Gadgets

//Gadgets and Games for Instructional Technology//

There are numerous products which can make things easier in our lives of technical support in schools. This page includes **products** and **tips**.  Where to buy? Here are a few of my favorite sites.
 * GADGETS**
 * **Sony DVDirect** - [[|http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/] ] It's a DVD burner that does it all without a computer. In our jobs supporting instructional technology, we sometimes just have to produce a DVD from footage. Importing and editing into iMovie and MovieMaker are not necessary for some of these projects. This $200 device from Sony has saved me many hours of time. With it, I can magically make a DVD from any video source (digital camcorder, VCR, DVD player, SD card with digital photos, etc.)
 * **Blue Snowflake** [[] ] - Blue makes a wide variety of microphones for high-quality recording. The Blue Snowflake is compact in size but is an excellent mic.
 * **Olympus Digital Voice Recorder** [[|http://www.olympusamerica.com/] ] - Looking for a device to record student narratives - without a computer? Try a voice recorder. But, be sure to get one that has a USB connection so you may download the files. Using this device, students are totally focused on their scripts. It's been one of the best under-$100 purchases our school has made in the past five years. And, you only need two or three of these for as many as six classes! Among the current models, check out the [|Olympus WS-400S] . Here's a handout for the classroom: [|digital-voice-recorder.pdf]
 *  Kathy Schrock's list of [|Digital Gadgets] - Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators has long been a great source of information. Her page on Digital Gadgets is a great launching point on this topic.
 * [|Academic Superstore] - discounted prices for schools and educators
 * [|Amazon] - for new and used products
 * [|Buy.com] - for electronics
 * [|Half.com] - books and media for half price or less
 * [|Woot] - //One Day, One Deal// (SM)

Do you own a Nintendo Wii? //Would you consider using it in your classroom?// See this article at Edutopia: [|Wii Love Learning] and this article at TechLearning: [|Wii in education]. Then consider this:
 * GAMING**
 * Several [|Wii channels] have direct connections with the classroom: News Channel (current events), Forecast Channel (weather), Everybody Votes Channel (statistics) and the Internet Channel which works surprisingly well.
 * Several Wii games are unique learning platforms. The most obvious is [|Wii Music], which some music teachers are already using in their classrooms. My favorite is [|Endless Ocean] which is a scuba simulation for oceanography.
 * My latest, favorite gadget: [|Wireless Wii Keyboard] by Logitech ($49). When combined with the Internet Channel, you have an inexpensive home computer!

This last section isn't a gadget or a game, but a link to curriculum projects. At MDMC 2008, I shared a booklet called: Digital Media Literacy (Mac-iLife). Several have asked for copies again. The good news? It's available online in my public folder. Just follow these steps:
 * CURRICULUM PROJECTS**
 * 1) Visit this URL: []
 * 2) Then, open the folder named: [curriculum]
 * 3) Enjoy!

Date revised: July 29, 2009 dienerd@me.com ]