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1 7 Tuesday, February 4, 2020 EdTech Show Daily to be an important part of the K12 world. As classrooms become more collab- orative, there is a growing need for wireless technology and ergonomic work areas. Setting up free model class- rooms in your district is the only way to learn how to make these products. Kensington, with your help, wants to lead the way in creating the tools you need to support your faculty and stu- dents. Kensington has invested heavily in this program, having hosted over 110 focus groups across the country, involv- ing over 2,800 school districts. Being a part of this gives you access to director of technology and instructional technol- ogy administrators and their advice and solutions. It also gives you access to Kensington (Cont'd. from p. 1) current products and prototypes for free, with no strings attached, cost or expec- tations. "Kensington's focus group program is like nothing we have ever seen. No one asks our opinions and the only time other companies send us free things is when we are going to buy the products. By then it is too late to get the product right," said Carolyn S. of New York. "We told Kensington how they could improve the charging solutions, and they made the change. Their charging rack is exactly what we wanted," said Paul P. of Florida. "The willingness to listen is not nor- mal in this business. We look forward to our yearly focus group," said Jeff W. from Iowa. For more information, go to www .kensington.com. new challenges that plague network administrators and disrupt the classroom. HoverCam leveraged years of engineer- ing expertise to create wireless technolo- gy within the Ultra 10 that overcomes these hurdles. Delivering uncompro- mised video quality, the camera's HoverCast system is able to send uncom- pressed 4K signals to any display in a point-to-point closed network without requiring a WiFi connection. The Ultra 10 also supports MiraCast, providing users with a widely supported wireless casting method. Furthermore, Ultra 10 comes equipped with ScreenCast, a web- based casting method for users to see a live stream of the camera's image through most web browsers. Ample Processing Power and Seamless Control Today's students expect the fast process- ing and intuitiveness of their mobile devices and computers. The Ultra 10 reflects this trend with a lightning-fast built-in CPU and Android operating sys- tem. Users can load their favorite apps onto the unit and do intelligent, fast pro- cessing of any video right from the cam- era. The 7-inch multi-touch screen HoverCam (Cont'd. from p. 1) enables annotation and features familiar finger gestures such as pan, tilt and rotate, which complement the latest opti- cal character recognition, augmented reality and 3D apps. See Fine Details In 4K UHD Clarity The large 16 megapixel camera sensor achieves the industry's highest resolu- tion of any document camera currently available on the market. With greater digital zoom without resolution loss or pixilation, students can see small details in perfect clarity. Ultra 10 is also the first document camera to out- put 4K resolution at 60FPS through HDMI. Small size fonts will appear larger and easier to see all the way in the back of the classroom. In science applications, for example, students will see chemical reactions in vivid detail. When connected with an HDMI cable, the Ultra 10 is capable of outputting 60 frames per a second at the 4K resolu- tion, ensuring video is smooth and lag free. More information on HoverCam and its full line of products is available at www.thehovercam.com. For a hands-on demo of HoverCam's new Ultra 10 wire- less document camera, visit booth #1133. growing new site. To date, we have hun- dreds of essential products with hundreds more ready to come online before the end of the year. Our kits have been flying off our shelves, proving to us that a maker kit is the ideal way to get started in this broad arena." Content is growing on a daily basis and currently features scores of popular, maker-related items for schools to build their own custom col- lections. All maker items and kits found at MackinMaker are curated from many leading brands known throughout the industry. This penchant for acquiring quality educational mate- rial is a hallmark characteristic of Mackin that has naturally made its way to the new division. For more information about MackinMaker or Mackin, visit www .mackinmaker.com or www.mackin.com. About Mackin For nearly 35 years, Mackin has provid- ed library and classroom materials for Mackin (Cont'd. from p. 1) grades PK–12. Known the world over for exemplary service and a stringent attention to detail, Mackin has access to more than 18,000 publishers and a col- lection of nearly three million printed titles. Additionally, Mackin features a robust selection of more than two mil- lion eBook titles, audio books, databas- es, read-alongs and video resources, all available through its free, state-of-the- art digital content management system, MackinVIA. This highly sought-after digital content management tool was recently awarded two distinctive awards; Best of Show at ISTE 2015, 2016 and 2017 and was named winner of a 2015, 2016 and 2017 Awards of Excellence by Tech & Learning. MackinVIA recently won a Platinum Award from Modern Library Awards and a designation as Product of the Year. Today, the free MackinVIA is found in thousands of schools and is accessible to more than nine million students around the world. For more information, go to www.mackin.com. videos, photography, illustrations and web and app designs – and help your stu- dents build communication, critical thinking and creative skills in every class. Check out free lesson plans to find great ways to enhance classroom creativ- ity while meeting Common Core state standards at edex.adobe.com/ common-core. You can get started quickly with new apps and features designed for beginning creators. Adobe Spark empowers teachers and students to easi- ly create stunning graphics, web pages and short videos in minutes, and is free for education. Spark now includes proj- ect sharing, so students and teachers can collaborate online on creative assign- Adobe (Cont'd. from p. 1) ments using their laptop or desktop browsers. Adobe's newest app, Adobe Premiere Rush, lets you easily create great-looking videos with titles, transi- tions, effects and more. It works across macOS and Windows computers as well as iOS and Android phones, and offers an in-app tutorial that gets students up to speed in five minutes or less. Both Spark and Premiere Rush help you and your students build skills and then easily move up to the Creative Cloud apps that are used throughout the workforce. Explore free STEAM lesson plans for Spark and Premiere Rush at www.scholastic.com/adobe. For more information, go to www.adobe.com/education/k12.html. The Benefits of Educational Technology By Liana Li, Vice President, QOMO Technology has completely transformed everyday life, from the way we keep in touch with friends and family to the way we shop for clothes or order dinner. With each technological advancement, our world gets more efficient and more indi- vidualized to our specific needs and pref- erences. This is the world the children of today have been born into. It's natural, then, that many kids are struggling to fit into the traditional learn- ing model. The experience of being in a traditional classroom is at odds with the almost constant stimulation and fast pace of a technologically-advanced world. The typical school day, for some kids, is almost unbearably rigid. Incorporating even a few education- al technology devices in the classroom can help acclimate today's students to the learning environment. With classroom technology, teachers can level the play- ing field for students with different learn- ing styles, make project work more effi- cient, increase overall student engage- ment and accommodate students with disabilities. Making learning more individualized. One of the greatest advantages of educa- tional technology is the ability to cater to multiple learning styles at the same time. Every kind of student, from creatives to problem solvers and visual to kinesthetic learners, can benefit from an interactive touchscreen display. Whether you use an interactive whiteboard, interactive laser projector, or interactive panel, QOMO's touchscreen displays can instantly foster a collaborative and equitable learning environment. When you implement a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strat- egy in your classroom using wireless screen sharing, students are able to interact with the con- tent at their own pace and make personalized annotations on individual interactive moni- tors or their personal smart- phones or tablets. Improving student engagement and classroom participation. Student engagement is rarely (if ever) at 100 percent. Teachers too can have a hard time keeping personal problems, wander- ing thoughts and just straight up sleepi- ness at bay during school hours. One method to improve classroom engagement and focus is offering indi- vidualized attention, something the QOMO wireless tablets and interactive monitors make possible. With wireless devices in hand, teachers are free to roam and make eye contact, without having to turn their backs on students while refer- encing the material on the projector screen or whiteboard. QOMO's audience response sys- tem can balance your class- room participation strategy, allowing introverted stu- dents to demonstrate that they're following along without being singled out. In fact, audience response devices can generate an even livelier discussion by giving a voice to every student. Curious about how to get started with technology in your classroom? Once you've decided to take advantage of the numerous benefits of educational technology, you'll need help determining which strategies and devices are best for your particular classroom. That's where QOMO comes in. Get in touch with a member of our team to request a demo, or give us some details about your educational technolo- gy needs so we can reach out to you. For more information, go to www.qomo.com.