The LCT Family - Randy Self (Head Mushroom)

Some call it the Design Studio and some call it the Mushroom Farm, but, it's inmates are all unique individuals. Inside, it’s always dark. And, if you aren’t careful, you could find yourself in the crossfire of one of their impromptu Nerf wars.

The hours are long and the work is filled with strict deadlines and high-pressure projects, so, relieving stress with a soft Nerf bullet or a practical joke played on a co-worker is understandable and a welcome relief.

The head of this unique group, Randy Self, is a very talented Designer and Art Director. He is not only a visionary, but, also a hands-on, skilled craftsman--one of the originators of the Letters alive™ software that is putting Logical Choice on the cutting edge of educational augmented reality curriculum.

But how did someone like Randy come to be the “head mushroom in charge” in Logical Choice’s Mushroom Farm?

Randy’s degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta enabled this Sandy Springs, Georgia native to get a job with a special effects company in Lawrenceville, GA. All too often, that job led to a misunderstanding with area police. At 4 am, Randy and co-workers would stop by the local QT to buy a drink and a hotdog while covered in the blood (corn syrup and food coloring) used to make their ghoulish designs look like they were bleeding. The manufactured body parts in the trunk of his car did little to alleviate the concerns of the peace officers. When paychecks started arriving sporadically, Randy decided that as much as he enjoyed his job, he needed to find one with regular income.

Randy joined Logical Choice after the gaming company he worked for laid off its entire staff. The project they were working on, a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game which had an educational focus was almost  complete when it fell victim to a lack of financial backing. He began his career here as an installer where he lasted a whole day and a half before being introduced to the Customer Care Team. It was in that environment where he introduced our CEO, Cynthia Kaye, to Augmented Reality which led to the creation of Letters alive™.

The influence of his mother, a photographer, and his father, an engineer, prepared him for the path that his career would take here at Logical Choice. “My mom is a creative person who sees things in a creative way and taught me to do that, too. And, my dad is a step-by-step engineer who taught me to follow the steps and work logically,” Randy shared. “He also taught me to use power tools and build things. I had no idea there were people like plumbers and electricians and builders that you paid until I was older because I thought every project was done by father and son.”

Randy shared a little about what makes this company special. “Honestly, I love this company. There are companies that say they are family oriented, but, it doesn’t really work that way. Here, it feels genuine. We joke with each other and people actually get it and don’t get offended. We really are a family.” 

With his unique set of skills, quick wit, and fun sense of humor, Randy is an office favorite. He sees a bright future for Letters alive™ and future augmented reality products and software. “We can go anywhere. As we start dealing with it, we see what it can do – what the potential really is. There are opportunities for infinite expansion,” according to Randy. 

With the Head Mushroom, Randy Self, (alias Randolf Seawolf thanks to a nickname from C.K.), the journey is never boring, always enlightening and full of lots of laughter and Nerf bullets.

-Lisa K.

21st Century Campus Security Technology

Security is a growing concern in schools across the country. Now, more than ever, parents and educators are forced to deal with the threat of violence, vandalism, theft, and unauthorized access on campus. New technology is available to help solve security issues so that teachers and students can concentrate on learning. We are going to take a few weeks to talk about what is available and how it can easily be implemented into your school.

Secure Learning Environment

Today’s systems can incorporate 21^st Century Classroom Equipment into the security architecture. Features such as the Silent Alarm button, present on the ActivSound Pendant Microphone, allow teachers to have easy access to security functions, should the situation arise. A simple touch of the button located on the microphone alerts Campus authorities to a potential emergency and its location. Learn more about SAFE System: 

Other equipment, such as electronic locks, can keep unauthorized people out while instantly granting access to authorized personnel through the use of RFID keycards. The latest systems utilize wireless networking technology. This minimizes installation time and makes it possible to restrict access to a broader spectrum of physical locations. Lost keys can be immediately deactivated and new keys created which minimizes the risk of a security breach. More on Salto Systems:

Surveillance systems and network access video recorders afford greater protection and allow administrators and security personnel the ability to monitor activity remotely.  Here are more Surveillance solutions: 

Peace of Mind

Knowing their school systems are employing 21^st Century Campus Security Technology, parents will feel confident their children are protected. Educators can depend on these systems, as well, to guard their campus and their most precious responsibility: the students.

Teachers Cheer Letters alive™

Literacy professionals in attendance at the 55^th Annual Convention of the International Reading Association in Orlando were raving about Letters alive, the first classroom curriculum based on Augmented Reality technology. With the ultimate goal of teaching children to read, Letters alive allows students to interact with a kingdom of 26 entertaining, intelligent animals — each representing a letter in the alphabet — who virtually come alive in the hands of students. Here’s what some of the teachers who have used Letters alive have had to say:

“Letters alive is an amazing program!” —Rebecca, Pre-K Teacher

“The software is awesome! Very innovative and exciting!” —Janet, 17-year veteran kindergarten teacher

“The Letters alive curriculum is amazing! I love it!” —Jessica, Educational Consultant

“Letters Alive will undoubtedly aid in reading and developing comprehension. Great job, my fellow educators!!” —Robin, 21-year veteran 1^st-3^rd grade teacher

This groundbreaking supplemental curriculum is not only designed for pre-k and kindergarten classrooms, but it also targets specialized instruction within grades 1 - 5 for: ESL students (English as a second language), RTI students (Response to Intervention) and Special Needs students. Letters alive applies research-based, best practices of phonics curriculum, but in a way that has never been so engaging or so interactive for early learners.

The curriculum uses the same mind-blowing Augmented Reality technology implemented by the Imagineers at Walt Disney World. Accompanied by 94 Dolch sight word cards, the Letters alive creatures not only move and make sounds, but react intelligently as well. These animals not only possess the capacity to respond to students’ actions, but they also have the ability to answer their questions.

When the Letters alive cards are arranged to ask, “Can the frog swim?,” a projected image of Frankie Frog actually begins swimming! Next, have a child try “The frog can fly.” Then, Frankie will shake his head “No.” Let’s say a student puts down the cards to read, “The giraffe is red,” To the delight of your class, Gerdy turns from brown to red. By seeing the words in action, learning and retention becomes faster and stronger. As students encounter 3-dimensional characters like Gerdy Giraffe, Henry Horse or Frankie Frog, and see them respond to actions and questions, the students more quickly establish strong connections between the letters and the animals they represent. This includes understanding how letters sound phonetically and how they are used to form words. In addition, the students can easily learn the meanings of sight words and see how those words are used in sentences.

“Students learn best when you capture their imaginations,” said Cynthia Kaye, CEO of Logical Choice Technologies. “Then, they’ll not just be excited to learn; students will also be better able to retain and apply that knowledge. Letters alive directly involves students in what they’re learning on so many emotional levels. They get very involved in the learning process because the students want to see how the animals will react to the different sentences they build. As a result, it’s not just that the experience is effective and fun; it’s more effective because it’s fun.”

Letters alive provides a full school year of lesson plans that are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards currently being adopted in 48 states. Augmented reality applications for educational purposes, like those utilized in Letters alive, hold the promise of immersing students in experiential learning environments—even at levels beyond early elementary—that were quite unimaginable until now.

To learn more about Letters alive, visit www.logicalchoice.com, or visit our web store at www.logicalchoicestore.com.


-Brian B.

The LCT Family - Charity Hutchings (Strategic Team)

When you meet Charity Hutchings you immediately sense that she is much more than your typical 22 year old.

A quiet, hard working young woman with a work ethic that few can match, Charity regularly defines and meets deadlines in her position as a Strategic Team Associate and Bid Specialist for Logical Choice.

The Strategic Team is an integral part of the life of LCT because it seeks out requests for proposals and bids by using services that assist in finding opportunities and it relies on LCT’s sales team to bring in bids. Bids in turn, become long term business and revenue for Logical Choice. So, the Strategic Team members are very important people at LCT.

A tight knit group including, Charity Hutchings, Keila Johnson, and Jeff Wilson and managed by Christine DeYoung, the Strategic Team meshes well with one another.

“I was hired originally to be Ronnie Bertucci’s assistant four years ago, but within two months I began to work for Christine,” Charity said.  “I love working for Christine. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else because she’s a great boss. She’s understanding, patient, helpful, and she explains things. She taught me my most important lesson – that there is no “I” in TEAM.”

The Strategic team certainly works according to the no “I in TEAM rule”. It is one group that pitches in to help each other whenever there is a job to be done and they work hard to make each bid perfect and to gather all the information needed to demonstrate LCT’s best effort each and every time. They even get coffee together (at 3 pm every day!) and eat lunch together.

The most challenging part of Charity’s job is waiting on information to meet a deadline. “Bids are a very deadline driven area and it is hard to get everyone together to work on a bid when each person has so many other things to do,” Charity said.

But one of the things that Charity likes best about Logical Choice is that everyone here is nice and they don’t leave anyone out, “It’s a put-your-arms-around-each-other kind of place. LCT has ruined me for ever wanting to work anywhere else in corporate America,” Charity declared.

But Charity isn’t all work; she is also a trainer and accomplished rider and owner of a beautiful Appendix Quarter Horse, Mojo that she rides four to five times a week.

Born in North Carolina but growing up in Utah, Charity is part of a family of 6 brothers and both parents who all ride, not only horses but also bulls. This is a family who have made rodeo a way of life. Charity began riding at 7 years old on her horse, Tinkerbell, and knew she would do this for life.

When she graduated from High School at Faith Academy in Loganville, she immediately went to work for Michael Colvin, a world renowned trainer of American Quarter Horse Association horses.

Charity and her father rode for and trained with Michael Colvin until she met Kevin Shupenia, COO of Logical Choice, through the stable where she boards her horse, and he let her know about a job opportunity at LCT. She embarked on a career here and divided her time between her beloved horses and her work with the Strategic Team.

Three years ago, Charity’s time began to be taken up with a young man named Brandon Malcom, to whom she became engaged and plans to marry when a wedding date can be set. Brandon shares her love for horses and rodeo and is a former bull rider.

Charity is not your typical 22 year old, she’s a person with a lot of experience and talent to offer and we at Logical Choice Technologies are excited that happy trails led her to us.

Giving back to the Community - Gateway Homeless Shelter

Serving those in need is the duty of everyone who has been blessed with the means to give. We don't normally publish the acts of service that we perform for the community. But, every now and then I think it's important to let others know how vital it is to give back. What better way is there to do this than to lead by example?

Alicia and Lisa are two of the very hardworking employees here at Logical Choice. Their positions and the inherent pressure associated with their task-load would easily justify their absence from such benevolent activities as assisting at a homeless shelter. But, it didn't stop them. Their heart and compassion for others is inspiring.

After much prodding, Alicia agreed to share a letter about their experience:

Dear Cynthia,

Lisa K. and I joined in with the Ron Clark Academy last Saturday to work at the Gateway Homeless Shelter.  Needless to say, the day was amazing!  Housed in what used to be the Atlanta City Jail, the 3 top floors house men including veterans, mentally ill, and in-transition back into work.  They also have a separate small area for women and children.  The bottom floor was open and allows homeless to come in for clothes, food, showers, and if necessary, even sleeping on the floor.

Interacting with the people who came into the shelter tugs at your heart strings.  They were looking for people to talk to and listen to them, share a smile, and just be like everyone else.

We had the opportunity to participate by setting up a children’s area for the assembly of shoe boxes of necessities and fun for children, sorting and organizing the clothes closet, and serving over 400 people lunch.

What an amazing blessing it was to be involved in this project.  Looking forward to our next opportunity!

Thanks,

Alicia H.

If this cause speaks to you, make the time in your schedule to help out. To learn more about the Gateway Homeless Shelter go to www.gatewayctr.org/vision.html. 

Get To Know Your 21st Century Classroom – Part 9: Training and Professional Development

We have talked about many of the new and exciting tools that are available to the 21^st Century Classroom. Hopefully this series has helped stir an interest in learning more about the capabilities and possibilities made available by educational technology. Our final suggestion before we can close this series is that the best way to get the most out of your 21^st century classroom is to be trained by professionals.

21^st Century Classroom – 101

Our classes are taught by former Educators who have been certified as instructors for our equipment. We offer a two part class, Core Essentials Part 1 & Core Essentials Part 2, which focuses on the fundamental use and inclusion of digital equipment into the daily lesson plan. Student-Educators are trained on hardware and software relevant to the products installed into their specific rooms. Teachers are also given a first glimpse into the digital resource libraries available online and introduced to their utility. A portion of the class is devoted toward explaining the software necessary for creating digital lesson plans and flipcharts.

The Next Level

Beyond the Essentials further explores the robust education software and builds on the skills learned in Core Essentials. Instructors cover additional features of the programs and how to integrate files from other sources into the curriculum.

Additional classes are also available to learn more about Student Response Systems and Training Certification, among others.

Thank you for being a part of this series. If you have any suggestions for products you would like covered in our “Tip of the Week” section, please comment below.