Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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.


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Monday, November 24, 2008

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.

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Friday, November 21, 2008

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

Thursday, November 20, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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.


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Friday, November 14, 2008

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.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

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.


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Friday, November 7, 2008

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

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

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.

Monday, November 3, 2008

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.

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