3D printing is the ability to take any object and recreating it with a printer. Now of course I do not mean on paper, but a plastic model version of the object. As this technology gets better, this will change manufacturing. 3D printing is absolutely amazing. Imagine being able to take an idea that you have and created it with a printer. I can think of a so many uses for this technology.
Check out this demonstration video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aghzpO_UZE]
Here are some pics of the conference I recently attended:
Finally back from my conference and now playing catch up. Will start up my regular posting as well….anyway several BIG rumors that I have heard in the last week.
1. I personally heard from a good source (someone who would know/that I trust) that the iPad 3 will be coming out in March. Just confirms all other rumors but hearing from this source is a pretty good indicator that it is definitely coming soon.
2. Google might be releasing Jellybean (android 5.0) which will boot with dual cores in the Q2 of this year! Wow and ICS isnt even on any phones except the Gnex. However, I would suspect this would only be on tablets at first. link to article
Here is a link to my Gamemaker presentation at PETE&C 2012
Havent posted this week because I will be away next week so I have been trying to get ahead in my work. I will be at the PETE&C conference next week. I will post some updates/pics from the conference. I will be presenting on the use of Gamemaker as a classroom tool.
Here is a link to the conference: http://www.peteandc.org/
Well its coming at some point, we just do not know when but the tech blogs and news sites are running rampant with rumors. Most are pointing to a late february (not likely at this point) to March release date. My guess after seeing how these things play out and are always a bit behind is March/April.
Rumored specs:
Quad Core
Siri Support
Improved Cams
4G
Better resolution
Thicker than iPad 2
Significantly improved battery life
Also, iPad 2 price will drop and may continue to be sold
Well these are all rumors so take them with a grain of salt but be ready in the next 2 months to see iPad 3.
Here is a good site that explains the recent rumors: http://mashable.com/2012/02/01/ipad-3-details-2/
This video takes you through the main features of Blogger. I do not go into much detail but do go through each feature. Blogger is very easy to use and with this video I doubt many of you will have any other questions. This software is very user friendly:
*Note – if you need to see how to create a blogger blog, please see this post
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjL1oWA05ew]
Blogger is a free tool from Google. I use this tool in my courses and have become fairly impressed with it as of lately. It offers a lot of customization and is perfect for educators or just about anyone who wants a blog. It’s also very easy to use, so it gives novice computer users an opportunity to publish on the web.
Here is a video tutorial that I put together which shows you how to create your first blog with blogger:
*Note – To see the next post on Blogger features click here
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmOmQraJl0s]
I recently wrote a blog post concerning all students having their own website. Well I believe all faculty in higher education and K-12 teachers should have their own as well.
Why is this? Students and parents should know who their teachers and professors are. They should know about all the work we do. They should know how many publications, presentations, and past work experiences we have had. I recently (yesterday) had a student tell me that her mom was asking about her professors and she liked the fact that she could go to my website and see my resume and some information about me. This is a great way for us as faculty to demonstrate just how valuable we are. Many of my colleagues and peers resumes are very impressive and I think its a great idea for us to show that off. It also shows we know a little bit about technology and are not stuck in the stone ages.
Having a website is just one way to accomplish this. Of course many of our schools have a ‘faculty page’ but these are very generic. Having your own website can really show off your skills and is informative to our students. My point – faculty, develop a website for yourself. If you are not tech savvy, ask your instructional technologists, they would be more than willing to help you out!
With the increasing popularity of Codeacademy (http://www.codecademy.com), a free online javascript course, many people are signing up to learn Javascript. This popularity is stemming from the current state of the economy, leaders saying that everyone should learn to code, and where our future jobs are going.
I think this is awesome and I believe having an understanding of basic computer logic is a great skill to have. This is why I push software like Gamemaker, Squeak, Scratch, etc. which require one to understand basic programming logic.I also teach HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and Actionscript in my classes.
However, I do think people are jumping the gun a bit with Javascript. The reason why? Javascript by itself is rather useless. I would not tell someone to learn javascript unless they had a solid foundation in HTML and CSS first. You really cant do anything with javascript without HTML. Learning javascript without HTML/CSS is like learning to hold your breath, then being put into a deep swimming pool without knowing how to swim.
So while I believe learning Javascript is great and I think everyone should learn basic programming…at least the logic, I believe that you should understand HTML and CSS before jumping the gun and learning Javascript.
So for those who want to learn js, just take a few weeks and learn HTML and CSS first. They are both very easy to learn – the easiest languages. Then when you have that foundation learn javascript. Then when you understand js, start learning a database language like PHP or Ruby.