Tales of a Technology Omnivore

AND you can access it from anywhere?? Well that’s the way the world seems to be going with virtual internet based storage space! There are services popping up all over the place that allow you to store your files on one computer and access them on another. I’ve taken the plunge with Windows Live Skydrive and it seems to be meeting my needs. 1GB of free storage accessible from any computer (even my Mac) and works through my school system’s firewall! There are certain files I wish I always had access to (logos, letterheads, etc). This allows me to be at any machine and work with those files — allowing me to be productive! It has personal folders, shared folders, and public folders. That’s right, create a folder to share with friends where they can add/remove/delete at your permission.

For student projects, this type of system is the answer to the collaboration dilemma! No more passing around thumb drives with work, students can share documents with their INVISIBLE 1GB virtual thumb drive!

Technorati Tags: virtual , drive , storage , skydrive

The Journal Magazine’s September issue has a wonderful article on a product that we love in NYC: Tabula Digita’s Dimension M educational gaming software. You don’t have to be a gamer to love this! Students enter a virtual world where they complete missions that teach them pre-algebra and algebra concepts. Using the latest 3D engines, these immersive environments are fun, have quality on par with commercial games, and educational. Here in Brooklyn, three of our schools piloted the product with tremendous results. Not only did the students love it, but most showed a marked academic improvement. The children learn the concepts without realizing they’re learning because it’s so much fun.

Check out the article: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/21291_1

Many of you know that I went swimming with my cell phones this summer. I took my Blackjack swimming at the beach in July and then in August, I took my 3125 for a swim in the pool. I ruined 2 good phones and I really wasn’t planning on getting a new phone right now! But anyway — I’m looking and that’s a good thing because cell phones are my passion. I read cell phone blogs every day religiously.

These are the phones I’m checking out… (more…)

As you know I’m very excited about the Microsoft Surface project because I see how it can be a wonderful tool for group project collaboration! Microsoft put together a great site about it — check it out at www.microsoft.com/surface. Can you imaging a classroom setup with 5 or 6 of these stations?

This summer Microsoft debuted their new surface computing technology which uses a multi-touch like interface to give multiple users access to the same digital workspace. This technology has tremendous potential in the classroom as a group workstation. Check out this Popular Science video which demonstrates surface computing in action. And then imagine how this can be applied in a collaborative classroom environment. I would love a classroom with five or six of these stations where we we work on project based learning units and inquiry based lessons. Students can create projects where they all touch, add documents, photos, video, and manipulate the content collaboratively! I’ve always complained that when you have a group project, having one laptop per child stifles collaboration because sharing document and finalizing on one computer is not easy or intuitive. Surface computing would allow all students to work on the same screen and manipulate the same digital document. Definitely a part of my dream classroom setup.

Ning.com is a social networking service that you create and can be private. You invite people to become part of your network and only they can view and participate. This is a phenomenal way to use the benefits of social networking in a controlled environment — perfect for a class or even a school!

I’m in a Lego Robotics professional development workshop this morning where we are creating a robot with a light sensor, sound sensor, and bumper sensor. Now we’re going to learn how to program it’s brain. This is fun and part of the Robotics: An Integrated Math and Science Curriculum. Robotics teaches kids about electricity, computers, structures, mechanics, and … robotics. The lessons and worksheets in the curriculum guide make this a meaty and rewarding learning experience which can target elementary, middle, or high school. My favorite part is that the robot looks like Johnny number 5.

Now parents can monitor their child’s whereabouts at all times. A UK based company, Trutex, has a new line of school uniforms that are GPS enabled giving parents the ability to monitor their child’s location through the internet. In their informal survey of 800 parents, they found that 59% would be interested in purchasing this type of technology and that half of children under 12 that were surveyed said they would have no problem using this technology. Would you be interested in this for your children? Would you be interested in offering this to the students in your schools? Any legal issues?