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Learning
Intel Reader turns street signs into spoken words
By Gizmag Team
22:12 November 12, 2009 PST
Many of us take our ability to read signs, books, magazines, menus and instruction manuals for granted, but for an estimated 55 million people in the U.S. alone who have to contend with vision impairment, dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, connecting with the world through text is not so simple. That's a big number - almost the the population of UK - and now Intel has announced a solution for this market in the form of new book-sized device that's not your average e-reader. The Intel Reader takes photos of text, converts the words to digital format and then reads them out loud. Read More
Storyplay: Nokia and Sesame Street create video conferencing in a book
By Paul Ridden
16:49 November 3, 2009 PST
Nokia has teamed up with Sesame Street to create an interactive reading experience that can involve grandparents and grandchildren no matter how far apart they may find themselves. The Storybook research project melds the tactile and visual pleasures of reading a real book with video conferencing technology which allows distant relatives to take an active part in a child's literacy development. Read More
A new look for an old favorite - the interactive Dora Links doll
By Mick Webb
02:47 October 7, 2009 PDT
Around the same time we reported that Nickelodeon was teaming up with Mattel to produce an older, “tweenage” version of the Dora the Explorer, an explosion of outrage erupted from parents concerned by the teaser silhouette which had many thinking Dora was to become a “sexed up” version of her former self. They need not have worried, as the recently unveiled “Dora Links” doll recreates the much loved kids icon as an “age appropriate” interactive doll that connects to a computer via USB and offers an educational and fun experience both on and offline. Read More
DRIVSCO ‘learning vehicles’ alert their drivers to dangers
By Jeff Salton
01:48 September 23, 2009 PDT
Scientists from six European countries have collaborated to develop a new computer system that enables vehicles to recognize their drivers’ normal behavior and therefore avoid accidents caused by unusual behavior. The DRIVSCO system detects the anomalies, often caused by inattention or poor visibility, and signals an alarm that warns drivers to beware early enough to give them time to react. Read More
Let Concert Hands teach you to play piano
By Paul Ridden
18:56 August 25, 2009 PDT
Have you ever dreamed of playing piano but the thought of committing yourself to years of grueling lessons fills you with dread? Then you just might be interested in the Concert Hands system, where your hands are gently guided back and forth along a track positioned just in front of the keys, and pulses prompt your fingers as each note is displayed on a screen in front of you. According to the developers, the technology will have you playing fluently in a few short days. Read More
Rosetta Stone TOTALe - language learning in an online, social environment
By Karen Sprey
16:46 August 3, 2009 PDT
Rosetta Stone, the well-known language learning software that has helped millions worldwide learn a language without translation or memorization has moved into the online and Web 2.0 realm with it’s new language learning solution TOTALe. TOTALe combines three elements - the Rosetta Course, offered in 31 languages, Rosetta Studio, where you can practice with native-speaking Studio Coaches and other learners at your level in a real-time, and Rosetta World, a structured online community where you can practice and hone your language skills with native speakers and other learners at your level through fun and engaging games. Read More
The AlphaGrip: a viable alternative to the QWERTY keyboard or not?
By Mike Hanlon
17:54 July 19, 2009 PDT
Answers often lie in strange places. I have long hated the QWERTY keyboard. Designed more than 150 years ago to slow human input via the frail mechanicals of the typewriter, it is a dinosaur masquerading as high tech and has become the main input device for billions of computers across the planet, strangling global productivity a little more every day because it is also impeding the progress of the computer from the desk to the couch, the train and the footpath. So when I called into beautiful Tapong to see my mate Kiril's new guesthouse on the beach in rural Thailand, the last thing I expected to find was a viable keyboard replacement. Read More
Learning robot puts on a happy face
By Darren Quick
00:18 July 14, 2009 PDT
Robots generally aren’t the most expressive of entities, but their faces are becoming increasingly realistic as the number of artificial muscles controlling them rises. Today, a highly trained person must manually set up these kinds of realistic robots so that the servos pull in the right combination to make specific facial expressions, but researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are looking to automate the process by giving robots the ability to learn realistic facial expressions. Read More
The squidolin takes new approach to teaching violin and there's nothing fishy about it
By Paul Best
21:28 June 2, 2009 PDT
“I love the sound of the violin,” explains Carlos Mendez. “Since I was a kid, I wanted to learn how to play it. But born in a poor country such as Nicaragua, my parents couldn't afford lessons.” It was this childhood affection for the stringed instrument that encouraged the young industrial designer to use part of his final project at the Art Center College of Design in Pasedena, California, where he graduated with honors in product design, to come up with an affordable way of learning the violin. So was born the concept of the “squidolin”. Read More
The Mobile Solar Computer Classroom: a complete classroom in the back of an SUV
By Karen Sprey
19:11 April 14, 2009 PDT
A mobile computer classroom powered by solar panels atop a modified SUV is providing computer training to 100 students a day in the east African country of Uganda. The Maendeleo Foundation, which runs the Mobile Solar Computer Classrooms (MSCC), hopes the project will help to launch a local computer services industry, creating jobs by outsourcing the new computer skills, boost the local economy and alleviate poverty. Read More
Smart Animals Scanopedia teaches kids about animals while they have fun
By Paul Best
23:37 April 13, 2009 PDT
If you have kids of your own, you’ll know instinctively the easiest way to encourage little ’uns to learn is through engagement and interaction. Toymakers know this, too, and have been quick to use various technologies to develop new lines of educative products. The Discovery Channel-branded Smart Animals Scanopedia, an electronic talking animal encyclopedia, joins the growing list of electronic toys that try to both teach and entertain. Read More
Music does indeed improve the mind
By Mike Hanlon
21:48 March 16, 2009 PDT
March 17, 2009 A number of studies over the years have reported positive associations between music experience and increased abilities in non-musical (e.g., linguistic, mathematical, and spatial) domains in children. Now a new study, published this week in the Journal Psychology of Music, report that children exposed to a multi-year programme of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers. Read More
Siftables: cookie-sized computer blocks for hands-on fun
By Jude Garvey
22:27 February 19, 2009 PST
It is believed that many children and adults learn best when they use their hands to perform a task, and for young children, play-based activities are essential for acquiring knowledge. This new design concept cleverly combines both hands-on and play-based learning in one very cool but tiny package. Siftables are small computer blocks with the capacity to interface with each other using a combination of neighbor detection, motion sensing and wireless communication. The user manipulates them by hand and with each process, whether it is sorting, grouping or even piling, the blocks continue to interact with each other. Read More
Memory surgery: common drug takes the panic out of traumatic memories
By Loz Blain
14:56 February 17, 2009 PST
Memory-induced panic attacks can be absolutely crippling for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - the suffocating, gripping fear associated with traumatic memories can destroy victims' careers, relationships and the normal functioning of their lives. But a team of Dutch clinical psychologists are developing an almost magical cure, using a single dose of a common and fairly harmless beta-blocking drug that seems to be able to separate the panic emotion from the factual elements of the memory - leaving patients with an apparently lasting ability to recall and talk about the traumatic incident without the usual devastating rush of fear. Read More
Learn guitar using laser guidance
By Darren Quick
19:56 February 9, 2009 PST
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have allowed masses of people without the time or patience to learn the guitar to become Rock Gods in their own living rooms. For those looking to take the next step and pick up a real guitar, this concept for a guitar learning aid from designer Eugene Cheong promises a faster transistion. The “Maestro” would attach to any guitar and get budding guitarists jamming in record time by using lasers to guide their fingers. Read More
OLPC Give 1 Get 1 laptop program
By Emily Clark
21:20 November 20, 2008 PST
Having already distributed more than 500,000 XO laptops in 31 countries, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) has launched its “Give 1 Get 1” program for 2008. The scheme raised more than USD$35 million in 2007 to fund the delivery of tens of thousands laptops to kids in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mongolia and Rwanda. Read More
SMART multitouch table offers hands-on group learning
19:45 November 2, 2008 PST
Over the past two decades the role of computers in classrooms has evolved from one of curious optional-extra to core learning tool, and it's not a trend that is about to slow down. One relatively new technology that has great potential within educational environments is the multi-touch interface and this underpins SMART Technologies latest product - the SMART Table interactive learning centre. Looking a little like a retro-arcade game, this brightly colored 29" (73 cm) wide x 25" (65 cm) high table incorporates a 27" (69-cm) screen which can simultaneously receive input from a "virtually unlimited" number of fingers or pen tools. The table is designed to encourage group problem solving and collaboration and its intuitive interface makes it suitable for children in the 4 to 11 age group while teacher input is facilitated by the company's complementary interactive whiteboard products. Read More
OUiP!: child’s handheld electronic device powered by play
By Jude Garvey
18:59 March 11, 2008 PDT
March 12, 2008 Small children have an uncanny ability to understand and use electronic devices quickly and correctly. You’re happy when your child wants to learn but when their buttery fingers caress your new laptop or digital camera it’s time to introduce them to their own toys! The industrial design company think/thing (designer of the recently featured Nestt car seat), has developed OUiP!, an intuitive, interactive technology interface for children. Read More
Texas Instruments releases TI-Nspire calculator range
By Darren Quick
17:09 September 26, 2007 PDT
September 27, 2007 Forty years after the invention of the first portable calculator, Texas Instruments has released TI-Nspire - a product designed to provide up to four representations of a problem at one time in order to engender a deeper understanding of mathematical principles and - believe or not - help students get excited about math. Read More
New range of high-tech Lego Technic models
By Emily Clark
18:09 September 11, 2007 PDT
September 12, 2007 Lego is a household brand synonymous with childhood fun that also aides learning and motor skills. The toy giant has just announced its latest offerings in the Lego Technic range for 2007 with some notable improvements in technology including remote controlled functionality for models designed to replicate real-life vehicle movement and functions. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
