Blurts

We had the opportunity to experience the Microsoft Surface this afternoon. A bit pricey and not many apps, but there must be an future for this type of technology in education. I do think think that multi-point “touch” offers a unique way to interact.

Apple had pretty much zero presence at NECC this year. No booth in the vender area. No sessions by Apple focused on Apple products. I know that Apple has pulled out of Macworld and probably other trade shows as well, but I just don’t get it.

In seeking answers I have asked other Apple fans for info.

Some suggestions.

Apple puts money into its stores and sees these outlets as the means by which they display products, offer training and education, etc.

Fine for big city folks, but what about those of us in North Dakota (or many other places). Isn’t it kind of elitist or perhaps ignorant to assume everyone lives within a convenient distance from one of your stores.

Apple knows that only Apple fans spend time in the Apple booth or Apple classrooms

Hmm – this one took me a while to process. My first reaction was that this assumes there is no hope of winning converts. What is up with the I’m a PC and I’m a Mac campaign then? Perhaps just for the entertainment value?

Apple sells great hardware and other vendors will offer examples of software suited to the Apple hardware.

I think this position represents a poor understanding of the direction things are moving. I think we are moving toward less powerful/capable hardware and online apps (mostly for free). What Apple should be doing to counter this trend is to sell the value available in the hardware (I’m a PC, but I truly can’t do much) AND the software that often comes bundled with the MAC. The iLife suite is what Apple should be pushing at education conferences. More and more this is what I think Apple has to offer the education community.

Apple – offer a netbook for the rest of us or show up next year!

This year is the 30th anniversary of NECC. This will be the last NECC next year the label will change to ISTE. The first NECC was at the University of Iowa.

A feature of this year’s conference is a sort of museum of tech artifacts. Looks a lot like my basement.

Mitch Resnick argues that Scratch offers students and teachers to meet President Obama’s challenge to “create and not just consume“.  As he relates this challenge to technology, he proposes that students move beyond clicking as a form of participation. Want to offer more learners of all ages the opportunity to create with technology and get beyond the assumption that creating with technology is reserved for programmers. The Scratch site receives a new upload nearly every second.

A new site focused on Scratch for educators, Learn, Share, Connect, is now available.

Replica of printing press from Newseum.

I have known about the Newseum for some time. As an online site, it offerfs a way to examine the front page from many papers .

We had an opportunity to visit the museum (Washington, DC) today. I was curious about how the museum would handle the change in the newspaper industry. Several multimedia programs dealt with this issue using the Rocky Mountain News and the  Christian Science Monitor as examples. Professionals will be able to offer higher quality multimedia content and better journalism, but will the public support/pay.

Waiting for NECC09 to begin.

We are driving to Washington, DC for NECC. It should be quite and adventure by the time we arrive. First stop was Kingsley, IA, for my mom’s 84th brithday. We stayed in Sioux City (view of bridge over Missouri). It happened to be the 125th Centennial for Kingsley. I took lots of pictures – the tractor is a John Deere A. I spent many hours cultivating corn and beans on our A.

This content from Frontline explores technology applications in education. Several themes – one to one, literacy, national scene. National scene topic is federal funding for education.