Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/446927
E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y 2 5 W e d n e s d a y, J a n u a r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 ESD: While Florida isn't completely uncharted territory for EDCO, it does have a lot of markets still untapped. What is your vision for what the company can do there? DA: We hope to build upon the relation- ships that we have already made in Florida. Our customer relationships are the most important thing. We provide the best solutions on the market and we know that there are school systems in Florida that can benefit from what we offer. We are digital innovators and we design our technology solutions to solve the problems that schools face in the most cost effective manner. ESD: EDCO is at heart a systems integra- tor. Both customers and vendors alike have said your training and unparalleled cus- tomer service is the core that the compa- ny's reputation is built around. Why is training and service paramount for EDCO? DA: A company can have the best tech- EDCO (Cont'd. from p. 1) nology and hardware on the market but it's pointless if educators can't rely on it to function properly day in and day out. We make sure our training and technical support is the best possible so that cus- tomers can trust us. ESD: In your opinion, what do you feel is the biggest challenge for school leaders managing classroom technology right now? DA: I think the biggest challenge is choosing a company that ensures serv- ice and support. Not to sound redun- dant but without exemplary service and support, administrators run the risk of having daily instruction interrupted by technical malfunctions. EDCO's exten- sive warranty and support is unmatched and our staff is dedicated to serving the customer. That is what makes EDCO the best choice when choosing a com- pany to meet your education technolo- gy needs. For more information, visit www.edco education.com or stop by booth #1121. when it was completed and shipped, and automated tracking numbers are emailed to whoever creates the order so they can track it all the way back to their district. The site also provides a reporting system that can track how many devices were repaired throughout the course of a year, which can be very important information for budgeting and board meetings. If interested in trying out AG iRepair's services, it offers to perform AG iRepair (Cont'd. from p. 1) your first MacBook Air or iPad screen repair for free. This incentive is offered so potential customers can experience the simple online work order process for submitting repairs, but more importantly, to experience the quality of its work, turnaround time and customer care. To learn more about AG iRepair and to receive a First Repair Free Coupon, visit booth #358. For additional information, visit www.agirepair.com or call 888.325.5713, ext. 120. rack. The MarvelVizion Multimedia Centers and Lecterns are ideal for superior function in your classroom, conference room, training areas and meeting rooms. The unique design of the adjustable height platform invites students of any age to participate comfortably, making it ideal for collaborative or demonstrative learning environments. Easily adjust the platform to any work height between 26 inches and 42 inches with the touch of one hand. The oversized work platform on the media cen- ter also provides the large surface required for today's popular document cameras with ample work space for media and col- lateral material. MarvelVizion Mobile TV Stands are designed for use in video conferencing, classroom and presentation environ- ments. It includes an adjustable bracket, cable management and steel construc- MarvelVizion (Cont'd. from p. 1) tion. They are available in 55 inches tall, 65 inches tall or 80 inches tall with two mount choices for either a 26 to 32 inch or 35 to 55 inch TV/monitor. Manufactured to the highest stan- dards in Chicago, MarvelVizion Audio Visual Furniture meets GreenGuard ® and Carb certification standards and carries a lifetime warranty. Started in 1946 by two WWII veter- ans with dreams of putting metal bread- boxes into every American home, Marvel ® has evolved into a top quality office furniture manufacturer with dreams much bigger than a breadbox. Marvel Office Furniture has maintained a strong commitment to innovative furni- ture design, superior quality and prompt delivery since the company's inception. For more information, visit www.MarvelVizion.com, call 800.621 .8846, email sales@marvelgroup.com or stop by booth #1550. sketch on his or her own computer, show- ing what the children are doing on their tablets. If they are not doing class work, we need the ability to freeze the tablet. Likewise, when a student does something impressive, we should be able to push their screen image to a display or interac- tive whiteboard for whole-class discus- sion. Wireless Infrastructure Bearing in mind the amount of available learning content, and each school's own digital resources, adequate bandwidth is an important consideration during the rollout process. Training Once purchased, we established a "workshop week" that included some- one from the tablet supplier coming to the school to not only show the teach- ing staff how to use the technology but also to offer advice on getting the most from the technology with the various students. Charging An important consideration is how to charge your tablet devices each day. In general, they should last the whole day but will need to be recharged overnight. We let our students take their tablets home. They are responsible for recharg- ing them. Classroom charging units are also available from most vendors. LearnPad (Cont'd. from p. 4) Implementation Select one class as the pilot site. In our school, that was my class. We made it clear to students and other teachers that technology can be unpredictable, so we would all learn together. I recommend that schools adopting a tablet program roll out the technology slowly, class by class. Any lessons learned from one class can be shared with teachers in other classes, until the imple- mentation is seamless. Broader Opportunities Many tablets come with built-in cameras, meaning QR codes can be used to struc- ture the learning. These tools offer a vari- ety of educational opportunities but they should be introduced only after both teachers and students are comfortable with basic use. BYOD Purchasing dozens of tablets is not an option for every school, in which case a "bring your own device" program could be considered. But tread carefully. Important legal considerations should be weighed. They include potential claims for indirect discrimination from students from low-income backgrounds, data pro- tection laws, the terms of your particular school's software licensing, repair costs and data roaming charges. For more information, visit www.learn pad.com, call 800.624.2926 or email sales@learnpad.com. 10 devices and ELMO elite P2MP Lite reaches up to five devices. These systems are great for smaller intimate classes and meetings. ELMO is also pleased to announce a new addition to the ELMO Classroom Solutions family, the TT-12iD Interactive Document Camera. The new TT-12iD now has an HDMI input, which allows users to connect the HDMI output from their computer for seamless switch- ing between your camera and your com- puter display. The TT-12iD has the capa- bility to save live images, playback saved images, pause live images and record time lapse video. When its 12x optical zoom is combined with its 8x digital zoom, images can be enlarged up to 96x, allowing users to see the tiniest details. The TT-12iD can also be integrated with ELMO's CRA-1 Wireless Tablet and ELMO's Student ELMO (Cont'd. from p. 4) Response System. The CRA-1 Wireless Tablet allows users to annotate on live images and conduct lessons while walking around the classroom and interacting with his or her students. When a computer is used, the teacher has unlimited possibili- ties with ELMO's Image Mate Accent for SRS software. Image Mate Accent for SRS allows for the integration of ELMO's Student Response System. ELMO's Student Response System allows teachers to quiz students in real time to receive instant feedback from each student, while keeping students engaged and focused throughout the lesson. For more information, visit www.elmousa.com, call 800.947.3566 or email elmo@elmousa.com. Visit booth #709 to learn more about the new ELMO elite P2MP and ELMO's Classroom Solutions. NETSWEEPER'S AI-BASED DYNAMIC URL CATEGORIZATION ENGINE FOR EFFECTIVE CONTENT FILTERING As more students spend their time learn- ing online in schools, teachers and IT administrators face greater challenges in ensuring that they do not access inappro- priate content while using the internet. They will need a web filtering solution that has the best and most up-to-date URL database of inappropriate and unsafe con- tent such as pornography, nudity, virus, malware and other web threats. Netsweeper features an AI (Artificial Intelligence) based, dynamic categoriza- tion engine in the cloud that down- loads and scans new URLs detect- ed in the user's network. At pres- ent, from the internet traffic of its 400 million end users worldwide, Netsweeper scans and categorizes 40 million new URLs daily and adds them to its six billion dynamic URL database that is used in every Netsweeper filtering sys- tem. Netsweeper URL Categorization Process Here are some recent statistics from its cloud based categorization service: 390,000 pornography sites detected per day; 1,700 web proxy URLs detected per day; 1,900 malware URLs detected per day; and 1,000 virus URLs detected per day. To find out more, stop by the Ontario Delegation booth #1237 or visit www.netsweeper.com.