Cell Phones & Wiffiti

Wiffiti (http://wiffiti.com) allows students to submit a text message to an online bulletin board. Messages can also be submitted to Poll Everywhere, but the Wiffiti board is large and animated and students love the fake names it assigns to their posts. This easy-to-use tool enables your students to use the same technology that is viewed by thousands at large-scale events such as concerts, gallery openings, fundraisers, inauguration events, and political conventions. It is also used extensively in digital signage networks ranging from huge jumbotrons in places like Times Square to thousands of screens in cafes, entertainment centers and even churches.

Wiffiti allows you to bring this exciting technology to any student with access to text messaging for free. In short Wiffiti publishes real time messages to screens anywhere on any screen and this can be a tremendously powerful educational tool.



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Inquiry, Assessment, and Technology in Physical Education

One of our Physical Educadtion teachers (Tammy Berry) is delivering a presentation this weekend at the Annual Conference for the Health and Physical Education Council of Alberta.

Tammy is delivering a one-hour session on her grade 4-6 football unit, in which she strives to incorporate both inquiry-based learning and technology.

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Project Nata Raising Its Head

This (see http://gizmodo.com/5520799/project-natal-appears-in-the-wild?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gizmodo%2Ffull+%28Gizmodo%29) appears to be Microsoft's upcoming Project Natal, complete with instructions, as seen by someone hired to test its speech recognition. There's not a lot of new info to be found here, although it appears that the Natal unit will need to be plugged in to the wall rather than drawing power from the Xbox. And there's a tilt mechanism of some kind that it warns you away from messing with and breaking. But other than that, yep, looks like Natal.

The new MacBook Pros are here, and as expected, the 15 and 17-inch models are loaded with Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors and new display options, but the 13-inch model stays behind with a Core2Duo and an unchanged price - check them out at http://www.apple.com

Podcast 3

Posted our lastest podcast at http://www.pesoftware.com/Podcast/index.html

Apple exploring head-mounted display in form of glasses

A new patent application from Apple revealed this week shows a wireless display users would wear on their head in the form of glasses or goggles.

The application, entitled "Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display," shows a pair of goggles with an integrated screen and headphones. The device could wirelessly communicate with another device, like an iPhone, to share content or control the headset.

Apple notes that current head-mounted devices often are unwieldy and too complex. The proposed invention would simplify the system and eliminate "redundant features."

"There is a need for an improved head-mounted display system, particularly a system that temporarily integrates or merges both mechanically and electronically a head-mounted device with a portable electronic device," the application reads.

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Using Technology in Physical Education Newsletter

April edition posted at http://www.pesoftware.com/Technews/news.html

Online Physical Education

Had a great session at AAHPERD on Online Physical Education - you can download the presentation at http://www.pesoftware.com/Present/Presentations/aahperd10.html