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February 15, 2003
Trend Watch
Streamlining communication, increasing access, sporting technology on the slopes-read on for all the latest in digital fashions.
An E-Book Revival?
Palm Digital Media hopes to lure school librarians, English teachers, and tech-toting students everywhere to download e-books from two new collections of classic literature. Due out this spring, the 250-book compilation is available to schools for an annual license of $499. "There have been a lot of false starts with e-books in the past," said Mike Segroves, director of business development. "But with hardware prices rapidly falling, we believe they're becoming much more viable for schools." As for offering digital textbook content in the future, Segroves wouldn't comment on which educational publishers the company has talked to so far, but hinted this was the next step in their K-12 e-book strategy.
Computer Couture
Apple really does have something up its sleeve with the release of the limited edition Burton Amp, an iPod-ready snowboarding jacket. The first in a long line of innovative products announced at January's MacWorld in San Francisco, the Burton Amp comes with an inside pocket designed for the iPod, while a textile data strip lets wearers change songs or control volume directly from the jacket's sleeve. While capable of housing thousands of digital tunes, this sporty MP3 player can also transport class notes, assignments, and other formerly paper-based school work. The upshot? Burton Amp could one day render harmless those pesky homework-eating dogs that follow students to and from school.
A Digital Boost for Disabled Students
The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum and the Center for Applied Special Technology have received the green light from the Department of Education to develop a national format for electronically transmitting instructional materials for disabled students. According to assistive technology specialist Terry Lankutis, "There is no standard format for electronic text like there is for VHS and DVD, so even if someone has the best technology in the world, they may still have to spend a great deal of time converting electronic text into a format they can use. Standardizing file formats means that electronic books, magazines, and other teaching materials downloaded by blind or disabled persons can be translated into Braille or accessed easily with text-to-speech readers."
Change of Address
What's Your Opinion?
 Could an instant messaging application replace your school-wide public address system? We'll report your responses on the Back Page. |
It may seem something of a stretch to suggest that instant messaging can take the place of the traditional school public address system, but at Trinity Prep in Winter Park, Fla., and a few other schools, that's exactly the case. Trinity is using WiredRed's e/pop to communicate in real time with classrooms spanning eight buildings over more than 100 acres. E/pop also includes capabilities for educator application sharing, remote control, voice over IP conferencing, and embedded WAV files that, among other things, allow a siren alarm to be sounded in every room.
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