• Adobe, Lenovo to Deliver Digital Imaging and Video Solutions to Schools

  Adobe Systems Inc. and Lenovo have announced an agreement to deliver digital imaging and video solutions to educational institutions. Under the terms of the agreement, Lenovo will include Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Premiere Elements 2.0 software on ThinkPad laptops, tablets and ThinkCentre desktops it sells in the U.S. education market. This combination will provide students and faculty with a powerful digital imaging and video-editing solution that will allow educators and students to enhance learning across subjects with photo essays, video book reports, newscasts on current events, and documentaries. The solution will also include product tutorials, sample lesson plans, and training to jump-start the use of the software in the classroom. In addition, Lenovo will offer Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements as part of its 1-1 computing initiative with IBM.

  For the full story, visit:
  http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200607/073106Lenovo.html

• Program Offers Free CAD Software to Educational Institutions

  ProgeSOFT.US is offering free copies of its progeCAD 2006 Professional software to any North American educational institution through its new “Free for Schools” program. Schools can include progeCAD 2006 Professional within their CAD curriculum and CAD design labs. The “Free for Schools” program also allows students to use progeCAD 2006 Professional at home for non-professional use. ProgeCAD software supports the AutoCAD DWG design file format, and is compatible with AutoCAD menus, scripts, blocks, and AutoLISP. ProgeCAD 2006 Professional also contains the ALE block manager, including 10,000 blocks and symbols, ACIS solid modeling, raster image support, advanced rendering with materials, and a unique set of tools that only ProgeSOFT offers.

  Interested schools can apply for the “Free for Schools” program online at:
  http://www.progesoft.us/index.pl?id=3556&isa=Category&op=show

• Nevada, Arkansas Select PBS TeacherLine for State P.D. Initiatives

  The Nevada Commission on Educational Technology and the Arkansas Department of Education have selected PBS TeacherLine, a provider of facilitated, online professional development for preK-12 educators, to meet professional development initiatives in each state. Through this relationship with PBS, officials in Nevada and Arkansas will help teachers and paraprofessionals acquire the knowledge and skills they need to improve student learning as well as to meet state and federal “highly qualified” requirements.

  For the full story, visit http://www.cblohm.com/news/pbstl/PBS_TL_NECC06.pdf

• HP Offers Students, Teachers Exclusive Back-to-School Discounts

  As students and teachers prepare for a new school year, HP is making it easy to purchase the latest consumer technology products with discounts of up to 15 percent at the HP Home & Home Office Store. Through the store’s Academic Purchase Program (APP), all eligible students and teachers can benefit from special discounts on HP products when they register at here. HP also offers its award-winning HP Total Care, a 24/7 service, advice, learning, and support program to help students and teachers get started with their new PCs or other technology products. Students and teachers can take advantage of additional savings on numerous HP products when using the APP discount in tandem with other back-to-school promotions. For added convenience and savings, the HP Home Store also offers qualifying students and teachers an e-financing program that includes no interest and no payment promotions for a limited time.

  For the full story, visit http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2006/060731a.html

• Technology Tools Help Teachers Improve Student Achievement
  —From The Herald-Dispatch

  Gilda Haddox has seen first-hand how technology can help children grasp abstract concepts and improve student achievement. She’s one of many technology integration specialists who the West Virginia Department of Education has trained to help the reluctant and eager teachers alike build on their vast subject knowledge and incorporate technology into their classrooms. 'Technology is a tool that some teachers are uncomfortable with because they didn’t grow up with computers at home,” said Haddox, one of two technology integration specialists in Wood County. “But when I work with a school for an entire school year, I see the teachers gain confidence and incorporate technology into their lesson plans as they get more comfortable.”

  For the full story, visit:
  http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060730/NEWS04/607300332/1001/NEWS

For the last few years, teachers have been using lodestar from lodeStar Learning Corp. to produce eLearning activities for learning management systems such as Microsoft Class Server, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, and Moodle. Now, lodeStar Learning Corp. is combining that same technology with curriculum and offering it to schools as a new, low-priced Student Class Pack. This pack lets K-12 schools purchase student licenses cheaply, while bringing traditional subjects to life for the students. With the Student Class Pack and its included eNarrative curriculum, students can listen to lectures on topics such as the American Civil War or photosynthesis concepts, and then respond with their own multimedia reconstructions of their newfound knowledge. The eNarrative curriculum guides students through planning a multimedia project, and then shows them how to use lodeStar to organize text, imagery, animations, links, and short quizzes. Then with just a few clicks, students can e-mail their work to their teacher or publish it to a Web site, CD-ROM, or a learning management system. Pricing varies.

Lexmark International Inc. has introduced a new workgroup color laser printer series, the Lexmark C770 family, for users needing a fast, reliable, and versatile color printer that can handle a variety of media. The Lexmark C770 series includes the Lexmark C770n and C772n color laser printers, and the LexmarkX772e color multifunction printer (MFP) for users who also want the ability to copy, scan, and fax in monochrome and color from the same device. Printing at speeds of up to 25 pages per minute in both monochrome and color, the C770 series offers fast performance with a powerful 800 MHz processor to complete complex jobs quickly. Networking is also standard on all models so that one printer can easily be shared by a large workgroup. Additionally, the C770 series can print documents up to 48-inch banners on media ranging from glossy card stock to vinyl labels. Pricing: The C770n starts at $999; the C772n starts at $1,499; and the X772e MFP starts at $4,499.

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