Instructify

Johnny Lee, a YouTube personality and “human-computer interaction researcher” is changing the way we use existing technology through simple modifications, and he’s sharing it with everyone. This amazing demo proves that using something as inexpensive and highly obtainable as the Wii Remote, he can create an interactive whiteboard. Lee explains that while the whiteboard isn’t exactly the quality of it’s $3000 likeness, you’ll still get “80% there for about 1% of the cost.” He notes that teachers are able to access this technology for use in their classrooms, and many already are.

Lee makes no qualms about making this sort of technology available for anyone who wants it. He’s put the software on his website, and at the time of this demo, it had been downloaded half a million times. View the demo for the full extent of what other uses Lee is finding for the technology, and visit his website if you want to learn more. -JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Johnny Lee’s $40 Interactive Whiteboard

Johnny Lee Computer-Human Interaction Researcher

I’m about to make a bold prediction: computers will play a big role in society in the future. Remember, you heard that here first.

And since learning computers is so important, give your students a chance to acquire advanced technology skills like programming and Web design and development. If you have any aspiring programmers or Web designers in your midst, they’ll definitely want to know about Microsoft DreamSpark. College students can download professional-quality development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio, and XNA Game Studio 2.0, which students can use to build games for Windows and their Xbox 360.

You have to be a college student to get these for free. While that excludes a lot of your students, this offer is perfect for your graduating seniors, as well as any grads from last year who you still keep in touch with. Hey, if you’re completing your student teaching, or you’re getting your masters, this stuff might be for you, too.

I know this probably sounds like crazy talk, but trust me. Computers are gonna be huge. Huge, I tell you. And now that you’re wise to this new trend, you may as well clue your students in about it, too. -BILL FERRIS

Microsoft DreamSpark

Imagine a world where school children could develop their own code to produce original content for the web. Now look around you because you are living in that world. Scratch is an application developed by MIT to allow children (of all ages) to create their own interactive games, stories, and other media with the ease of putting blocks together.

Children are exposed to media that was previously inaccessible to those of us who grew up before the internet, so it’s about time that someone put the right tools in their hands to create and not just watch. Not only that, but Scratch is an amazing learning tool. A free download gets you the software to begin creating right away. The web site offers tutorials to get you started, because if you are not used to this sort of interface (I wasn’t) you might need a push.

The program implements “sprites,” which contain far less sugar than the bottled version, and building blocks to allow users to create stories, games, and learning tools. The cartoon “sprites” are merely templates, though, as Scratch is highly customizable, therefore something that will adapt to your learning level.

Scratch offers the perfect way for students and teachers to interact with a medium that might be unfamiliar to either, and therefore learn together. You can also share your content with others, creating a specialized network for kids, teachers, and parents alike. If this technology continues, your 10 year old might be asking for more RAM for his birthday instead of some ridiculous toy robot. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Scratch