We're planning an application for a multi-touch SMART Table at one of my schools, and one of the goals is to ensure that it can facilitate social interaction among students with and without disabilties, including autism. Keeping this in mind, one of my colleages sent me an email a minute ago with a link to a great post by Michelle Winner's blog about social thinking and "inclusion" vs "integration" in education settings. It is worth a read!
http://www.socialthinking.com/michelles-blog/social-skills-for-an-integrated-setting.html
Mar 11, 2010
National Educational Technology Plan Draft - A must-read.
The National Educational Technology Plan 2010 was released on 3/5/10 in draft format. It is well worth reading!
The NETP is consistent with the Framework for 21st Century Learning model, calling for schools to ensure students are prepared for the skills they will need in an increasingly complex, technological society:
"The model of 21st century learning described in this plan calls for engaging and empowering learning experiences for all learners. The model asks that we focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know, how they learn, where and when they will learn, and who needs to learn. It brings state-of-the art technology into learning to enable, motivate, and inspire all students, regardless of background, languages, or disabilities, to achieve. It leverages the power of technology to provide personalized learning instead of a one-size fits-all curriculum, pace of teaching, and instructional practices."
Secretary Duncan announcing the Education Technology Plan on YouTube
Hopefully the NETP initiative will encourage teachers to consider video clips for their students to explore that are more exciting than this well-meaning gentleman's talking head!
RESOURCES
Executive Summary PDF
National Ed Tech Plan PDF
NIMAS (Large - 300dpi)
NIMAS (Normal - 72dpi)
A message to a few of my beloved colleagues:
Teachers who are still struggling with figuring out how to access e-mail attachments and the basics of Microsoft Office 2003, this plan will call for a steep learning curve! I will be by your side to help. It is good to know that David Rose, of CAST, the father of Universal Design for Learning, was one of the members of the NETP working group.
RELATED
National Educational Technology Plan Technical Working Group:
Daniel E. Atkins, University of Michigan
John Bennett, Akron Public Schools
John Seely Brown, Deloitte Center for the Edge
Aneesh Chopra, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Chris Dede, Harvard University
Barry Fishman, University of Michigan
Louis Gomez, University of Pittsburgh
Margaret Honey, New York Hall of Science
Yasmin Kafai, University of Pennsylvania
Maribeth Luftglass, Fairfax County Public Schools
Roy Pea, Stanford University
Jim Pellegrino, University of Illinois, Chicago
David Rose, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
Candace Thille, Carnegie Mellon University
Brenda Williams, West Virginia Department of Education
The NETP is consistent with the Framework for 21st Century Learning model, calling for schools to ensure students are prepared for the skills they will need in an increasingly complex, technological society:
"The model of 21st century learning described in this plan calls for engaging and empowering learning experiences for all learners. The model asks that we focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know, how they learn, where and when they will learn, and who needs to learn. It brings state-of-the art technology into learning to enable, motivate, and inspire all students, regardless of background, languages, or disabilities, to achieve. It leverages the power of technology to provide personalized learning instead of a one-size fits-all curriculum, pace of teaching, and instructional practices."
Secretary Duncan announcing the Education Technology Plan on YouTube
Hopefully the NETP initiative will encourage teachers to consider video clips for their students to explore that are more exciting than this well-meaning gentleman's talking head!
RESOURCES
Executive Summary PDF
National Ed Tech Plan PDF
NIMAS (Large - 300dpi)
NIMAS (Normal - 72dpi)
A message to a few of my beloved colleagues:
Teachers who are still struggling with figuring out how to access e-mail attachments and the basics of Microsoft Office 2003, this plan will call for a steep learning curve! I will be by your side to help. It is good to know that David Rose, of CAST, the father of Universal Design for Learning, was one of the members of the NETP working group.
RELATED
National Educational Technology Plan Technical Working Group:
Daniel E. Atkins, University of Michigan
John Bennett, Akron Public Schools
John Seely Brown, Deloitte Center for the Edge
Aneesh Chopra, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Chris Dede, Harvard University
Barry Fishman, University of Michigan
Louis Gomez, University of Pittsburgh
Margaret Honey, New York Hall of Science
Yasmin Kafai, University of Pennsylvania
Maribeth Luftglass, Fairfax County Public Schools
Roy Pea, Stanford University
Jim Pellegrino, University of Illinois, Chicago
David Rose, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
Candace Thille, Carnegie Mellon University
Brenda Williams, West Virginia Department of Education
Mar 10, 2010
Getting back to the grid...
I've been extremely busy in my off-line life. Keep posted, I have lots of interesting things I plan to share!
Feb 26, 2010
More Multi-touch: So touch Multi-touch Presentation Software for Windows 7
So touch is a creative software company that has developed So touch Presention for creating multi-touch presentations for Windows 7. You can download a trial version from the So touch website. Minimal requirements are a 1.6GHz processor (Core2 Duo), 2 Gb of RAM, and a 512Mb graphic card.)
Here's the promotional video:
Here is the promotional information from the So touch YouTube site:
"Create your own multi-touch presentations! Discover the NEW So touch Presentation software!
Get your audience captivated and make your presentations more intuitive and entertaining than ever!
Manipulate images or screenshots of your usual documents with multi-touch gestures! Navigate multi-
images format, scroll up and down long images. Then open the original file or document in one tap on the screen leveraging the usual Windows associated application!
Thank to its user-friendly visual administration interface, the So touch presentation software is easy to use and will bring to life your presentations on a day to day basis!"
For more information, get in touch at contact [at] so-touch [dot] com or visit http://www.so-touch.com
Music by http://www.myspace.com/wouhouh
FOR THE TECH-CURIOUS
"So touch Presentation for Windows 7 is developed using Adobe AIR and our unique AS3 framework for Adobe AIR and Windows 7 that is also available on our website! It is the first professional and transparent solution to develop Windows 7 compatible Adobe AIR applications. We are proud to be the first to announce it! There is some open source existing solutions but they don't offer the transparency and efficiency of SoBridge, the TUIO to Windows 7 C# bridge, included with So touch Framework."
Contact Person: Julien Lescure
Company Name: So touch
Telephone Number: +44 20 3239 3912
Email Address: contact[at]so-touch[dot]com
Web site address: http://www.so-touch.com
Here's the promotional video:
Here is the promotional information from the So touch YouTube site:
"Create your own multi-touch presentations! Discover the NEW So touch Presentation software!
Get your audience captivated and make your presentations more intuitive and entertaining than ever!
Manipulate images or screenshots of your usual documents with multi-touch gestures! Navigate multi-
images format, scroll up and down long images. Then open the original file or document in one tap on the screen leveraging the usual Windows associated application!
Thank to its user-friendly visual administration interface, the So touch presentation software is easy to use and will bring to life your presentations on a day to day basis!"
For more information, get in touch at contact [at] so-touch [dot] com or visit http://www.so-touch.com
Music by http://www.myspace.com/wouhouh
FOR THE TECH-CURIOUS
"So touch Presentation for Windows 7 is developed using Adobe AIR and our unique AS3 framework for Adobe AIR and Windows 7 that is also available on our website! It is the first professional and transparent solution to develop Windows 7 compatible Adobe AIR applications. We are proud to be the first to announce it! There is some open source existing solutions but they don't offer the transparency and efficiency of SoBridge, the TUIO to Windows 7 C# bridge, included with So touch Framework."
Contact Person: Julien Lescure
Company Name: So touch
Telephone Number: +44 20 3239 3912
Email Address: contact[at]so-touch[dot]com
Web site address: http://www.so-touch.com
More Multi-touch: New video from NUITEQ: Snowflake Suite Multi-touch Software on a 46" HD LCD
Here is the promotional information from NUITEQ:
"NUITEQ's Snowflake Suite off the shelf multi-touch software product showcased on a 46" flat full HD multi-touch LCD. Available for purchase now.
Snowflake Suite is honored with a Stevie Awards finalist recognition for Best Product or Service of the Year 2009 in the category Media and Entertainment for the International Business Awards. Snowflake Suite is available to OEM's, SI's, VAR's, software engineers and end clients. Snowflake Suite comes with hands full of multi-touch applications, an API and a SDK.
Compatible with different multi-touch hardware technology platforms, including: 3M Touch Systems, N-trig, NextWindow, Lumio, Nexio, IR Touch, rear camera based systems, dreaMTouch and others."
"Natural User Interface Technologies AB (NUITEQ) is a Swedish technology company, that offers off the shelf and customized software for interactive single and multi-touch devices. Additionally NUITEQ executes large scale customization projects, concerning multi-touch technology hardware, software and services. In parallel, NUITEQ is working on other innovative emerging technologies within the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI)."
Today's News: NUITEQ wins MerlT Award for development through collaboration, growth potential and innovative thinking.
RELATED
NUITEQ Flat 46'' Multi-touch LCD
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Also available as a horizontal solution.NUITEQ Wiki
Harry van der Veen's NUITEQ Blog
(I've been following Harry van der Veen's journey since he was a university student. At the time, he was a leading member of the NUI-Group, creating a DYI multi-touch table as part of his studies. This was before Microsoft Surface was born.)
Web-based Technology-Supported Interaction: 6Rounds mixes webcam, games, and social media....
I've been so busy writing reports* that this almost passed me by!
I found out about 6rounds because they use Twitter as a promotional platform. I happened to notice that this company was following me and clicked on the link.
6rounds started out as an outgrowth of a speed dating website, and the application was initially designed for people to use while waiting for speed dating sessions. According to the 6rounds website FAQ's, "6rounds is a live meeting point, offering users a variety of experiences that they enjoy together using a combination of webcams, real-time games, social activities and media engagements."
Since I'm a happily married middle-aged woman, I'm not sure 6rounds is up my alley. I think social singles, college students, and others who don't mind flashing their faces through a webcam would like it.
If I had time, I might like to play around with GixOO, the opensource API that underpins 6rounds. GixOO has the potential for developers to develop games and activities. The application allows the users to track each other as they move their mice, and also enables people to see the same things as their friends as they interact online.
6rounds looks like it might provide possibilities for collaborative projects in education, but I won't be sure until I give it a try.
So what is 6rounds?
FOR THE TECH-CURIOUS
The following information was quoted from the Openomics blog from Sun Microsystem's ISV Engineering:
"6rounds is the first product built on the GixOO live social platform, initially developped on the LAMP stack. As a member of the Sun Startup Essentials program, GixOO connected with Sun's ISV Engineering team to test the scalability of their platform on SAMP --the Solaris-based AMP stack, available in an integrated and optimized package from Sun, the Sun Glassfish Web Stack f.k.a. CoolStack. At the time, we ran the benchmark on a Sun SPARC Enterprise T5120 server --featuring the 64-way CoolThreads processor UltraSPARC T2-- running Solaris 10 and CoolStack 1.3. GixOO loved the DTrace kernel instrumentation of Solaris 10 --DTrace gives unique insights into how the application performs, live on a production system-- and the Containers technology a.k.a. Zones --this light-weigth virtualization layer of Solaris allows multiple applications to run in isolation from each other on the same physical hardware--, and quickly adopted them for their internal use.
2/26/10: Oracle bought Sun in 2009. Here were the latest results when I did a search to get more information:
Not Really Related
*For those new to this blog, I'm a school psychologist who returned to her day job full time a year and 1/2 ago, when the economy was taking a nosedive. Before that, I was working part-time and taking computer and technology classes, initially to learn how to create interactive multimedia applications and games.
Since some of the kids and teens I work with have a range of abilities and disabilities, including autism, I developed an interest in accessibility. How can universal design principles be applied to games and emerging interactive technologies? I'm also fascinated by interactive displays and surfaces of all sizes, especially ubiquitous systems that support cognition, collaboration and communication.
One of my pet projects:
My vision? A collaborative multimedia, multi-modal interactive time-line might help us to understand complex, interrelated factors and events more effectively. It would provide an opportunity for the inquisitive to view things from a broad perspective, and also explore things in rich detail. Ideally, the time-line would support multi-touch, multi-user interaction on larger displays and interactive whiteboards, and allow for people who are remotely located to participate in the process.
Now that one of my schools will be getting a multi-touch SMARTTable, I'd like to experiment with time-line concepts and interactions on a table surface. I'd also like to figure out how this can work seamlessly with the existing SMARTBoard that is in the classroom. Of course, this would have to take place during after work hours!
I found out about 6rounds because they use Twitter as a promotional platform. I happened to notice that this company was following me and clicked on the link.
6rounds started out as an outgrowth of a speed dating website, and the application was initially designed for people to use while waiting for speed dating sessions. According to the 6rounds website FAQ's, "6rounds is a live meeting point, offering users a variety of experiences that they enjoy together using a combination of webcams, real-time games, social activities and media engagements."
Since I'm a happily married middle-aged woman, I'm not sure 6rounds is up my alley. I think social singles, college students, and others who don't mind flashing their faces through a webcam would like it.
If I had time, I might like to play around with GixOO, the opensource API that underpins 6rounds. GixOO has the potential for developers to develop games and activities. The application allows the users to track each other as they move their mice, and also enables people to see the same things as their friends as they interact online.
6rounds looks like it might provide possibilities for collaborative projects in education, but I won't be sure until I give it a try.
So what is 6rounds?
FOR THE TECH-CURIOUS
The following information was quoted from the Openomics blog from Sun Microsystem's ISV Engineering:
"6rounds is the first product built on the GixOO live social platform, initially developped on the LAMP stack. As a member of the Sun Startup Essentials program, GixOO connected with Sun's ISV Engineering team to test the scalability of their platform on SAMP --the Solaris-based AMP stack, available in an integrated and optimized package from Sun, the Sun Glassfish Web Stack f.k.a. CoolStack. At the time, we ran the benchmark on a Sun SPARC Enterprise T5120 server --featuring the 64-way CoolThreads processor UltraSPARC T2-- running Solaris 10 and CoolStack 1.3. GixOO loved the DTrace kernel instrumentation of Solaris 10 --DTrace gives unique insights into how the application performs, live on a production system-- and the Containers technology a.k.a. Zones --this light-weigth virtualization layer of Solaris allows multiple applications to run in isolation from each other on the same physical hardware--, and quickly adopted them for their internal use.
"At GixOO, we use Sun SPARC-based server, powered by Solaris 10 for our R&D environment. The system gives us the required flexibility and components isolation that we need. Thanks to SPARC's great SMP abilities, we achieve high performance for many development environments running on one single 1U server.Somewhat Related
Solaris Zones are very comfortable and simple to configure, and allow the full utilization of the great power hidden in this small machine, which makes Solaris 10 an excellent choice for system administrators. We are using Sun MySQL Server which gives our application high speed data storage solution, and in the future we might migrate to the MySQL Cluster solution to get even faster results."
Dmitry Shestak, CTO, GixOO"
2/26/10: Oracle bought Sun in 2009. Here were the latest results when I did a search to get more information:
Not Really Related
*For those new to this blog, I'm a school psychologist who returned to her day job full time a year and 1/2 ago, when the economy was taking a nosedive. Before that, I was working part-time and taking computer and technology classes, initially to learn how to create interactive multimedia applications and games.
Since some of the kids and teens I work with have a range of abilities and disabilities, including autism, I developed an interest in accessibility. How can universal design principles be applied to games and emerging interactive technologies? I'm also fascinated by interactive displays and surfaces of all sizes, especially ubiquitous systems that support cognition, collaboration and communication.
One of my pet projects:
My vision? A collaborative multimedia, multi-modal interactive time-line might help us to understand complex, interrelated factors and events more effectively. It would provide an opportunity for the inquisitive to view things from a broad perspective, and also explore things in rich detail. Ideally, the time-line would support multi-touch, multi-user interaction on larger displays and interactive whiteboards, and allow for people who are remotely located to participate in the process.
Now that one of my schools will be getting a multi-touch SMARTTable, I'd like to experiment with time-line concepts and interactions on a table surface. I'd also like to figure out how this can work seamlessly with the existing SMARTBoard that is in the classroom. Of course, this would have to take place during after work hours!
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