Twitter in Classrooms

Last year, my High School teachers were required to get Twitter.  I did not understand the reasoning behind this, it seemed insane.  But after reading about the professional side of Twitter in the classrooms.  I was always a firm believer that social media in the classroom would create problems that aren't necessary.  But I'm slowly changing my mind.

When used professionally I now believe that social media sites can be used productively in the classroom by connecting with other teachers to use different materials in the classroom.  This can be useful to get instant answers from colleagues and get the information to students quickly.  As and Education major I can see where and ow this could be useful, but still think it should be used with some caution.

Microsoft Band

                 

As a runner, I am always in the market for a new watch.  Unfortunately, most running watches are as expensive and are only built for running only.  Recently, there has been a trend toward fitness bands that record information about a run.  More so than ever, these devices now have screens to display time which early models lacked.  This new breed of fitness bands has resulted in products like the Fitbit Surge which is priced at $249.99. This little device has a built-in GPS which many running watches only have via an uncomfortable armband with a GPS sensor.  Unlike many other fitness bands, this device also shows other health related information such as heart rate and workouts. It even displays text message and caller notifications.  This device comes very close to being a smart watch while still remaining a device intended for athletes.  What about an individual who wants a smart watch and a fitness band convergence device?

New Microsoft Band

On Thursday, October 30, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Band.  Much like the Fitbit Surge fitness band, it includes a built-in GPS, notifications, a heart rate monitor, activities and workouts.  However, this fitness band starts to migrate into smartwatch territory.  The device also users to communicate back to their phone, use Cortana voice searches, and even look at their email and calendar. More importantly, this band allows for additional functionalities such as a method to pay for coffee at starbucks.  Unlike every Fitbit band, the Microsoft Band has a beautiful color display and an easy to use touchscreen interface with the modern Windows design philosophy.  It successfully mixes the best aspects of sleek fitness bands and nearly provides all the standard functionality of a full-blown smartwatch.

Customized Microsoft Band

In addition to a plethora of features unmatched by the competition, the price of the device is only $199.99 which makes it a steal for athletes looking for a running watch.  The added bonus of the Microsoft Band practically being in the same functionality category as smartwatches like Android Wear and the Apple Watch almost make this an unbeatable bargain.

Additionally, I think many people need to reevaluate their preconceived notion of what a smartwatch should be.  Most people imagine a device just like the Apple Watch when in reality wearable watches may become more popular and useful oriented like fitness bands.  I certainly plan on trying one of these devices out at my local Microsoft Store to see if a runner like me can really have a convergence device that provides the accuracy and minimalism of a fitness band with the functionality of a smartwatch.  I might have to add this to my Christmas list, especially if it will motivate me to workout more.

Hacktivists

So by looking at the title of this your probably wondering why I have a picture of a TV show that plays on the CW. Well I just got done watching the most recent episode of this and surprising it related to my Computer Science class!

The show you see here is called Arrow. This show follows the story line of the DC comic book hero, The Green Arrow. In this show he is a "vigilantly/hero" and protects his city from super villains and other sorts of bad guys that terrorise his home of Starling City.

In the most recent episode (season 3, episode 5, The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak) the villains that are portrayed are called hacktivists. This instantly made me think of my computer science class, since this was a topic of discussion in the earlier part of the term. Without spoiling the hole entire episode for anyone reading this I won't go into too much detail but the one other part besides the "hacking" was when the super villain used Phishing. Now I've talked about this in my other blogs but throwout the episode there is a part where the villain uses phishing to gain information/ an upper hand on the arrow and his colleagues as you can guys this creates a pretty good twist within the show and makes it much more enjoyable than just the hero always winning at every point in the show.


Anyways going back to the reason for blogging about this, I found it was interesting how no matter what your doing things will always seem to make a full circle connection to something else in your life, even if the two seem completely unrelated.

Wacom Cintiq Companion

This right here is Wacom's most recent product they added to their line of drawing tablets. Wacom specializes in aiding graphic designers in the use of digital illustration and animation. They have the highest end drawing products on the market which are used by professionals in the field today. 

Their most recent product is the Cintiq Companion. This is a stand alone tablet with its own power supply and doesn't need to be connected to an already existing computer. It comes in two versions. The first one has a full Windows 8 operating system that can run anything your normal computer can such as any of the adobe suite products. The second version is a hybrid as Wacom calls it. It runs on the most recent 4.2 Jellybean Android software and can use any of the apps on the android market today. However because it is a "hybrid" it can be connected via HDMI to any computer and become a second display with full touch capability. With this you are then able to use any software your current computer has except with its fully touch capability. 

The first image you have here is the hybrid version that is running the android hybrid version of the Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet.

The second image here is the Windows 8 version of the Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet. This is a stand alone table with the full capability of being an ultra book all in itself. This one however can't be connected to your computer as an extra screen, although it can run anything a normal computer can.

Between these two products I have been up all night doing research trying to decide if I want to spend the money on them. This has always been something that I have been looking for. Before this they have always had Cintiqs which were screens just like this but were not portable what so ever and always had to be plugged into a computer such as any normal monitor. Being a graphic designer myself and loving to illustrate since I could remember really makes me what to take the risk and get one of these to try out for myself. I have had other drawing tablets that hook up to the computer but never one quite like this. This is truly remarkable and ingenuity at its finest.  

If you would like to see more I would highly recommend watching this video.

Source: http://www.wacom.com/en/us/

iRing

While scrolling through Pinterest, because where else do I find my news other than social media, I found an article One iRing to Control All Your Apple Media Devices.  What made this article catch my eye, was the fact that I had just went through the process of searching for various wearable technologies for our presentation.

Basically, this ring would be able to link to any of your Apple devices to play, pause, or control the volume of your music.  The only catch is that this is only a concept and has been since around 2007.  If it was developed further, I'm sure there could be more possibilities than just simple music control, since technology and Apple have developed so much in the past 7 years.