By: Jessica Fera, WPXI.com

[click here to watch the feature story at wpxi.com]

NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. – Technology is not only changing the way millions of Americans live, work and play, it’s changing the way students are learning in one Beaver County School District.

“Little New Brighton is on its way to being a premiere district in Beaver County. It really is,” said director of technology Rob Lee.

Inside every classroom at New Brighton Middle School you’ll find cutting edge teaching tools that include interactive whiteboards called Eno boards.

“They have every capability from simply being a display screen in which teachers can display various lessons on them, to being fully interactive where teachers can toggle between pictures and class notes and videos and even write over top of what they’re displaying,” Principal Joe Guarino told WPXI.com’s Jessica Fera.

“You’re interacting with the board instead of just sitting there reading off a text book, day dreaming. You’re picking, clicking things that open up links and you’re gonna remember it more and get a better grade,” said seventh grade student Maria Taylor.

Also helping these students make the grade are Quizdom hand-held clickers.

“In the age of text messaging and cell phones, the kids are taking a great liking to those. They’re using those for instant feedback in the classrooms. Teachers can see what the kids are getting and what they are not getting,” Guarino said.

“Using it has made it more entertaining to learn and engaging in it makes me want to learn,” said seventh grade student Paul Radatavich.

Teachers here say the students’ positive attitudes are producing positive results.

“Academically I know I’ve been able to get some really tough concepts through using those types of technology,” said science teacher Anthony Martella.

The middle school and high school are full equipped with these devices and the elementary school is not far behind.

“Because there’s not as many federal dollars for K-5 we still have some work to do,” said Superintendent Dr. David Pietro. “We’re hoping within the next two years we’ll have the type of equipment you’re seeing today in every single classroom in our district.”

The nearly $400,000 needed to jumpstart this initiative has come from a combination of taxpayer dollars along with state and federal grants.

“We feel it’s an investment in our students and that it’s something we need to do to provide our students an education for the 21st century,” Pietro said.

This district has high hopes for the future.

“I feel in the coming years we’ll be a beacon in technology integration not only in the county but in the entire Commonwealth,” Lee said.

[click here to read the entire story at wpxi.com]

02.08.2010 – AUSTIN, Texas – Most American educators are familiar with Qwizdom’s interactive classroom technology, but only those attending the Texas Computer Education Association Conference this February will have the unique opportunity to squeeze in hands-on time with the company’s newest hardware release – the Q6 student response system.

Available for pre-order in late march of this year, the Qwizdom Q6 Student Response System is unique in that it offers more opportunity for collaboration than with any previous system, including an easy-to-use keypad similar to a cell phone, text input and a larger LCD screen to view full responses. The small, ergonomic radio frequency remotes allow each student to communicate with the teacher from up to 328 feet away and are durability-tested to withstand the rigors of the classroom.

As the teacher presents questions on a screen, verbally, or by using paper-based activities, pupils enter responses with their remotes. The teacher‘s computer instantly receives the responses and records the results, allowing the freedom to easily manage and control the format and speed of the lesson. The instant response also allows the educator to gauge students’ overall comprehension or to zero in on a struggling pupil. In turn, a student is notified when their response has been received and can silently signal the teacher for help, easing the fear of judgment by peers or falling behind in class.

The device’s 1.8 × 1.5” LCD screen allows for up to 116 character input per transmission. Multiple mark, numeric, sequencing, rating scale, yes/no, fractional/decimal, multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions are all supported by the Q6. Battery life is a year on average.

Software used with Q6 remotes is both PC and Mac-friendly, integrating easily with PowerPoint® and Keynote®. Additionally, Qwizdom Connect software works with hundreds of thousands of pre-made curriculum resource slides.

For more information, visit Qwizdom online at www.qwizdomnews.com.

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About Qwizdom, Inc.

Qwizdom provides integrated education technology solutions for thousands of schools throughout the U.S. and U.K. Striving to make learning both effective and engaging, Qwizdom offers the most advanced radio-frequency classroom response technology (patents pending), a complete software learning system, more than 150 interactive curriculum programs, and a digital learning network. Founded in 1984, Qwizdom has offices in the Seattle area, Cleveland, and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.qwizdomnnews.com.

Media Contact
Ian Bryan
828.242.1868
ianbryan@sensiblecity.com

One year ago, Qwizdom was featured on the Nightly Business Report as part of their coverage of the “Business of Education” in Orlando and Miami-Dade. With FETC just a week + away, we’re posting the video for reference.

Qwizdom will kick off the Florida Education Technology Conference (FETC) by giving and “tweeting away” over $30,000.00 in student response systems and software to educators attending FETC and across the nation. The company says it hopes to see the technology encourage teachers to ring in 2010 with interactive, engaging classroom experiences which help students to succeed.

Two ways to win:

1. Visit Qwizdom on the trade show floor…

Qwizdom can be found in booth 515, a demonstration area, and in booth 438, where conference attendees can spend hands-on time with the Q7 tablet, a mini interactive portable whiteboard. Conference badges will be scanned at both booths, automatically entering attendees to win Q7 of their own. Qwizdom representatives will demonstrate various education tools every hour, on the hour, in booth 515 and participants will receive a Qwizdom Tshirt for attending. Wearing the T-shirt is another way to win. A tap on the shoulder from a Qwizdom representative means a free classroom set of Q2 remotes. Also up for grabs every hour is a Q7 Tablet, Premium Service and Connect software.

2. Follow @Qwizdom on Twitter…

During the Florida Educational Technology Conference (Jan 12- 15), Qwizdom will ask its followers basic trivia questions. Prior to each trivia question, the company will tweet at least two hyperlink “hints” leading to where the answer may be found. (Think of it as an open-book test!) The first correct response made in reply to @Qwizdom will win.

Tweetaway prizes are as follows:

Thursday 1/14 – Set of 24 Q2 Student Response Remotes with a Q7 Tablet, Connect Software and WizTeach Tools.

Friday 1/15 – Set of 24 Q2 Student Response Remotes with a Q7 Tablet, Connect Software, WizTeach Tools and Premium Service.

The “tweetaway” and giveaways are open to teachers across America. (Please note that this promotion is not available to educators outside of the United States).

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About Qwizdom, Inc.
Qwizdom provides integrated education technology solutions for thousands of schools throughout the U.S. and U.K. Striving to make learning both effective and engaging, Qwizdom offers the most advanced radio-frequency classroom response technology (patents pending), a complete software learning system, more than 150 interactive curriculum programs, and a digital learning network. Founded in 1984, Qwizdom has offices in the Seattle area, Cleveland, and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.qwizdom.com.

Media Contact
Ian Bryan
828.242.1868
ianbryan@sensiblecity.com