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TCEA 14 EdTech Show Daily Feb 7

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E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y Fri d a y, Fe b ru a r y 7 , 2 0 1 4 1 8 THE NEW MODERN FLIPPED CLASSROOM Which technologies are effective in suc- cessfully flipping my classroom? How do I get started? These are some of the questions asked by teachers when mak- ing their first attempt to flip their class- room. There are various methods to flip your classroom. The challenge is deter- mining what works for you. Why Do I Want to Flip? The flipped classroom model has revolu- tionized the way students master the sub- ject material. What is initially done at home is now completed in class, and what is done in class is now done at home. The benefit of this model is to offer offline instruction , allowing stu- dents to be active learners. As a result of implementing this model, teachers are allocated more one-on-one time with stu- dents. This approach also encourages project-based activities in the classroom. What Methods Are Available In Order to Properly Implement the Flipped Model? There is more than one way to flip your classroom. Depending on the subject and grade level, the resources available for flipping will vary as well. One form of flipping consists of teachers creating video lesson plans and storing it on the cloud or social media sites. Students will watch the video lessons at home and return to class prepared to demonstrate what they have learned in a group setting or working one-on-one with teachers. The AVer TabCam has all of these capabilities, including the ability to create your video lesson plans on the fly and share these videos with your students. With the use of the live video streaming TabCam along with an iPad, tablet or Chromebook, teachers can generate custom video lesson plans, upload them to the cloud and make them available for students to view on their own time. Flipping can also expand beyond the stan- dard vodcast (video les- sons) creation and viewing. There are a number of great, free resources avail- able online and offline, teacher-created as well as student-created. Podcast creation, blog- ging and online chats on a social network are also effective ways of engaging your students and providing them with more than one way of mastering a subject. How Do I Get Started? When flipping your classroom, you need to ask three questions: What can students do in the classroom to reach mastery of a subject? Which activities are possible in a group setting or one to one? How should this content be delivered to the students? Many teachers begin with creating a few videos ranging between five to seven minutes in length. Reduce your lecture time by approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Once the students return to class, allow them to work in groups on a presentation of the material. If you are con- cerned about whether students are watching the video, refer- ence a homework assignment announce- ment where they will have to bring in the answer to a particular question. For stu- dents without internet access at home, provide students with the video stored on a flash drive. In summary, there is more than one way to flip. The most important lesson in flip- ping is to choose what works for you. Visit AVer at booth 1445. For more infor- mation, call 408-263-3828 or visit www.averusa.com/education. BARTOW COUNTY SCHOOLS GET NEW START WITH EPSON BRIGHTLINK By Joan Stewart Smith, Stewart Communication When the Bartow County School System, located in the rural foothills of Georgia's Appalachian Mountains, began rebuilding Adairsville Middle School, no one knew that a powerful tornado was about to devastate the small community. After the enormous funnel cloud flat- tened hundreds of homes and businesses, the doors of the new school opened eight months later. "The timing to replace the 58- year-old facility couldn't have been better—and part of the district's over- all plan to upgrade its schools to engage all 14,000 plus students in learning through interactive technolo- gy," said Mark Bagnell, Director of Technology of the Bartow County School System, the state's 25th largest district located 45 miles northwest of Atlanta in Cartersville. Beginning a new era in collaborative learning, 720 students and 55 teachers and staff at Adairsville walked into a building twice the size of the old one, with each of the 65 new classrooms equipped with an Epson BrightLink ® 475Wi interactive projector, an ultra- short-throw projector + pen combination, plus a laptop and access to ebooks for every student. Managing Growth Bartow currently has 300 BrightLink interactive projectors, with plans to add 120 more this year. For the first time, teachers have a high-perform- ance, ultra-short throw projector with built-in interactivity and pen combina- tion, for use without the constraints or expense of interactive whiteboards. "BrightLink saves us money because we can use our existing whiteboards or make a wall, dry-erase board or table into an inter- active learning area," said Bagnell. With BrightLink mounted over a 16-foot whiteboard, it is no longer difficult to install and maintain projectors. BrightLink allowed Bartow to expand its previous investment in Promethean's ActivInspire teaching and learning software. "Epson's partnership with Promethean to sell ActivInspire to BrightLink users helps us maintain com- pliance with licensing and saves us money as well," Bagnell said. Opening New Doors Teachers or students can write with interactive pens either directly on pro- jected images or on content from devices like DVD/Blu-ray ® players or document cameras. BrightLink includes digital, HDMI audio and video connec- tions for HD quality displays. They also can use the Epson iProjection ® App to proj- ect from mobile devices. Classrooms access a variety of content, pro- jecting large, interactive WXGA images up to 100 inches without shadow interference. With 2,600 lumens of color brightness and 2,600 lumens of white brightness, the BrightLink 475Wi uses 3LCD, 3-chip technology for brilliant color images. Work in Progress A year after the tornado, Adairsville Middle School students are well on the road to recovery in their new interac- tive classrooms. "With interactive technology like BrightLink, we're changing the way instruction happens in our schools," said Bagnell. "We're giving students the tools to take own- ership of their education and cross that graduation stage." Visit Epson at booth 2359. For more infor- mation, visit www.epson.com/education. MAKE ORDINARY WHITEBOARDS INTERACTIVE WITH MIMIOTEACH MimioTeach makes interactive learning easy and practical. The Mimio Interactive Whiteboard Solution, MimioTeach, transforms already existing whiteboards into interactive whiteboards. While other interactive whiteboards require an installation of an actual board, MimioTeach is a bar that is placed on an existing wall or board, and interacts with a projected computer image. The MimioTeach bar uses infrared and ultra- sound technology to communicate with a stylus pen. Because the MimioTeach can adhere to any whiteboard, teachers do not have to sacrifice their whiteboard space and can still use the area for teaching when the interactive whiteboard is not in use. Doug Pennekamp, CEO of Education 2000, an authorized Mimio reseller, says that technology should not get in the way of instruction. "MimioTeach is easy to integrate into everyday classroom lessons and activi- ties," Pennekamp said. "Teachers should be able to work with technology, but oftentimes teachers find themselves working around technology." Since the MimioTeach adheres to a regular whiteboard, the dry-erase marker is still a valuable tool. "With the MimioTeach, teachers can still walk up to their whiteboards and use a dry-erase marker without worrying about damag- ing an expensive interactive whiteboard," Pennekamp said. "Sometimes it is more efficient and convenient to take a dry- erase marker to write on the board or point something out than it is to go through all the steps with the interactive whiteboard tools to highlight, under- line and erase something." Education 2000 realizes that schools often have tight budgets. "One of the things I really empha- size to schools is that the MimioTeach interactive whiteboard solution will do the same thing as other interactive whiteboards but for a more affordable price," Pennekamp said. "The lower cost allows schools and districts to buy more and can therefore impact more students." Schools can also save money on installation fees with the MimioTeach. Installation for the MimioTeach is simple; it is ready to use straight out of the box. The MimioTeach is easily placed on a magnetic whiteboard with built-in magnets. If the board where the MimioTeach will be used is not mag- netic, magnetic plates are included that can be attached to the board or wall. Along with the built-in magnetic strips, the MimioTeach is compact in size and lightweight, making it easy to use in multiple locations. "The MimioTeach is portable and can be moved easily from classroom to classroom if need- ed," Pennekamp said. "The MimioTeach works with any pro- jector and the interactive space can get larger or smaller depend- ing on the projected image. MimioTeach does not take up a lot of space in a classroom, it does not get in the way of instruction and there are no legs or stand for stu- dents or teachers to trip over. When schools realize the benefits of the MimioTeach along with the more affordable price when compared to other interactive whiteboards, the MimioTeach becomes the ultimate interactive white- board solution." Visit booth 623 for more information, or go online at www.edu2000plus.com.

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