Blackboard Gradebook

One of the larger LMS (learning management systems) around is Blackboard, who has finally overhauled their Gradebook in the next release of 8.0. You can see a preview of the gradebook's release here.

Nanobots and Cancer

There's a lot of questions floating around asking about nanobots, and what are the actual application of them. It all sounds so sci-fiction, and sounds a long way off.

This story from 60 minutes (12 minutes long) shows some of the future applications of the nanos, and how the greatest of scientific discoveries can come from the most unlikely of sources. While this is still several years away, and is still a long way from a saviour, it is a good indication of how close the world is to the land of sci-fi.

Laptop of 2015

I do enjoy a peek into the future, speculative though they may be.

While computer advancements have come light-years in the last decade in terms of speed, memory, data storage, processing power, connectivity, convergence, etc, the basics around them have not changed much at all. Daily use of a computer/laptop still maintains the mechanical keyboard and mouse, which, beyond the ergonomic and wireless advancements, have advanced very little. This prediction shows the advancements yet to come, but seemingly quite reasonable in projection.

2015 is only a few years away... check out what you'll be working on here.

"Industrial Schools"

Less than a minute long, have a look at this commentary by Stephen Heppel.




One idea in particular that I've grabbed on to is the idea that schools are still based on the industrial revolution model. While this is something I've been suggesting for a while now, I too am disappointed in the lack of progression and forward thinking our education system is giving to getting out of the industrial age, when the rest of the modernized world has long since moved on.

In our province of Alberta, we have established through public funds excellent, stable high-speed internet to every school, yet many of those schools have little computer access for the students. Most school networks are tightly locked down so even those few students who have computers of their own they could bring to school can't access the network. I'm interested to check out post-secondary campuses to see if they are following their American siblings in offering campus-wide WiFi for students to access.

In this day and age, why are not most of the students provided laptops and WiFi access in schools, starting in Div II?

Heppel predicts 10 years of 'lost' children. I hope and hope it's not that long, but I do not doubt his prediction. I'm disappointed by it.

Next Steps in Hand-helds

The LucidTouch is still in a very rudimentary, prototype phase, but you can quickly see the potential of who this style of technology may quickly change the hand-held device world. In an era of convergence, this style of interaction is only a few years/months away.

Our LucidTouch prototype allows users to interact with screen content by touching the back of the device. The device allows users to target accurately by providing visual feedback of the users hand. This effect of "pseudo translucency" is created by sensing the hand behind the device and rendering a translucent version onto the screen.

Crayon Physics

Not too sure what to say about this except it looks very cool!

Gravity Lamp for the Greener Good

A lamp lit by gravity? Patent pending...

Virginia Tech student Clay Moulton has created a lamp that produces the equivalent of a 40-watt bulb over a period of 4 hours, making use of LED lighting and gravity.

Using similar ideas found in the old-school grandfather clock, a user slides a weight approximately every 4 hours to produce a soft glow. Estimated to function for 200 years, this may be the next wave of green products.

Past innovations have been all about convenience, all about making things as easy as possible on the user (think about the innovation of the remote control). This is a step in the other direction, a manual-intervention device that is aimed at the 'greener good'.

The light, pictured at left, stands about 4' tall, and glows through the entire column, by diffusing 10 high-output LED lights.

This design was just awarded 2nd place at the Greener Gadget Conference.

Read Virginia Tech's press-release here.

$100 Laptop now $187, $50 by 2011?

Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project, presented a Keynote at the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences earlier this week. Some items in his presentation:

• OLPC laptops are currently being produced for $187
• Thousands have been delivered
• Over 500,000 more are in the pipeline
• Production is now at 110,000 units per month
• Price will fall to $100 by the end of 2009
• Price will fall to $50 by 2011

Read a review of his address from Wired.

NCTCA Presentation

The presentation for the North Central Teachers Convention Association, presented February 8th in Edmonton, Alberta, can be viewed here.

Feel free to pass along any questions.

Further Convergence of Technology

The next step in convergence comes from Garmin, one of the leaders in GPS technology, as they launch their new Nuvifone. The Garmin Nuvifone also features a 3.5-inch touch screen, a Web browser, and e-mail capabilities. It's multimedia-friendly with MP3/ACC/MPEG4 support and a built-in camera/camcorder.

Read Garmin's press release here.

Large touchscreens are the latest wave, started by the wildly-hyped iPhone's innovative design. Comparisons to the iPhone are inevitable, but first looks suggests it has all the functionality of the iPhone with the addition of GPS technology and a better camera. It is expected to be slightly more expensive then the iPhone, but hopefully not limited to one network, as the iPhone is.

This type of convergence is a step discussed before, where instead of faster and stronger, technology will be smaller and combined.

This does leave a question that is sure to be raised about personal privacy. Having a GPS in the cell phone will leave many to wonder who is monitoring the whereabouts. Certainly parents of teenagers will be looking for technology like this to monitor their children, for better or worse, but many may question the possible invasion of privacy.

I, for one, is anxious for one less thing to carry around!