All posts by James Clay

When is an UMPC not an UMPC?

When is an UMPC not an UMPC?

When it’s a 9″ UMPC.

When is an UMPC not an UMPC?

The infamous little EeePC is getting bigger by two whole inches.

Coming out next year with a bigger screen, the EeePC will still be running Linux but will also be available with Windows XP.

Compared to the original 7″ EeePC the 9″ model is not that much bigger, so will still be relatively just as portable.

Engadget on the 9″ EeePC, ASUS’ 9-inch Eee PC and Hands-on with the 9-inch Eee PC.

How will technology change teaching?

I really enjoyed reading Bill Thompson’s column on the BBC News website this week, where he wonders about how technology will change teaching.

If every student has a powerful network device that plugs them into the network, and work on digitising every book and other forms of knowledge has been successful, then what is the point of teaching “facts”?

He makes the very valid point.

Just as we try to encourage kids today to learn enough mental arithmetic to decide whether to believe the calculator’s answer, so we need those using tomorrow’s vast supercomputers to have a sense of what is going on that will allow them to judge the validity of the answers they get.

Overall an interesting column, well worth a read.

Goodbye Netscape Navigator

BBC reports on the end of an era for the web icon which once had 90% of the browser market.

A web browser that gave many people their first experience of the web is set to disappear.

Netscape Navigator, now owned by AOL, will no longer be supported after 1 March 2008, the company has said.

In the mid-1990s, as the commercial web began to take off, the browser was used by more than 90% of people online.

Its market share has since slipped to just 0.6% as other browsers such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox have eroded its user base.

I don’t know where I am…

As part of our Glossy Project (part of the MoLeNET programme) we are looking at the differences between learners using their own devices and the college providing devices.

One particular lecturer was interested in using PDAs with GPS capability. After difficulties in finding a suitable product, in the end I went for a “cheap and cheerful” product, the Acer C530, this is a Windows Mobile device with GPS capabilty built in (through a large external aerial).

I don’t know where I am…

Summary of features

  • 300MHz processor
  • 64MB SDRAM / 128MB ROM
  • 2.8 inch, TFT-LCD Touchscreen display with 320 x 240 QVGA resolution
  • 108 x 58 x 16.8 mm / 122g
  • Bluetooth® 1.2 / Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • Integrated SiRF Star III LP GPS receiver
  • CoPilot 6 Navigation Software with Full Maps of UK, Ireland & Western Europe
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system
  • Full MS Office Mobile Suite
  • Includes Window mount, AC & car charger, case
  • EU map coverage: including UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Benelux, Italy, Scandinavia (up to 100% coverage), Spain and Portugal, Russia (detailed coverage in Moscow and St. Petersburg).

The key thing with this device is that it has a rather small screen for what is quite a bulky device.

I was impressed it came with Pocket TV which is a much better application for playing back video than the included Mobile Windows Media Player which comes as standard with Windows Mobile.

So far all I have really done with the device is charge it up (well once I remembered to put the battery in it).

I have not yet managed to get the GPS working, but I know that is because I am indoors and GPS can be so flaky when you are indoors. In a previous life I had a TomTom GPS unit I used with my Sony Ericsson P910i phone and that never worked until I took it outdoors.

It’s raining, so I am not going outside.

The problem with GPS is that it kills the battery fast, so it’s nice to see that the box comes with an included car charger (not that our learners will be using that) but also that it can be charged via USB.

As for expandability it comes with a SD card slot which means at least I am not going to need to find another different memory card format as I seem to be having to do with phones.

Alas it doesn’t have sound recording capability which would have been nice, but then at the price it was much cheaper than more powerful PDA GPS options, currently £176 at Amazon which includes VAT.

University of the future?

Abilene Christian University (ACU) have announced that they would be issuing iPhones or iPod Touches to incoming freshman for use in their college courses and day to day lives.

At ACU – the first university in the nation to provide these cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class – freshmen will use the iPhones or iPod Touches to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors’ offices, and check their meal and account balances – among more than 15 other useful web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.

YouTube Video Links

For those who have inadvertently blocked YouTube

Mobile Learning – Abilene Christian University

What might a university look like with a fully deployed program of converged devices like the iPhone? Connected is one possible vision. This fictional day-in-the-life account highlights some of the potential benefits in a higher education setting when every student, faculty, and staff member is “connected.” Though the applications and functions portrayed in the film are purely speculative, they’re based on needs and ideas uncovered by our research – and we’ve already been making strides to transform this vision of mobile learning (mLearning) into reality.

Links

ACU first university in nation to provide iPhone or iPod touch to all incoming freshmen – Abilene Christian University

An Apple iPhone or iPod touch will become a central part of Abilene Christian University’s innovative learning experience this fall when all freshmen are provided one of these converged media devices, said Phil Schubert, ACU executive vice president.

Apple Working to Deploy iPhones at Universities – Mac Rumors

Abilene Christian University (ACU) announced yesterday that they would be issuing iPhones or iPod Touches to incoming freshman for use in their college courses and day to day lives.

RSC VLE Forum

Today I am at the RSC VLE Forum in Taunton.

RSC VLE Forum

So far I have heard from ULCC talking about PLPs and now OSS on communities.

It’s an interesting event and always useful to network and engage with others in the community and realise how far behind we are in terms of Moodle development.

Some work to do.

Adobe AIR

Adobe today announced the immediate availability of Adobe AIR, a new platform for building rich internet applications (RIAs) across different platforms, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Adobe AIR enables developers to create RIAs on the desktop using the skills and Web technologies — such as HTML, Ajax, PDF, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex — they already employ. Applications deployed on Adobe AIR have the advantages of browser-based RIAs, such as speed of development, ease of use, and access from virtually anywhere. Yet they also have the benefits of desktop applications, such as the ability to read/write local files, work with other applications on a user’s computer and maintain local data storage on the desktop.

Adobe AIR

It’s an interesting variation on applications, some use desk bound applications such as Microsoft Office, whilst others use web based applications  such as Google Apps.

It’s looking like Adobe AIR will allow users to have the flexibility of web based applications with the backup of desk bound applications when there is no internet connection (such as on plane).

Nintendo Wii used for therapy for burns victims

The BBC has an interesting report on how the Nintendo Wii been used to provide therapy for burns victims.

The Nintendo Wii games console is being used as part of physiotherapy treatment for patients in South-East England.

Burns victims and those with hand injuries are being offered spells on the console to boost their recovery.

In an accompanying article the BBC asks the question:

So is the evidence stacking up that the sought-after games console is not just fun, but good for us too?

I have seen how TechDis have promoted the use of the Wii and these articles show how games consoles have uses beyond merely playing games.