August 2011
2 posts
13 tags
Skype game gets kids excited about geography
getsparx:
For teachers looking to inject some excitement into their geography lesson, Skype might be the answer. Silvia Tolisano recently created a game she calls “Mystery Skype Call” that uses the video conferencing tool and some critical thinking to teach students geography in a new and exciting way.
Read more and see a video on the Spark blog…
11 tags
Children’s Book for iPad Teaches Acceptance
getsparx:
At first glance, Pop It seems no different from the many other interactive children’s books “popping up” on the market for the iPad. But give the screen a shake and you’ll begin to see the bigger picture. The book features a child going through normal daily activities with his parents. By shaking the iPad, these parents can be changed from a homosexual couple, to a lesbian couple,...
July 2011
9 posts
9 tags
13 tags
23 tags
Weekly News Roundup: July 22
getsparx:
Check out these interesting articles on kids and technology!
—Parents will enjoy these iPhone and iPad apps (Parents.com)
—Mom’s Facebook Community Helps Diagnose Her Ailing Son (Mommyish.com)
—New regulations for food, beverage advertising toward children (Healthkey.com)
—Using touch screens and apps to treat autism (mercurynews.com)
—The Internet Is Making Your Kids Think...
9 tags
9 Year Old Designs App for iPhone
getsparx:
When asked to create something, most nine year olds will grab crayons and construction paper. Ding Wen Lim of Singapore is much more likely to sit down at his computer.
The fourth grader started using the computer at age two and has since learned six programming languages. At age nine, he has already completed 20 programming projects. His latest, Doodle Kids, is a free drawing...
10 tags
Story Boxes give children a voice in Pittsburgh
getsparx:
Story Boxes are popping up all over town—in museums, libraries, and schools. To date, about 130 Story Box units have been produced, and that’s just the beginning. So what exactly are Story Boxes, and what do they mean for children in Pittsburgh?
A Story Box is a 21” x 12” x 4” portable device containing images with “hot spots” that, when pressed, play related audio clips. For...
13 tags
Billboards Give Pittsburgh Youth a Voice
getsparx:
Hear Me, a project of CMU’s CREATE Lab, strives to make the voices of children heard. This summer, they have chosen a larger-than-life medium that they hope will give children one more way to communicate: billboards. So far, 50 billboards have been erected in Allegheny County and the surrounding region. The topics discussed cover everything from cyber-bullying and neighborhood...
11 tags
As the Budget Gets Smaller, Class Time Gets...
getsparx:
It’s no secret that state and local budget cuts have been putting pressure on education. A recently published New York Times article discusses one of the many outcomes of this pressure– decreased class time. It seems many institutions are dealing with a smaller budget by creating a shorter school day. “Thousands of school districts across the nation are gutting summer-school...
16 tags
Sparx: South Korea to Invest $2 Billion in Digital... →
getsparx:
South Korea recently announced plans to spend $2 billion (2.2 trillion won) on digital textbooks and supportive cloud computing systems for the nation’s schools by 2015. In addition to the content provided by their paper counterparts, the digital textbooks boast a variety of features to…
6 tags
Children Predict the Future of Technology →
getsparx:
Can children predict the future of computer technology? Recent research says yes. Read more…
June 2011
10 posts
10 tags
Project Spotlight: The Schmutz Company
getsparx:
Open the door to 5405 Broad Street and you’ll feel a lot like you’ve wandered into Pee Wee’s Play House. That is of course if you replace all of the talking furniture with pieces of ongoing projects—lighting rigs, puppetry, video props, and art installations to name a few. Dave English actually made the comparison himself when I visited his home and studio space, The Schmutz Lodge, on...
5 tags
garconniere:
“in an effort to get people to look into each other’s eyes more, the government has decided to allot each person exactly one hundred and sixty-seven words, per day. when the phone rings, i put it to my ear without saying hello. in the restaurant, i point at chicken noodle soup. i am adjusting well to the new way. late at night, i call my long- distance lover and proudly say: “i only...
12 tags
Children Learn More Through Design
getsparx:
Check out the interesting talk Mark Frauenfelder gave at TEDxKids in Brussels a few weeks ago. Mark Frauenfelder is the Editor in Chief for Make magazine, a publication that uses technology to create do-it-yourself projects. As Mark explains in his talk, this same emphasis on design can augment the educational experience of children when used as a teaching tool. In Mark’s words,
“The...
2 tags
10 tags
Make Your Own Mini Robot
getsparx:
Check out this neat tutorial on how to build a miniature robot using an Altoids tin.
Read these instructions and do it yourself! Robotics can be a great teaching tool and an easy way to get kids interested in the sciences. Several Spark funded projects involve robotics including Curious Creatures from Art Energy Design, Character Therapy from Interbots, and the Robot Algebra...
Ready Freddy Goes Live! →
getsparx:
Twitter finds a place in the classroom →
getsparx:
5 tags
How Young is Too Young for Facebook? →
getsparx:
4 tags
Administration Announces $500 Million in Funding... →
getsparx:
September 2010
6 posts
1 tag
1 tag
2 tags
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
August 2010
13 posts
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
June 2010
5 posts
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
April 2010
38 posts
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
