connect requires no addition-al software or tech expertise, andbrings the following elements to allsubscribing schools:

• Exclusive interactive Weekly Readerdigital editions, presenting timely, high-interest and grade-specific nonfictioncontent that has been carefully crafted toalign to state curricula.• Downloadable companion Teacher’sGuides that incorporate wide-rangingbackground information, informal assess-ments and other engaging extensionactivities along with practical tips andtechniques on how to broaden the lessons.• Concepts of Comprehension© SkillBuilder lessons, with teacher tips andadditional reading passages specificallydesigned to build reading skills andscores while improving students’ under-standing of texts.

Weekly Reader Connect is built on theConcepts of Comprehension, a research-based framework of 21 inferential

thinking skills developed by the non-profit Urban Education Exchange. Thisframework enables students to expandtheir reading skills from year to year,and uses proven methods that teach kidsto read for understanding.

We could tell you more. But we’drather let a teacher tell you:

“I am thrilled with what WeeklyReader Connect provides me,” saysLaura Havill of the Turning PointElementary Program in Ithaca, N.Y. “Thematerial is highly motivational for mystudents. … The multimedia resourcesare targeted and appealing. The addition-al work sheets support classroom learn-ing and have been an excellent way formy students to go home as ‘experts’ totheir family and demonstrate their newlearning. In short, you have made usbelievers! Thank you for providing thisterrific resource!”

Want to know more? If you’re aprincipal, school district leader, mediaor technology specialist, or classroomteacher, visit www.wrconnect.com andget a preview at Learning Servicesbooth 1225.

GROW YOUR PURCHASINGPOWER WITH ENO

The Lowest Total Cost Of OwnershipInteractive Whiteboard On The Market

Although the implementation of inter-active whiteboards is becomingincreasingly more widespread inschools around the world, many dis-tricts are still hesitant to invest in solu-tions due to budget constraints. Whenperforming comparisons of interactivewhiteboards based on long-term totalcost of ownership, some boards are

clearly cost-prohibitive. However, oneinteractive solution stands out from therest—PolyVision’s ēno.

ēno’s three-in-one surface enablesteachers to use just one board for mag-nets, markers and multimedia, elimi-nating the need to buy an additionalstatic whiteboard for traditionalclassroom needs. Since ēno is cordlessand cable-free, districts can forgetabout the high cost of hiring a contrac-tor and the staff downtime that comes

standard with other interactive white-board installations.

PolyVision’s ēno has an open archi-tecture, meaning there is no need forteachers to master a new software to suc-cessfully use the board. The learningcurve is minimal, and professional devel-opment resources are available whenneeded, but not required. Most noviceusers can interact with the board in lessthan 20 minutes.

Paula J. Reber, Principal and DistrictTechnology Supervisor of LewisburgArea School District in Pennsylvania,commented on her district’s recentimplementation of ēno, “One of myteachers who began using ēno today is a

self-described technophobe. She just sentme an e-mail that she loves it and she’sonly had it up and running for about fourhours! I think that says a lot about ēnoand its ease of use.”

The durability of PolyVision’s e3environmental ceramicsteel™ surface,coupled with the Forever Warranty™,make the decision to put cutting-edgetechnology in the hands of students sim-ple, despite pre-existing budgetary con-cerns. Visit www.polyvision.com and usethe online ēno TCO calculator and seehow ēno’s savings for you add up. VisitPolyVision at booth 209 to learn moreabout how your district can grow its pur-chasing power with ēno.

-

EdTech Show Dai lyWednesday, February 2, 201112

Agency; one middle school was rankedUnacceptable and was under state andfederal sanctions; and one of two highschools in the district did not meetAverage Yearly Progress (AYP) for the2007–2008 school year.

Crowley administrators wanted

expanded student access to curricula,especially for its high school students.District administrators also wanted toensure that their students had easy accessto academically rich and rigorous con-tent. With such a solution, Crowley edu-cators felt, they could narrow theachievement gap and strengthen the dis-trict’s credit and course recovery effort.Based on all their requirements, Crowleyadministrators chose to implementCompassLearning Odyssey® in 2007.

Personalized Instruction For AllThe personalized learning provided byCompassLearning, based on identified

instructional strengths and weaknesses,means that all students can reach theirpotential at their own pace. For strug-gling Crowley students, personalizedlearning paths spark student interestand accelerate knowledge acquisition.Additionally, Odyssey assigns districtstudents working above grade levelmore challenging and academicallyrigorous learning paths.

With personalization, Crowley stu-dents have begun to take control of theirlearning, resulting in improved studentoutcomes and teacher accountability.

Crowley ISD, located outside of FortWorth, Texas, began its search for a morerigorous, online curriculum and assess-ment solution three years ago to improveschool performance. Only two ofCrowley ISD’s 17 schools were designat-ed Recognized by the Texas Education

HOW CROWLEY ISD CUSTOMIZEDLEARNING FOR CREDIT RECOVERY,CORE CURRICULUM AND IMPROVEDTEST RESULTS

Continued on Page 25

SETTING THE STANDARDIN EDUCATIONHow Technology Factors Into TheStandards-based Education Equation

The state of Florida has been awarded$700 million under President Obama’sRace to the Top initiative to improve edu-cation. While this presents an opportunityfor the state to transform its educationsystem, it also puts the state’s schooladministrators under tremendous pressureand scrutiny to ensure the funds are put togood use and having a positive impact.

As Florida and other Race to the Topwinners look to deploy the funds, they’llneed to have a good understanding ofwhere to invest to have the most impact,and be able to measure whether the pro-grams and initiatives put in place areimproving the quality of education. Thatis why “building data systems that meas-ure student growth and success, andinform teachers and principals how toimprove instruction” is among the fourpriorities specified in the Race to the Top

program. School districts implementingstandards-based programs will also needa comprehensive software solution thatempowers administrators, teachers, par-ents and students with the tools and infor-mation they need to ensure every studentis successfully performing against stateand national standards.

GlobalScholar’s instruction man-agement software, the Pinnacle Suite, isthe platform of choice for more than1,000 school districts around the countryusing a data-driven approach to improvestudent performance. Pinnacle is muchlike enterprise resource planning (ERP)software used by major corporations,except the Pinnacle Suite was developedspecifically for the unique needs ofschool systems, which are rapidly mov-ing toward more data-driven, standards-based teaching models. The PinnacleSuite supports all aspects of managingeducation at K-12 schools through

Continued on Page 25

their minds work and how they see theworld. They expect that they will continueto learn using this technology. This is thereason why I developed AWARD as aresponse to the digital revolution in oureveryday lives―I’m taking it to theclassroom. I also wanted to build a pro-gram that offered everything a youngreader needs to succeed.

ESD: How are teachers using AWARD,and how does this differ from other pro-grams used in Florida schools?

WP: AWARD Reading was carefullydesigned from the beginning with the

digital learner in mind, and it took oversix years to develop. It offers a rangeof over 300 original, rich and engagingstories, the best in balanced literacy foruse with shared or guided reading.AWARD is also a program designedwith teacher support in mind. The web-site provides teachers with easy-to-uselinks from the Common Core StateStandards correlation to AWARD les-son plans to support their skillsinstruction. We have found throughresearch projects that once teachersand students begin using AWARD,they are guaranteed success.

ESD: Are the books graded in levels ofdifficulty, and how different are they

AWARD Reading (Con’t. from p. 1) from e-books that everyone talks about?

WP: The 300 titles are animated andvoiced with interactive skills activitiesconnected to the text. These are not juste-books or digital copies of a printedbook. AWARD gives teachers and stu-dents the opportunity to explore textthrough animation, video clips, and a rangeof text types. Each title is expanded withvocabulary, phonics, fluency, comprehen-sion and writing tasks. Each text, eachgrade level, is scaffolded―building on theskills previously taught and advancing thelearning in a gradual progression within aneasy-to-follow digital format.

ESD: I understand you offer professional

development to support instruction fordigital learning. Can you tell us moreabout that?

WP: Yes, to match the needs of teach-ers, we offer a range of courses,presented by experienced classroomteachers. These courses cover effectiveclassroom management strategies, dif-ferentiated instruction for grades K–3,and for ELL and RTI groups. We alsohave a video center on our website sothat teachers can access professionaldevelopment tutorials 24/7.

For more information, e-mailsales@awardinteractive.com or visitAWARD Reading at booth 950.

and in the network’s school make-overshow, ‘SchoolPride’, during which wehelped rebuild seven deserving schools.

ESD: What are your predictions for2011? How will the use of technology inthe classroom evolve?

ME: I believe the use of interactivetechnologies in the classroom is reach-ing its tipping point. Certainly, interac-tive technology makes learning fun and,when effectively integrated into les-sons, it produces a tremendous increasein student achievement. Teachers areincreasingly being asked to do morewith less and easy to use, effectiveinteractive technologies that have beendesigned for the classroom will helpthem. In 2011, I predict that we’regoing to see a greater focus on theapplication of technology to supportlearning and the use of data to deliverpersonalized instruction.

ESD: What are your plans to help dis-trict leaders stretch budget allocationsin 2011?

ME: In these tough economic times,teachers are having to do more with lessand it’s imperative that schools utilizetechnology to boost efficiencies as busi-nesses do and we want to show them howwe can help. As a proud national partnerof the National Parent TeachersAssociation, we are offering matchingfunds that local PTA chapters raise tosupport the purchase of interactive tech-nology. Additionally, our ActivBoardMount System, introduced this fall,offers educators a low-cost answer towhat the market demands: affordabilitywith quality. This system is backed byPromethean’s quality promise―superiorhardware, award-winning software,trusted product warranty and support.

ESD: How will the enhancements toyour current products or innovative newproducts benefit educators and students?

Promethean (Con’t. from p. 1) ME: As you know, technology is con-stantly evolving. In 2011, we will intro-duce many exciting new products thatwill carry forward our tradition of solu-tions that boost student achievement andhelp teachers be more productive andeffective. One of our first new productsto be announced in 2011 is ourActivBoard 500. This next generationinteractive whiteboard introduces, for thefirst time, leading-edge technology thatallows for simultaneous use by both penand touch for a more natural and intuitiveinterface. This added flexibility allowsteachers to reach students in a variety ofways or modes, supporting a wider rangeof learning types.

Another new product on the near horizonis ActivProgress, an online platform thatdistrict leaders can use to analyze andleverage data from formative, summativeor benchmark assessments to enhancelearning. This robust system, when usedwith our market-leading LRS devices,will enable educators to customize

instruction to individual student needs.But it doesn’t stop there. ActivProgressincludes tools teachers can use for bothpeer-to-peer collaboration and parentcommunications.

ESD: What do you anticipate being thegreatest opportunities in the year ahead?

ME: I believe 2011 is about shifting ourparadigm. By working together, we canweather the storm that is brewing andcome out stronger, with students who areprepared for post-secondary opportuni-ties that are not yet created. However,effective use of technology is critical toour success. If educators want to maxi-mize existing investments, sustainprogress and accelerate student achieve-ment, then true technology integration isneeded so that teachers have more time toteach, which we know positively impactsstudent achievement.

For more information, visit FETCbooth 701.

EdTech Show Dai ly 17Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Britannica’s subscription products andare finding Britannica indispensable fortheir research and daily classroom needs.We are proud that 13 states have adoptedBritannica products for their entire state,and that we even have national agree-ments with Ireland, Finland and SouthAfrica. Last year the government ofBrazil commissioned Britannica to createa learning portal for their K-8 students inPortuguese, all based on Britannica’sexisting websites. We believe that theinteraction we have with our global cus-tomers and partners improves all of ourproduct offerings and benefits ourcustomers everywhere.

ESD: What would you say makes yourcompany unique?

MR: Britannica is unique in its breadthand depth of product content, its editorialapproach, and its ability to address theneeds of a variety of markets across theglobe. First, we have unparalleled prod-ucts for all age ranges, particularly withour two flagship products, BritannicaOnline School Edition and BritannicaOnline Academic Edition. We address thespecific needs of preschoolers with ourLearning Zone feature; elementary stu-dents with our young learner’s database;middle schoolers with our Compton’sbranded database; and high schoolthrough university users with the seniorBritannica database. All of these sites areedited and maintained daily by our ownin-house staff of editors, who work withexperts around the world, includingPulitzer Prize winners and Nobel laure-ates. This ensures that all of our contentis best of breed, up to date and meets thehighest standards possible. We revise oradd more than 1,000 articles a month toour sites, which is by far the largest out-put of any English-language referenceand e-learning publisher. As a furtherbenefit to our users, we have our own

in-house staff of programmers, who areresponsible for innovative site develop-ment and performance.

ESD: Are you introducing anynew products?

MR: In the last two years we havelaunched several exciting products thatcomplement our flagship products.SmartMath is our new elementary, onlineformative assessment product, whichuses wonderful animated characters anda fun and engaging interface to helpyoung learners master important mathskills. The program is unique in its abili-ty to adapt to the learners’ levels so thatthey never get frustrated and continue tomake progress. It’s perfect for both strug-gling learners and gifted learners, and anideal product for differentiated learning.SmartMath is part of Britannica’sgroundbreaking line of math programs,which includes the highly acclaimedMathematics in Context, a reform mathprogram for middle school that has beenadopted and used successfully in manydistricts across the country.

ESD: Where is your current productemphasis?

MR: There is a great need for differenti-ated learning across the curriculum, andlast year we addressed that need with our21st Century Explorer online product.21st Century Explorer is a two-tieredgeneral reference product that is gearedto the reading level of struggling readersbut has an interface that will appeal toolder learners. It has a very readable fontand uses Britannica’s read-aloud featureso that learners can follow along with thetext as they hear every word pronounced.It also has all of Britannica’s standardreference features, including theMerriam-Webster dictionary, our verypopular workspace and a multitude ofmultimedia. 21st Century Explorer willbe part of a growing line of e-learning

Britannica Digital Learning (Con’t. from p. 1) products from Britannica that willaddress the needs of students at differentlearning and reading levels. Right nowwe are developing a science product formiddle school that will also have a strongdifferentiated learning component thatwill be available next fall.

ESD: What products do you see as beinghottest this year?

MR: We have just released a fantasticnew product called Image Quest. Thisproduct addresses the need for students atall levels, and teachers as well, to haveinstant access to educationalimages―photos, illustrations, maps, and,in the near future, video clips―that theycan use freely in all of their projects, pre-sentations, websites, lesson plans andinteractive whiteboard activities. Wehave over 1 million images available nowand will soon have 2 million. All imagerights have been cleared for use for edu-cation, and the database is searchable bykeyword, subject or image provider. Wehave brought together more than 50 ofthe best image providers in the world,and have provided important metadatafor each image, including captions, fullcopyright information, keyword andrelated subject areas, and citation infor-mation. Image Quest is a unique productand should have broad appeal―from ele-mentary school through university.

ESD: What distinguishes your productsfrom the competition?

MR: Britannica today is distinguishedamong reference and e-learning publish-ers in a variety of ways. Our mission is tomake sure that our customers have accessto the highest quality content on any for-mat they prefer, including print, e-books,websites, mobile devices and apps.Through our unique ‘universal Access’technology, our school and public libraryusers have access to Britannica Onlinecontent through any search engine. In

addition, Britannica Online is easily inte-grated into popular federated search sys-tems, learning management systems andother innovative technologies. We makesure that we are everywhere our cus-tomers are and break down any barriersto learning. We believe that we have aunique value proposition, which providesbest-of-class content at all levels withtechnical best practices to make our con-tent intuitive and rewarding.

ESD: What’s next at Britannica?

MR: We are constantly innovating,changing and improving the experiencethat our customers have with all of ourproducts. Our editors work with morethan 3,000 experts in their fields in orderto keep up with the latest scholarship, toseparate fact from fiction, to maintainneutrality, and to appeal to a variety ofreading levels. Our designers and mediaspecialists are constantly updating ourvideo offerings, interactivities, maps andother illustrative content so that our usersbenefit from information provided inmultiple forms. Moreover, we areresponding to the need for more interac-tive products in the classroom that arecurriculum-focused, like Student NewsNetwork, a social studies product withcross-curriculum links; Discover Englishwith Ben and Bella, for preschoolersthrough grade two; and SciencePathways, a middle-school science sup-plement tied to the state standards. Ourgoal is to make sure that we are meetingthe needs of students and teachers alikewith engaging, trustworthy content that iseasy to use, accessible to all learningstyles, and that provides the best value onthe market.

Schools, universities and librariesinterested in Britannica Image Questcan call 800-621-3900 or go tohttp://info.eb.com/ for more informationor trial subscriptions. Visit them inOrlando at FETC booth 1337.

A STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMTHAT WORKS: IRESPONDThe iRespond personal response systemis a cost-effective way for any instructorto instantly become more productive.Combined with our proprietary TeachersDashboard Software, you may take atten-dance, collect homework, track forma-tive assessment, give timed tests, engageevery student, reduce the drudgery ofgrading, produce meaningful state stan-dards reports and much more.

Increase Instructor ProductivityBecause iRespond handles the gradingprocess, from short quizzes to end-of-term assessments, teachers have moretime for teaching. Imagine how muchmore productive you can be when freedfrom the burden of grading tests.

Achieve 100% Student ParticipationWith iRespond, every student is engaged

in the learning process and is an activeparticipant. Students love the technology.EDCO customers say that attendance isalways better when their students knowthey will be using iRespond remotes. TheiRespond-Lite is a wonderful addition toany classroom from kindergarten to grad-uate school. It’s perfect for the individualclassroom or a meeting where you wantto capture everyone’s opinion.

Flexible and easy to use, iRespondallows for a wide variety of questions:multiple choice, true/false, multipleresponse, yes/no, numeric, fill-in-theblank and survey.

The iRespond-Lite remotes have adisplay window to show students thequestion number they are answering andthe answer they selected. This windowcan display the student grade, class aver-age, messages from the teacher and feed-back. Teachers are free to move aroundthe classroom and can remotely send pre-pared questions. The system is also easyto use for questions on the fly.

More reasons to come by booth 966and see iRespond in action: fully inte-grates with Power Point; built-in state

Continued on Page 20

Continued on Page 25

A new report by leaders in the youthdevelopment field encourages state edu-cation leaders to lift barriers and invest ininnovative schools that implementdynamic competency-based approaches(CBA) to help over-age, under-credited

students earn their diplomas.CBA is a holistic, student-centered

method of development with explicit andmeasurable learning objectives for youth.Services and support vary depending onthe need of each student.

The paper was compiled by leadersfrom: MetisNet, a consulting firm thathelps foundations and nonprofit organiza-tions maximize their community invest-ments; Our Piece of the Pie®, (OPP®), ayouth development agency based inHartford, Conn.; the InternationalAssociation for K–12 Online Learning(iNACOL), a nonprofit association basedin the Washington, D.C. area; andEphraim Weisstein, an independent edu-cation consultant who is piloting theSchools for the Future program.

According to the report, “Clearingthe Path: Creating Innovation for Serving

Over-Age, Under-Credited Students inCompetency-Based Pathways,” educa-tion policymakers must offer flexibilityto reorganize functions and staffing,expand high-quality content and instruc-tional systems, and incorporate newtools, technologies and supports. In addi-tion, policy needs to be amended toreplace the current time-based systemwith a learning-based system allowingstudents to earn credits based on demon-strated proficiency, not seat-time.

The report urges policymakers to lift

NEW REPORT URGES EDUCATIONPOLICYMAKERS TO INVEST INCOMPETENCY-BASED APPROACHESTO HELP HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

EdTech Show Dai lyWednesday, February 2, 201120

years, teachers have asked us to combineoffline handheld use with online report-ing. The answer is KINEO, which syncsstudent achievement data from the hand-helds with their progress on computersusing our online assessment.

ESD: What is KINEO?

JC: KINEO is the first Android tabletspecifically designed for education. Itoffers all the benefits of mobile technolo-gy, but with the strongest securitymeasures that schools require. In the pastcouple of years, school districts havefound that mobile technology can causeproblems as well as benefits.

ESD: What do you mean by ‘thestrongest security measures’?

JC: Serious legal issues have beencaused by mobile device usage inschools. Some features, such as messag-ing, picture taking and video recording,have caused problems. Messaging hasenabled cheating on state tests inMississippi. The state employs a companyto monitor the situation, and has reducedcheating by 70 percent. But this is anunnecessary expense. Cameras in mobiledevices have led to incidents causinggreat harm to students that requireinvolvement of law enforcement agen-cies. In other cases, students have addedor deleted applications, ruining the expe-rience in cases where devices are sharedamong students. KINEO has a restricted‘Student Mode’ and an ‘AdministratorMode.’ Schools can decide what studentscan or cannot do.

ESD: How do students learn usingKINEO?

JC: Along with access to eBooks, learn-ing applications and controlled Webbrowsing, administrators will have theability to connect to our award-winning

Achiever! program. Students then havethe ability to master their state standardswith the help of multimedia instructionand assessment. In addition, Kineo pro-vides self-paced learning and differenti-ated instruction for students needingextra attention.

ESD: How is this technology differentfrom other tablets?

JC: First, we spent money where itcounts. The battery has more than twicethe power of most tablet devices. Second,our touchscreen is rated for 20 times theimpressions of other devices, at 500,000impressions. Third, the processor is pow-erful, so applications run properly.KINEO also has a Flash player so it canrun multimedia applications. Finally, wehave physical controls that provide easyusage and make it an assistive learningdevice. There are ABCD buttons foranswering multiple choice questions likethe ones found on state tests. There is aback button to go to the previous screenand physical volume control. No instruc-tions are needed for people to use KINEO.

ESD: How will Kineo help teachers inthe classroom?

JC: KINEO provides students withunlimited extra instruction tailored totheir individual needs. Because scoresand usage can sync to our online assess-ment programs, everyone has Internetaccess to student, classroom and school-wide progress reports. Finally, KINEOcan be connected to whiteboards orLCD projectors. It has an HDMI videoand audio output. Teachers can play ourstandards-based software on largescreens for group instruction, or playhigh-definition movies.

For a hands-on demonstration of Kineo,visit us at FETC booth 231. You may alsovisit our website at www.brainchild.com,e-mail questions@brainchild.com, or call800-811-2724.

Brainchild (Con’t. from p. 1)

the other interviewees.”The T3 International Conference

also places a spotlight on special interesttopics, such as successful grant-writingstrategies and techniques, engaging at-risk students through classroom technol-ogy, and the most recent innovations of

TI-Nspire technology.For more information about Texas

Instruments, visit www.education.ti.comor stop by booth 401.

*AP is a registered trademark of TheCollege Board which was not involved inthe production of and does not endorseTI products.

Texas Instruments (Con’t. from p. 4)

standards to correlate to your test ques-tions; create a quick answer key forinstant testing; unique PIN login allowsstudents to use any remote; foster class-room excitement and competition; sup-ports paper-based, oral and projectedtests; allows assessment of individualstudents, teams or the entire classroom;easy to create reports that can be printedor e-mailed; radio frequency for failproof two-way interactive communica-tions; runs on AA batteries; and onlineeasy-to-follow video tutorials.

See how engaging your students andimproving performance is as easy as1…2…3!

Select a class, choose a lesson, andpick your remotes. That’s it. Now you

do what you do best―teach. iRespond’sStudent Response System collects studentanswers and scores each response in real-time, whether delivering a random singlequestion or a comprehensive “test forrecord” to all students. Both you and yourstudents know in seconds what has beenmastered and what still needs to be learned.

Come by the EDCO booth 966 orvisit www.edcousa.biz and see howiRespond allows you to link questions tothe standard you are teaching, as well asidentify and track each student’s masteryof objectives. Combined with EDCO’sinstant reporting features, teachers maymodify lessons or assist individual stu-dents who need further help. EDCO alsooffers assessment solutions and state-aligned content. Both work seamlesslyand dynamically with iRespond.

EDCO (Con’t. from p. 17)

websites. Teachers can interact withstudents and parents online, extendingclassroom content out through the Webto more effectively engage studentsand drive parental involvement. Ourplatform also makes it easy for dis-tricts to seamlessly connect their vari-ous Web-based technologies so thatthey are easier to access, and worktogether more effectively.

ESD: What are the biggest issues facingeducation that are addressed by yoursolutions?

EM: As we continually speak withsuperintendents and thought leaders inthis market, six key themes keep rising tothe top.

First, districts need to better connect withcommunities at the school, district andcommunity levels. We repeatedly hearthat the ultimate success of the districtand the superintendent pivots on howwell they connect with their communities.

Second, districts struggle with the multi-ple technology pieces that operate insilos, and are costly to maintain and sup-port. But the greater cost is that these dis-crete technologies make it difficult forusers to easily access the resources andinformation they need. Districts want toprovide their users with an easy, seamlessexperience wherein each individual canaccess the information and services thatthey need to succeed.

Third, districts want ways to effectivelymeasure and drive engagement. Theavailability of data helps districts makeadjustments to their tactics to increaseengagement even more.

Fourth, districts place great importanceon supporting 21st century teaching andlearning. Research, like ProjectTomorrow’s 2009 national researchstudy, shows that students apply knowl-edge when learning occurs in a collabo-rative and interactive environment, yetmany districts are unable to provide thetechnology platform necessary to support21st century learning.

Lastly, given the economy, districts arelooking for ways to gain efficiencies tosave time and money.

Schoolwires delivers software and serv-ices that address these critical concerns.Our solutions enable districts to create a21st century teaching and learning envi-ronment; enable districts to more deeplyand socially engage teachers, students,

parents and other constituents; andseamlessly unify their technologies todeliver the right services to the rightindividuals at the right time over a mul-titude of devices to activate communi-ties. Also, with the implementation ofthe Centricity2 platform, districts canaffordably gain efficiencies, saving timeand money.

ESD: What are some of the most signifi-cant achievements of the company in thepast year?

EM: We had several notable accomplish-ments. We delivered our new Centricity2

solution that will help districts addresstheir critical key issues even better.

Also in 2010, we reached an importantmilestone: earning the business ofmore than 10 percent of the nation’s200 largest districts, and implementingtheir new platforms on budget, on timeand with high client satisfaction. Theselarge districts added to our ongoinggrowth. In 2010, we ranked on Inc.Magazine’s Top 500|5000 list for thefourth consecutive year, and we remainin the top 20 fastest growing compa-nies in the private education sector.

How do we achieve this rapid growth ina flat economy? It’s because our productsand our people deliver solid results andremarkable satisfaction. This is demon-strated in our exceptionally high clientretention rate, averaging 98 percent sinceour founding.

ESD: Do you have any customers inTexas?

EM: Since 2005, when Denton ISDchose Schoolwires and became our firstclient in Texas, over 130 Texas districtshave come to rely on Centricity as theirwebsite and community managementplatform. Districts of all sizes―fromCallisburg ISD to Dallas ISD―enjoyincreased efficiency and cost savings as aresult of this strategic decision. In addi-tion, we have a long-standing relation-ship with Education Service Center(ESC) Region XI in Texas to provide cer-tified hosting of our solutions to K-12districts in the state.

To learn more about Schoolwires, visitbooth 1138; or www.schoolwires.com,call 877-427-9413 or join theSchoolwires Knowledge Center by visit-ing www.schoolwires.com/knowledgecenter where experts share theirinsights through a growing collection ofthought leadership white papers, K-12business and technology models, casestudies and more!

Schoolwires (Con’t. from p. 1)

COURSESMART’S DIGITAL BOOKS,EREADERS APPS ARE ‘MUST-HAVES’CourseSmart, the world’s largestprovider of eTextbooks and digitalcourse materials, is currently offeringeasy, free mobile app access tomore than 90 percent of core collegetextbooks in use today at up to 60percent off traditional print prices.CourseSmart’s apps provide a user

experience today’s digital nativesseek—a replica of their textbooks, withvalue-added functionality, in an afford-able and portable option.

Students can download Course-Smart’s apps for the iPhone, iPad andiPod Touch by visiting www.coursesmart.com/go/mobile.

EdTech Show Dai ly 25Wednesday, February 2, 2011

and color reproduction in the industry.Teachers are more effective when theyhave the ability to utilize all areas of theclassroom, but the ability to teach bymoving around the classroom can be hin-dered by poorly placed classroom controlpanels or unwieldy carts.

“Teachers are doing it for them-selves,” proclaimed Lumens ProductManager Chris Laughary, who is aformer Broward County teacher andtechnologist. “You no longer have tosacrifice image quality when a longVGA cable or USB connection isn’tfeasible,” he continued.

As with any valuable teaching tool,the Ladibug wireless document camera isintended to empower educators to spendmore time teaching and less time transi-tioning between teaching materials.Freedom from wires allows teachers tosend an image from any location in the

Lumens (Con’t. from p. 1)

also receive a video of their training ses-sion for future reference.

“We want our teachers to learn asmuch as possible when it comes to tech-nology’s versatility in the classroom.They can then use this knowledge to helpimprove their interactions, as well as stu-dent engagement,” said Moss.“Professional development training is a

critical step in the right direction, onethat can benefit not only teachers, buttheir students as well.”

While at FETC, please be sure to visitAVI-SPL at booth 1413 to learn moreabout their professional developmenttraining program. You can also contactAVI-SPL by calling 866-559-8197 orvisiting www.avispl.com/professional-development/.

AVI-SPL (Con’t. from p. 9)

Theresa Kohler, Chief Instruction Officerat Crowley ISD, noted, “We tell themwhat the targets are and expect that theywill be intimately involved in keepingpace with their educational goals.”

Response To Intervention = FullPotentialCrowley’s school improvement solutionenabled educators to better measure aca-demic progress and to fine-tune responseto intervention (RtI) efforts, so studentscan avoid Tier III strategic interventioninvolving intensive or district-sponsoredspecial education services. Detail-richprogress monitoring reports have enabledteachers to make instructional adjust-ments in real-time, thus helping all stu-dents excel individually. In addition toRtI support, at the middle school level,Crowley ISD has found the solutionhelpful with skills intervention.

Credit Recovery And Extra CreditExpanded access has been critical in thedistrict’s efforts to prepare students forend-of-course exams and aid with cred-it recovery. Additionally, Crowley stu-dents falling behind on credits―as wellas those wanting to earn additionalcredits―continue to benefit from the

implementation of an always-on, Web-based, standards-aligned digital cur-riculum. And the benefits extendbeyond the student population.

For example, a summer programpilot offering students the opportunity toreceive credit using Odyssey from homeresulted in all participating students earn-ing high school credit and the districtsaving money on transportation, utilitiesand personnel.

ResultsSince 2007, the district’s number ofRecognized campuses has increasedfrom two to nine, even with the statecompetency level increasing from 75percent in 2009 to 80 percent in 2010.Crowley has seen:• Improved AYP status within thedistrict.• Increased credit recovery.• Enhanced RtI framework.• Improved TAKS performance in math-ematics and science.• Improved TAKS performance acrossall student subgroups.

Said Kohler, “We are extremely pleasedwith these results and look forward toachieving even better results in the future.”

Visit CompassLearning at booth 508and at www.compasslearning.com.

CompassLearning (Con’t. from p. 12)

classroom. This means that no teachablemoment will be missed whether it is froma lab table, classroom learning station, oreven a student’s desk.

All Lumens Ladibug document cam-eras are compatible with InteractiveWhiteboards and boast superior imageclarity with an unmatched unlimited five-year replacement warranty. Teachers sur-veyed chose the Ladibug as their favoriteclassroom technology tool for conven-ience and ease-of-use.

Hampton City Schools, Va., asked 40high-tech teachers to try numerous class-room technology tools and they unani-mously selected the Lumens Ladibugdocument camera as the best. The groupstudied uses for interactive whiteboards,wireless tablets, student response systemsand Ladibug document cameras.

For more information on the excitingLumens Wireless Ladibug documentcameras, visit www.myladibug.com orstop by booth 1131.

explore and succeed.”

About SMARTSMART Technologies is a leadingprovider of collaboration solutions thattransform the way the world works andlearns. They believe that collaboration

and interaction should be easy. As theglobal leader in interactive whiteboards,we bring more than two decades of col-laboration research and development to abroad range of easy-to-use, integratedsolutions that free people from theirdesks and computer screens, so collabo-rating and learning with digital resourcesare more natural.

SMART Technologies (Con’t. from p. 4)

software modules that can stand alone,integrate with point solutions or bedeployed as a complete end-to-end solu-tion. The Pinnacle Suite includes:

Pinnacle SIS, which provides central-ized enrollment, attendance, health, trans-portation and discipline information. Itautomates scheduling based on studentperformance, giving students and teachersa more flexible and productive classroomenvironment. It also allows for individual-ized, creative teaching strategies.

Pinnacle Instruction gives teachers acentral platform for accessing, storingand creating curriculum and assessments.It supports all levels, types and styles ofcurriculum mapping and standards-alignment, making it easy for teachers tomeasure progress against standards andidentify and repeat best practices.

Pinnacle Grade gives educators,administrators, parents and students acomprehensive view of student progress.It reduces data entry requirements andadministration hours for teachers andenables real-time alerts for attendance,grades or disciplinary actions.

Pinnacle Insight gives schools analy-sis and reporting tools that help makesense of the wealth of data in the educa-tion environment and facilitate data-driven instructional strategies.

Pinnacle PD delivers timely and

contextually relevant professional devel-opment that facilitates improved teachereffectiveness.

Pinnacle PAL is a collaborativeonline learning solution that lets studentsand teachers conduct interactive, onlinesessions in a secure environment.

GlobalScholar works closely withDr. Marzano, a leading assessment expertand internationally respected educationalresearcher, trainer and author. Throughhis research, Dr. Marzano strongly advo-cates for data-driven instruction, forma-tive assessments and standards-basedgrading as key to precisely pinpointingindividual student strengths and weak-nesses and improving overall student per-formance. Many of Dr. Marzano’sphilosophies and methodologies are builtinto the functionality of Pinnacle Suite forschools that want to follow his approach.

The Pinnacle Suite empowers educa-tors with data and actionable insights intostudent performance, enabling teachersto quickly identify when and where indi-vidual students might be struggling orneed additional help. It also providesdevelopment tools to help teachersimprove their effectiveness, and auto-mates many tasks and processes so thatteachers can focus on what they dobest―teach.

For more information, call 800-473-4572, visit www.globalscholar.com orstop by booth 237.

GlobalScholar (Con’t. from p. 12)

barriers allowing students to enroll incompetency-based online courses, trans-fer competencies across schools, and rec-ognize proficiency in learning objectivesdeveloped outside of the traditionalschool day (including jobs, participationin clubs and community service).

“Clearing the path for this innova-tive method of education is essential inensuring over-age, under-credited stu-dents have the tools to succeed,” saidBob Rath, President/CEO of OPP.“States and school districts that focus oncompetency-based approaches can reaptremendous economic benefits averagingover $300,000 for every student thatgraduates high school instead of drop-ping out,” Rath said.

According to the report, a set of pol-icy conditions must be in place for stateeducation agencies to realize the full ben-efit of CBAs.

Competency-based approaches offera new value proposition for our educationsystem, according to Susan Patrick,President and CEO of iNACOL. It focus-es on a departure from seat-time require-ments to concept mastery—a vitalchange toward student-centered learning.

“There are too many young peoplewho have been left behind with gaps intheir skills because of our time-basedsystem,” said Ephraim Weisstein.“Competency-based models are invalu-able for addressing our dropout crisis byoffering a high-engagement, acceleratedpath to a high school diploma.”

About the AuthorsChris Sturgis is the Principal ofMetisNet, a consulting firm working withfoundations, government and individualsto shape effective investments thatbuild communities, benefit children and

families, and brighten our future. Themission stems from the very roots of theirname—metis—a Greek word for localknowledge and wisdom. Drawing onmultiple perspectives, MetisNet workswith clients to develop vibrant, asset-based investment strategies.

Bob Rath is the President and CEO ofOur Piece of the Pie, Inc. (OPP), based inHartford, Conn. With more than 30 years’experience in organizational leadership,Bob led the transformation of OPP into ayouth development organization intentlyfocused on helping urban youth 14–24become successful adults. OPP’s signatureprogram, Pathways to Success, has beensuccessfully implemented in the communi-ty at large, as well as inside OpportunityHigh School—a partnership school forover-aged and under-credited youth—launched in August 2009 by HartfordPublic Schools and OPP.

Susan Patrick is President and CEO ofthe International Association for K–12Online Learning (iNACOL), a nonprofit501(c)(3) membership association based inthe Washington, D.C. area with more than3,700 members. iNACOL is unique in thatits members represent a diverse cross-section of K–12 education from school dis-tricts, charter schools, state educationagencies, nonprofit organizations, col-leges, universities and research institu-tions, corporate entities, and other contentand technology providers. iNACOL’s mis-sion is to ensure all students have access toa world-class education and quality onlinelearning opportunities that prepare themfor a lifetime of success (www.inacol.org).

Ephraim Weisstein is an educationconsultant. With R & D support from theMott Foundation, Weisstein is pilotingSchools for the Future. Ephraim designedthe Diploma Plus model, which is nowused by 29 schools nationally, servingover 4,000 students.

CBA (Con’t. from p. 17)