Wiimote Whiteboard

This is such a cool idea. I never thought that something like this would be possible with a video game controller. Creating an interactive whiteboard out of a projector, LED pens, and a Wiimote is a cost friendly alternative to other interactive whiteboards. The best part about this is that this invention creates a wider demographic of schools that can use interactive whiteboards. Interactive whiteboards are expensive and not every school district can afford them. This allows schools to make use of their existing technology and upgrade it for cheap. To find out more about Johnny Lee's interactive Wiimote whiteboard click on this link. http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/

Podcasting

Creating a classroom Podcast has many different benefits. Podcasts can be used to share your classroom experiences online with parents. The podcasts can be a hands on group project that goes on throughout the year. Podcast's can help students share field trips, and other moments with parents. Parents or relatives can subscribe to the podcast and download the podcast for free to their home computers or Ipods. Its a way for the students to present to their parents what they have learned. Podcast's give students an oppertunity to share what they learn and also a way to take pride in there education. Podcasts can also be used as a tutoring method for students that need extra help. They can download educational Podcasts.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/

http://learninginhand.com/creating-podcasts/

One Laptop Per Child

OLPC Mission Video - Part 1
Uploaded by olpcfoundation. - Videos of the latest science discoveries and tech.



OLPC Mission Video - Part 2
Uploaded by olpcfoundation. - Technology reviews and science news videos.


One Laptop Per Child is one of the most intriguing non-profit organizations I have ever seen. The idea of giving children in remote areas all over the world is awesome. These laptops give kids the chance to expand their learning. These children are being given a tool that grants them limitless amounts of information and knowledge right at their fingertips. The best part about this for me is that it allows students all over the world to communicate with each other while learning about different cultures. I feel that this program will end up making these children life long learners.

First Post

Welcome to my blog. This is my first post. Electronic books have become increasingly popular in recent years. A typical electronic book reader can hold up to 1,000+ books. According to The Horizon Report 2010, "advances in electronic reader technology have brought electronic versions of academic texts to a level with printed ones. The newest readers can display graphics of all kinds and make it easy to bookmark and annotate pages and passages. Annotations can be exported, viewed online, shared, and archived. In addition, electronic readers offer keyword searching, instant dictionary lookups and, in some cases, wireless Internet access. The experience of reading and note taking is becoming as easy in electronic form as it is in paper." These advances make it convenient for students; especially college aged. Text books are heavy, especially when you have to carry around more than one at a time. I do not think that electronic book readers will take the place of textbooks in K-12 for some years. At this point e books are still kind of pricey but when their price goes down even further they would be a great alternative to paper textbooks in the classroom.

Here is a link to a video about the Amazon Kindle DX
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1XZ6JXHZ5LZEF

image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/ by Jon 'ShakataGaNai' Davis