Press Releases

Ocoee Middle School Replaces Slates, Electronic Whiteboards, with Doceri on the iPad from SP Controls

OCOEE, FLA., January 13, 2012 – At Ocoee Middle School in Central Florida, electronic whiteboards and slates are being replaced with Apple iPads and Doceri software from SP Controls. Teachers can move around the classroom while presenting lessons right from the iPad, and students no longer need to leave their seats to take their turns at the board.

Ocoee Middle School is Florida’s state technology demonstration school, rebuilt from the ground up in 2000 to show what could be done to create a 21st century facility using only the state’s allotted funding under its “Smart Schools Initiative.” The school is recognized as an Apple Distinguished School and remains on the leading edge of technology that improves the learning environment. As a technology showcase school, Ocoee Middle hosts regular tours for visiting educators and administrators to see real-world examples of effective use of technology in the classrooms.

This month, educators attending the Florida Education Technology Conference will see Doceri – as well as other technology innovations – in use in Ocoee Middle School Classrooms. FETC will be held Jan. 23-26 at the Orange Convention Center in Orlando. Those attending FETC can sign up for a complimentary Ocoee Middle School showcase tour at registration by 5pm on Wednesday Jan. 25. Busses leave for Ocoee at 9 am on Thursday Jan. 26.

Doceri can also be seen in the SP Controls booth 1045 at FETC.

Replacing stand alone interactive whiteboards with iPads and Doceri

The team teaching environment at Ocoee Middle allows teachers to share technology resources. Each classroom quad has access to 10 Macbooks, 22 iPod touches, 10 iPads and 32 PC computers. Anthony San Filippo is the instructional technology coach for all things Mac, and keeps on the lookout for new ways that teachers can incorporate the iPads into the classroom. After downloading a trial version of Doceri, San Filippo realized the iPad could now replace the electronic whiteboards and slates that had been in use, providing all the functionality and mobility with the added bonus of being able to see the projected image on the iPad screen for more intuitive access.

Using Doceri on the iPad, you can see in your hand what the class sees on the screen,” explains San Filippo. “Using the slates we had before, you had to look up at the board as you wrote. With Doceri I can see what I’m writing. This makes a tremendous difference for a teacher who has enough distractions in a middle school classroom.”

Doceri Desktop software resides on the classroom computer – Mac or PC – and it’s accessed via WIFI from the Doceri Remote iPad app. From the iPad, teachers can access the Internet or any program resident on the classroom computer and open, manipulate and annotate over any static file including Powerpoint presentations, pictures, documents and Web pages. Doceri’s powerful lesson creation platform allows teachers to create hand drawn lessons in advance, or on the fly, saving and replaying them for all of their classes.

All 12 of Ocoee’s math teachers are actively using Doceri in their classrooms, as well as an additional 12 teachers in language arts, social studies and science classes.

“We’re starting to roll Doceri out to the rest of the teaching staff this month,” said San Filippo. “The staff sees how easy it is to use Doceri – and how beneficial it can be to teach while standing right next to a student who becomes easily distracted.”

San Filippo provides the information about a new technology option via the school’s technology newsletter, and in the case of Doceri, meets one-on-one with those interested.

“Doceri is so intuitive,” he says, “that it doesn’t take long to get them started.”

Most of those already using Doceri at Ocoee Middle School are accessing files on their classroom computers. Language arts, science and social studies teachers are using Doceri to annotate PowerPoint presentations and other files. Doceri is especially popular in the math department. Teachers can create their daily lessons and record and replay their strokes on the iPad, creating ‘stop points’ to pause the flow of the lesson or back up through the steps of a math equation to show where an error has occurred.

Visit www.Doceri.com for more information including demonstration, how to and case study videos as well as a 30 day free trial of Doceri software.

About SP Controls

SP Controls, Inc., headquartered in South San Francisco, is a manufacturer of innovative audio-visual control products. The company has revolutionized audiovisual control technology for nearly fifteen years with its innovative, easy-to-use, and inexpensive products for classrooms and conference rooms.

When Apple announced the iPad, SP Controls immediately saw the potential for a new generation of simple, intuitive interface solutions: Doceri. SP Controls’ AV control, video/audio distribution, audio, networking, and mounting products are widely used in educational and corporate environments, making AV systems easier to use for everyone.