Week of: July 28, 2008
- Product Review: Aiptek Action HD
Description: This HD-DV tapeless camcorder features 1440 x 1080 H.264 video @30fps, 16:9 ratio, 2-inch macro zoom, HDTV component output, and 32GB SDHC card slot expansion. It also doubles as an 8 mega-pixel digital camera. - Multimedia in ArizonaThe selection and integration of K-12 classroom technologies can be a daunting task, but with a clearly defined plan, schools can effectively integrate technology.
- What's new
A first look at the latest in ed tech gear.PaperToolsPro, the software that guards against plagiarism can now be accessed online. The new online version includes multiple changes to the Note Editor page, larger text boxes in the Quotation and Summary/Paraphrase area, easier bibliographic information entry, additional buttons for viewing and organizing notes, and added features to the teacher monitoring tools including appended URLs to notes taken from an online source. And, because it is online, writers can access their work from any computer connected to the Internet. - Surveys Show Progression Toward e-Commerce
Surveys conducted by the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), the National Business Officer's Association (NBOA), and My Payment Network reveal that schools process a large number of payments per child, spend a significant resources processing payments, and are adopting e-commerce in increasing numbers over the next three years. - Interview with MIT's Mitch Resnick
Mitchel Resnick is a researcher, inventor and professor at MIT's Media Laboratory in Cambrige Massachusetts. He is also the founder of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. Mitchel is the lead innovator behind many cutting edge learning technologies for children including the Computer Clubhouse, PicoCrickets, and the wonderfully successful consumer product, Lego Mindstorms.
- Modeling the use of manipulatives for math, language arts, and science
- Demonstration of highlighting, finding key words, or phrases in reading and to model the writing process
- Demonstration of animal dissections
- Modeling of other technology (calculators, GPS units, Class Response clickers, MP3 players, etc.)
- Displaying fragile or detailed artifacts for social studies (documents, maps, fossils, etc) or display real documents and objects
Brewer says the camera has been essential to increasing student participation and interaction. "Student motivation and engagement has increased tremendously because students want to share their work and ideas using the document camera. They love to be the 'teacher'."
What's New
A first look at the latest in ed tech gear.
PaperToolsPro, the software that guards against plagiarism can now be accessed online. The new online version includes multiple changes to the Note Editor page, larger text boxes in the Quotation and Summary/Paraphrase area, easier bibliographic information entry, additional buttons for viewing and organizing notes, and added features to the teacher monitoring tools including appended URLs to notes taken from an online source. And, because it is online, writers can access their work from any computer connected to the Internet. megan@kehcomm.com
Students race the clock to become a "Multiplication Master" with Digitz, a portable electronic learning aid that makes multiplication practice fun (www.edin.com). Digitz offers five games that reinforce important multiplication skills, such as multiples (skip counting), memorization of facts, identifying factors, finding factor pairs, and sequencing. Problems appear on an LCD screen, and players enter their answers by pressing colorful paddles that feature bright LED numerals.
Surveys Show Progression Toward e-Commerce
Surveys conducted by the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), the National Business Officer's Association (NBOA), and My Payment Network reveal that schools process a large number of payments per child, spend a significant resources processing payments, and are adopting e-commerce in increasing numbers over the next three years.
Highlights of the survey showed that:
- Public Schools process 28 payments per child per year, and spends 356 hours per month processing payment
- Independent schools process 36 payments per child per year and averaging 90 hours monthly on their payment processing
- 65% of public schools and 75% of independent schools indicated they planned to adopt or expand their eCommerce by the end of school year 2009-2010
