40,000 Teachers Polled: NPR Talk of the Nation

NPR's Talk of the Nation featured an interesting discussion about education and the role teachers are playing in shaping the future.  A survey by Scholastic Inc. received responses from 40,000 teachers at various levels, K-12.

It should be noted that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has supported Charter Schools.  The Scholastic representative talks a big talk, but I would want to know if she has ever been in the classroom.  One fact that arises from this discussion is that the current system faces many hurdles.

Tablet PC 2.0: How Important is the Pen?

Since the Apple iPad is about to be released, I thought it would be interesting to gauge opinions regarding the lack of pen/inking support for the newest generation of tablets.  Check out the excerpt from GBM below:

For most hardcore Tablet PC loyalists, the lack of pen and inking support coming from what we’ve seen with Tablet 2.0 is surely disappointing. Is the lack of inking enough to prevent you from jumping on the Tablet 2.0 bandwagon, or are you holding out hope that one of these companies will realize the pen’s mighty power?

While Tablet PC 2.0, a slate-styled, multimedia consumption device, seems to be knocking at the door to success, the traditional Tablet PC appears to have fallen off the radar. For years, folks have said that Tablet PCs are too expensive, have been marketed poorly, and now seem to be losing the crippled support they had from their Grandpappy Microsoft. These events are all taking place despite the fact that Bill Gates, former Microsoft head, states that the pen has a place in computing.

Read the whole post.  Over 400 people have voted in the poll, and 25 have left insightful comments.  It's always great to read what others contribute.

The iPad: An Opportunity to Change Education

I firmly believe that the new generation of tablet computers could greatly impact education.  Here's what I wrote at GottaBeMobile:

"Around 1450, a man named Johannes Gutenberg created a device that has had an immeasurable impact upon all people.  His machine, the printing press, made it possible for text to be distributed much faster than the scribing process.  Fast forward to 2010, the year that Steve Jobs and Apple Computer introduce the iPad.  The iPad, Apple’s new tablet computer, has the potential to forever change how students learn and teachers teach.

Here are three reasons why the iPad could be appearing in a backpack near you."

There are is a great discussion taking place in the comments at GBM.  Join the conversation and read the whole post at GottaBeMobile.

Beat the System with Google Voice

You've read all about the Motorola Droid or a different smartphone but can't justify the additional $30 for a data plan?   Have no fear.  Google Voice to the rescue.  Here is an excerpt from the article at GottaBeMobile:

"Am I the only person in America who thinks wireless carrier’s plans are purposely difficult to understand and too costly?  Data plan caps, tethering, ETFs and a lot of other lingo often prevent folks from considering phones with data plans.  I wasn’t surprised during a recent visit to Best Buy when I examined wireless carrier’s cell phone offerings.  Most of the phones available on the market are smartphones, data-enabled or both.  The days of the traditional flip phone are quickly fading."

Read the whole post at GottaBeMobile.

Blogs in Plain English Video

Many of the assignments I have been working on as part of my principalship licensure program have featured videos such as the one below.  They are great for folks who might be unfamiliar with many of the popular and free services the Internet can offer.  Check out the video below for a great overview of blogs.

Leading a Democratic School

 The following post is a requirement for EDL 995, Advanced Institute for Educational Leaders.  This post considers the context of Sunnyside Unified School District which was presented through Web CT:

A democratic school building is one that is led by the people.  Although there are official school leaders, the school is composed of a team of individuals who work together, value each other's opinions, and provide the opportunity for all stakeholders to have a voice in decisions.  The following questions are answered with the consideration of a PK-5 elementary school in the Sunnyside Unified School District.

Click the title above to read the entire post.

10 Free Droid Apps Make Sure That Droid Still Does

Check out this post at GottaBeMobile to learn about 10 free apps that make full use of your Motorola Droid or Android OS handset.  Here's an excerpt:

"I’ve been rocking my Motorola Droid since the first day it was available to the public.  Although it is still a little rough around the edges, the Droid is a different animal from the iPhone and offers an equal amount of impressive and useful features.  This list of ten free apps includes a variety of tools that will help improve your overall Droid experience.  As Android becomes more mainstream, it’s nice to see many new apps being released.  A phone will only be as successful as the apps that are available.  While these apps may also work on other Android handsets, these are must-haves to ensure that you’re taking full advantage of your Droid."

 Read the whole post at GottaBeMobile to learn more about the 10 free apps.

It's a Winter Wonderland

It snowed about 2 inches last night and it's still coming down.  Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

The Good and Bad of Verizon's Droid Marketing

Here is an excerpt from a post at GottaBeMobile regarding Verizon's recent Droid marketing blitz:

"Let’s face it, AT&T is known for the iPhone; it is their flagship device.  If Verizon expects the Droid to be on the same playing field as the iPhone, it cannot give up the push.  Verizon must stand behind the Droid as its premier device if they expect long-term consumer adoption to continue.  Let’s examine a few good and bad points of. . ."

Read the whole post at GottaBeMobile.

Gateway ec1437u Notebook Review: Red for the Holidays

Here is an excerpt of a review I did on the Gateway ec1437u notebook computer at Notebooks.com:

"I wasn’t sure what to expect from Gateway as their reputation has suffered quite a bit in the past few years.  Would this be another dull, uninspiring copy-cat notebook, or would they deliver something fresh and invigorating?  What I have found in the EC1437u is something in between, but certainly a breath of fresh air from the Gateway folks.  Since being acquired by Acer, Gateway has been producing quality products at reasonable prices.

The EC1437u is a nice compromise machine.  Spend a few hundred more and. . ."

Click here to read the full review at Notebooks.com.

Killing Apps in Android

Here is an excerpt from a post at GottaBeMobile regarding killing applications in Android.

"One of the biggest discussions I have found through numerous forums regarding the Droid and any Android handset is the issue of killing applications.  Searching the Android Market, Android’s version of the App Store, there are a few popular task killing applications such as Advanced Task Killer and TasKiller.  Since Android supports multitasking, many programs have the ability to run at the same time.  Verizon has even featured the Advanced Task Killer in its section of the App Market.  These programs allow users to terminate or kill any running programs that might be running on the phone.  Typically, a screen pops up with running processes, a selection box allows users to pick which items to end, and the kill button is hit to stop the program from running."

Read the whole post at GottaBeMobile.

Blogaway on Motorola Droid / Android 2.0

I've been searching for a good mobile blogging app for use on my Motorola Droid. This is a test post of Blogaway for Android which was obtained from the App Market. It seems very basic, although it doesn't seem to support the software keyboard in landscape mode. It would also be nice to see additional features, but it's nonetheless free and works. It also doesn't seem to fully support the Droid's screen size.

Update:  Blogaway does actually support the landscape software keyboard.  For whatever reason, the screen orientation options changed when I was working on this post.  After making sure it the screen would rotate, Blogaway quickly switched into landscape.  The above picture was captured on the Droid's 5 megapixel camera and edited with PicSay from the Android App Market.