Educational Technology

by Online Classes blog

Although one doesn’t often associate history with up-to-date information, finding out the latest in history developments from Twitter is both fun and useful. With the help of a variety of Twitter feeds, you can stay on top of what’s going on in the history world, today and yesterday. Check out our collection of Twitter feeds for history geeks to find the best.

http://www.onlineclasses.org/2010/07/06/100-great-twitter-feeds-for-history-geeks/

by USA Today

NASA’s latest endeavor to educate people on space exploration has taken them to the world of video games. The space agency has released a new PC video game available through Valve Software’s Steam service called Moonbase Alpha. The game, which features single-player and multiplayer components, places players inside an astronaut suit, as they must rebuild a lunar base crippled by a meteor strike.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/07/nasa-releases-free-to-play-online-game/1

By Dennis Carter, eSchool News

The Educause-backed program will fund ed-tech projects designed to make high school graduates college ready. Six months after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pumped $3.6 million into a national certification program for teachers of remedial college courses, a new initiative will dole out grants to education-technology projects aimed at improving college readiness, especially among low-income students. The Next Gen Learning Challenges program, launched in late June and headed by nonprofit education technology supporter Educause, will aim to raise America’s high school graduation rate – which hovers around 50 percent among Hispanic, African American, and low-income students – and ensure that college freshmen are ready for higher education without having to take non-credit-bearing remedial classes.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/funding/ed-tech-grant-program-aims-to-boost-college-readiness/

by Providing News

According to a recent study published online, reading a book written on paper takes less time than reading the same novel on a Ebook. Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group took a test with 24 users who were given a short story by Ernest Hemingway to read on each device. The iPad users were 6.2% percent slower than the users who were reading a standard paper book while the Kindle 2 was 10.7% slower.

http://www.providingnews.com/reading-an-ebook-takes-more-time-than-reading-a-paper-book.html

by Yekini Jimoh, Nigeria Tribune

The Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Computer Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa, Professor Johannes Cronje, has said that technological resources abound around us which can be used to enhance teaching and many teachers and lecturers are yet to make use of the resources. Professor Cronje said this while delivering lessons on e-learning at a workshop entitled, “Effective and Efficient Teaching with Technology,” at the University of Ilorin auditorium. He said that rather than order students to put away their mobile phones, they should be told to switch on their mobile phones in class.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/7764-teachers-yet-to-make-use-of-abundant-technological-resources

Jacqueline Rembrandt, Examiner

With over 300 teachers being laid off due Newark’s school budget cut of $42 million, which is the equivalent of 5.4% of their budget. Newark needs to find ways to save money and still provide a quality education to their students. Newark School District needs to get creative and think outside of the box. Like Ridgewood did when they decided to replace their foreign language teachers with Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone is an awarding winning foreign language instruction computer program. A regular teacher supervises the instruction.”Having a (world language) teacher in the classroom is always the best. But in these times, we need to look to other ways to deliver what we do,” said Superintendent Daniel Fishbein. He said Ridgewood saved just under $200,000 by cutting three Spanish teaching positions. He estimated Rosetta Stone, cost about $50,000.

http://bit.ly/a5LyEL

by Coding Robots

Introducing our latest creation — I Write Like. It’s an fun tool that analyzes your word choice and writing style, compares them to those of the famous writers, and tells you what writer you write like. Just paste your writing (any text in English will do: your latest blog post, journal entry, Reddit comment, chapter of your unfinished book, etc.) and click “Analyze” to get a badge. Check it out: http://iwl.me

http://www.codingrobots.com/blog/2010/07/09/i-write-like/

The EdTech UNconference helps smart UNtech educators learn about technology in an UNintimidating way, providing full one-year access to:

500+ hours of use-whenever-you-want online tech learning and integration programs

monthly live EdTech sessions

recordings of all previous sessions

ongoing user collaboration (with pros standing by in case you get stuck)

http://unconference.simplek12.com/

Dan Tynan, PC World

These obsolete technologies didn’t get the memo–maybe because someone wrote it on a typewriter and faxed it to them. Got an urgent message you need to transmit immediately? Sending a telegram is likely not the first option that comes to mind. And when it’s time to boogie down, you probably don’t shove a cassette into your 8-track player or slap an LP onto your phonograph. These technologies served their purpose for a while, then either evolved into cheaper, faster, better forms or simply disappeared. Yet other technologies–such as fax machines, landline phones, and instant cameras–just refuse to die, despite better digital alternatives.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/200325/10_technologies_that_should_be_extinct_but_arent.html?&tk=hp_fv

by Debbie Waite, Oxford Mail

Six-year-old Tamsin England, from Faringdon was born with cerebral palsy, which limits her speech and movement in her limbs, so even pointing to something is difficult. Mrs England said: “Tamsin and I were playing with a toy that had a switch and I accidentally let go of it. “It fell between Tamsin’s knees and she started to squeeze it to press the switch. We just hadn’t thought using her legs to operate a computer but it works. Now she has a voice computer she controls by squeezing her knees.” When the Princess Royal visited the Ace Centre last December, Tamsin was there to greet her with a posy and a message she had prepared with her computer. She told the Princess she liked reading and asked if she liked books too. Thanks to the technology – and her own and her parents’ determination – Tamsin attends a mainstream school – Stockham, in Wantage – where teaching assistants adapt lessons for her computer.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8252633.Charity_dedicated_to_giving_children_a_voice/

By Jason Lea and Cassandra Shofar, News-Herald

Video conferencing is just one way local libraries are embracing new technology. They have e-readers and use video games in their children’s programming. Hundreds of thousands of people visit them to use their computers. Many of them circulate movies more than books. Libraries are changing. They are using new technology and old technology in new ways. They will always be associated with books, but now loaning them is just one facet of what they do. Underlying these changes are two questions: What do people want from libraries and how should libraries remain relevant?

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/07/04/news/nh2736357.txt

by Ed Armelino, Redding.com

One of the most common and frustrating aspects of owning personal and business computers is the loss of files when things break or viruses destroy them. New computers offer very simple solutions to this problem. By connecting an external large-capacity hard disk to a Windows 7 or Macintosh Snow Leopard computer, you’ll be prompted with the opportunity to simply use this device as an automatic backup tool. Click OK and you’re done. There are also ways to store your files online. An advantage to this is that you can get to these files from outside of your home or business. Some are relatively inexpensive, and some are free. This week I’ll cover two tools for online file storage, document creation, and sharing. Both are free.

http://www.redding.com/news/2010/jul/04/find-free-ways-to-store-your-data-online/

By KYRA LOW, Federal Way Mirror

Federal Way School Board members were given a hands-on demonstration of what the new Apple iPad can do in terms of educational resources. There are the thousands of apps that can bring education to life, including a 3-D map of the brain that students can view from all sides with the iPad. A Hubble Telescope app allows students to view pictures of the universe, zooming in and out and around the solar system with their fingers. There is also an app for $6.99 that does the same thing as TI-83 calculators, which are required for higher math and cost between $80 and $100.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/news/97625539.html

by RENEE MICHELLE HARRIS, South Florida Times

A multi-faceted educational program is helping young people from economically struggling areas to increase their technological skills and share what they learn with their families and communities. Young participants showcased their technological talents during an event at the United Way Center in Miami on Monday, June 28. The program, Comcast Digital Connectors (CDC), is a collaboration between the cable giant, One Economy and Elevate Miami.

http://www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4705&Itemid=199

By David Nagel, THE Journal

Teachers who use technology frequently in their classrooms perceive greater benefits to student learning–particularly learning 21st century skills–than teachers who are less frequent users. That’s one of the major findings from a K-12 technology study released Monday by researchers out of the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership at Minnesota’s Walden University.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/06/28/teachers-report-educational-benefits-of-frequent-technology-use.aspx

by eSchool News

School librarians fear another round of budget cuts in districts across the nation could severely impair students’ development of information literacy and other key 21st-century skills. As the school budget crisis deepens, administrators have started to view school libraries as luxuries that can be axed, rather than places where kids learn to love reading and do research.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/06/30/school-libraries-pummeled-as-budget-crisis-worsens/

By ED VOGEL, REVIEW-JOURNAL

Bullies have always been around. But they’ve changed their scare tactics since the growth of electronic technology. Now they spread their hostility with computers and cell phones. Public school officials haven’t had much power to stop today’s brand of bullies. Neither have police or prosecutors. But that changes starting today. That’s when a new state law goes into effect. District attorneys can start charging these bullies with misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offenses that can lead to jail time. But under the new law, schools will do most of the actual enforcement through suspensions or discipline.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/cyberbully-tactics-are-focus-of-state-law-97566509.html?ref=509

By Derek Legette, The Post and Courier

Rising eighth- and ninth-graders from across Berkeley County have been broadening their minds — with a little help from Google — during a technology-based summer camp. Over two sessions at Berkeley High School, students took part in the second annual Innovation Technology & Entrepreneurship Among Middle Schoolers camp. The second session ends today. “Our goal is to inspire and develop future technologists, engineers and entrepreneurs,” said Kim Bowman, executive director of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/01/tech-camp-geeky-yet-cool/

By lisa schencker, Salt Lake Tribune

Next school year, teachers from at least one area high school won’t nag students to put away their iPods during class. They’ll encourage kids to use them. About 1,600 students at Kearns High will get iPod touches next school year, thanks to a $1 million federal stimulus Enhancing Education Through Technology grant. They’ll download applications to use during lessons, use them to take notes, do research on the Internet and read their English textbooks on them. They will use the devices during class, take them home after school and keep them after they graduate.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49857041-76/students-ipods-class-anderson.html.csp

by LA News Monitor

Rumors are rife that Google is working on “Google Me”, a service that will compete with the social networking site, Facebook. Though both Facebook and Google declined to comment, experts say Google is quite capable with all the components to set up a social networking site comparable to Facebook. Hence, the rumors might not be unfounded, experts claim. Google is well-equipped to provide features that are provided on Facebook or Twitter. Google Profiles enables one to create a personal page, while Google Buzz lets to create brief status updates similar to Facebook. Another important feature, Google Wave, an online communication and collaboration tool, does a work similar to Facebook. However, experts say these are disjointed features that are unable to match Facebook in terms of market share.

http://www.lanewsmonitor.com/news/Google-Me-Set-To-Topple-Facebook-1277815693/

by TechnoKlix

The image that the word “technology” conjures up changes with every new generation. A century ago, it might have brought forth images of spinning gears, factory smoke stacks, or electricity flowing through wires. A few decades ago, it probably produced images of televisions, tape players, and transition radios. Today however, thoughts about computers, computer software, and the World Wide Web undoubtedly spring forth whenever technology is mentioned. Educational technology, too, has evolved with the availability and growth of technology.

http://www.technoklix.com/?p=7840