software & online
ACTIVATE
(www.c8sciences.com)
C8 Sciences has rolled out a new HTML5 version of ACT IVATE , a program for children with ADHD, as well as a school portal for teachers and program administrators to manage the program and access student data. The program works on any mobile device, and offers “gameplay” to keep kids engaged while challenging their ability to sustain attention. A new rewards system motivates kids to stick with the program. The program also offers on-demand professional development resources.
ChronoZoom
(www.chronozoom.com)
Microsoft Research has released ChronoZoom, a free, online educational tool that helps visualize historical events over expansive periods of time. ChronoZoom allows students and teachers to create their own timelines, projects, and exhibits through an authoring guide. The digital educational tool can be used in coordination with a series of new curricula that integrates ChronoZoom technology with traditional teaching resources. There are currently three separate curriculum modules: one on World War I, a second on the impact of European colonization on the Americas, and a third, more general, module that helps students learn how to “think historically.”
Class Flow
(www.classflow.com)
Promethean has launched ClassFlow, a cloud-based platform that enables teachers to create lessons, deliver interactive content across multiple devices, and assess students’ understanding. ClassFlow connects mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops to classroom displays and interactive whiteboards. This allows teachers to use real-time student responses to instantly adjust lesson plans.
Common Sense Media Digital Passport
(www.commonsense.org/educators)
Common Sense Media released Digital Passport for iOS and Android. Based on lessons from Common Sense Media’s K-12 digital literacy and citizenship curriculum, Digital Passport uses engaging games and videos to address the key issues that kids face online: safety and security, cyberbullying, responsible cellphone use, safe search and respecting creative work.
creativeLIVE 24/7 Broadcast Education Network
(www.creativelive.com)
creativeLIVE has launched a 24/7 broadcast education network. The network will carry five free channels of original content, with expert instructors teaching creative skills. The channels include Photo & Video, Art & Design, Music & Audio, Maker & Craft, and Business & Money. Students can watch live classes at no cost, and teachers can later purchase the recorded versions.
EDUonGO
(www.eduongo.com)
EDUonGO offers users the ability to launch an academy and share knowledge, through a simple and personalized learning environment that supports flipped learning in the classroom. Teachers can create a customized, collaborative learning environment that offers flipped learning lessons and incorporates game-based learning.
FlexCloud Hosting
(www.earthlinkbusiness.com)
EarthLink Business has launched a new FlexCloud Hosting service to help organizations create secure IT environments to optimize server utilization. FlexCloud Hosting enables an organization to track and manage computing utilization across business units within a single IT environment. FlexCloud Hosting also offers full, weekly backups and daily incremental backups to safeguard data.
Goalbook Toolkit
(www.goalbookapp.com)
Goalbook has released a Toolkit to help educators personalize instruction for students with special needs, English language learners, and students requiring academic and behavior interventions. Goalbook offers teacher resources and professional development based on leading research from Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Prey Device-Wipe
(www.preyproject.com/education)
Prey announces a new level of information security with the addition of Device-Wipe for Android users—the ability to wipe all the data from missing or stolen devices. Device Wipe allows Prey users to protect sensitive data on Android devices by simply logging in to their Prey Pro accounts and identifying the missing device.
Samsung Kids’ Play-and- Learn
(www.samsung.com)
Samsung has teamed up with Fingerprint, a kids’ mobile technology company, to develop a mobile app network that offers play-based learning for students ages 3-7. The service, available on select Samsung devices, allows parents to create a family account for multiple children and receive personalized reporting, content recommendations, and access controls for each child. The new network is part of Samsung’s Kids’ Play-and-Learn Content Initiative, a developer-focused program in collaboration with Fingerprint that is designed to drive the creation of play-and-learn Android apps for kids in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Simon & Schusteron Titlewave
(www.follettlearning.com)
Follett has announced a partnership with Simon & Schuster to offer over 450 PreK-12 titles in ebook format on Titlewave, Follett’s collection development, search, and ordering tool. Content is available for students of all ages, from preschool picture books to chapter books for early readers to higher-level fiction and nonfiction for young adults.
SnapStream 6.1
(www.snapstream.com)
SnapStream has announced the 6.1 release of its TV monitoring and search tool. The release features language intelligence delivering the most relevant TV search results, new TV playlists for sequenced playback of multiple pieces of content, expanded cloud-sharing functionality, and enhancements to the recording manager for easier management of recording priorities.
Stoodle
(www.stoodle.org)
Technology startup Stoodle.org, created by a group of tech-savvy teens, offers a free, collaborative classroom environment available on the desktop and iPad. The ad-free, collaborative, digital classroom is built in HTML5 and features a real-time whiteboard with tutoring tools, voice conferencing, and text chat. Students and tutors can invite others to join via URL or social media to begin the tutoring experience, and no account setup is needed. The program’s design tools also enable users to highlight particular concepts.
Swivl Cloud
(www.swivl.com)
Swivl Cloud is a connected service for Swivl’s robotic mobile accessory for creating and hosting learning video content. The service is a companion to the company’s second-generation robot designed for tablets, smartphones, and handheld cameras. Swivl Cloud will be available for public beta in January, with free and premium levels to be offered depending on individual needs.
Teq Online PD Courses
(www.teq.com/courses)
Teq has launched a series of over 50 live, interactive, online professional development courses for K-12 educators. Teq Online PD courses are broadcast live and online, providing a format that allows educators to interact with the instructor, then review the recorded video at their own pace. Teq Online PD is aimed at tackling the biggest challenges facing teachers within a framework that supports a Common Core curriculum, to better prepare students for future achievement in college and their careers.
apps
Amplify Guide to K-12
(www.amplify.com)
Amplify has partnered with Common Sense Media to create a free guide to K-12 educational apps, which contains more than 160 apps, organized by subject. The guide offers a short description of each app that includes subjects, skills taught, and the Common Core standards covered.
Classting
(www.classting.com)
Classting is a social network, available as an iOS and Android app, designed for teachers, students, and parents to support interclass collaboration. The tool allows teachers to post everything from homework assignments to class-related reading and gives students the opportunity to share course materials. Classting’s private chat-rooms encourage online parent-teacher meetings, while its “Ting Service” keeps students in touch with their peers locally and worldwide.
Door 24 iPad App
(www.i-ready.com/ipad-apps)
Curriculum Associates has announced an addition to the i-Ready Diagnostic and Instruction product line, the Door 24 iPad app. Designed for grades 4-8, the app focuses on computational fluency to support problem solving and higher-order thinking. Door 24 builds the mathematical processes and proficiencies that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) identify in the Standards of Mathematical Practice (SMP).
Hakitzu Elite: Robot Hackers
(www.kuatostudios.com)
Kuato Studies has released the latest version of its Hakitzu Elite: Robot Hackers app, available for free for iOS and Android devices. Students can learn to code by battling giant robot warriors. By using the app, they can move to the next level in their coding skills with four different styles, from simple code recognition “tap and play,” to inputting the code itself from memory with the customized coding keyboard.
Learn With Me
(www.readconmigo.org)
The Read Conmigo campaign recently launched its first mobile app for Apple and Android devices, Learn With Me. The app features an interactive book for children at the Pre-K reading level. Parents can touch the screen to bring up animations and sounds to keep their children engaged in both English and Spanish. The Read Conmigo campaign Web site offers ebooks, games, reading comprehension tools, activity kits, and more.
Playrific TechStars App
(www.playrific.com)
Playrific recently released the TechStars STEM and Arts App for preschoolers to support the Computer Explorers’ TechStars program. The free iOS app enables 3- to 5-yearold students to continue their TechStars science, technology, engineering, art, and math learning experience outside the classroom.
hardware
Bretford Manufacturing, Inc. (www.bretford.com) has announced its MOTIV Soft Seating products, available with a complete daisy chain-style power system that increases the number of mobile devices that can be charged from a single electrical outlet. Fluid Power for MOTIV allows up to six power units to daisy chain off of one electrical outlet.
3M (www.3melectronics.com) has launched the Patterned Silver Nanowire Film, a touch sensor film for touch-enabled devices such as tablets, laptops, all-in-ones, and monitors. The film can support touchscreens with diagonal sizes suitable for phones and tablets, as well as large area touchscreens over 46” (diagonal) for applications such as signage and gaming. The flexible silver nanowire material can conform to angles and rounded surfaces, enabling next-generation curved and rollable touch sensors.
Vuzix (www.vuzix.com) has launched the M100, the first commercially available “Smart Glasses.” The M100 is an Android-based, wearable computer, enhanced with a wearable monocular display and computer, recording features, and wireless connectivity. Pre-installed apps can be used to record and playback still pictures and video, track timed events, manage your calendar, link to your phone, and more. The M100 is also compatible with many existing Android apps. Users can also access developer resources to create their own custom apps.
Dell (www.dell.com) has launched its first Chromebook for education. The Dell Chromebook 11 features an easy-to-use, Web-based console that enables centralized configuration and tracking. The management console allows IT administrators and teachers to quickly push or remove applications and enforce safe browsing practices across all Chromebooks in a school’s network or in a specific learning environment. The Dell Chromebook 11 features a 4th-generation Intel Celeron 2955U processor, 11.6-inch screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, and 16GB embedded solid state drive.
DynaVox (www.mydynavox.com) has released the DynaVox T10, a purpose-built, speech-generating communication tablet. The device and its accompanying DynaVox Compass app provide instant access to content developed by clinicians. The tablet includes an easy-to-grip frame, dedicated speakers, and a Web-based platform that lets users instantly connect with the entire communication team.
NEC Display Solutions of America (www.necdisplay.com) has announced the addition of the V423-TM display to its Touch-Integrated V Series portfolio. Its commercial-grade panel and components promote extended use and deliver high-quality touchscreen capabilities for learning, digital signage, and way-finding applications in education. Within the Touch-Integrated V Series bezel is an integrated, low-profile, four-camera, optical-imaging technology that allows for up to four simultaneous touches. Its anti-reflective glass coating protects the panel and allows for higher brightness transmittance.
Marshall Electronics (www.marshallelectronics. net) has released the CV 500-MB Miniature 2MP HD-SDICamera, providing full HD 1920x1080i/59.94 video for filming a variety of broadcast applications. The CV500-MB features a 1/3” Panasonic 2.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor producing crisp HD images from a camera body less than 1-inch x 1-inch. This small footprint easily integrates into areas where other cameras could not fit or would be obtrusive. The CV500-MB is supplied with a removable 3.7mm Prime HD lens with a variety of other lens options available. Additional CV500 models are available in 1080i/60, 1080p/60(3G), and 720p/60 (NTSC & PA L).
