Moses Lake School District Selects Hitachi StarBoards For District-Wide Technology Upgrade

-- Washington School District Purchases Over 100 Hitachi Interactive Whiteboards For Student Curriculum For All Grade Levels and Subject Areas --

Moses Lake School District in Moses Lake, Washington has chosen Hitachi Software StarBoards for its student curriculum for all grade levels and subject areas, providing a district-wide technology upgrade that truly enhances the overall educational experience. Purchased through Troxell Communications, the school has allocated over 100 Hitachi FXDUO-77 model StarBoards along with the award-winning Hitachi CP-A100 3LCD ultra-short-throw projector as part of the Hitachi CPA100+FXDUO bundle.

Rick Rose, director of technology for the Moses Lake School District, explained that the features of the Hitachi StarBoard were a major factor in the purchase decision. “We compared all of the competing brands and the DUO technology was the most impressive feature. In fact, Hitachi was the only interactive whiteboard company that offered this technology.” Mr. Rose also noted that Hitachi’s all-in-one solution was a deciding factor. “Given that we purchased a large quantity, it was critically important that we received seamless technology from one provider. We knew Hitachi had built the StarBoard and projector with this type of integration in mind.”

For Moses Lake, the StarBoard investment has already shown immediate results. “I’ve found that the majority of my students are completely engaged when the StarBoard is being used, especially when they know they have the opportunity to go up in front of the class,” stated fourth grade teacher Monica McAtee. Ms. McAtee also believes the features of the StarBoard make her lessons more efficient. “I love the Google search feature. I believe the learning process for students is significantly improved when I can quickly and conveniently search Google images to give students visual representation of what we are studying.”

Moses Lake Middle School math teacher Mark Thompson has also quickly found success using the StarBoard. “With the StarBoard I am able to take any piece of material, such as a page out of a math textbook, manipulate it with the navigation tool and then make annotations. When I’m finished I can save what I have started and continue the lesson the next day with the option of clearing the notes and starting fresh.”

Moses Lake has also deployed the new StarBoard Software 9.0 for Mac on the StarBoards in many classrooms within the district. “Our ultimate goal is to have interactive whiteboard technology in all classrooms. Since we are a dual-platform district with 40 percent of our district running on Macs, we can deploy the StarBoard in any classroom throughout the district knowing all our teachers will be getting the same performance.”

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

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.”

Casita Center For Science, Technology, and Math Implements Hitachi StarBoards To Take Learning To A Higher Level

-- Casita Center, A California Magnet Elementary School, Has Successfully Created A Fully Integrated Curriculum Using Interactive Whiteboards --

In an effort to provide the best possible learning experience in math and science, the Casita Center has integrated Hitachi StarBoards into classes at the elementary level. Sold through Troxell Communications, Casita has installed Hitachi FXDUO77 interactive whiteboards, as well as Hitachi 3LCD digital projectors CP-X200, CP-X201 and CP-X251 series.

The Vista Unified School District founded Casita Center for Technology, Science, and Math as a magnet school in 1992. As a magnet school, they create new and exciting ways for children to learn and for teachers to teach, in addition to offering an expanded learning experience with a special focus on technology, science and mathematics.

Casita educators have made it their goal to effectively implement the StarBoards into their everyday lessons. “It’s not enough to just have the technology, you need to seek out the content to maximize its potential as an educational tool. Hitachi’s interactive whiteboard content also provides content that I can immediately utilize as part of a lesson plan,” stated science teacher Jamie Hagen-Holt. “In fact, a key priority is to ensure that lessons being taught on the Hitachi StarBoard coincide with physical demonstration students can see, this is the most powerful way to maximize the learning experience.”

Additionally, Hitachi StarBoard’s durability have also proven to be a major selling point for the Casita School. “We knew that if this board was going to be in an elementary school classroom, it needed to be durable,” stated district technology coordinator Scott Hill. Being that the Hitachi board itself contains no electronics, we knew it would be best suited to hold up in this environment.”

Another major factor in selecting Hitachi whiteboards for Casita was due to its large screen. “When you’re dealing with a classroom full of elementary school age students, the size of the screen is crucial. They need to be able to see the detail of everything that is being displayed. While this might not be considered a significant technology feature, for educators it is extremely important,” stated math teacher Sue Ritchie.

Since implementing the Hitachi whiteboards, the teachers have embraced them and enjoyed the new creativity it allows them to bring to their teaching. Our goal is ensure that we have a StarBoard in every classroom,” said Mr. Hill. “We need to make sure we are giving all of our students the same opportunities to enhance their education using the latest in technology.”

Hitachi Expands Capabilities of Educational Technology Outside the Classroom With Hitachi StarBoard Viewer for Interactive Whiteboards and Panels

– Free download offers industry-first capabilities for educators. –

— Hitachi Software Engineering America, Ltd. today announced the release of its StarBoard Viewer software for interactive whiteboards and panels. Hitachi StarBoard Viewer is a free download that not only allows users to open any file formatted with Hitachi’s industry-leading StarBoard software, but also to make edits and save work—even while disconnected from Hitachi StarBoard presentation products. StarBoard Viewer is the only software of its kind that allows users to save their changes for later use on interactive whiteboards panels and tablets.

The Hitachi StarBoard Viewer allows users to view, modify and save StarBoard Software files on any computer and present the material using any brand of interactive whiteboard. The software is an open license application with features similar to Hitachi’s StarBoard 3.0 Light Edition software. It offers core interactive whiteboard tools including virtual whiteboard space, digital inks, the ability to manipulate objects, and the StarBoard toolbar. StarBoard Viewer differs from competitive viewers in its ability to save changes to files, enabling it to help build and deliver lessons outside of regular class time.

“Often times, there’s a divide between what students and teachers can do with learning technology in the classroom and what can be taken home. Our goal with StarBoard Viewer is to close that gap,” said John Glad, Product Manager for Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. Business Group.. “With a free download of StarBoard Viewer, educators and students can view and work with classroom presentations even when they’re away from the presentation products they use at school.”

Hitachi StarBoard Viewer allows new flexibility for teachers using tablets and interactive whiteboards in their classrooms. They can use the viewer to perfect their plans and presentations outside of the classroom, enabling smoother transitions between lessons when class is in session. For educators who switch schools or boards regularly, the viewer allows teachers to continue to use StarBoard files as they go from class to class.

Students will also benefit from availability of the free StarBoard Viewer download. Because all work done on Hitachi interactive whiteboards and tablets can easily be saved and shared, the StarBoard Viewer software ensures that students can open and review lessons as they were first experienced in class. Children out sick can have classroom board work sent to them and opened with the viewer, ensuring that they keep up with their classmates. Because work can be edited and saved using the viewer, students can also create presentations at home for use in class, increasing time for classroom presentation.

“At Hitachi, we realize that educators choose their classroom technology very carefully and that they want only those products capable of providing them with the most flexible, long-lasting use,” added Mr. Glad. “We’re focused on ensuring that educators get the very most from their classroom technology, and StarBoard Viewer was created to help expand usage of StarBoard products outside the classroom.”


The StarBoard Viewer is available for download on the Hitachi Software Engineering America website:
http://StarBoard.hitachi-soft.com/jsp/hitachi/hitachisoft/icg/StarBoard_viewer/dwnload_t.html