Yarrr....busted!

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/25755/drunken-pirate-says-be-careful-what-you-post-online;_ylt=ArzZdJO2ICS3X3UO_sKTNfAFLZA5

Since we have touched on MySpace, Facebook, and other sites a couple of different times this term, I thought this might be relavent. I am interested in finding out YOUR opinion: Is it fair for a school, in this situation, to take away a student's potential degree because of pictures on MySpace? If you read the article it goes on to say that the reason for the removal of the student's degree was not because she had a beer in her hand, but because the caption under the picture read "Drunken Pirate." In fact, the cup that she was drinking out of was just that, a cup. Not a beer can, beer bottle, liquor bottle, or anything that is related to alcohol. I am not saying that she wasn't drinking, however, how can they prove that at that time she wasn't drinking, say, Capri Sun?

Wasting Valuable Resources: Technology Alone is Not the Answer

According to a recent article in the New York Times, many schools that at one time embraced the idea of supplying all students with laptops are now finding little advantage to this one-to-one relationship between students and computers. When schools jumped on board the technology bandwagon and began handing out laptops to their students, it was thought of as a way to reach out to low-income students who might not have access to such technology. Educators believed that if low-income students didn’t have access to the same technology their peers did, they would be at an educational disadvantage. This effort to bridge the “digital divide” has shown little success in the past decade.

So if technology supplies such powerful learning opportunities, why haven’t educators seen a tremendous change after laptops were distributed? I believe many educators left the change up to the technology. Technology was seen as a solution rather than a tool to help get to the solution. Laptop programs have a place in the education system, but are not the end all be all. We must be prepared to educate our students and especially our teachers on how to use this powerful instructional tool. Otherwise we’re wasting valuable resources.

Introducing a new technology without revamping the pedagogy is not likely to lead to success. Purchasing laptops does not constitute educational change. By examining the students learning needs and the curriculum first, educators and administrators can expect a much more powerful integration of technology.

To look at the article from the New York Times, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Blackberrys are no longer enough

Among one of the hottest items in Europe and Asia, ultraportable laptops are becoming increasingly popular among Americans. This supercompact laptop is growing among businessmen and women and across college campuses. The small notebooks offer most if not all the same entertainment features you would find in a bulky computer, for instance CD and DVD drives. These come in much smaller sizes, but with much higher prices starting just above $2,000.

"People want Blackberrys for e-mail and cellphones for text-messaging, but that is not enough," said Michael A. Vorhaus, managing director of Frank N. Magid Associates. He also noted that a recent online survey noted that 54% of Americans between 18 and 30 have laptops. "They want 12- and 11- inch screens that they can slip into a briefcase or a backpack and do everything they want execpt make calls on it."

A standard notebook has popular screens of 15 or 17 inch screens while Toshiba, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard classigy ultraportable notebooks as those with screens of 12 inches or less.

Read more about these up and coming ultraportable laptops at the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/technology/03basics.html?ex=1178769600&en=3897ab5ceaa906db&ei=5058&partner=IWON

Reminds me of stuff we read in Free Culture....

BBC article about circumvention technology info posted on a blog....Thought I would share it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6615047.stm

technology and tennis

Tennis implemented an instant replay system last year. This should reduce any amount of controversy regarding calls made by officials. I know I recently watched a tennis match and they now have the capability to show a computerized video of the flight of the ball and where it exactly hit on the court. This capability has been around for a while, but has just become more affordable for tournaments to install the technology for their events. Officials have also done enough to convince the players and tournament directors that this is good for the sport. This technology allows questionable calls to be challenged and/or reviewed by the judges. I think this is something that is great for the sport of tennis and something that should be done in all sports, as it would make the games that much more fair for everyone involved. Officials are human, and make mistakes, at least now in tennis they have the capability to overcome these mistakes. The NFL, NBA and even collegiate football and basketball have some form of replay challenge system in place. Some have more possibilities than others, but I believe that this is something good for sports in general. You can read more about the tennis instant replay at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/05/AR2006030500974.html

Peoplemovers...

While in Atlanta for the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, I noticed something strange with the way people were touring the city. For a fee, one could be a member of a tourgroup that would travel the city streets on Segway transports...the personal transport vehicle. The whole idea seemed pretty neat, but one of the stipulations of the tour was that the operator of each transport had to wear a rather dorky looking helmet. I still thought that these machines appeared to perform rather well, especially considering the heavy traffic due to the thousands and thousands of coaches parading around downtown Atlanta. Being the tech-geek that I am I was seriously tempted to purchase a tour, but ultimately decided against the idea.

More Info on iPhone

http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/04/apple_iphones_s.html

Sounds like the new iPhone has some issues with the "slickness" of their surfaces. The article mentions the possibility of having to purchase a cover for the phone, much like for their original iPods. Not sure I really care...I'm still buying one!

In other news, test show that the battery life (which was supposed to be the major red flag of the iPhone) is performing at better than expected levels, with talk time/browsing up to 5-6 hours and audio playback at 16 hrs. I think most people will agree that is better than the battery in the iPods!