flexible screens
.. from multiple input screens, to this wafer-thin flexible mini-screen; it’s great to see this kind of technology developing so fast – launched in Japan, of course!
Category: technology
Turn the page
This help desk episode has been very “viral”: it reminds me of a good article on the future of the book, “The Book is Dead, Long live the Book“, from Priscilla Murphy. People have predicted the demise of the book for a very long time. In 1894, one writer predicted that the phonograph and the kinetograph would rapidly substitute paper-based text with audio. Murphy explores and questions three themes, rivalry between media, that they are competing for limited public attention, so every dollar spent on new media = a dollar Read More …
multi-touch interfaces, wow
Now if you know me, you’ll know that i am a keyboard junkie, my fingers can fly across the dvorak keyboard, and if i have to use a mouse, give me a trackball anyday. However when teaching people in the community to use standard Qwerty keyboard and mouse, i wish the future would get here faster. I know there are ‘tablet pc’s for people who can afford them (ie not ACE), but what i’m really wanting is something more like what Jeff Han demonstrated last year .. the multi-touch visual Read More …
Buy a computer, for ABE students
Here’s a reference guide for any students in Adult Literacy classrooms – how to navigate your way through buying a computer, a “plain English resource”. The site is based in the US, so no local shops for Australians, but it could be a good place to start for groups considering a similar activity. The group was given a task to find the best value computer for under $1000. Certainly seems a good idea for a classroom activity.
"Bio-cube" and other ideas
Wow! Take a look at this collection of flash writing tools from Read Write Think dot org i’ve only tried the “Bio-Cube” so far, but was impressed when the printout revealed an actual cube that the student can cut and glue into the shape of a cube.
Spambots and botnets
When spammers attacked our “English at the Beach” website, on both the Guestbooks and the Feedback Survey pages, we were experiencing the “New Chicago-style Web”. “We used to call the Internet a sort of Wild West. Now it’s more like Chicago in the 1920s with Al Capone,” says Prolexic President Keith Laslop. Writing up my research on the web usage server logs, i needed a definition of ‘botnet’. While searching, i came across an intriguing article in Wired late last year, which outlines an attack on Six Apart’s Type Pad Read More …
"Multimodality", literacy and technology
Have found the book i’ve been looking for: Carey Jewitt’s “Technology, Literacy and Learning: a multimodal approach“. Dr Jewitt, an Academic Fellow funded by the UK Research Council, has a complex take on literacies, involving social semiotics, ‘activity theory’, and the potential for multimodality to have a big impact on the way people learn. I’m looking forward to finding out more about how “image, sound, writing and movement on screen contributes to the construction of school knowledge and potentials for learning.” Her focus is on schools, rather than adult education, Read More …
Literacy + Technology Network 'jumping'
Well all right, it’s not exactly jumping, but what an interesting experience. There’s over eighty educators, researchers and students from all around Australia who have been sharing insights and stories related to technology in the classroom. A whole lot of amazing people, from outback Alice Springs to an island off the coast of ‘FNQ’ – far north Queensland, to Tasmania, Adelaide and the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Come and join the list if you’re into Literacy+Technology .. PRACE= outstanding provider ! Here at Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE) Read More …
Legal challenge to Linux (Fud from Sco)
Need to know more about “The Lawsuit”? If you’re interested in the general hoo-ha surrounding the SCO group and their challenge to Linux, head over to groklaw.net/ where Pamela Jones will keep you informed on the case. A big site with a lot of user-feedback. If you want the Open Source perspective on the situation, no better place than Eric Raymond’s “Halloween Documents”. When i say “Fud from Sco” i use the acronym that means “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt”, a well known strategy used by large software firms to protect Read More …
big shifts afoot (from microsoft to open source)
big shifts afoot Big predictions, as the inquirer reports a worldwide shift from Microsoft to Open Source. This article is a comment with attitude – Charles at the Inquirer puts the case that the Redmond giant is about to get very badly stung by a growing movement, as governments and corporations everywhere weigh a zero-outlay software against another which costs hundreds. (i should say at this point that i am not an anti-MS crusader. i like MS Word – it’s my very favourite word processor – and i’m very grateful Read More …