The Apple iPad – Are Textbooks Obselete?

Again, Apple has raised the bar and set a standard with portable technology. Today, Apple introduced the iPad, a portable tablet/slate device with a multi-touch, full-color, LED screen. With its launch, they’ll also be opening a new store in iTunes which will carry books. (Watch out Kindle!) This device is much more than an eBook reader, though. Take a look at the video:

-Lucas

Educators – Get Prezi for Free!

Teachers, are you tired of PowerPoint? Are bullet points boring your students to tears? Changed your students’ glazed-over look during your presentations with Prezi! What is Prezi? Glad you asked! Prezi allows you to create dynamic, web-based presentations that go beyond the monotony of slide-by-slide PowerPoints. Here’s an example about Web 2.0 tools:

Also, notice that your Prezis can be embedded into a website. That means your presentations can be placed into your teacher web page for student review. Sign up for a free account today at: http://prezi.com/profile/signup/edu/.

-Lucas

10 Technologies That Will Rock 2010 (from TechCrunch)

Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace and the impact these changes will have on education will potentially be staggering. So, what technologies are predicted to be huge in 2010? Check out TechCrunch’s list of 10 Technologies That Will Rock 2010!

-Lucas

Pics from “The Games Wii Play” Workshop

Last Wednesday, we had a fantastic workshop for our middle school staff involved in the after school program. Each of our middle schools received a Nintendo Wii system and a number of games designed to help students with team-building in a fun and active way. I believe this was the first workshop where several participants stayed an extra two hours for extra “learning!” It was a blast!

-Lucas

Great Video on Virtual Worlds in Education – Our WoWinSchool Project Gets A Mention!

Great video from our friends in Australia on the potential for virtual worlds anf games in education.  Our WoWinSchool project is recognized in this video too!

-Lucas

iPod Touch Gaming For Learning

Character Creation in SIMS 3 on the iPod Touch

Recently, one of the middle schools in the district, Cape Fear Middle, purchase a classroom set of Apple’s iPod Touch.  The results of their use, so far, have been incredible.  Part of the reason is that we’re using them in ways that allow us to do things that we couldn’t normally do in the classroom.  For example, students in Craig Lawson’s 7th Grade Language Arts class are playing the popular game, SIMS 3.  Their game play is the foundation for all sorts of creative projects.  Students began by playing a SIM and used their virtual characters’ characteristics, motivations, and personality to write about the same in fiction literature.  The project has also been the foundation for writing about point-of-view, with students’ creative writing focused on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-person writing.  This week, students will be telling stories in the form of web-comics based on their SIMS’ virtual lives.  If you’d like to learn more about the project (and future game-based projects we’ll be doing with the iPod Touch), visit the project wiki at:  http://ipodgamesforlearning.pbworks.com.  You can take a look at Mr. Lawson’s students’ work in the project at his classroom wiki:  http://grizzlygrammar.pbworks.com/

-Lucas

Topsail High School Electric Vehicle Program Featured on EVCast Podcast

Kudos to the Topsail High School EV Team!  Steve Garrett, the instructor, along with students Marissa and Arik were interviewed my the folks at EVCast Podcast.  You can listen to the podcast online at EVCast.com.  Also, check out the THS EV blog.

-Lucas

Introducing the Digital Generation

Great intro video from the folks at Edutopia.org:

-Lucas

Medieval Tech Support

Well, as many of you have noticed, we’ve kicked off the year with a number of major technology changes in the district: new network, new web pages, and new email, just to name a few. Change is something that we all have to deal with but often we don’t like, and, of course, it takes time to adjust. The dust will settle, and in the long run we’ll be better off for it! In the mean time, here’s a video to remind us that technology change has been an issue throughout history. Perhaps, you may even have a laugh while watching…

-Lucas

Teacher’s Guide To Using Facebook

Teacher’s Guide to Using Facebook (Read Fullscreen)