🕹️ Do Something Great! 😄
I picked up an iPod Touch on Saturday, and am I impressed. I have been
testing out the Nokia N800, but when it comes to Internet usability, the
Touch wins hands down. Surfing is very, very usable.
I’m still getting used to the onscreen keyboard, but it is already a lot
better than the N800. The question I have remaining, “Is the touch more
useful I’m the classroom than the Asus eeePC?
The conference took place over a week ago and I’m still trying to get my
head wrapped around all the information I collected! I did learn one
very important thing. My ID badge this year said Librarian/Media
Specialist, and I learned that it makes it a lot easier to walk through
the vendor area. They didn’t seem as interested in talking to me. 🙂
I’m hoping to get more things put together and online. I still have to
collect the notes from my session and put them online, and also to tag
them into del.icio.us (thanks Alvin!).
Every year I go hoping to take away one new thing to get excited about,
but that is getting harder to do. Technology in education has become
such a commodity that the break throughs are getting more and more
uncommon. I’m also torn with the problem of too many choices. It’s hard
for me to focus on one thing, I want to implement them all!
This is a test post from the eTech Ohio 2008 Conference.
I will be trying to Twitter as much as I can at the conference. You can
follow my updates under [http://twitter.com/mr_rcollins][] or you can
follow me under twitter.
After reading John’s blog post yesterday, I realized that not only
haven’t I posted anything, I haven’t even begun to look at what sessions
I want to go to at the eTech conference. Since I present at 8:00am
Monday morning, I’ve been more focused on that.
Through the Online Conference Planner I’ve begun to setup the sessions I
want to go to, and I will be publishing my calendar through Google
Calendar.
Test post from Nokia N800!
When we first started recommending Firefox, one of the first features
that the students found was the ability to change themes. Unfortunately,
changing a theme is a pretty heavy weight process, requiring a restart
of Firefox. Mozilla Labs has been working on a different theming
process, Personas, which doesn’t require a restart:
Features
- You can select a Persona from the dynamic menus and see results
instantly without having to discover, select, download or install
a separate bit of software or code.- Personas can be added, removed or updated by their designers at
any time, without requiring a software update.
One caveat, the theme can be changed by the designer at anytime, which
means there is a chance that something inappropriate may be viewed.
The Our Stories™ project helps people share the stories of their
lives, no matter where they live or how their stories unfold. We’re
providing resources to create and share personal stories from all over
the world, starting with children in developing countries who are
using One Laptop per Child (OLPC) computers or those who are working
with UNICEF radio producers to record and share interviews. Children
are asked to record the stories of elders, family members, and
friends.
Take a \$40 Wiimote, an infrared emitting pen and you have the
makings of an interactive whiteboard (No Nintendo Wii required). Johnny
Chung Lee has been experimenting with the Wiimote. The Wiimote
connects to the computer over bluetooth, and inside it is an infrared
camera that can track up to 4 LED sources.
Check out the video of it in action:
Now to find a source for some infrared penlights or make my own and try
this out. With projectors costing less than \$800-\$900 this would be a
very inexpensive way to bring interactive whiteboard technologies into
the classroom.
