Where we go from here?

Today the computer is almost as ubiquitous as the text book in schools and yet only the surface of its true potential as a teaching tool has been revealed. Almost every school has at least one computer lab or portable computer cart and many have several. While still in the minority there is a move among some school districts to put a computer in every students hands from the 6th to 12th grade. At some not to distant point in the future, the use of the computer will be as prevalent among students and educators as the use of pencil and paper is today.

Yet, this rush to the future with computers in the classroom seems to have hit a speed bump or two along the way. The great potential of the computer has also brought along with it pitfalls that seek to undermine its ability to revolutionize teaching the way paper revolutionized the written word. Herein lies the challenge, how do we make the computer serve our education needs instead of compete with them, empower teachers without overwhelming them, and inspire students without distracting them.

At MasterSolution we’re asking these same questions. For the past four years MasterSolution has helped teachers and students collaborate in the computerized classroom with Vision the most widely used screen sharing and supervision tool in education. This year we will be focusing on improving our existing offerings and adding new ones to help empower education through the use of computers. Here’s a glimpse of things to come.

Vision Plug-Ins
In the next few weeks we will be expanding the functionality of Vision through the release of two new plug-ins. The first plug-in, Surf-Lock, will give teachers a single button to control student access to the Internet. With one click, the teacher will be able to determine if and when the Internet is available to all computers, a single computer or a group of computers in the classroom. The second plug-in, Push2Talk, is designed for use in computer labs using headsets and microphones. The Push2Talk plug-in will place a button on student computers providing a means to send voice requests to the teacher for help or clarification.

Many of our customers and potential customers have requested Vision support for the Macintosh platform. We are pleased to respond to these requests by introducing Vision for Macintosh OS 10 later this Spring. When released, Vision will be the only screen sharing, remote control, supervision, lock-down and annotation software running on both Windows and OS 10 platforms. Owners of the Windows version of Vision who want to run Vision on both operating systems will be able to upgrade to a cross-platform license and receive full credit for their existing license.

Vision for the Macintosh
Over the next 12 months we will continue to improve Vision with the expected roll out of two additional upgrades. Scheduled for this summer is an update to the recently released Vision 5. This update will provide a new installer and diagnostics to simplify the installation process across multiple computers and help identify potential network connectivity issues before they become a problem. Improvements will also be made to some of the new features that were included in version 5 including remote application launching, selecting different teacher computers to connect to, and the Mirror driver support for Open GL and Direct Draw. Later in the year we will be adding new functionality that will allow screen sharing, remote control and supervision across subnets and even over the Internet. This extended version of Vision will allow teachers to interact with computers in multiple locations even if those computers are located in different rooms, different buildings, across town or across the world.

New Tools for Teachers
Our ability to empower education won’t be limited to just improving Vision. In November of 2003 we introduced a completely new product for teachers called MasterPlanit. MasterPlanit is a planning and presentation tool that lets teachers gather and organize files, graphics, web links and other resources into an easy to use lesson format that can be presented to students through a single viewer. Powerful by itself, MasterPlanit works even better when combined with Vision. Following our strategy of offering products that seamlessly compliment each other, MasterPlanit lessons can be run directly from the Vision toolbar and displayed in a window on student computers.

This summer we will continue to expand our suite of teaching tools by offering a solution that provides teachers with real-time control over the student computer environment. Code named MasterConfig, this solution like MasterPlanit will integrate with and compliment existing MasterSolution products as well as future ones.

With MasterConfig the goal is to remove distractions and direct focus on the computer desktop for the subject or lesson being taught. Consider that every time a student turns on a computer they are greeted with a plethora of choices. Icons on the desktop beg to be pushed, programs and games lie just below the surface waiting to be called up, and around every corner lies the Internet demanding to be explored. Left in its original state, computers can become a distraction rather than an aid in the teaching process.

Traditional “security” products for schools do little to address this issue. They may restrict what students can do, or they may restore machines to a fixed state upon reboot, but they do not enforce the teacher’s notion of an appropriate and dynamic environment for learning.

With MasterConfig will address this issue by letting teachers present desktops to students in much the same way that books, paper and other materials are presented for class, while leveraging the advantages of computer-based instruction. This tool will allow for flexibility and dynamic reconfiguration of computers so that student’s “space” can be cleared and refreshed as each new class enters the room, providing only those components necessary to optimize the lesson being taught.

MasterConfig will be designed and built with the following key goals:
• Removing distractions from the computer
• Directing focus towards the subject matter
• Providing flexibility for different subjects and needs
• Providing means for easy distribution, collection and tracking of student assignments
• Interoperability with well established complimentary offerings in the security arena
• Simple, easy to understand wizards that let teachers of varying computer expertise setup student environments with a minimum of time, effort and training

MasterConfig is due to be released before the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year.

What Lies Ahead
This glimpse of our roadmap for the 2004 calendar year is just the beginning of our efforts to provide teachers with the tools they need to truly empower education through the use of computers. Further into the future we will be introducing additional solutions focusing on assessment and deployment keeping our overarching goal in mind of creating an interrelated suite of teacher centric tools that build upon one another. Should you be interested in learning more about MasterSolution and our view of the computerized classroom or wish to offer feedback on our products and solutions we welcome your input. You can call us toll free
at 866-725-7833 or email us at info.us@genevalogic.com.