A great response to a tech hating teacher

A fellow TL Advisor posted this blog today in response to a teacher who stated that "I hate technology". I thought that the response was great and that the teacher who hated technology just needs some guidance and training on how to use technology in their class. Technology has made my life easier as a teacher, has engaged my students, has taught them things that they would never learn otherwise, and saved our school money. Hopefully that teacher will be trained and start to see technology as a great tool for teaching and learning. 

Web safety resource

Web Wise Kids - http://www.webwisekids.org/index.asp - is a great resource for parents and schools. It has a variety of resources, many free, to help educate students on the dangers of online predators, sexting, and more.  Some resources only have a "suggested donation." The costs are minimal and the resources are very good. You can also sign up to get updates of new and emerging technologies and how they can present issues for kids.

Some great websites!

I love finding new web sites that are actually useful to me. I was reading some articles at PC World and a couple of blogs and found the following sites:

1. WikiHow - http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page - This site has a lot of great "how-to" articles. It has "everything from changing your name after marriage", to "how to remove a tick" to computer tips, to personal finance, and more.

2. Encyclopedia.com - http://www.encyclopedia.com/ - this is a great free encyclopedia site. It brings in information from many reliable sources and is peer reviewed and checked.

3. Fixya - http://www.fixya.com/ - Free computer and technology help and support site. Also has many user manuals available.

4. Hard to Find 1-800 numbers - http://www.hardtofind800numbers.com/index.htm - maintains a listing of 1-800 numbers for companies. It is easier to find numbers on this list than on some companies own websites. 

Free stuff is always a good thing, and even better when the free stuff is useful and of good quality. Share your ideas with us.

Palm Pre coming soon?

I'm a Palm fan. I have been using Palm products for 12 years, starting with a Palm III, moving to a Palm Tungsten T3, then Lifedrive, then TX, and currently using a Palm Centro on Verizon. I've always thought that Palm had the best PIM (Personal Information Management - calendar, tasks, memos, and contacts) system of any PDA or smart phone. I use my Centro for everything - Calendar, Contacts, Memos (over 1600), Tasks, email, web browsing, text messaging, games, productivity, lesson plans, and even as a phone.

I've been anxiously awaiting the Palm Pre. Palm announced their new smart phone back in January. The phone has a new operating system (webOS) and a great form factor (touchscreen with a slide down QWERTY keyboard). The applications and operating system look great and all the industry analysts are calling the Pre an "iPhone killer". 

The problem - it still hasn't been released and I'm dying to get one. It will be released on Sprint for the first 6 months, and then go to other carriers after that. Palm has announced that it will be released in the first half of 2009. There are indications that the release is imminent. There are commercials being filmed, reports of Sprint employees being trained on it, and reports of Pre shipments being sent out to stores. 

I'm hoping it will be out soon. I love the idea of a smart phone as an educational tool, and I think that the Pre will be a great educational tool.

For more info: www.palm.com and www.sprint.com 

Disclaimer - I do own Palm stock.