$250 Mini-Notebooks on the Horizon

The alternative to thousand dollar notebooks is the new line of sub compacts that will be selling for around $250 by the middle of the year. Prices are kept low by reliance on the Linux operating system. Andrew [no last name] describes an earlier model, the Asus Eee, which “uses a Linux based OS [...]

Adobe AIR — New and It’s Free!

Adobe AIR [Adobe Integrated Runtime software] is available for download — and it’s free!
John Markoff (NY Times): “On Monday [Feb 25], [Kevin] Lynch, who was recently named the chief technology officer at Adobe Systems, . . . will release the official version of AIR, a software development system that will power potentially tens of thousands [...]

Harvey Mudd Wading into Web Streaming

Harvey Mudd offers live video on its website. Here are the instructions from their webpage: “Web streaming will begin precisely at the time the lecture or event is scheduled to begin. Clicking on the link before that time will not initiate the web stream. . . . Some events at Harvey Mudd College are available [...]

MIT’s Free Courseware — 1800 Courses

MIT OCW (OpenCourseWare)

Blurbs from the site: “MIT is committed to advancing education and discovery through knowledge open to everyone. OCW shares free lecture notes, exams, and other resources from more than 1800 courses spanning MIT’s entire curriculum.”
“OCW is a free publication of course materials used at MIT. Get lecture notes, problem sets, [...]

Research Results via Web 2.0?

Excerpts from Andrew F. Wall, Joseph Rodgers, and Nahoko Kawakyu-O’Connor’s “Re-Framing the Representation of Assessment,” from an email message distributed by Angela Griffin via FYA-LIST@LISTSERV.SC.EDU, 22 Feb 2008:
Wall et al. suggest that educators consider alternative ways to report research results. They feel that results, buried in “traditional written report[s], where the voice . . . [...]

Rich vs. Poor – College Makes a Difference

Excerpts from a report by Erik Eckholm (NY Times) re a recent study [sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts] on educational level and income:
[The Bad News]
“’A growing difference in education levels between income and racial groups, especially in college degrees, implies that mobility will be lower in the future than it is today,’ said Ron [...]

Middle Schoolers Driving Onto College Pathways

Glenn Augustine: “A student in Geogianna Watkins’ Business Technology class at Fort Wayne’s Northwood Middle School sat at a computer, eyes fixed on the game-like program on the screen, hand at the ready on a mouse. By answering a series of questions, the student had built his own car and driven it down a virtual [...]

Panic at NJ College After Emergency Alert

David Porter (AP) reports, “St. Peter’s College locked down its campus for several hours Wednesday after the discovery of a note threatening violence at the northern New Jersey school.” (“N.J. College Reopened After Lockdown,” 20 Feb 2008)
Comment: For the reactions of some of the students, see the full article. You have to wonder if the [...]

"Web 2.0 is a dialogue not a monologue"

The lesson learned from sites such as Facebook and MySpace is that web users are attracted to Web 2.0 sites. In the quickly changing world of Internet technology, static or one-way sites are dead-ly. Webbers shun traditional marketing advertisements and favor word of mouth from individuals who inhabit second generation sites, which, according to Gary [...]

Language Learning in Web 2.0 – Livemocha

Livemocha is an incredible language-learning website. And it’s free. Online lessons with video and audio. Possibilities for live conversation practice. The service is based on Web 2.0 social networking principles and applications. The live, interactive portions are driven by the users themselves. When you sign up, you declare your first language and the additional [...]