Gizmodo: students

All the Jocks at This University Got Macbook Pros, But Are They Happy?

Rosa Golijan — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:20:00 EST

This is the athletic department of the University of South Florida and every single person in it was given a Macbook Pro by the school. But judging by some expressions in a close-up shot, not everyone's entirely excited about it.

No, really. Click on this second picture for a closer view. I can't be imagining that many annoyed expressions and grimaces, can I?

If nothing, it's an interesting bit of a contrast to these smiling folks:

Happy or not, the students don't keep the laptops permanently, instead they use them like loaners during school semesters. Still a pretty sweet arrangement unless you really prefer a non-Apple product. [USF]

Amazing Student-Made Solar Homes Compete in International Solar Decathalon

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:45:00 EDT

The Solar Decathalon, a 10-criteria (it's a little bit of a stretch to decathalon, but that's okay) judging contest, just completed this year's competition, and there are some incredible works here. I love that each group used its hometown aesthetic.

Student groups from around the world (and several from the States) competed to create a net zero-energy, 800-square-foot house powered exclusively by solar energy, and came up with some great ideas. The house pictured above was created by the team from Cornell University in upstate New York, using silos to reflect the bucolic look of that area. Other teams experimented with automatic shutoffs for TVs and lights or sophisticated purification of shower and rainwater. The winner will be announced this coming Friday, and you can check out the current standings here. [CNET]

If You Need a ScreamBody, You May Also Need a Vacation

Mark Wilson — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:40:00 EDT

Have you ever been so upset that you just needed to scream, but you didn't want to upset your co-workers? Well here's an incredibly practical solution to that problem. It's called the ScreamBody.

By former MIT student Kelly Dobson, the Screambody is a "portable space for screaming." She had a vision of the future in which every man would want to look 8-months pregnant at all times, so long as he could scream at will into his stomach and then play back said scream through convenient, built-in speakers. She demonstrates this future more than once in this clip for clinical purposes only. So it's really not something to laugh at. Repeatedly.

Because, after all. A good scream is a terrible thing to waste. Or is that money and water I'm thinking about? [via MIT Thanks Jessettr!]

Pop-Up Porn Teacher Cops a Plea to Escape Jail Time

Sean Fallon — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

You may recall a case last year involving Julie Amero, a substitute junior high school teacher in Connecticut that was arrested and threatened with a 40 year prison sentence after the computer in her classroom began to display pornographic pop-ups in front of her students. Any one with even the slightest knowledge of computers could tell you that this was completely ridiculous—especially after learning that the computer system in the school was woefully ill-equipped to handle spyware and viruses. Still, officials and the police refused to admit that they had made a mistake and pressed on with their case. Now Amero has been forced to cut a plea deal in order to avoid jail.

If that wasn't absurd enough, this plea comes despite overwhelming forensic evidence that Amero was not responsible for the pop-ups and that the school district's IT manager, detectives and prosecutors knowingly misled the court to cover their own asses. In the end, Amero will pay a $100 fine and give up her teaching credentials. Even though she feels vindicated by the ruling, I can't imagine that it makes up for the 4 years of misery she has endured. One can only hope that she will be able to turn around and sue these morons into oblivion. [Courant via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Study Reveals Students Blame Gadgets For Their Missing Homework

Sean Fallon — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:30:00 EST

A recent survey of British teachers has revealed that students are relying more and more on tech-related excuses to explain their failure to hand in homework. Traditional excuses like "the dog ate it" have given way to gems like "the computer crashed", "the internet was down", "a printer failed to work" and "work was deleted by accident". Apparently, students believe they can slide one by older, less tech savvy teachers this way—and the teachers admit that they are more likely to fall prey to this tactic. However, as the following list of the top five worst excuses will illustrate, some students shoot themselves in the foot by taking things waaay to far.

Worst tech-related excuses according to the survey:

•My dad's computer was hacked by the Russians and they stole my homework.
•A burglar stole my printed-out homework along with the computer.
•The PC exploded when our dog went to the toilet on it. (Still blaming the dog!)
•I accidentally tipped a bottle of cider over the computer and it broke.

Remember kids—keep it simple because simple is believable (fade to "The More You Know" graphic).[Telegraph via Fark Image via Itchmo]

Student Develops Cheap Power Turbine For Developing Nations

Matt Hickey — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:20:05 EDT

It's one thing to tinker in your garage to restore that old gas-guzzling muscle car that you think will get you some action. It's something entirely different to invent an electricity-generating wind turbine out of scrap parts that could revolutionize personal power in developing nations, especially if you're in college. Max Robinson has done just that, designing a turbine out of spare parts that costs less than $40 to build out of readily available parts and can power a home's lighting for up to two and a half days or a radio for over a day. No word on how long an OLPC would last. [Daily Mail]

10 Back to School Gadgets for Lazy Students

Sean Fallon — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Summer has gone fast hasn't it? Hard to believe that many of you will be heading back to school sometime in the next few weeks. That means it's time to get on a schedule and prepare yourself for another semester of boring lectures, homework and tests. Sure, there is a lot of fun to be had—but the party is going to come to a screeching halt when you get out there into the real world. That's why you have to apply yourself now so you can get a good job when all is said and done. Either that, or you have to learn how to cut corners more effectively. Since this is the Thank Giz It's Friday roundup, we are going with the latter.

Step 1: Get on a Schedule

Even if you set your own class schedule, chances are you are going to have to get up before noon. So, you are going to need an alarm clock that gives you that jump start you need in the morning. I can guarantee that no clock will satisfy on more levels than the Orgazmo. Just set the alarm and an invigorating female orgasm will gently coax you from your slumber. Available for $30. [Gobaz via Link]

Step #2: Dress For Security

If you go to a public school, you will probably find yourself caught in a crossfire at one point or another. Therefore, It is essential that you come to school with the appropriate bullet-proof protection.

Defender Hoodie: Features 2mm of Type IIA bulletproofing in the torso, which is enough armor to stop a 9mm full-metal-jacket round at a velocity of 1,090 feet-per-second. Too bad its only for police officers and security personnel in the UK. And the $845 price tag sucks pretty hard too. [Bladerunner via Link]

Backpack Shield: Made from 13 layers of K-29 Kevlar that could stop a round from a .44 Magnum. Available on a Back to School sale for $155-$180. [Backpackshield via Link]

Step #3: Dress for Success

Dressing up for school isn't all about personal style and deflecting bullets, it is also about getting an edge. No matter what subject you are in, there is an article of clothing that can help you cheat like a champ.

Math Equations Shirt: Available for $15. [Sanchez Circuit]

Calculator Belt Buckle: Available for $10. [BeWild]

Science Crib Sheet Shirt: Available for $25. [Computer Gear]

US History Cheat Shirt: Available for $17. [Snorg Tees]

Step #4: Get the Right Supplies

Sure, you need a decent laptop, calculator, notebooks and the like but may I also suggest:

Doggy Style Pencil Sharpener: Those pencils aren't going to sharpen themselves people. Might as well have a good time doing it. [Link]

LiveScribe Smartpen: This high-tech pen records the audio in the classroom then syncs it with the notes you take. All of that information can be indexed on a PC or you can play back specific portions of audio by tapping the corresponding section on your notepad. Available in 1 and 2GB sizes for $149 and $199 respectively. [Livescribe via Link]

Step #5 Manage Your Time More Effectively

You know all that sleep you are losing by getting up earlier? Catch up in class using some of these sneaky eyelid stickers. Your teacher would probably have to be legally blind to miss it in a small classroom, but in an auditorium you are golden. [Link]

Electronic Hogu Measures Just How Hard Your Foe Can Beat You Up

AddyDugdale — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:15:00 EDT

The final project of a team from Cornell University, this electronic hogu, modelled above by a lantern-jawed mannequin called Bob, uses piezoelectric sensors and a microcontroller to measure the kicks and punches between contestants in a Tae Kwan Do bout. Piezoelectric sensors and a microcontroller are implanted in the transmitter side, while the receiver side has wireless receiver circuitry, another microcontroller, and a monitor to display the score. As that great black belt of martial arts would say, "Haiiiii-YAAAAAAA!" Yes, I'm talking Miss Piggy. [Cornell via GEARFUSE and HacknMod]

Concept Dishwasher Looks Nice, May Turn Your Kitchen into a Rainforest

AddyDugdale — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:40:00 EDT

Spring segueing into summer means degree shows, when students show off their, frankly, outtahere-lunatic creations. So, without further ado, let's go to the Centre de Design at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where we have an innovative wall-hung dishwasher, or dishwasheur, as it's probably called.

Designed by Marie-Christine Lacasse and Marie Claude Savard, I almost like it. Almost. Big thumbs-up to the elongated rack—but I'm just not sure about that "autonomous" dishwasher unit that moves across the rack, rather like the printer head on an old dot matrix printer. And ladies, where was the spirit level in the making of your dishwasheur? Attention to detail, that's Giz all over, innit? [MoCo Loco]

Four Crazy Radio Concepts to Celebrate National Inventor's Day

AddyDugdale — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:53:59 EST

Today is National Inventor's Day, in honor of Thomas Edison, and Giz is going to celebrate it with some designs from the Work In Progress show by students at London's Royal College of Art. There are no less than four concept radios in the show, including this one by Mikael Silvanto, which melds a slide rule with an iPod-esque analog radio. The other three, including one which uses QR codes to hook up graffiti artists with pirate radio stations, are below.

Yuri Suzuki's design uses a Post-It pad to mark out the frequencies of pirate radio stations that caught her ear while living in North London. "My radio enables you to make notes about the radio station and mark its position," she says. "The radio looks like a memo pad, but underneath is a speaker; the pencil acts as the antenna that controls tuning and volume."

Yuri feels there is a connection between graffiti artists and pirate radio stations, as both are art forms that hack into public spaces. Her Future Pirate Radio lets you tune into pirate radio via QR codes. First, the graffiti artist stencils a QR code onto the wall, incorporating it into their work. Anyone who takes a picture of the graffiti will then be able to tune into the pirate radio station that inspired the artist via the internet.

Finally, Jochem Faudet's work consists of a pair of radios whose controls are grouped together in order to make it easier to use. Actually, it's rather complicated, so here's Jochem's own explanation.
"Radio 1: All the tuning and volume functions are grouped around the speaker. The On/Off switch and volume function is situated closest to the speaker. The AM/FM switch is situated at the end of the tuning circle, by flicking the switch down it points to the FM numbers situated on the outside of the circle or by flicking the switch up it points to AM numbers on the inside of the tuning semi-circle.

"Radio 2: The tuning function and volume function are separated from each other in this concept. To adjust the volume one has to turn the wheel with the integrated speaker, by sliding the AM/FM switch to FM it hides the frequencies of the AM and vice versa."

Nope, still too complicated for me, I'm afraid. [Dezeen]

Student Catches Principal Fighting With Student on Cellphone Camera, School Responds By Banning Cellphones

Jason Chen — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:32:36 EST

Way to go, Caddo School Board. You've won yourself the Gizmodo luddite of the week award. See, when a student films the principal of your Huntington High School fighting another student, the correct response isn't to ban cellphones, it's to make sure principals don't fight with students. It was only after the student showed the clip to local media that you actually did something about the situation, putting the principal on paid administrative leave. As a side note, we would also have accepted "resigning and putting people not completely retarded onto the school board" as a correct response. [Shreveport Times via Techdirt - Image courtesy Chicspeare]

Chimpanzees Beat College Students at Computerized Brain Test

dango — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:55:56 EST

You know that game in Brain Age where you get a quick look at a batch of numbers then have to tap them in numerical order after they're hidden? In news that must please the good Dr. Kawashima to no end, scientists at Kyoto University have found that five-year-old chimps are able to perform a (very) similar feat much faster than a group of nine able-minded college students on a touchscreen test bed that resembles the best-selling DS game.

With a .7 second look, both man and beast are on even ground, but with a 0.4 second or 0.2 second (!!) peek, the college kids got owned, completing it 40% of the time compared to the chimps' 80%. One thing's for sure— taking this test probably didn't help the college kids with their self esteem. While not as funny as a chimp working a typewriter while smoking a cigarette, the video above of brave Ayumu doing his thing is pretty damn amazing. Get that chimp a stylus!

And if you want to be impressed, see the next video, showing the chimps memorizing the digits after the mere peek.

[AP]

Student Makes Barbie an Electric Chair for Science Fair Project

AddyDugdale — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:08:00 EDT

Middle school student Jessyratfink (not her real name) came up with an innovative &mdash and utterly brazilliant &mdash project for her science fair: an electric chair for Barbie. You can find out just how she did it on the Instructables website, but there's a small gallery below of her handiwork.

Anyone want to make me one for Hello Kitty? [Instructables]

LED Graduation Mortar Board Mod

Travis Hudson — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:20:46 EDT

Graduation is something I thought I would never see hacked, until now. David Worden recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin and hacked up his mortar board to have blinking LEDs. While other people think they are crafty by writing "Hi Mom" on their cap, Worden showed them all up with this LED mod. His degree is in electrical engineering, go figure.

I wish I would have done something like this at my graduation, but I was too hungover to handle anything more than walking across a stage and shaking hands. Hit the link below to see the detailed instructions of how he pulled it off. –Travis Hudson

Grad Hack [DavidWorden]

Pong, Anytime, Anywhere

Travis Hudson — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:00:39 EDT

As part of the ECE 476 Microcontroller Design course at Cornell University, two students have taken the game of Pong and added a new twist. This version of Pong can be played on any flat surface using two laser-sensing paddles and a laser projector that projects the Pong ball. The entire project only set the duo back $48. Hit the link below to get all of the nitty-gritty details about the game, how it works and even videos of the two designers—Adrian Wong and Bhavin Rokad—playing the game. Nice work guys. –Travis Hudson

Project Page [Via Slashgear]

MSU Cellphone GPS Tracking, Part Duex

Travis Hudson — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 16:30:44 EDT

If you recall, yesterday we mentioned the program that Monclair State University has implemented. For a quick refresher, they gave all incoming freshman a cellphone that comes equipped with a GPS tracker. Sounds a little Big Brother-ish, right? Well not really. I had a chat with an MSU employee who gave me the full rundown of the program and how amazingly awesome it is. Hit the jump to get the full scoop.

The entire system is an opt-in system. So you have to opt-in for the GPS to be enabled, then the individual GPS features are also opt-in. So nobody has to be tracked, ever.

One of the safety features that was explained in a 15-minute Guardian. So for example if you are drunkenly stumbling back to your dorm room and concerned about getting mugged, simply enable the Guardian feature on your phone. A little blip of you will pop up at the police station and the Guardian will remain on for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes it will remind you to turn the Guardian off. If you don't because you were mugged, beaten, passed out, etc, the police will call the phone and also go to your location to find out what the problem was.

While the safety features are great. The social networking features of the GPS unit are what makes the program really shine my eyes and probably popular with the college kids. Using web-based software you can create special social groups and allow other people to see your location whenever you would like by enabling the GPS tracking. This could be especially convenient trying to meet up on campus for studying, or better yet, meeting up at the bars.

There are a wide variety of Nextel-based phones available and the basic plan costs are included in tuition and fees. So it may feel like it is a free phone, but you will be paying for it in the future. All-in-all this is an extremely handy system that can provide safety and fun for students. Good job, MSU. – Travis Hudson

Montclair State University

Big Brother Gives out Free Cellphones

Travis Hudson — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:30:15 EDT

Montclair State University will soon be providing their students with more goodies than just textbooks and debt up to their eyeballs. Students enrolled at this New Jersey college will also receive a free cellphone. The premise behind this idea is to provide safety for students by allowing them to always have a way to call for help or even a DD. There is a bit of a catch, though. Each cellphone is equipped with a GPS tracking device so at any given time school administrators can pinpoint the exact location of a student.

Sure the GPS tracking is probably more for safety, but what happens when administrators see that you spent 20 of the past 24 hours at a strip club. What say ye' commenters? Good for safety, or crossing the line of privacy? – Travis Hudson

College giving out GPS cell phones to students [Sci-Fi]