DIVING BENEATH THE TECHNOLOGY SURFACE

Getting the Most out of

Tablets with Insight 360
OCTOBER 2014
CHALLENGE
I need to nd the best solution for a 1:1 tablet
initiative that provides students and educators
with an interactive, mobile learning platform for
classroom collaboration. That was the dilemma
faced by Selanie Hubbert. She is one of nine
instructional technology coaches responsible
for ensuring the districts 1,600 teachers are
trained and prepared to incorporate educational
technology into lessons and assessments. The
passage of a bond levy created new revenue
opportunities for the district to purchase tablets
for its more than 7,200 elementary-level students.
It would be in the hands of the instructional
technology team to gure out how to maximize
the tablets classroom capabilities.
SOLUTION
After extensive research and several pilot
tests, Selanie and the instructional technology
team recommended eInstruction by Turning
Technologies Insight 360 for the districts tablet
initiative. Insight 360 was not only user-friendly,
but unique in the fact that it provided teachers
with mobile presentation options and constructed
response capabilities, said Hubbert. The highly
customizable solution presented educators with
superior functionality to remotely manage their
desktop, launch assessments, annotate content
and review real-time reports from anywhere in the
room with their tablet. Meanwhile, students could
easily connect to class and actively participate
in collaborative lessons and assessments with
the Insight 360 Student app. When visiting the
classrooms and talking with teachers, Selanie
said, I immediately witnessed a higher level of
engagement with the students.
The children were much more motivated to learn
once they realized that teachers could see a live
view of their work on the tablet.
Educators now had the exibility to adjust
instruction on the y by collecting immediate
feedback of what concepts students understood
or struggled to comprehend. From a training
perspective, Insight 360 ofered a fresh take
on implementing technology in a 21
st
century
classroom. We spend countless hours
experimenting and testing every aspect of
software and right away we could embrace the
simplicity of Insight 360, said Hubbert. Teachers
that struggled in the past with educational
technology solutions noted that Insight 360
provided them with a system they could learn in
a few easy steps. Exceptional tools on an easy-
to-use platform allowed educators to create
and deliver memorable lessons without being
intimidated by technology.
CONCLUSION
The success of Insight 360 at the elementary-
level did not go unnoticed. Recently, the district
appointed Selanie as its new Instructional
Technology Director. Shes currently working to
seek additional funding in hopes of expanding
the technology throughout Midlands entire
36-building network, reaching more than 24,000
students. Theres been overwhelming support
for Insight 360 that Im condent well be able to
secure the necessary funding in the near future
to expand the software beyond elementary, said
Hubbert. The implementation of Insight 360 and
tablets in a blended environment not only sparked
student interest, but also changed the mind set of
education in Midland, Texas.
Selanie Hubbert is an Instructional Technology Coach with
Midland Independent Schools, located in Midland, Texas.