September 2007
Computing to Get Cheaper for Kids Around the World
Many schools will soon be able to offer students portable internet access for as little as $100 per student, according to the CEO of one of the companies that hopes to provide that low-cost computing.
Stephen Dukker, the chairman and CEO of the company NComputing, anticipates that ongoing breakthroughs in computing and wireless technology will create these price drops by as early as 2009. He also anticipates that the price tag for schools will be even lower for non-mobile internet access, potentially as little as $30 or $40 per student. The key to this, according to Dukker, is his company's development of memory cards and terminals that use the processing power of a single computer to enable as many as seven people to work online or offline.
NComputing, Dukker's company, recently contracted with Macedonia to provide computer workstations for all of that nation’s elementary and secondary students. The total cost of these workstations, including transportation, setup and maintenance, will at this point be $220 per student, although as Dukker notes, the price is likely to come down soon. “We envision a world,” he says, “in which every person and organization that wants 1-to-1 access to a PC can finally afford it.”
Of course, NComputing is only one of several players in the movement to bring low-cost computing to children around the world. One of the others is the One Laptop per Child program that we've also written about for In the News. You can read those articles here:
July 2007
September 2006.
In Case of Emergency: Play a Game!
Can a video game help to save lives in the real world? That's the premise behind a brand new game that’s being designed to train first responders to major emergencies.
Ground Truth is the name of the game, and it’s being developed by Sandia National Labs in conjunction with the University of Southern California’s GamePipe Laboratory. The game engages players in trying to minimize the consequences of virtual emergencies by strategically deploying game "resources" like firefighters, police, hazmat teams, etc. Ground Truth keeps track of injuries and deaths that result from a player's game strategy, but, according to the game’s designer Donna Djordjevich, the final score is less important than what first responders learn from playing the game. "It is a sandbox," she says. "[Players] are able to play through it and say, well, that idea obviously didn't work out, but I’d rather have them make the mistake in the video game than in reality."
Djordjevich herself is a devoted gamer and has a strong belief in games as training and educational tools. "Video games are progressive, intuitive, accessible, and immersive," she says, and an especially good tool for learning that involves the simulation of a real-world environment. And toward that end, she’s devoting substantial resources to the look and feel of the game. "I think it’s important to at least get to a certain level of production quality or private industry quality graphics," she says, "so people don't just turn away from it immediately and just dismiss it as old technology, old software."
Ground Truth continues to be in development and may ultimately be used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security upon its completion. You can read more about the game here: http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2007/groundtruth.html.
Silver Surfers Lead the Way Online in the UK
Think it's tough to learn the new technologies? And do you think that's because you’re of a "certain age," maybe a little older than today's digital natives? Well, a new study from the U.K. suggests that you might have to think again.
The study, conducted by the British media regulator Ofcom, showed that while less than 20% of U.K. seniors actually use the internet, those who do spend substantially more time there than any other age group. The so-called "silver surfers" spend an average of about 42 hours per month online compared to 38 hours per month for 18 to 24-year-olds. The content areas that hold the most appeal for older people were found to be hobbies, news and other local issues.
And the number of U.K. seniors who go online is only likely to increase, thanks to events like Silver Surfers' Day, sponsored by Ofcom and the group Digital Unite. Silver Surfers' Day, an annual event since 2002, promotes computer and media literacy for older people in the U.K. According to the event's website, its goal is to have all older people get as excited about surfing the web as a recent participant who proudly boasted, "Our kids just go 'blah,blah,blah' - now I can do online shopping and reservations without them!"
You can learn more about the U.K.'s silver surfers at http://www.silversurfersday.org/.
Podcasting For Teachers
Podcasts are cheap to make, easy to distribute and a great way to reach a wide audience. That's why more and more teachers are taking advantage of this cool and still relatively new technology. Bard Williams is a former middle-school teacher who's written extensively on this subject, and you can read an interesting interview with him (and learn about his favorite podcasts) at Teacher magazine.