Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/626221
E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y 9 W e d n e s d a y, J a n u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY CERTIFICATION FOR CHARGING SYSTEMS By Bob Hill, Global Education Manager, Ergotron No doubt you have already been through at least one or two technology decisions for your school, choosing devices that will meet your student and curriculum needs. Just as you discovered that you weren't always comparing Apples to eReaders, the same is true with the charg- ing systems that keep your devices pow- ered up and in play throughout the school day. There is a tendency to assume that all charging systems are safe, but this is not always true. In fact, all device charg- ing systems are not created equal. Therefore, it is equally important to choose a charging products that has been safety certified by a third-party organization and that the system is being evaluated as a complete and inte- grated system. It is important to require this of your supplier to ensure the safe- ty of your devices, your facilities and your students. Some manufacturers use individual components that are safety certified, but then combine them into a larger charging system that is not certified. Charging sys- tems that are not evaluated and certified may exceed allowable load limits, there- by causing electrical arcing, facility problems and/or interaction and interfer- ence with other equipment. Safety certifi- cation also ensures that mechanical haz- ards such as user 'pinch points,' tipping, sharp edges and crush/cut potential are mitigated. What are the risks of using non-certified products? You may be surprised at how many there are. Here is a list of considerations when choosing the right sys- tems for your campus: Critical materials are not fire resistant: this is a potential fire hazard if a battery or electrical fault occurs. Electrical hazards are not physically enclosed: shock hazards exist if ener- gized circuitry can potentially be touched either directly or if exposed metal is not safely grounded or properly isolated. Another fire hazard can exist if the enclo- sure can potentially let out flames or molten metal if an electrical fault occurs inside of the enclosure. Mechanical hazards are not mitigat- ed: if not properly tested and certified, pinch points, tip, crush or cut, sharp edges and moving parts can injure stu- dents and staff. Equipment ratings must meet National Electrical Code: non-evaluated sys- tems may exceed allowable load limits, causing electrical arcing, facility problems and/or interaction and inter- ference with other equip- ment. No manufacturing factory quality surveillance: product quality and consis- tency must be managed and ensured. Whether you are a choosing a small desktop unit for a back office, a wall unit for an AV center, or a full cart for laptops, tablets, Chromebooks or netbooks in the classroom, safety should be a number one priority for all the stakeholders involved. Technology is meant to open up new worlds to the students, not new headaches for teachers and IT staff. Look for the certified safety labels or docu- mentation and be sure to differentiate the whole system is safe. Visit Ergotron at booth #623. MACKINVIA HONORED WITH TWO DISTINCTIVE TECH & LEARNING AWARDS MackinVIA recently received an Award of Excellence by Tech & Learning maga- zine and has been hailed as one of today's most prestigious education technology products. Adding to this accomplish- ment, MackinVIA was also recognized as a Best of Show winner at ISTE 2015. When Mackin Educational Resources set out to create a digital content delivery system for its customers, the top priority was to make it user-friendly and robust for students and educators alike. With a cata- log of nearly 350,000 digital products, tens of thousands of schools and districts and nearly nine million students support that those efforts have been nothing short of successful. Today, MackinVIA is being hailed within the industry as one of the best dig- ital management systems available for schools. Users can access their digital products including eBooks, online data- bases, videos and audiobooks from almost any mobile device or desktop computer. Teachers can use the system to align resources to their curriculum and educational standards, and librarians and administrators can purchase and manage the digital inventory all in one place. MackinVIA boasts a number of study features, including a personal and conven- ient Backpack for each student that lets them store their favorite resources and affords them the ability to create and access notes and highlights within those resources. With the Backpack feature, students can also download eBooks and audiobooks for on-the-go reading on their mobile devices. Mackin is continually updating and expanding its proprietary products. Most recently, MackinVIA updated the pro- gramming to give teachers the ability to assign materials to students and give direct access to digital materials pur- chased from other companies within the MackinVIA platform. MackinVIA has also been certified as Section 508 com- pliant, recognizing its ability to provide access to the resources for those with dis- abilities. "MackinVIA has been gaining in popular- ity and usage as more and more schools are discovering its wide-reaching capabilities aligned with its user-friendly interface," states Mackin's Director of Digital Services, Mesa Heise. "To receive this recognition from the professionals at Tech & Learning who review educational tech- nology products all the time has been added affirmation to how good this prod- uct really is." Mackin will be providing ongoing presentations throughout the conference on the MackinVIA platform, with class- room and library experts demonstrating how they use MackinVIA effectively in their schools. Visit Mackin at booth #517. PERSONALIZED LEARNING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED COMPREHEND™ is online curriculum built for personalized learning and the modern learner. COMPREHEND is designed to promote academic discov- ery. Blending highly effective content and the Internet, the world becomes the student's classroom. The COMPRE- HEND curriculum uses interactive con- tent that is supported by robust multime- dia and a media library. Incorporated into each lesson are audio files, video clips, pictures and graphics. Visual activities and games utilize key words and definitions to promote retention through repetition. Educators can choose from three distinct products: BrightThinker™ online curriculum designed for grades three to five; KnowledgeU™, a grades six to 12 col- lege prep online curriculum; and KnowledgeUnits™, a grades three to 12 highly effective, flexible curriculum delivered in a work-text format that is aligned with the online curriculum. COMPREHEND offers more than 50 complete online courses for flexibility, variety and choices, while meeting both national and state course standards for content and architecture. COMPREHEND simplifies the Personalized Learning environment. Customizable to the academic require- ments of the student, the student works at his or her own pace to fully master the The curriculum content is linked to an internal assessment tool that immediately begins to tabulate data and analyt- ics based on the responses of the student. The educator will use the data to evaluate the student's progress and mastery, and address any deficiencies through person- alized academic intervention. COMPRE- HEND will save time by grading 90 per- cent of the student's responses, tabulating grades and by offering easy to access reporting. Educators will find COMPRE- HEND to be easy to use, user-friendly and effective. To register for your free test drive, go to www.comprehend.education. For more information, visit booth #1258, email info@COMPREHEND.education or call 917.954.3275, ext. 302. curriculum and content. Therefore, the student's academic experience is effectively personalized to his or her unique needs. This experience can be complete- ly virtual or the blended model class- room, depending on the desire of the edu- cator and what works best to promote student success. As the student moves through the curriculum, there are multi- ple opportunities for the student to expe- rience visual, kinesthetic and auditory learning methods. In short, COMPRE- HEND allows the student to become more engaged while also learning tech- nology skills critical to their future suc- cess. Educators will find COMPREHEND to increase their academic effectiveness by supplying data and analytics, all the while reducing their administrative tasks. LET ADLENS HELP YOU FILTER OUT THE HARMFUL LIGHT Adlens ® , a global leader in adjustable focus eyewear, is showcasing Adlens Interface™, its protective eyewear that filters out 80 percent of the most harmful blue light – the new health concern that is bridging both the consumer electronic and optical industries. In its natural form from the sun, blue, or high-energy visible (HEV), light is healthy as it allows us to differentiate between day and night and manages our circadian rhythm – i.e. when we are asleep and when we are awake. Exposure to natural blue light in the daytime improves our cognitive performance and keeps us alert. As we are naturally exposed to less blue light at night, we wind down in preparation for sleep. However, exposure to the high levels of artificial blue light emitted by the most Continued on Page 20