Technology & Learning - March 2009 - (Page 22) PRODUCTREVIEWS Put to the Test T&L Editors take some new products for a test drive PRODUCT: JAYCUT.COM http://jaycut.com Retail price: Free JayCut.com is a Web site that enables people to upload video, audio, and more in order to create “mixes” or movies. People can create their own profile page and groups of friends who can view their mixes, or they can make them public. Users can add movies, photos, titles, transitions, and effects. PROS: Users can create private groups in which only their students can view the videos created for class. It is very user friendly and allows teachers to upload different types of media quickly, and then mix them together. Each person creates his or her own profile page. The profile is a fun way of learning about other people, and for students it can be fun because it is similar to Facebook and MySpace. CONS: None. OVERALL IMPRESSION: JayCut is quick and easy to use. It’s fun and interactive and has clear instructions on how to use everything the Web site offers. Since the product is free, I would definitely recommend is for any teacher. —Shannon Cook PRODUCT: FARONICS INSIGHT www.faronics.com/insight Retail price: $599 per classroom (includes first year of maintenance) Using Faronics Insight, a teacher has total control over the computing environment. She can turn the computers on and off remotely and share her screen with students. The teacher can lock the students’ keyboards, mice, and screens so they are not distracted when she is talking. She can send a customized flashing message to the students’ screens. The instructor can communicate with the student via instant messaging. The teacher can also transfer files to and from student computers to the network drive. Teachers also have the ability to load specific applications or Web sites on all student computers at one time or block application or Web sites from student computers. Instructors can also limit access to printers and USB drives. Insight has the ability to track student responses to yes/no and multiple-choice questions, so it can take the place of a student response system. Teachers can also distribute tests electronically with Insight. All activity within Insight is logged and the console is password-protected. In addition, a teacher can view and record a list of all applications running on a student’s computer and take a snapshot of a student’s screen. PROS: Easy to use and very intuitive. The teacher’s screen either can be full-screen or a window on the student’s screen. Students can switch to other teacher’s rooms without restarting. Teachers can view up to 256 computers and can turn on computers remotely. CONS: None when used as computer-lab-management software. It would benefit from the addition of remote control of servers as a module of the classroom management software. OVERALL IMPRESSION: Insight is a good computer-labmanagement tool. It is as good as, if not a little better than, most of the others on the market. —Joe Huber 22 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.JAYCUT.COM http://jaycut.com http://www.JayCut.com http://www.faronics.com/insight
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