Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Safer Snowboarding

Co-designed by a former snowboarder who was paralyzed while attempting a trick, the 50-by-80 foot Katal pad eliminates much of the danger of learning skiing and snowbording tricks. When a rider touches down on the pad after going off a jump, a small amount of air is displaced in one of two internal chambers. The mechanism keeps the pad firm enough to allow an upright landing but ensures a soft, safe cushion in case of a fall.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Outdoor Education Complete

Is now available at http://shop.pesoftware.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=271


There are four parts to this program: outdoor education instructional program, electronic portfolio, electronic quiz and questions, and task cards.

The instructional program provides a comprehensive (addresses all six national standards) perspective to the teaching and learning of outdoor education and orienteering. Teachers and students can access and interact with the information to increase understanding of outdoor education/orienteering on their desktop or notebooks computers. Labs are provided for authentic learning experiences.

Download a demo copy from: http://www.pesoftware.com/demos.html

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Getting electricity from your walking/running shoes

Individuals waste, on average, 20 watts of energy per second when talking. Instead of turning all calories into lift or forward motion, we turn most of them into heat that's quickly dissipated. Tony Krupenkin, an engineer at the University of Wisconsin, and his colleagues have come up with a way to harvest the wasted energy from human motion and convert it into about 10 watts of electricity. Their device is based on a physical penomenon called electrowetting: If you apply electrical voltage to certain liquids, the liquid moves. They reverse the process, forcing liquid to move over electrodes. In the shoes are two flexible plastic bladders one under the heel and the otherunder the toe. The bladders are filled with a mixture of oil and water and connected by a thin, snaking tube. When stepping down on the heel therear bladder is compressed and several milliters of liquid travel through the tube to the front bladder. Step on the toe and the process is reversed. The tube is lined with a thin film of electrodes, and as the liquid slides back and forth, the electrodes charge. A small battery stores the energy, and you can access that energy by way of a micro-USB port on the heel of the shoe. The power can be transferred from shoe to cellphone battery. This approach does require wiring up your feet - but futre solutions will be more elegant.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Using Technology in Physical Education Podcast

Posted our most recent edition of Using Technology in Physical Education Podcast at http://www.pesoftware.com/podcast/index.html