Gizmodo: learning

Learn How To Tell Time and Waste Money With a Manual Digital Clock

Sean Fallon — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EDT

According to the manufacturers of the Digits Clock, kids don't need to learn how to tell time the old fashioned way. Instead, parents should spend over $100 on a board that requires kids to manually construct the time every minute.

Do kids need to learn how to tell time on a digital clock? It's been a long time, but I figured if kids can count they pretty much have it down. [Ponoko via Technabob via DVICE]

Concert Hands Teaches Piano with Wrist Straps and Electrical Zaps

Danny Allen — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EDT

What looks kinda creepy actually sounds quite cool. The Concert Hands system teaches you piano (or keyboard) using a 10-finger feedback system that gently pulses when you should play, coupled with an automated wrist pilot that guides you across octaves.

The idea being that repetition builds muscle memory, and you'll improve faster.

You'll need to email for pricing, but it does look like the included software works with any MIDI file. Less certain is if there's an evil teacher mode that turns up the voltage when you misbehave. [Concert Hands via The Raw Feed via DVICE]

Learn How to Build iPhone Apps from Stanford University

Andi Wang — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:40:00 EDT

If you've ever had an idea for an iPhone application but you've never known how to begin creating it, Stanford will be offering how-to-build-iphone-apps computer science courses via free video podcasts through iTunes U.

Later this week, you'll be able to get a Stanford-level education without the stress of ~~having to apply to the prestigious school and especially without having to pay tuition~~ being a huge dbag. [Ed. note: Ed went to Cal.] [TechCrunch]

SMART Educational Multitouch Table Will Learn Yer Kids Real Good

Elaine Chow — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:00:00 EST

The SMART Table, that Microsoft Surface-esque multitouch table specifically made for kids, is now out and making its way into classrooms. Each table comes with six applications out of the box and costs $8000.

Teachers can customize activities on the tablet by using the SMART Table Toolkit on their PC or Mac. The new activities are then saved onto a USB bracelet and plugged into the table for activity synchronization. Smart Tech is also offering free apps and activities for download on its education website.

Not a bad buy if you're a teacher (the education website also helps you request grants to buy one), or if you're just a parent that wants to seriously one-up that little Leapfrog Crammer the Jones' got their kid. [Smart Tech]

LeapFrog Tag Junior: You Know, A Frog Who Teaches Your Toddler How To Read

Erica Ho — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:15:00 EST

Tag Junior book pal, LeapFrog's newest Tag reading system, is now kid-friendlier with its chunky, ubercute, small-hands-friendly design, so you can start neglecting your children even earlier.

The Tag Junior pal is built for kids as young as two years old. The cute little guy is picked up and held on any page of a Tag Junior book, which it then reads aloud, emitting fun sound effects and music too, all using infrared cameras to follow along, and embedded memory to hold the book data. Parents also can download audio for each book in the Tag Junior library, and manage the MP3s and photo files using a Mac or PC.

The Tag Junior library will include titles such as Curious George: Color Fun, Disney Pooh Loves To... and Dora the Explorer: 1-2-3 Dora!. The whole system will be available later this summer. Heh, and to think the highlight of my childhood was staring in front of the old boobtube watching Reading Rainbow.

[Leapfrog at Gizmodo]

Tascam GT-R1 Guitar Recorder Lets You Capture Those Brilliant Solos

Kit Eaton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:27:00 EDT

Tascam—last heard of here on Giz with a portable MP3 guitar "trainer"—has come up with another gizmo that may interest you if you're a guitarist. The GT-R1 is a portable MP3 recorder for capturing your axe work, capable of recording to MP3/WAVE at 48/44.1 kHz 24-bits uncompressed. That's not bad quality, and since it works with SDHC, you'll have plenty of recording time. Better yet it's got multiple effects built-in, and also has a "trainer" function which allows you to play along with your fave tracks at your choice of speed—without changing the pitch. Sounds pretty handy, and it'll be out August 26th in Japan for around $310. [Akihabaranews]

Nexi, The Social Robot From MIT Goes For the Emo Look

Kit Eaton — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:50:47 EDT

She may look miles away from crossing uncanny valley, but Nexi from MIT's Personal Robots Group is at least on the way. She's designed to be a "Mobile Social Dextrous" machine that moves like we do when we express emotions. So, she's got fully articulated arms and a head with features that can be motored around to form expressions. Acting out emotions, she's actually rather amazing, in a slightly sad robot kinda way: the video may send a few chills down your spine, no matter how "artificial" Nexi looks now.

Nexi is apparently about the size of a three year-old child, with dextrous hands, arms that can lift up to ten pounds of weight and two-wheel balancing movement, a little like a Segway. Each eye has a color camera, there's an IR camera in the forehead for 3D object perception and four microphones so sounds can be localized.

For now, Nexi is just a prototype, designed to explore human-machine interactions and social learning. It's not too hard to imagine a real product based on the design, though, is it? The team forsee robots like this having a role in healthcare, eldercare and education. [GizmoWatch]

Teachermate Handheld Educational Computer Costs $50, Launches in Chicago

Jason Chen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:30:43 EDT

Innovations for Learning just announced a blue GameBoy-like handheld computer designed for schools. It's got directional buttons, a few face buttons, a 2.5-inch LCD, USB sync, SD card storage, AC/USB charging, and a 3.5-hour battery life. Inside the teachermate is a "complete reading and math curriculum that is aligned with all of the major reading and math programs," which means it can help substitute the learning a K-2 school student already receives.

They're a non-profit company, which means they only charge the cost of manufacturing the device, $50, but the reading and math programs cost $20 per student. The initial rollout will be at 500 Chicago elementary schools. We'll have a quick hands-on of this later—not with an actual K-2 student, but just someone with a K-2 student's intellect (me). [Teachermate]

Pocket Spelling Bee Looks Suspiciously Familiar

Sean Fallon — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:40:52 EST

Franklin's new Pocket Spelling Bee was unveiled at the NYC Toy Fair this week and despite its more than passing resemblance to the Sony Mylo, it appears to be a solid educational toy. The device allows kids to compete against one another or the computer in a spelling showdown for supremacy.

The Speaking Spelling Bee also features a 2" high-contrast LCD screen, the ability to play on the go or connect to the tv, clear speech and sound effects, the Merriam-Webster Intermediate Dictionary with over 70,000 words, the Merriam-Webster Intermediate Thesaurus and the Merriam-Webster Rhyming Dictionary. Pricing and availability have not been announced. [Franklin via Make]