Palm OS Status

It sounds like Palm won't have any upgrades for the existing Centro or their PDA lines, which include the Z22, E2 and T|X models. Apart from new Nova devices, Palm will focus on refreshing and expanding the Treo Pro line. The company will continue to sell PDAs, but not make any new ones.They plan to push the ones they have out into the marketplace as long as there is a sufficient demand - but they are not developing new ones - which spells the inevitable end to the Palm PDA.

LG Debuts Sunlit LCD Panel At CES

Seoul, South Korea — LG’s display division has developed a 14.1-inch LCD panel for notebooks that is illuminated by sunlight instead of the backlight when used outdoors.

LG said its backlight data signal switching technology uses selective reflection plates in existing backlight panels to enable the switch from reflective mode in sunlight to a “transmissive” mode indoors and at night. The switch can be performed with the touch of a button.

According to the company, the display consumes about one-fourth the amount of energy in its sunlight mode than it does when it uses the backlight, which increases battery life.

Read more

Wal-Mart $99 iPhone Update

Wal-Mart may soon start selling a $99 Apple iPhone, according to several reports.

Rumors began circulating on Apple-related blogs late last week that the retailing giant would have a low-end version of the still-hot gadget in stores by New Year's Eve.

Over the weekend, Wal-Mart sources told the San Jose Mercury News and Bloomberg News that Wal-Mart would indeed be selling iPhones, but couldn't confirm that a $99 model would be among them.

"It's going to be very soon," the manager of a Wal-Mart in Fremont, Calif., told the Mercury News. "Originally they were going to release it before Christmas, but they can't get them that fast to us."

Read more

Laptops May Change The Way Rural Peru Learns

In Peru, there are 10,000 one- and two-room schools — and thousands of children who live in homes without running water or electricity. But now, many of those same kids are the proud owners of their own little piece of modern technology: a laptop computer.

The laptops are part of a huge educational experiment. Peru is purchasing hundreds of thousands of low-cost computers developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and leading technology experts as part of the One Laptop Per Child project.

Read more . . .

Update iPhone/iPod Touch Physical Education Software

As note in a previous post, we are porting our software (Fitness Report, Record Book, Clipboard, Heart Monitor/Pedometer Report, FITT, EXER, and eventually Teacher Observation PRogram) to the iPhone/iPod Touch.

We noted that there were about a dozen issues that we were addressing - and 11 of them were cleared up quickly. We still have one issue that we are continuing to address. We are working with the developers to address this issue which is key for all our applications except for Clipboard.

So, as we are addressing this one issue - we are doing the final testing of Clipboard (as a runtime option - so that you don't need to purchase Filemaker to run our programs) and writing directions for all the software. In this way we will be able to have the programs out as soon as the issue is addressed.

Be aware that later this spring - we will also have software available for Blackberry, Mobile 6, and G-1.

iPod Touch/iPhone Physical Education Software

Out of the 12 issues - we have solved 9 of them.
The other 3 seem to be features not currently supported in FmTouch - but we can address these tasks differently. Today we will do the work-arounds for these 3 issues.

We are still anticipating the release of the programs next week - probably one per day.

iPod Touch/iPhone Physical Education Software

Working through about a dozen issues - with converting the programs to iPod Touch - will post tonight how many have been fixed.

Walmart.com offers "thousands" of Wiis from Monday

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii has emerged as one of the few hot products this holiday season, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc will offer "tens of thousands" of the hard-to-get video game consoles on its website starting on Monday.

Walmart.com said it will offer the Nintendo Wii console for $249.24, and a "value bundle," which includes the console and other items like an extra set of controllers, for $329, while supplies last.

Read more

Apple to Sell IPhones in Wal-Mart Stores This Month

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second mass-market retail chain to start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone, with two store representatives saying the world’s largest retailer will carry two models of the Web-surfing handset this month.

Employees in the cell-phone departments at five California stores, contacted by phone today, said Wal-Mart will offer iPhones by the end of December. Employees are currently being trained on how to sell the device, all five said.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs tapped Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer, in September to sell the device as he works to win more buyers. Before then, the iPhone had been sold only by Apple and AT&T Inc., the exclusive provider of wireless service for the phone in the U.S.

Read more

iPod Touch/iPhone Physical Education Software

Yesterday we finished the layouts for heart monitor report and pedometer report.

In addition, we did the first of our five fitness report batteries.

This morning we completed the layouts for Teacher Observation Program.

We will finish the other four fitness report batteries today.

We will need to change one way of doing things because of constraints in FM Touch - we plan to tackle that this weekend, then on to final testing early next week.

iTouch Physical Education Software

Today we finished all the iTouch/iPhone screens for Record Book and Heart/Pedometer Report.

Tomorrow - we will work on the screens for Clipboard and Fitness.

We have a copy of minor issues that we are also working out.

But things are definitely moving along.

iTouch Physical Education Software

We have started on the iTouch Physical Education Software - we are converting
Record Book
Fitness Report
Heart Monitor Report
Pedometer Report
Clipboard
Teacher Observation Program
FITT
and
EXER

In the next few days we should be able to give you a better idea of when they will be available - we are currently projecting Dec 15, 2008.

Volleyball Complete/Softball Complete

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we finished Volleyball Complete and Softball Complete.
Softball Complete demos have been posted.
Volleyball Complete demo is over 50 megabytes so we had to "snail mail" it to our web hosting company.
It will be posted shortly.
Now - on to Problem Solving Complete - but first we will finish the iTouch programs.

Apple Releases iPhone 2.2 Update

Apple has rolled out a software upgrade for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch that adds new features and fixes some stability bugs.

The Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps application has received the most improvement, as iPhone users can get a closer view of locations with Street View. To access this, users have to choose a location on the map and a red icon will appear next to it. In Street View, users can zoom and rotate using the multitouch controls, but the iPhone lacks the Compass Mode that T-Mobile's G1 sports.

Read more

Home Schooling Goes Mainstream

“I never really told anybody about my music at school, only my really close friends,” Cheyenne Kimball told People Magazine in 2006. “Then [school officials] actually aired the show around the whole entire school, and that caused a lot of problems. I was a straight-A student and all of a sudden I didn’t want to go to school anymore because of the things people were saying. That’s why I’m homeschooled now.” Cheyenne, winner of NBC’s America’s Most Talented Kid at age 12, recording artist, and star of her own MTV show, is just one of many high-profile Americans whose educational choice is home schooling. Movie stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, married in 1997, home school their two children along with Will’s nephew. Why? “For flexibility,” Pinkett Smith told an Essence reporter, “so they can stay with us when we travel, and also because the school system in this country—public and private—is designed for the industrial age. We’re in a technological age. We don’t want our kids to memorize. We want them to learn.” While home schooling may have particular appeal to celebrities, over the last decade families of all kinds have embraced the practice for widely varying reasons: no longer is home schooling exclusive to Christian fundamentalism and the countercultural Left. Along with growing acceptance of home schooling nationally has come increasing diversification of who home schools and of what home schooling actually means.

Read more

HD TV Owners Ready for 3-D TV

Portland, Ore. — A recent online survey conducted by Quixel Research found that three-fourths of consumers have seen a 3-D movie with 3-D glasses and nearly 75 percent would recommend a 3-D experience to family and friends.

The TV display market research firm has just published a new study called “3D Displays for Mainstream Consumers,” featuring a online opinion study of more than 750 HDTV owners on 3-D technology.

Read more - click here

Physical Education iTouch Software

The FM Touch - version 1.3 has received approval from the Apple Store. This means that it now has the capability for tab formatting - which is what our programs use. We have designed our FM Touch screens and next week we will begin testing - we are looking at Dec 1 for release.

Volleyball Complete/Softball Complete

Today I am "testing" the labs for Volleyball Complete and Softball Complete. This weekend I will be conducting the final check on all aspects of these programs and they should in our store sometime next week.

Next year, students must take distance learning course to graduate

When Russellville High School English teacher Greg McCain had the opportunity to teach students via the Internet, he was intrigued.

McCain, who has been teaching for more than a decade, knew that the biggest difference would be that he wouldn't see his students. A lack of face-to-face contact would clearly necessitate adjusting his teaching style.

Now, more than two months into teaching an online English class, McCain said he's hitting his stride with his online students. They're from various schools around the state, including Limestone, Marshall and DeKalb counties. In all, about 10 schools are represented.

Read more

Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size In Florida, virtual school could make classrooms history

Thousands of Florida students may ditch public elementary and middle schools next year in favor of online classes at home -- an option that could change the face of public education.

A new law that takes effect next fall requires every district in the state to set up an online school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. They won't have to get on the bus -- or even get out of their PJs -- to head to school at the family computer.

Read more

Electronic Arts wants to help people get fit, too

Following in the footsteps of Nintendo's popular "Wii Fit," the video game publisher known for the "Madden" football games is jumping into fitness software targeted mostly at women.

Electronic Arts Inc. was set to announce Thursday a new line, EA Sports Active, that runs on the Nintendo Wii console and aims to complement, not compete with, Nintendo's "Wii Fit" exercise title.

Read more

JVC 3-D Coming in 2009

JVC just announced that it is working with Sensio on the DLA-RS2, a 3-D projection line that is scheduled to launch next year. Designed for at-home use, the system will allow consumers to experience 1080p 3-D content from the comfort of the couch.

Read more here

Technology will transform K-12 education in next decade

Technology has not yet revolutionized K-12 education, but Harvard professor and author Clayton M. Christensen expects a more personal, technology-driven educational model will soon emerge. In his book, he predicts half of high school classes will be offered online by 2019.

Read more - click here.

Personalized Learning Puts Students in a Class of Their Own

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2008) — A new learning platform is giving the traditional classroom a radical makeover. Using innovative ICT technology, iClass is putting pupils at the centre of the learning experience and providing them with more control over what they learn.

Read more.

More Wii Fits Are Coming

Nintendo will increase shipments of its Wii Fit game because only three in 10 stores can keep the popular game in stock, according to Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America. In an interview, Fils-Aime noted that the Wii Fit had brought in working women, a new market for video games, and said September figures showed the economic crisis had had no effect on sales for either the Wii or DS consoles

Read more.

Developing a Grant Budget

Do you want technology for your program but you don't know how to develop a grant - here is information on developing a grant budget - click here.

App Store to Top 200 Million Downloads

During its fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts, Apple said its App Store will reach 200 million downloads sometime Wednesday, 102 days since it opened on July 11.

Read more - click here.

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines

Regular physical activity in children and adolescents promotes health and fitness. Compared to those who are inactive, physically active youth have higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and stronger muscles. They also typically have lower body fatness. Their bones are stronger, and they may have reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Read more - click here

CDC Podcasts

Download CDC podcasts to your desktop and portable music/video player for health information at your convenience and on the go. New to podcasting? See Podcast Help and RSS Help

Listing of podcasts.

Five Technologies to watch in 2009

Download and read the report - click here.

Adobe Ships Creative Suite 4, Flash Player 10

Adobe has begun shipping Creative Suite 4, with new versions of its development, design, publishing, and video/motion graphics applications, along with new and modified pricing and licensing schemes for both K-12 and post-secondary education. The company also released Flash Player 10 Wednesday.

Read more

New Mac Book Pros

Check them out - click here

Apple to Repair MacBooks with Faculty Nvidia GPUs

An investigation by Apple shows some MacBook Pros may have faulty Nvidia graphics processors after all, despite Nvidia's earlier assurances to the contrary, the computer maker has announced.

Apple said it will repair at no charge MacBook Pros where the Nvidia GPU has failed, or fails within two years from the purchase date. Problem signs include distorted or scrambled video, or no video on the screen though the computer is turned on. Models that might be affected are 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros with Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. The computers were made between May 2007 and September 2008.

This past summer, Nvidia acknowledged that a packaging defect had led to a graphics chip problem that affected some notebook computers, including those made by Dell and Hewlett-Packard. The chipmaker said in July it was taking a one-time charge of $150 million to $200 million to cover expenses relating to the glitch.

Read more

Just In Time For School: Free Adeona Service Tracks Stolen Laptops

ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2008) — As college students head back to school with gleaming new laptops, some will, unfortunately, see the last of their machine in a library, cafeteria or dorm room. And it's not just college campuses that are hot spots for computer theft, or just students who are the targets. Newspapers recently reported that airports in the United States record hundreds of thousands of laptop thefts annually. Such thefts are not only expensive, they also often mean losing sensitive data.

Read more

Voice Controlled Mouse

Computer scientists worked with electrical engineers to move the cursor on a computer screen with the users voice instead of a mouse. Software interprets vocal commands to move the cursor, allowing people who cannot use their arms to browse the web, player video games, or use photo editing software.


Read more

Children's Calorie Expenditure, Heart Rate Increase During Video Games

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2008) — Children burn more than four times as many calories per minute playing an active video game than playing a seated game, and their heart rate is also significantly higher with the active game, according to a new report.

Read more

Physical Education Classes Ditch Dodgeball for Tech

The first time Myah Merhaut looked at the towering rock wall, she never thought she'd make it to the top.

But weeks later, the sixth-grader at Pine Richland's Eden Hall Upper Elementary School is able to scale the 15-foot wall with no problem during gym class.

Ten miles away, Jack McAuliff and his best friend, Connor Obringer, dance until they drop on Wyland Elementary's "Dance Dance Revolution" machine, where video games and physical education collide.

Read more

All Florida districts to offer virtual classes by fall 2009

Next year, all Florida children will be able to earn their diploma entirely online without ever entering a classroom. Under a new state law, all districts will either be required to create their own online schools or work together with those who do..

Read More

Futuristic Desks Becoming a Reality

Walk into any classroom, and chances are you'll see identical wooden desks and a teacher writing math problems on a whiteboard. A British company wants to make the typical classroom obsolete by making their interactive, touchscreen desk the norm in the classroom. The networked desks link students and teachers together, allowing peer-to-peer collaboration on shared screens and giving teachers instant access to student work via a screen that will replace the whiteboard in the front of the classroom.

Supporters see a multitude of possibilities for learning with the "Star Trek" desks and envision them being used across the world within 10 years.

See more

Ultra-Mobile Devices Take Off

Ultra-mobile devices to reach 200M by 2013

By Vivian Yeo, ZDNet Asia
Thursday, September 25, 2008 01:01 PM

Demand for ultra-mobile devices such as Netbooks and MIDs (mobile Internet devices) will match that of notebook PCs by 2013, new research has revealed.

Shipment of ultra-mobile devices will grow from 10 million units this year to over 200 million in 2013, ABI Research said in a statement Wednesday. This puts the market on par with the notebook PC market, which the research analyst expects to also reach some 200 million in unit shipment.

According to Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research, the market would be worth nearly US$27 billion. While small compared to the wireless handset market, this figure is "significant" nonetheless, Solis said.

Read more...

Technique Developed to Capture Human MOvement in 3D

ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2008) — Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the University of Lovaina (UCL), in Belgium, have presented a technique that, using two video cameras to capture human movement, makes it possible to recognize body movements and display them in three dimension on a computer, according to the journal Multimedia Tools & Applications.

Read more

Adobe CS4 Creative Suite

Adobe's industry-standard creative software takes your creative experience to a new level. Design for every media - print, web, interactive, rich Internet applications, video, mobile - with all-new Adobe Creative Suite 4 software. Reserve your copy today and be among the first to drive CS4 when it ships.

Which suite is right for you?

Adobe offers 6 different suites spanning 14 products. Choose between the Master Collection, to command the entire creative universe; Design Premium with its web and print versatility; Web Premium to help with all phases of web design; and Production Premium with its ability to electrify all types of image and video production.

Check it out here.

Floola

Floola is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes). It's a standalone application that can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows (Windows Vista is supported).

Floola supports all common used iPod features including photos, artwork, podcasts and smart playlists!

It automatically converts any incompatible audio or video file so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows adding youtube and myspace videos with a single click!

Palm OS II smartphones pushed to first half of 2009

While maintaining that its next-generation operating system will still reach completion by the end of 2008, Palm subtly changed the expected shipping date for handsets based on the Linux-based OS to the first half of 2009. During an analyst call last week, Palm reiterated that the OS--known as both "Palm OS II" and "Nova"--remains on track to make its debut by year's end, echoing promises delivered in May by CFO Andrew Brown. But while Palm smartphones were once expected to follow by early next year, the firm now estimates devices will ship sometime during the first six months of 2009. In the interim, Palm will continue offering devices running on the current incarnation of the Palm OS as well as Windows Mobile-based products.

Read entire article.

3d Sport Panoramics

Click here to check out 3d Sport Panoramic Photographs from the Library of Congress.

Overweight kids likely to have more headaches, study finds

By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY
The more overweight children and teenagers are, the more frequent and disabling their headaches, according to the first national study to look at possible links between obesity and headaches in kids.

Read more

Grant Opportunity

Grants are available for schools and non-profit organizations for obesity prevention programs pertaining to youth. Grants will not be awarded to individuals or to religious or political organizations.

Application instructions can be found at: http://www.cigna.com/about_us/community/targeted_grant.html

Grant Opportunity

Hidden Valley Salad Dressings is accepting applications to its Love Your Veggies grant program. The purpose of the program is to help elementary schools develop fresh fruit and vegetable programs starting in April 2009 and lasting through the 2009-2010 school year.

Ten $15,000 grants will be awarded to elementary schools across the United States to support programs that help provide students with increased access to, and consumption of fresh, healthy foods made available through an on-campus vegetable consumption program. Each school grant will consist of $15,000 in direct funding.

Deadline: November 7, 2008

Application and information for applying can be found at:
www.LoveYourVeggiesGrants.org

Amazon to Sell Low-Cost Laptops

Amazon to sell low-cost laptops this holiday season

11:30 AM CDT on Monday, September 8, 2008

The Boston Globe

Low-cost laptops from the One Laptop Per Child Foundation of Cambridge, Mass., will go on sale at Amazon.com this holiday season, making the $200 computers available for the first time through a retail outlet.

Read more

Gesture-Controlled Laptop

Toshiba's new Qosmio laptop is the only gesture-aware computer on the consumer market. Software loaded on the laptop lets users control programs like Powerpoint and MediaPlayer with just a wave of the hand. Using a webcam built into the screen, the computer can distinguish three gestures - a raised palm, a moving fist, and or a thumb flick from up to ten feet away.

Learn more about this at http://explore.toshiba.com

New iPod Touch

The new, ultrathin iPod touch - Check it out

California Physical Education Framework

REL#08-121
CONTACT: Tina Jung
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHONE: 916-319-0818
September 11, 2008
E-MAIL: tjung@cde.ca.gov

STATE SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL ANNOUNCES STATE BOARD APPROVAL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that the State Board of Education today adopted a new Physical Education Framework for California Public Schools, the state’s first standards-based framework in physical education.
“This new Framework is an important tool in setting the stage to help our students become more physically active to combat the silent epidemic of childhood obesity,” said O’Connell. “This, in turn, will help them perform better academically and will help us narrow the achievement gap. Studies show a high-quality physical education program helps students develop an active lifestyle, improve health, develop motor skills, and helps their cognitive performance in processing information and applying knowledge.
“However, a high-quality physical education program relies on adequate funding for resources, to hire and train great teachers, and to buy physical education equipment and facilities,” added O’Connell. “I am concerned that in the current state budget crisis and the lingering financial challenges facing schools these days that children may miss out on a high-quality physical education program that can enrich their lives.”
The Framework is based on the premise that every student’s life can be enhanced through participation in a comprehensive, inclusive, and sequential physical education program. The Framework was developed by a committee of educators, most of whom were teachers in California’s public schools. The Framework provides concrete, real-world examples of what high-quality, standards-based physical education instruction looks like in the “At a Glance” and “Learning Snapshots” sections for each grade level. The Framework also gives specific examples for effective planning, instruction, and assessment of the state’s model content standards for physical education. The Framework has been received positively by educators and reflects a growing interest in improving physical education instruction.
The Framework focuses on creating a learning environment that meets the needs of the learner. Chapters on universal access, instruction, support for high-quality physical education programs, and instructional resources all emphasize that every student is entitled to a high-quality physical education program. These chapters provide teachers and administrators with a vision of and guidance on creating physical education programs that help every student succeed.
To view the Physical Education Framework for California Public Schools, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pe/cf/peframwrkdraft.asp. (Please note that the Web page will continue to refer to the Framework as "Draft" until the site can be updated to reflect the State Board of Education approval.)

# # # #

Pam Slater
Public Information Officer
Communications Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 5602
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-0818
916-319-0100 (fax)
pslater@cde.ca.gov

Presentation Tool

The new wireless Q7 Presenter Tablet from Qwizdom combines many tools into one device. Use the tablet much like an interactive whiteboard except do it wirelessly from the back of the classroom instead of with your back turned in the front. Send instructions and receive feedback and requests for help from studenets on the LCD screen when working within the Qwizdom student response system. Learn more at http://www.qwizdom.com

Glasses Free 3-D

Philip's new 3-D displays create the illusion of depth by overlaying an LCD screen with tiny lenses that direct slightly different images to the viewer's eyes. The illusion persists with a 120 degrees viewing area. The displays work only with specially created content, so Philips is currently marketing them for use in promotional displays in malls. Home versions should be available within a few years. Learn more at http://www.philips.com/3dsolutions

New iPod Touch and MacBooks right around the corner

Apple is likely to announce a redesigned iPod Touch and slimmer MacBooks at an event in September, analysts said on Monday. The announcements -- scheduled ahead of the U.S. holiday shopping season -- could include price drops for the iPod Touch and MacBook laptops. Starting prices for the iPod Touch could fall to $199 from $299 and for MacBooks starting prices could drop to $999 from $1,099.

Read more here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/08/11/New_iPod_Touch_and_MacBooks_coming_soon_1.html

Look for record book, fitness, teacher observation program software that runs on the iPod Touch and iPhone in our next newsletter.

3-D Virtual Reality

North Carolina Public Schools See Learning Gains With 3-D Virtual Reality
By News Report
"Print this page"
August 04, 2008

Quest Atlantis (QA), an innovative online educational technology program for 4th to 8th grade students, passed its pilot year in North Carolina. Tested during the spring of 2007, then introduced to thousands of North Carolina public school students in 2007-2008, QA is advancing students in reading, writing, mathematics and science. The impact of this virtual world learning tool has been shown for students who were performing below grade level.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Do laptops help children learn?

Does a child learn better when he or she has a laptop to use in the classroom?

In the United States, Maine has led the way with its laptop program, which has made students more enthusiastic in the classroom, but not necessarily resulted in better test scores.

The state started its laptop program for 7th-graders in 2002, and later expanded it to 8th graders and to one-third of the state's high schools. Maine is spending $90 million through 2010 with Apple to supply computers, software, warranties, technical support, training for teachers and installation of Wi-Fi networks in all middle schools across the state.

read the rest of story by clicking here

SunBriteTV Showcases Weatherproof LCDs

SunBriteTV is showcasing its latest weatherproof outdoor LCDs at booth 134 during 2008 CEDIA Expo.

The 4610HD (46-inch), 3220HD (32-inch) and 2310HD (23-inch) weatherproof LCDs all feature corrosion-resistant, powder-coated aluminum exteriors.

The 4610HD is a full HD 1080p display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution and two HDMI connections.

Read more at:
http://www.cepro.com/article/sunbritetv_showcases_weatherproof_lcds/K5

nternet program teaches harms of bullying to elementary students

The state Department of Public Instruction and the Children’s Health Education Center have partnered to create Bullyfree Basics, a program for elementary school students that transforms lessons on the dangers of spreading rumors and insulting classmates into animated, interactive games. The collaboration is the latest development in DPI’s effort to address the humiliations suffered in hallways, on school buses and, increasingly, on social networking Web sites.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=769920

Grant Announcement

Quaker Company -- Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Grants:
The Quaker Company focuses its giving on hunger, nutrition and the education
of children in low-income communities. Programs that provide tutoring,
mentoring and coaching, nutrition education, and physical fitness are
funding priorities. http://www.healthinschools.org

US Physical Activity Guidelines

Message from AAHPERD

In October 2006, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt announced that the Department would develop comprehensive guidelines to help Americans understand the importance of physical activity and how to incorporate it into their lives.

The Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008 is now available. It is the product of the 13 member Advisory Committee and more than 30 additional consultants. You can access the report by clicking the Report link at http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/. The 683 page report can be viewed or downloaded in its entirety or by individual chapter. The report presents and summarizes the Advisory Committee's review of science relating physical activity to a variety of health outcomes. It also addresses the benefits of physical activity for particular subgroups of the population such as children and youth, pregnant and postpartum women, persons with disabilities, and individuals with some chronic conditions. The report will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, or anyone interested in the health benefits of physical activity. This report will provide the scientific basis for the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which is currently being developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for a planned fall 2008 launch.

AAHPERD members are encouraged to review the report and to provide comments to DHHS about the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008. DHHS welcomes views, information, and data relevant to the development of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Comments must be received no later than July 9th. The Committee's Report will not be amended in response to comments. However, all comments will be considered in the preparation of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Further details about providing comments can be found by clicking the Comments link at http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/.

We hope that AAHPERD members will take time to review this report and make relevant comments regarding sections of particular relevance to their expertise or work. Watch for additional information in the Fall about the release of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Sincerely,
Judith C. Young, Ph D.
Vice President for Program
AAHPERD

Health and Nutrition Grant

Albertsons -- Health and Nutrition Grants:
Albertsons is accepting grant applications in the following areas: hunger relief, youth and education, health and nutrition, and environmental stewardship.
http://www.healthinschools.org

Dell mini laptop to challenge Eee PC

NEWS: 29 May 2008 7:18 GMT by Stuart Miles Dell has confirmed it is to go up against Asus, MSI and HP with a budget mini laptop although refrained from actually announcing any details.

The new laptop, showed off by CEO Michael Dell at the All Things Digital event in the US, will come in two colours; black or red.

Details are incredibly sketchy with Dell only confirming the laptop exists on the company’s blog after the CEO showed it to the editor of gadget website Gizmodo at the show.

Garnering information from the pictures Lam took and the official images Dell has released, it looks like the Dell Mini Inspiron will have three USB ports, an SD card reader, VGA output, and Ethernet connections.

Palm still on track to debut Linux OS by late 2008

During an appearance at the recent JP Morgan Tech Show in Boston, Palm CFO Andrew Brown confirmed the company remains on track to release a Linux-based next-gen operating system--i.e., the so-called "Palm OS II"--sometime by year's end, although he declined to specify what kind of product the device maker will deliver. Borrowing a page from the Steve Jobs playbook, Brown proclaimed that software, not hardware, will determine the winners of the mobile device race--he admitted the new Linux project has been in the works for close to three years, adding "it has not been an insignificant investment." Other tidbits: Brown refused to confirm rumors that Verizon Wireless is poised to add the Palm Centro to its device portfolio, but did say a Treo upgrade is scheduled for this summer.

For more information -

The Bowling Foundation

More than $20,000 in grants are now available from The Bowling Foundation for your in-school Bowing PRogram. To learn more, and to download an application, visit http://www.bowlingfoundation.org. To learn more about the In-school Bowling Program visit http://www.bowlersed.com

Apply now - applications are due June 16, 2008.

Half of High School Classes Could Be Online By 2019

Report: Half of High School Classes Could Be Online by 2019

by Dave Nagel

Low-cost delivery and tailored learning opportunities could drive up to half of all high school courses online by 2019, according to a report from researchers that's set to appear in the summer issue of Education Next, published out of the Hoover Institution, the public policy research center at Stanford University.

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Future of Instructional Software

Education Next: Computer-Based Learning Could Transform Public Education Within a Decade Through “Disruptive Innovation,” Experts Say

STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Computer-based learning is on the cusp of transforming traditional public education, say Harvard Business School’s Clayton M. Christensen and his colleague Michael B. Horn in the summer 2008 issue of Education Next. Based on their analysis of data on enrollments, about half of all education courses will be delivered online in just over a decade’s time.

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Purpose of This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to provide readers with daily up-to-date information on using technology in physical education. In addition, it provides readers with an opportunity to share their thoughts about using technology in physical education.