Multi Touch User Interface

If any of you are David Pogue fans like I am, you will recognize this as a blatant re-telling of his Circuits email article on the same topic. Still, it's way cool, and if you haven't thought much about digital whiteboards, this brings an entirely new emphasis to that medium. While these nifty new devices are not yet available to the average Joe, unless you happen to be the average Joe with a new iPhone, the fact that they are currently being marketed to businesses means it is only a matter of time before they trickle down to the educational markets. So, for quick look to the future of interactivity, grab your favorite candy bar and a beverage and take 5--watch this four minute video from Popular Mechanics (it might take a minute to download) and enjoy the show.

SD ranks near bottom in bandwidth speeds

South Dakota is 2nd to last in a state by state ranking of bandwidth speeds, and the US came in 16th for rankings with other nations in a report by SpeedMatters.org. David Warlick posted this blog about the reports:
2¢ Worth » State-by-State Bandwidth Ranking

eSchool News online quotes that large gaps exist among the average download speeds of various states as well as nations.

A pair of reports form speematters.org:

Broadband Mapping and Data Collection
Testimony of CWA President Larry Cohen before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

ViewDocument (PDF 40 kb) May 17, 2007 | Category: Data, Defining High Speed, Need
for National Policy

The Broadband Fact Book
This publication, from the Internet Innovation Alliance, presents a wide array of information
about broadband in the U.S.--user demographics, data on speeds and availablity, and statistics ono the growth of the internet.
View Document (PDF 2.7 mb) June 1, 2007 | Category: Data, Economic Growth

Interesting quotes from the factbook:

Less than 25% of rural Americans have
broadband connections By the end of 2005, 24% of rural Americans had high-speed Internet connections at home compared with 39% of adult Americans living elsewhere. In 2003, 9% of rural Americans had
broadband at home, less than half the rate (22%) of urban and suburban Americans. For overall Internet use (by whatever connection from any location), the penetration rate for adult rural Americans lagged the rest of the country by 8% at the end of 2005 (a 62% to 70% margin). This is about half the gap that existed at the end of 2003, Pew Internet & American Life Project reports.

Japanese can get 8.5 times the speed for
one-twelfth the cost U.S.
consumer pay more for slower speeds. In the U.S., DSL generally reaches speeds of up to 1.5 — 3.0 mbps at a price averaging $30-$50 per month (not including fees) while cable modems generally reach speeds of 3-5 mbps for $40-$50 per month. In Japan, the cost of an average connection with the speed of 26 mbps costs about $22.
The contrast is even more striking when expressed in terms of cost per 100 kbps. The top speed generally available in Japan is 51 mbps at a cost of $0.06 per 100 kbps. The top speed generally available
in the U.S. is 6 mbps available at a cost of $0.72 per 100 kbps. In other words, the Japanese have 8.5 times the speed at 1/12 of the cost.

Broadband telework – time savings equivalent
to 4 weeks of vacation a year A survey conducted by Sage Research offers further evidence of the benefits of IP communications. 100 organizations that have deployed IP communications reported an average benefit of 4.3 hours per week (or 28 days a year) for each remote worker.

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NECC 2007 - Keynote

NECC 2007 - Keynote

Click the link directly above to view the entry in the TIE Lead blog...

NECC 2007 - Google Earth

Staggeringly Good Things Integrating Media and Google Earth

Click on the link directly above to view this entry in the TIE Teach blog...

NECC 2007 - Virtual Worlds

How Virtual Worlds Help Real Students: The River City MUVE

Please click on the link directly above to read this entry in the TIE Teach blog...

NECC 2007 - Assessing Students' and Teachers' Technology Skills: NETS as Benchmarks

Mila Fuller of ISTE hosted a panel session
Assessing Students' and Teachers' Technology Skills: NETS as Benchmarks
Three organizations shared their resources for assessing technology skills:
Certiport | Home - Microsoft certification in basic computer skills
Nita Brooks, K12 Solutions
662-621-8948 nbrooks@certiport.com

TechLiteracy Assessment : measures and reports technology literacy for elementary and middle school students
Laia Jackson, Market Manager
800-580-4640 direct 503-517-4445 ajackson@learning.com

PBS TeacherLine | PBS
Tim Lum, Director of Marketing
tdlum@pbs.org

My notes from this session can be found at:
LS Notes: Assessing Students' and Teachers' Technology Skills: NETS as Benchmarks

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