By Paul Silli

As a teacher I often see my little three-foot tall, small framed students crawling through our narrow hallways with their backpacks hung to their sides filled with textbooks that often weigh more than the kids… It’s painful to watch!

Students can now hold hundreds of textbooks in the palm of their hand without breaking their backs. Plastic Logic Limited has developed a lightweight and durable educational eReader that offers learners the option to access electronic digital books that can be read —  all at the touch of a finger. The cost of the eReaders is about $69 per unit. This is inexpensive compared to tablets sold in today’s market that range from $300 to $900. Many K12 schools are purchasing eReaders which resemble a flat textbook.

The eReaders appear to make reading fun with their 7″ color LCD graphic display. The installed Android Operating System offers a “touch and go” user interface which allows learners to navigate where they can view books, perform Internet research, send emails, join SocNets, and use many other online resources. The portable battery-powered eReaders have a thin plastic ergonomic design and are available in several slick colors.

For teachers if you have eReaders this will remove the problem of students forgetting to bring their class assigned textbooks from home. This hand-held gadget may even increase student interest by making reading more enjoyable and interactive.

If your budget allows — it might be foreseeable to purchase a set of eReaders.

By Paul Silli

According to K-12.com (2010), Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive tax-based money – but are not subject to some of the rules and regulations that apply to many public schools. They still are accountable to earn acceptable state standardized test results, but are attended by choice to the public without private-fee tuitions.

Charters provide an alternative to public schools. Some parents are searching for new options for their children. For example, unlike many public schools, charters often “specialize” in certain educational fields such as the arts, sciences and mathematics.

Many charters become so popular that parents swarm to have their kids enrolled. Due to an often overwhelming number of applicants, some charters have to allocate a lottery system to admit new students.

Today, charter schools are a great opportunity for students to learn and enhance skills while still gaining the fundamental education that is offered at a public school. This may contribute to why there is an increasing demand to have more charter schools built within the public education system. Charter schools are growing in numbers and appear to be a developing trend.

By Paul Silli

What’s Web 3.0??? Many consider it to be a change in how websites are created and how people interact with them. Web 2.0 universally is viewed as how people collaborate and share information online while using social networks and other interactive services such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter…

Here are some Web 3.0 features according to ScienceLab 2011:

• There is Real-time Data: Information is moving faster online today than it has ever been. Breaking news stories occur on Twitter and Real-time searches allow users to get the latest information within seconds by the touch of a keypad.
• Searches Online: Programmers are trying to teach computers to better understand people so they will know what we mean when we are searching online. For example, Google is developing ‘Semantic Web’ searching styles; This is when a computer understands what people are saying when they are using jargon and slang expressions.
• Mobile & Geography: Some say geography is playing a big role in the information posted online. The rise of GPS-enabled 4G phones and small handheld devices is feeding into the Web 3.0 trend.

It took more than 10 years for Web 2.0 to catch on as an accepted industry term. I think it will take some time for people to clearly define what Web 3.0 is for consumers.

What do you think? Is Web 3.0 just another netlingo?

By Paul Silli

Hybrid instruction refers to some K-12 & college classes offered to students where there is both traditional classroom instruction (first-hand meet and greet) and online learning activities accessed through the Internet.

Hybrid classes can effectively combine Blooms Taxonomy and the Core Knowledge Sequence. Students have the opportunity to make meaningful connections with their teachers — yet are no longer required to travel to campus everyday in order to attend courses because a lot of the workload can be accessed online.

Going Hybrid

In order to make a class “Internet-ready,” many teachers need to adjust their class instruction and move away from traditional lecture materials. In doing so, they are making their lessons more  beneficial than using traditional classroom instruction. Rather than having students sit in a lecture hall taking notes, teachers now can offer many “active-learning” activities such as researching case studies, emailing essays, promote self-tests, offer in-depth tutorials, create podcasts that can be used to review instructional material, and develop interactive online projects. I use Google Docs to give students group projects online. It is free and user-friendly.

For example, I have many Internet activities and podcasts within my Silli’s Tech Class website. The content on my site is derived from using the ISTE Standards and created for middle school (5-8) students. Here is my site: http://sillitech.wordpress.com/

Are Hybrid Education methods a better way to teach? Let me know your thoughts.

By Paul Silli

St Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14th. On Valentine’s Day, many people send messages of love and respect to family and friends.

Below in the “Comment Box” write a Valentines Day message (a sentence or two) to a family member or friend. Include your first name and last initial only. When approved your comment will be posted here on the Internet. Happy Valentine’s Day!

By Paul Silli

According to Wikipedia online, Desktop Publishing (also known as DTP) is when work is created using software such as MS Word to design page layouts on a computer. For example, DTP can range from writing a business letter, creating an events calendar or brochure, to making a flier or writing a news article…  

How do you use computers? What DTP skills would you like to learn? (Include three sentences for a full-grade). Put your ideas in the comment section below and remember to only write your first name and last initial in the comment box. You do NOT need to include a website or email.