If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re GONNA want it.
I found out about Wolfram Alpha from reading Joyce Valenza’s Neverending search blog on slj.com. You may want to hit that for a fuller review than the thumbnail I’ll try and paint below
www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334.html
Basically, Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine that, I think, has [...]
-
Recent Comments
Anton on Wolfram Alpha is Hotter Than T… akimbo on Librarians are Hip, Tech-Savvy… Carole Colburn on Addendum: Kurt Vonnegut Virtua… biff on About Yvone Mattix… on Streaming Music for Your Schoo… -
Gadgets News from SLJ.com- School Library Journal reviews the Kodak Zi8 pocket camcorderDigital, flash-based pocket video cameras—the ones with those clever flip-out USB plugs—have come a long way since their debut just three short years ago. The Kodak Zi8 represents the next step forward in that evolution. While rival “HD” cams settle for B-grade 720p video, this one can record full-blown, widescreen, 1080p high-def.
- The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and GizmosPocket-sized HD The size of a highlighter pen and weighing less than three ounces? I'll bet it's the world's smallest HD camcorder. The 1.4 x 5-inch PenCam HD by Aiptek fits in the palm of your hand so you're ready to grab all the action in 720p high definition. Featuring a 5-megapixel shooter, the PenCam boasts 4 GB of memory, built-in H […]
- Tech Is all the Talk at NCTEEducators from around the globe shared methods for tying media and technology into literacy lessons at the 99th annual National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention held in Philadelphia, PA, November 19–22.
- Conferences Are All a Twitter: Live blogging, tweets help spread the joy of eventsConference season is upon us. But school and library budgets being what they are, funding for travel is scarce these days. But a growing trend toward bringing these events online makes it easier than ever to attend sessions virtually and even join in the rich conversations that make conferences so valuable.
- SLJ Reviews the Netbook Toshiba Mini NB205-N230Windows 7, Microsoft’s answer to the ill-received Vista operating system, was released on October 22, just days before this review was due. I started using Windows 7 in beta last winter and was impressed by how well it performed on my old Thinkpad T40. Since then, I’ve been eager to see if Windows 7 would perform equally well on a more Spartan device: the ty […]
- Yes, They Can: Google Lit Trips and games give kids a new perspective on social justiceChildren, especially girls, are finding supporters across the globe—some their own age—who are engaging with virtual education programs, an online game, and books that promote social justice and a better world. “Education seems like a simple thing,” says Greg Mortenson, coauthor of Three Cups of Tea (Viking, 2006) and founder of the nonprofit Pen […]
- The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and GizmosProps for the iPod Another day, another stylish gizmo for the Apple line. Portable stand iBend props up an iPhone or iPod Touch for viewing a movie or video. There’s a basic model ($4.99 for two) and three colorful artists’ versions. Increasingly, schools are adopting iPods for the classroom and on a larger scale.
- Web Site in a Rush: H1N1 threatening, EdReady goes up fastIf a pandemic or other significant event made it difficult or impossible for your students, staff, or teachers to physically attend school, how would you make sure that communication and education still take place? This is the question looming for educational institutions nationwide, given the potential of the H1N1 virus to disrupt or even close schools this […]
- Document Camera Califone Diggiditto DC596The Diggiditto is a unique little document camera, so let me begin by highlighting its most prominent quirk: it doesn’t provide display output so that you can connect it directly to a digital projector. Since many teachers use document cameras as an overhead unit—for projecting the material they’re working with in real time—it’s important to know that this o […]
- The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and Gizmos
- The Next Big Thing: Is Your Library up to 21st-Century Speed?Libraries of the future will primarily manage digital repositories of information rather than warehouse physical books. A more functional method geared toward easy browsing will replace the Dewey Decimal system. And computers will surpass human librarians in the ability to answer even the most complex reference questions.
- SLJ Reviews the Dell Latitude 2100/NetbookThough the burgeoning netbook class of computers arguably began with the One Laptop per Child educational initiative, look around and you’ll see just how far the little laptops have come. You’ll find them serving as second computers in urban cyber-cafes and suburban kitchens, tucked in the briefcases and gloveboxes of mobile professionals—even connected to p […]
- STEM to Grow in Libraries: Research project to get science content into media centersSchool librarians searching for a better way to broaden their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) resources for K–12 students may soon have some innovative help. Marcia Mardis, an assistant professor at Florida State University, is embarking on a three-year project to build an RSS-like feed that she says will search Web sites and online l […]
- Site of the Month: First Day of School Icebreakerswww.teachersfirst.com/firstday.cfm Ah, the first day of school. For students, educators, and parents alike, it’s a remarkable occasion, loaded with excitement, anticipation, and, yes, sometimes even a tear or two. To help get things off to a good start, the Web site TeachersFirst has created “First Day of School Icebreakers.
- Pen Ultimate: For kids who take part in National Novel Writing Month—the acid test for would-be authors—it's no guts, no gloryKathleen Kohl was penning 2,000-word short stories at 12 years old and by 13 set her sights on writing a novel. In a move gutsy enough for any would-be writer, much less a teenaged one, Kohl last year signed on for National Novel Writing Month, an online contest, of sorts, that challenges all comers each November to complete a 50,000-word piece of fiction ov […]
- School Library Journal reviews the Kodak Zi8 pocket camcorder
- Technology News from SLJ.com
- Get Students to Enter StoryTubes Contest to Promote Their Favorite BooksWant to keep your kids busy during the holiday break? Have them enter StoryTubes, a public library-sponsored online contest that asks those from grades K-12 to make a two-minute or shorter video of their favorite book.
- Canada’s Blythe Academy Replaces Textbooks with eReadersBlythe Academy’s high school students might be hanging up their backpacks soon. The private school in Toronto launched a new program this fall, giving all of its 140 students in 9th through 12th grade a Sony eReader—meant to eventually replace classroom textbooks.
- Twitter, Texting Enhance Writing Skills, Says ExpertIf renowned author Ernest Hemingway could write a full story in just six words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”), then teachers and librarians should actually encourage their students to use Twitter and text messages as part of their literacy lessons. So says Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at the University of […]
- Winter Wonderland LessonsIt’s difficult to keep kids focused on school right before the holidays, what with all the parties, TV specials, and anticipation of presents. “Winter Wonderland,” just updated for 2010, is the perfect site to help kids focus on learning.
- Gates Foundation Boosts Library Broadband EffortsAs demand for library Internet access continues to grow, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced two plans to help libraries improve broadband connections: one involves state broadband improvement plans; the other offers help with getting federal broadband stimulus funds.
- Winter WhimsyWinter Bells is engaging, kid-appropriate, visually stunning, and has wonderful original music. The premise of this charming online game is simple: use your mouse to make the rabbit jump and land on top of bells as they fall from the sky like big snowflakes.
- An Open Source Tool for Every TaskFor the last several years, I’ve organized sessions on open source software (OSS) at ed-tech conferences. But this year was markedly different, with an awareness of these tools among educators that I’d never seen—a result, perhaps, of restrictive school budgets (there are no licensing fees with OSS).
- School Librarians Lead in Social NetworkingMedia specialists are more likely to join social networking sites than teachers and principals—and they’re more likely to adopt a variety of content-sharing tools for personal, professional, and classroom use, says a new report. “A Survey of K–12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools” (bit.
- Fun and Games: National Gaming DayNational Gaming Day (NGD) drew players of all ages to the library last month, though judging from the Twitter stream, organizers enjoyed themselves, too. “We had a pretty good turnout at our local library. VERY fun!” tweeted Michael Sanchez, who volunteers at the Lake Wales (FL) Public Library.
- Free Agents: Libraries have a place in a gift economyAlthough we commonly think of the Internet as being free, that simple term doesn’t do justice to the complex economic models that have developed in response to our neverending desire to acquire content without cost. As Wired editor Chris Anderson explained in his recent book Free (bit.ly/m74eU), the Internet has expanded beyond the advertising-supported noti […]
- Get Students to Enter StoryTubes Contest to Promote Their Favorite Books
