New+Tech

This page will show all the new technology I've been testing.

LabQuest
We first saw this technology last year, but weren't able to spend enough time with it to see if it would be useful for our classrooms.



Since then, we each bought one, and have been using them in our classrooms. Mr. Fox has had the most time to work with them, and experienced connecting the spectrometer to them. It's a HUGE improvement over the LabPro, as the color screen allows display of the output in good resolution.

TI- nspire
I first saw these at the AAPT conference in Greensboro, NC, last summer. The Physics were a hard sell; few could see that it was a major improvement over the TI-84.

The TI-nspire has the advantage of being backwardly compatible with the TI84. The faceplates are interchangeable.

The display for geometric objects is dynamic and easy-to-use. The labels for objects can be linked to that object (line measurements, angles, etc.), and will change as the objects change.

Notice how the display of fractions models the way they are used by students on paper. The tabs at the top of the workspace (2.1, 2.2, 2.3) allow the user to move between pages.

Teachers can create pages and folders of pre-set work. Once loaded, students can navigate between the pages to complete the assignment, completely without paper. They can save to a folder of their own, eliminating unnecessary dead trees. And, if a hard copy is needed, they can attach the TI-nspire to a printer, and print directly from the calculator.

Wikis
Wikis, like blogs, are expected to be a dynamic technology. Like blogs, wikis have an ever-changing profile. Unlike blogs, wikis automatically track any changes, providing an easy way to unravel modifications. They are ideal for group projects, class notes, histories of work in progress, and other collaborative work.