Tips by Tony

A couple weeks ago Ning announced they would be discontinuing their free offerings, moving to paid-only services. Since Ning has been adopted by many educators/schools, many were wondering if education would be given a free pass. Today we got our answer.

Once a year educators from across the US (and a few from Canada) get together in Palm Springs for the CUE (Computer Using Educators) conference. Each time I attend, I get both energized and disheartened.

It’s been 2 weeks since Apple announced the iPad, and there’s no shortage of commentary on the upcoming device. I’ve read, and thought about, all the criticisms. Most are missing the point.

A recent Education Week article (Whiteboards’ Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven) looked at the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in the classroom, and used a combination of anecdotal evidence and a recent study to show that educators are split on the issue. This article could have been written about most educational technology initiatives – just replace “Whiteboards” with laptops, cellphones, iPods, Twitter, or any other bit of technology.

As an IT guy, I get a lot of questions from frustrated computer users: co-workers, friends, family, even complete strangers. Sometimes I know the answer off the top of my head, but more often I do a quick Google search to find the answer. I can usually find the answer in less than five minutes.