District Administration - May 2011 - (Page 90)

newproducts • • Kurt Eisele-Dyrli THE LATEST IN HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, BOOKS & MATERIALS, FACILITIES AND THE INTERNET “Technology is not a magic bullet. If you have a computer but you don’t have the content and you don’t have teachers who know how to design good classes … it’s not going to make a difference.” –President Obama, speaking at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C. on March 28. FOLLETT SOFTWARE TetraData v8.5 Pricing varies Follett Software’s newest version of its comprehensive suite of K12 data-management, analysis and vision-alignment tools includes a variety of enhancements. A more intuitive user interface and improved search functions aid users in ﬁnding data quickly, new security reminders protect student information more effectively, and expanded analysis and reporting capabilities aid districts looking to monitor performance against benchmarks, item level and standards data. CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES Phonics for Reading $39.95 per ﬁve pack PHONICS for Reading Second Level Newly revised for 2011, Curriculum Associates’ Phonics for Reading is a threelevel instructional resource for teaching foundational reading concepts to students in grades 1-8. The series covers skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, ﬂuency, spelling and reading comprehension, while using modern illustrations and content appropriate and helpful for struggling older students as well as young beginning readers. Anita Archer James Flood Diane Lapp Linda Lungren CALIFONE Wireless Tablet Interface $194 Classroom audiovisual manufacturer Califone’s new Wireless Tablet Interface has been designed for the needs of educators. The product enables users to wirelessly control a PC that is connected to a projector from anywhere in the classroom, up to 50 feet away. The tablet can act as a mouse, or users can annotate, magnify or capture screenshots of projected images. A range of available frequencies allows multiple tablets to also be used by students in the same classroom without interference. ENGAGE EDUCATION Mootup Pricing varies based on number of users New software company Engage Education has just launched its debut product, Mootup. This Web-based program aids the instruction of argumentative writing, by enabling teachers to create and assign debate-based writing projects and providing students with a forum in which to debate topics with an anonymous classmate in an interactive and structured environment. Teachers can customize the number of rounds or students in a debate, and participation reporting helps in grading assignments. SCHOOLBRAINS School Alert System Starts at 99 cents per student Data management, data analytics and assessment provider SchoolBrains has recently enhanced its services with an emergency notiﬁcation product. The School Alert System can integrate into SchoolBrains’ student information system or be packaged separately and used with other systems, and it enables administrators to send e-mail, voice or text messages of important announcements to thousands of students, parents and staff members instantly via a single Web-based interface. The 2010 Readers' Choice Top 100 Products have been announced! www.DistrictAdministration.com 90 May 2011 District Administration http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

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

District Administration - May 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
The Cradle-to-Career Solution
Turnaround Principals
Starving for Recess
Army Strong, Superintendent Savvy
Budgeting Based on Student Needs
Research Center
Books
Product Focus
Products
Superintendent's Insights
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion

District Administration - May 2011