Hello Smart Board!!!

Over the summer the Computer Labs where involved with the installation and introduction of something called a Smart Board, an interactive whiteboard.

It was new to some of us and we where a bit hesitant at replacing the conventional whiteboard and classroom projector with this single device that complements the class room computer.

Traditionally a teacher would use the whiteboard/blackboard to write information for the student and the computer and projector to display PowerPoint or demonstrate something.

When the teacher is in front of the class writing, the students are connected and engaged with the teacher. But when the teacher steps away from “center stage” to a side desk or podium where the computer is, that connection is partially lost.

Some teachers use clicker type devices to cycle through PowerPoint without having to be behind a desk. This option is not available in every class.

In comes the Smart board interactive white board. It consists of a special whiteboard with a small projector sitting on top and cameras in the corners. This allows it to record something touching the screen like a pen or a finger.

It records these inputs and replicates them onto the computer as writing or drawing. This allows the Smart board to work like a regular white board. The advantage of doing this on a computer is that whatever you write can now also be saved and shared.

Also by using a Smart Board, since it is another input device, you can now do everything you would be able to do behind the computer on the screen itself. This keeps the student engaged on the teacher and the lesson.

Your finger becomes the mouse pointer and can do many of the mouse functions. If you need a keyboard, there is a button that brings up an onscreen keyboard.

Also it is not limited to one input. It can have a maximum of two inputs; so two people can be using it at the same time allowing for some interactive group work.

It definitely changes the classroom environment and makes it a more interesting and interactive experience. A welcome addition to any classroom.

What is “Cloud” and what does it have to do with my device or computer? - Part 1

Cloud computing has been around for awhile now in some shape or form. It’s basically the internet and storing user information online so that they can access it online.

Users already store information online with emails, photos, etc. It has only garnered interest in the public recently with big companies like Amazon, Google and Apple adopting the word for their services. They are expanding the service to include stuff like movies and music and allowing users to interact to their content online from multiple devices.

It is basically a large collection of your personal data, hosted and stored on a company’s online server, so that you can access it anywhere from any device you own that supports the service. The information is stored on secure data centers run by the company you choose to have the service with. It is protected and can only be accessed by the user.

So why are companies and consumers interested in Cloud technology? Big companies are adopting it because it makes it easier to access information or data, from anywhere and any device. And that is an impressive thing to have for something like music, pictures and software a user has bought. Itunes with Icloud will be offering a way to access your music from anywhere and any device, Ipod, Iphone, Mac, PC, etc. without any wires or connection to a computer, but by simply accessing your Icloud account and updating your last saved settings.

I will be posting more on this topic over the summer while introducing readers on how consumer companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc are using this technology.

New Apple iPhone

The iPhone 3G is the next version of the popular iPhone. It comes with features like 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping and support for enterprise software like Microsoft Exchange along with all the other features available to the first iPhone. It comes out July 11th. Read more at www.apple.com/iphone/features

Microsoft Surface

There is a new and exciting technology that the people at Microsoft have been working on called Surface. It uses a multi-point touch screen technology similar to what is used in the military for maps and can be seen in action on the new apple iphone.

Surface is the first commercially available surface computing platform from Microsoft Corporation. It turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. In essence, it’s a surface that comes to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more. Soon to be available in restaurants, hotels, retail and public entertainment venues, this experience will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live.

Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that’s easy for individuals or small groups to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world. Surface can simultaneously recognize dozens and dozens of movements such as touch, gestures and will be able to recognize actual unique objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes.

If this technology gets ported to schools, it would make an interesting and new highly advanced class room. Imagine seeing what the teacher is presenting on the desk in front of you and being able to do other things like take notes and zoom into diagrams or slides.

(Information from the www.microsoft.com/surface)