January 2009 Issue

In this Issue:

	Tulsa Public Schools Gives Students Real-Life Experiences with Handheld Computing Devices
	Focus UK:
	- Eliot Attridge's ICT review of the Nova. Dr. Attridge is the leading reviewer at the United Kingdom Association of Science Education.     - Britain Heads Technology Integration in the Curriculum with ICT     - ASE and BETT Roundup
	Comprehensive Press Coverage in India of the NIIT/Fourier Partnership Launching eGuru Smart Science Station in Chennai Last Month
	Probe of the Month
	Free Experiment Download

Following the ASE and BETT trade shows, the Nova5000 was hailed by reviewers and customers alike as a potentially key learning tool in the ICT education push. In the UK Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an independent subject in student education, playing an important role in the National curriculum. Most countries do not introduce these skills as early as in Britain. Other countries, such as parts of Australia have made this subject available only in the last two years of secondary education or as in the Philippines as a selectable course in late high school. Britain has developed this subject from pre-school to Year 10. Information and Communication Technology is integrated throughout the curriculum as a key element in the Essential Learning of Communication.

The ICT program is co-coordinated by Becta and part of an overall initiative to improve and hasten the introduction of technology in schools. ICT has introduced learning methods through a number of mediums including tablet PCs, like the Nova and simulations, particularly for math, science and computing.

This year's annual ASE Conference took place during January at the University of Reading, England. As in previous years, it was an excellent opportunity for exhibitors from across Britain and around the globe to demonstrate innovative technology solutions for schools and for educators to shop for the latest ICT software. A week later, BETT 2009 was held in Olympia, London, and showcased an impressive array of technology teaching and learning solutions. The show was even bigger this year than in previous years with a tremendous variety of applications and tools. Clear trends indicated increased use of handhelds, display technology, simulations, interactive learning programs and e-safety.

Some clear messages emerged from this year's ASE and BETT conference attendees and exhibitors. Sean Doherty, Fourier's UK Manager told us "While the direction from exhibitors is moving towards the use of handheld devices such as Classmate, many teacher delegates we spoke to are unsure about this direction and harbor a number of concerns. These include battery life, the necessity to add external equipment such as USB devices and the robustness of these products. The teachers I spoke to saw these solutions as useful mobile devices for accessing the Internet rather than complete curriculum tools. The Nova5000 on the other hand is being perceived as a more total solution, combining mobility with Internet accessibility and key bundled educational software.

Another big issue was cost effectiveness and compatibility with existing systems and science Lab purchases. Most data logging companies provide USB type interfaces that will only work with the companies' own range of sensors. At Fourier we have ensured that the Nova5000 student computer and lab station offers the most inputs, is compatible with other leading sensor ranges and is available at one of the most competitive price-points."

Hindu Business Line, Dec 18 (Mumbai, New Delhi & Kolkata edition)
Learning tool: Mr Dov Bruker (left), CEO, Fourier Systems and Mr. L. Balasubramanian, President of School Learning Solutions, NIIT, at the launch of NIIT eGuru Smart Science Station, in Chennai on Wednesday.

At the end of 2008 Fourier made a strategic partnership with the largest company in India for educational training, NIIT. NIIT has already enjoyed extensive recent success with their Math Lab Solution which like all of the company's projects focuses on content and high quality training. The eGuru Smart Science Station, based on Nova technology will continue to be implemented nation-wide in 2009 across government and private educational institutions. NIIT also plan to create a comprehensive video library for the Nova5000 multimedia experiment activities, which will enhance science training and teaching. The company is well structured to manage Nova technology training on a broad scale across India, due to hundreds of training centers.

Bijoy Ghosh from the Hindu Business Line was one of the many journalists to cover the partnership and launch in Chennai last month. "NIIT Ltd, in partnership with Fourier Systems today announced the launch of 'NIIT eGuru Smart Science Station', which enables a range of technology-aided science experiments covering topics such as heat, electricity, sound and measurement of pollution of air and water. It lets students learn by better helping them co-relate classroom learning with day-to-day life. For instance, in field trips, students can carry the portable Smart Science Station to extract real time data such as air and water pollution, according to a press release from NIIT. More than 160 activities can be carried out on the Smart Science Station for which simulation is available with readings being collected through data loggers."

The DT137 probe is a general-purpose photo gate that measures the time it takes for an object to pass between its arms. It is used for a wide variety of experiments in physics and physical science classes.

Typical experiments include measuring the free fall acceleration, studying the swing of a pendulum, measuring the speed of a rolling object and measuring the speed of objects undergoing collisions.

The Photo Gate sensor has a narrow, infrared beam and fast response time, which provides very accurate signals for timing. When the infrared beam between the source and detector is blocked, the output of the photo gate is high (high voltage, 5 V, on the graph) and the light-emitting diode (LED) on the photo gate lights up. When the beam is not blocked; the output is low (low voltage, 0 V, on the graph) and the LED is off.

Click here to learn more about the DT137 Photo Gate

This month's free experiment download is:
Momentum Conservation in Collisions using two DT137 Photo Gate sensors

The experiment examines the conservation of momentum in collisions. The total momentum is conserved in collisions between two carts as long as there are no external forces acting upon them.

Click here to download the experiment PDF file