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E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y 2 3 Fri d a y, J a n u a r y 3 1 , 2 0 1 4 PEG WRITING: HELPING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MEET EXPECTATIONS An interview with Kendra Timberlake, Marketing Manager, PEG Writing. ESD: Tell us about PEG Writing. KT: PEG Writing is an online formative assessment tool used in grades 3–12 that is aligned to the Common Core and designed to improve students' writing skills by enabling them to submit essays, receive feedback and revise their work. PEG Writing functions as the teacher's partner to allow teachers to spend more time teaching and less time grading. ESD: Can you walk us through a typical workflow between teacher and student using PEG Writing? KT: First, a teacher assigns a prompt. Students may then choose one of PEG Writing's graphic organizers for pre- writing. Once composed, students sub- mit their essay for feedback. Within two to three seconds, PEG Writing gener- ates a score report, including a holistic score, trait score, spelling and grammar suggestions, and links to suggested les- sons and tutorials within the system. If a teacher would like to incorporate peer review, students can collaborate on sub- sequent drafts. Teachers can also pro- vide feedback using electronic sticky notes, instant messaging, and/or the tex- tual evidence and content accuracy fields. The great thing about PEG Writing is that it is flexible enough to meet a variety of instructional needs and constructs. ESD: How does PEG Writing grade stu- dent essays? KT: PEG Writing is powered by Project Essay Grade [PEG], an automated essay scoring engine based on more than 40 years of research by Dr. Ellis Page. PEG analyzes written prose, calculates meas- ures that reflect the intrinsic characteris- tics of writing, and models the decisions of professional readers to produce scores of unparalleled accuracy and reliability. In training itself to grade essays, PEG has analyzed thousands of essays and compiled a wealth of statistics about their characteristics. In addition, this 'training set' has been graded by experi- enced professional judges using a stan- dard set of criteria. By analyzing the scores and the computed characteristics of the train- ing set, PEG can identify factors that figure most prominently in the judges' scoring decisions. Combining these factors, PEG produces a mathematical model that predicts how the judges might have scored the essay. In short, the computer is not really grading the essay. It is simulating how expert pro- fessional judges would grade the essay based on the decisions they made grad- ing similar essays. ESD: What's on the horizon for PEG Writing in 2014? KT: In December, PEG Writing received several updates. Our peer- review tool allows students to work together to perform peer edits based on the 'Two Stars and a Wish' model. We also doubled our number of graphic organizers to increase pre-writing options. We look forward to hearing from our teachers and students as they utilize these new features. This year, we will participate in the ASAP Classroom Trials, an independent study funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The trial examines the role software might play in the 'real world' of classroom writing instruction. We're honored to be cho- sen to participate in the study. For more information, visit PEG Writing at booth 1505 or www.pegwriting.com. standards-based curriculum. It covers the Common Core standards for grades 6–8, all of the pre-algebra topics as well as pre-requisite algebra I skills. Students and teachers can use both the video game and online content. There are also online testing instruments and standards alignment tools. ESD: What is Mission:RECON? EH: Mission:RECON is a really slick video game used by students to prepare for college placement exams. We've recently released a testing module for the PERT so this will be of special interest to Florida's college-bound students. There is no other college placement exam prep tool like this. ESD: Tell us about your Scholarship Equivalence Program [SEP]? EH: The SEP is a scholarship equivalent opportunity for high school seniors who will likely place into non-credit develop- mental math when they attend college. Each senior who agrees to complete the pre-algebra/algebra curriculum in Pi and the Lost Function can expect to improve their score on the college placement exam, potentially avoiding up to one-half of the non-credit developmental math courses required by colleges. There is no cost and no risk to the students or schools, so it's a really great program. AT< ( Cont'd. from p. 1) ESD: Are you doing any FETC special events in addition to exhibiting at booth 352? EH: We have two special events. The first is a Technology Solutions Seminar [TSS415; RoomS230D] on Wednesday, January 29, 1-3pm. The title of the presentation is Understanding Gaming to Support the Mathematics Classroom. The second special event is going to be a great hands-on workshop [WR2113]. The workshop is on Thursday, January 30, 10:30am-12:30pm, and is titled Advanced Educational Gaming Technology for Algebra I Learning, Intervention, Remediation. Everyone will walk away with confidence in our products, not to mention a prize. ESD: Are you offering any other special programs or products? EH: AT< is on a mission to make sure these kinds of technologies get into the hands of the students to help them with math fundamentals. We regularly set up pilot programs and evaluations for schools. In the end, our products provide one of the most efficient and cost-effec- tive technology solutions a school can invest in to help students learn math. Visit AT< at booth 352. For more information, go to www.atltgames .com, call 757-651-4110 or email ehar- vey@atltgames.com. In January 2012, Liqiupel quickly became known around the world as a rev- olutionary process to make smartphones resistant to damage from water and other liquids, or "WaterSafe™," as the compa- ny likes to say. However, in the last two years, Liquipel has branched out into other sectors and is now a value-added feature on a variety of other devices, too. In November 2013, Jawbone ® , maker of the best-selling Jambox ® fami- ly of wireless speakers, announced that its Jambox and Mini Jambox™ now could be purchased pre-treated with Liquipel's revolutionary WaterSafe tech- nology on www.jawbone.com to with- stand accidental exposure to water and other liquids for an additional $50. Using the latest advancements in nano- coatings, Liquipel's patent-pending process creates a microscopic liquid-repellant coat- ing that becomes part of the device. Liquipel 2.0 is virtually untraceable and will not affect nor compromise the look, feel or performance of the treated device. With Liquipel's treatment, Jawbone's Jambox and Mini Jambox are certified at an IPX-5 industry standard, defined as protected against water pro- jected at all angles through a 6.3mm noz- Liquipel ( Cont'd. from p. 10) zle at a flow rate of 12.5 liters per minute at a pressure of 30kN/m2 for three min- utes from a distance of three meters. In addition, Liquipel has partnered with Ematic to keep its 7-inch Android tablets, the FunTab Pro and Genesis Prime, safe from accidental spills and other wet encounters. "With Liquipel, we can offer our consumers an enhanced mobile experi- ence and complete peace of mind when using the Genesis Prime or FunTab Pro in even the wettest environments," said Roy Rayn, President of Ematic. "Liquipel's commitment to excellence and its break- through technology made this partner- ship an easy decision for us." The Liquipel treatment coats every nook and cranny of the tablets, including the power buttons, USB ports and audio jacks. Before hitting store shelves, all FunTab Pros and Genesis Primes will be placed in Liquipel's Liquipod™ machines where the proprietary mixture will be applied. Since the protection is at a molecular level, electricity is still able to be con- ducted but liquids remain as droplets and simply roll away. For more information, visit www.liquipel.com, call 855-478-4735 or email info@liquipel.com. classroom, a typical educational facili- ty may also discover device manage- ment needs in a learning lab, the library or in administration offices. In addition to the content syncing requirements of e-reader devices, schools will also need to make sure that these devices are charged and managed in a secure, safe and efficient way. "We've found that working with the teacher, student and IT workflow around device management deployments helps schools effectively maximize their tech- nology spend," said Veschusio. "Where a device cart that charges and secures a larger volume of devices might work best in the classroom, a wall mount or desktop unit might work better for the IT manag- er's needs." Florida schools have a unique opportunity ahead. To help make the device management solution choice a little easier, Ergotron offers the follow- ing five considerations: look for mod- els that offer efficient charging and syncing times; that offer multiple sizes and configurations for optimal space usage; that are affordable given device management costs in the total technol- ogy equation; that offer security to Ergotron Inc ( Cont'd. from p. 1) protect the e-reader investment; and lastly, look for UL-certified products that ensure safety against hazards to students, staff and facility. Ergotron's full line of device man- agement solutions for tablets, e-readers, laptops, Chromebooks and more offer a wide range of capabilities. Attendees to FETC can view many of Ergotron's device management solutions during the event or may choose to explore the whole category online at www.devicemanage ment.ergotron.com. "Our approach has always been to make products that are designed with the comfort, convenience and ease of func- tionality for teachers and students in mind," said Veschusio. "We're excited to consult with schools and their resellers to better understand how an Ergotron e- reader charging solution fits into their plans and scenarios." Ergotron delivers configurable, adjustable solutions for a diverse demo- graphic in virtually any learning environ- ment, helping to ensure technology enhances the connection between teach- ers, students and colleagues while pro- viding faster and easier access to applica- tions and real-time information. Visit Ergotron at booth 850.