ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Three days at NECC. I spent the last three days at NECC, looking at new technologies, new software and new hardware. Educators have lots to be excited about. HP and Asus were showing off their mini laptops which were both small in stature and price. The exhibition hall was filled with companies tauting their interactive whiteboards and the impact it will have on learning in the classroom. Both Smart and Promethian had some of the largest booths on the floor and had many teachers doing live demonstrations. Mimio was also there showing off their latest release of MimioStudio 6 and the release of the Mimio Pad, a hand held portable tablet. Many of the vendors were demonstrating various response systems and there is definitely a move towards a totally digital classroom. The digital classroom would include an interactive whiteboard, data projector, response system, document camera, and a audio sound field system. Of course Web 2.0 and collaboration was another key trend. Software as a service is here to stay and there were many companies who were showing off their software applications that are hosted solutions right through the browser. Crick Software was demonstrating Write Online and FTC Publishing was demoing WriteIt Live. With Hyperstudio back there seemed to be excitement about multimedia and project based learning. Adobe was showing off their creative tools and showing off Adobe Acrobat 9, which has some very strong multimedia features. It is now possible to embed a Flash video and create a Portfolio of individual PDF's which can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe was also demonstrating Adobe Acrobat website which gives you data storage, Buzzword, and Sharing capabilities. Acrobat.com is a wonderful website and one each and every teacher should set up immediately. Acorbat.com holds much promise for collaboration and all of the tools are free.