december 2004
Product Review
Reading Horizons
By Mitchell Levine
If you ever take the time to pore through adult literacy statistics, you'll find a number of highly disquieting items of interest: according to the Department of Labor, about 50 percent of unemployed individuals in the United States are functionally illiterate. READ ARTICLE
Product Review
R-Quest's TCR-4000 Duplicator
By Mitchell Levine
Mathematics teachers perennially complain that students lack statistics literacy. Here's some scary ones: an estimated 1 in 500 data centers will experience a critical hardware failure serious enough to cause a severe “data disaster.” READ ARTICLE
Product Review
The ProTouch XT Keyboard Protector
By Mitchell Levine
The primary selling-point of mobile computing is the ability to condense the processing power of a desktop computer into a compact, sleek frame which can be conveniently utilized whether on train, plane, boat, automobile, or in the park, classroom, or boardroom. READ ARTICLE
November 2004
Product
Review:
Design Appliance’s Aerobics
Mouse
by Mitchell Levine READ
REVIEW
Product
Review:
Gigabyte Technology’s
N512 Notebook
by Mitchell Levine READ
REVIEW
October 2004
Product
Review:
Layton Technology’s Audit
Wizard
by Mitchell Levine READ
REVIEW
Product
Review:
The MacCase MackPack Combo
by Mitchell Levine READ
REVIEW
September 2004
Product
Review:
The Keynamics Laptop Stand
By Mitchell Levine MORE
Product
Review:
Information Appliance Associates'
PocketMac Pro Utility
By Mitchell Levine MORE
Product
Review:
Ambrosia Software's Snapz Pro
X
By Mitchell Levine MORE
August 2004
Product
Review
Save Time with GroupLogic’s
Mass Transit 4.5
by Mitchell Levine MORE
Product
Review
Shuttle inc.’s SB81P
by Mitchell Levine MORE
Product
Review
Tuff Cases Portable Workstation
by Mitchell Levine MORE
July 2004
PRODUCT REVIEW:
Adobe Creative Suite
by Mitchell Levine
READ
MORE
PRODUCT REVIEW:
The PDA Multipivot
by Mitchell Levine
READ
MORE
PRODUCT REVIEW:
Comgrafix’s Ragtime 5
by Mitchell Levine
READ
MORE
2004 Teen Booklist
from NYPL
READ
MORE
June 2004
Product
Review:
GroupLogic’s ExtremeIPz
by Mitchell Levine
READ
MORE
Product
Review:
Ragtime 5
by Mitchell Levine
READ
MORE
Product
Review:
The Quest for a Qualified
Teacher in Every Classroom
by Patrick Ianniello, Ph.D.
READ
MORE
May 2004
Product
Review:
You Software's You
Control Menu Utility
by
Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Product Review:
Shuttle XPC SS56L
by Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Product
Review:
Eset Software's
NOD 321 Antivirus
by Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Product
Review:
Last Software's
SketchUp
by
Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Test Drive
High Tech Careers on New Website
READ
MORE
New Game: Patriot
Challenge
READ
MORE
April 2004
Product Review:
Tekstyl's Tekskin
by Mitchell Levine
Laptops were created for primarily one reason: to be portable.
Unfortunately, if that was indeed the goal, it doesn't seem
like the design's really that successful. Of course, you cantransport
them, but... READ MORE
March 2004
Product Review:
Digital Frog International’s
Science Matrix
by Mitchell Levine
Although some theorists like Clifford Stoll may be skeptical
about the ultimate benefits of our school system’s
emphasis on multimedia delivery of curricula, almost everyone
agrees that this currently reigning paradigm is going to
remain the state of the art for the foreseeable future. That’s
not necessarily a bad thing: in many ways, technology can
really spark student interest in a way that more traditional
methods haven’t. Few people from my generation have
strongly nostalgic memories of our freshman biology lectures.
No one liked plying Formaldehyde-saturated viscera with a
trocar in my class, and mentioning cytoplasm, Golgi apparatus,
or endoplasmic reticulum to them is rather unlikely to garner
even a fleeting glimmer of recognition. . . READ
MORE
December 2003
Product Review:
E&B Company's Slipper and
Flipper PDA Cases
by Mitchell
Levine
A PDA in the year 2003 is a remarkable piece of technology:
once you have one, it's hard to believe you ever got along
without it. And increasingly, schools in our area are agreeing.
READ MORE
Product Review:
Innovative's LCD Arms
by Mitchell Levine
The benefits of flat panel screens are subtle, but they're
there. One of the biggest obstacles to technology deployment,
especially in the schools that need it most, is space. READ MORE
Product Review:
PhonicsTutor Frequent Words
by Mitchell Levine
One thing no one in education seems to agree on is reading
methodology. A confusing profligation of approaches have been
suggested with no end in sight. A point of general agreement,
it... READ MORE
Product Review:
Radtech's ScreensavRz
by Mitchell Levine
Today's mobile computers pack a lot of power and multimedia
performance into their compact chassis. But there's a price
to pay for those streamlined form factors. READ MORE
Product Review:
Sharp Actius RD20
by Mitchell Levine
We've reviewed an awful lot of laptops in this section over
the last few years; unsurprising, as it's common knowledge
that our school systems are gearing up to make a full deployment... READ MORE
November 2003
Product Review:
GoKnow’s Handheld Learning
Environment
by Mitchell
Levine
Although, thanks to the enormous technology initiative
now underway in the New York City schools, mobile technology
in education has been traditionally aassociated with
laptop... READ MORE
Product Review:
Deer Park Turns Internet into Valuable Learning Resource with
netTrekker
by Mitchell
Levine
Like many school districts nationwide, Deer Park Public Schools
in Deer Park, New York faced the challenge of integrating technology
and online resources into their K-12 curricula... READ MORE
Product Review:
NTI’s Dragon Burn CD/DVD Utility
by Mitchell Levine
Simply having hardware doesn’t necessarily benefit the
user. Although this might seem like an obvious truth, it unfortunately
doesn’t always hit home until it’s too late. The
investment in... READ MORE
October 2003
Growing Up With The Internet,
Teens Need To Sort The Good From The Bad
by Mitchell Levine
Computers have revolutionized communications, and today’s
teens have access to vast educational and entertainment resources
while online. The Technology Student Association (TSA), a national
student organization devoted exclusively to the needs of young
people interested in technology, knows it is prudent to protect
the privacy and safety of today’s youth. READ MORE
Research’s
Mathematica 5
by Mitchell Levine
As a science and technology editor for a New York City-based
education trade, I get to examine and evaluate a lot of software.
Something on the order of several first-rate products, and
even operating systems, every month. READ
MORE
Rockefeller
U’s
Precollege Science Education Program for K-12 Teachers
Science teachers in public, private, or parochial schools in
the tri-state area are encouraged to apply to be a Rockefeller
University Outreach Teacher Fellow. READ MORE
The Statistics of Standards Erosion: An Interview with Dr.
Valen Johnson
by Mitchell Levine
In the mid-Nineties, as a professor of Biostatistics at Duke
University, Valen Johnson noticed a strange phenomenon occurring
in the grading system of that highly regarded institution:
Almost half the GPAs awarded by the college were in fact A
to A pluses. READ MORE
September 2003
Product Review: Booq Powersleeve
by
Mitchell Levine
Industry experts, sophisticated journalists, and intelligent
laypeople agree: the largest deployment of education
technology resources in the history of our school system
will occur when the New York City Department of Education
completes its stated goal of finally reaching the “one-to-one
computing standard” in
the hopefully near future. READ
MORE
Product Review: Flashmaster
Electronic Math Tutorial
by Mitchell Levine
Almost everyone hates learning their Times Tables. How do
we know this? The fact that even most adults, whom presumably
use them every day, don’t know them. If you don’t
believe me, try asking your friends what 8 X 6 is. READ
MORE
August 2003
Product
Review: Codetek’s
Virtual Desktop
by Mitchell Levine
Education technological environments aren’t like corporate
ones. In the corporate IT world, there’s no need
for “legacy” hardware;
in fact, the description is a euphemism for “disposable.” READ
MORE
Product
Review: Advanced Force’s DeviceLock
by Mitchell
Levine
Longtime readers of Education Update’s Technology and
Education section undoubtedly are aware of the almost 1.1 Billion
dollars the New York City school system has spent on technology
and technology education. READ
MORE
Product Review:
Intercue Professional PDA form generation
suite
by Mitchell Levine
This product satisfies what I think suffices as the truest
definition of “revolutionary”- an idea which
solves a problem which people don’t yet realize they
have. READ
MORE
Now
Software’s
Now Up-to-Date and Contact
by Mitchell Levine
A lot of attention’s been paid to the flashiest and most
sexy elements of education technology in the last several years:
servers, platforms, laptops, and other boutique hardware. READ
MORE
Smart Draw Diagramming Utility
by Mitchell Levine
The SmartDraw graphics package for charts and diagrams is actually
the most fun software utility that I’ve used in some
time. Almost any teacher of statistics or social studies
has had the difficulty of trying to communicate a vital topic
to their class that has unfortunate stigma of being, at least
from the vantage point of a typical student, “dry.”
READ MORE
July 2003
Product Review:
Arco Duplidisk 3
by Mitchell Levine
Mathematics teachers perennially complain that students lack
statistics literacy. Here’s some scary ones: an
estimated 1 in 500 data centers will experience a critical
hardware failure serious enough to cause a severe “data
disaster.” READ
MORE
Product Review:
Zero
Toys’ Zero Launcher
by Mitchell
Levine
Common sense tells us that students find physics boring,
dry, and difficult. Labs are tedious. Equations are excruciating.
Newton’s laws might as well be in the Principia Mathematica’s
original Latin for all that today’s high school Regents
students care. READ
MORE
June 2003
Product Review:
Avaion Software’s
FatFinger 2.4
by Mitchell Levine
As great as laptop computers are for mobile education,
they still have some disadvantages for practical deployment
in a contemporary educational setting. Since the concept
of the “one
to one computing standard”—or one mobile device
for every student, teacher, and administrator—is
to ensure equal opportunity for techno-literacy, it’s
an unfortunate fact that the very classrooms that most
need access to the technology, have the least space to
make use of it. READ
MORE
Product Review:
Otterbox
Armor 3600
by Mitchell Levine
Almost anyone who’s become a serious handheld user has
noted a number of wonderful things about those fascinating
little digi-boxes: their convenience, versatility, and profound
impact on their personal productivity. Unfortunately, one
big liability is usually quickly evident—their delicacy.
Making them fast, capacious, and flexible apparently doesn’t
leave a lot of technical capital left over for making them
rugged. READ
MORE
Texas Public Schools Improve Scoring in the “Difficult to Teach” Sciences
of Anatomy and Physiology
As a wide- open healthcare field prods a growing number of
students to seek careers in the industry, educators are finding
more effective tools and techniques to teach a traditionally
difficult subject. READ
MORE
May 2003
Product Review:
Tuff Cases
Portable Workstation
by Mitchell Levine
Long-time readers of Education Update’s Technology
and Education section already know that mobile computing
has been a major concern for New York City schools for
some time. READ
MORE
Pittsburgh Steeler Brings
Technology to
Brooklyn School
by Sybil Maimin
Brady Keys, Jr., former All-Pro Defensive Halfback for the
Pittsburgh Steelers, is determined to replace the ubiquitous
student backpack as main means of communication between parent
and teacher.
READ
MORE
Product Review:
VideoEye!
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
The VideoEye! was designed especially to help people with low
vision retain their independence. READ
MORE
April 2003
Product Review:
Lapvantage Laptop Dome
by Mitchell Levine
It’s not hard to understand why mobile computers have
become such a prominent phenomenon in education technology
today. . . .
READ
MORE
Software Review:
Eye Candy 4000
By Rick Sulz
Imagine waking in the middle of the night to the noise of a
spaceship landing outside of your window. . . . READ
MORE
February 2003
Arttango: A Valuable Art
Program by
Dr. Pola Rosen
A unique name for a unique program, Arttango is instructive,
colorful, fun, interactive and perhaps make you feel
like you’re “dancing
with art.” Because of budget cuts, many schools
don’t... READ
MORE
Lewis Frumkes, Director,
Marymount Manhattan College Author Series Hosts Susan Orlean
by
Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Though she looks nothing like Meryl Streep who played her
in Adaptation, a quasi-fictional account of the difficulties
faced by a diffident and blocked screenwriter in trying
to adapt her nonfiction prose... READ
MORE
Lind
Electronics’ PowerMax
90
by Mitchell Levine
As useful as current portable computers are, one feature that
has not matched the frenetic norms of Moore’s-law-paced
technical evolution is battery life. A complete charge of
the lithium-ion battery on...
READ
MORE
Laptop Privacy Hood
by Neil Schuldiner
The primary selling-point of mobile computing is the ability
to condense the processing power of a desktop computer
into a compact, sleek frame which can be conveniently utilized... READ
MORE
July 2002
Innovative Use of Cable in the Classroom Award to Time Warner
Cable
Time Warner Cable of New York City was presented with a 2001
Gilbert Award for Community Service for Innovative Use of
Cable in the Classroom by a New York Educator in a statewide
competition that recognizes outstanding community service
programs conducted by cable television companies in New York. READ
MORE
Elizabeth Rohatyn Brings Technology to Schools
By Tom Kertes
Eight years ago, in response to a growing concern that students
in affluent schools had greater access to technology than
those in less affluent neighborhoods, Elizabeth Rohatyn,
along with a group of former teachers, founded Teaching Matters,
a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting excellence
in teaching and learning through the use of technology in
the classroom. READ
MORE
June 2002
Field Visits Part of Summit
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
One expects brilliant keynoters, erudite professors, the
business sector and educators to exchange ideas at various
panels when Teachers College, Columbia University organizes
a special 3-day technology conference such as this one. READ
MORE
The Enabling Keyboard
by Neil Schuldiner READ
MORE
TrueTip fingertip PDA Stylus
by
Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Managing School Records With New Software
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D. READ
MORE
Teachers College Holds Education Technology Summit
by Bruce
Myint
Nobel laureate Niels Bohr once said: -Prediction is very difficult,
especially if it's about the future. READ
MORE
May 2002
Product Review:
PC Shade
by
Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Plagiarism Meets the Age
of the Internet
by Bruce Myint READ
MORE
Sonic
Impact Technologiesí SI-5
Blue Multimedia
Speakers
by Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
The VisAble Video Telescope
by Andrew Schiff READ
MORE
April 2002
Product Review:
inStand
CR-1 Laptop Tripod
by Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
BOE Builds Online Educational
Community
by Marylena Mantas
As a result of a recommendation made in September of 2001
by the Teaching and Learning in Cyberspace Taskforce,
established by the New York City Board of Education (BOE),
the public school systemís students, parents, and
teachers will soon belong and have access to an Online
Educational Community. READ
MORE
March 2002
Mobile Computing Review:
Handspring Visor Edge, Pro & Prism
by Neil Schuldiner READ
MORE
Product Review:
Klear Screen
by Mitchell Levine READ
MORE
Typing Pal Junior
by Laura
Pretto READ
MORE
February 2002
Product Profile:
PC TableTote
by Mitchell Levine
Blame it on the new millennium, future shock, or just successful
marketing, the reigning concept in education procurement
today is “technology.” While some might
argue about the ultimate utility of this current sprit
of technical acquisitiveness, the only thing no one
seems to be able to do is ignore it. With massive initiatives
like the New York Board of Education’s
experiment in distributing laptops to the 4th grade
students of districts 6 and 10 already in play, our
administrators intent to bridge the “digital
divide” has never
been clearer. READ
MORE
January 2002
Lapworks Laptop Desk
by Mitchell Levine
Some products are revolutionary because they solve old
problems in an entirely new and effective way. In the 1980s,
fax machines were a quantum leap in communications technology
because they made the telegram obsolete. READ
MORE
December 2001
Kaplan K12 Learning Services
by Mitchell Levine
When I was a high school student in the 1980s, the name “Kaplan” was
virtually synonymous with SAT preparation. With over
three million students served in thousands of classrooms
around the world, it’s not hard to understand why this
image continues to dominate the organization’s public
perception. READ
MORE
November 2001
Dr. Alan Kay: Father Of
The PC
by Tom Kertes
“Children are the messages we send to the future,” said
Dr. Alan C. Kay in his intensely inspirational
Lynford Lecture at Polytechnic University. “So whenever we’re talking
about the real future, we must talk about kids.
Because what they learn, and what they consider to be normal, becomes most
of what humanity winds up doing.” READ
MORE
October 2001
New Test-Prep Software Designed
for the Classroom
by Marie Holmes
The Incredible Tutor System, by Sleek Systems, is a
new software application designed to meet the increasing
needs of students, teachers, and administrators to
prepare for standardized achievement tests. READ
MORE
Product Review:
Webroot’s Childsafe
Internet Monitoring and
Filtration Utility
by Mitchell Levine
It’s been said that the dangerous neighborhoods of the
city of Los Angeles are even more dangerous than their counterparts
in New York, not because they are any more inherently dangerous,
but simply because they don’t appear to be so. Hazardous
neighborhoods in this city make themselves immediately obvious
as such. The Palm trees and perpetual sunshine of the West
Coast often seem to disguise what would be readily apparent
in our urban environment. READ
MORE
September 2001
Ashton Digital Unveils Passport 2000
by Mitchell Levine
Ashton Digital, premier mobile technology manufacturer, recently
unveiled its Passport 2000 Series - the newest addition
to its family of Intel-based PC notebooks. The laptop features
a Pentium® III processor with speeds of 866MHz and
above, an extra sharp 15” 1400 x 1050 SXGA Active
Matrix TFT display, up to 512MB of system memory and up
to 30GB of hard drive storage. Also standard is its Dual
View feature, which creates an extended desktop by allowing
an external monitor to be used along with the notebook’s
built-in screen. This provides the opportunity to multi-task
projects with different applications opened on each of
the screens. READ
MORE
Closing Gender Gap in the Sciences
Women’s gains have stalled and in some cases eroded in
engineering and computer science, despite effective new programs
to increase women’s participation in these fields, according
to a major new report released recently by the National Council
for Research on Women (NCRW). READ
MORE
iSchoolZone Web-based High School Regents
Review Product
School administrators, curriculum directors, technology coordinators
and teachers are now closer to a solution to curriculum/classroom
demands by the state. If your high school is looking to meet
AIS (Academic Intervention Services) needs or Improve Regents
performance in the face of tougher SED standards for graduation,
then you should take a look at a new web-based high school
review product called iSchoolZone. READ
MORE
Oracle Internet Academy Brings Technology
to Schools
Oracle Internet Academy (OIA) is a partnership between Oracle
and secondary schools to teach high school juniors and seniors
Java and database programming skills. An estimated 6,000
students from 180 schools around the world will participate
in the program this year, including Lower East Side Prep
in Manhattan and Liverpool High School in Liverpool, NY.
READ
MORE
August 2001
Distance Learning
The growth of distance learning technology has brought several
benefits to employers, as it has enhanced the quality of
productivity.
READ
MORE
Math Made Easy Videos
Dr. Meryle Kohn and the Multimedia Tutorial Service have created
a series of videos, Math Made Easy, that cover arithmetic,
algebra, geometry and calculus. READ
MORE
July 2001
Product Review:
Zero-Halliburton
Z5
by Mitchell Levine
A few months ago, I bought a computer. The next day, as I
walked to work, every mobile-user’s worst nightmare
came to pass: the backpack-style case that came with it
burst open because of a defective zipper. READ
MORE
Website Connects Women in Science on Long Island
St. John’s University has launched a website designed
to encourage women to explore careers in technology and science.
READ
MORE
Technology
Shorts READ
MORE
May 2001
Staten Island High Launches Website
New Dorp High School on Staten Island has launched the
first fully interactive web-based communications system
for a New York City public high school. READ
MORE
Online in Florida: A New Approach to High School
Florida is leading the technology race by teaching students
via a statewide Internet high school, according to the Miami
Herald. Florida’s computer-based curriculum, called
the Florida Online High School, is free-of-charge to residents.
READ
MORE
Online Database for Undergraduate Science Programs
GrantsNet, a free web site that provides information on biomedical
research grants and fellowships, introduced a new database
on undergraduate-level programs. READ
MORE
April 2001
Online Book Clubs for Kids
Joining a literary discussion group online helps students
pursue ideas giving them the time to frame their responses
and thoughts carefully. The freedom to openly discuss a
wide variety of topics often increases the student’s
enthusiasm for the theories and ideas presented in literary
works. READ
MORE