Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/255538
E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y 4 5 W e d n e s d a y, Fe b ru a r y 5 , 2 0 1 4 tool - My BrainPOP™. My BrainPOP was designed to simplify teachers' and students' ability to keep track of learning. It lets educators create custom BrainPOP-style quizzes (ask us about the Mixer™), assess and provide feedback on learning activities and game play (ask us about SnapThought™ on GameUp ® ) and much more. Which parts of the tool do you person- ally find the most helpful? AM: It is genius to have a bank of content questions in the Mixer, including those cre- ated by BrainPOP and by other actual edu- cators. I enjoy being able to share questions. RM: Getting accurate reporting on stu- dents' quiz results. Knowing that if a BrainPOP topic was assigned within a lesson, all students completed the required viewing. SM: Being able to make my own quiz questions, so I can measure specific cur- riculum requirements or skills per each student individually. How have you put My BrainPOP to use, and what impact has it had so far? AM: I have used it to teach self-directed learning. Students love having their own accounts and the power to view and pause movies as they see fit. They feel more self-assured because they can go at BrainPOP ( Cont'd. from p. 1) their own pace. When they're ready, they take the assessment with confidence. JC: Thanks to the open-ended quiz ques- tions I'm now able to write with the Mixer, I can tell when my students truly understand a concept or not. SM: My BrainPOP allows me to select or create specific assessment according to a student's needs. The fact that I can check student progress online is super! More time for planning and individualization. RM: I use initial scores on quizzes as formative assessments for specific sci- ence standards. My BrainPOP topics are so standard-specific that quiz results often guide further instruction. Kids love that they have their own log-in! As veteran BrainPOP users, you were used to certain functionality. Was it difficult to integrate this new tool? JC: No. BrainPOP's screencasts were helpful, and there were webinars I could attend live or whenever I wanted to, in the archives. AM: From the start, I found it very easy to navigate and started creating assess- ments and assignments for my class right away. To learn more about My BrainPOP and other BrainPOP features, stop by booth 1717. traditional and iPad curriculum. ESD: Tell us about the TabCam and how it works. BS: Basically, TabCam is a wireless cam- era that streams live video directly to my iPad. I can use it just like a document camera, but since it's wireless, I can move the camera anywhere in the room and keep my iPad mobile. The app comes with a lot of interactive tools that allow me to manipulate the live video, and add supporting images and video while anno- tating and marking the whole project. One of the best features of the TabCam is that I can record the entire lesson, includ- ing my audio, any annotation I added and any other content, and then instantly upload it to DropBox. ESD: How has this product helped you in the classroom? BS: When I first started with TabCam, I used it like a regular document camera, but then realized there was so much more to it. The mobility part of it was great since I wasn't tied to one location and I could move it anywhere while con- trolling the camera from the app. Once I got into the interactive tools like the annotation and lesson creation, I was able demonstrate content from the live AVer ( Cont'd. from p. 1) camera and include supporting elements from other sources. Recently, my class conducted a pH experiment with various solutions. I moved the camera to the dif- ferent groups so everyone could see the strips change colors as each were tested, and I was also able to note the differ- ences and tie them to a pH color chart I brought into the app. During the lesson, I recorded the entire thing through the app from start to finish, and once it was completed I immediately posted it to DropBox where my students could review it later, or absent students could experience it. The lesson was easy, yet interactive and comprehensive. ESD: How do you see using TabCam in the future? BS: It really seems unlimited in the sense that I can still demonstrate real content in my class, while having the interactive features to support it. I'd like to start using the upload feature more, not only for student review at home but also to create lessons for substitutes and even share with other schools for collaborative projects. I am also testing a Flipped Classroom Model, and this product gives me the best of all worlds whenever I need. Visit AVer at booth 1445. For more infor- mation, call 408-263-3828 or visit www.averusa.com/education. monitoring tools, but also student assess- ment tools, cost saving features, instruc- tion tools and much more. ESD: Are you introducing any new products? MK: We introduced a number of enhancements throughout 2013, most notably addressing the ongoing chal- lenges of BYOD. With NetSupport School v11, we extended the platform to support Android devices as well as extending our Google Chrome OS support. In terms of functionality improve- ments, a powerful question and answer module was added to improve student assessment, a powerful iOS app was introduced, allowing teachers to utilize their tablet devices when providing instruction, plus overall improvements to wireless support and file distribution per- formance. This product evolution is now continuing into 2014 with the newly launched iOS app, offering support for student iPads and iPhones. Now NetSupport School is truly unique in the classroom management space by offering genuine 'any platform' student compatibility. In addition, we repositioned our IT asset management solution, NetSupport DNA, to be not just a preferred choice in the corporate space, but also a viable and competitive option for the education segment. ESD: What distinguishes your products from the competition? MK: Aside from offering the broadest feature set with the continual BYOD focus, NetSupport School also offers the widest level of platform support. With full compatibility for Win, Linux and Mac platforms as well as Terminal Server, Thin / Zero Client, Virtual Desktop and shared resource computing environments, NetSupport School con- tinues to set the standard in classroom management software, especially now with the added iOS, Android and Chrome support. NetSupport products are also about NetSupport ( Cont'd. from p. 1) simplicity. Everything is included as standard, with no hidden fees or addi- tional components to purchase. You pur- chase once and own forever. No repeat annual subscriptions, no remote hosting and no sending sensitive student data via third party services. ESD: How do you see the next year in terms of economy, sales, technology and product evolution? MK: In terms of economic forecast, the fiscal challenges will continue, although we are seeing some marginal improve- ment in confidence, which is positive. For the education market outlook, the BYOD buzz will continue, especially with increasing adoption of the iOS, Android and Chrome platforms. Decisions to invest in BYOD should be paired with a suitable strategy to identify how to achieve ROI and how these pro- grams will help influence the attainment of Common Core principles and similar. ESD: To what do you attribute your com- pany's success? MK: First and foremost, I think we have achieved some measure of success by concentrating only on what we know best. You can't be everything to everyone. We remain committed to mastering the classroom management space. We've been leading this space now for over 20 years and have secured the largest global instal- lation base. ESD: How can our readers find out more about your company? MK: The easiest method would be to drop by our booth here at TCEA and see the product in action. Otherwise, visit www.netsupportschool.com for more information, to listen to user feedback and to download a free classroom trial license, or for BYOD, visit the respective App stores to access the latest NetSupport School apps. Visit NetSupport at booth 2027. For more information, go to www.netsupport- inc.com, call 770-205-4456 or email sales@netsupport-inc.com. district, with no additional overhead required. But that's not all. EdsbyLink also sends data in the opposite direction, from Edsby into the district infrastruc- ture. Typically, this includes things like report card results, attendance data, etc., but may also include more detailed information like login details, raw test results and more. In all cases, the data flow from Edsby is completely trans- parent and automatic. This was put to the test in the recent Edsby deployment in Hillsborough County, where EdsbyLink successfully transferred over 650,000 report card line items in a single synchronization. Last but not least, EdsbyLink also provides single sign-on synchroniza- tion. Even though Edsby is a cloud- based service, thanks to the power of the EdsbyLink architecture, it is able to Edsby ( Cont'd. from p. 4) link directly to the directory and authentication architecture present in each district, so that users continue to use the same user ID and password for Edsby as they do for other district resources. Again, the result is a smooth and seamless deployment. For Asbury, the vindication of the EdsbyLink approach is seen in the real- world results. "With EdsbyLink, we can do a complete district-wide provisioning in less than 24 hours. That includes every student, every teacher, every class, every schedule, every school, even the pictures. At the end of the process, users log in with the same user ID and password they use for their other district applications. Best of all, EdsbyLink tracks any changes made, so that Edsby is always up to date." For more information, or to arrange for a trial of Edsby in your district, visit Edsby in booth 1925.