Collaborative effort between the 7 school districts in the greater Omaha area
and the UNO College of Education
- has been in existence for 10 years
- is used by a model for other communities across the US
http://www.unocoe.unomaha.edu/outreach/moec.htm
Discussed handheld computers in Education and an upcoming publication they are
working on together
http://portfolio.unomaha.edu/handheld
Publication will be about a 40 page document, sharing good things happening
in Omaha schools with handhelds
- Dennis is also working on a book that is more comprehensive about using handhelds
in the classroomPalm rep told them the next generation for wireless is probably
3-4 years away
- wireless anywhere, with both handhelds and laptops
- Raspberry is another technology like Bluetooth that is faster and supposedly
more secure
They feel what they are doing with handhelds now will position their districts to take better advantage of the next generation wireless technology
Discussed concerns over security and handhelds, one district is prohibiting
any handhelds connected to the network
- consensus was this is unfounded paranoia, but more info is needed
- IT departments are generally hesitant to implement new technologies that will
mean more work / headaches for them
Also discussed the wireless download that lets you control TVs as remote control, this is causing some problems in some schools