Russell's Top Tips for Emerging Learning Technologies for 2010

 
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RUSSELL'S RECOMMENDED TECHNOLOGY LIST
2010
 

Shipping from January 2010 and priced at £10,995.00 plus VAT, school radio has never been this easy or such good value for money.  This is a digital solution and with that comes with many benefits, and one of these allows audio routing and a level of simplicity that simply can't be found with older analogue audio systems.  The Anderton Tiger Broadcaster has been created by me, fed up with promoting over-priced and under specified systems, I thought that it was about time that the education market got the chance to buy something specifically created with learners in mind. The control software has been written by us after listening to what young people told us they wanted to be able to do in their live school radio shows.  There is provision for users in wheelchairs, height adjustment for very young users and many more properly thought-out ideas that enhance live radio experience.  With more students taking "Media Studies" than Physics courses, there has never been a better time to get into School Radio. I have been regularly broadcasting live during the last two years and running live school radio workshops in education establishments and can say that there is nothing like real live radio.  With no opportunity to go back and do it again, the emphasis is clearly on preparation, thinking and problem solving skills.  All good skills to have in a C21st technology-rich world that our young people need to survive in.  The Broadcaster comes on wheels and in three easy to carry sections, it is simple to connect together and moved around.  It has dual 19" touch screen control with one touch "auto-fade" as well as a traditional flying fader control deck.  All on-screen fader controls are copied in real-time by the traditional faders and you can see them physically moving as you use the touch screen control. The system has a RAID backup Hard Disk Array making it simple to backup, keep and store different music libraries.  Based around the real needs of learners, this system is exactly what you need to broadcast regularly in a professional manner delighting your audiences with live interactive programming.  The system comes with a one day live radio workshop with your learners delivered at your establishment by me, followed on the same day by a twilight training session for educators.  .  More details of this product and how to reserve a free demonstration workshop with your learners visit, www.andertontiger.com/broadcaster


Apple's New Tablet Computer the iPad - more info here very soon.  This is getting closer to the ubiquitous hand-held device that we will all use, no details yet for the UK release, but this is worth getting on a plane to the USA for.  This is what Tablet PCs should have been 10 years ago.  64Gb model available for nearly double what we can get an entry level but I think for me that I wil need 64Gb to get full use from it.

PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS
from  2009

This device is worthy of a second mention. The Dane-Elec ZPen from Dane Electrics, if we need to work in two worlds, digital and analogue then this device will save you the effort of scanning in documents.  It transcribes scribbles and handwriting into digital format from any plain paper wirelessly onto a 1Gb USB storage device.  Previously you needed to write on specially treated paper, not anymore!  Whilst your handwriting does have to be relatively neat - good incentive to tidy up one's own writing skills, the ZPen is pretty forgiving.  The USB storage device is then inserted into your computer and the writing is transformed into digital format using advanced OCR techniques.  This give two distinctive benefits, your notes can be searched through digitally at anytime in the future because your writing is converted into text and drawings, maps and diagrams are preserved as images.  I think that there is a place for this device in our classrooms for use with learners.  At a time when we need every possible incentive to get young people to write creatively this is another tool in the C21st educators' toolbox.  Around £60 from www.amazon.co.uk or www.expansys.com Look out for special offers, I have seen this pen on a limited offer for just £38.00 plus P&P.  My pen arrived over the summer break and has proved to be an amazing tool, now all of my written notes can be instantly searched by anyone in my office and shared across our remote network.  It is going to be hard to forget anything from now on!!
 

My iPhone recommended application for this term is the very useful LOGMEIN Ignition from www.logmein.com.  The application for the iPhone is charged at a pretty hefty £17.99 and is the most that I have ever paid for an iPhone application but it is worth every penny and represents exceptional value.  Basically it is a Virtual PC remote access client, connecting your iphone to your desktop computer (providing the computer is left turned on that is!) from anywhere there is a decent 3G/Edge or wi-fi signal.  The PC to PC Client version is available FREE and works for PCs and Macs and shouldn't present a problem with firewalls either, but I am unable to test it with council run web filtering systems and so this may not work for you.  However you should be able to find that out by using the FREE version first before your splash out on the iPhone version. It is incredibly clever, one of the features is to blank the screen of the PC that you are using so that what you are accessing remotely isn't seen by anyone looking at your PC.  I am sure that there any many different ways in which this product could be used, for me, quick easy access to company data, files, videos and audio clips has proved invaluable.  Try it, you wont be disappointed!
 

As a back-up I bought another USB Broadband Modem and my extensive research revealed that the Vodafone PAYG Top-up-and-Go device was the best value.  With no 30 day expiry date for the credit, you top up in 1Gb amounts costing £15.00 each, you then have up to 180 days to spend this.  When you get low, you just top-up again.  Top ups can be done by text and online.  The only catch for the flexible PAYG option is the cost of the modem @ £39, the same device is FREE when you subscribe to £15 a month tariff - something I hate doing and usually avoid at all costs.  For me the cost of the device is easily returned in the lack wastage of un used credit on the monthly fee. The Vodafone coverage compliments my T-Mobile device as I wanted better more guaranteed access.  Having the two USB devices offers gives the best possible back-up coverage for me.  Download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and although their upstream speeds aren't published, I have been able to stream a live radio show simultaneously to two servers each running a 128Kbps stream without any problems.  The device works on PCs and Macs but the software for Macs has to be downloaded from the support forum area because for some strange reason Vodafone say - despite the printing on the box - that this product doesn't work with Macs yet.  Vodafone are good as long as you don't have to communicate with any of their staff!!  I bought mine from the Carphone Warehouse but this product is available from lots of other retailers and online from www.vodafone.co.uk  The Mac software can be downloaded from lots of different places and you should be looking for Vodafone Mobile Connect Version 3.01.04.00 (8746) just don't ask Vodafone themselves.  Don't forget that the software for PCs is already on the USB device and doesn't need downloading.  You can SMS in and out of the device software too.
 

Turn your existing mobile phone into a GPS live tracking tool for FREE.  I know, almost too good to be true, but nevertheless it is true.  I have been using and demonstrating this for a year now and it is by far the best solution I can find.  Live into Google Earth or Google Maps, tracks can be saved and used as evidence of a field trip, a journey or part of any experiential learning project.  All you need is one of the compatible phones and there is a wide range of types.  iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Motorola, most phones with GPS, an unlimited data plan and support for Java MIDP-2.0 should be good for a try.  Instructions and how-to-guides can be found at www.instamapper.com You can easily embed real-time maps into your web pages or add a new feature to your Facebook account.  You will need to download the application to your mobile phone, it is not possible to track someone else's phone without their permission and also that would be illegal and only something that the Department for Administrative Affairs would have to consider as Humphrey would have said!!  The iPhone application is available FREE from the App-Store, Apple's policy prevents background tracking and the screen must remain on whilst tracking and location services are being used, still not too much of a problem.  This is a great application and I have had amazing success with it being able to locate my iPhone live at nearly all of my speaking engagements, it is reliable and robust.

Ebook Readers are a topical and highly controversial piece of equipment, you only have to read what happened when Arnie mentioned changing to them for text books for all schools in California.  BBC News site has some interesting comments, you should take a look.  Anyway back to my recommendation, I am agreeing with the T3 Editor on this too, the Sony Reader PRS-700 gets my vote.  This is Sony's third attempt at making an Ebook Reader and one hopes that the last two attempts weren't wasted!  It has a 6" screen and has a backlight, it is only carrying .5Gb of onboard memory that should store around 160 books, there is a SDHC card-reader with the capacity to read a 32Gb card.  At around £299 this isn't a cheapie either, I did see an Ebook reader in Borders the other day and thought what a strange place to be selling such an item, you don't see much technology for sale in this store usually.  Well all of that is about to change.  Borders have an exclusive on the Elonex Ereader at £189 and has 100 books already installed, not as smart looking at the Sony product but worthy of a mention that's for sure.  All Boarders outlets have stock and staff trained to demo them, rather well if I do say so myself, one of the best technology demos I have been to for a while!!!  For more info on the Elonex Ereader go to www.borders.co.uk   For the Sony Reader readers may want to check out www.bitesizedeals.co.uk otherwise you may find yourself being redirected to Waterstone's Sony PRS-505 the previous version.

 

How about a Virtual PE Teacher and Dance Exercise Instructor all rolled into one and available 24 hours a day and capable of delivering short and complete 8 week courses in a range of popular dance styles.  This is the amazing Virtual PE Teacher system and it is available with up to 32 wireless dance-mats so that engaging and competitive games can be played.  Based on an all-in-one touch screen PC system the menus are simple and easy to navigate on this screen, whilst the instructor appears on another VGA output from the system, typically this would be connected to a large projected display.  Although the system will display the instructor on the touch screen if the PC doesn't find another display connected when booted up.  This is just the kind of solution that would have significantly motivated me when I was a pupil rather than running pointlessly and embarrassed around the school playing fields!!!  The Salsa course is always a big hit with parents and colleagues and provides a great starting place for an after hours dance club, this could also bring you revenue.  It isn't cheap; the system PC will set you back around £6,000 and dance-mats £578 each, for more information visit www.virtualpeteacher.co.uk   I recently made a short 10 min introductory video explaining the system and how it works.  Virtual PE Teacher Demonstration by Russell Prue 1st June 2009 (79Mb WMV)
 

This is an interesting piece of equipment The Dane-Elec ZPen from Dane Electrics, if we need to work in two worlds, digital and analogue then this device will save you the effort of scanning in documents.  It transcribes scribbles and handwriting into digital format from any plain paper wirelessly onto a 1Gb USB storage device.  Previously you needed to write on specially treated paper, not anymore!  Whilst your handwriting does have to be relatively neat - good incentive to tidy up one's own writing skills, the ZPen is pretty forgiving.  The USB storage device is then inserted into your computer and the writing is transformed into digital format using advanced OCR techniques.  This give two distinctive benefits, your notes can be searched through digitally at anytime in the future because your writing is converted into text and drawings, maps and diagrams are preserved as images.  I think that there is a place for this device in our classrooms for use with learners.  At a time when we need every possible incentive to get young people to write creatively this is another tool in the C21st educators' toolbox.  Around £73 from www.amazon.co.uk this isn't going to break the bank, get one and try it with your most reluctant writer.

The VIPRO Glass-Hardscreen is a brilliant new invention from Preedy Solutions.  Basically it is touch sensitive glass surface and this is going to give other horizontal touch surface manufacturers a run for their money.  I saw this at BETT this year and marked it as one of the most innovative products of the show.  I interviewed Barry Preedy recently on one of my radio shows, I have extracted the interview and you can listen to it in MP3 format by clicking on the audio icon on the right.  This is a much more collaborative use of interactive whiteboards, moving away from guess what's in the teacher's head to how do we solve this problem is a much more C21st use of this technology.  It is probably more appropriate for the creative problem solving approaches that are becoming survival skills for learners working in the C21st.  The VIPRO is marketed by Matrix Display www.matrixdisplay.com who are partnering Barry in bringing this product to the education market place.  There are lots of traditional whiteboard tools already available and the surface is operated by your finger or you can use a cheaper E-Beam system with the glass and use a pen.  The touch method is my preferred use, it is so natural for young people to just reach out and touch the glass and want to move objects around with their fingers. When observing young people using the VIPRO I have noticed how collaborative and engaging their discussions are.  They are talking, sharing and working together on a problem.  Google Earth is just amazing used on the VIPRO, there are no "hot spots" in which the light shines in your face and no shadows associated with traditional whiteboards as the projector is underneath the glass surface.  This is C21st learning & teaching at its best and it is what interactive technology was invented for.

I am often asked what I am using to control my presentations, although much of my content comes from live demonstration, when I am showing slides I have this year been using the Microsoft Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000.  I wouldn't have naturally chosen this product but after seeing Ray Fleming (now working at Microsoft - used to be at RM) using one in Jersey, I asked Ray about it and he offered to send me one.  What is unique about this device is that it does both jobs very well.  Being a mouse and being a slide controller would seem a simple challenge but it isn't.  If the mouse function is not disabled, accidently touching the underside of the mouse will bring the annoying mouse pointer up on your screen during your presentation.  It always seems to appear just under the nose of someone in the video that I am showing!!  When using the Presenter 8000 in show mode you just press the screen button on the mouse and the mouse function is turned off and so are the left and right buttons and the wheel button.  Instead, the slide control buttons on the underside become active.  Forwards, backwards and a very handy volume control function are available together with a video pause feature.  It comes with its own USB Bluetooth receiver but I have used my built-in laptop transceiver to save using a USB port.  I had to replace it recently after a presentation as a cup of lemonade got spilt on it, I don't think that it was the lemonade that killed it but rather the cleaning fluid that I had to use to remove the stickiness.  A good measure when faced paying for one, it cost me £38 from www.amazon.co.uk and arrived the next day.  Oh and the range is rather good too, using the supplied USB Bluetooth receiver I often get in excess of 20 metres operable distance, all of the buttons are configurable too.  By the way it wasn't my lemonade!!

The world's first Dual-SIM and dual standby windows Mobile handset to support HSDPA 3.5G and EDGE 2.5G delivering all-in-one phone and Internet connectivity on two separate SIM cards in one single device.  This is the ACER DX900 available from www.expansys.com for £347 without contract or FREE on selected T-Mobile contracts.  Dual SIM allows you to manage your personal communications separately from the same device that you might use for school, college or business use.  Built on the robust windows Mobile 6.1 operating system and with loads of great features like GPS and a 3.0 Megapixel camera, this has to be one to consider if you are looking for a Windows Mobile Phone.  The touch sensitive screen measures 2.8" VGA and supports (640 x 480).  Interestingly the phone also supports Tri-Band for one of the SIMS and Quad-Band for the other giving you amazing flexibility if you are a "Geography" professional and are out on lots of "Field Trips"!!  More information and to see an un-boxing video please visit the Expansys website above, you may also find this product in some high street retail outlets.  I have been a very happy customer of the Manchester based Expansys for many years and have no difficulty in recommending them to you.
 

UMPCs (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers) are making a big impact in our learning and teaching spaces, mainly because they are offering us longer battery life and for the first time a realist choice of operating systems.  I have a couple of recommendations for you in this section.  First on the scene was ASUS with their 700 range and I have been recommending this and their subsequent ranges from Go Education plc www.goeducation.co.uk who have been very good to deal with.  The latest UMPC from ASUS has a battery life of over 7.5 hours.  I have also been impressed with the ACER Aspire One, for under £200 with is another great littler mover, even Tesco Direct are offering this one in a range of attractive colours direct.tesco.com.  My favourite at the moment particularly with the very young in mind is the Fizzbook Bang range from Tag Learning.  Again available in a range of popular colours these UMPCs also offer an integrated carrying handle - just perfect for very small hands that may have difficulty in managing a bigger and heavier laptop.  There is even a Fizzbook Spin coming in May this year that will offer tablet PC functionality on a swivelling screen laptop.   www.taglearning.com have been supporting educators with ICT solutions for as long as I can remember, they also offer free trials of their products.  The Fizzbook range is well made and with prices under £329 these are definitely worth considering if having the Windows operating system is your priority.

Not hardware, but this brilliant application is rocking the world.  TWITTER has proved to be an essential tool for me, it is just so easy keeping up with what my peer group are doing, what they are working on and what they have spotted on the horizon.  The brilliant John Davitt is a big fan too, John uses Twitter in lots of his presentations allowing the audience to comment and engage with him in real time.  I have a Twitter application on my iPhone (Twitterific) and this has transformed my connectivity when I am out and away from my office.  So what is Twitter, it is a FREE social messaging utility for staying connected in real time.  You can use it with your friends, family, colleagues to exchange quick one line answers to questions.  I regularly announce my broadcasts, new technologies and share great ideas from my extended networking group.  To follow me on Twitter please visit www.twitter.com/russellprue  It is unclear just how the service provider is going to monetise this utility - Twitter was created by Ewan Williams, Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey.  Before Twitter was created, Ewan created Blogger the incredibly famous FREE blogging site that is now owned by Google.  So I guess that Google maybe a contender, at the moment it is FREE and just an excellent tool for professional development not withstanding the enormous potential for using it with learners.

It isn't going to be possible to compile a list of top technologies without including the groundbreaking Apple iPhone.  I got mine in December 2008 - late I know but I wanted to see the bottoming out of the PAYG tariff before I jumped in with both feet.  I paid £399 for a 16Gb model and I am not tied to a contract, although this December I will need to start paying £10 a month for an all-in Internet connection fee which has been free for the first 12 months.  Still good value I think, as I use my iPhone everywhere.  It really has been transformational for me and yet still lacks some basic "windows" operating system functionality like cut, copy and paste this hasn't really been a problem for me.  The phone is so well designed and typical of Apple Technology there are lots of small and simple innovations like the proximity detector that turns the screen off when you hold it up to your ear.  There has been some talk in the UK press about a reduction in the cost of the iPhone of the contracted tariffs in preparation of a new model for late summer.  The iPhone here in the UK is only officially available on O2 and sold through Apple stores and the Carphone Warehouse group.  Prices have dropped slightly recently for a 24 month contract the iPhone can be picked up FREE for just £34.26 a month details from www.02.co.uk and www.apple.com/uk  What has made the iPhone such a brilliant piece of equipment is the simple way in which new applications can be added, a way of personalising your phone with some great software.  With just over 25,000 applications available on the App Store, there's something for everyone.  Here are some of my favourite, Twitterific - Twitter Application, i-Clickr - for remote control of your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, QuickVoice - for audio note taking and recording.  FlyCast for Internet broadcasts and the Parking App - reminds you of how long you have on the meter and records a GPS location of the vehicle.  Shazam - just hold your iPhone up to some music and in seconds you have the name, artist and a useful link to iTunes.
 

Wireless Broadband USB devices have strangely become known as Dongles.  Never mind how this has happened, I knew that I needed one when my hotel broadband bills starting hitting £100 a month.  I don't mind paying for hotel broadband as it is often more useable than the so called FREE solutions that Hotels provide.  I wanted to get back in control of these costs but didn't want to commit to a regular monthly spend.  I opted for the T-Mobile Pay As You Go Broadband "Dongle", offering some of the fastest download speeds available, I have simply been delighted with it.  It has become so incredibly reliable that I have recently been broadcasting some radio shows with it, sustaining a 128kb upstream for several hours without one single lost connection or packet. I have done this several times and so I know that it isn't just luck.  You do need to be in a 3G region and preferable with the faster EDGE speed available, you know when this happens as the indicator light turns a turquoise blue from standard green.  I have used it with my Windows laptop and my Mac, although the software tools that come with it (pre-installed on the device) are only compatible with Windows the instruction for Mac use are clear and easy to follow.  Being a PAYG device, I only pay when I go online no matter how much I use it that day.  The first use after 12.00 midnight causes a charge of £2 to be taken from your topped up balance and that's it until 12.00 midnight.  There are some monthly fair policy user limits but everyone has these now and you can see how much you have used that month.  You can also send and receive texts.  There are monthly subscriptions that offer unlimited use but even this unlimited use is subject to a "Fair Use Policy".  Not sure how they manage to claim this, however this is a good tool and offers great mobility and functionality away from your wi-fi network.  Available from www.expansys.com in Manchester.

It is time to stop moaning about children's concentration levels and do something positive about it.  The young people that we teach in C21st are different and there is nothing that we can do about it.  Why not engage them on their terms, use a Wii Fit Balance Board to improve concentration skills instead of doing more of the same!!  Having used mine with very young people it is easy to see why Nintendo have been so successful with their Wii products.  Games have had the amazing effect of transforming maths scores in Scotland as part of the LTS Consolarium research project.  Headed up by the equally amazing and brilliant Derek Robertson, this project has proved that engagement, problem solving, and learning skills can all be achieved through the use of these tools.  Maths scores were also doubled in less than 6 months too for primary aged pupils.  Derek kindly gave me an interview last month for one of my radio shows you can hear that interview again here in MP3 format by clicking on the audio link.  Whilst children may get exposure to these kinds of games away from the traditional school environment, educators are able to capture that exposure and turn it into measureable learning gains for the classroom.  Simply try one with your learners using the introductory balancing game, using the board you have to concentrate and balance your virtual floating board so that marbles are able to drop through holes.  Whilst we are waiting for the huge £10million central government research project (this is never going to happen) why not get ahead and try one for yourself.  Make it competitive, post scores on the school MLE, run inter-school competitions and tap-into the engagement and fun that this technology brings to learning.  Available though all good high street stores and online from  www.game.co.uk  Equally, Wii Music and Tennis are also brilliant.

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