Educational Technology

By DAWN KAWAMOTO, Daily Finance

Dell’s Streak, the computer-maker’s new tablet computer, may stumble out of the gate when it launches Thursday, if, as some analysts predict, back-to-school sales come under pressure by worried consumers. Dell announced its new and shiny tablet computer would debut with a price point of $299.99, with a two-year AT&T service contract. Dell is marketing its new tablet computer to students, as well as mobile professionals and families. But Barclay’s analysts caution the PC outlook in the third quarter will likely be subdued, as consumers and corporate America tighten up their technology spending, according to a Reuters report.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/dells-new-tablet-computer-entering-tough-market-for-pc-sales/19589750/

By Steve Brawner, Arkansas News

Ian Jukes is speaking before hundreds of Arkansas school administrators, and he has their attention. He’s an author/thinker/motivational speaker type, and he’s talking about the future, and the future of public education. And what he’s saying is, change or die. But Jukes is telling these administrators that they are not changing fast enough, that schools still aren’t adequately preparing students for the challenges they will face in a work world that looks very different and requires very different skills than it did just a few years ago — one where, if a job can be outsourced overseas or done by a computer, it will be.

http://arkansasnews.com/2010/08/11/schools-falling-behind-moore%E2%80%99s-law/

by InternetSafety.com

As the role of technology as teaching aids continues to evolve, do you know how your school uses it in the classroom? What are the policies for Internet use? What about mobile devices? Is your school using a filter, and if so what are the monitoring policies? With back-to-school time right around the corner, now is the time that parents should ask teachers and administrators about the school’s technology policies. But as Internet-enabled devices take on more and more varied forms—pacing the Internet itself—just what questions to ask has itself become a complicated and multi-faceted question.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-top-five-back-to-school-online-safety-questions-every-parent-should-ask-100429249.html

By TODD FINKELMEYER The Capital Times

Distance education is becoming an increasingly popular way for students to take college courses. According to a recent report, some 4.6 million students were taking at least one online course during the 2008 fall semester, a whopping 17 percent jump over the previous year. Shown here, UW-Madison professors Jon Pevehouse (left) and Jeremi Suri (right) hold an online discussion about the influence of public opinion on American foreign policy, and how that has changed from the early 20th century to today. Unlike many who take courses during UW-Madison’s summer session, Peter Owen hasn’t spent any hot evenings catching up on his studies while sipping a cold beer on the Memorial Union Terrace. Owen is a 24-year-old first lieutenant stationed in Iraq with the 724th Engineer Battalion of the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/university/article_1cd8cfc0-a3f5-11df-bd7d-001cc4c002e0.html

by the Huffington Post

The best way to make college cheaper? Using technology to make it available anywhere, Bill Gates said during a presentation at last week’s Technonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA. “College, except for the parties, needs to be less place-based,” [Gates] said. Gates predicted that technology could soon make place-based learning five times less important for college and university students. The computer czar also said that technological advances, such as online classes, could possibly decrease tuition costs from $50,000 at some schools to as little as $2,000. Gates also said that home-schoolers are on the “cutting edge” of using some of these technologies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/09/bill-gates-college-except_n_675816.html

By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY

Oklahoma State University professor Bill Handy has big plans for the Apple iPad this fall. If the text messages he has received since the school announced he would test the tablet-style e-reader in some courses are any indication, students are eager to get their hands on the devices, too. Handy, who teaches in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, is quick to stress that his intent is not to celebrate the new technology so much as to evaluate its effectiveness in the classroom.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-10-ebooklearning10_CV_N.htm?csp=hf

by Bobbi Dempsey, San Francisco Chronicle

Let’s face it – the economy can be a real downer. Most likely, you’re facing some financial challenges and life changes you had not expected, and this can take a mental and emotional toll. It can help to have something positive to focus on – and a goal to work towards, one that might help better your situation. Going back to school may be just what you need, and here’s why this could be the perfect time to do it.

1)  It’s Convenient —  Responding to educational trends and public demand, schools are focusing more of their efforts in meeting the needs of “non-traditional” students. “There are more degree options today than ever for adults returning to school – including the flexibility of online courses,” says Steve Isaac, CEO of EducationDynamics. Thanks to technology, it is now fairly easy to continue your education from the comfort of your own home computer. An increasing number of college and universities are offering courses – or even entire degree programs – that can be completed without the student stepping foot in a classroom.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/08/04/investopedia46119.DTL

By JAMES CARELESS, Montreal Gazette

Question: What is the most useful piece of technology that a Montreal student can take to school this fall? Answer: A memory stick, a.k.a. a USB key, Flash drive, or “thumb drive.” We’re talking here about a piece of technology, the size of a package of stick chewing gum, that plugs into a computer’s USB port and allows students to save their school work for accessing later on, at home. “The memory stick is useful for students in both elementary and secondary school,” said Maureen Baron, pedagogical consultant with the English Montreal School Board (EMSB).

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Technology+today+classrooms/3361911/story.html

by Dean Traylor, Helium

To see how innovative technology is helping students with learning disabilities, one may want to observe what’s going on at El Camino College in Torrance, California. There, within the confines of the special resource center, computer technology is leveling the educational field for students with disabilities. Computers with Braille pads, specialized programs, magnification equipments, wheelchair on-campus loans, and other alternative media and computer aided reading programs are among the things being offered for students with learning and physical disabilities. In fact, one interesting computer program (similiar to Zoom Text) allows a student to scan a text book onto the computer, have it read passages, highlight it, and give definitions, as well as expanding or changing the fonts to make it easier to read.

http://www.helium.com/items/1913170-innovative-technology-for-students-with-disabilities

by Anton De Silva, Helium

In the continuously shifting world of computers and technology, it can be especially hard to determine which pieces of technology to buy. Quite simply the options at selecting a computer seem overwhelming. For example you have to consider which manufacture’s products to buy(From over 100 of brands), the security of the computer(there is a plethora of security software), the user friendliness and many other factors. Well in this is article we will be looking at one of the most fundamental things on buying a PC: the operating system.

http://www.helium.com/items/1906550-how-to-buy-a-computer-for-back-to-school

by the Dunwoody Crier

A small local school will make a giant technology leap when school starts this August. All middle school students and their teachers at Brandon Hall School, an independent college-preparatory school nestled on a 27-acre wooded campus along the Chattahoochee River, will receive their own personal Apple iPad for enhanced learning both in and out of the classroom. With a small 9.7-inch, backlit multi-touch screen, the iPad is smaller and lighter than even the smallest portable computer.

http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2010/08/03/news/brandonhall.txt

by Blackboard

Blackboard Inc. has announced that the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) awarded Blackboard Learn(TM) its Nonvisual Accessibility Gold Certification, stating that the company’s software was the most accessible education application that the NFB had tested and making it the first and only learning management system to achieve certification. A range of accessibility improvements in Blackboard Learn Release 9.1 enable blind users to more effectively interact with the platform, creating greater opportunities for disabled students and learners to more fully engage in the education and course experience. The improvements include faster navigation and better form interaction for blind users that make it easier to submit assignments, participate in discussion forums, submit responses to tests, upload files, create content and more.

http://www.itnewsonline.com/showprnstory.php?storyid=114262

By Jay Garmon, NotebookReview.com

For many students, surviving academia requires a well-equipped computer, and no PC is complete without the right software. We outline the top 10 apps you need to gear up for the academic gridiron — both for work and for play.

1. Google Chrome

2. Avast Free Antivirus

3. Google Docs

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5794&review=Top+10+Back+to+School+Software+Applications+for+2010

by the Jamaica Observer

Last Friday was the final day of the inaugural Konnecting Minds summer outreach programme. The programme brought together 11 students from different social backgrounds with the goal of engaging and inspiring them to recognise the fundamental values of education. The programme also introduced them to the fields of engineering and communication, with the hope of shaping them into better citizens. The six schools involved in the programme were Campion College, Kingston College, Tivoli Gardens High School, Denham Town High School, Ardenne High, and City College. The students involved in the programme, ages 14 to 18, visited various corporations involved in engineering and communications technologies like Flow, JPS, and Spectrum Management Authority.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/teenage/Kids–konnect–through-technology_7846964

by Michael Dorney, Miami Herald

The school will provide students with a technology-rich environment by giving each student a laptop computer to use at the fully Wi-Fi enabled campus and at home. In addition, the curriculum will consist of both online and face-to-face classes of the Honors and Advanced Placement level. According to Pimienta, the combination of computer and traditional classes will give learning a more individualistic twist. “It will make the learning experience more personal,” said Pimienta. “It’s not the standard curriculum you see in normal high schools — it will be adapted for the environment.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/02/1758357/new-iprep-academy-gives-students.html

By Mark Baard, Boston Globe

According to one of the movement’s leading figures, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, that’s when humans will achieve immortality through a blend of genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Transhumanists point to exciting technological trends — such as those showing how computer chips are growing smaller, cheaper, and faster — as evidence that Kurzweil’s breakthrough moment, called the singularity, is near. All that most of us need to do, transhumanists say, is wait.

http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/08/02/biotech_movement_hopes_to_spur_rise_of_citizen_scientists/

by David Einstein, San Francisco Chronicle

Electronic textbooks are going to be the next big thing in publishing, and the iPad, with its 10-inch full-color display, is the most promising device yet for studying a virtual textbook. And e-textbooks already are available for the iPad from companies like CourseSmart (coursesmart.com), which was founded by a handful of major textbook publishers. Best of all, e-texts can cost half what you’d pay for a printed version of the same book. Now for the caveats: The market for e-textbooks is still in its infancy, so the books your grandson needs may not all be available in electronic form. Likewise, navigating an e-textbook (bookmarking, highlighting text, adding notes, etc.) still can be harder than doing the same things with a printed book.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/01/BUT21EK5O5.DTL

by eSchool News

Student response system (SRS) technology has caught on in classrooms nationwide as a tool for boosting class participation, as well as helping teachers ensure that students understand what’s being taught before they move on to another concept. But the current generation of the technology has its limitations.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/08/04/technology-takes-formative-assessment-to-a-whole-new-level/

By Brenda Bernet, Amarillo.com

Dozens of students in the Texas Panhandle will start the school year in front of the warm glow of a computer screen instead of hauling a backpack full of notebooks, pencils and pens to campus. And they won’t necessarily have to wake up at the crack of dawn. Connections Academy operates Texas Connections Academy, which is in partnership with Houston Independent School District. “They’re allowed to get on any time, any day of the week,” said Laura Mayberry, program manager for iQ Academy Texas. Instead of swapping summer vacation stories with friends in school hallways when public school begins Aug. 23, students from Amarillo enrolled in virtual learning programs will tackle classes with peers in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. They will e-mail and chat with teachers from across the state.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080910/new_news1.shtml

By Rick Ruggles, WORLD-HERALD

Seventy-five students started their pharmacy studies at Creighton University the past two weeks, but they’ll rarely set foot on campus again. They are enrolled in the university’s online pharmacy doctorate program, the only one in the country. Over the next three years, they will take classes and study largely by using the laptop computers each received during a two-week orientation and training period on campus. They will spend a fourth year in clinical training where they live. The program exists mainly for older students who want to make a career change to pharmacy and need the flexibility of an online program because of their families and careers.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100807/NEWS01/708079845

by Kenyon Wallace, National Post

The publication in 1829 of a small booklet explaining how a series of raised dots arranged in a line could teach the world’s blind to read is one of modern history’s great, if often overlooked, turning points. Once hailed as the great intellectual equalizer, Louis Braille’s development of a new alphabet that could be read with the fingers is now at risk of being consigned to history, overtaken by the rapid pace of changing technology. Only 10% of blind school-aged children are taught Braille today; compared to about 50% in the 1960s, according to the U.S. National Federation of the Blind. The statistic is roughly the same for Canada.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Bygone+Braille/3371434/story.html