BrainChild Kineo, a 7-inch, 800MHz Android tablet, locked down for education use only. No unauthorized web browsing, no personal email, and no Angry Birds. It runs on a specified version of clair, the Kineo allows educators to limit student access to curriculum related apps, websites or features negating tablets potential of more distraction than learning tool. The first 5000 units are making their way to select districts in Texas, California, Tennessee, and a smattering of other states. Hit the video to see the tablet in action and for more details read the press release.
Here is the video
Here is the Press Release
Brainchild Kineo Tablet With GlobalSYNC, Just for Schools, Adopted in Ten States
Production Increased to Meet Demand
NAPLES, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kineo, the seven-inch tablet and eBook Reader from Brainchild (Brainchild.com), has been shipped to ten states since being introduced at the Florida Educational Technology Conference in February. The Kineos being deployed are all equipped with Brainchild’s standards-based curriculum, Achiever!, and GlobalSYNC technology.
“The mobile technology we sold fifteen years ago is still in use today. Our tablets are rugged and built for the long term so schools can be confident in their investment.”
“Kineo is an education-only tablet built for the ‘mission-critical’ environment in schools,” said Jeff Cameron, president of Brainchild. “A teacher cannot worry about bandwidth issues, screen freezes or free reign of the Internet. We have 16 years of experience in manufacturing handhelds and training teachers how to use standards-based curriculum. We’ve poured all of that experience into developing Kineo and GlobalSYNC.”
Experts agree that technology use in classrooms is most effective with good planning. President Obama’s National Education Technology Plan 2010 calls for using mobile devices with clear outcomes and driven by data, which are key elements of the Kineo/Achiever! combination. Kineo (see video at Brainchild.com or http://youtu.be/OvRi76FOpmo) is specially suited to work with Achiever! test-prep and learning software for data-driven, individualized instruction.
GlobalSYNC quickly synchronizes data from a school’s Kineos, on demand, to a convenient web-based interface. This gives schools flexibility in how they use Kineo because it stores data and only syncs when directed thus avoiding the network crashes that can happened with continuous data uploads.
Brainchild sold out of its initial production run of 5,000 Kineos, which were delivered in April to school districts in ten states, including North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. Many of these first implementations are for summer school programs focusing on remediation for struggling students. Production of new Kineos will increase each month to meet demand from throughout the country.
Brainchild introduced the concept of mobile learning in 1995 with its PLS-1000 handhelds, many of which are still in operation today. “With all of our products, sustainability and value is important,” said Cameron. “The mobile technology we sold fifteen years ago is still in use today. Our tablets are rugged and built for the long term so schools can be confident in their investment.”
