Woot, there it is!

I must really like you all to be sharing this one. Woot is an interesting little stop on the Internet that features one techie gadget for sale each day. It is the only item available that day, and it is available for one day only. Twice now there have been really cool things I thought I had to have, except that I was too late! and they were already sold out for the day. But I still love my nifty little travel speakers that I got for $10. Today's Woot is even better--nifty little travel speakers with a rechargeable battery. Have fun!

Second Time Around for Tech

In keeping with the motto of 'reduce, reuse, recycle' this website offers to buy your old technology gadgets. Unfortunately, they don't appear to deal with desktop computers, but if you have laptops, cell phones, gameboxes, etc. that you no longer want, and you don't want to have to deal with auctioning them off on ebay, this might fit your needs.

Tips for a Clean SMARTBoard (or any other interactive whiteboard)

Tips for Keeping that SMARTBoard (or any other interactive whiteboard) Clean

1. Make sure your hands are clean!!! Not only does this keep your whiteboard clean, but it prevents the spread of germs.

2. Students should use clean hands as well. That nacho cheese from lunch will affect the smooth operation of the board. Some elementary teachers keep finger cots on hand for their students to use. You can also use a pointer with a soft end to operate the board.

3. If someone makes the mistake of using a regular whiteboard eraseable marker on the SMARTBoard, don't panic. Try using the whiteboard cleaner for dry erase markers. If it's permanent marker, try the age-old trick of tracing over the permanent marker with a dry erase marker, then erase.

4. Use a soft cloth for daily cleaning or dusting.

Variety is the Spice of LIfe and the Way of the Changing World

I am participating in a training session for SMARTBoard this week. Though I have experience with the SMARTBoard from using it in my own classroom, today will be a great refresher on the tools. There are 25 people from various backgrounds here today. One participant works for a Bureau of Investigation for a southern state. His organization just purchased four SMARTBoards, and he will be training the co-workers. As of yet, he is unsure of what the planned use for the boards will be, but he knows they will be used in presentations. Perhaps as they learn more and gain more experience, they will discover other uses.There is a teacher here who was "gifted" a SMARTBoard from her students. Yes, she teaches in a private school. Another participant works for the Department of Corrections where she teaches language arts. Two other participants work for a retail business that sells SMARTBoards. What's my point? Incorporating an interactive whiteboard into the classroom has more benefits than just interactive lessons. This is a tool that is used in the "other" world - the world outside of education. Students who have experience utilizing this technology and those who have mastered it are already a step, or two, ahead in the working world. Remember 21st Century Skills? This would be one of them.

Kids Teaching Kids

I saw this story on Good Morning America today and it was so incredibly heart warming to see how a 12 year old with a disability is teaching homeless kids technology that I had to share the story and his website entitled SPLAT: Showing People Learning and Technology.

The Tech Savvy Educator

If you have not looked at this website, take a few minutes to log on. It is packed full of of ideas for integrating technology into the classroom. http://www.techsavvyed.net/

Grassroots Video, Future of Education

Secondary school students from five schools in five different countries researched and envisioned the future of education and society through the framework of the 2007 Horizon Report, capturing their work in a wiki. They then produced nearly twenty short videos about the topics in the report and shared them via YouTube.

ScreencastCentral.com - The Home of the Screencast

ScreencastCentral.com - The Home of the Screencast

This site offers tutorials with step-by-step directions for many applications. It's a useful tool and a great resource.

Get Ready to Fly with Google Earth!

That's right, the newest version of Google Earth has a flight simulator. It's a hidden program but this video from YouTube tells you how to find it and how to use it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7z6Yxs69rQ

Double Amputee Walks Again due to Bluetooth

Two wounded Iraq veterans are using prosthetics that use BlueTooth technology to coordinate their movements. The new technology makes the walk more natural.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/25/bluetooth.legs/index.html