Holy Family Catholic School Deploys Hitachi Software StarBoards To Provide Students With Interactive Learning Opportunities

-- Texas Catholic School Integrates Hitachi Interactive Whiteboards For All Four Major Subject Areas --

Chula Vista, Calif, September 8, 2009 – The Holy Family Catholic School, in Fort Worth, Texas has chosen Hitachi Software StarBoards to advance classroom technology and provide students with a more hands-on learning experience. The school utilizes nine of the Hitachi FX DUO-77 model StarBoards along with the award-winning Hitachi CP-A100 3LCD ultra-short-throw projector as part of the Hitachi CPA100+FXDUO bundle.

Dr. John Shreve, principal at the Holy Family Catholic School, explained the factors that were considered when purchasing the Hitachi StarBoard compared to the other brands of interactive whiteboards. “We looked at many interactive whiteboard brands. We chose Hitachi because of four major factors; the durability of the board, ease of use, price, and the training and support we received and continue to receive,” stated Dr. Shreve.

Kimberly Pierce, 6th grade teacher at the Holy Family Catholic School explained how she is using the StarBoard everyday across multiple subject areas. “I use it in science class when I connect a handheld microscope to the computer and the enlarged image of the specimen is projected on the StarBoard. This technology has also proved to be an effective way of conducting lab exams. The protractor, ruler and stopwatch are great tools for math, and in language arts we use it for paragraph editing and sentence diagramming,” stated Mrs. Pierce.

The integration of the StarBoards into the curriculum was a smooth transition for the Holy Family Catholic School. “Initially, our teachers were a bit anxious. When the teachers had their initial preview of the technology, they were excited about the possibilities of how they could present lessons that would engage students and promote quality interaction. After one year of experience, teachers and students are working together to master the features of the StarBoard. I have witnessed student engagement like I have never seen before. Many students who were originally reluctant to respond are now excited about going up to the board to participate,” stated Dr. Shreve.

Wanda Styrsky, 4th grade teacher at Holy Family Catholic School, believes the StarBoard has been helpful for saving time in her lesson preparation. “Scanning infinite amounts of previously created work and being able to write and edit on the board is a beneficial tool that I now could not do without,” stated Mrs. Styrsky.

The student reaction to the technology has been overwhelmingly positive. “They absolutely love it. It empowers them to be more creative, expressive, and in control of their learning. They are more attentive and eager to participate,” added Mrs. Pierce.

“Those who are apprehensive receive help and encouragement from their classmates. I have yet to experience a situation where students were made to feel insecure about using the board,” stated Mrs. Styrsky.

The Holy Family Catholic School plans to integrate more StarBoards for the upcoming school year. “We plan on purchasing additional bundles for our classrooms this year. We’ve also been very blessed because parents and parishioners of our Church have provided generous donations to purchase the interactive whiteboards. Through events such as Back-to-School Night, our parents have been able to witness the learning opportunities that the interactive whiteboard technology offers,” added Dr. Shreve.

Hitachi StarBoards Add Up For Kamiakin High School

- Washington High School Is Utilizing Hitachi StarBoards To Enhance Mathematics Education --

Math class has never been as exciting since Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Washington upgraded classroom technology with Hitachi Software StarBoard interactive whiteboards. Purchased through Troxell Communications, the school utilizes the Hitachi FXDUO-77 model StarBoard.

Jenny Byrd, a mathematics teacher at Kamiakin, is utilizing the StarBoard in all of her classes. “Typically I have notes including pictures, definitions, examples and practice problems that I display onto my board. The Hitachi interactive whiteboard improves what I have previously done in many ways. I love that when I move on to the next page, the board has saved my work on the prior page. This allows me to switch back and forth to the example problem if the students are struggling on a practice problem,” stated Ms. Byrd.

According to Byrd she has also found ways to use the interactive whiteboard with other technologies. “I use the board in conjunction with my calculator software to display graphs. It allows the students to actually see me touching the buttons and their location on the board.”

Additionally, the interactive whiteboards have become an asset in the rare circumstance that the teacher is absent. “When I have a substitute, I record my voice and interactions into the board for the sub to play. The students no longer fall behind if the sub is not familiar with the type of mathematics the students are learning. It also allows for a more productive class with the students because the sub doesn’t have to try as hard to keep them engaged in a worksheet. The students now have a video to watch and notes to take and I can still give students practice problems to solve,” stated Ms. Byrd.

According to Ms. Byrd she looks forward to finding new and exciting ways to integrate the StarBoard into lessons. “There are many applications I look forward to adding to my classroom as time goes by. For example, I would like to add more interactive lessons, where students come up to the board and physically translate, rotate, dilate a shape or learn about fraction addition. There are also many math applications we could perform on the board to strengthen student understanding.”

Hitachi Adds Scott Coffee And Kristin Ford To Sales Team

- Scott Coffee Joins Hitachi As Southwest Regional Sales Manager, While Kristin Ford Has Been Named Northwest Regional Sales Manager --

Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group today strengthened its expert sales force with the appointments of Scott Coffee and Kristin Ford. Mr. Coffee has been appointed Southwest regional sales manager, while Ms. Ford joins Hitachi as Northwest regional sales manager.

Scott Coffee comes to Hitachi with extensive sales experience in the K-12 education market. Since 2006, he has served as western region manager for Renaissance Learning, Inc., where he was responsible for sales and reseller channel management throughout the western region for interactive hardware products. In his new position, he will be responsible for sales of Hitachi 3LCD projectors in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

“It’s a thrill to be part of one of the most innovative projector manufacturers in the industry,” said Mr. Coffee. “I’m looking forward to being a part of Hitachi’s continuing growth and significantly contributing to the company’s success in the future.”

An industry veteran, Kristin Ford joins Hitachi from Epson, where she managed a 7-state region, selling computer imaging products, projectors, scanners and printers. Her experience in the education industry will serve her well as Northwest regional sales manager, where she is responsible for Hitachi 3LCD projector sales in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

“As projection technology continues to evolve, Hitachi leads the way for a variety of applications,” said Ms. Ford. “I am excited to join a market leader and I share Hitachi’s commitment to innovation, reliability and performance.”

“With the recent introduction of our 3LCD Professional Series, Hitachi is developing projectors that extend beyond our core markets to large-venue applications including staging, live performance venues and large houses of worship,” said Ray Soltys, director of sales, Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group. “Scott Coffee and Kristin Ford add even more industry experience to our sales team as Hitachi extends to these new applications while growing its market share in education, corporate and house of worship environments.”

Neumann College Selects Hitachi StarBoards As A Valuable Tool To Further Higher Education

-- Neumann College Utilizes Hitachi StarBoards for Professor and Student Education. --

Dedicated to providing students and professors with the best tools in a quest for higher education, Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania has purchased Hitachi StarBoards for multiple computer labs on campus. The StarBoards were sold through Troxell Communications. Neumann has installed Hitachi FXDUO77 interactive whiteboards, as well as award winning Hitachi CP-A100 3LCD projectors as part of the Hitachi CP-A100+FXDuo Bundle.

Neumann College is a private Roman Catholic, coeducational college comprised of 3,000 students. The College offers undergraduate degrees in a broad variety of subjects, six graduate programs, and an accelerated bachelor's degree program for adults. Neumann seeks to educate a diverse population of students in a scholarly, supportive, and caring environment.

Neumann understands the value of the StarBoard as an educational tool and has worked to ensure that both professors and students can utilize and benefit from the technology. “We haven’t had the boards for long but they are already very popular and extremely well received by our faculty and students. The boards are being used for programs to educate professors on course management software in addition to integrating them into normal classes that take place in the labs,” stated Neumann College media specialist Dan Smith. “We are particularly impressed with its ease of use.” The Hitachi StarBoard’s high touch resolution also factored into the decision to go with Hitachi. “Other boards we’ve had in the past required some type of tool to perform the interaction. With the Hitachi StarBoard the ability to just use your finger makes it extremely easy to use.”

While Neumann is still in the beginning stages of utilizing the StarBoards Mr. Smith sees the potential to expand the technology into other areas of the college. “There is no doubt that we would look to Hitachi in the future if we were to add additional interactive whiteboards. The StarBoard is a wonderful and productive tool that has been a great addition to the learning environment.”

Phoenix College Utilizes Widescreen And HD Capabilities Of Hitachi CP-WX625 3LCD Projectors

-- The Projectors Are Used For Visually Oriented Classroom Instruction Including Biology And Histology Labs --

Demonstrating the widescreen and HD capabilities of Hitachi CP-WX625 3LCD projectors, the Phoenix College campus of Maricopa Community Colleges recently upgraded to CP-WX625 projectors for several of its classrooms. The projectors were sold through Troxell Communications.

Installed this past summer, the Hitachi CP-WX625 projectors are currently being utilized for classroom applications such as biology, where detailed display is crucial to the learning experience. “We needed improved quality projection capability in order to provide students with crisp detail necessary for visually oriented instruction,” said Dr. Robin Cotter, an instructor in the biology department at Phoenix College. “We are currently using two projectors in my combined classroom, which accommodates more than 70 students.“

Prior to the upgrade to the Hitachi projectors, the school relied on a variety of technologies for their presentation needs, which were less than convenient. “We had a projector on a cart that we had to share, which often created scheduling conflicts, so convenience was an important factor for acquiring the Hitachi projectors,” said Dr. Patricia Finkenstadt, who teaches anatomy and physiology at Phoenix College.

Dr. Finkenstadt uses a CP-WX625 projector connected to a camera system to project dissections in her lab. “Being able to display these dissections in fine detail requires a projector that can display high-resolution images,” Dr. Finkenstadt said. “I also use a lot of slides in my histology classes, which requires high-resolution projection as well.”

The CP-WX625 LCD projector is specially designed for use with widescreen-format laptops and imaging applications that use 16:10 aspect ratios. Additionally, the CP-WX625 features an HDMI terminal, allowing digital signals such as DVD players/recorders and HD to be transmitted digitally to the projector. A 16-watt speaker output provides sufficient audio coverage, while a hybrid filter is side-mounted, allowing for easier maintenance. Further simplifying maintenance, the CP-WX625 also features a top-door lamp, making replacement much easier.

Despite the CP-WX625’s sophisticated display technology, Dr. Finkenstadt has found the projectors very easy to use. “Learning to operate the projectors required a minimal amount of training and I can walk into the classroom, turn the projector on and be ready to go,” she said.

“The adoption of the CP-WX625 projector by Phoenix College speaks to the product’s ability to display images in applications where very high image quality is critical,” said Ray Soltys, Director of Sales, Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group.

For more information on Troxell Communications, please visit www.trox.com

Robert Mattaini Joins Hitachi Software As Midwestern Education and Training Consultant

-- Mattaini An 18-year Sales Executive To Lead Hitachi Software Sales in the Midwest--

Hitachi Software Engineering America, Ltd. today announced the appointment of Robert Mattaini as Midwestern Educational and Training Consultant. In his new role as education and training consultant, Mattaini will serve as the primary liaison with educators and customers at various educational institutes throughout the Midwest to introduce Hitachi products and demonstrate how the StarBoard line can satisfy their education and business goals across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

Mr. Mattaini brings a wealth of experience in sales in both the medical and education markets. Prior to joining Hitachi, he served as territory manager for Educational Technologies, Inc. an interactive whiteboard manufacturing company. Additionally, Mattaini previously served as a territory manager for Straumann USA, a surgical equipment manufacturing company and as a territory manager for Biomet/Implant Innovations.

His primary responsibilities include growing Hitachi’s customer base in the Midwest while leading training sessions and attending sales-related events and trade shows. Mr. Mattaini will also nurture current and future relationships, and assist in training for dealers and end users.

“Robert is a seasoned 18-year sales executive with a diverse background specifically in the education market. He has the skills required to oversee a rapidly growing population of clients for Hitachi in this very important Midwestern region,” said Ted Wakabayashi, president of Hitachi Software Engineering. “We are excited to have Robert join our team and educate our clients on the benefits and optimal experience Hitachi StarBoards provide.”

“Having experience in the interactive whiteboard sales market, I was always aware of Hitachi’s outstanding reputation within the industry,” stated Mattaini. “I am thrilled to join Hitachi Software and help to grow the StarBoard’s market presence, and have the opportunity to bring our Midwestern clients the highest level of support and service they expect and need.”

Phoenix College Relies On Hitachi’s T-17SXL StarTablet To Maintain Its Flagship Technology Position In The Nation’s Largest Community College

--Hitachi’s T-17SXL StarBoard StarTablet Offers Enhanced Instructor-Facing Engagement With Students And A Scalable Solution For Any Sized Classroom--

Phoenix College prides itself on being the technology flagship for the entire Maricopa Community College District in Arizona – the single largest community college system in the United States and one of the largest in the world, with 10 colleges, two skill centers and numerous other education centers. Underscoring the media department’s mission of “continuously seeking out and implementing, dynamic, innovative leading educational technology,” Phoenix College has consistently turned to Hitachi, the leader in educational AV systems design, for its StarBoard interactive presentation system. In fact, this year, Phoenix College purchased 17 additional Hitachi T-17SXL StarBoard StarTablets through Phoenix based Troxell Communications, bringing the total number of Hitachi StarBoard systems used at the College to 101, including several 15-inch StarBoard models.

For an educational institution at the cutting edge of technology and one that offers its programs via distance learning online as well as in the traditional classroom, the T-17SXL StarBoard StarTablet is an indispensable educational and communications tool.

The Maricopa Community College District is the largest provider of health care workers and job training in Arizona — a major resource for business and industry and for individuals seeking education and job training. It offers approximately 1,000 occupational programs (degrees and certificates), and 37 academic associate degrees, from among 10,254 available courses. As the recognized flagship of this complex school system, Phoenix College takes its technology mandate seriously. “We wanted to create the most comprehensive classroom possible, one that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of innovation and emerging technology by providing an ever expanding professional instructional environment,” explains Mike Poplin, Director of Media Services at Phoenix College. “Most other classrooms in the system have a projector and computer, but our classrooms also include a PadCamera, DVD/VHS combo player, classroom control panel, and inputs for a laptop computer and jump drives. The Hitachi StarBoards have been an integral part of this effort to lead the way in educational technology.”

Poplin says the ongoing acquisition of the Hitachi StarBoards began about four years ago, following a careful evaluation of competitive offerings.. “The buzzwords at the time were ‘smart’ and ‘smart panel,’ but most products have major limitations,” he says, such as the instructor to face away from the class to use the boards and limited projection sizes. The Hitachi StarBoard series, however, addressed all of those shortcomings. “The projection image size is limited only by the size of the projection screen, so it’s a very scalable solution,” he says. “Additionally, instructors can use the StarBoard while they’re facing the class, which really helps communication between instructor and student, and the software is fantastic.”

Hitachi’s software allows conferencing among up to 42 sites or student workstations with character recognition software to run applications with freehand writing and object recognition software that converts freehand geometric objects, such as circles and triangles, to smooth drafting quality geometric objects.

Functionality such as Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, color, adjust line width, etc. make for a user-friendly interface as easy and intuitive as most word processing programs. The T-17SXL raises the bar in tablet presentation technology with a 17-inch LCD display screen that boasts SXGA resolution with excellent color and contrast. The T-17SXL also has a thin screen that assures natural, accurate operation. Other technological innovations include built-in video pass-through permitting the connection of projectors and computers with the StarBoard system without requiring an external video splitting amplifier. “The Hitachi StarBoard has been an integral part of keeping Phoenix College at the cutting edge of our school system,” says Poplin. “It’s hard to imagine being there without it.”

For more information on Troxell Communications please visit: www.trox.com

St. John The Baptist Tees It Up For Technology With Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser For Hitachi Starboard FX Duo Interactive Whiteboards

-- Minnesota Catholic School Hosts Annual Golf Tournament to Raise Money for Purchase of Interactive Whiteboards --

Focused on providing all students with increased technology in the classroom at St. John the Baptist School, their 3rd annual golf tournament was dedicated to raising money for the purchase of additional Hitachi StarBoard interactive whiteboards.

Our annual golf tournament provides us with an event to help raise funding for school improvements with no impact on our operating budget,” said Mike Moch, Principal at St. John the Baptist. “Each year we select a unique project and this year we believe StarBoards were a great way to utilize the money raised.”

St. John the Baptist School in Excelsior, Minnesota put the Hitachi StarBoard FX Duo 77 to the test. Beginning with the purchase of one 77-inch Hitachi Starboard and another competitive model, St. John’s wanted to decide which one would be the right choice for implementation across the entire school.

“After we had a chance to evaluate both, the Hitachi Starboard definitely came out as the winner,” Mr. Moch said. “Its ease-of-use, large scale of capabilities, and the fact that it was a more cost-effective solution led to our decision to go with StarBoards.”

St. John the Baptist now has over ten Hitachi FX Duo 77 boards in the school and has also purchased the award winning Hitachi CP-A100 ultra short-throw projector for one of the classrooms, all purchased through Phoenix based Troxell Communications.

According to Moch, the investment in Hitachi Starboards has already paid off--teachers that usually tutor students offsite in the summer have instead been able to utilize the StarBoards at school.

“Additionally, our teachers are very excited about having this new educational tool for their use during the upcoming school year. In fact, we have already put a program into place where we have paired more technically savvy teachers with those who aren’t so that they can learn from their peers, which is the best way to utilize the StarBoards in their lessons.”

Mr. Moch added that teachers have noticed increased participation from students who weren’t necessarily active learners in the past. “We haven’t changed the way we teach, but we have changed our method of teaching, which has caused a wave of excitement that will certainly make the classroom more fun this upcoming school year.”

For more information on Troxell Communications please visit: www.trox.com

Texas School District Reaches Technology and Professional Goals Aided By Hitachi Technology Solutions

The Lovejoy Independent School District adopted 235 Hitachi StarBoard FXDUO interactive whiteboards for its schools and Hitachi provided complimentary training to promote effective use of the technology

Hitachi, a leader in educational technology, is the chosen supplier of interactive whiteboards for the Lovejoy, Texas Independent School District (ISD). The sale, through Phoenix-based Troxell Communications, will bring a total of 235 Hitachi StarBoard FXDUO 77 interactive whiteboards into the five schools (three elementary, one middle school and one high school) that comprise the north Dallas school district. Furthermore, Hitachi education consultants provided 5 days of instruction at the district’s annual professional development conference, “Learning at Lovejoy.” The goal of the 3-week conference was to prepare teachers for new school year challenges and to effectively integrate educational technology, such as the FXDUO 77 interactive whiteboard into daily instruction.

The Hitachi interactive whiteboards add a new dimension in classroom instruction to Lovejoy ISD, through the collaborative use of the whiteboard technology by both students and teachers. “We wanted to convert our learning environment into a more interactive environment, achieve better student engagement and an improved learning environment,” explains Dennis Womack, Assistant Superintendent for Operations at the Lovejoy ISD. “The Hitachi FXDUO 77 whiteboard is a significant part of the technology we’re using to achieve that. We’ve planned for putting one of the interactive whiteboards into each of the district’s classrooms in order to make them into ‘discovery rooms.’”

After carefully considering the options available on the market, Lovejoy ISD chose the Hitachi FXDUO 77 because of the product’s superior design and construction, noted Womack. “The board is built in such a way to allow for multiple users at one time, which encourages student and teacher collaboration.”

According to Womack, the technology is built around the whiteboard instead of into it, making it far less fragile than other designs, which is important in any school environment

“We also liked the fact that you’re not restricted to a proprietary writing instrument – you can use your finger, the back of your hard, or whatever you want to write on the board. Furthermore, the training received from Hitachi has been excellent.”

The Hitachi FXDUO 77 StarBoard is a 77-inch multi-touch interactive whiteboard that can be operated with finger touch or a pen/stylus, and includes educational software to build and deliver interactive lessons with online and offline library of resources that have been aligned to US educational standards.

ABOUT HITACHI
Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group, subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., markets LCD projectors, interactive panels and whiteboards and security and observation system products through value added resellers, system integrators, distributors and OEM.

Hitachi has a unique position in the marketplace by manufacturing and developing its own core technologies to provide consumers and businesses with optimal product performance in each of Hitachi's product categories. For Business products go to www.hitachi.us/digitalmedia. For consumer products, please visit www.hitachi.us/tv.

Hitachi Software Engineering America, Ltd. develops advanced interactive communications tools for education, training and boardroom applications including interactive whiteboards, plasma displays and tablets all powered by the company’s category-leading StarBoard software. For more information about Hitachi Software, visit www.hitachi-soft.com.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, visit www.hitachi.us.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 390,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2007 (ended March 31, 2008) consolidated revenues totaled 11,226 billion yen ($112.2 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachi.com.

Hitachi FX Duo Starboard Demo - 2 of 2

Hitachi FX Duo Starboard Demo - 1 of 2

Hitachi Appoints Annie Sunseri To Position Of Northeast Regional Sales Manager

Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group has appointed Annie Sunseri as Northeast regional sales manager. Ms. Sunseri brings over 15 years experience in sales and marketing, most recently as an independent marketing consultant advising clients in event marketing, channel marketing, channel development and non-profit event management. Ms. Sunseri previously served as the senior marketing events manager for InFocus Corporation, a digital projection company. In this role she developed all corporate marketing, sales and reseller/vendor partner events and tradeshows.

Ms. Sunseri’s responsibilities will include generating sales of Hitachi LCD projectors to dealers that serve various markets throughout the Northeast, including education, houses of worship, government, corporate and SOHO/home office. Because of their ease of installation, intuitive operation and affordability, Hitachi projectors offer the lowest cost of ownership in the industry.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in the audio/video industry, given the rapid evolution of technology and the continuing maturation of numerous markets,” Ms. Sunseri said. “Furthermore, I am thrilled to be joining Hitachi, one of the most successful and innovative companies in the industry.”

Hitachi Appoints Ray Soltys To Position Of Director of Sales, Business Group

Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., Business Group has announced the appointment of Ray Soltys to the position of Director of Sales, Business Group, effective immediately. Mr. Soltys will be responsible for sales of Hitachi LCD projectors and Hitachi Software interactive panels and whiteboards.

Mr. Soltys has been with Hitachi since 2000, advancing from regional sales manager to become national sales manager in October 2002. During his time with Hitachi, Mr. Soltys has contributed significantly to the company’s continued position as the leading projector manufacturer in the pro A/V industry, while helping expand sales to Central and South America.

In his new position, Mr. Soltys looks forward to continued success and growth. “Given Hitachi’s tremendous success in the past, a main priority of mine is to keep the same business practices intact while continuing to grow our projector and interactive whiteboard businesses,” he said. “We have done a terrific job reaching beyond traditional markets while also expanding into new regions. Four years ago, we began efforts to grow Hitachi’s business in South America and it’s gone extremely well for us. This region offers new opportunities for growth as South America continues to adopt cutting-edge presentation technology.”

According to Mr. Soltys, Hitachi’s dedication to innovation and providing end-users with the lowest cost of ownership in the industry lies at the heart of the company’s success. “Our networking solutions for Hitachi LCD projectors has been a huge selling point across the board, since it allows users to control and manage their investment from a remote location,” he said. “Plus, that investment goes farther with Hitachi projectors because of our commitment to customer service, long lamp life, and very little maintenance.”