The Awards Maker can be utilized for more than the Awards Ceremonies. Here are some ideas on how to utilize it year round! Use it to fundraise, create incentives, highlight specific programs, or educate.

The VariQuest Suite of products is perfect for developing a student based enterprise. This gives students real world work experience and responsibility for running the business. It can even help them fulfill academic, work based learning standards with exposure to marketing, operations, production, finance and sales disciplines. The Poster Maker, Awards Maker and Cutout Maker’s output can easily be sold no only to teachers but to other students and members of the community. Here are some ideas!

Back to School Night: Sell posters, banners and cutouts to teachers and administrators to decorate the hallways and classrooms with curriculum based materials.

Science Fair: Students can order cutouts to help decorate their science fair boards. Teachers can order plaques for the winners of the fair.

Sporting Events: Create posters and banners for pep rally events and advertise the upcoming games. Students can also sell posters depicting a picture of the sporting team with the team’s schedule. Local businesses can purchase stickers to post on water bottles with coupons to their businesses. Cutouts can be sold as ways to get the crowd excited!

School Dances: Sell posters of student photos taken at the dance. Sell cutouts to decorate the dances with. Student committees can purchase posters to advertise the events with.

Community Events: Members of the community can order posters to promote events, nametag stickers, and bumper stickers for events

Class Spirit and Club Events: Grade levels can purchase car decals and bumper stickers with their graduation year. Clubs can sell bumper stickers to members or as fundraisers.

Do you have a fundraiser idea using Varitronics products? Let us know and we can feature your idea on our blog or quarterly newsletter! Email Victoria Cobb at victoria.cobb@avispl.com with your ideas.

Click here for more fundraiser ideas

The award-winning LifeSize® Express 220™ is an enhanced Full HD video communications system that is both affordable and scalable. Priced for broad deployment and uniquely flexible, the Express 220 is designed to enable companies to extend the reach of telepresence communications to any office or any size business. Ideal for small working groups, teams or individual knowledge workers who want to take communication over distance to the next level, LifeSize Express 220 has it all.

High-definition visual communications solution for conference rooms, classrooms and meeting places worldwide.

The clarity of Polycom HDX 8006 system enables users to interact over video freely and naturally, and with the HDX 8000 Series systems’ embedded multipoint and content-sharing capabilities, remote team members can quickly and easily be brought together collaborate on projects visually in this superior telepresence solution.

Key Features:

• High-definition video – Up to1920 x 1080 (1080p) video resolution or 1280 x720 (720p) resolution at 30 fps or 60 fps for excellent video quality at all data rates
• High-definition voice – Polycom Siren™ 22 and Polycom StereoSurround™ technology for powerful, superior room-filling audio performance

For media-rich group presentations, the Polycom HDX 8006 system enables users to display rich-media content and data easily, enhancing collaboration and audience participation. And utilizing Polycom HDX 8000 Series systems in tandem with Polycom’s unique People On Content™ collaboration technology allows presenters to insert their video images into projected content to explain key elements more clearly.

Click here for more product details. »

For more featured Polycom products, click here. »

Biamp Systems offers to make your meetings and conversations even better with Sona™, their new acoustic echo cancelling innovation. Included in every Nexia TC and Nexia VC, as well as AudiaFLEX with the AEC-2HD Card, Sona delivers full, real sound to nearly any conferencing environment. Now conversations come through full, rich and completely authentic.

Sona sets a new standard in acoustic echo cancellation, delivering tail lengths of up to 300ms and convergence as fast as 100dB per second. The system also provides full 20Hz to 20kHz wideband AEC without compromising core DSP resources, and makes setting gain structure nearly effortless. Installations are faster, even in large and acoustically challenging spaces.

Key Features:

• Incredibly natural sound
• Tail length of up to 300ms
• Convergence rate of up to 100dB per second
• Less sensitive to changes in gain
• Full duplex transmission of speech, including double-talk
• True 20Hz to 20kHz wideband AEC
• Faster installation and setup
• Improves sound in large and acoustically challenging rooms
• Available in Nexia and AudiaFLEX firmware

Click here for Sona’s product specs. »

Click here more Biamp featured products. »

The Vision Viewer™ 7880 makes it easy to focus on teaching, easily capturing images and movies. Simply plug the document camera into the USB port, launch the software, and go! There are no confusing cables or buttons to sort out, which can bring your lesson plan or presentation to a standstill.

You’ll also receive superior image quality in real time, displaying documents, nearby objects or even objects at a distance. This camera features auto focus, a factory-installed USB cable, 1280 X 1024 SXGA resolution, and comes complete with Applied Vision 4 Software.

Applied Vision 4 Software (AV4) enables you to connect your Ken-A-Vision digital product to your computer for viewing, capturing and manipulation of video and still images. Key features include: multi-camera support, full screen viewing, digital zoom, video rotation, time lapse recording, and much more.

With the Ken-A-Vision Vision Viewer™ 7880, you can get a top of the line document camera at a rock bottom price!

Click here for product specs. »

Click here to view other featured document cameras. »

Now you can mount any interactive whiteboard in front of your existing chalk or dry erase board! Simply slide it over when not in use! Diversitrack is the first sliding track mount system of its kind for interactive whiteboards, supporting the industry’s top brands such as SMART™ Technologies. Diversitrack can help your classroom retain your dry erase and chalk board space while enabling you to use your SMART Board where you want it, when you want it.

The Diversitrack employs a very secure and durable dual-track system, which includes rails that attach above and below your existing chalk or dry erase board. The Diversitrack mounts over a standard height dry erase board or chalk board, up to 58.25 inches tall. The Diversitrack is professionally manufactured out of a strong grade of aluminum, using a high-tech laser. Using an innovative clip system, the Diversitrack can accommodate the SMART SB580, SB560, SB640, SB660 and the SB680 in addition to whiteboards made by other major manufacturers. The Diversitrack is also equipped with a system to securely hold your interactive whiteboard in its calibrated position while it is in use.

The Diversitrack is already in use in hundreds of classrooms. Ask your AVI-SPL Sales Representative about how the Diversitrack can help you use your interactive whiteboard more effectively, without having to give up an inch of your dry erase and chalk board space!

Click here for more posts on SMART Technology products »

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The technophiles, especially Apple groupies, have been eagerly waiting for (and speculating about) the official announcement about Apple’s new tablet computer. Today, Steve Jobs, along with a slew of Apple executives and developers, unveiled the iPad. With a starting price of $499, this sleek tablet could make a big impact on the AV industry.

A few uses:

• In conference rooms instead of significantly-more-expensive touch panel displays (with the right software- perhaps with the newly released Crestron XPanel for Mac?)
• In classrooms replacing textbooks, scientific calculators, pocket translators, calendars and desktop computers with one device
• For presenters, iWork – Keynote allows users to present natively by connecting to a projector

What other uses can you think of?

For more information about the iPad, click here.

Are you ready to make the move to 3D? The 3D projection market continues to expand, as Sharp has entered the growing market. Sharp’s suite of six 3D-ready, DLP BrilliantColor professional projectors aim to stand above the competition with energy saving features such as low standby power consumption, in addition to an  expanded lamp life through eco mode operations.

Sharp’s six new models include the following:

• PG-D45X3D (4,500 ANSI lumens, XGA native resolution)
• PG-D40W3D (4,000 ANSI lumens, WXGA native resolution)
• PG-D3510X (3,500 ANSI lumens, XGA native resolution)
• PG-D3010X (3,000 ANSI lumens, XGA native resolution)
• PG-D2710X (2,700 ANSI lumens, XGA native resolution)
• PG-D2500X (2n500 ANSI lumens, XGA native resolution)

Key elements behind the new models also include a wireless remote with a built-in spotlight function and on-screen pointer to support presentations. As a safety feature, the projector automatically shuts off if the lens cover is closed more than 30 minutes.

All models are expected to be rolled out by April 2010.

Unified Communications (UC) tools are moving out of the board room and into the realm of higher education. In a great post on the UC Strategies blog, Blair Pleasant discusses a variety of areas that universities could use UC to streamline communications between faculty, staff, students, and others.

All UC vendors today are trying to find ways to differentiate themselves from one another and to stand out from the crowd. I generally recommend that they focus on professional services and/or applications, especially vertical applications. One vendor that has been successfully building UC applications and solutions based on its vertical expertise is NEC, which is working with its partners to understand the business challenges and business processes in the areas of health care, hospitality, higher education, and government.

For the full text of the blog post, click here.

For more information about UC products and services from AVI-SPL, click here.

The Awards Maker can be utilized for more than the Awards Ceremonies. Here are some ideas on how to utilize it year round! Use it to fundraise, create incentives, highlight specific programs, or educate.

Fundraising

Create stickers to sell during Valentine’s Day rather than sell carnations. There are several great templates in the Design Center software you could use to sell these unique valentines.

Sell stickers to support different clubs in your school. Whether it is the chess club, drama club or even a sport, you can create small stickers that students can stick to mugs or notebooks. You could also use the bumper sticker templates for a bigger sticker with a larger profit.

For spirit week, sell graduation year stickers and use this as a way to see who has the most spirit – the more stickers sold equals a winner! High Schools students will enjoy the creations you make on the clear sticker because they can stick these onto the windshields of their cars.

If sporting events cause trouble with parking, why not make a few bucks off of it? Sell VIP parking passes that you can create using the Awards Maker. Let these folks park in the spots closest to the stadium.

Get your Marketing classes involved on the fundraising and ask them to contact local businesses. Sell water bottles, notebooks, or pencils with special labels during sporting events or during lunch periods. The sticker may even include a coupon, so student can take the water bottle or sticker to the business for a special discount.

Create Incentives

Highlight student achievements in the Accelerated Reader program by giving them a bookmark for each new level they reach in the program. Simply print one of the ribbon stickers and stick to manila card stock to create a sturdy, useful award to keep them reading!

p>Motivate students to hand in assignments in a timely manner by creating simple, quick stickers that say something like “way to go”. These stickers can be personalized with their name to make them special.

When a student consistently makes improvements in their grades, why wait to give them an award at the awards ceremony? Create a plaque or bumper sticker to show them you see their efforts and are proud of what they’ve accomplished.

Use the Awards Maker to create stickers that show a student their improvements. Maybe you’re working on learning a complicated concept. Give them an award for after mastering each portion of the concept. By the end of the unit, they will have all collected a complete set of these incentives.

Highlight Specific Programs

If you are working on character education year round, pass out stickers to students who embody the concept you are teaching. For example, you notice one of your students is willing to share supplies with another classmate. Showcase that student’s positive behavior with a small sticker with her name and what she embodies.

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Start a “Random Acts of Kindness” program at your school and reward students with a sticker when you see them exhibit kindness to classmates. This small incentive will help them to understand how their behavior has made a positive impact within the school.

If your school has a Head Start program, create bumper stickers to help the program grow. The more exposure the program has in the community, the better your chances are of enrolling additional students.

Create plaques or window stickers for teachers who are working towards or earned their National Certification. This allows parents and visitors to see how many teachers you have that are dedicated to their own growth as educators.

Educate

The bumper sticker templates can help teachers create word walls in their classrooms. All the colored sticker media has a temporary adhesive making them easy to peel off of the wall after use. Because the stickers are not made of paper, they shouldn’t apply to the percentage of wall space covered by paper rule the Fire Department enforces.

You can also create stickers the students can utilize while they are learning new concepts like math formulas or grammar rules. The more they see the rules and concepts, the more likely they are to remember them. If it’s posted on their notebook, they’ll see and use them every day!

Create puzzles by creating stickers with vocabulary words and definitions on separate stickers. Press the stickers to a card stock to make them sturdy and use them like flash cards. Have the students match the words to their definitions for a group project that is fun and educational.

As you can see, there are several great applications that you can utilize your Awards Maker for in addition to the twice yearly Awards ceremony. With the quick print times, you can get in and out of the workroom with great incentives that will wow your students with little effort on your part!

To view Varitronics® full-line of visual learning products, click here.