Technology & Learning - December 2008 - (Page 16)

FEATURESTORY NEW AWARDS ADOBE VISUAL COMMUNICATOR 3 ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED Although Visual Communicator isn’t for beginners, older middle-school students and teachers with some computer experience will appreciate the program’s ease of use, intuitive interface, and quality presentations. The program is great for classroom use, and one judge argued that it even “allows a first-time user to create professional-looking presentations.” There are many easy-to-use options including a drag-and-drop feature, scrolling text, and the ability to give the presentation in another language (including sign language). Judges loved the program’s “ease of integrating the different types of media” and found it very quick to edit sound clips and other components of the presentations. Education pricing, $169 (full price, $399), www.adobe.com/ products/visualcommunicator/forEducation.html ACHIEVER! FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT BRAINCHILD Achiever! automates the process of data-driven instruction for teachers, making it a product judges found to be simple and useful. Students log in on the Web to see a personal learning plan with a list of state standards. They click on the standard to take a pretest. If instruction is needed, students use multimedia instruction, then a “study mode” with immediate feedback. A post-test is taken on each standard, giving realtime reports to teachers to adjust individual and classroom instruction. $97/classroom/subject for one-year subscription, www.brainchild.com CLASSROOM SUITE VERSION 4 CAMBIUM LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES This unique tool combines direct instruction with a more flexible environment to help pre-K through 5th grade students improve their math, reading, and writing skills. The program gives students constructive practice through the use of practice assessments, in turn allowing teachers to gauge their students’ progress and shift their instruction around for individual students. Judges were impressed with the many research-based activity templates included in the program, and believe that students will love the many kinds of animation used along the way, making Classroom Suite a fun way to improve their reading vocabulary. The program can be customized to meet individual student’s needs and is especially helpful for students just learning English. $345 for one stand-alone copy, www.intellitools.com ATOMIC TRAINING ATOMIC LEARNING, INC. A new online system that combines Web-based hosting with customizable training platforms, Atomic Training was named by one judge as “top in its field for education technology integration.” The program provides an online publishing tool that allows organizations to manage and share digital resources, and is accessible and useful for beginners and advanced technology users alike. About $2,500, www.AtomicLearning.com and www.AtomicTraining.com 16 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.adobe.com/products/visualcommunicator/forEducation.html http://www.adobe.com/products/visualcommunicator/forEducation.html http://www.brainchild.com http://www.intellitools.com http://www.AtomicLearning.com http://www.AtomicTraining.com

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Technology & Learning - December 2008 Contents Leader of the Year Award Awards of Excellence Portraits of Learning

Technology & Learning - December 2008

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