http://beta.aalf.org/news/ http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=609 Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is assuring the nation that the promised laptops will be given to students by the end of September.  Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news briefing at Coco Reef Hotel, Crown Point, Tobago, Persad-Bissessar said there were delays as the tenders were reopened. But the Prime Minister said the computers were ordered and should be delivered by the end of this month.... Sat, 04 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=608 Working with the district's IT department, a high school in Florida has switched over to electronic textbooks for the 2010-2011 school year in an effort to increase student learning opportunities and save money (and maybe a few trees) in the process. Student backpacks will be a lot lighter this year at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, FL thanks to an initiative that's being spearheaded by the school's principal, and Pinellas County School District's IT and media services teams. This semester, paper textbooks have gone the way of the 8-track tape in favor of Kindle e-readers.... Fri, 03 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=607 Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday defended Government's position to distribute laptops to Form One students, saying this is the modern age and every child deserves a computer.... Fri, 03 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=606 With the new school year about to begin, a school board in central Ontario says it will continue providing wireless Internet access in classrooms despite some parents’ concerns that radiation from Wi-Fi transmissions is negatively affecting their kids’ health.... Thu, 02 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=605 Cahuilla Elementary School has joined other schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District in handing out laptops to its students. About 200 fourth and fifth graders are receiving brand new Mac... Thu, 02 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=604 Is Nicholas Negroponte preparing to launch a One Kindle Per Child-type project? You might think so if you read his piece in Global Post extolling the virtues of e-readers (especially in the developing world.) There's obviously a lot of development folks excited about the possibilities of e-readers. "The Wall Street Journal's" "Digits" blog reported on August 5 that a non-profit called Worldreader is trying out giving schoolkids in Ghana Kindles to use at school and at home.... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=603 As digital books unfold (so to speak) three transformations will occur that are very different than what we know in books and reading today. At the risk of being too cute, call them: wreading, righting and utterly new economic models.... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=602 Netbooks are great. No, really, they are. Cheap, highly portable, and practically disposable, these little computers have pushed many schools farther towards really favorable student-computer ratios than just about any device. And whether they’re Dell’s latest Latitude 2110, Intel’s Classmate, or anything in between, we’ve seen that they can work very well for students and teachers. That being said, there are plenty of times when they simply don’t cut the mustard.... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=601 You couldn't tell Thursday morning who was more excited about all the students at North Greene Middle/Junior High School receiving new Apple Macintosh MacBook laptop computers -- the students, teachers or administrators.A technology grant covered 75 percent of the cost of the laptops, and the North Greene School District bridged the gap in the cost of the units, considered a "must" tool for students today.... Mon, 30 Aug 2010 http://beta.aalf.org/news/view.php?HeadlineID=600 Researchers at the University of Calgary have some encouraging words for parents concerned that their children are glued to computer screens. Michele Jacobsen and Sharon Friesen of the university's faculty of education just completed a research study at Calgary Science School in which students were provided with laptops and then observed over a three-year period. Their results indicate computer technology can dramatically improve the way students learn — but only if coupled with engaged teaching.... Thu, 26 Aug 2010