Boom Learning encourages resource sharing, less printing

Teachers have always shared resources, now more than ever. Teacher-to-teacher sharing is under threat from a surprising source: schools that want teachers to print and copy less and use devices more. Boom Learning bridges the gap between school and teacher needs.

“Boom allows teachers to access a growing and varied collection of teacher-created content for those devices, or to create their own,” says Boom Learning advisor and former teacher Rachel Lynette. Teachers can sell what they make, augmenting their pay.

Boom Learning allows teachers to create and deploy classroom-ready resources in less than an hour. For students with unique needs, “it provides a tool to make customized decks,” says Della Larsen.…Read More

Panasonic showcases the power of K-12 interactive displays

The company’s ISTE presence demonstrated how display technology can be crucial in the classroom

Panasonic, provider of professional display solutions for education, demonstrated its BF1 display technology at ISTE 2016.

The ISTE booth featured the new refined BF1 Series Multi-Touch Screen Display, now with Color Universal Design and Intel® Pro WiDi. The BF1 will be linked to 3 different devices (C2, tablet and phone) via Ormi-Exo-U. Ormiboard Pro is a visual creation and collaboration tool that helps teachers and students build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom with displays and/or mobile devices.

“Panasonic is committed to continual improvement in performance, versatility, and efficiency in the education space,” says John Baisley, Senior Vice President, Visual & Imaging, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “We are driven by a desire to deliver a superior user experience beyond expectations while maintaining our industry-wide reputation for value, reliability, and quality.”…Read More

Yes, teens are addicted to mobile devices — but so are adults

Infographic shares realities behind today’s mobile device addiction

As kids get older, cries for strict limits on their screen time tend to taper off. By the time students hit high school, many are accustomed to texting in the hallways or even sneaking a peek at Facebook during dinner. But is the laissez-faire approach to device use actually enabling addictive behavior? Parents think so—and so do many of their kids, according to a recent Common Sense Media poll of 1,200 parents and teens centered around technology use and addiction.

Multitasking, toggling between multiple screens or between screens and people, which is common for kids doing homework or socializing, can impair their ability to lay down memories, to learn, and to work effectively, according to the report.

See also: Report: Teens feel ‘addicted’ to mobile devices…Read More

EXO U to launch visual creation, collaboration tool at ISTE

The device-agnostic, Google Classroom-integrated, collaborative tool allows teachers and students to build lessons, activities, and interactive games

At ISTE 2016, EXO U Inc., a software development company, will launch Ormiboard, a front-of-class visual creation and collaboration tool. Ormiboard gives teachers and students the freedom to build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom that has displays and/or mobile devices.

The device-agnostic Ormiboard goes beyond presenting and testing by opening up whole-class creation and participation. With ping-pong sharing and group collaboration, Ormiboard users create sessions where everyone can watch and participate in the lessons. In a classroom setting, teachers can select a screen from a student device and share it on the font-of-class display.

In seconds, teachers can fully integrate Ormiboard with Google Classroom, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, and other common resources. With browser-driven publishing, lessons are assigned links and can be sent to students using Google Classroom. Ormiboard users can also share their creations with anyone, anywhere in the world through an online marketplace.…Read More

EXO U launches Ormiboard Pro Visual Creation Software

New whiteboarding software offers instant sharing to any student device, classroom management, and advanced interactivity building without an internet connection

At InfoComm 2016, EXO U Inc., a software development company, launched Ormiboard Pro, a visual creation and collaboration tool. Ormiboard Pro gives teachers and students the freedom to build lessons, activities, and interactive games for use in any classroom that has displays and/or mobile devices.

The device-agnostic Ormiboard Pro goes beyond presenting and testing by opening up whole-class creation and participation. With ping-pong sharing and group collaboration, Ormiboard Pro users create sessions where everyone can watch and participate in the lessons. In a classroom setting, teachers can select a screen from a student device and share it on the front-of-class display.

Ormiboard Pro is designed for schools and districts and is primarily offered through distribution channels. Ormiboard Pro is an installed software with a perpetual license and enables complete device integration and collaborative sharing over existing networks via local WIFI (no internet access required). Ormiboard Pro is optimized for fast speed and split-view capabilities for multi-touch panels and tables, and gives administrators dashboard control over building, classroom, teacher, user and content grouping.…Read More

How to manage your one-to-one program after you hand out devices

After the Chromebooks and iPads are distributed, admins and IT teams must keep asking the tough questions

If there’s one thing schools have learned from the multiple one-to-one mobile device implementations that have rolled out during the last few years, it’s that they’re hardly “set it and forget it” projects.

Purchasing and handing out the iPads, Chromebooks, or laptops are just the first steps on a long path that must also incorporate ongoing professional development for teachers and training for students; the establishment of acceptable usage policies and procedures; management of device support, insurance, and repair…and the list goes on.

“As a one-to-one implementation matures, different things happen that you may not have considered at the outset,” said Scott S. Smith, Ed.D., who serves as chief technology officer at Mooresville Graded School District in Mooresville, N.C — a district with one of the most celebrated one-to-one programs in the country. “For this reason, it’s important to maintain a clear vision and purpose from day one.” For most districts, that vision should center on why the one-to-one initiative is a good idea and how it will change instruction, teaching, and the learning environment for the better.…Read More

How a telepresence robot is changing some classrooms

A new technology enables both interactive communication and observation capabilities with a telepresence robot platform

Thanks to recent strides in robotics and mobile devices, telepresence technology has opened up numerous possibilities at both the K-12 and higher-ed levels, where remote observation and communication can come in handy.

Educators and students are exploring a new way to remotely observe and interact with colleagues and peers with a telepresence robot that enables face-to-face communication.

Using Kubi, from Revolve Robotics, users download an app onto a tablet and connect the tablet to Kubi using Bluetooth. The tablet sits on a robotic platform. Other users can then “navigate” to Kubi with a browser. This lets them control the robot remotely over the web, including moving it for face-to-face communication.…Read More

The digital signage upgrade that didn’t break the bank

Open-source software and existing devices form the backbone of one district’s big signage upgrade

Ed. note: Author Wayne Fulton will be a panelist on DSF’s May “Hangout” discussion, “How to Leverage Signage in a K-12 Setting,” on Wednesday, May 11 at 2 p.m. EST, available free to members and nonmembers. For more information, visit the DSF website.

It all began with our front desk receptionist, Cloteele.

When visitors historically entered the central lobby of the Manor Independent School District in Texas, they were warmly greeted by Cloteele. Whether they were there for a meeting with the superintendent, a professional development session, or new employee orientation making sure visitors know where to go has always been one of Cloteele’s many responsibilities.…Read More

Amazon wins $30M contract to sell e-books to NYC schools

A big move into education, Amazon edges out OverDrive to capture NYC e-book contract

Amazon.com has won a $30 million contract to sell digital textbooks to New York City’s public schools over the next three years, in a deal that could extend an additional three years and be worth a total $65 million.

Under the terms, Amazon would have the right to sell e-books and other content but not devices like Kindles through an internal marketplace site. The e-books will be readable on e-readers, tablets, smartphones, laptops and other devices.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Panel for Educational Policy approved the three-year contract on Wednesday for the Department of Education, who could spend as much as $4.3 million in the first year of the contract. The deal has the option to be extended an additional two years.…Read More

All the ways iOS 9.3 will impact school iPad rollouts

Apple’s latest overhaul will impact one-to-one and shared device rollouts

In March, Apple upgraded the iPad and iPhone operating system to iOS 9.3 (quickly followed by iOS 9.3.1, which tweaked a few bugs). The lead up to the release caught the eye of the K-12 community, which had been waiting for a few tweaks of their own that would help it better manage both shared and one-to-one iPad implementations. It’s only been a couple of weeks since the new operating system hit prime time, but the feedback is already coming in—and it’s largely positive.

New features in iOS 9.3, for example, make it easier for IT to set up and manage devices via a new managed home screen layout. This feature allows administrators to deploy iPads configured for students, and to select which applications will appear on their device home screens. It might be most useful in shared environments, where more than one student is using a device—but where not all of the apps are relevant for all of those users. Schools can also locate and recover stolen or lost devices via ongoing location tracking that doesn’t compromise student privacy.

Expanded capabilities…Read More

13 apps that promote higher-order thinking standards

These mobile apps go way beyond games

Mobile devices are becoming increasingly common in schools because they cost so much less than computers—especially since so many students are willing to bring their own devices to school.

While mobile devices, tablets in particular, have been commonly used to reinforce math and reading skills through the use of games, they can also be used to promote the development of higher level skills and knowledge included in the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S): creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; and critical thinking and problem solving. Here are a handful of high-quality apps that reinforce these skills and promote others.

Writing skills

Students who resist typical writing instruction with pencil and paper may blossom as authors when given the opportunity to compose electronically on computers and tablets. Some that struggle with the fine motor skills necessary for producing legible print are liberated by the ability to type. Although pressing letters on a flat screen without being able to feel them may be awkward for an adult accustomed to typing on a keyboard, students that learn to type on these devices when they’re young are likely to be as skilled on them as they are on a traditional keyboard.…Read More