District Administration - October 2011 - (Page 108)

newproducts • CALIFONE PA419 Price: $999 • Courtney Williams THE LATEST IN HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, BOOKS & MATERIALS, FACILITIES AND THE INTERNET According to a study on the 2011 Vision K-20 Initiative, the U.S. is not making progress toward educational technology benchmarks, particularly helping schools meet students' individual needs and providing authentic assessment tools. Source: Software and Information Industry Association PLATO LEARNING Accucess, ﬂexTest Price: Individual, site or district-wide subscriptions available PLATO Learning has unveiled two new personalized assessment solutions. Accucess is an adaptive diagnostic assessment that helps educators measure student achievement in reading comprehension, math and language arts. Teachers can identify deﬁciencies and build a personalized curriculum for individual students or classes. FlexTest is a quiz and test builder that allows teachers to create assessments from scratch using a variety of question types to evaluate a student’s skills before, during and after instruction, and store them online to share with other educators, students and parents via a single Web-based inter face. Classroom audio equipment maker Califone has just released this new wireless all-in-one portable PA system. The PA419 includes a 30-watt ampliﬁer and an integrated iPhone/iPod dock, all in a unit weighing just 14.6 pounds, making it easy to transport and use in a classroom, auditorium, or athletic ﬁeld to provide clear sound for audiences of up to 300 people in a 2,000 square foot area. It also includes a DVD/CD player, remote control, and dual wireless microphone receivers to capture the sound of up to three presenters at one time. The unit can be connected to any computer, projector or interactive whiteboard through a USB cable. ez WRITE OT and SPED Editions Starting at $125 The research-based handwriting program ez Write now has new editions for occupational therapy (OT) and special education (SPED). Districts can use these additional kits to teach handwriting skills to all students with special needs in preschool through ﬁfth grade. These new editions include extra materials designed for OT and SPED students, such as pencil grips, sensory activities, a travel bag and a sensory bin, which help improve manual dexterity and overall achievement for these students while teaching handwriting. TCI K12 Social Studies Curriculum Pricing varies by student count TCI, a publishing company created by teachers for teachers, has released a new version of its interactive social studies curriculum, designed for online or interactive whiteboard instruction. Lessons include a variety of activities to accommodate different learning styles, and the program provides teachers with ideas for differentiating instruction to target English language learners and other student populations. The new version also allows teachers to integrate their own resources into presentations and access each lesson anywhere, anytime in the cloud. SERIF DrawPlus X5 Price: $14 per user Design, publishing and creative software developer Serif has released a new version of its cross-curricular, cost-effective graphics program DrawPlus. Intended to be useful for novice and advanced users alike, DrawPlus X5 allows students to create Flash animations, import CAD ﬁles, convert digital photos into graphics ﬁles, use digital artistic tools such as paint, erasers, airbrushes or charcoal, and create logos and posters of professional quality. 108 October 2011 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2011

District Administration - October 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Transportation Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Building a Blended Learning Program
How Are Science Fairs Fairing?
A New Age for Algebra
Early College High Schools
Changing of the Guard in Florida
CIO News
How Much Computing Power Do You Need?
An Unconventional Approach to 1:1
New Books
Problem/ Solution
Research Center
Product Focus
New Products
Professional Opinion
Going Mobile
Online Edge

District Administration - October 2011