Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/335348
E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y S u n d a y, J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 4 3 0 ous environments, including K-12 educa- tion or corporate training. Professionals with degrees in instructional technology are qualified to work as instructional materials designers, e-learning special- ists, educational consultants, technology coordinators and much more. Past gradu- ates are currently utilizing their degrees in a multitude of positions, including district and campus technology directors, district and campus technology facilitators, eCourse development directors, adjunct professors and classroom teachers. You may find more information about the program at www.shsu.edu/pro- grams/master-of-education-in-instruc- tional-technology/index.html. The next cohort will begin August 2014, and Sam Houston State is now accepting applica- tions. You may complete an application online through ApplyTexas (www.apply- texas.org). Specific details concerning your next steps for unconditional admis- sion to the program are available on the Graduate Studies Master's of Education in Instructional Technology webpage. Sam Houston State University (Cont'd. from p. 4) The required documents must be submit- ted no later than August 1st to allow enough time for the Admissions Committee to review these documents and process them for fall admission. If you are interested in the program, you are encouraged to contact the Sam Houston State University Financial Aid Office which provides current and prospective students with resources to assist in the search for scholarship, grant and loan funding from university and external sources. In particular, you may qualify for the Teach Grant program (www.teachgrant.ed.gov), Stafford Loan Forgiveness program (www.tcli.ed.gov), and/or Perkins Loan Forgiveness pro- gram (see http://tinyurl.com/FinAidInfo). More information about these and other financing opportunities can be found by going to the Sam Houston State University website, www.shsu.edu – choose Scholarships from the Fast Links pull down menu. Stop by the Sam Houston State University booth 1764 to learn more about this online program. teacher resources for which it is known. BrainPOP feels it's important that its audience also hears the perspectives of fellow educators – the people who are using these resources beyond the exhibit hall, in actual classrooms. BrainPOP recruited Sandra Mercado and Robert Miller of Port Orange Elementary (Port Orange, Fla.) as well as Jeanette Choy and Annie Mitchell of Nottingham Elementary (Spring Branch, Texas) to share initial feedback on My BrainPOP. The tool was designed to sim- plify teachers' and students' ability to keep track of learning. Among its many features, you can create custom BrainPOP-style quizzes (ask about the Mixer™), assess and provide feedback on learning activities and game play (ask about SnapThought™ on GameUp ® ) and much more. Which parts of the tool do you personally find the most helpful? AM: It is genius to have a bank of con- tent questions in the Mixer, including those created by BrainPOP and by other actual educators. I enjoy being able to share questions. RM: Getting accurate reporting on students' quiz results. Knowing that if a BrainPOP topic was assigned within a lesson, all stu- dents 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 BrainPOP ( Cont'd. from p. 1) 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 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. Visit BrainPOP in booth 2926 and at its POPUp Classroom, room B301. offers Easy MP networking software and iProjection App to bring devices, such as document cameras, DVD/Blu-ray play- ers, iOS and Android devices together in a way that allows teachers to leverage all of these tools in the classroom setting. ESD: Have you seen projection technol- ogy evolve since you've worked with Epson? TP: Certainly, the introduction of BrightLink ® interactive projectors was a game-changer, as the projector is no longer just a display device but an inter- active teaching tool that allows teachers to more fully engage with their students in the learning process. Previously, inter- active systems required the purchase of a dedicated interactive board, which was expensive, and limited users to a set board size. BrightLink interactive projec- tors eliminated the need for a board, sav- ing schools as much as 50 percent on interactive systems and allowing users to have variable image sizes from 60 to 100 inches at no additional cost. ESD: What product question do you get asked most by customers or dealers? TP: More affordable lamps is a frequent request. Recently, Epson reduced prices on the lamps for more than 50 models of our K12 projectors. With prices starting as low as $79 and extended lamp life, operating costs are greatly reduced for our education customers. Epson ( Cont'd. from p. 1) ESD: What features are you most excit- ed about in the latest series of BrightLink interactive projectors? TP: The addition of finger touch to BrightLink is huge, as it enables kines- thetic learning. So much of what stu- dents and teachers do today with their own personal electronic devices involves the ability to select and move objects and draw by finger touch. BrightLink with finger touch allows them to teach and learn in the same way, using familiar, intuitive gestures. And also, because BrightLink uses 3LCD technology, which provides 3,300 lumens of Color and White Brightness, this marks the first time users do not have to make a choice between brilliant image quality, and having a touch- enabled interactive learning tool. ESD: Are the latest products compatible with most interactive classroom soft- ware? TP: Yes, Epson recently made partner- ships with Promethean ® and SMART ® Technologies, allowing customers to pur- chase these industry-leading curriculum software packages for use with Epson BrightLink projectors. Because BrightLink works with these applica- tions, it really gives choices to the cus- tomer instead of being locked into one particular software package dictated by their hardware purchase. Visit Epson at booth 714, or go to www.epson.com/education. environment that combines a rigorous mathematics curriculum for deep con- ceptual understanding, a gaming approach to promote engagement and perseverance, and our industry-leading Intelligent Adaptive Learning™ technol- ogy, which dynamically adapts in real time to create millions of learning paths tailored to each student's unique needs. We're a passionate and committed team focused on helping transform the way the world learns. ESD: Are you introducing any new prod- ucts? TH: Building on our recent curriculum expansion to offer hundreds of new les- sons for grades 6-8, we just announced the introduction of Spanish language available at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. While language is an important part of the learning process, we ultimately design intuitive lessons that allow students to make sense of, play, and understand math concepts regardless of their background, ability or native language. ESD: What makes your product unique? TH: Students love to learn math in DreamBox, which in itself many peo- ple find unique. Beyond that, the pro- gram knows that every learner is unique, creating learning paths that are deeply personalized. Each student receives different lessons, unit sequences and scaffolding within a les- son, allowing them to learn at their own pace using their own ideas and prior knowledge. It's important that we DreamBox ( Cont'd. from p. 1) respect the teaching profession and strive to support instruction. We do this through assessment that is embedded throughout the learning process. The formative data is then presented to teachers in a way that helps them sup- port classroom instruction. ESD: What's your approach to continued product innovation and design? TH: We're an adaptive company and are always listening to user feedback. Input from various sources including educa- tors, administrators and students is imperative in the development of our les- sons. We are constantly building and innovating, which ties to our deep pas- sion for helping make the learning expe- rience better for every student. When we embark on something new – whether delivering on a new plat- form or introducing content in a new language – it's about making the whole experience better, and removing any roadblocks to learning. ESD: What is your outlook in general for this product line? TH: The opportunities to positively impact student learning and success through technology are truly limitless. DreamBox Learning wants all students to learn more, understand deeply and achieve success. We have great partner- ships with both classroom teachers and administrators that support this notion and it will only continue to grow. For more information about DreamBox Learning or to schedule a demo, call 877-451-7845, visit www.dreambox.com or stop by booth 2866.