Intel launches new version of its Classmate PC for kids Intel has launched a new version of its Classmate PC, a learning laptop for kids. The new design is more flexible and durable than past Intel computers that promote electronic learning. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel unveiled the design at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. With the Classmate PC, Intel designs the hardware, software and chips for the system and provides a reference design for local computer makers in a variety of countries. The Classmate PC is a clamshell (opens and closes like a clam) and can be converted into a touchscreen tablet computer. “Our ethnographers have spent countless hours understanding how technology can help school age children here in the U.S. and around the world build the skills required for the future,” said Kapil Wadhera, acting general manager of Intel’s Emerging Markets Platform Group, which helped design the computer. The user interface is optimized for e-book applications and has a water-resistant keyboard, touchpad and screen.
Free Map Creator The Click2Map Editor is a powerful Rich Internet Application. Its look and feel are similar to those of a standard desktop application. Click2Map's ergonomic user interface helps you create maps easily, even if you have no programming knowledge. Create your maps and add your own points of interest in just a few clicks. Display markers containing text, photos, videos... When a visitor clicks on a marker, an info window pops up, displaying the information you choose: address, coordinates, any kind of data such as text, photos, videos or even embedded HTML content. Add Lines and Polygons Lines and polygons can be used for multiple purposes, for example to mark geographical areas or to highlight itineraries. Personalize your maps with your own markers The Click2Map Editor comes with a library rich of several dozens of markers to which you can add your own images. Organize your markers into groups A productivity oriented professional application Create your personalized marker templates
The Science and Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback We cannot underestimate the value of feedback. Feedback is an important aspect of building a constructive relationship - personal and professional. It is an invitation to interact. It can help improve our performance and change our behaviour. Most of us know and understand the importance of feedback. Several articles and books explain the right method and process to give feedback. Giving Feedback- Any time is a good time for giving feedback - Don’t wait for the end of the assignment/project/year to give an important piece of feedback that would have made the difference along the way. - Plan the feedback session – It is not a good idea to give feedback on an ad-hoc basis, in between other meetings, in the hallway, when surrounded by other people etc. - Be prepared – Don’t start or end in an abrupt manner. - Focus on performance not the person – This is by far the most important aspect of giving feedback. Remember, giving feedback is a two-way process.
INFOGRAPHIC : The Neurology Of Gaming I am not that much into gaming but I know a lot of people who are, and after showing them today’s infographic, all of them had very mixed reactions. One wanted to shoot me with his laser gun, another wanted to blow me up with his Apache helicopter missiles while a third started humming the Tetris music while trying to bend me into a weird shape to fit into the corner of the room. Seriously though, a lot of studies have been done throughout the years regarding the psychological effects of gaming on people, especially on young children. As the infographic shows, there are positive sides to gaming too – improved problem solving and ability to work in a team, improved co-ordination and more. What do you think? Infographic Source: OnlineUniversities.com Image Credit: San Diego Shooter
How to Stop Procrastinating--Now - Entrepreneur.com Putting things off for another day is one of the things millions of us know how to do well, but it creates anxiety, low-quality work and missed deadlines. Researchers and psychologists have come up with many reasons we procrastinate. Instead of fixating on why (years of therapy could give you an answer), its best to find ways to manage it. Here are some common and not-so-common tips to beat procrastination: Sometimes it's good to wait. Scott Halford is an expert speaker and author of the bestselling book, Be a Shortcut: The Secret Fast Track to Business Success (Wiley and Sons 2009).
INFOGRAPHIC : How To Create An Infographic Here at MakeUseOf, we get lots of infographic submissions sent to us on a regular basis. Some fall under the category “EXCELLENT!” while a lot others get deleted right away. A lot also falls into the middle category which I like to call the “meh” category (thank you Lisa and Bart Simpson). The fact is that creating a quality infographic is not an easy task and not everyone can do it properly. Our infographic today comes courtesy of DIY Blogger and it shows you the 7 steps necessary to make a good infographic that people will want to look at. What do you think of the infographic? Click on infographic for a larger version Infographic Source: DIY Blogger Image Source: Selva
Dad, Dad! He's looking up answers on his iPod! | Education IT | ZDNet.com So exclaims my 7-year old, running into the kitchen, eyes bright at the prospect of getting his older brother in trouble. His face fell as I asked why it was a problem for him to be looking up the answers to his history homework on the Internet. As I explained that it was OK to search for answers to questions on the Web, he walked dejectedly back to my laptop and harvested some more crops in Farmville. Clearly, the little guy was missing the point of the World Wide Web. As I went about my business in the kitchen, I couldn't help but feel sad (and completely upset with myself as the technology director of his school district) that somewhere along the way he got the impression that Googling was somehow equivalent to cheating. Same goes for being able to write and communicate effectively. I don't care if my kids don't remember who Zachary Taylor or Stephen Kearny were.
POST - #Learnstreaming and #PKM - A graphic that reflects many of the concepts of personal knowledge management Dennis Callahan has a most interesting Posterous site, called LearnStreaming. His latest post shows this graphic, which I find reflects many of the concepts of personal knowledge management, but with some additional aspects that may make it easier to understand and do: Dennis has a clear and simple definition for Learnstreaming – publishing your learning activities online for the benefit of you and others. Using a related concept from Jay Cross, I would say that learnstreams are the water that allows learnscapes to grow.
Disintermediation: The disruption to come for Education 2.0 - O'Reilly Radar On the largest of scales, we rarely have the luxury of designing technological systems. Instead, technologies happen to us – our experience of them being ragged, volatile, turbulent and rife with unexpected interactions. Tim’s posts about the emerging internet operating system (here and here) describe a great example of this – the winner of that particular fight being very much TBD and the factors determining victory or defeat being themselves the subject of lively debate. When we talk about Education 2.0, though, we are prone to think that we can design it – that we can consciously and deliberately lay the groundwork for its effective implementation. Our deliberation, though, may be less powerful than the larger forces driving its rapid evolution. One such force will certainly be disintermediation. Disintermediation is a process in which a middle player poised between service or product providers and their consumers is weakened or removed from the value chain.
Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Experiments in delinkification A few years back, my friend Steve Gillmor, the long-time technology writer and blogger, went on a crusade against the hyperlink. He stopped putting links into his posts and other online writings. I could never quite understand his motivation, and the whole effort struck me as quixotic and silly. My view has changed. Links are wonderful conveniences, as we all know (from clicking on them compulsively day in and day out). The link is, in a way, a technologically advanced form of a footnote. I don’t want to overstate the cognitive penalty produced by the hyperlink (or understate the link’s allure and usefulness), but the penalty seems to be real, and we should be aware of it. The book, I’m pleased to say, has already prompted a couple of experiments in what I’ll call delinkification. Collecting all the URLs into a single block of text at the end of the article works very well. So here at the Core we are embarking upon a small experiment. And here, patient reader, are the links: