Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/626227
E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y F r i d a y, J a n u a r y 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 2 0 they wanted and what was being offered were very different – it wasn't effective or it added additional admin- istrative work to their already busy schedule. Early surveys determined that to build products that were both student effective and user friendly for the educator, the best course of action was to employ veteran educators who were also accomplished curriculum writers, designers and researchers. COMPREHEND offers the educator both variety and flexibility, all the while giving the student a world class education. ESD: Are there any other distinctive ele- ments? LM: Yes. Within each of the 50 complete online courses, COMPREHEND utilizes an assessment tool that begins to collect usable student data immediately. Each question within the online curriculum is tied to the assessment tool. As soon as the student begins to answer questions, data is being collected and mastery is being assessed. The assessment tool will give the educator and administrator immedi- ate feedback. ESD: What value is this data to the edu- cator? LM: As soon as the educator starts to look at the collected data, they will observe trends within the classroom. This allows the educator to immediately iden- tify a student that is struggling and pin- point the concepts that are causing the student to struggle. Armed with the data, the educator can build and assign a cus- tomized intervention that addresses the student's academic needs. ESD: How will administrators benefit COMPREHEND (Cont'd. from p. 1) from COMPREHEND? LM: For administrators, student data and analytics are a keystroke away in COM- PREHEND. The administrator can evalu- ate the school as a whole, by the class or an individual student. ESD: What about Common Core and state standards? LM: Our team writes and designs the COMPREHEND curriculum to meet Common Core and state standards in both content and architecture. ESD: Is online curriculum all that you offer? LM: Our COMPREHEND content is also available in work-text form. The content is the same as our online curricu- lum. In rare occasions, some students do not do well in the online environment. For those students, the educator assigns the lessons in a work-text, paper format. It is a great benefit to have that flexibili- ty. ESD: If a teacher or educator wanted to sample the online curriculum, how would they request access? LM: It is as easy as logging into our website www.comprehend.education and registering for a free "Test Drive." It is automated. COMPREHEND offers any educator and administrator free access to the online curriculum for evaluation of the content, functionality and reporting. The educator can assign a student as well. 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. the world of e-commerce. It left us with an interesting chal- lenge: taking our biggest, boldest, most advanced cookie sales experience ever, and making it even better. The answer was Digital Cookie 2.0. We are excited to demonstrate these updates, which, I'm proud to say, take a big step forward in the fun, functionality and educational opportunities made available to girls. ESD: What's new for 2016? AC: With input from girls, Digital Cookie 2.0 provides a more robust, per- sonalized, hands-on, entertaining learn- ing experience. Our enhanced cookie website lets girls tell their cookie story to customers, and explain how their earnings will improve their community. There are fun new interactive activities, like quizzes, games, videos and tools like goal calculators that expand girls' understanding of the business cycle. It teaches skills about running an e-com- merce business, including revenue pro- jection and digital customer acquisition and management. Girls can now earn all age-appropriate Cookie Business badges using both Digital Cookie and offline activities, while exploring ways to invest their earnings back into their communities. As the leading "multichannel" entre- preneurial program for girls in grades K- 12, Digital Cookie 2.0 expands the mobile app feature to all girls, allowing for a selling experience that mirrors today's retail markets. The original mobile app, available in select councils Girl Scouts (Cont'd. from p. 1) last year, will be joined by a new app for girls in other areas, which replicates the transactional elements of their sites. ESD: Was the first iteration of Digital Cookie successful? AC: Digital Cookie was a major success, and brought the Girl Scout Cookie Program into the twenty-first century. Girls who combined Digital Cookie with traditional methods were more likely to increase their year-over-year sales. Over 350,000 orders were placed online, driv- ing the sale of nearly 2.5 million addi- tional boxes of cookies and an additional $10 million for our local councils. That money was used to bring girls the Girl Scout experience, and by girls to fund philanthropic Take Action projects in their communities. ESD: What is the long-term vision for Digital Cookie? AC: Ultimately, Digital Cookie is about building tomorrow's leaders, and instill- ing the skills, values and knowledge girls need to succeed in our fast paced, e-and m-commerce world. With Digital Cookie, girls learn skills, giving them an edge when entering the workforce, and customers can support girls' STEM edu- cation while purchasing their favorite snacks. It's a win for girls, customers and our future, as we build girls of courage, confidence and character, poised to make the world a better place. Visit www.girlscouts.org/digitalcookie to learn more. For more information, go to www.girlscouts.org. YIP YAP INC'S PIPSQUEAK: A BLUETOOTH PHONE FOR KIDS Yip Yap Inc. has created a new category of wireless phones designed specifically for children between the ages of three and eight. Pipsqueak ® is the world's first Bluetooth phone for kids, allowing par- ents to give their kids a phone to talk or play on without risking their own expen- sive smartphone. Parents simply enable Bluetooth on their smartphones and then easily push calls directly to Pipsqueak. However, Pipsqueak is more than just a communi- cation device – it's also an entertainment device that will play games, photos, videos, movies and soundboards. Parents can download and push content to their child's Pipsqueak, allowing for full con- trol and customization of content based on the interests of the child. Yip Yap is currently building the Yip Yap Yuniverse™ where parents will be able to shop for both educational and enter- tainment content for Pipsqueak. Pipsqueak is fully customizable to keep up with kids' changing tastes. Featuring removable front and back cov- erplates (available in multiple colors), interchangeable Yip-chips (located on the backside of the device), Dangles, sound boards and more, Pipsqueak offers virtu- ally unlimited ways for kids to personal- ize and customize their own phone. Pipsqueak requires no contract, has no monthly fees and can connect with any Bluetooth capable phone on any wireless network. "For those that remem- ber the Pipsqueak prototype we debuted last year, you'll be in for a big surprise," says Michael Smith, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yip Yap. "Pipsqueak has received a major over- haul in function and form, migrating to an Android-based operating system for more robust functionality, and switching to a directional keypad for better game- play and a bigger, durable LCD color dis- play." Visit www.yipyap.com to find out more or email contact@yipyap.com. HOVERCAM SOLO 8 REINVENTS THE DOCUMENT CAMERA In the era of tablets and iPads, the docu- ment camera market has been declining, according to figures published by edtech industry analyst Future Source. In the 18 months since HoverCam began shipping the Solo 8 document camera in volume, its sales have shot through the roof, resulting in backorders last summer and autumn. "Solo 8 is the document camera rein- vented," said Craig Justice, HoverCam Vice President of Sales. "It was the first and still is the only document camera with true eight-megapixel resolution that provides uncompressed 1080p HD video over USB 3.0. In the two years since we first showed the product, no other manu- facturer has been able to release nearly anything as good at this price point," Justice said. "It's an education revolution powered by a USB cord." The unit is powered by the USB cable connected to the computer. It's compatible with PCs and Macs and works well with computers with older USB ports too, the manufacturer said. Factory production has caught up with the high demand, Justice said. One of the unique abilities of the Solo 8 is recording no-lag HD video over USB directly to the computer. "More and more teachers want to record video to enhance their lessons, as a teaching tool or for flipping their class. The Solo 8 is a great tool for recording video and it's the only document camera that can record no-lag HD video over USB directly to the computer," Justice said. Solo 8, which weighs just over two pounds, has a base three inches by three inches and is significantly smaller than other high performing document cameras. One reason the HoverCam is smaller than traditional document cameras is zooming is done with the high-resolution sensor and not bulky and expensive optical com- ponents, according to the manufac- turer. HoverCam calls it ASR Zoom for Adaptive Sensor Resolution, which allows for fast digital zooming without any loss of image quality. Solo 8 is multifunctional. It can be used to scan documents, as a digital camera, HD webcam, grad- ing camera and video recorder. Solo 8 is available through education technology resellers throughout the U.S. with a price to schools of $349. HoverCam manufactures a full range of document cam- eras from the $99 Z5 to the $449 Ultra 8. For more information, visit www .thehovercam.com/solo8 or stop by booth #323.