Nook First Impressions

Monday, December 7, 2009 by jethrojones


Click image for source from B&N.com

I am extremely fascinated by eBook readers, and if money were not an issue, I would own every brand just to have the best one.

Since so much of my impression of the new reader from Barnes & Noble is based on the actual experience using it, I have to say up front that it is mind-numbingly slow! The video below shows how much it lags and it is ridiculous. I recorded it with my iPhone so excuse the awkward aspect ratio and unsteady hand.



The nook does have some great features that I do really like.

First, the touchscreen down below is pretty nice. It adds an extra dimension for navigation and is more intuitive than the Kindle navigation. It makes sense to have that as the navigation. The problem you run into is that the touchscreen makes you think that the reading screen should be touchscreen, too, but it is not. Again, however, the innovative controls are nearly ruined by the laggy software (at least, I assume it is a software issue). You can see in the video when I look up a word that it is very difficult to navigate to the correct word.

Second, I really like that you can have wi-fi and 3G. From the demo unit, it looked like the nook takes whatever is available. Which means that I could not find a way to turn off the the 3G, but the wi-fi was on the whole time. It will be interesting to see how Barnes & Nobles' plan of allowing full-book previews in the store on B&N's wi-fi network. The real benefit to that is people will be seen reading nooks out in public, which is typically good for business.

One of the small annoyances that jumped out to me was opening a book. When I open a book, I expect to be able to start reading it. That is not the case. Opening a book takes you to an overview of the book. You need one more "click" to get through to the actual content. The overview page appears to be where you would lend the book, but I can't verify that since the demo unit didn't have that option, which I was really looking forward to using, as it is probably the most compelling reason to get a nook.

As far as for education, I think that this will be a pretty good device. Sharing books is good. I just hope that the lag goes away with some future updates. I can handle some lag in the beginning, but it has to be cleared up soon.

Any questions I didn't answer? What do you still want to know?

Have a Good Life.

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iCarte Turns the iPhone Into an RFID Reader

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by jethrojones

Sending this post to Blogger from Reader for the first time. Hopefully, it works out OK.

This article on The Apple Blog (below) caught my attention today. New way of checking out books to students in libraries? New way of taking attendance? New way of paying for lunch? Throw an RFID chip on a student ID card and there are a lot of applications. Kids could complete most transactions at school through their ID card. Put the chip on library books, hardware, PE clothes, and you are in business. I wonder how much the chips would cost....

Have a Good Life.

iCarte Turns the iPhone Into an RFID Reader: "

Earlier, we reported that the next generation of iPhone might have an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader built in, if rumors prove true. Well, there’s no need to wait that long, if near-field communications (NFC) is what you’ve got a hankerin’ for. Wireless Dynamics has announced a device called the iCarte that will add both RFID and NFC capabilities to the iPhone.


The device adds functionality to the iPhone via the dock connector, to which it connects without adding too much bulk or without being too much of an eyesore. In fact, it looks like the iCarte’s designers went out of their way to make sure the add-on looks like it’s a natural extension of the iPhone itself, rather than an apparent third-party accessory.


A chip embedded in the iCarte turns your iPhone into a portable electronic wallet, able to process contactless payments. It can also transmit any information it receives directly to enterprise databases using Wi-Fi or 3G network connections, so that orders and purchases can be automatically input into your company’s home server. Of course, in order to use the iCarte, you’ll need to be using iPhone OS 3.0, since only the latest major software update supports dock accessory connectivity.


The iCarte also has a mini-USB port to allow for pass-through charging and syncing, so you won’t have to constantly remove and replace the device, and it comes in both black and white in case fashion is a concern of yours. To be clear, while Wireless Dynamics does talk about business applications, it looks like the iCarte’s functionality is aimed primarily at people on the consumer end of the retail equation:


iCarte has an embedded smart-chip that can be configured as debit, credit, pre-paid and loyalty cards, for secure contactless transactions. iCarte can also read NFC Smart Posters, download or upload electronic coupons, tickets or receipts. iCarte is ideal for iPhone users who want to use their iPhones for fast and secure contactless payments, transit payments, loyalty rewards, checking balances, top-up, discovering new services from smart posters or kiosks and exchanging information with other NFC phones.


The official website for the iCarte is suspiciously devoid of information regarding an official release date or pricing for the receiver, although it does offer contact info if you’re interested in finding out more about the tech. Presumably a companion iPhone application would be required for programming in payment card information, checking balances, etc. but as of yet no such app is available via the iTunes store.





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No!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by jethrojones

Right now I am listening to the director of IT in my district, Scot McCombs, talk about the issues we are dealing with by being a new school district, implementing a new grade book, dealing with new positions and ways of doing things. Needless to say, there are some growing pains. There is nothing wrong with that.

Scot has told these people that they can come and talk to him, and he is serious about that. I have felt that way since day 1, and I have talked to him as much as I have felt I needed to. My philosophy is "What's the worst thing he can do? Say, 'No.'" Oh, scary!

One of my favorite things about my job is that I can disagree with my supervisors without fear that I will be reprimanded or shunned for disagreeing.

As far as culture goes, this is why I am happy at my job. I feel that my opinion is important and that I will be listened to. I think that most people in the district would agree.

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How to Get Sick

Saturday, October 24, 2009 by jethrojones

I'm no doctor, but life experience has taught me this much, at least:

1. Spend the night outside when it is cold.
2. Make sure it is rainy, too.
3. Sleep poorly.
4. Get in line with 44,999 of your closest friends (many of whom also spent the night outside).
5. Huddle in a small enclosed space with live flu strains floating around.

"People started arriving as early as Friday night to get into line -- bringing food, blankets and umbrellas. Some arrived around 6 a.m. -- an hour before the clinics opened -- only to learn they were too late."

Story from KSL: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8430943

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The Kindle

Monday, October 12, 2009 by jethrojones


Twitter version: The Kindle is not for education, unless it is for all in education. That is, everyone has to have their own or it won't work.
Kindle DX from Amazon.com


The list of books on the home screen of the Kindle 2.
Subscription to "The New Yorker"
Luckily, the district I work for is forward thinking enough to allow me to buy some Kindles to test the waters. So, for the four people on my team, we bought two Kindle 2's and two Kindle DX's.

The first weekend we got them, my wife and I each read a book. It totaled about 800 pages. I really like the reading experience. It is very fluid and easy to use. My eyes didn't get tired, and when I read with my contacts in, it didn't hurt or give me a headache (reading on my iPod Touch or on a computer screen does give me a headache sometimes). There isn't a backlight, so reading in the dark is not as fun.

With the text-to-speech feature that is on select books and Amazon-converted PDFs, you can have the device read to you in a (annoying) computer voice. Obviously, no substitute for real audiobooks (which the Kindle plays, also), but for me it was good enough when I wanted to keep reading what I wanted between locations.

The Kindle will play Audible audiobooks or regular MP3 files, and it has a web browser. The web experience is slow, and I don't really care for it.

Obviously, that is not the purpose of the device or the wireless chip. Its purpose is to be able to deliver books wirelessly to the device, which is the best thing about it. For users and for Amazon, this results in being able to buy books quickly and easily. Good for readers who want books wherever they are. Good for Amazon who makes money when you buy a book.

The Kindle Store on the DX.

What will make it great for schools:
  1. Drop the price. Sell it for $49 (or heaven forbid, free!) and let subsidies from textbooks pay for the rest.
  2. Flexible licenses. Let the school or district pay thousands of dollars for the textbooks and send them to all the devices, so that the kids/families own the Kindle, not the school.
  3. Or, get rid of the wireless. The problem with schools owning the Kindle is that you need to have the account logged in to be able to read the book, which is the same password that you have to have to order books. This represents a giant financial loss to schools. Now if they make it like the iPod Touch or iPhone, where you have to input your password every time you purchase, that would eliminate most problems.
  4. Kindles aren't conducive to sharing, which is why there should be one for every kid.
There are some other problems with the Kindles in education. It is very difficult to take notes on the device, and very difficult to jump through a book. Reading footnotes that are in the back of a book for example is, however, surprisingly easy with the links that are inserted. But, if you want to read from different chapters, there is no navigation that makes it easy.

One benefit of the Kindle is that there is a free iPod Touch/iPhone app that allows you to read books that you have purchased for your Kindle. Reading on that small of a screen is not as bad as you might imagine. You can read in portrait or landscape mode, and it is really quite pleasant. With the iPhone/iPod Touch, you have a backlit screen, and color. Well, as much color as the scan of the book allows. See the picture from Curious George for an example:


"The Lost Symbol" and "Curious George" on the Kindle for iPhone App, with the three different font colors.

As you can see, the man with the yellow hat is really just a man in a hat without color. Some book covers will make it over in color (like "The Lost Symbol" for example).

Comparing the functionality and cost and limitations of the iPod Touch and the Kindle, you have to admit that it seems silly to pay $60 more for a device that is completely limited to only reading books...

...Unless, of course, if all you want is a book reader. And, in education, that is a very real possibility. Wireless delivery is great, but raises concerns when money and the lack of a filter on a device that a 13 year-old can use privately. For that, we might have a case for the Sony Reader Pocket and Touch editions. I haven't played with either of these very much, but they do have some distinct advantages over the Kindle for education:
  • You cannot purchase books directly from the device.
  • There is no internet connectivity.
  • All you can do is read books.
  • You can check out books from your local library (and perhaps your school library, also).
You can see Sony's comparison of the two devices here.

We have decided that we cannot even justify the cost of the Kindle DX and so we are going to return those to Amazon. They are too much for too little to us. We are going to get some evaluation units of the Sony Readers and maybe when the B&N/Plastic Logic shindig comes out, we will see how that will work in an education setting.

Have a Good Life.

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Reflection on Retreat

Sunday, July 19, 2009 by jethrojones


This last week we had a retreat that filled our brains to capacity.

Kelly Dumont did most of the work, and he did a great job. As far as training like this goes, we had a ton of information to process. We spent a lot of time learning about tools we need to be using for the school year. That was the information overload. We could have continued the retreat into this week with all the stuff we needed to do, but I think one week was enough. There is still a lot to get done before the school year starts.

To break things up, we invited some expert voices to Skype in and talk to us about educational technology, libraries, and branding. This was, in my opinion, the best part about the retreat. It was really neat to hear from those who have been doing this for a while, and many of their words sparked a discussion that we probably would not have had. I think that I have a great team. They are going to be wonderful. All four of us (hopefully soon to be five of us) have strong opinions, but we are able to disagree without holding a grudge (or at least, that is my perception, and I hope it is right). During the week, we did "About Me" presentations which I think helped us get to know each other. The time was also very loose, so we could do what we wanted to and spend some time seeing what we were really like. I think both those things contributed to our great discussions.

One of the biggest challenges we face in education is giving teachers time to think. We don't do that nearly often enough, and it is a vital key to their continual learning. We had time this week to think, discuss, and learn. That is what made the week a success.

There were many topics that were left unvisited and incomplete. We still need to figure out a Responsible Use Policy for students and employees. We still need to take a stance on copyright. We still need to figure how we will support social media. We also need to prepare our presentation for New Teacher Orientation. And I am sure there are other things we still need to do. The good news is that I think we can do this now. I think that we have worked together enough to have our ideas mostly in sync. What I mean is, one or two or three of us can write some of these policies and make tentative decisions knowing where the others are going to have problems. One person wants facebook completely blocked, while another wants to use it as a tool in the classroom.

I think this retreat was great. We are all heading the same general direction, and I think that is important.

Have a Good Life.

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Learning

Saturday, June 13, 2009 by jethrojones

What is the focus of our schools? What do we talk about most in our schools? Who do we think about the most in our schools? According to "The Equity Project" the focus is clearly on teachers and their salary:

The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School believes that teacher quality is the most important factor in achieving educational equity for low income students. Spurred by this belief, TEP reallocates its public funds by making an unprecedented investment in attracting and retaining great teachers. Plus an annual bonus of up to $25,000.

They further explain that they have refined what will make them a great school:
"These redefined expectations are unified by one principle: student achievement is maximized when teachers have the time and support to constantly improve their craft."

Don't get me wrong. I am all for teachers getting paid more, and I fully support giving them the time they need to "improve their craft". But TEP is going focusing on the wrong thing. This is something I have believed for a long time. The focus of every school should be on the learning of students in the building. Anything else is a waste of time. Schools do not exist to provide adults with a job, a career, or a calling. Schools exist so that kids can learn. If kids don't learn, it doesn't matter how much money teachers make. If kids don't learn, it doesn't matter how much professional development the teachers receive, or how much they observe their peers. How can you make sure students learn?

By focusing on student learning!

TEP says that student achievement is important, and they better show that the low-income students they service do indeed get higher scores if they want all $6 million donated for a school building. The problem is that you don't focus on student learning by focusing nearly completely on your teachers.

Here are my questions for The Equity Project:
1. What do you want your students to learn?
2. How are you going to know if they learned it?
3. What are you going to do (in a systematic, timely way) when they don't learn it?

Without the answers to these questions, we don't know how this or any school will do, regardless of how much other stuff they may claim will "save" education.

As it so often happens, while I was writing this, I saw this BLOGPOST from Harvard Education Publishing, which sums it up much more eloquently than I do.


Have a Good Life.

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