Adaptive learning is a method of education that seeks to personalize learning by using sophisticated algorithmic technology to continually assess students’ knowledge, skill and confidence levels and design targeted study paths based on the resulting data to bolster students’ understanding in the areas where they need to improve the most. By allowing students to focus their outside-of-class study time on the topics and concepts that are most challenging to them, adaptive learning has been shown to help students study more efficiently, develop greater proficiency and earn better grades. Adaptive learning also benefits instructors: By better preparing students for class, adaptive learning enables instructors to spend more time delving into advanced concepts and engaging students in high-level discussion.

The LearnSmart Advantage suite builds on the success of McGraw-Hill LearnSmart™, the company’s industry leading adaptive study tool. With more than 1 million unique student users answering more than 1 billion questions through LearnSmart since its launch in 2009, McGraw-Hill Education has been able to use its unparalleled data and insights into how students learn to refine its adaptive capabilities and apply them to new areas of the learning experience – in effect creating a fully adaptive course. McGraw-Hill Education will make the LearnSmart Advantage suite available to students through instructors and institutions as well as through direct purchase.

“Since the launch of LearnSmart in 2009, we’ve developed a deep understanding of how personalized learning through adaptive technology helps improve student performance,” said Brian Kibby , president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education. “Bringing our expertise and proven effectiveness in adaptive learning to new areas of the learning experience represents an enormous opportunity, both for McGraw-Hill Education and students, instructors and institutions across the country. With the launch of SmartBook and the rest of the LearnSmart Advantage suite, we continue to lead higher education in using adaptive technology to help improve student performance.”

The following new products are joining LearnSmart in the LearnSmart Advantage suite:

-SmartBook – an adaptive e-book that creates a more efficient and effective reading experience by assessing students’ knowledge and skill levels as they read and highlighting content that focuses their attention on the topics and concepts that they have yet to master. SmartBook represents a breakthrough achievement in reading, as it breaks the centuries-old tradition of books as linear experiences that presume to be read in their entirety, and in a pre-defined sequence, in order to be understood.

-LearnSmart Prep – a “before-the-course” adaptive resource designed to prepare students entering complex courses that are critical to the completion of their major or degree (such as Anatomy & Physiology, Organic Chemistry, or Majors Biology) with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful on day one of class. Students can also use LearnSmart Prep in the early weeks of a course to ensure that they are prepared for concepts and assignments that will come later in the course.

-LearnSmart Labs – a photo-realistic virtual lab experience that uses adaptive technology to enable meaningful scientific exploration and learning while eliminating many of the practical challenges of a physical lab setting. By allowing students to practice their experiments in a virtual lab setting, LearnSmart Labs allows students and instructors to maximize the valuable time spent in the physical laboratory. For online and blended courses, LearnSmart Labs offers the closest thing available to an actual physical laboratory experience, enabling students to put the concepts they have learned in class to the virtual test without requiring access to a brick-and-mortar lab.

-LearnSmart Achieve – a comprehensive adaptive learning system that pinpoints students’ areas of weakness and supplies students with targeted content, including videos, interactive activities and additional readings. LearnSmart Achieve gives students on-the-spot tutoring at times when they may not have access to their professors and also provides a time management feature that guides students through the content and resources at a pace that is best for them.

The LearnSmart Advantage suite enables institutions to adopt adaptive learning as an institution-wide practice, creating a cycle of student performance improvement across disciplines and classes. McGraw-Hill Education also plans to offer the products in the LearnSmart Advantage suite available to students or their parents to purchase directly. The company entered the consumer market for adaptive technology in the summer of 2012 when it made LearnSmart for sale directly to students and parents.

LearnSmart Advantage Availability:

-LearnSmart: Available immediately across more than 90 course areas.
-SmartBook: Available in the spring of 2013 across more than 90 course areas.
-LearnSmart Prep: Available immediately across six course areas.
-LearnSmart Labs: Available immediately for the following courses: Majors Biology, General Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry and Nutrition.
-LearnSmart Achieve: Available in beta in the spring of 2013 across more than 25 course areas.

All products in the LearnSmart Advantage suite will be available directly to students beginning at $19.99.

McGraw-Hill Education at CES
McGraw-Hill Higher Education will be demonstrating the LearnSmart Advantage suite at Pepcom’s “Digital Experience!” event on Jan. 7. McGraw-Hill Education will be posting live tweets from the conference through its Twitter feeds (@MHEducation, @MHhighered). Additionally, Stephen Laster , McGraw-Hill Education’s chief digital officer, will participate in the HigherEdTECH Summit at CES, a conference designed to bring together industry leaders to discuss how technology can positively impact higher education.

About McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill Education is a digital learning company that draws on its more than 100 years of educational expertise to offer solutions that improve learning outcomes around the world. McGraw-Hill Education is the adaptive education technology leader with the vision for creating a highly personalized learning experience that prepares students of all ages for the world that awaits. The Company has offices across North America, India, China, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions available in more than 65 languages. For additional information, visit www.mheducation.com.

Contacts:
Brian Belardi
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-4827
brian_belardi@mcgraw-hill.com

Gerald Kimber White
RF|Binder for McGraw-Hill Education
(781) 455-8250
mhhighereducation@rfbinder.com

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education

PHOENIX – Jan. 8, 2013 – The Arizona Department of Education announced today that it is adding 25 NES® (National Evaluation Series™) tests to its teacher certification program. These tests join other Pearson-delivered licensure tests that are part of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments (AEPA), to fulfill the testing requirements for Arizona teacher certification. NES tests are comprehensive, computer-based exams offered year-round, by appointment, at Pearson test centers throughout Arizona and at more than 1,000 secure test centers in the United States and around the world.

“As we continue to work to increase graduation rates, accelerate achievement and prepare all Arizona students for success in college and careers, ensuring that state teachers are ready to teach in 21st century classrooms and help students meet new learning goals is the lynchpin to our success,” said Todd Petersen, Deputy Associate Superintendent, Arizona Department of Education. “The NES tests will help us accurately evaluate teacher candidate readiness and fully realize our state’s educational goals.”

Arizona teacher candidates will now take the NES Assessment of Professional Knowledge tests to fulfill the professional knowledge testing requirement for Arizona teacher certification. These tests assess candidates’ knowledge of essential areas such as student development and learning; assessment, instruction and the learning environment; and the professional environment in both elementary and secondary education.

Teacher candidates seeking certification in one of 23 subject areas will now be required to take NES Subject Knowledge Tests. Aligned with the Arizona academic and professional standards, including the Arizona Common Core Standards, the NES tests include Art, Biology, Business Education, Chemistry, Chinese, Elementary Education, English Language Arts, French, General Science, German, Health, History, Mathematics, Middle Grades Mathematics, Middle Grades English Language Arts, Middle Grades General Science, Music, Physics, School Library Media Specialist, Spanish and Special Education.

“Arizona’s leaders have set forth an ambitious education agenda and are making important investments in accelerating achievement for all state students,” said William Gorth, Ph.D., president of the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson. “We are proud to be a part of Arizona’s teacher certification program.”

To support them as they prepare for the NES tests, Arizona teacher certification candidates have access to a full complement of NES preparation resources and tools, available for all NES test fields, including:

 NES Profile: free, online study guides that include the essential information a candidate needs about a NES test, such as the format and content covered, as well as sample test questions.

 NES Practice: full-length, online practice tests designed to simulate the experience of taking a NES test.

 NES Prep: interactive, online study guides that feature a diagnostic test, review exercises, a review of test competencies and, for 13 fields, instructional content for additional study.

For more information about the NES, visit www.NEStest.com. For more information about the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, go to http://www.teacher.pearsonassessments.com.

About Pearson
Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, has global reach and market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing (NYSE: PSO). For more information about the Assessment & Information group of Pearson, visit http://www.pearsonassessments.com/.

• · The mobile device explosion is driving increasing demand for enterprise Wi-Fi. In 2012 alone, Aerohive significantly grew its customer base with the addition of 4,500 new accounts, making strides in key verticals worldwide including healthcare, retail, education and the enterprise. The company increased shipments by 132 percent and closed out the year with a $100M run rate.

• · With over 7,500 customers worldwide, key customer wins include Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest assisted living chain with nearly 600 facilities and over 60,000 residents; Hoogvliet, a Dutch supermarket chain with 62 supermarkets and 57 liquor stores, spread across The Netherlands, North Holland and Texas; and Tennessee Technological University, one of the nation’s top universities in the Southeast, according to Princeton Review.

• · The company has also been recognized as a leader by industry influencers. Most recently, Aerohive topped Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ list at 5^th place, making the company the 5^th fastest growing technology company in North America. Earlier in the year, Aerohive was also named a “Visionary” in Gartner’s Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure 2012 Magic Quadrant. This is in addition to winning seven other industry awards in 2012 from organizations like AlwaysOn, CRN and eSchool Media.

• · In September, Aerohive announced $22.5 million in Mezzanine Equity financing, led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), a premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firm. This was in addition to $72 million raised in previous rounds of funding since inception in 2006.

• · Aerohive also increased its market leadership with key new product releases. These releases included the industry’s first Bonjour Gateway, which enables enterprises to solve the challenge of supporting multiple Apple devices across multi-subnet enterprise networks—all for free. In addition to Bonjour Gateway, Aerohive released two new Access Points (APs): AP121 and AP141 designed to provide throughput and coverage at a cost-effective price point ideal for education, healthcare, retail and distributed enterprise environments. Aerohive also expanded its Branch on Demand product family with the BR200 Branch Router, which allows enterprises to connect, secure and manage branch office networks.

• · Aerohive extended its technological innovation into new arenas with strategic partnerships. In December, Aerohive teamed up with iPass Managed Network Services to form a managed Wi-Fi service partnership, delivering a secure Wi-Fi solution for the distributed enterprise and venue owners. Earlier in the year in June, Aerohive and JAMF Software announced an Integrated Mobile Device Management Solution for comprehensive management of Apple devices.

• · Lastly, Aerohive added key leadership positions to guide the company’s rapid growth in the hot cloud-enabled enterprise Wi-Fi space. New executive appointments included Dean-Hickman Smith as senior vice president of worldwide sales, Raphaël Gernez as vice president of operations and Kurt Mills as vice president of channel sales.

Comments

“In 2012 we focused on building our business and helping our customers get greater ROI from their Wi-Fi solutions, while expanding our market leadership into key verticals,” said David Flynn, chief executive officer, Aerohive Networks. “We are extremely proud of all we accomplished last year, and know we couldn’t have reached this level of success without the hard work of our dedicated team, amazing customers and strategic partnerships. We look forward to what’s in store for Aerohive in 2013.”

About Aerohive Networks
People want to work anywhere; on any device, and IT needs to enable them — without drowning in complexity or compromising on security, performance, reliability or cost. Aerohive’s mission is to Simpli-Fi these enterprise access networks with a cloud-enabled, self-organizing, service-aware, identity-based infrastructure that includes innovative Wi-Fi, VPN, branch routing and switching solutions.

Aerohive was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The company’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northern Light Venture Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). For more information, please visit www.aerohive.com, call us at 408-510-6100, follow us on Twitter @Aerohive, subscribe to our blog or become a fan on our Facebook page.

]]> http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/01/09/aerohive-wraps-up-successful-year-with-rapid-expansion-new-funding-prestigious-award-wins-and-significant-customer-and-channel-growth/feed/ 0 http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/01/08/einstruction-introduces-wave-a-web-based-assessment-solution-for-higher-education/ http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/01/08/einstruction-introduces-wave-a-web-based-assessment-solution-for-higher-education/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:35:56 +0000 Carletta http://www.eschoolnews.com/?p=119102   [ Read More ]]]> SCOTTSDALE, AZ (January 7, 2013) – eInstruction, a global education software and technology company, will expand its line of products with the release of Wave, a centralized, online solution for higher education. Wave extends the functionality of an institution’s learning management system (LMS) by facilitating summative and formative assessment with the use of student response devices such as clickers, smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

Wave reinforces the way instructors already manage class and lesson delivery by becoming an integral part of their Blackboard or Moodle environments, with additional LMS platforms planned for 2013. Instructors can pinpoint who is in class, drive student participation, and capture valuable real-time feedback within a centrally-managed system.

According to a 2012 ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 86 percent of college students own a laptop, and more than 60 percent have a smartphone. As the use of technology in higher education continues to rise, many institutions are looking for ways to integrate student-owned mobile devices with their existing campus infrastructure.

“Wave’s broad support of mobile devices combined with its LMS integration engages students and simplifies assessment with a single software solution. It also saves instructors time by streamlining tasks such as grading quizzes and recording results by using existing LMS class rosters and content” said Eric Rohy, Vice President of Product Management at eInstruction.

Instructors may use LMS content, tag their own lesson content, and launch impromptu assessment questions with the Wave software. Students use eInstruction clickers or download the vPad app for iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Android device, or laptop, to answer true-false, multiple-choice, multiple-select, or short-answer questions.

The learning environment in higher education can vary dramatically from small classrooms to large auditoriums. Wave is easily scalable, supporting up to 1,000 students, and gives instructors immediate access to data and an in-depth look at an individual’s performance regardless of class size.

Wave will be available in Q1 2013 in the United States and Canada through eInstruction Sales Representatives by calling 866-496-4949.

About eInstruction®
eInstruction® is a leading global education technology company committed to providing interactive teaching and learning solutions that help educators and students advance learning every day. The company offers innovative classroom instruction systems, student response systems, fixed interactive whiteboards, mobile interactive whiteboards, research-based software, and professional development solutions that facilitate significantly higher levels of collaboration, engagement, and student achievement across all stages of the learning process.

Available in 48 languages, eInstruction is enhancing education in more than 90 countries worldwide. eInstruction has global headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ and offices in Denton, TX; Fort Wright, KY; and Paris, France.

To learn more about eInstruction, please visit http://www.einstruction.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCHOOLDUDE AND THE CONSORTIUM FOR SCHOOL NETWORKING (COSN) LAUNCH SIXTH ANNUAL K-12 IT BENCHMARKING RESEARCH SURVEY

Independent Research to Illustrate Current State of IT in K-12 Institutions

CARY, N.C. (December 10, 2012) — SchoolDude, the nation’s leading provider of on-demand software designed exclusively for educational facility, technology and business operations, announced today that it launched the sixth annual K-12 IT benchmarking survey, in partnership with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). This independent industry research seeks to uncover the unique challenges facing IT professionals working in U.S. public school districts today.
“This annual survey quantifies and identifies the concerns technology school leaders are commonly addressing. It can help them justify—and better explain—the issues they know already exist to business managers responsible for budgets,” said Lee Prevost, President and Co-Founder, SchoolDude.
Topics addressed by the survey include: average IT staffing levels based on student enrollment and number of technology assets, issues, how district IT professionals are dealing with hot technology issues, such as cloud computing, BYOD, social networking, and much more. Senior IT professionals working in K-12 public school districts are encouraged to take just 10 minutes to participate in the survey, which can be found at www.schooldude.com/ITsurvey.
“Participating in this survey allows technology professionals in K-12 schools to be heard. Reviewing and using the data in this survey can make an impact across the school district, ultimately affecting students and teachers, as technology becomes more and more important to the teaching and learning environment,” Lee continued.
The survey will remain open through February 11, 2013 and the report is scheduled to be available during the CoSN Annual Conference, March 11-13, 2013.

About SchoolDude
With more than 6,000 clients, SchoolDude is the nation’s leading provider of on-demand operations management solutions designed exclusively for the unique needs of educational professionals. SchoolDude’s online tools for facilities, IT and business operations management are easy-to-use, affordable solutions that are designed to help both small and large educational institutions save money, increase efficiency and improve services. For more information, visit www.schooldude.com.
###

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – December 03, 2012) – Thin and light with long battery life, Acer America today announced availability of the new TravelMate B113 notebook PC for U.S. and Canadian customers. An ideal solution for institutional customers, the TravelMate B113 meets all the needs for productivity, communication and mobility needed in today’s e-learning environment.

“Acer has had great success with the 11.6-inch form factor in the education market because their compact size is ideal in a classroom setting, even for the youngest of students,” said Michael O’Beirne, Acer senior director, commercial product marketing. “The TravelMate B113 notebook is an important addition to our notebook portfolio, as it combines everything educators and students need, including exceptional performance, durability and reliability for a best-in-class mobile experience.”

Fast, Efficient and Reliable Notebook Performance
The TravelMate B113 notebook allows students to create and share content with friends and schoolmates, even in real time. Perfect for both beginners and advanced users, it provides basic functionality and ease of use. With its six-cell battery, the TravelMate B113 can achieve more than seven hours of battery life(1), avoiding the need for recharging in the classroom where only a few outlets may be available.

Powered by up to a third-generation Intel® Core™ i3 processor, the TravelMate B113 notebooks ensure smart performance that adapts to students’ needs. The TravelMate B113 packs up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and is upgradeable to 8GB. It provides plenty of space to store and manage important documents and media thanks to a spacious SATA hard disk with up to 500GB of capacity(2).

The TravelMate B113 allows teachers and students to view crisp images and deliver superb presentations via the notebook’s 11.6-inch Acer ComfyView LCD LED backlit display with HD (1366×768) resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The “ComfyView” display has an anti-glare matte surface, which reduces mirror-like reflections and improves viewing in bright light.

Ultra-slim at one-inch thin and just 3 pounds light, the TravelMate B113 is extremely manageable and easily fits students’ backpacks without adding excess weight. Despite its small size, this notebook has a keyboard with large keys that make typing more comfortable.

The TravelMate B113 notebooks offer a full range of advanced connectivity solutions including Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth, making it easier to access and share documents in the classroom. The Acer Video Conference solution, including a high-def webcam and built-in microphone, also enables high-quality video conferences, so that teachers and students can easily keep in touch while e-learning.

Premium Security and Manageability
The TravelMate B113 comes packed with extra levels of security and management tools, allowing a teacher or school IT manager to protect their data. Acer ProShield Manager, a suite of essential security and manageability tools, integrates fundamental features in a unified user interface. The multi-level Acer ProShield prevents unauthorized access while safeguarding the B113 notebook’s valuable assets and data integrity. Acer ProShield features pre-boot authentication (PBA) and protects the notebook from the BIOS level all the way to the application level. Users can create a Personal Secure Drive (PSD) to seamlessly store and encrypt all critical files, ensuring that if the notebook is lost or stolen, the data cannot be accessed. Unwanted files or folders can be permanently removed beyond recovery thanks to the File Shredder utility. Finally, it offers the automated solution to manage IT assets remotely.

The TravelMate B113 has another layer of security with Acer Backup that protects valuable data, media and other digital assets. Acer eRecovery Manager provides on-demand recovery. Additionally, the TravelMate B113 comes with Acer Office Manager (AOM), a manageability solution, which allows IT managers to deploy security policies, monitor IT assets, and schedule maintenance tasks in one simple application.

Pricing, Eco-Compliance and Warranty
The Acer TravelMate B113 notebooks are available now in the U.S. and Canada at authorized Acer resellers. Prices for the TravelMate B113 begin at $399 in the U.S. and at $369 CAD in Canada.

Acer professional notebooks are submitted to a series of reliability tests and are compliant with the most stringent industry criteria. These TravelMate B113 series models are Energy Star® qualified, ensuring energy savings and longer battery life.

The new Acer TravelMate B113 Series comes with a standard two-year parts and labor warranty,(3) which can be extended to three years of Acer Advantage service. Additionally, some models have longer warranties offered through specific channel partners. All Acer notebooks and netbooks are backed by toll-free service and support.

About Acer

Since its founding in 1976, Acer has broken barriers between people and technology, enabling users to explore, create and grow. Acer ranks No. 2 for notebook PCs globally.(4) The Acer Group employs 8,000 people across the globe, and revenues for 2011 reached US$15.7 billion.

Acer’s channel business model is instrumental to the company’s success, while its multi-brand approach integrates Acer, Gateway, and Packard Bell brands in worldwide markets. Acer designs environmentally friendly products and, with its vendors, has established a green supply chain.

Acer is proud to be a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Movement. That includes supporting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and London 2012 Olympic Games.

More information is at www.acer-group.com.

© 2012 Acer America Corp. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. All offers subject to change without notice or obligation and may not be available through all sales channels. Prices listed are manufacturer suggested retail prices and may vary by location. Applicable sales tax extra.

(1) Battery life varies depending on product specifications, computer settings and applications or features launched. All batteries’ maximum capacity diminishes with time and use.

(2) Access capacity varies; MB = million bytes; GB = 1 billion bytes

(3) Limited warranties and service agreements apply. May not be available in all locations. Availability varies. Other conditions apply. For a copy, write to Acer Customer Service, P.O. Box 6137, Temple, TX 76503.

(4) Source: Gartner data FY 2011
Acer Incorporated
Erin Davern
Tel: 949-471-7785
Email: erin.davern@acer.com

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (December 6, 2012) – eInstruction, a leading education technology company, announced today the release of its newest edition of WorkSpace―an award-winning software used to create and assemble interactive lessons ―with new features such as improved handwriting and shape recognition, equation recognition technology, and more than 50 annotation and teaching tools. WorkSpace Connect, a free app available for iPad® and Android™ tablets, provides teachers additional flexibility by turning their device into a mobile interactive whiteboard.

“WorkSpace remains the best canvas for teachers to create and deliver instructional content that promotes a collaborative classroom environment where students are engaged and active participants in the learning process” said Eric Rohy, Vice President of Product Management at eInstruction. “The addition of WorkSpace Connect gives teachers added versatility to move around the classroom while still having access to lessons, content, and tools on their desktop.”

The software also allows teachers to develop feature-rich lesson plans that incorporate material from various formats and sources such as ExamView® content and question banks, web-based content, third-party curricula, and a software library of more than 4,000 images and animations. The enhanced equation recognition technology unique to this software recognizes complex equations and converts handwritten equations in real-time. Classroom instruction can also be delivered in a variety of ways with eInstruction’s interactive whiteboards or mobile interactive whiteboards, and now with tablet devices.

The newly-released version of WorkSpace will ship with eInstruction’s complete line of interactive whiteboards and Mobi products starting in late-December. Customers can also purchase or upgrade their software by calling 866-496-4949 or may download a free 45-day trial upgrade at http://www.einstruction.com/support/downloads. WorkSpace Connect requires the desktop installation of WorkSpace and can be downloaded at no charge from the App Store and Google Play.

About eInstruction®
eInstruction is a leading education technology company dedicated to providing interactive teaching and learning technology and services that help educators drive academic progress every day, and give administrators the ability to monitor, aggregate, and analyze student performance data. The company offers educators a family of software, student response systems, fixed interactive whiteboards, mobile interactive whiteboards, professional development, and content.

eInstruction’s research‐based solutions have been shown to increase student engagement and achievement while providing real‐time feedback and performance data to educators and administrators. Millions of students, teachers, and professors use eInstruction® technology in 600,000 K‐12 classrooms and more than 500 higher education institutions around the world. Available in more than 40 languages, eInstruction® technology is enhancing education in over 90 countries worldwide.

eInstruction has its global headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ and remote offices in Denton, TX; Fort Wright, KY; and Paris, France.

To learn more about eInstruction, please visit http://www.einstruction.com. For media inquiries, please contact Tiffani Nichols at (480) 443-2255 or Tiffani.Nichols@einstruction.com.

Lakeside was first placed on the list in 2009 after it received a low API score of 624 and dropped 70 points over the previous few years. The school received a $3 million Federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) to be used over three years to help improve the school’s performance. After receiving the grant, Lakeside joined the national trend among schools by opting for “transformation,” which is the most flexible of the federally approved reform models and requires significant changes to instructional approaches and professional development. The funds were used to make significant technology upgrades at the school such as the installation of MimioClassroom interactive hardware and instructional software products in every classroom as well as the creation and implementation of strategies to improve teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom.

OnPoint took the lead in developing a comprehensive model of teacher-preparedness that started by revamping the district’s professional development program. Lakeside educators participated in engaging workshops that promoted a culture and system of data-centered, collaborative instructional models that were easy to implement in the classroom.

“The success of this program started and stopped with the foundational changes that took place with the organizational and cultural shifts in attitudes of the teachers and administrators,” said Kevin Mulligan, CEO of OnPoint. “They wanted to be the best they could be and were determined to embrace the significant changes in their classroom teaching methods that were required to improve student outcomes.”

Mimio’s role in the successful turnaround effort included outfitting each classroom with the award-winning interactive teaching technologies including the MimioTeach™ interactive whiteboard, which converts any dry erase board into a fully-interactive whiteboard; MimioVote™ assessment; MimioView™ document camera; MimioPad™ wireless pen tablet; and MimioCapture™ ink recorder. Each MimioTeach that was installed came pre-packaged with the award-winning MimioStudio™ classroom software, which is compatible with Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems.

“Mimio is a valuable resource for our teachers,” said Dale Ellis, superintendent, Lakeside Union Elementary School District. “The teachers’ level of effectiveness has increased due to the resulting collaboration with the district and OnPoint and utilization of Mimio products.”

Over the last two years, Lakeside improved its API score by nearly 90 points; moved 10 percent of students to a proficient or advanced level on the California Standards Test and met 15 out of 15 AYP targets.

“The stakes are high for teachers and students to succeed – both in the classroom now and in the real world in the future,” said Manny Perez, Mimio’s general manager. “That’s why the addition of Mimio tools to the schools’ learning environments in the wake of receiving the grant were so impactful. Great technology goes hand-in-hand with changing the dynamics of learning. When students are motivated and engaged and teachers are enthusiastic, great results can be obtained.”

About Mimio
Mimio is a global leader in interactive teaching technologies that offer a better way to learn and an empowering way to teach. As part of Newell Rubbermaid’s global portfolio of leading brands, Mimio designs innovative, affordable educational technologies and solutions to increase effectiveness and engagement in K-12 classrooms. For more information, visit mimio.com. Follow Mimio on Twitter @MimioTechnology and “Like” us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Mimio.Technology.

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SunGard K-12 Education provides anytime, anywhere access to critical student information through its PLUS 360 suite of products. Now serving more than 8 million students nationwide, the software and technology services company is collaborating with Impulse Point to address a growing concern of its customers regarding the identity and security of mobile devices accessing district information technology resources.

“Today’s K-12 learning environment is being dramatically changed by the increasing ubiquity of advanced technology. More and more, our clients are seeking a solution that will enable them to manage personally-owned devices while maintaining security across their computer network,” says Jay Reed, senior product manager for SunGard K-12 Education. “Impulse Point’s Safe•Connect was specifically designed to allow school districts to cost-effectively address the needs of large-scale, distributed environments.”

Safe•Connect identifies mobile devices and helps ensure that only authorized users are allowed access to network resources. Additionally Safe•Connect can automate the process by which devices are placed onto a secure wireless (WPA2) network and enforces security policies in real-time. The product is one of the most scalable solutions available for controlling network access and offers an easy-to-implement and support endpoint policy management solution. It seamlessly connects into a district’s existing network infrastructure and provides the flexibility to adhere to each school district’s unique computing policy philosophies.

Impulse Point Vice President Brian Herzig welcomes the alliance with SunGard K-12 Education. “Availability to secure computing resources is a key to fueling today’s K-12 learning environment. Since 2004, Safe•Connect has been the solution of choice for managing student personal devices within the education sector,” he says. “Through this alliance, we will offer SunGard K-12 Education’s customers a proven solution that delivers industry-leading ease-of-deployment and management to help meet their evolving BYOD needs.”

About SunGard K-12 Education
SunGard K-12 Education offers software solutions designed to help teachers, administrators, and parents support student achievement. The company’s PLUS 360 products are a single integrated suite of software solutions for the management of student information, assessment and curriculum, special education, and financial and human resources. The suite—which provides anytime, anywhere access to important student information—can be deployed to work together to help meet educational goals and requirements or implemented as stand-alone systems. For more information, visit SunGard K-12 Education at sungard.com/K12.

About SunGard
SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. SunGard has more than 17,000 employees and serves approximately 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries. SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services, education, and the public sector. SunGard also provides disaster recovery services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services, and business continuity management software. With annual revenue of about $4.5 billion, SunGard is the largest privately held software and services company and is ranked 480 on the Fortune 500. For more information, please visit www.sungard.com.

About Impulse Point
Impulse Point delivers the industry’s most scalable and easiest to deploy and maintain Network Access Control (NAC) solution. Safe•Connect is the BYOD solution of choice for large, diverse environments—such as Education—where the “Consumerization of IT” is driving the need to provide endpoint security policy enforcement for a myriad of personally-owned, non‐managed, mobile computing devices. Deployed and supported as a managed service, Safe•Connect’s rapid installation, network independence, and track record of reducing help desk calls results in lower total cost of ownership and reduced risk. Customers currently entrust the security of more than three million endpoints to Impulse Point. Visit www.impulse.com.

Trademark Information: SunGard, the SunGard logo, and PLUS 360 are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Impulse Point and Safe•Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Impulse Point, LLC. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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SunGard K-12 Education Media Contact:
Lori H. Burke
Public Relations Specialist
Lori.Burke@sungardps.com
610-849-7274 (office)
908-319-1132 (mobile)

Impulse Point Media Contact:
Anne Torgler
Director of Marketing
atorgler@impulse.com
863-904-6957 or 863-802-3738

Release Number: 2012 – 0004

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“With the new MimioReading iPad app, schools have more freedom and flexibility in the ways in which they can provide individualized instruction for reading comprehension,” says Manny Perez, general manager, Mimio. “It fits perfectly with our mission to continually expand the flexibility with which teachers can deliver lessons so that they can accommodate students’ different learning styles and ability levels. Whether they choose computers, interactive whiteboards, handsets or now a tablet that’s fast becoming a classroom favorite, our goal is to support that choice.”

Schools acquire the app when they purchase the MimioReading comprehension suite. Teachers can have students do MimioReading’s age-appropriate content and challenging activities on iPads in the classroom, but they also have the option of activating at-home access for whichever student they choose. Families who have bought MimioReading for home use can download the app for themselves from the iTunes App Store at no cost.

Users can utilize the app to access MimioReading’s component programs:
• MimioSprout™ Early Reading provides basic reading skills intervention for students in grade three and above.
• MimioReading Individualized Instruction adapts to each student’s specific learning pace, improving reading comprehension in grades three through five and providing effective intervention for grades five through eight.
• MimioReading Group Instruction offers interactive group activities that can be adapted or edited to meet the needs of multiple students or the entire class in grades three through eight.
• MimioStudio™ classroom software automatically integrates the entire MimioClassroom™ family of products

“Our new app makes the most of the iPad’s portability and potential for engagement,” says Perez. “Students find touch technology more intuitive and engaging so the MimioReading iPad app gives them an extremely fun way to learn while they improve their retention and gain comprehension skills for mastering other curricular areas such as science, social studies, and mathematics.”
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Page Two – New MimioReading iPad App Expands Reading Comprehension Delivery and Learning Opportunities for Grades 3-8

About Mimio
Mimio is a global leader in interactive teaching technologies that offer a better way to learn and an empowering way to teach. As part of Newell Rubbermaid’s global portfolio of leading brands, Mimio designs innovative, affordable educational technologies and solutions to increase effectiveness and engagement in K-12 classrooms. For more information, visit mimio.com. Follow Mimio on Twitter @MimioTechnology and “Like” us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Mimio.Technology.

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