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EdTech Show Daily 2 1 Thursday, February 9, 2017 DO YOU HAVE STUDENTS WITHOUT INTERNET AT HOME? Schools and districts that are deploying 1-to-1 initiatives are most vulnerable to students falling into the Homework Gap. Although the intent of technology is to ensure students have access to the tools and technology to compete and learn in a modern world – if the district does not also have a plan for Internet outside the classroom, a number of students will actually fall further behind. More than just Internet One affordable way districts can offer home Internet access for students is with Kajeet Education Broadband™. Education Broadband includes a Wi-Fi hotspot called a Kajeet SmartSpot ® that is easy for students to use, connects to a lightning fast 4G network – with Verizon – and costs approximately $15 to $20 per student per month. Any Wi-Fi compatible Chromebook, Netbook, laptop or tablet they connect with is filtered specifically for school assignment use; inappropriate and non-education content is blocked and cannot be accessed. Increased Test Scores Providing connectivity to students at home with Kajeet provides them with more than just Internet. In Chicago Public Schools, it means increased math test scores for fifth graders. The final results from a three-year-long study, which evaluated the benefits of a 1-to-1 tablet implementation along with and home Internet through Kajeet, showed that students with Internet access at home had the highest percentage of fifth graders scoring at or above the national average RIT (Rasch Unit) in math compared to similar Chicago schools, according to the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress ® assess- ment scores. More Parent Involvement In District of Columbia Public Schools, Internet at home means parent engage- ment. Families are able to go online, check grades and communicate with teachers. With Internet access the par- ents know what their children are doing, so they can have informed conversa- tions about book reports or math assign- ments and not wait until the report cards arrive. "They may not be able to explain the Pythagorean Theorem, but they can com- municate with their child's teacher and understand the learning process," said Marcia Cole, Technology Instructional Coach at DCPS. Higher Graduation Rates Better student engagement, more parent involvement and higher test scores all contribute to an increase in graduation rates. High school students who have broad- band Internet at home have gradu- ation rates six to eight percentage points higher than students who don't, according to a study by the Federal Reserve. Richland School District Two is tracking all these metrics in connection with their Kajeet devices. "We are able to look at test scores, grades and graduation rates to measure the results, and we've seen some good results so far. Using Kajeet SmartSpots gave these kids avenues to complete all their homework. We even had some students who were able to bring their grades up to honor roll status from so-so grades." Visit Kajeet at booth #623. For more information, go to www.kajeet.net. LOCKNCHARGE BASKETS HAVE PROFOUND IMPACT ON CLASS TIME LocknCharge was founded in 1998 with the goal to develop solutions that empower teachers and enable students to learn more effectively. With a back- ground in teaching, it understands which educational resources positively impact workflow for teachers and students and strives to create solutions that make life easier in the classroom. That's why the company developed baskets by LocknCharge, which enhance the use of mobile devices in the class- room. One of the most profound impacts Baskets have had in learning environ- ments is the amount of time saved when handing out devices at the start of the les- son and packing them up at the end. LocknCharge identified that up to 25 percent of the lesson time (10 minutes and three seconds for 30 devices) was lost during this process alone when devices are stored in a traditional cabinet- style cart. The ability to hand out and pack up devices safely by using Baskets by LocknCharge takes less than half the time (four minutes and 50 sec- onds) as the alternative method. When a 30 unit LocknCharge cart is fully utilized each day, the company established that a school can save up to two hours of handling time per week. This translates to teachers gaining an addition- al 70 hours of teaching time per year for every cart that is used in the school. To comprehend the significance of this, in a larger school, using more than 10 LocknCharge carts on a daily basis is giving schools back around 700 hours per year. That's 700 additional hours invested back into actual teaching and learning with the devices. Every decision made at LocknCharge in regards to product design involves the team asking the question: will this make students' and teach- ers' lives easier? When it designed Baskets by LocknCharge, the answer was a resounding yes. Visit LocknCharge at booth #1935. For more information, go to www.lockn charge.com. VIZITECH USA: TECHNOLOGY THAT MEETS LEARNERS IN THEIR VIRTUAL WORLDS Today's learners have adapted to assimi- late the information that they access through multiple platforms and in a wide variety of formats, and successful teach- ers have learned to engage with them in their virtual worlds. One of those with a wealth of experience in just how to do that is retired U.S. Army General Stewart Rodeheaver, the Founder of ViziTech USA, who first learned how to adapt learning technology to student needs dur- ing a successful 38-year career in the Army and then went on to found his com- pany in 2009. "My last commander in the Army asked me to find a better way to teach the young men and women we were recruit- ing," Rodeheaver says. "After a lot of studies, talking to thousands of soldiers and learning a lot about Millennials and how they learn, I wrote a paper titled 'Screenagers,' in which I pointed out that these were virtual learners, from multiple inputs and platforms, in an asymmetrical and ever changing environment, and we needed to re-write our training that way." Dr. Carroll Lastinger, Chief Scientist and Vice President of Vizitech, agrees. "Young people today use their cell phones, their tablets and computers and enjoy the virtual reality experiences they have seen in the futuristic movies such as 'Iron Man,' 'Star Wars' and even 'Minority Report.' This is the way they absorb and process information today." ViziTech USA bring significant learning insights and training improvements developed in the Army to K-12 schools. ViziTech USA provides more than 3,000 programs in virtual reality, mixed reality, interactive 3D and augmented reality platforms, and is truly "Changing the Way America Learns." "Our program is simple. We provide learning platforms and programs that match the way the young people of today already are using to learn and grow," Lastinger says. "We are most proud of the significant changes we can document in the schools using our programs – 33 per- cent gains in test scores, higher levels of understanding and comprehension, faster development of complex problem solving skills and more excite- ment and engagement than we have seen in schools in a long time. Our products build bet- ter students, closer to career-ready than ever before." ViziTech USA is headquartered just east of Atlanta in Eatonton, Georgia. Sales offices are located in Atlanta, Savannah, Nashville, Tampa and eastern Texas. "We will provide you better serv- ice and customer care than you have ever experienced, provide products for the careers of tomorrow to your students today, and save you time and money along the way," Rodeheaver promises. Visit ViziTech USA at booth #206. For more information, call 404.725.5104 and talk to General Rodeheaver or call Texas Sales Director Joe Hutcheson at 706.818.5632. Visit online at www.vizitechusa.com. SCOSCHE UNVEILS LINE OF ADVANCED WIRELESS CHARGING PRODUCTS There are several definitions of and spellings for the word Qi. But unmistak- ably, it centers on the basic concept of energy and its flow. What better way to manifest this in relation to consumer technology than by introducing a line of advanced Qi Wireless Charging products for mobile devices. Coming in Q1 2017, Scosche will launch two distinct sets of wireless charging products for the home/office and vehicle. The first one is founded on its multi-award- winning MagicMount™ Magnetic Mount for mobile devices. The MagicMount Charge series of wireless charging magnet- ic mount products will initially include a Window/Dash Mount Charger and a Home/Office Mount Charger. MagicMount Charge products will allow for quick, safe and easy, cradle-free mounting and one-handed access to your mobile devices in a variety of environ- ments. These low-profile design units feature the latest, most advanced Qi Wireless Charging technology and will deliver the outstand- ing charging power rate of 15W, which is three times the charging power of most wireless charging products available today. Its MagicMount Charge products will ensure maximum compatibility with both current and future Qi devices. Now that's getting your Qi on for sure. For more information, go to www.scosche.com.