Competition Among Tablets

Apple released its iPad 2 this past Wednesday. I know it can seem like Apple and other technology companies come out with a new and improved product before we have a chance to get sick of its last one. It can make people crazy when trying to stay on top with the latest trends, but it is good for competition. Competition among tablets is increasing which will assist in competitive pricing, and very possibly, more affordable tablets. I believe tablets will be extremely practical and useful devices for all students and teachers…once they’re affordable for the average person.

Whether or not you’re willing to spend the money on a tablet, it’s good to know their capabilities and improvements. So, I’ve summed those up below.

Apple’s iPad 2

Size: 1.3 lbs (3 oz lighter than original iPad); 9.7-in. screen; aluminum shell is 33% thinner




Resolution: 1024 by 768 pixels (same as original)




Storage Options and Respective Prices: 16 GB [$499], 32 GB [$599] and 64 GB [$699] (same as original)




Memory and Processor: 512 MB and new dual-core A5 processor(this lets you do more than one thing at a time)




Includes 2 cameras.




If you have the $39 dock-to-HDMI Digital AV Adapter, iPad 2 is capable of video mirroring which is a beneficial tool for presenters and teachers.




There are more than 65,000 apps available at the App Store.




Motorola's Xoom

Size: 1.76 lbs; 10.1-in. screen




Resolution: 1280 by 800 pixels (greater than iPads)




Storage: 32 GB

Price: $799

Memory and Processor: NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, 1GHz dual-core CPU and a 1GB RAM

Includes dual cameras.




Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Size: 1.76 lbs; 10.1-in. screen




Resolution: 1280 by 800 pixels (greater than iPads; same as Xoom)




Storage Options and Respective Prices: 16 GB and 32 GB (price could change due to release of iPad 2)




Memory and Processor: NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, 1GHz dual-core CPU and a 1GB RAM (same as Xoom)

Includes dual cameras.




Thinking Outside the Box to Expand Special Education Programs

The coffee shop run by students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Edison, NJ averages a profit of $100 a week. A class designed for children with autism or multiple learning disabilities runs a coffee shop every Friday morning in the home economics classroom. The teachers enjoy stopping in the coffee shop during their free period, and the students look forward to Fridays when they get to work.

Thomas Macchiaverna, who came up with the coffee shop idea, created the program to provide his students with opportunities to learn math skills, develop business sense, and practice social interaction. The profits have been used for field trips and classroom celebrations, which has been especially helpful since the Edison district recently eliminated money for field trips.

TED Talks in Written Form

TED is now creating e-books available through Kindle. The authors of these books were asked to cover a topic concisely within 10,000 to 20,000 words. TED is launching this idea with the following books:



• The Happiness Manifesto: How Nations and People Can Nurture Well-Being by Nic Marks



• Homo Evolutis Please Meet the Next Human Species by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans



• Beware Dangerism! Why We Worry About the Wrong Things, and What It’s Doing to Our Kids by Gever Tully

Can Math Teachers Rap..?

At Westerville South High School in Ohio, math teachers Dave Schultz, KC Murphy, and Tyler Winner created “Getting’ Triggy Wit It” a parody of Will Smith’s jiggy.


Lamar Queen, an 8th grade math teacher in Los Angeles, regularly performs songs to reinforce lessons.


Mrs. Lee, a teacher at Grafton Middle School in York County, Virginia, wrote this fraction rap.

History Lessons for Music Lovers

The videos below were created by two teachers from Honolulu, Hawaii. They change the words of popular songs to give the basics of some historical people and events. The teachers have reworked songs for almost 50 lessons, and you can find those at historyteacher’s YouTube Channel.

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Imagine Cup 2011

Registration for Microsoft’s 9th Imagine Cup
is now open. The competition is made up of passionate and creative young people that work to find solutions to our world’s social and environmental problems. This year a new program is added to the competition called “Imagine Cup Solve This”. The program will provide needs submitted by organizations that students will be challenged to solve creatively.

You can click here to see the winners of the Imagine Cup 2010. Below is a video for the 3rd place winner in the Digital Media category, Team Woolgathering.

Good Article for Ed Techs…

…and anyone else trying to get a group to shift towards more innovative technologies in a classroom or organization. This ZDNet Education article, “If I only knew then…” lists the top ten principles and knowledge Christopher Dawson believes Ed Techs should keep in mind. I agree with most of his advice, but I recommend disregarding the last paragraph. While I love coffee more than I should, SLEEP IS IMPORTANT.