Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/840178
EdTech Show Daily 1 1 Tuesday, June 27, 2017 ONE SPEAKER, ONE CLASS The ELMO PentaClass is a pro-quality sound field generator with voice rein- forcement, giving every student in the class a front row seat. ELMO has used its expertise in classroom engagement and combined it with years of research in acoustics, human hearing and the connection between hearing, comprehension and learning to create the one- of-a-kind ELMO sound field generator. Versatile, Easy to Use, Amazing Sound Quality What sets the ELMO PentaClass apart from the competition is its versatility and ease of use while still maintaining amaz- ing sound quality. The ELMO PentaClass can stay portable for easy transportation, or easily mounted on ceilings or walls. It also comes with a wireless, handcrafted microphone which can double as a remote control for volume control, power on/off or to quickly transfer from micro- phone to Bluetooth in a matter of sec- onds. The Bluetooth setting allows the user to broadcast any Bluetooth device over the ELMO PentaClass. Why Do You Need an ELMO PentaClass in your Classroom? One-third of what the teacher says can be missed due to poor acoustics in the classroom. Teachers are 32 times more likely to have voice disorders than any other profession. Studies have shown sound field generators can reduce teacher absenteeism by 36 percent. Students are more attentive and have fewer requests for repeated questions. The average teacher speaks at about 60 decibels, diminishing to 0 decibels with- in 0.7 seconds. This means the farther the student is sitting from the teacher, the more that student will miss. The ELMO PentaClass resolves that issue with its ability to mount in the middle of the classroom and its 360-degree omnidirec- tional speaker, equally dispersing the les- son to each student as if each student was sitting in the front row. For more information, go to www.elmo usa.com or stop by booth #618. MITIGATING THE LAYERS OF DIGITAL EQUITY Want to create more engagement with students? Giving them access to educa- tional resources is a great way to open their minds and fuel their desire to learn. But don't make the mistake of limiting such exposure to the class- room. Allow students to continue learn- ing after school and on the weekend by adding additional layers of technology into their lives. More exposure in diver- sified environments is a key component to creating digital equity among stu- dents. When home or out in the communi- ty, students have different levels of access to supplementary technology, such as powerful computers, printers, scanners and cameras. Additionally, their families and peers have varying levels of technological knowledge. Those with a strong understanding of technology can help the student in ways those with a limited understanding of the topic cannot. Coupled with incon- sistent access to internet at home, a sig- nificant factor in learning, many stu- dents fall victim to the absence of digi- tal equity. Digital Equity: What It Is and Why It Matters Digital equity is the concept of providing more students with equal access to quali- ty technology tools, no matter where they are. Accomplishing a state of digital equity requires reaching beyond school walls to meet students with technology, including access to innovative affordance that doesn't fully rely on the internet, in their home environments. There's an easy way for schools to begin addressing the issue of digital equity – let students take their devices home. Giving students con- stant access to the innovative tools they need is a critical component to helping them maximize their learning potential. Whether it's out in the community or at a friend's house, learning shouldn't stop. Digital equity is the key to ensuring it doesn't. Schools are able to provide stu- dents with quality devices that are capable of innovative technology, with or without reliable internet access. It is all of these variables together that cre- ate a powerful, interconnected learning environment for students. This overall experience, which includes access to quality content, creative affordances and activities that foster critical think- ing, are the basics needed for digital equity. Unfortunately, they often disappear when a student goes home, and the equity gap continues. Schools should have both near and long-term plans to mitigate the lack of high-quality internet for those student without it at home and in their extended community. In the absence of ubiquitous internet coverage, the devices the school provides should be capable of matching the equitable learning experience by all students. When schools begin to focus on providing the same technological expe- rience for students both in and out of school, they will start solving the prob- lem of digital equity and begin provid- ing all students an equal opportunity to learn. For more information, go to www.jamf.com or stop by booth #3326. EMPOWER TEACHERS AND STAFF TO INSTANTLY & DISCREETLY CALL FOR HELP School safety continues to be a concern for most school districts that deal with: playground and school accidents; verbal or behavioral disruptions; bullying, fighting and other violent situations; seizures and other medical issues; and unauthorized persons on school proper- ty. When teachers are under duress, they often can't leave to find help or even to call for back-up. Even though they need to be able to summon help immedi- ately, not all issues require the same level of response. To meet school and district safety needs, Troxell – the nation's leading end-to-end solution provider of educa- tion technology and collaborative solu- tions in K-12 and higher ed – offers a school safety solution from RF Technologies called Help Alert. The Help Alert system works with existing infrastructure, eliminating the need for expensive hardware and costly installa- tions. It also works with a school's cur- rent WiFi access points or may be installed with battery-operated wireless reference tags to improve location detec- tion. The system is simple. Teachers receive RTLS (real-time locating system) pendants associated with their unique IDs with an LED indicator and a button. When pressed, the pendant delivers a silent alarm. For lower priority incidents, a teacher may quickly press the button for assistance. In more serious events, a teacher may press and hold the button, which communi- cates a high priority response is need- ed. When the call for help has been received, the LED light turns green to let the teacher know that help is on the way. Nicholas Falcon, Principal of WIU Crossroads School, implemented Help Alert at his school and says his staff is thrilled with their ability to start neutral- izing the conflict while also calling for help. "They love it," Falcon states. "They're happy to know they have a direct line of support if needed. I think it helps with morale." Receiving the alerts is the Help Alert software, which can be run on a comput- er or on mobile devices via an iOS or Android app. The software is personalized to each school's floor plan. When an alert is issued, the Help Alert software emits an audible alarm and indicates the teacher's name and location on the map. Falcon discussed the time-saving benefits of Help Alert, "When we talk about logistically trying to communicate a need from a classroom, I would say we've cut that down to seconds, where it used to be minutes." Especially in a med- ical emergency, that could be the differ- ence between life or death. A safe environment is conducive to learning, and schools have a responsibil- ity to provide the safest environment possible – now possible with Help Alert, Troxell's easy-to-use school safety solu- tion. To learn more, call 855.TROXELL or go to www.etroxell.com.