Inwrite Mobi Tablet ~Lynette Hamilton~

The Interwrite Mobi interactive tablet is a new student and teacher interactive piece of technology. When using the tablet the instructor has the capabilities to do many different functions, if they set the tablet to sandbox mode then the entire class can work together on a project and if the tablet is set on “split screen” mode, the instructor might have several students or several groups of students working on the same problem and displaying the progress on the screen. Some positive aspects of these tablets is they are great for working in groups and checking on the progress of the students and they are light weight, compact and rugged enough to stand up to hours of classroom use! They are also very easy to recharge. The pen is also a rechargeable pen, which can have its down falls as if the pen would run out in the middle of a lesson plan! Some disadvantages to this technology would also be it's cost! Here are the current cost:

Teacher tablet, $399;

student tablet, $349;

mobi learning system (one teacher tablet, two student tablets recharging station and software), $1,150

So to get this product for multiple children and groups in a class room could be costly! However it would be a way to incorporate technology in the lesson and would help save on paper!

EduCast USB Duplicators ~Lynette Hamilton~

The new EduCast USB Duplicator System has many exciting features. To begin it copies audio lessons or class assignments from a single flash drive to 15 units instantly, collects assignments and information from 15 drives and consolidates into one for teacher’s review of student projects, and provides a re-usable and low energy solution to storing and distributing classroom material. This product is easy to use and convenient and fast! It is a good idea especially in college as some professors don't have you purchase the book but instead puts all their power points online for you to print out or tell you where you can go to make copies of the book, now books could be shared electronically from student to student. The negative aspects to it is that is so costly! It currently has a retail price of $1,399, with 16 MP3 USB drives. Another negative factor would be that copy right issues, of people just scanning information without giving the recognition to the authors of the material.

Remote Diagnostics- Joe Zimmerman

For those of use who rely heavily on OnStar in are cars, can now have that same help and support in our tractors. Leica Geostystems has come up with its own type of immediate service response for your tractors. It has made a remote diagnostic system called the Virtual Wrench. This device allows for folks at Leica to tap into systems 24/7. Problems will be able to be fixed at the touch of a button. This will allow farmers who are in their cab to push a button on the system's small console and will connect them with a live technician to help them with their problem.

Windmills- Joe Zimmerman

A recent trend that has made a strong come back is windmills. Windmills and winder powers has become very common once again. There are a number of farms with enormous steel windmills appearing all over the Midwest. This is becoming very trendy for eco-friendly colleges and businesses. These places are now putting up their own windmills to produce power. However, very few individual farmers have put one up. Before farmers get on this bandwagon, it needs to make a lot of sense.

Xerion- Joe Zimmerman

This piece of equipment is in a category of its own! It was brought to the U.S. in 2007 from a German harvester family Claas. Some call this "tractor" a superman tractor. It primary purpose is geared to very big crop operations or municipality that needs snow removal, road excavation and any other big utility jobs. Its entire cab moves to face behind and run implements from the other direction. It is a crosses of many pieces of equipment.

Classmate PC ~Lynette Hamilton~

The new Classmate PC is a new laptop that is being introduced to the classroom. This computer is the most latest version of the notebook computers. The notebook allows the students to get a more user friendly experience and work more one on one with the students. This notebook has a rotating display screen that can turn 180 degrees and fold up as well. It also is a touch screen computer that allows students to adjust the screen to either landscape or portrait. Another neat feature is the web cam and microphone included in it and can be used either way you have the computer whether portrait or landscape. One other great aspect that this notebook has is it has a rugged casing so that students will be less likely to damage it. This is a great learning tool for the students to help bring technology into the learning environment.

Solar Farms-Brooke White

Solar farms are farms that have rows of solar panels to ather sunlight energy to provide clean "green" electricity for nearby residents. Something I found interesting in this article was that they mentioned if they sahara was covered with solar panels, it would create enough energy to generate the entire world.

Also, here in the U.S. they are planning to construct a solar field in toledo ohio. It's a 5 million dollar project that would provide electricity and create jobs. They are estimating that they would save atleast 12 million dollars a year in utility bills.

Here is a link to a video where they are talking about the solar fields in toledo ohio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqMaijs0goU