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E d Te ch S h o w D a i l y 4 3 M o n d a y, J u n e 2 7 , 2 0 1 6 by Helen Thomas, Touchjet's Chief Executive Officer, along with Holly De Leon, Vice President, Education Business, the company produces innovative technol- ogy that allows learning to happen any- where in or beyond the classroom. Touchjet is committed to bringing mobility and collaboration to every class- room by turning any flat surface into a giant touchscreen tablet. At the show, Touchjet is introducing educators to the Touchjet Pond™ Touchscreen Projector, a device that combines the instructional aspects of the interactive projector, the computer and the whiteboard – all in a device that fits in your pocket. In addi- tion, Touchjet will be showcasing its new product, Touchjet WAVE, which will be launching soon. WAVE turns any flat screen TV or display monitor into an interactive tablet. It not only has touch control, it also allows for multiple users to interface simultaneously. Touchjet supports the blended learn- ing classroom. Its products allow students to work in small groups using interactive technology. Touchjet's new touchscreen technology provides teachers and students with the opportunity to interact in small group projects, communicate in a group environment, own their own learning and create oral presentations. In the silo of individual work on a device, these group aspects of learning are often lost. Touchjet brings them back into the classroom. A blended learning classroom is an approach that integrates digital content with the classroom's instructional frame- work. In most classroom settings, blended learning combines the delivery of digital To uchjet (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) content to an individual, with the delivery of content to small groups. The skills need- ed to work together in groups are quite dis- tinct from those used to succeed in work- ing a math problem individually, or in completing most classroom or homework assignments. Touchjet's technology facili- tates the integration of groups and devices by reaching those social media/device-sat- urated students and allowing them to expe- rience face-to-face interaction without relinquishing the technology of individual, device-driven learning. In a blended learning classroom, multiple approaches to learning are acknowledged. As the movement toward mobile devices in the hands of all stu- dents becomes a closer reality, the need to counter-balance the 1:1 with the advantages of working cooperatively in small groups increases. Touchjet pro- vides that counter-balance. Schools across the country are at differing stages along the continuum of moving to 1:1 devices for students. Touchjet provides the exposure to technology that so many students now expect in their educational experience – but without sacrificing group interaction. In today's world, K12 students spend an average of seven to eight hours on devices away from school, and two to three hours in school. Touchjet's prod- ucts allow teachers to facilitate the ubiq- uitous use of devices into the blended classroom modality. The company's mis- sion is "to make leading edge products that inspire people to work together, learn together and play together." For more information, stop by booth #4222 or visit www.touchjet.com. RH: Mackin is a 32 year old company offering high-quality educational resources, including printed books in all bindings, eBooks, audiobooks, databases and videos along with professionally curated classroom and leveled libraries, new school collections, curriculum mate- rials and more for schools and libraries. Our free digital content management system, MackinVIA™ provides districts, schools, students and libraries with free reader apps for a variety of mobile devices and desktop computers, and free content to start. MackinVIA was recog- nized by Tech & Learning as a 2015 ISTE Conference Best in Show Winner and is the recent recipient of its Award of Excellence as an outstanding technology education product. These awards are val- idation of the effort Mackin has put into making a supreme product for users in education. We also have a free funding source for schools and libraries called "Funds4Books & eBooks." Hundreds of schools utilize this free program because it is a hassle-free, online donation pro- gram that allows schools to collect dona- tions and spend 100 percent of the pro- ceeds on any resource Mackin sells. ESD: What trends are you seeing in the library and classroom market? RH: Today's school library market is presently enduring the largest paradigm shift it has experienced since the intro- duction of the stand-alone online auto- mated catalog. K-12 school libraries are being challenged to remain relevant in a world that is quickly transforming into a digital platform and I believe that this is the very biggest opportunity ever for school libraries and professional school librarians to showcase their importance and relevancy within the educational Mack in (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) process. Teacher librarians must seize the moment and take the lead as purveyors of knowledge and vital information sources and resources that will serve to accelerate and increase the ability of every class- room teacher and administrator to improve and enhance learning. ESD: How do you view your role as an educational resource vendor in today's market? RH: Our role is more crucial than ever as we provide schools and libraries with the most economical and versatile resources they need. Mackin has taken that involvement a step further with the for- mation of the Transform Your School Library (TYSL) Movement. We have assembled an accomplished board of pro- fessionals who are fully engaged in pro- viding support to librarians focused on transitioning their library to meet the educational challenges of the future. Librarians looking for support and infor- mation can learn more at www.mackin- tysl.com. ESD: In addition to visiting the Mackin booth, how can people learn more about your company? RH: Visit our website at www.mackin.com for full information about Mackin or to start a live chat. Find us on Twitter, @Mackin_Talk and @MackinVIA, and on Facebook (Mackin Educational Resources). For additional questions, email us at mackin@mackin.com, or call us at 800.245.9540. Every phone call is always answered in person – 24 hours a day, every day – and we pride ourselves on the fact that here, true customer serv- ice still exists. For more information, stop by booth #3132 or go to www.mackin.com. faiths work collaboratively to fostering academic excellence, social purpose, meaningful service and personal fulfill- ment. It encourages students, faculty and staff to view their work as sacred work, regardless of where or when that work might be carried out. The newest offering, a PhD in Global Leadership and Change, aims to develop visionary leaders who are committed to becoming agents of change, creating new directions in strategy and policy. Graduates of this program will hold posi- tions in NGOs, think tanks, higher educa- tion, healthcare, military leadership, fed- eral and state governments and other organizations. This 40 percent online degree can be completed in three years. GSEP also offers six master's pro- grams and four doctoral programs, and was the first to offer a master's degree in social entrepreneurship and change, a one-year master's degree in education with teaching credential, and the first in Pepperdine U niversity (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) California to offer an accredited degree program in learning technologies. Students can expect a low student-fac- ulty ratio, personal attention and professors who are experts in their fields. At its five campuses throughout Southern California, they will be prepared to make a difference through practicums, internships and state- of-the-art on-campus clinics – experiential learning to a higher degree. Success stories about passionate, motivated graduates are plentiful. They include individuals who have gone on to create organizations that use virtual real- ity technology for global education, pro- vide psychotherapy to veterans, conduct behavioral health interventions for women in underserved populations, and work to eradicate childhood obesity. GSEP graduates truly are changing the world, and GSEP continues to serve its surrounding communities and to light the way for future generations. For more information, visit gsep.pepper dine.edu or stop by booth #522. THE CHANGING FACE OF STEM EDUCATION Over the past few years, many articles have been written about the increasing need for STEM education and the need for all stu- dents to learn programming. While most educators and economists would agree that these things are important, figuring out a way to effectively implement them has been difficult. Cost, teacher training, effec- tive curriculum and student engagement are all barriers that have slowed progress, but a Canadian company is achieving promising results in these areas. STEM Learning Lab has been devel- oping effective new approaches to deliv- ering STEM education and teacher train- ing for the past two years. "The first step is always building student engagement," said Chief Executive Officer and Director of Robotics Education, Dennis Kambeitz. "We've demonstrated robotics to more than 7,000 students from grades 4-12, and following our presentations, we typi- cally see more than 90 percent of all stu- dents wanting to learn robotics – which includes traditional style programming." To understand the significance of 90 percent student engagement, it's impor- tant to know that high schools will typi- cally have one to two percent of students enrolled in robotics, while middle schools will see between five to 10 per- cent enrollment. "When we combine the right tools with an effective approach, we can achieve incredible results," said Kambeitz. "We've worked with high schools to bring our robotics curriculum into their programming courses, and they've seen a 100 percent increase in enroll- ment, year-over-year. Elementary schools are seeing 40 to 50 percent of their students wanting to stay after school to 'play' with the robots. The students are having so much fun, they don't even real- ize that they are learning." Kambeitz says that their approach provides consistent results with students from a wide range of economic, social, personal and scholastic backgrounds. "Top achieving students continue to per- form well, but we also see tremen- dous success from students who aren't the most scholastically inclined or who may have difficul- ty remaining focused in the class- room. Teachers will regularly make comments like, 'I've never seen Billie so focused'." "We've received hundreds of testi- monials from teachers, administrators and students, and 93 percent of students would "strongly recommend" our pro- grams to their friends," said Kambeitz. The coming decade will bring unpar- alleled changes to the workforce, and it's critically important that we improve our students technical skills and computer lit- eracy. Visit STEM Learning Lab at booth #3752 for more information.