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EdTech Show Daily Wednesday, February 7, 2018 8 Student Information Systems Need to Interoperate with Other Educational Systems Over the years, districts have discussed the benefits of having an "all-in-one" stu- dent information system versus a "best- of-brand" student information system that has the ability to work with other educational systems. While an "all-in- one" student system can combine many aspects of school business, often these systems leave little room for flexibility to meet the custom needs of districts. It is not uncommon for an all-in-one solution to handcuff certain districts to a substan- dard product. In fact, many student infor- mation systems will often purport to be a jack of all trades, but find themselves lacking mastery of any one product in the product line. With the educational mar- ketplace continually growing, if schools choose to select multiple systems to com- plete their educational management sys- tem, student information systems need to demonstrate the ability to coexist with other systems. With the ever-changing marketplace, many school districts have opted to use multiple educational products to com- plete their full school digital ecosystem. Aeries, as a preferred SIS, is dedicated for interoperability with other systems. As Aeries SIS is at the center of all stu- dent data management, Aeries believes it is important to focus on those core com- ponents, while making it simple and seamless for districts to integrate other products into their educational ecosys- tem. This allows schools to eliminate dual data entry while also allowing the strongest possi- ble solutions for all their needs. The Aeries team encourages schools to choose solutions to meet their full business and academic goals. While Aeries does use traditional interoperability frameworks such as Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF), Aeries has also found that most educational systems do not comply with interoperability standards. Moreover, Aeries takes an immense amount of pride in its open data architecture and the Application Programming Interface (API) it provides to other school systems to push/pull information dynamically. Aeries Single Sign-On (SSO) API pro- vides seamless authentication for educa- tors between systems, saving IT account management time and improving user participation between systems. Additionally, Aeries Software has adopt- ed OneRoster framework to further enhance Aeries inter- operability options. Ultimately, suc- cessful multiple sys- tem interoperability allows educators dynamic capability to push and pull stu- dent data with a single click. In addition to digital data integration, advanced interoperability can provide single sign- on (SSO) that reduces IT (Help Desk) account management costs, improves compliance and security capabilities and improves teacher efficiency in the enhanced products. True interoperability, such as that provided by Aeries, will undoubtedly provide districts with the flexibility to select products capable of meeting its needs, allowing for the cre- ation of a powerful and productive edu- cational ecosystem. Visit Aeries Software at booth #1529. For more information, go to www.aeries.com, call 888.487.7555 or email sales@aeries.com. How to Find the Interactive Display That Fits Your Needs Interactive flat panel displays are the lat- est trend in classroom technology. This technology provides a vibrant interactive screen that engages the audience and enhances the learning experience. Interactive flat panel displays are in demand because they provide bright and clear screens for the whole classroom to see in a complete comprehensive solu- tion. The multi-touch on displays allow for collaborative learning in the class- room environment. Displays also eliminate shadows that come with projectors and eliminate hav- ing to turn off lights to see the projected image. Also, when mounted on a rolling stand, displays can be moved when not in use and can be moved to use in another room. How do you find the option that best fits the needs of your classroom with all of the different brands and options of interactive flat panel displays? Most of the options available for dis- plays can be chosen to fit the needs of a classroom and some features can be added depending on what the goal is of using the interactive display. These options include multiple sizes, built-in computer modules, 10-touch or 20-touch capability and a variety of stands to mount the display. Display sizes range from 55 inches to 86 inch- es. Questions to consider are: What display size fits best in the classroom space? What size is big enough for the whole class- room to see? Some displays come packaged with a built-in Android computer and management system. There is also the option to add- on a built-in computer module. A lap- top can also be connected to the dis- play. Another factor to consider is the type of stand to use with a display. The types of stands include fixed mobile stands, motorized height- adjustable stands and motorized stands that con- vert into a tabletop mode. Finding the right dis- play and features to fit your classroom needs can be overwhelming with all of the different options. Education 2000 is a trusted partner for multiple display brands including Newline, ClearTouch, HoverCam CenterStage and Boxlight Mimio. Stop by the Education 2000 booth to discuss the best option for your classroom. Visit Education 2000 at booth #1738. For more information, go to www.edu2000plus.com. Matias Releases Worthy Successor to Computer Manufacturer's Recently Discontinued Wired Keyboard The Matias Wired Aluminum Keyboard for Mac has a built-in USB 2.0 hub and precision volume dial. "The new volume dial is perfect for users with external speakers, giving you four times finer control over the volume. That's 64 vol- ume levels, compared to the 16 levels you get from the volume keys," said Chief Executive Officer Edgar Matias. The keyboard is available in a wide range of international layouts (US, EU, Asian) and can be ordered now. The Matias Wired Aluminum Keyboard is available for $59 (US) from Matias and authorized resellers. Matias makes other keyboards as well, and has been manufacturing key- boards for over 15 years. The Matias Backlit Wireless Aluminum Keyboard, which comes in silver or space gray, is a high-end slim alu- minum keyboard with number pad. It has the ability to pair to four different devices and easily switch between them. It features backlighting, with 10 levels of brightness control. The keyboard has two recharge- able batteries: one for the keyboard oper- ation itself that lasts up to a year before needing to be recharged, and a separate one for the backlighting that lasts up to two weeks before needing to be recharged. This ensures that you can keep typing even if your backlight battery gets drained. Matias is also known for its high performance mechanical keyboards, made with its own mechanical switches. Mechanical keyboards made by Matias include the classic Tactile Pro Keyboard for Mac, the Quiet Pro Keyboard (which gives you mechan- ical typing without the noise normally associated with mechanical keyboards) and the separated Ergo Pro Keyboard, for the ultimate in ergonomic typing and comfort. For more information, go to www.matias.ca. Expanding Your Multimetric Accountability with Perception Surveys: A Systematic Approach By Dr. Ryan Balch, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, My Student Survey Accountability plans expand our defini- tion of school and student success to include test scores and a consideration of other aspects of student learning and school environment that comprise a high- level, quality education. ESSA requires that all measures be broken down by stu- dent subgroups, such as demographic data like ethnicity and gender or program participation like free and reduced lunch or IEP. Certain surveys are more easily aggregated and disaggregated than oth- ers. Staff engagement surveys, while valuable, are typically not disaggregat- able by student subgroups. However, you can only aggregate or disaggregate data that you collect. Many survey solutions require you to directly ask for demographic data, which can cause students and parents to feel targeted or experience survey fatigue, particularly if they have to complete several surveys. On the other hand, some districts like to use surveys to gather self-reported demographics. An effective survey solution provides both options: a method for connecting the responses to demographic and other student data you already have while preserving the anonymity of the responses or simply including demo- graphic questions in the survey instru- ment. Scantron and My Student Survey have teamed up to provide you with an easily administratable solution that captures and reports on data year over year. You can use our researched and validated survey instruments for class- room and school-level surveys or con- vert an existing survey to our system and make your current survey more actionable. For more information, go to www .scantron.com.