Saturday, September 15, 2007

LucidTouch two-sided touch screen

If you are interested in hand-held or mobile technologies that have potential for use in education, take a look at my post about LucidTouch, a two sided touch screen that is in development through a collaboration between Microsoft, the University of Toronto, and Mitsubishi.

Handheld Learning's link: Map of Future Forces Affecting Education: 2006-2016

It is difficult to keep up with changes that affect the future of education, especially when new technologies are springing up from every direction. For those of you who work in "low tech" educational settings, some of the changes might catch you by surprise. Hopefully some of the resources in this post and the TechPsych blog will help!

Handheld Learning website contains an interesting post about the future forces affecting education, along with a link to the "Map of Future Forces Affecting Education: 2006-2016". This map was created by the Knowledgeworks Foundation, an organization located in Ohio. The KnowledgeWorks Foundation is intersted in redesigning urban high schools in order to increase college access, enhance workforce education, and to create a seamless education system. They support the effective use of technology in the schools.


Handheld Learning, a group located in the UK, "promotes the use of mobile and ubiquitous technologies to enable transformational improvements in teaching and learning". They support the use of open standards and are committed to universal accessibility.

Handheld Learning was involved in the development of a recent video on Teachers.TV that provides an overview of the use of mobile devices by young people, including a discussion of the use of mobile devices for learning.

If you are interested in learning more about new technologies related to education, psychology, or special education, subscribe this blog. From the TechPsych blog, you can link to the Interactive Multimedia Technology or Technology-Supported Human-World Interaction. blogs.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Revisiting hand-held devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, and Education?


PDA's have been used in K-12 classrooms for several years, and as a result, resources for teachers such as hi-Ce (Center for Highly Interactive Classrooms, Curricula & Computing in Education), Palm for Education, and K12 Handhelds have become more available.

Some educators are thinking ahead of the crowd and brainstorming ways that Apple's iPhone could be used in educational settings, as it supports Web 2.0 applications. It it has an easy-to use multi-touch interface, and can access the Internet through a WiFi connection.

For more information, take some time to read the following articles:

"Educators assess iPhones for instruction" (Meris Stansbury, eSchool News)
"iPhone - 3 Features That Will Impact Education" (Jeff VanDrimmelen, EduTechie)

Now that the price has come down, iPhones, or the latest iPod "Touch" might be worth considering!