Videos about Youth Culture and Technology

Links

Some interesting videos on technology and youth culture.
Academia 2.0 video - Balanced video discussing how new technologies have changed students regarding learning.

A Vision of Students Today - Some interesting ideas - Even though some students do not seem to be able to tough it out - Life is a challenge.....

Did you know video - Great stats - A little over the top ....

Google Apps

Imagine using an Internet tool (with no ads) for free that can save a school district $10,000 of dollars. Google Apps is available for free to educational institutions. It was voted the number 1 product by PC Magazine for 2007. They said
"Google Apps (allows users to create) Documents (like MicroSoft Word) & Spreadsheets (like MicroSoft Excel) ...(soon to be joined by a PowerPointesque presentation application) already makes for an interesting alternative to Microsoft Office. Combine it with Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar, and suddenly nearly all of your basic productivity programs and data can be available online.

How does a School District save $$$:

• by not having to purchase software licences for Microsoft products or install software on computers MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint type software runs efficiently over the Internet. The only software the student's computer requires is a browser.
• by not having to purchase and maintain a server to hold student files. Students are automatically given secure accounts from a simple text file of names. They are each given 6 GB of space which is typically 100 times larger that the space given to them on a school server. All this can be managed simply by an administrator at the school. All communication and files are secure and private from the public Internet. Files are automatically checked for viruses (do not have to purchase virus checking software)
• by cutting printing costs. Google Apps allows documents to be shared .. between students for group work and with the teacher for marking. No file is every lost and is automatically saved every minute.
• By allowing students to use their own computers (with wireless access) because they can access their Google Apps files without having to log onto a school server. Presently most schools will not allow students to hook their computers into the school server because of the fear of viruses. Allow students to use their own computers allows school to cut down on the purchase of computers in they want to keep the student/computer ration the same.

At my school I have started testing Google Apps with Classes click here. It looks very promising !

Introduction

MP3/Video Players/ Recorders - Great tool for educations!

For $59 (Can.) you can purchase a MP3 player that plays podcasts, mp3 files, records podcasts, displays text from a text file and even shows video.
With an MP3 player students can.
Write and preform a play that play back to the class
Create a podcast of a tour of the school
What small educational Videos that are preloaded
Do Oral language assignments to bring home.
Read a chapter of a book as an assignment
Files can be right protected so they are not erased
Teacher could put all course assigments onto a class set of MP3 at the beginning of the class year.
Teacher can record lectures which can be played back.

Connecting Education

Bridging the Gap
Connecting education with how young people use digital technology in their personal lives. See http://www.connectingeducation.com/