Filezilla for FTP Host Editing

By Paul Silli

Hey, to all you FTP’ers out there! I am somewhat new to using FTP site editing for uploading & downloading files such as: .docs /.ppts /.pdfs and jpegs. My main domain and website host is at fatcow.com.  It was recommended that I use Filezilla (client version) to install onto my pc so I could easily upload files to my host site, and then create direct URL links to the files so people could access my work on the Internet.

The Filezilla program is Open Source, meaning it is free for private use. It is easy and fun to use. However, it will take some time to learn (For example, dragging and dropping your files into the proper folders through its multiple layered windows); but the program works well.

For all of your FTP solutions, both a client and server-based version are available. There is Filezilla help support through its forums and wiki trackers. If you are new to FTP, you may want to give it a try. Let me know what you think. 😉

Technology In Education Conference 2009

By Paul Silli

Hello to all you fellow teachers and techies out there. It’s that time of year again to “plan ahead” for the premier technology conference in the state of Colorado.  Please mark these important dates: June 23-26, 2009 – at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

What is the TIE Conference?

Technology in Education (TIE), is a Colorado-based organization founded in 1986 by a group of teachers with a vision to host a conference focusing primarily on the role technology plays in education (TIE, Online). It is a fun, four-day conference where attendees learn many new,  innovative methods using  technology in the classroom or corporate training setting.

The cost is $315 which includes: Exhibit Hall admission, Keynote & Featured speakers, 200+ interactive sessions, Conference orientation,
Free onsite wireless network for attendees, use in convention center meeting rooms, Complimentary Internet/e-mail stations in the CyberCafe,
TIE Conference t-shirt, Lunch every day of the conference (except Friday) and breakfast on Thursday, and a formal TIE dinner party on Thursday night.
 
Today, TIE has become the leading statewide conference helping teachers integrate technology tools, technology competencies, and information literacy skills into a standards-based curriculum. TIE is organized and managed by a governing board of nine volunteers. Its major objective is to host the four-day, hands-on technology conference in a beautiful mountain community during early summer that models the use of technology integration in the classroom…  For more info about TIE or to register visit: http://www.tiecolorado.org/Welcome_312.htm. I hope to see you there!

Are Smart Boards SMART?

By Paul Silli

First, what in the world is a Smartboard? If you don’t know… according to Wikipedia, a Smartboard or interactive whiteboard is a large, touch-controlled screen that works with a projector and a computer (Wiki, ref-3). The projector throws the computer’s desktop image onto the interactive whiteboard (usually in the front of a room), which acts as both a monitor and an input device. Users can write on the interactive whiteboard in digital ink or use a finger to control computer applications by pointing, clicking and dragging, just as with a desktop mouse.

Now that you know a bit about this new technology, I refer back to my original question. Are Smart Boards smart? Maybe yes, or perhaps no!

There is no doubt that this colorful-board technology rocks for educational uses. You can have a student come up to a board in front of a class, and by using his or her fingers, can interact with it to perform many “hands-on” activities. But where this technology falls short — is in the depth of your pockets. You see, Smart Boards are very expensive to purchase for an average K12 School. They cost about $1,200 to $3,000 per unit, and that does not include the cost for a fast computer to run it, and you also will need a modern projector to show the image onto a screen — Visit this link for: Estimated Costs, (near $5,000).

Unfortunately, most schools, especially the one’s I have visited, do not have the essential budget to pay for such a techie-device. And for those schools that do have the budget, and decide to buy a Smart Board, often do not have the needed technical support to teach the teachers how to use the boards. Sadly, in many schools, Smart Boards just sit in a media center storage area collecting dust because staff members simply do not know how to use them.  

What is the value of educational technology if it is so overpriced that most of the public can not afford to use it? Technology needs to be cost efficient and user friendly if it is to be “innovative.” 

To see the many benefits of using a Smart Board visit LEARN: http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/cil/teach/smartboardworkshop/

New Touch-Screen Computer Coffee Table by Microsoft

By Paul Silli

Click link to see a full-video about this new computer coffee table: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html 

And you may have thought you saw just about everything with computers; Microsoft Corp, the software giant, has built a new touch-screen computer— into a coffee table design that will change the world as we view graphics while sipping a hot beverage. Go inside the top-secret development plant with PopularMechanics.com, and than forget the keyboard and mouse devices you use. The next generation of computer interfaces will be totally “hands-on,” and very interactive.

This incredible new computer system will be placed in just about every coffee shop, book store and the like within a year or so. What a concept, and new way to make money from consumers. Will we buy into this new computer service? I think, definitely! It is a great, innovative resource with its easy touch-screen software which allows users to manipulate, edit and view pictures & graphics…  

What do you think about this new computer service system? Will it be a hit?