Video Communication Solution Showcased for Educators

Cost-cutting is key at Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) conference this week in Traverse City

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – September 23, 2009 – As school districts statewide brace for more cuts in government funding, school superintendants are faced with a growing list of increasingly difficult challenges.

Video conferencing and broadcasting can help ease some of these challenges. Appia Communications is at this week's Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) Fall Conference in Traverse City to showcase some creative ways to cut costs without cutting educational opportunities.

“Funding is available to schools for video communication,” said Mike Pfannenstiel, Appia’s director of product development. “And schools are uniquely suited to benefit from video in both the classroom and the school office.”

Video enables inexpensive distance learning opportunities that were impossible only a few years ago, Pfannenstiel said. Districts are also using the technology to maximize access to subjects and staff that would otherwise be unavailable to every school.

Video’s benefits also apply to staff meetings, mandatory trainings, and other administrative needs, which can be conducted much more efficiently and inexpensively when travel is minimized or eliminated.

Appia will be joined at the MASA conference by technology partner RiverPark (www.riverparkavc.com), an electronics distributor specializing in Sony video systems. The two companies will conduct live video sessions this Wednesday and Thursday, September 23 and 24, from booth #63 on the main exhibit floor at the Grand Traverse Resort.

For more information about video communication for educators, please contact Mike Pfannenstiel at 231-929-0970 or mp@appiaservices.com.

About Appia Communications

Appia Communications is a leading provider of managed IT and telecommunications services, enabling small and midsize companies and organizations to benefit from Internet Protocol (IP) technology for far less than the cost of an in-house implementation. Appia’s managed solutions help customers reduce costs, enhance employee productivity, improve customer care, and compete more effectively against much larger enterprises.

Headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan, Appia has operations in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Appia has been recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies (Inc., 2007, 2008 and 2009), one of the fastest-growing solution providers in the technology industry (CRN, 2009), and one of the top five managed service providers in the world (MSPmentor, 2008-09).

For more information, please visit www.appiaservices.com or call 877-277-4297. Appia is a Cisco Powered Network and holds advanced Cisco unified communications certifications.

Media Contact

Matt Cowall
Communications Manager
877-277-4297
matt@appiaservices.com