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Tuesday, February 4, 2020 4 EdTech Show Daily Technology in Reach Chattahoochee Technical College's (CTC) Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program in Georgia is well- known for its competitive admissions process. It admits only 16 students annu- ally and is one of only four OTA pro- grams located in the state. But its com- petitiveness isn't the only marker of the program's success. The school's mission to introduce students to state-of-the-art technology and simulate real-world envi- ronments for therapy has led them to seek innovative classroom solutions that aid instruction and keep the program com- petitive. Running with the idea that they need- ed a way to get students closer to the action, the school sought out a document camera, which would allow them to show documents, diagrams or anatomy models. While attending a tradeshow to explore the options, CTC's AV specialist discov- ered HoverCam, one of the leading docu- ment camera manufacturers, and the com- pany's Pilot 3 digital podium. The Pilot not only features a 13-megapixel 4K doc- ument camera, but also combines it with the most essential teaching tools: a Windows PC, large multi-touch screen, and wireless HDMI casting with bi-direc- tional touch – all in a mobile podium. The Pilot 3 eliminates the outdated AV cart while integrating the most impor- tant AV elements needed in today's digi- tal classrooms. Teachers are liberated from stationary desks or lecterns and are free to move about the classroom. The podium has the unique ability to beam the computer's image to any display in HD resolution, with no visible lag or delay, all without using a WiFi network. Furthermore, users with compatible interactive displays can control the Pilot from the display. Users can even connect a PC, Mac, iPad, tablet, mobile devices or other HDMI devices to annotate, record or take snapshots of the content from the podium. For CTC's OTA Program, the Pilot 3 all-in-one solution had many benefits. It not only deliv- ered the docu- ment camera they required but also aligned with its mission for creating advanced opportunities for learning. In cost comparisons, the Pilot was more affordable than purchasing each of these components individually. The built-in camera allows for instructors and students to quickly present a range of information, down to the smallest detail, to the entire class. "Students haven't just adapted to this radical way of learning but they're commanding it. They're conducting impromptu presentations that were previ- ously only given orally and now can be expanded visually, using the camera fea- tures and onscreen writing tools," said Shaffer. "It's added much more engage- ment that adds to our well-regarded pro- gram." To see the HoverCam Pilot digital podi- um, visit booth #1133. How to Engage Students in Meaningful Online Learning For years, grade six teacher, Tory Garcia, would often opt for paper-based activities over using digital resources. It wasn't that she didn't want to use online tools for instruction, the login process was just too time-consuming. She couldn't afford to waste valuable instruction time hunt- ing down passwords and ensuring stu- dents knew where to find digital learning tools. "And that, unfortunately, took away from the students having those online, meaningful technology experiences in the classroom," explains Garcia. These are experiences she knows students need to set them up for success in school and eventually in their careers. But then Garcia's district, Bryan Independent School District in Texas, adopted ClassLink's Single Sign-On platform. Now she says accessing and logging into digital tools works "like a well-oiled machine. They sign on, they click on their app, and they are ready to work right away." Engaging Students in Learning The benefits extend well beyond just time-savings. "Engagement definitely has gone up because I'm introducing and incorporating technology into the class- room. And [with] students, anytime tech- nology is used, their engagement level goes up." Creating Confident Learners With uncomplicated access to digital resources, Garcia says students are more confident in using apps for learning. Despite plenty of exposure to cell phones, her students still aren't familiar with tools such as Google Suite and Gmail. But with easy access, stu- dents are better equipped to learn and use those resources. Building Essential Skills Students are also using technology to access many different forms of informa- tion – a skill Garcia sees as essential for her students' development. "As a teacher, that's really important to me to start building those skills of gathering infor- mation from different sources online." As Garcia explains, the apps avail- able in ClassLink's Launchpad are cus- tomizable and approved by the school and the teachers, which helps focus where students can get appropriate and reliable information. "Kids are going to use technology no matter what. And the way that we can really make it meaningful and encourage that engagement and appropriate use of technology is through ClassLink. Because it helps filter where they can get that information and learn about the tech- nology skills that they're going to need in the future." For more information, go to www.classlink.com, call 888.963.7550 or stop by booth #826. AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH TCEA Kimberly Oser Publisher Jules Denton-Card Senior Associate Publisher Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director Anthony Socci Associate Publisher JoEllen Lowry • Jeanie Catron • Karrie Welborn Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Art Director Jonathan Schieffer Graphic Designer Susan Stein Customer Service Manager Marcos Morhaim Senior Account Manager Alisha Dicochea • Kim Whiteman Account Managers Tara Neal Director of Operations Jay Watson • Hannah Stefanovich Show Logistics & Distribution Enrico Cecchi European Sales EdTech Show Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2020 All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300/Fax: 520.721.6300 European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy www.osercommunicationsgroup.com Lee M. Oser Founder TEKVOX Innovates for Leander Innovation Mission Leander ISD's Vista Ridge High School has been using TEKVOX 4K MultiView Collaboration Student Pods for over a year in their flagship entrepreneurship facility, INCubator.edu. The 'INC' brings learning to life by including local entrepreneurs to teach business start-up skills to Vista Ridge students. These pods allow student 'business teams' to interactively share their laptop video on a single display in single, dual, triple or quad view modes. This fall, Vista Ridge commissioned a major design upgrade from TEKVOX that includes interactive instructor man- agement of student pods as well as whole- room web conferencing for engaging remote instructors and other business teams. This upgrade included a flexible matrix interconnecting the student pods, a ShareView PC, a sophisticated multi-layer audio system as well as instructor technol- ogy and over a mile of new cabling. Following this pioneering effort, a second program will launch in the District's Vandegrift High School in 2020. Vista Ridge INCubator.edu students started by forming teams and creating business model canvases. The 15 teams then presented their business models to mentor volunteers in a round-robin for- mat, asking questions and seeking advice. Each team was matched with a mentor to support the team for the remainder of the school year. At year's end, the teams will pitch their ideas to a panel for feedback and potential funding assis- tance. Those that complete the process successfully will advance to the second year of the program, ACCELeratoredu. Instructor Station The instructor station is operated using the TEKVOX TouchView controller and allows for touchscreen operation of the room and previewing a selected source. The system can operate in two modes: Presentation and Web Conferencing. In Presentation mode, the instructor can simply operate the system using simple one push source selection. In Web Conferencing mode, the system uses the exclusive TEKVOX ShareView™ con- tent sharing system that allows any HDMI source to be sent as content during a Zoom Web Conference. This allows the instructor to send laptop video or any student video as content when using Zoom. The instructor can preview and share any video source, including the student's screens with other students and the main video display. Included in the system is a video wall with a five view Multiviewer, two cameras, seamless HDMI switching, dig- ital signage and six Student Pods. For more information, visit www.tekvox.com or stop by booth #2565. GAEMS Introduces the Sentinel Pro XP 1080P Personal Gaming Environment GAEMS unveiled Sentinel, the latest evolution in its award-winning series of personal gaming environments. The ulti- mate combination of console gaming portability and performance that GAEMS has become critically acclaimed for is now wrapped in a new sleek and patented design that provides a bigger gaming experience in a smaller, lighter hard-shell case. Paired with your favorite console, GAEMS Sentinel with its new IPS panel transforms any space into your Continued on Page 13