Azu Ike

The summer really kicked off for me when I attended the ISTE 2013 Conference in San Antonio the end of June. It has been a busy summer doing workshops, consulting and working with new hardware and apps. I was fortunate to receive a Windows Surface RT from the Microsoft Education Team at ISTE 2013 and have been exploring its feature set and how it could be used in the classroom. Using the Windows Surface RT, I have become accustomed to using Windows 8 on a tablet and have enjoyed learning the new operating system which has some nice features. Unlike the Windows Surface RT's big brother the Windows Surface Pro- you can not install Windows 8 legacy software on the Windows Surface RT and are relegated to downloading apps form the Microsoft Store. While the number of educational apps is growing there is still a need for more high quality apps for use by educators. Having said that, there is still a good base of apps for students and teachers to utilize on the Windows Surface RT especia...

ISTE 2013 is long gone and is now just a fleeting memory- but wow was it fun! The ISTE conferences by and large remains one of my most favorite conferences to attend. This year was a lot of fun as I had a chance to meet educators from around the globe who see the potential for creating environments in the classroom and beyond that engage and enlighten students. No doubt we are moving into a post PC world which was evidenced by the sheer number of companies showing off their tablet solutions for the classroom. One of the companies which certainly made a big Public Relations splash this year was Microsoft. As part of Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project, Microsoft gave away   10,000 Windows Surface RT's to educators who attended the ISTE conference. It was quite interesting to see educators at the conference carrying their iPad in one hand and their new Surface RT in their left . I even spotted a group of teachers in the hotel one night sitting around the ...

As the iPad takes hold of the classroom, educators are looking for new ways to extend the functionality of the device and take advantage of it's powerful feature set. While many of us have utilized the camera on the iPad for still photographs or for taking classroom videos- companies like Belkin want to extend the reach of these capabilities and help teachers get the most out of their iPad investment. With this in mind Belkin has just released the Belkin Tablet Stage which turns your iPad into a document camera and presentation system. Having had a chance to work with the Belkin Tablet Stage first hand, I am impressed with the quality and attention to detail of the design. Putting together the Belkin Tablet Stage took about 10 minutes and was rather straight forward using the step by step directions in the booklet that accompanied the device. The Belkin Tablet Stage cradle can accompany a wide range of tablets, everything from the iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy, to the iPad...

Well it is hard to believe that another year has come and gone and I will be off to ISTE 2103 Conference in San Antonio in a couple of days! It figures to be an exciting venue with over 18,000 educators attending. I am sensing a lot of energy this year which should make for a great show. I put this Haiku Deck together to give you a glimpse of what I will be packing. Enjoy-and stay tuned for some new product announcements on my blog! www.haikudeck.com