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Sensor networks link students, researchers with real-world data
Wireless sensor networking is quickly catching on as a way for researchers to monitor and control aspects on the physical world. The technology also allows students to learn alongside researchers as they study real-world scientific data. But as the technology improves and the sensors and cameras become more widespread, wireless sensor networking also is raising some privacy and security concerns.The Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS), a UCLA-based consortium of six schools, is testing and perfecting wireless sensing technology to connect major chunks of the physical world to the internet--and the technology also is being used to give students a glimpse of science in the real world.
CENS currently supports graduate student research, offers a summer undergraduate internship, and has a program for high school students. This summer, 11 high school students and 14 undergraduates are interning with the consortium.
Once the stuff of science fiction, wireless sensor networking is quickly catching on, attracting the attention of academics, the military, and corporations. Just as the internet virtually connected people with personal computers, the prospect of millions of tiny wireless sensors and cameras sprinkled in buildings, farmland, forests, and hospitals promises to create unprecedented links between people and physical locations.
CENS currently supports graduate student research, offers a summer undergraduate internship, and has a program for high school students. This summer, 11 high school students and 14 undergraduates are interning with the consortium.
Once the stuff of science fiction, wireless sensor networking is quickly catching on, attracting the attention of academics, the military, and corporations. Just as the internet virtually connected people with personal computers, the prospect of millions of tiny wireless sensors and cameras sprinkled in buildings, farmland, forests, and hospitals promises to create unprecedented links between people and physical locations.
New professional learning sites aim to meet the need for 'just-in-time' training and support
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More than 400 companies exhibited at NECC this year. Several companies focused on creating online social environments for professional development and networking. Here is a round-up of new products and announcements from some of the companies. The use of Web 2.0 technologies to create interactive, online social environments for networking and professional development was on full display in the exhibit hall at this year's National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Atlanta.
Recognizing the importance of professional development in successfully integrating technology into instruction, as well as the need for "just-in-time" resources that educators can call upon at their own convenience, several companies--including Autodesk, Inspiration Software, NetSupport, Promethean, and SchoolNet--demonstrated brand-new web sites for educators (and, in some cases, students) to network with their peers, share ideas and lesson plans, and otherwise advance their understanding of these companies' products and services.
Recognizing the importance of professional development in successfully integrating technology into instruction, as well as the need for "just-in-time" resources that educators can call upon at their own convenience, several companies--including Autodesk, Inspiration Software, NetSupport, Promethean, and SchoolNet--demonstrated brand-new web sites for educators (and, in some cases, students) to network with their peers, share ideas and lesson plans, and otherwise advance their understanding of these companies' products and services.
Special Report: Converged Wireless
Two technology trends that have been taking place separately in K-12 and higher-education institutions across the country are now beginning to come together: (1) the proliferation of wireless networks, and (2) the convergence of voice, video, and data on a single network infrastructure.
Two technology trends that have been taking place separately in K-12 and higher-education institutions across the country are now beginning to come together: (1) the proliferation of wireless networks, and (2) the convergence of voice, video, and data on a single network infrastructure.
When considered on its own, each trend makes sense in terms of cost and convenience; now, as new technologies continue to improve, some schools are combining the two efforts.Driving the trend toward wireless is the desire for always-on access. As students make technology an integral part of their lives, they want access to a network wherever they are on a campus--whether they're in class, in a cafeteria, in an auditorium, or outside on the green.
"There's the whole notion of wireless on campus, with people saying, ‘Gee, I've got it at home, why not on the third floor at the library?'" says Casey Green, founding director of the Campus Computing Project. "Schools are hearing it from both teachers and students."
Source: eSchool News
