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WITI TECHNOLOGY
No Technology Left Behind
Education may also be as close to a non partisan issue as we’ll get this year. You may recall that President Bush's signed the No Child Left Behind legislation soon after he took office. It made it mandatory that schools and their students be tested and accessed on performance in grades 3-8. Some educators argue that too much attention has been placed on testing, but overall, the idea that tests should be able to measure how well a child is mastering some skill is a valid one. It's so valid, the Big Kahuna of tests, the SAT, is changing in order to better measure real academic performance. In March of 2005, students will face an SAT that has a handwritten essay, is a longer test, has harder math including Algebra II, and more reading comprehension. It's even being scored differently. You can now get a 2400 instead of 1600 as a high score. And if you remember those verbal analogies fondly, get over it. They're gone. Today you can prep for the test using books, a live course, online courses, software, individual tutors … and now, test prep via your cell phone. The Princeton Review is just about to introduce a way to get SAT test prep review via your cell phone. Kids can download questions and tests just like they do ringtones and games. Can you imagine your kids coming home and saying "Mom, I gotta have a new cell phone so I can study for my SAT?" The product will be available by Sept 1. Check www.Princetonreview.com for product availability.
At the heart of the momentum for handhelds is the fact that it's wireless and fits in your pocket. The newest generation of the Compaq Ipaq from HP lets you type in full documents, create spreadsheets, and give slide presentations - all freeing you to learn anywhere. At the same time, the Ipaq is also a way cool entertainment and communications device for watching videos and listening to music, surfing the web and checking email. A new technology from Intel called XScale provides the oomph required to turn this into a multimedia machine. Students love the built in book reader once they get used to the idea of downloading digital research and reading it on the screen. (The Compaq iPaq 4355is available for about $450. www.compaq.com)
Schools have embraced digital photography because students get to incorporate visuals as part of their learning. As a matter of fact, I'm seeing more and more digital photos show up in kid's research papers, and more and more teachers using digital photography in novel ways - like taking the camera out of the classroom to a local pond for research, or the museum to document what they've seen, or to share their classroom with others outside. And the cameras are rising to the challenge. A good example of the perfect set of features is Nikon&'s latest camera, the 5 megapixel, Coolpix 5200. It's perfect for students because it has 15 scene modes - preset functions that guarantee your picture will turn out well. No light at the exhibit you visited with class? You can use museum mode which offers special settings for low light, no flash. Science project? There's a macro mode that let's you get in super close. School newsletter? You'll appreciate the automatic red eye removal. It even shoots video. The hardest part of using the camera is probably wrestling it away from Mom and Dad. (www.nikon.com) Now, here's a quiz. What's the digital equivalent of the old marble notebook? It's Microsoft Office Note 2003. Using it, a student can put anything in their notebook - web content, diagrams and drawings, audio recordings, photos, video – and oh yeah, even typed-in notes. Also, with keyword search, you can find your notes and information quickly. Ask me about last week's Marine Geology notes and I can type "Marine geology" and get to my notes almost immediately. At schools like MIT and NorthEastern where professors are using OneNote with their classes, they all agree students are more organized and can find things faster, and on the practical side, they no longer have to cart around a bunch of different subject notebooks and loose papers. The academic version of the program is available for under $50 and you can try a free 60-day trial today at www.microsoft.com.
What is your point of view? Please post your thoughts on the discussion board.
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An election year always puts the spotlight on education and this year the buzzword is accountability. Technology is going to play a bigger part than ever in making sure kids are mastering the basics.
If you study for your SAT on the phone, what about tomorrow's science quiz. Leapfrog's iQuest is a talking PDA device that gives 5th -8th graders a review of their science, social studies and math. The iQuest has over 170,000 questions that are not only grade-specific, but they even match the textbook that the kids are using. Pop quizzes, tutorials, built-timers and fun graphics and music make reviewing a chapter almost fun. In addition, the iQuest is a powerful organizer with an address book, calendar and notepad. For me, one of the best parts is that the kids can review anywhere - in the car, on the school bus… and it only costs $60 with new cartridges costing under $15. 
Handheld computers are becoming pretty classroom companions as well. A number of colleges are experimenting with curriculum that use the handhelds in field research and to communicate with colleagues in all sorts of interesting ways.