Azu Ike

As more schools jump on the Chromebook wagon it is is exciting to see companies like Dell step up to the plate and deliver high quality devices for schools. For many of us who have been using Chromebooks for some time now- I always found the first generation devices were rather under-powered and lagged in performance. But this is changing rapidly with new Chromebooks that are sporting Intel processors. With Dell's release of the Dell Chromebook 13 the tides are changing and now educators and students can have access to devices that house much faster silicone. The Dell Chromebook that was provided for me for this review, the Dell Chromebook 13 sported an Intel i3 processor with 4 GB or RAM and 16 GB Solid State Drive with a 13.3 inch FHD Display and is priced at $529 on the Dell website. The Dell Chromebook 13 is made of carbon fiber finish with magnesium alloy that is easy to grip and gives the computer good protection from dings and bangs.  The Dell Chromebook 13 comes standard...

The computer trends are pointing to lighter, more portable and highly mobile technology for today's work force. This is no less true for all of us in education as many schools are moving to tablets and devices that connect to the cloud. With this shift, it is exciting to think about how teachers are using their classrooms to cull out unique learning spaces. If you are thinking of how you can redesign your classroom space I would highly suggest that you consider reading The Third Teacher , and excellent book about re-thinking the learning space in our classrooms. This got me thinking about how we move away from the teacher in the front of the classroom and setting up learning spaces with technology that would enable students to share ideas quickly. Companies like Steelcase have envisioned the future of the classroom with their media:scape solution. Media:scape allows students to quickly share and collaborate on their content on a monitor by simply...

As a professor of education, I am always looking at new technologies that can enliven my classroom and give me and my students tools to share ideas. When I purchased my Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8, I learned about an Intel standard called Wi-Di (Wireless Display) which allows you to stream the contents of your tablet or computer to a HDMI  device without cables or wires. Many educator often refer to Wi-Di by using the term Miracast to describe  a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard formed via Wi-Fi Direct connections in a manner similar to Bluetooth.  Having access to Wi-Di would be great for the classroom because it would enable me to move about the classroom without the need to be tethered to the projector. Since I had half the solution in the Surface Pro 2 and Dell Venue 8 running Windows 8.1, all I needed was a Miracast receiver to enable me to use this technology. Researching which Miracast receiver would be best, I came across the ScreenBeam Pro Educatio...