Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

The Case for App Stores

Apple has changed the way consumers expect to get access to applications, especially mobile applications, with the creation of its iOS App Store and then the Mac App Store. There are several advantages for the use of app stores that might outweigh its most apparent disadvantage: the possibility of creating walled gardens which allow customers [...]

iBooks Author for Mac

Apple changes the publishing business once again. Sure there are other formats and authoring tools which are supported in iBooks, but this is different: an application that fits tightly in the Apple ecosystem, and as is normally the case with Apple products, simple. Apple unveiled this new tool in their Apple Education event in NYC. Here are [...]

5 Not so Crazy Predictions for Education in 2012

It”s not not uncommon for geeks to do some wishful thinking a line any mortal hoping their tech dreams will come true in the new year to come. Id like to make some predictions for 2012 as well. Just a few humble predictions and observations. 1. Education everywhere And by everywhere I don’t mean the [...]

Second Screen Learning?

A phenomenon that can be classified as anything from multitasking to plain distraction is getting more popular as smartphones get smarter and tablet computers more ubiquitous: the use of the “second screen“. It is common now to have at least one person (if not everyone) in the living room watching as movie on TV while, [...]

Duolingo – free language learning while helping translate the Web

Duolingo claims to help you learn a language for free because as you practice translating sentences you are simultaneously helping them translate the Web. It is not clear to me whether translation is the only methodology behind their language learning approach, and it is so not clear what exactly they mean by the Web to be [...]

Cursos Online Gratuitos da Universidade de Stanford – Primeiro Semestre de 2012

Varias universidades no mundo todo têm disponibilizado seus cursos gratuitamente na Internet em diversos formatos ao longo dos anos. Um formato muito popular é o de podcasts no iTunesU ou palestras em vídeo no Youtube. Veja, por exemplo, esta vasta lista de “conteudo livre” ofertado por grandes universidades. Yale, por exemplo, disponibilizou várias palestras passadas [...]

No Texting While Driving (or Working) – DragonDictate Speech-to-Text

In my post, I always like to talk about useful tools that I personally use. Here is a lifesaver (literally, if youre the kind who cant resist texting while driving). If you are always on the go and of course cant or shouldnt type while driving, here is a practical solution: use DragonDictate. This handy [...]

5 Free Online Visual Dictionary and Thesaurus Applications

Sometimes, when I need some inspiration and ideas for words to use in a project, I take the visual route and consult a “visual thesaurus”. These handy Web applications can help you quickly find new words for a concept you’re working with, visualize its relationship with other words, and, of course, amplify your vocabulary and [...]

HTML for Babies [BOOK]

If this is not the epitome of our era, in which kids are exposed earlier and earlier to various technological innovations, I’m not sure what is. A great idea by Web designer John Vanden-Heuvel from CodeBabies. This visually simple, yet stunning book is designed for the “children’s books” section of retailers, but I’m sure geek parents [...]

Steve Jobs – Thinking Outside the Box

It’s common knowledge that Steve Jobs is an innovator and has done a great hob at bringing Apple back up and making it one of the most prominent technology companies of our time. This video is particularly interesting in that it shows Jobs’ ability to express ideas in a simple manner with effective persuasive discourse [...]