Hardware/AV

NEC Display Solutions of America (www.necdisplay.com)

introduced the NP4100 professional installation projector. The NP4100 has the ability to display 6,200 ANSI lumens, making it appropriate for larger-than-average screen sizes and rooms with minimal lighting control, such as auditoriums. The NP4100 is compatible as either dual- or single-lamp operation. It features selectable settings, which allow for several light outputs and extended lamp life. The vertical and horizontal lens shift feature allows flexible projector placement to suit the needs of the room. ECO Mode technology increases lamp life by up to 25 percent and decreases fan noise, while the Quick Power Off technology protects the lamp during cool-down by monitoring its temperature and preventing the projector from powering on until the lamp is properly cooled.

HP (www.hp.com)

as established a new category in videoconferencing with the introduction of HP SkyRoom. Using HP SkyRoom is as easy as beginning an instant-message conversation. Users simply click a contact to connect, and this quickly initiates a live SkyRoom session. Another click shares the desktop or rich media content, and participants are instantly collaborating. Students in K-12 can easily collaborate and share with other schools anywhere in the world or invite guest speakers virtually into the classroom.

Pearson (www.pearsonschool.com)

collaborated with Liberty Source, developer of Tango handheld software, to create the DRA2 Handheld-Tango Software Edition. With the DRA2 Handheld, teachers can use their iPod touch to measure student reading ability and link the results to instruction. This portable technology allows teachers to administer DRA2 quickly, with no software installation required. Teachers identify student reading achievement, analyze the data, and communicate the results to administrators, parents, and students.

AbleNet, Inc. (www.ablenetinc.com)

announces the PowerLink 4 control unit with expanded environmental control capabilities. The enhancements are driven by advanced wireless technology and more user-friendly features that allow the simultaneous operation of several electricity powered devices. With PowerLink, individuals with disabilities can now participate in learning activities or take control over their own participation in activities around their home, in schools, or in their therapy sessions. PowerLink also now integrates with the new AbleNet Big Beamer and Jelly Beamer wireless switches.

Plustek Technology ( www.plustek.com/usa)

announced that the SmartOffice PS282 Scanner is now certified for use with Kofax VirtualReScan (VRS) and compatible with other Kofax software. VRS helps the Plustek SmartOffice PS282 reduce the time involved in manual document preparation and enhances the quality of scanned images, enabling faster processing, fewer data errors and increased productivity for organizations in paper-intensive environments. The SmartOffice PS282 Scanner is a compact high-speed sheetfed scanner that is ideal for anyone looking to go paperless. Key features of the SmartOffice PS282 Scanner include 600-dpi resolution, a scanning speed of 25ppm, and full-color duplex scanning (25ipm) of any media up to the thickness of a credit card.

Calypso Systems (www.calypsosystems. com)

developed two new products that manage school audio resources. The CM- 3000 is a networked, streaming audio controller that can encode analog audio at the headend/ administrative office for delivery on the standard school IP network. In the classroom, the CM-3000 will decode the IP audio stream for standard playback over conventional analog speakers, and can also encode any return audio for delivery over the IP network, such as a two-way intercom call. Conductor (shown) is a school communication software solution that leverages existing school networks for audio distribution, eliminating the need for a separately wired system. Conductor manages all aspects of school audio, integrating administrative audio with classroom A/V systems.

The AVerVision 355AF portable interactive document camera (www.avermedia-usa. com/presentation)

touts a full 1,080p highdefinition output and five-megapixel camera head. The 355AF also offers one-touch video and audio recording directly to a USB flash drive without the need of a computer. At any point, the user can start recording video with audio through the onboard microphone directly to a USB flash drive or an SD card for creating podcasts or posting demonstrations for students on a Web site.

The Epiphan Lecture Recorder is an open-source DVI/VGA,

audio, and video hardware capture device designed for capturing, broadcasting, and recording. The ELR is a computer and Internet appliance with no moving parts and several onboard peripherals. Compression and synchronization can be performed either onboard each device or at the server. External devices and peripherals such as printers, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, and AMX/Crestron control devices may be interfaced with the ELR.

The LifeBook T5010 (www.fujitsu. com)

convertible tablet PC now includes the dual digitizer’s touch-screen function on the 13.3- inch display. This offers a new level of interaction by supporting two-finger touch for actions including panning, rotating, flicks, and zooming. With seamless switching between pen and touch, users can change tasks on the fly, from casual surfing to detailed editing or writing. The Windows Vista-based LifeBook T5010 convertible tablet PC is the first in a line of new LifeBook platforms and form factors designed to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of Microsoft’s soon-to-be-launched Windows 7.

Online & Software

ADVANCEDMETHOD’S EXPRESS EMERGENCY MESSAGING (WWW.ADVANCEDMETHOD.COM/DIGITALSIGNAGE/)

This broadcast system can help make visitors, students, and faculty aware of urgent situations, such as national emergencies, intruders, fires, and hurricanes, as well as provide evacuation instructions. Administrative users can securely log in to the express emergency system and trigger predetermined alerts or create emergency messages on the spot. Once an emergency message is activated on one express unit, all the players and screens on the same local area network (LAN) are then triggered. After the emergency is over, the message can be removed simply by clicking “deactivate.”
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: emergency notification systems

ALGODOO (WWW.ALGODOO.COM)

Algodoo is a 2D-simulation environment for creating interactive scenes in a playful, cartoony manner, making use of the physics that we use to explain our real world. Algodoo is designed to encourage young people’s own creativity, as well as their ability and motivation to construct knowledge. Algodoo combines art and science in a novel way that is as educational as it is entertaining.
Price: Single license, $39; 10 educational licenses, $279. Additional discounts apply for increasing volumes.
Category: science

BRAINHONEY (WWW.BRAINHONEY.COM)

BrainHoney is a new online service from Agilix Labs that creates one streamlined place for K-12 teachers to organize and manage content. BrainHoney includes an electronic grade book, curriculum mapping, formative assessment, and dashboard data. BrainHoney is pre-populated with every state’s education standards so that teachers can align their coursework and see (and share) how their students are faring long before any statewide tests.
Price: free
Category: content management

DIGITAL SCHOOL COLLECTION (WWW.ADOBE.COM)

Adobe Systems has announced the new Digital School Collection for K- 12 students and educators. The bundle includes the new Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8 for Windows, which offer new photo, video, and podcasting capabilities. Other tools in the collection are Adobe Contribute CS4, Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, and Adobe Soundbooth CS4.
Price: Available through volume licensing at $149.
Category: productivity software

DIMENSIONM (WWW.DIMENSIONM.COM)

The latest version of DimensionM has expanded math content and improved reporting functionality. The release includes more than 200 math skills across elementary-, middle-, and high-school curriculum packs. It also includes the addition of a fourth mission called “TowerStorm,” a new custom avatar-creation feature, and a new open-choice curriculum element that allows students to play against any other students in the network, even if they’re working on different math skills and topics, or if they are at different grade or proficiency levels.
Price: Call for pricing information.
Category: math

DREAMBOX LEARNING K-2 MATH CLASSROOM (WWW.DREAMBOX.COM)

The DreamBox Learning K-2 Math Classroom is built on a standards-based math curriculum and is presented in a fun adventure-style game. The latest version of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math Classroom includes a broader set of classroom- management tools. Teachers can now view an improved teacher dashboard that offers a graphical at-a-glance progress summary for every student in the class. They can review a detailed weekly progress report covering the specific concepts and lessons completed by each student and receive notifications about students who have been struggling with specific lessons. Teachers can also customize the amount of time students can spend in the DreamBox arcade, an area that rewards students with quick mini games.
Price: $40 per student when over 100 subscriptions are purchased.
Category: math

DYKNOW (WWW.DYKNOW.COM)

DyKnow Software Suite 5.2, which includes DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision, has a new PowerPoint Plug-in. Educators can now create content, include interactive polls, utilize live links and animations, and even initiate a DyKnow session directly in PowerPoint. The new Audio Export feature allows educators and students to export captured Windows Media files to mobile devices.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: presentation and assessment

EMS V.3.0 (WWW.CROSSTECSOFTWARE.COM)

The EMS v3.0 asset-management software offers enhanced monitoring and reporting capabilities. EMS v3.0 includes the ability to combine hardware and software inventory monitoring with software distribution, application and Internet metering, alerting and reporting capabilities, and remote-control functionality. EMS v3.0 provides a centralized solution to current IT asset-management needs while preparing for increased regulatory-compliance requirements resulting from growth.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: asset management

ICYTE (WWW.ICYTE.COM)

iCyte makes managing data storage easy. iCyte allows a user to highlight the information he or she would like to save and click the iCyte icon on the browser toolbar. Then the data can be categorized into projects designated by the user. Tags and notes can be added for further categorization of data, creating an easily searchable database of the information each user finds most important.
Price: free
Category: data management

NETSUPPORT V10.5 (WWW.NETSUPPORTSCHOOL.COM)

NetSupport School has added new features to its latest release. Audio monitoring lets teachers listen to a student’s microphone feed and correct their pronunciation and conduct a two-way chat while recording all audio output. The Student Toolbar lets students access the resources required for a given lesson. Version 10.5 also adds improved connectivity across networks, introduces a connect- to-room option, and enhances support for Terminal Server and Thin Client environments.
Price: free trial at Web site
Category: monitoring software

OPENLOOP HIGH PRIORITY GROUP API (WWW.SCHOOLLOOP.COM)

K-12 districts that use School Loop Plus can now create and manage high-priority groups of students on the fly with the OpenLoop High Priority Group API. High Priority Groups are sets of students who require ongoing teacher attention, such as at-risk students, special-education students, and English-language learners. With OpenLoop High Priority Group API, these groups can be identified in any data-analysis, assessment, attendance, special-education, or studentinformation system used by a district, and that identification is sent directly into School Loop Plus.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: assessment

PTE ACADEMIC (WWW.PEARSONPTE.COM)

The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) is a new computer-based academic test of English-language proficiency. The test measures the English-language skills of nonnative English speakers who are seeking admission to institutions in which English is the language of instruction. The test uses Pearson’s automated scoring technologies to measure the English-language listening, reading, speaking, and writing abilities of non-native speakers.
Price: $150 to $210
Category: assessment

QUESTIONPOINT (WWW.TURNINGTECHNOLOGIES.COM)

QuestionPoint is Turning Technologies’ K- 12 item bank of standards-based questions. The new Web-based application allows educators to develop assessments aligned to state standards for use with Turning’s various student response applications including TurningPoint and TurningPoint AnyWhere. QuestionPoint 2.0, integrated within TurningTalk, Turning’s recently launched social learning community, allows educators to browse questions by state, grade, subject, and standard.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: assessment

SCHOOLSTREAM.TV (WWW.SCHOOLSTREAM.TV)

SchoolStream.TV is a Web media hosting and streaming video-ondemand service for K-12 districts. SchoolStream.TV helps local educational districts deliver video programs on the Internet with a system for uploading, managing, and streaming video programming. Each account holder receives a custom Web address and storage for up to 500 hours of programming. Custom media folders allow easy organization of programming. A keyword and topic search function further assists viewers in finding specific videos or categories. Videos are displayed in a large, resizable media-player window featuring top-quality H.264 video compression.
Price: $249 per month
Category: video streaming

SMART RESPONSE CE (WWW.SMARTTECH.COM)

Instead of handheld remotes, students can use their computers and SMART Notebook SE (Student Edition) software to answer questions. SMART Response CE enables teachers to easily and quickly add various types of assessments to lesson content. Answers are tallied and graded automatically, and feedback is generated instantly. SMART Response CE can be used alone or as part of SMART Classroom Suite interactive learning software.
Price: Education list price of SMART Response CE for up to 40 student computers is $999. Licenses are available that serve different numbers of students
Category: assessment

U.S. HISTORY II (WWW.AMERED.COM)

The American Education Corporation announced today that it has released U.S. History II, a new core Social Sciences course for the A+nyWhere Learning System courseware program. U.S. History II is the second full-semester course component of a comprehensive, yearlong course of study for grades 9- 12. Students will examine history by using the themes of culture, economics, geography, global connections, government, science/technology, and sociology/anthropology. Each of the thirty-five lessons contains a study guide, practice activities, a mastery test, and an essay.
Price: Contact company for pricing.
Category: social studies