Month: May 2005

Here is a summary of some of projects underway to develop very inexpensive computers. The motivation for these companies varies – from providing technology in under-developed companies to challenging existing computer powers. Ignore the anti-Microsoft, etc. tone of this piece. I am adding this post as a source of information about new hardware alternatives and not to take an anti- “evil empire” position. It is true that Microsoft and other companies with proprietary operating systems increase the cost of computers and the proportion the operating system would add on very inexpensive systems would be substantial. Must be some way to achieve a middle ground here.

PanLogic provides a new “white paper” offering data on home use of the Internet.

The paper offers additional support for the significance of the net generation concluding that younger family members are the most sophisticated users of the net with 88% of primary school children using it at home and 95% of eleven-to-eighteen year-olds.

Federal money for technology has slipped. Now, it appears that money schools have for technology is being spent in different ways. You guessed it – more money for student data collection and organization (Education Week).

The author concludes:
“Underlying this spending trend, the report says, is a philosophical shift in the White House concerning the role of technology in education. During the Clinton administration, federal leaders largely viewed technology as a way to open new educational horizons. Now, under the Bush administration and the demands of the No Child Left Behind law, the emphasis is on technology as a tool for analyzing achievement data.”

What does e-rate fraud look like? Here is a “case study” published by the Washington Post.

eSchool News reports that the Supplemental Educational Services market associated with NCLB is worth approximately $2 billion annually. Supplemental educational services are tutoring options that must be offered to students from underperforming schools.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) also has set up a division to monitor SES programs and provide guidance to parents and teachers. Tutors for Kids

With HyperStudio fading as a tool for student multimedia authoring, we have been exploring and somewhat promoting the products of a Canadian company eZedia. Selecting products to serve as example is important for us because we use these products as examples in our writing activities. The publication delay (perhaps 9 months), the run of an book edition (3 years), and the volatility of the software industry, make such selections both challenging and important. The 4th edition of our book used HyperStudio as a major example even though this product was no longer being supported.

We identified eZedia as a company offering products we felt would become widely used in K-12 classrooms. Now, we learn that eZedia has been sold to Safari Video Networks (see simple announcement on the eZedia web site). Our contacts at eZedia are encouraged by the focus of the new parent company on video instruction and the niche their products fill within this focus.

We will see how this goes and whether student authoring is promoted or fades as this integration plays out.

I am becoming more and more impressed with Google and their ability to parlay an advantage in one area (search) into other service areas. After developing several types of “information” services, Google now offers users a way to generate a personalized home page providing access to multiple services.

See Google Home Page.