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Undewater Underdogs March 31, 2005

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Let’s say that there’s a contest to see who can design and operate the best underwater robot. Now let’s say that a team from MIT comes up with a flashy gadget that’s destined to win. To make it even more interesting, let’s suppose that a team of kids from a high school in Arizona decide to enter the fray and take on the favorite. The high-schoolers are interested in robotics but don’t have the resources of the MIT crowd. Who would you put your money on? Here’s an example of some admittedly rough-around-the-edges students implementing technology in an authentic manner. Even though it seems like a candidate for the feel-good-movie of the year, it actually happened! I wonder if some talented students from Southeast Georgia could do the same.

Wireless Follett March 30, 2005

Posted by Michael Stokes in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Librarians, teachers and other school staff can now get instant anytime, anywhere access to their library and textbook data with Follett Falcon, a new wireless scanning device from Follett Software. The company introduced and demonstrated the new handheld device at the 2005 Florida Educational Technology Conference earlier this year. Built exclusively for users of Follett’s Destiny Resource Management Solution applications, the Follett Falcon combines the freedom of wireless access with high-performance barcode scanning and PDA technology. The Falcon gives librarians, teachers and textbook coordinators access to real-time library, patron and textbook information from anywhere within range of the school’s wireless network. For more information, visit http://www.fsc.follett.com

Reading And Reading Between The Lines

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

As teachers, we are often told how important reading is in terms of a student’s academic success. Equally important, but not as widely accepted, is the notion of teaching pupils how to read between the lines, a skill that is vital in terms of a student’s real life success. The Center for Media Literacy wants to help society find, analyze, and assess information being disseminated by various media sources. Are your students able to evaluate what they absorb from different media outlets? Are they prepared to be 21st century learners? If not, why not? Do they even care?

Taking A Dive For Science March 29, 2005

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

April is on its way so get prepared for Earth Day. It’s always prudent to collect and personally review a few web sites before plopping your students down in front of a computer and expecting them to learn something. Now’s the time to start amassing useful sites if you intend to integrate internet technology into an Earth Day-related lesson. A good resource to start with is the US NSF’s slick Earth & Environmental Science page. I especially like the Interactive Sea Vent Viewer.

A Few Resources

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

I was nosing around the internet when I found a page about educational theory/design. Ah, serendipity!

Coming In Loud And Clear

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

New technologies often shake up the world. Prior to the printing press, literarcy was restricted to a knowledgable few. After Gutenberg’s invention caught on there was an explosion of ideas and opinions. Governments literally came into existence and fell apart because of the change. If it took you a while to get accustomed to the internet, you may want to prepare yourself for another innovation likely to change the way you live. It’s called hypersonic sound (HSS). This new technology is so powerful that within 15 seconds of using it, most people who experience it immediately realize how it will alter the way they live. Apparently, this invention is, perhaps, the momentous development in audio in almost eight decades.

Any comments or opinions on how this technology will affect education?

Worm In The Apple Part II: Not Really As Vulnerable After All? March 28, 2005

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Not too long ago on SEGATech I posted a dire warning that Mac OSX users were being too cavalier about the possibility of being hacked. One of our readers responded with a comment that made me do some serious thinking…

Gosh, and the fact that this “news” is being said by a company looking to sell software to “protect” your system is not a coincidence at all.

It turns out that our astute reader was onto something. Many in the Mac community are a little wary of Symantec’s claim. Thanks for taking me to task. I’ll try to be a little more level-headed in the future.

Who’s Using Who? March 27, 2005

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Ever wanted to know which search engines have “relationships” with other serach resources? Well, even if you didn’t, that will give you a few insights.

All Play And No Work? March 26, 2005

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed


Computer technology is an incredibly wonderful tool. Software, hardware, and internet resources can help us make tremendous gains in communicating, collecting information, solving problems, understanding our world, and educating our children–that is, if we aren’t goofing off. North Carolina has an interesting legislative solution to less-than-productive computer use. Has anyone else encountered this kind of problem in an educational setting? Is it a major problem or a minor distraction?

The answer to many Windows XP questions… March 25, 2005

Posted by Earl Watson in : Uncategorized , comments closed

While Googling a WinXP question this morning I came across a website that was very helpful. Some of you may want to bookmark it for reference when you have questions relating to WinXP. It is http://www.theeldergeek.com/