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E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y W e d n e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 3 , 2 0 1 6 3 2 programs make it easier for students to become deeply invested in their own edu- cation because the technology involved is the same tech they already know and use daily. It also allows teachers to turn regular classrooms into dynamic, collab- orative learning environments that deliv- er digital curriculum. Best Buy Education helps by providing families and schools with affordable device-pur- chasing options. Key features include: cooperative purchasing partnerships; the latest laptops, tablets, Chromebooks and accessories; and in-school and remote Geek Squad ® support and training. 3 Kinds of BYOD BYOD programs are organized into three categories: 1. BYOD: Parents purchase device for student use in school. 2. 1:1: Students receive school-issued device that school owns. 3. Dual-funded: Parents and schools split the cost and parents own the device. Best Buy (Cont'd. from p. 1) In Best Buy Education's experi- ence, the dual-funded approach to BYOD gets schools to a 1:1 ratio faster and more affordably because the cost of each device is shared between the par- ents and your school. This approach drops the price from $500 per device, for example, to $150 per device for your school. If your school were buying 1,000 devices, that's a savings of $350,000. Learn More about Dual-Funded BYOD at TCEA Hear first-hand how a dual-funded BYOD program works when Penny Pease, Technology Integration Coordinator for the Orono, Minnesota Public School System, takes the podi- um at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3. She'll discuss the BYOD program she administered and currently man- ages. For more information, visit booth #129, go to www.bestbuy.com/education, call 800.373.3050 or go to www.twitter.com/bestbuyedu. DEVELOPING HIGHER-ORDER THINKING By Sandra L. Love, Ed.D., Director of Education Insight and Research, Mentoring Minds, former elementary principal and recipient of the National Distinguished Principal Award Higher-order thinking skills are required of students as they transfer or apply knowledge to newly encountered situa- tions and problems. Students who learn to think critically can make informed decisions, reach reasonable solutions, analyze and evaluate evidence, and much more. Because the standards expect that students are prepared to be critical thinkers and problem solvers, educators must plan engaging lessons that empha- size higher-order thinking so that stu- dents naturally and seamlessly apply these skills. A few strategies are suggest- ed for developing these thinking skills. What-If Thinking can lead to deeper thinking. Discuss what if an event hap- pened differently or had never occurred, then that would cause other changes. Allowing students to speculate about what they had previously learned helps them construct logical alternatives. As students research and answer what-if questions, they will choose one thing that would change and explore the resulting consequences that might exist in today's world. Incorporating what-if activities into topics across various content areas creates an awareness needed for innova- tive thinking and future suc- cess. Question Asking is a skill that is often over- looked. Teaching the differ- ence in literal and interpre- tive questions helps students learn to ask questions that probe deeper. Lead students to see that literal questions are those with answers readily available. The answers are right there, such as in the text, whereas interpretive questions are those they must think about. As stu- dents practice designing and asking inter- pretive questions, they will gain the skill and see the value as it relates to their lives. After students know the difference between the two types of questions, ask: "Is it is important to ask interpretive questions? Why?" Numerous and varied activities using read-alouds, video clips, art and quotations associated with the content taught can provide the basis for interpretive and liter- al questions. This activity can jumpstart a search for other strategies that teach students how to develop thoughtful question-asking skills. Reflection can help stu- dents process their learning and develop thinking skills. Use questions that guide students to review and self-assess: What caused dif- ficulty? What was confusing? What do you still not understand? What did you do that helped you develop meaning? Invite students to journal how to apply the learning to their lives. Provide prompts for summarizing: What are two key ideas you learned and why are they important? Use words and pictures to represent what you learned. For more information, visit booth #734. ARE YOU PREPARED IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY? Go beyond the bulletin board and into publishing compelling digital content on displays throughout your school. Grasp your audience with engaging content to keep everyone up to date and in the know. Today, children are exposed to vari- ous handheld devices, tablets and smart- phones, and they are seeing indoor and outdoor digital signage content every day. In our fast paced world, schools have to keep up with the change in times and technology. Why choose digital signage for your school? Studies show that more than 95 percent of students would rather retain information from a digital platform instead of from a non-digital platform. It is visually appealing and intriguing. Digital signage displays information in real-time, and can notify students, facul- ty and staff of an emergency, inclement weather or an intruder in real-time. It can also notify each display and every com- puter with the appropriate information during an emergency. Digital signage keeps students in the know about exams, lunch menus, school events, school spirit days, dances, carnivals, field trips, important dates to remember, school holidays, etc. There are many locations throughout the school, where students are a captive audience. Utilize this opportunity in the cafeteria, library, etc., to display important infor- mation that they need to be aware of. Educators can customize the infor- mation for their students to engage them with digital content. Hypersign Roomsigns can provide a real-time visu- al of class schedules outside of every classroom, study room and breakout room throughout the school. Employee or student recognition programs could be utilized by displaying the name and/or a picture of individuals who have per- formed outstandingly. Digital signage is eco-friendly and can reduce waste associated with paper. Hypersign's power saving Eclipse mode is a built in feature that can be used to power the signs off during hours that the signs are not in use. Use PowerPoint? Just drop it in as it is! It works seamlessly with Hypersign. For elementary and middle schools, KidGopher is an awesome option for child pick-up safety and making the pick- up line much quicker. Promote school spirit by using the school colors in the "branding" of your digital signage graphics, and post photos from various school events throughout the year. The list could go on and on. The question should be: why not use digital signage for your school? The possibilities are endless! For more information, visit booth #607. MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES WITH LUMENS RHINO CHARGING CARTS Lumens™ RHINO CT-C30 charging cart provides a fast and energy-efficient solu- tion for charging and storing up to 33 portable devices such as iPads and Chromebooks. The RHINO carts' versatile design comes with shelves that can easily be removed to accommodate multiple charg- ing and storage configurations. There are compartments for managing portable device cables. Lumens RHINO CT-C30 charging cart utilizes a smart charging sys- tem with a load detection feature that saves electricity and time. The cart comes with a three-point locking mechanism with five- inch medical-grade locking swivel castors. RHINO carts come from Lumens Integration, a company founded in 1998 with a deep technological heritage of image processing, optical technology and video electronics. Schools recognize that when they buy from Lumens, they're investing in a quality product. For more information, go to www .mylumens.com. the FreshGrade app than collectively with all the other teachers over all the years. This is not an indictment of the other class- es – there were photo sites, blogs, emails, newsletters and a host of other tools, but the way this experience truly engages me as a parent in the communication of stu- dent learning is different. I would say this is the only time I have seen a piece of software grow like this in its use with teachers, but that would not be fair. Right now we are see- ing similar growth in the use of a variety of Google Classroom tools. Again the comments I continue to hear are that the tools do what we want them to and they make sense for teachers and schools. I regularly challenge people who suggest that many teachers are anti-tech- nology and just don't want to enter the FreshGrade (Cont'd. from p. 19) modern world. The teachers I know and work with want to use technology that allows them to do things not possible without the technology and make learn- ing more relevant and engaging. Looking at the growth of FreshGrade in our district is showing that to be true. Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of Schools / Chief Executive Officer with the West Vancouver School District in British Columbia. He has taught secondary school and been both an elementary and secondary school principal. Kennedy is a writer and presenter on personalized learning and infusing technology in the classroom. Chris balances his profes- sional passions with life as the father of four young children. You can also follow Chris on Twitter @chrkennedy. For more information, visit booth #1451.