E.T.C. | Emerging Tech. Committee

by Karen Greenwood Henke

In addition to the amazing speakers on the stage at the CoSN 7th Annual International Symposium, we had a fascinating discussion at my table. We had people from around the country and around the world, sharing our response to the speakers. Presented with many examples of how Web 2.0 tools were changing teaching and learning around the globe, we kept hearing how the tools stopped short of widespread adoption. Most of the Web 2.0 tools such as facebook, myspace, blogs, wikis, games, open tools where people sign up and start sharing information, simply were not designed to be used in an educational institutional setting. They lack tools for managing security and safety in a way that is required by public institutions entrusted by diverse parents to provide a safe space for learning. There are also very real copyright concerns about how teachers and students use music, images, and published material for their own creative work. We need tools that capture the creative and innovative energy of the Web 2.0 era, but also allow for some monitoring and boundaries to meet the requirements of a community institution. One of the most critical issues for online communities and tools is addressing the issue of trust. When we broaden our community beyond the people who we come into physical contact with on a regular basis, we have to create a foundation for trust and respect in some form. This is absolutely critical to engage a broader audience.

Mayor Larry Langford has recently announced that a $3 million deal was signed in order to bring in one laptop per child, or 15,000 XOs in total. Apparently, the schools will become the first in the nation to receive OLPCx, which were sold to the district at $200. Students will receive their machines on April 15, 2008.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2007/12/birmingham_city_schools_will_b.html

David Pogue creates a video about testing Green media players.

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=5599bfb498ac8619a79065bc71eb9549b8620db3

Enjoy!

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/13/mit-names-top-emerging

Rich Mincer sent this article on low-cost notebooks based on Intel's upcoming Atom processor are in the works, including models from multinational PC vendors, according to the chip maker's top executive in Asia.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080310/tc_pcworld/143263

Gary Anthes wrote an interesting article for Computerworld on the emergence of technologies that use touch interfaces entitled: Give your computer the finger: Touch-screen tech comes of age

21st Century Learning Connections has published an article on innovative ways school districts can leverage their use of wikis. http://21centuryconnections.com/node/406

eSchool News provided news coverage of the CoSN ETC webcast on Web 2.0 technologies.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=51725

A number of great Web 2.0 tools were shared by presenters and participants in this morning’s webcast. Here is a synopsis:

Online Groups, Courseware, Social Networking
AirSet
Moodle
Ning (Good example The Global Education Collaborative )
Indi (social network for kids and educators designed to teach students about social networking)
iTunes University

Wikis/Blogs
pbwiki
Common Craft Videos- short videos talking about Web 2.0 tools
Quick Takes on TICAL website
Twitter
Word Press

Open Office Applications
Google Aps
ThinkFree

Presentation Sharing
Slideshare
School Tube
TeacherTube
Voice Thread
Animoto
Zamzar Free file conversion

Building Cross-Cultural Connections
Rock Our World
Epals

Other Resources:
pbwiki.com
DeepNines being used to block proxy bypass
A handbook on AUP by the Virginia Department of Education
Northfield School District eLearning Center

Please post other examples of Web 2.0 tools you are using for instruction.

Darren Waters of the BBC covered trends in ultramobile devices at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. According to Mooly Eden, general manager of the mobile platform group at Intel, "The relationship between computing power and battery life was the key issue in making portable computers practical". Futurists predict that improvements in chip design will lead to a future where we will no longer need wireless hotspots to connect to the Internet and much longer battery life for these devices. According to Waters, "Companies such as Samsung, iRiver, Lenovo, LG and Toshiba have committed to building these mobile devices".

Intel announced a new type of computer chip called the Menlow chip. "Intel's Menlow chip set is five times smaller and consumes 10 times less power than ultra low voltage mobile processors introduced in 2006". The Toshiba ultra mobile portable computer is one of the first ultraportable devices to use a Menlow chip.

References:

Waters, D. (2007). Ultra-mobile future beckons for PCs. from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7178278.stm

Waters, D. (2007). Intel predicts the personal net. from Waters, D. (2007). Intel predicts the personal net. from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7176177.stm"