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learning posts

Uruguay becomes first nation to provide a laptop for every primary school student

by Darren Murph posted Oct 18th 2009 at 12:29PM

Uruguay's been a huge fan of the One Laptop Per Child initiative for quite some time, and while we're still unsure if it's the entity's biggest customer, the aforesaid nation is certainly doing some serious business with Nicholas Negroponte and Company. After the first swath of youngsters received their green and white XOs back in May of 2007, the final smattering of kids have now joined the proud group of laptop-toting tots in the country's circuit of primary schools. You heard right -- every last pupil in Uruguay's primary school system now has a laptop and a growing love for Linux, and we're told that the whole thing cost the country less than five percent of its entire education budget. So, who's next?

[Via Digg, image courtesy of oso]

Video: Concert Hands teaches you to play piano, whether you want it to or not

by Ross Miller posted Aug 20th 2009 at 8:28PM

Look, we're all for accelerated learning, but somehow the idea of strapping our limbs into the Concert Hands setup is a wee bit disconcerting. Locked at the wrists onto a sliding mechanical bar, the apparatus guides our paws to the proper keys, while pulses are sent to your fingers to tell you what keys to press. Intimidating? Sure, but honestly, we're more worried about what our idle hands might learn if this thing was hooked up to the wrong AI... okay, probably just a Chopin piece, but you never know. See for yourself and imagine the horrors after the break.

[Via Engadget German]

Continue reading Video: Concert Hands teaches you to play piano, whether you want it to or not

The plot thickens: robot teachers to brainwash your children's children

by Darren Murph posted Jul 19th 2009 at 4:57PM

Are you ready for this? Can you stomach the truth? If things continue spiraling madly out of control as they are right now, there's at least a modicum of a chance that your children or grandchildren will greet a lifelike robot when sashaying in for the first day of kindergarten. Horrifying, we know. A new research effort published in this month's Science outlines new ways in which humanoids could actually be used to instruct our little ones. At the core of the project is imitation; humans, especially young ones, learn a multitude of mannerisms and such by simply watching others. Thus, it stands to reason that robots are "well-suited to imitate us, learn from us, socialize with us and eventually teach us." Already, these social bots are being used on an experimental basis to teach various skills to preschool children, "including the names of colors, new vocabulary words and simple songs." Just think -- in 2071, those harmless lessons will morph into studies of subterfuge, insurrection and rapacity.

[Via Digg]

InterHome learns from inhabitants, adapts to save energy

by Darren Murph posted Jul 6th 2009 at 7:59AM

We've seen all sorts of devices that learn over time, though most of them fall into the humanoid category. Now, a team of gurus over in the UK has developed an entire home that can learn from those dwelling in it and react in order to curb energy waste and even prevent unauthorized entry. InterHome, a model designed by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire, is scheduled to be unveiled at the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals, and it should make other home automation systems look rather antediluvian in comparison. By sensing how the owner(s) like their climate and such, it can reportedly save up to £300 a year in energy costs alone. Furthermore, it can "take decisive action and text if it is being burgled or the door has been left unlocked," and the whole system can be monitored remotely and controlled via the web. Too bad we're terrified that it could one day turn on the owner and refuse to allow entry to anyone other than leaders of The Resistance, but other than that, it sounds pretty nifty.

PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop

by Darren Murph posted Apr 29th 2009 at 2:00PM

At first glance, PeeWee PC's Pivot Tablet Laptop is a formidable rival to the long-standing OLPC XO. Unfortunately, the lofty price tag puts it in a class of its own, but it's still a solid machine for those looking to a learn a bit (or just give their kids a wholesome distraction). Debuting today, the three pound convertible tablet boasts a spill and drop-resistant shell, a carry handle, a presumed 10-inch touchscreen display and a 6-cell Li-ion battery. Within, you'll find a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, two USB 2.0 ports, a 60GB HDD, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, WiFi, Windows XP Home, a proprietary security suite to keep kids from picking up a new favorite stalker and ten age appropriate software and game titles. If your kid's been bugging you for a new netbook, you can quell the squealing by snapping one of these up today starting at $599.99. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop

Continue reading PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop

SMART pulls the cloth off multitouch table for school kids

by Samuel Axon posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 10:07PM

Determined to make us jealous that our kids' childhood experiences are more marvelous than ours, SMART Technologies will tomorrow unveil the SMART Table, a primary education "interactive learning center" (we'd rather call it Surface Jr.). It'll be available Spring of next year, and will work out of the box with learning applications that can be operated by any number of kids and all their fingers. Other classroom multitouch devices are on the horizon, but most of them are a little further from market than this Canadian contraption, which includes custom lesson plans, gesture support and a (touted but unspecified) wide viewing angle. At $8,000 we're not sure it's an option for public schools whose budgets only have room for essentials, but if you work at a school that's totally loaded with cash and think the kiddos would dig this, feel free to look at SMART's short promotional vid after the break.

Continue reading SMART pulls the cloth off multitouch table for school kids

LeapFrog's Crammer makes flash cards antiquated, is perfectly named

by Darren Murph posted Oct 13th 2008 at 10:05PM

Alright kids, it's time for honesty. Here's a tidbit your 3rd-grade teacher isn't about to admit, but he / she and everyone else in the world crams for tests. Sorry, we know you totally believed that each and every noble student dutifully set aside hours per day to prepare for that big final, but in reality, every kid in your classroom just got on the study train a few hours ago. To that end, LeapFrog has concocted a perfectly named study aid dubbed the Crammer ($59.99; available now), which enables kids to "quickly navigate more than 16,000 mathematics, social studies and science quiz questions based on leading school textbooks." Additionally, students can create customized digital flash cards for on-the-go cramming, and the built-in Spanish translator even gives you an edge in the foreign language department. Seriously, where was this at when we were using abacuses and carving English reports into stone tablets?

[Via PopGadget]

Emotional robot has empathy, understands your frustration

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2008 at 8:21AM

Not that robots with emotions are anything new, but a project going on in Europe could perfect the art of crafting mechanical people that can "learn when a person is sad, happy or angry." The Feelix Growing project is getting even more advanced with software that gives robots the power to understand how a person is feeling based on feedback from cameras and sensors. The bots look at a human's facial expression and key in on their voice and proximity to determine what kind of mood they're in. As with the recently announced UMass Mobile Manipulator, this creature too learns from experience, and there's a video explaining just what we mean waiting for you in the read link.

[Via Physorg]

LeapFrog's Didj / Leapster 2 handhelds go on sale

by Darren Murph posted Jul 7th 2008 at 4:15PM

They aren't quite ready to ship, but LeapFrog's big-boy-and-girl gaming / learning handhelds are finally up for pre-order over on the outfit's website. For those who missed the February introduction, the firm is hailing the web-connected Didj (pictured) as the "first completely customizable educational gaming platform," and given that it is summertime here in the US of A, this is probably your only shot at getting your kiddo to do anything beneficial for their brain for the next two to three months. Get in line now for $89.99 (Didj) / $69.99 (Leapster 2).

[Via CNET]

Read - Didj order page
Read - Leapster 2 order page

UMass Mobile Manipulator pushes things around, learns ways of the world

by Darren Murph posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 2:29PM

Robots teaching robots? Check. Robots teaching humans? Check. Robots learning things on their own accord? Um, terrifying? All kidding aside, the UMass Mobile Manipulator is one smart cookie. Put simply, this intelligent robot pushes objects around in order to identify how they move, and once that's accomplish, it begins "manipulating them to perform tasks." If this sounds awfully similar to something your infant does, that's because the two are indeed very much related. UMan, as it's so eloquently dubbed, packs its own wheels, battery pack, one-meter arm, three-fingered hand and webcam in order to interact with the world, and sure enough, one researcher even mentioned the potential of it learning to operate a pair of scissors. Great, what's next -- a BFG?

[Via CrunchGear]

Nintendo's DS handheld used to teach English in Japan

by Darren Murph posted Jul 1st 2008 at 10:37AM

We've already got Nokia handsets being used to teach math in South Africa, so we totally knew it was only a matter of time before a gaming handheld or two got in on the fun. Select middle school kids at Tokyo Joshi Gakuen school are not only allowed to bust out their DS in class, they're required to. As the school attempts to make English education "fun" for everyone, it's currently using Nintendo's famed handheld along with English learning software in order to keep students interested in nailing those dilettantes, truckles and wunderkinds. There's no telling if the pilot will blossom and invade other institutions, but we have all ideas children across the country will be requesting it when asked to fill out end-of-year comment cards and the like.

[Via Switched]

ACU dishing out iPhone / iPod touch to all incoming freshmen

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2008 at 11:54AM

Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We're guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn't either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren't being explicitly marked as "free," but similar to Duke's efforts in years past, ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to "receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances" -- and that's just for starters. Interestingly, we aren't told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out -- nor what determines which Apple you get -- but we do know that the entity is hoping to "expand the program in the future."

[Thanks, Byzil]

ViewPlus intros upgraded IVEO hands-on learning system

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 6th 2008 at 1:04PM

It won't give you the non-stop learning of something like LeapFrog's handhelds, but ViewPlus seems to think its new and improved IVEO system has its share of knowledge to spread nonetheless, although all that learning doesn't exactly come cheap. Coming in at just under $600 for the basic kit, the system is centered around the IVEO touchpad (available in two different sizes), which can accommodate special tactile templates or custom templates made with the IVEO Creator software (available at an added cost). Those, in turn, interact with the IVEO Viewer software, which pumps out sound clips and other information about the items the user touches. While the company obviously thinks that makes the system ideal for all students, they say its also particularly well-suited to those people with visual or learning disabilities, and it even includes an output for a Braille display. If that sounds like the tool for you, you can grab the whole bundle now for $1,300, with additional curriculum packs for biology, math, health and geography coming soon.

LeapFrog intros web-connected Leapster2 and Didj handhelds

by Darren Murph posted Feb 5th 2008 at 4:01PM

Heads-up kiddos! LeapFrog is out to swipe even more of that allowance with a pair of all new web-connected handhelds. Up first is the Leapster2, which now boasts a sleeker form factor and the ability to upload your totally sweet results to the web for mum and dad to ooh and ahh over. For you older tykes, the Didj handheld -- which is hailed as the first completely customizable educational gaming platform -- enables users to "personalize the look and feel of the games, from designing their avatars to choosing background scenery, color schemes and music." Also of note, the Didj features a 3.2-inch 320 x 240 resolution panel, a 393MHz ARM9 processor and 256MB of Flash memory, which should provide plenty of incentive to hack this thing into a second-rate media player when not beefing up that mental muscle. Both units are set to launch this summer for $69.99 and $89.99, respectively, while software titles for each will run $24.99 and $29.99, also respectively.

[Via I4U News]

The "Is our machines learning?" machine 2.0 test-taking bot

by Paul Miller posted Dec 18th 2007 at 12:59PM

We never liked taking tests in a general sense, but there was always something fun about filling in the answers with that trusty No. 2 of ours. The "Is our machines learning?" bot, shown off at the 2007 NYU ITP Winter Show, takes over that delicious task but still leaves humans with the chore of answering the questions remotely over the internets. The bot's name is a not-so-subtle jab at President Bush's grammar skills, but if we told you more we might all be in danger of some educatin', and the world doesn't need any more of that!