Freebie Man: Win a $4,000 Lecture Capture/Presentation System for Your School

We would like to create model lessons showing differentiated instruction to aid our teachers who work with students with special needs. We feel that use of this type of equipment would be a tremendous asset in accomplishing this.

‘Twas the night before the Contest, when all through the school
Not an event was in flux, not even the schedule.
The Friday folders were hung on the lockers with care,
In hopes that the students soon would be there.

The students were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of A+s danced in their heads.
And principal in her sweats, and AD in his baseball hat,
Had just settled into the office for a long awaited chat.

When out on the commons there arose such a clatter,
They sprang from the office to see what was the matter.
Away to the window they flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what should they see but a site most welcome,
Freebie Man, and a $4,000 Lecture Capture/Presentation System.

He was a great CEO, a magnanimous giver and earner,
I knew in a moment it must be Michael Warner
More rapid than eagles his system it came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called each piece by name!

"Now Simple Video! Now, Simple workshop! Now, Lecture and Capture!
On, professional development! On, meetings to happiness and rapture!
To the top of the steps! To the third floor computer lab!
Then install away! Install away! Install without blab!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the third floor with the equipment he flew,
With a boat load of cords, and his helpers too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the steps
The huffing and puffing of each of his reps.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the steps Michael Warner came with a bound.

He was dressed all in a suit, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were not wrinkled or covered with soot.
A bundle of software he had right in its place,
And he looked like a philanthropist, just opening his case.

His eyes-how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth looked as if it could send a spark,
And the beard of his chin was fuzzy and dark.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a shirt tucked in a belly,
That was tight when he laughed, unlike a bowlful of jelly!

He was buff and manly, yet a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And in the office loaded software and equipment without irk.
And laying his finger aside of his jowl,
And giving a nod, he and his reps left the school!

He sprang to his cab, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy simple videotaping to all, and to all a good-night!"

Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree"

Oh Freebie Man, Oh Freebie Man,
We love your Video Capture System.
With our bud-get oh so tight,
It would allow us to train our teachers right.
Oh Freebie Man, Oh Freebie Man,
We would love it more than snow days.

This tool rocks! Anytime you can create multimedia and digitally file/store and organize information to use, and review with students, the time saved alone in the long run is immeasurable! I love this product. Especially in our small, rural district, this type of presentation makes learning smart, and gives us the opportunity to bring in outside resources to the classrooms. Thanks for sharing!

Great Deal

I would use this wonderful software to record teacher presentations for absent students. We'd also use it to record lessons for our special education students. I see us giving these students more complete access to the curriculum by allowing them to review and relive concept lessons as often as needed. Finally, I see us using this software to develop a library of "homegrown" professional development presentations that could be used by staff members as they need them rather then when it's convenient for the presenter. Oh the things we could do with this. I see student developed presentations. Oh, the possibilities.....

As an EdTechLeader for a hyper-growth district implementing 21st Century classroom technologies, I am convinced that the capabilities offered by Simple Workshop make a compelling case as the perfect tool for meeting the needs of our online staff professional development and distance learning for our students. If one of the schools picked to receive Simple Workshop was in our district, that successful implementation could lead to a larger purchase by us for our other schools and district office. In this way, you could leverage the one free product into a potential sale of 10 more.

Jennifer & Simple Workshop sitting in the office
W-O-R-K-I-N-G
First comes ingenuity,
Then comes Professional Development,
Then comes well trained and supported teachers
Choosing from a variety of topics
Learning on their time
Now Jennifer's doing the hula, hula dance!)

Loosely based on "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Suess.

Do you like technology?

I do not like it Sam-I-am,
I do not like technology.

I do not like it in a house.
I do not like it with a mouse.
I do not like it here or there.
I do not like it anywhere.
I do not like technology.
I do not like it Sam-I-am!

Would you? Could you?
In a car?
Try it! Try it!
From afar.

You may like it.
You will see.
You may like it
with bunnies and PD.

Bunnies and PD?
Why what do you mean?
You mean I can learn
Without being seen?

Bunnies and PJs,
And so much more.
Try it, try it!
While you explore!

How can I learn a new tech skill
when I can't even breathe?
But I know that I need to move
into the 21st century.

What about my students?
They are always a thought.
You mean I can teach them,
While we're apart?

How about collaboration?
Some say it's a fad.
Talking with other nations,
Can't be that bad.

You do not like it
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may, I say.

Sam!
If you will let me be,
I will try it.
I guarantee.

(Picture teachers and students using Simple Workshop here...see the amazement...see the learning...see the collaboration...see the joy...see the light bulb going on...in essence, picture the ideal classroom)

Say!
I like technology!
I do! I like it, Sam-I-am!

So I will use it outside the box.
And I will use it with Fire Fox.
And I will use it at my school.
I will use it, I'm no fool.
And I will use it here and there.
Say! I will use it ANYWHERE!

I do so like
technology!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am!

PS - If I win, I will do a whole PD series on Dr. Suess with a focus on "Green Eggs and Ham" in gratitude for allowing me to "borrow" his words.

NTLB: No TEACHER Left Behind
Research shows that teachers remember:
10% of what they learn at a workshop
12-13% of what they learn at a workshop with modeling
14-16% of what they learn at a workshop with modeling and practice
16-19% of what they learn at a workshop with modeling, practice and feedback
95% of what they learn at a workshop with modeling, practice, feedback and peer coaching
(“Effective Staff Development,” by Robert N. Bush, In Far West Laboratory (ed.)
The Simple Capture/Presentation system will be a very valuable tool in our effort to embed opportunities for peer coaching into 21st Century teachers’ classroom practice thus leaving NO TEACHER BEHIND.

How do teachers let students know that there is a big world full of technology outside of the Eastern plains of Colorado... put technology into their hands! This lecture capture/presentation system could be used by the staff, technology department for trainings, and expand the students ability to present what they have learned.

Thank you for offering such a generous opportunity to the educational industry! Facing declining enrollments and major budget cuts makes it challenging for all schools but when you are 3 hours from the nearest Metro area, the options are even more limited.

We look forward to looking into this system in greater detail!

This looks like a great product for use in schools. As a tech coordinator, I could see myself using it to deliver "how to" trainings to teachers on a variety of computer programs that they are expected to use. Teachers would also find many uses for it. They could record the demonstration of a concept so students could re-watch it as many times as necessary. They could record a lesson so absent students could more easily catch up on what they have missed. They could also record a lesson when they, themselves, were going to be gone. We are a small school, but I know we could put the program to great use.

I would love to be considered to win this product. I work in an urban, inner city school in Dayton, Ohio. We are currently listed at 99% poverty level. Our school is over 100 years old, and lets just say, getting new technology into the building is not easy. I believe our children deserve the best, no matter where they come from. I have done everything I could to bring new technology into the school, and I will continue to do so. We would use the technology to help our students and our staff!

I work in a small school district in a rural area. With technology growing and our resources being somewhat limited I feel it would be a huge asset to introduce some technology outside the computer to our students. It would be wonderful to take the students and create our own educational tools and videos with this type of equipment. If we are selected to win this we will even offer some freebies ourselves to help others grow in the areas we develop.

If I understand this new-fangled program, we could use it to streamline our staff meetings. Each week we have 4-7 items to cover, and 2 or three are kind of tutorial in nature (here's how we're scheduling the state tests, here's how to update your emergency folder, here's how to find this report on our system). Using this lecture capture, we could access the tutorials we need and the principal could track the ones we must see. Then we'd have time to just catch questions at the staff meeting!

It is now time to involve everyone - to provide the professional networking needed to learn from one another – from the middle out, not always the top down. Imagine the opportunity to explore ideas in an open forum – to see what is truly out beyond the walls of our classrooms, our district and our community. Simple Workshop could provide the medium in which to view what our colleagues have experienced through years in the trenches, conferences and workshops not all could attend and simply, just another point of view or suggestion. This is an influential tool that can be used by all for all. Way COOL stuff!! Thanks for the opportunity. Adam

Being an e-learning pioneer in a country where education is little prioritized and technology in education is rarely used, is sometimes perhaps what is the most stressful situation I experience at the moment. I have to work hard to convince my administrators and colleagues that education must change and embrace technology in order to keep up with the needs of the rest of the society. Just that we lack most of these high-tech and awesome tools and I don't know how I can do this alone. With a tool like this I can bet my aunt Mary that I would impress my colleagues and my boss and I would be able to show them exactly how effective technology can be in education. When this is done, I would enjoy many years of using this excellent tool in order to change the world through my students.

Thanks for reading! :)

Regards

Jesper

What a great idea! We also are a small school, but part of a consortium of several small schools in a rural/suburban area of Minnesota. Part of our new E2T2 grant proposal is to use the talented teachers at our schools to pull all of our staff members (willingly or not!) into the 21st century. A system like SimpleWorkshop would allow us to share trainings and materials easily across the multi-county area. Thanks for the opportunity to have something that usually only the big metro schools get. :)

Simple Workshop looks like an awesome tool that I would love to have in our school. We are a small catholic school, so we all wear many hats. I am in charge of professional development (technology)and more often than not have to repeat the training to teachers that have come :), were not able to attend, or were afraid of the technology. This would be a godsend! I could record my training and keep track of those that attended. Sometimes, that is the most difficult part. Our principal also sends out a daily note to the faculty, this would be wonderful for her to use. I also teach computer/art and could see so many uses for teaching as well! I think it would be a wonderful way to communicate with our faculty and staff and also save precious time for all of us! Thank you!!

I am presently the Technology Director of a Lutheran k-12 school district. We like many of the comments above, struggle with staff development. Because we are small, everyone has triple duties and are not always available after school for meetings. I see this as a great product to eleiminate the need for 100% attendance.

In addition, I am the state wide technology chairman. We struggle with state wide technology conferences because of time, distance, and money.

The use of your product would leverage my expertise and reach teachers spread over hundreds of miles.

Thank you for considering this comment.

I teach English and Journalism in a small high school in Mount Airy, North Carolina. We only have 550 students and very limited resources, but I was doing okay until about a month ago. A pipe broke over my classrooms and flooded everything. I am now sharing a room with two different people. On top of all this, I am disabled and needing surgery, so I walk with a cane. Since the flood keeps me from using the elevator, I am hobbling all over the school, up and down stairs, and quite often I am late to class. This presentation system would help me so much, because I could create a video ahead of time and assign someone to play it while I am making my way to the classroom. This way, the students are not losing valuable learning time due to my injury. Some days, I am unable to come in, due to the pain I am experiencing. With this, I could record lessons ahead of time and have them on file for a substitute teacher .
One of the best ways I could use this is in my Journalism class. My students could use it to record news presentations, which we could then upload to our school newspaper's website, http://www.thebeargrowl.com
We haven't been able to add a broadcast journalism unit due to the fact we have no cameras or video software. We could broadcast news reports to the entire school with this capture/presentation system!

PC, Mac, Program Review, Google Docs, SmartBoards, RTI, 504 plan, netbooks, blogs, iMovie, Voicethread, and on and on and on.....

Our students need our teachers to know how to use and show them how to use and learn from....

Simple Workshop can make that happen.

What we do now isn't.

I teach art at an elementary school of over 1000 students. Because of scheduling that number of students I only see the students once every two weeks. If a students misses a class then they will not have art for almost a month. A system that allows me to record a lesson to be viewed on-line would be great.
I am also working with the other district art teachers creating a standardized art test. Because of the size of our district, about 150 elementary schools getting together with the other art teachers is a logistical nightmare. Simpleworkshop looks like it would solve both of the problems for me and leave more time to read blogs.

Being a small school district we always need to leverage as much as we can for professional development. Everyone does everything. As District Technology Coordinator, yearbook adviser, Math, technology, and senior project teacher I have many hats that I wear. All of our staff is in a similar situation.

This solution could help us deliver professional development across the board even if people are not available. It allows it on their time frame. Additionally we can share amongst each other the things necessary to do our jobs from administration down to educational assistants. It could potentially even be used for some classroom applications I would think.

I could see this being a godsend to us in these financially strapped times that would assist us with moving our staff toward meeting the new technology standards and goals.

The uses of such a system are enormous. Although it possible to cobble together your own similar system using other resources, the fact that all of this handled by a single site would be very useful. Imagine Youtube + Privacy + Accountability rolled into one.

Thanks for letting us know.

BTW nice Drupal Site.

I have just been handed a really cool side job in addition to my day job (junior high technology applications teacher): district technology instructor. My task in this new hobby/job is to do workshops for our teachers in all of our schools. The plan now is for me to liaison with principals to set up workshop times, for my principal to then get me substitutes, for my classes to meet with my sub...in my computer lab or, if I'm planning the workshop to be set in my computer lab, to go meet somewhere else (and what will they be doing...?...busy work? What will they be able to do without me there?), and so... So far, since we have started this plan in December, not one of our workshops has worked out...something has gone wrong--the principal canceled, I got sick, none of the teachers could make my workshop on their conference periods...etc. So when I saw this video, I'm thinking that our district REALLY needs to get this set up for me to work with. But, of course, we have no money, so winning this would make me very very very very very grateful, and I would, of course, recommend that each campus bought its own setup! ;) Seriously, though, teachers and admin have been asking me about a solution to setting up online lessons for homebound students and students in alternative schools. As soon as I finish this comment, I'm forwarding the video link to our admin folks! Thanks for the opportunity!!!

The public thinks all the suburban school districts get all the "stuff". Meanwhile, the government typically thinks the same. As a result, the suburban district where I have been teaching Physics for 12 years is struggling to get one computer in each classroom. We will be seeing our first presentation systems in the classrooms ever starting next year and are still embracing our chalkboards and overhead projectors. This system would be an amazing upgrade. As an avid user of Blackboard and a blog for my classes, a system like this would supplement and greatly enhance what I am already doing and bring it to the next level. Thank you for your consideration.

I am a new teacher (3 years) and can think of so many different uses for this technology. All technology is welcome to improve the lives of students at our school. I teach in a progressive school in Spanish Harlem, New York City. We are searching for new technology to bring into our school to improve teacher's best practices as well as student engagement in lessons.
I have taken the lead to introduce a new classroom management process, but have found it difficult, if not impossible, to get the information presented to all interested teachers. This would allow me to create a simple workshop to introduce the ideas about the process from the author as well as my own ideas and critiques of the process.
I think it would also be a great way to leave a simple emergency lesson for students when you are out sick. I think the students would be much more engaged in a sub lesson if your face was there teaching the material.
Additionally, my students could also use it to create presentations for new content in so many classes. I can see it being used for a Seedfolks project in ELA, Adopt an Organelle in Science, and Hitchhiker's Guide in Math. For me personally, my students are working on a global collaborative project where they are collecting forest data and then sharing this data with other students in New York City, Washington, DC, and the Dominican Republic. What a great way to present the data to other schools outside the NYC area!

When you need to be in more than one place at a time or your teachers are also coaches and parents with kids at home, how do you offer the professional development sessions needed to satisfy the district contract? Use the Lecture capture/presentation system

Teachers have taken the time to prepare their Units and lesson plans in correlation with the state standards to ensure students are prepared for the State Assessment test, then Vera virus or Freddie flu enters the classroom. How do you make sure every student gets all information you covered in the classroom? Use the Lecture capture/presentation system

How do you help teachers and students that need you to show them more than once, but you can’t be there? Use the Lecture capture/presentation system

As I looked through all of the comments, I found that many of them were similar to what I wanted to say in my own post. The key things I found were:
1) I also work in a small rural school district in North Carolina. Many of our students never travel more than two hours from home in their lifetime.
2) Like many other posts, there is only one me. I am the only instructional technologist to serve a staff of 400+.
3) I see a ton of possibilities for staff development, general training and for student benefit. Many of those uses have already been listed.
4) Our school and district need a tool such as SimpleWorkshop.
The lists continues.

So, with such phenomenal posts that were so similar in content, what could I write that would make this one any different? How could I stand out?

Well, I'm not really sure that I can. It's hard to compete with the other posts, because they are all so great. All I can do is tell you my thoughts.

My mission as an educator is to bring the world to my staff and students. I want them to experience as much of it as possible. I want learning to be seamless and constant. Because we are a bit isolated geographically, that can be rather challenging.

SimpleWorkshop would help fulfill one of our greatest needs. It would help us to create anytime, anywhere learning for students and staff. This tool would diminish the time and distance constraints that we currently face.

Using SimpleWorkshop would mean that a student would never miss information because they had to miss a class due to illness or other reasons. It would mean that busy educators would be able to stay abreast of information at a time and place that is convenient to them. We'd be able to offer learning activities 24/7.

Having this type of resource would also provide us the opportunity to expand one of the current goals of my area. Many of the districts in my area are just like mine, small and rural. There has been a greater push to share resources to maximize funds. SimpleWorkshop would allow us to hold up our end of the bargain. We would be better able to share information with those around us.

So, what makes my post different? Why should we be considered? I guess it's how we view a tool such as SimpleWorkshop. While it is a great way to provide online staff development and lectures, we see it as a way to bring the world to us right here in our tiny little corner of the world.

Thank you for your consideration.
Cindy

In 1940, Dick Tracy, Policeman/Public Defender and Hero, communicated by talking into his now famous, then revolutionary, “Wrist Watch!” Now we use flip top cell phones!
The 1950's brought us “The Adventure's of Superman,” featuring Clark Kent, a shy newspaper reporter who jumped into phone booths and flew out to help those in need! Phone Booths? I saw one in a museum recently.
The 1960's gave us Adam West who played “Batman.” He and Robin used “Walkie Talkies,” ones specially made for super heroes. Now we call them Cell Phones with 'Apps'!
In the 70's, Oh Mighty “Isis” (Biology teacher by day) arrived, and communicated using her mighty 'Ring' to get her super powers! Not to be confused with a cell phone or Skype ring, but by the standards of the times, got her where she needed to be. Now, we use a GPS!
Arriving in the 80's was Super Hero “Detective Gadget” who had various bionic gadgets built into his body, such as a top secret gadget phone with the earpiece in his thumb and mouthpiece in his pinky finger. His niece, Penny, communicated by using a phone book size computer, similar to our laptops today.
In the 1990's, Super Hero Cat Woman, a meek and mild, graphic artist named Patience, had a special super cell phone by day and the powers of the cat by night to communicate. Now we have MySpace, FaceBook, and Twitter.
Then the new millennium, Y2K, came in with the new Star Trek's Captain Kirk and Spock communicating through touch screens and sophisticated mouthpieces. But my favorite is 2009's 'G-Force' with “Speckles” and his genius companions and their high-tech spy communication gear!
All these heroes have many things in common. Much of the same traits teachers have. They work for the good of all; they have great passion for what they do; they use technology to communicate; and most of all they were ahead of their time!
That's why I want my school to win one of these fabulous Video Capture Presentation Systems! I want our students and teachers to be ahead of their time! The students and teachers in my wonderful district are already heroes for each other, and are open to new technology! I want to win this because it will help us by enhancing our curriculum, meetings, and challenges that occur each and every day. Not to mention distance learning! The possibilities are endless! And, I want to add to the above list of heroes with the 2010 Hero - All teachers, and “Freebie Man” who by day and night, zooms onto the Internet offering freebies to educators who really need a Hero right now! I know all that are posting would agree with that!
Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of this contest!

We can as adults go on and on about how we will use this magnificent opportunity in our classrooms, in our conferences and in other applications, but the core of this all is the student.

In the school environment it is the adult that is playing catch up with the student when it comes to technology (for the most part). Having a tool of this magnitude would not only enable our students further investigation into all education has to offer, but it will allow the staff to catch up to those bright young minds!

The introduction of video capture is such a key element to making learning alive, it makes writing this comment almost archaic. I should be filming this as a music video with 3-D elements and more. Perhaps if we are the lucky school to receive this tool we we will. Our charter is is so far flung across a large area of Northern California that tool of this type would unify and create stronger spirit of teamwork and unity.

Please consider what terrific benefits you would provide to the students and staff in our area. In turn what might the students and teachers may return in kind.

Our school district has been a long time customer of Infosource and all it has to offer. We have seen the changes in the company, as we have made changes in our school to provide technology to our students.

These are exciting times for technology. We hope we will we have the good fortune to offer this to our students and staff.

Thank you Simple K12!

One, two, or three sentences...here goes.

We are an independent study charter school that covers five Northern California counties, so communication and in-service coordination, as you can imagine, is a complete nightmare - meaning, it doesn't happen. This tool seems to be perfectly fit to meet our needs in terms of school improvement, both in professional development for staff, many have never met because they live so far away from each other, and also in delivering online content to students, many of whom live way out in the hills. One sentence left...well...um...I hope we win.

I am very excited about your product. With cuts in school funding our teacher development class have been cancelled completely. We have 1000 teachers and no indistrict classes. I love the simplicity of what simple workshop can do.
But I can also see.......
* kids using this for reports, as if they are reporting the news.
* principals giving information to staff using this.....
* quick technology tips given weekly
* district disemination of information to schools from the super.

Thanks for thinking of our time and creating a product that can be used in lots of settings for lots of reasons.....

I am working with a local university in partnership with my school district to develop pre-service and classroom teacher training in technology integration in instructional practices. This would be ideal for sharing information effortlessly. We could also expand our partnerships with surrounding school districts to create a truly collaborative environment. It's also be great for those "just in time" training sessions that always pop up!

The ongoing training to our ASD students' personal aides in the many different areas is incredibly taxing on our professional resources. We have found that the typical, commercial DVDs just are not up to snuff, so our supervisors end up giving repetitive, one on one tutorials. We would be thrilled to have the opportunity to become a demonstration site for Simple's Video Capture! Just call me!

This would be great for us. We have a lot of students on homebound or out for long periods of time. This would allow us to capture our lessons so that they can view them at home. It would also be great for review.

I could also see teachers recording lessons one year and then being able to use them the following year when they are absent. A substitute could just play the lecture.

Great product!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This software looks like it would have a gazillion types of possible uses. I have the privledge of being not only a classroom teacher, but also an online instructor and a tutor for seriously ill students. I can see this product used as a teaching aid, supplemental substitute lesson, extended response assignment, tutoring support, and a lesson introduction tool. Now, if it could only cut julienned fries or remove tough pet stains, I'd be sold!

SimpleWorkshop is an ingenious and creative method to save time by delivering seminars/material to group situations. I wish that I had come up with it!! I can envision both staff and students utilizing the program. Can't wait to explore this further!

I see this product as having a lot of potential for a school such as ours that specializes in students who have experienced difficulty learning to read. It has great potential for adding to the professional development opportunities for our busy teachers and to enhance student learning. In addition, it would allow us to share our knowledge with teachers beyond the school through online workshops.

I work in a small school district that serves a large population of economically disadvantaged students. We are working at trying to provide our students with anytime, anywhere access so that learning is not confined within the classroom walls, but rather where ever they have Internet access. The Lecture Capture/Presentation System would allow us to provide more learning opportunities for our students so that learning experiences can be provided not only in the classroom, but also at home or where ever the students have computer and Internet access.

WOW! I just presented, about an international student blogging challenge, using Elluminate this morning, but how much better to send your presentation to those who are interested or should be attending. Save you, the presenter, time and allows those watching to do so in their time. As a district school, a lot of PD is often done at our school with staff from other schools travelling for hours to get here for the seminar.

I think this might come too late, so if it will not arrive this year please exclude my entry. I have a student this year with Cystic Fibrosis who has only been in school two days of 2010. This would help him stay a part of our classroom community.

As a teacher trying to prepare her students for the world they will live in rather than the world we live in now, without any map or guide to tell me what that will be, teaching with technology is integral. I can see many many uses for this product within a classroom setting and in a school.

Within my classes, I can see using Simple Workshop to create videos to expand upon concepts and ideas taught in class. The product could be used to allow students to have meaningful "makeup" work from an absence. It could be used to increase effective home teaching when students are on an extended health related absence, or if they are struggling with a comprehensive school site (like mine) but keep them enrolled in their home school to increase the school's ability to maintain attendees (and ADA!). and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Administratively, this could ease the need for substitutes for things like staff meetings and trainings, allowing teachers to complete such events either in groups or on their own without the need for having a sub in their classroom. This could enable school administrators to share ideas with staff, to give teachers choice in training options, give teachers some ownership in training by creating their own workshops and sharing with each other. Again, the tip of the iceberg, I feel as if I could go on for ages, but I've already gone on too long.

This is a piece of technology that, in the right hands, would be indispensible, and my school could absolutely benefit from Simple Workshop.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a small rural town, there was a very tiny, little school whose sole purpose was to work with and to educate students with special needs. Because each student was on his/her own level of learning, the teachers became extremely baffled, tired, frustrated, discouraged, disheartened, and defeated by the lack of support and resources for their efforts in educating these loving, hard-working, and knowledge-seeking teenagers and young adults. Then, all of a sudden, without notice or provocation, a man, dressed in a brown detective's hat, dark sunglasses, and calling himself "Freebie Man", appears in front of the teachers to explain that he has come to the rescue and that he plans to provide them with a lecture capture/presentation system so that they can meet the individual learning needs of their many special needs students. All of the extremely grateful teachers and students were overwhelmed and wept with joy!

THE END

Technology plays a vital role in our schools. It has helped our teachers to become better educators. Teachers are no longer afraid of technology. They are eager to learn new technology concepts and are taking advantage of any and all professional and staff development opportunities provided by their school districts.
Teachers who once thought they would never be computer literate, are now enjoying all the benefits of technology and all that it has to offer. Classrooms are becoming more paperless, as teachers are provided with many various teaching devices, through the aid of technology use. Multimedia projections, blackboards, and computer simulations, to name a few now assist eachers in the instructing of their students.

Technology continues to amaze teachers, especially the older and more seasoned teachers; however, they are receptive to the changes and are willing to get the training needed as they work with their students in helping them to develop their potential. School districts are willing to do their part, write grants to seek the funds needed to provide their teachers with the
training needed to instruct their students.

Students reap the benefits from the technology that is provided in their classrooms, by doing their best to learn as much as possible to take themselves to the next level, and this is evident through their performance. While all students may not be high achievers, teachers realize that all students can learn when provided with proper instruction, reinforcements and the opportunity to ask questions. The key to learning is not being afraid to admit when you don’t know, and that you need help. Please allow Marshall Elementary School of Orangeburg, South Carolina to be supplied with the free Capture Presentation System to continue to provide an enriching experiences for teachers and students.

haiku

rural charter school
deserving students, great staff
need technology

I teach in a school that has cut $10 million from it's budget over the last 5 or 6 years. The bulk of this has been cuts to staff and technology. Having a system such as SimpleWorkshop would allow our district to offer unlimited staff development opportunities for our staff as well as provide alternative educational delivery for our students.