E3 2009: Project Natal Xbox 360 Announcement

Build a better bulb for $10m prize

First To Come Up With Energy-Efficient Replacement Will Be Declared Winner

Eric A Taub & Leora Broydo Vestel

The ubiquitous but highly inefficient 60-watt light bulb badly needs a makeover. And it could be worth millions in government prize money — and more in government contracts — to the first company that figures out how to do it.

Right now, that company could be Philips, the Dutch electronics giant. The company announced on Thursday that it had submitted the first entry for the L Prize, an Energy Department contest that will award up to $10 million to the first person or group to create a new energy-sipping version of the most popular type of light bulb used in America.

As the first entrant, Philips will win the prize if its claims hold up. Testing of the Philips lamp will take close to a year to complete as the department evaluates the firm’s claims. “Philips is confident that the product submitted meets or exceeds all of the criteria for the L Prize,” Rudy Provoost, chief of Philips Lighting, said.

The $10 million is almost beside the point. More important, the winner will receive consideration for potentially lucrative federal purchasing agreements, not to mention a head start at cracking a vast consumer marketplace.

The L Prize has garnered significant attention in the lighting industry because 60-watt incandescent lamps represent 50% of all the lighting in the United States, with 425 million sold each year. The US energy department says that if all those lamps were LED equivalents, enough power would be saved to light 17.4 million American households and cut carbon emissions by 5.6 million metric tons annually.

For decades, incandescent light bulbs continued to bear a strong resemblance to Thomas Edison’s creations, but new energy standards that go into effect in 2012 — and would effectively outlaw today’s bulb — have brought about a period of fertile innovation in the lighting industry.

One of the first attempts at greater efficiency was the nowmaligned compact fluorescent bulb, but there have also been efforts to modify incandescent technology to conform to the new standard. LED bulbs are now available in stores, but those models have limited output and high prices.

Philips has delivered 2,000 prototypes of its bulb to the energy department for testing. The firm says the bulbs meet all the criteria of the contest, which specifies a bulb that reproduces the same amount and color of light made by a 60-watt incandescent bulb, but uses only 10 watts of power. It must also last for more than 25,000 hours — about 25 times longer than a standard light bulb. NYT NEWS SERVICE

BRIGHT IDEA: Philips’ LED light bulb and (right) a regular bulb

DIY - Projector

JAPANESE UNICYCLE REINVENTS THE WHEEL

Honda’s futuristic transportation device, the U3-X is a unicycle wheelchair for the elderly. The device is small enough to use at home and work

It looks a bit like a plastic figure of eight, and its Japanese designers say it could revolutionise the way we get around, in total comfort and without breaking a sweat.

Honda Motor on Thursday unveiled an experimental electric unicycle with inbuilt balance control, a bit of advanced technology Honda borrowed from ASIMO, its humanoid robot. “If my legs get a little weak, I would like to have this around in my house. It’s easy to move around,” said Takanobu Ito, Honda’s CEO.

The self-balancing U3-X is the latest to join a growing number of futuristic transportation devices such as the Segway. Riders steer it by shifting their upper body to move in any direction – forward, backward or diagonally. The 2-feet-2-inch tall Honda machine is small enough and light enough to use at home. It can run for one hour on a single charge off its lithium ion battery, which propels the device at roughly the walking speed of an adult. It stands upright on its own, and maintains its own balance as it scoots along. The ride quality is extremely safe, with the rider sitting on it as though it’s a stool, and gently shifting one’s body weight to move. Weighing in at less than 10 kg, the single wheel on the U3-X is made up of many tiny motorcontrolled wheels, packed inside the bigger wheel. The smaller wheels can move the vehicle left and right.

The U3-X moves forward and backward and by combining the motion of both wheels; the vehicle can swiftly move diagonally as well. Honda declined to give details of the U3-X’s release date or price. Its chief engineer, Yasuhisa Arai, said the company had no immediate plans to sell the device but was looking for fun for potential uses. He said Honda would continue its research and development of the device, including some real-world experiments, to verify its practicality. In a visual presentation, Honda pictured some fun uses it imagines for the U3-X – a group of people on an outing, a teenager using it for skateboard style acrobatics, and even a rider-less version serving drinks.

Although Honda said the U3-X is meant for the elderly, it’s unclear whether they would be coordinated enough to control the device. Last year, Honda showed a gadget, which can support a wearer’s bodyweight, made of mechanical frames attached to a pair of shoes. Honda said it may be used by auto workers. Honda is planning to showcase the U3-X at the Tokyo Motor Show 2009 on October 24, 2009 in Chiba, Japan. AGENCIES

The U3-X fits comfortably between the rider’s legs, and can move in all directions – forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally

JJ School of Art syllabus set to change course

Bella Jaisinghani | TNN

Mumbai: Soon after news of the revamp of the Sir JJ School of Art campus comes word that the syllabus too is due for an overhaul. State-of-the-art equipment and software is being introduced in phases, and eventually, the awkward difference between a five-year diploma course and a four-year degree will also be reversed.

The state government’s department of technical education has agreed to provide the requisite funding to shore up the standards of this once premier institute. “Budgets are still being drawn up but for starters a digital weaving machine worth Rs 45 lakh has been procured from Norway for the textile designing class,’’ says JJ director Hemant Nagdive.

“The purpose behind creating more space by building new classrooms and studios is to revise the syllabus to suit the demands of the modern workplace,’’ he adds. “Also, how can a diploma course last five years while a degree course lasts merely four? We wish to remove this disparity.’’

The director wants to “instil confidence’’ in the students who are talented but are short on confidence due to inadequate training in modern systems and a lack of soft skills. “They find themselves at a disadvantage when they present themselves in the corporate world,’’ he says. “For this reason, we will arrange extra lessons in the English language for students hailing from a vernacular background.’’

Computer education will become compulsory. Over the next eight months, students will have to devote two hours a week to get accustomed to the state-of-the-art Adobe software in their new computer lab.

Conservation of artwork will become part of the curriculum. For this purpose, a restoration laboratory will be set up with the help of a Lucknow-based institute, the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC). Three professors of JJ will travel to that city to receive specialised training so they can teach students.

Students of photography will be able to avail of an ultramodern studio complete with the latest model of digital camera, lights and sundry equipment, some of which has already been installed. Classes will begin once the professors are conversant with its use. In fact, a batch of five teachers recently visited Chennai to train with a photography institute that is run by a former student of Nagdive.

Architect Abha Narain Lambah describes this as a welcome awakening. “In the past decade, the level of the institute did drop. The library did not even have internet stations for students to browse journals and art collections,’’ she says.

A panel of experts, including artists Bose Krishnamachari and Jitish Kallat and art critic Ranjit Hoskote, will advise the authorities regarding the elements of a modern curriculum. Hoskote says, “Studio courses around the world are very different from what they used to be. The syllabus needs to be radically upgraded.’’

100 Suoer tools for learning and teaching - source www..onlineschools.org

Most educators hope that their teaching touches students in exciting ways so that the information conveyed makes an impact. One sure way to engage students is to make their educational experience fun. New teachers just starting out as well as experienced teachers who could use a breath of fresh air in their curriculum will love all the great tools available on the Internet to help make their teaching more entertaining. Some of the following tools will have teachers and students exploring wikis, open courseware, Twitter, blogging, comics, videos, and incorporating plenty of other tools that will help make learning fun.

Wikis

Wikis offer a great way to collaborate and share knowledge. Some of these are just for teachers and others are for students, too.

1. GoAPES. This wiki is for secondary and college-level teachers of Environmental and Earth Science, Geology, and Oceanography. There is an extensive listing of projects, networks, and resources here.
2. Salute to Seuss. PreK to 6th grade classrooms created a project based on a specific Dr. Seuss book and posted it on this wiki. While it is no longer active, it is full of great ideas for teachers.
3. Welker’s Wikinomics. Economics students can use this wiki to enhance their education and are also invited to contribute to the wiki.
4. eToolBox. This wiki is an excellent resource for teachers seeking ideas and tools for integrating technology into their lessons.
5. Kidpedia. An online encyclopedia written for kids and by kids, Kidpedia is a great example of an awesome hands-on opportunity for students.
6. Flat Classroom Project 2008. This is the third year for this project that promotes global communication and collaboration.
7. Horizon Project 2008. A sister project to Flat Classroom Project, Horizon Project also offers opportunities for connections with other classrooms around the world.
8. Digitally Speaking. Digitally Speaking offers resources and ideas for teachers to use free tools to enhance their classrooms with technology in innovative ways.
9. Educational Origami. This wiki is part of a project to bring 21st century teaching and learning into the classroom.
10. Salk’s Periodic Table. On the home page, this looks like a common periodic table. Clicking on each of the elements opens up a new page with information about that element. Use this in your science class or as a model for your class to create something similar.
11. WikiEducator. This wiki is dedicated to opening up education and teachers to free content through the Open Education Resources Foundation.

Open Courseware

Open courseware provides content from real college-level courses that is available free of charge online. These classes vary widely by subject and offer interesting content for all levels of learners.

12. MIT OpenCourseWare. Both teachers and students can access almost 2,000 college courses that can be implemented into their classes. MIT also offers a section especially for high school students called Highlights for High Schools.
13. Open UW. University of Washington offers a handful of classes that include mostly history and literature.
14. UC Berkeley Webcasts. UC Berkeley offers audio recordings of many classes being offered each semester as well as archived recordings from past classes.
15. Notre Dame OpenCourseWare. Check out the selection of liberal arts classes available here.
16. Open Learning Initiative. Carnegie Mellon offers several classes in their open courseware section.
17. The UMass Boston OpenCourseWare. Give the classes at University of Massachusetts Boston a try. Most of their classes focus on math and sciences.
18. Tufts OpenCourseWare. Life sciences are the bulk of the free courses available at Tufts University.
19. Utah State OpenCourseWare. Browse through the wide variety of open courseware classes offered at Utah State University.
20. Open Yale Courses. Yale offers introductory courses in subjects ranging from astronomy to literature.
21. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OpenCourseWare. Johns Hopkins offers free public health courses with topics such as health policy and global health.
22. Stanford Engineering Everywhere. Tech savvy students will enjoy the computer science, artificial intelligence, and electrical engineering classes at Stanford.

Blogging

These blogging tools will help get you and your class started on fun adventures in the blogosphere.

23. Blogging Basics: Creating Student Journals on the Web. This tutorial covers all the basics to get you up to speed on classroom blogging.
24. Class Blogmeister. Designed specifically for educators, this free service allows you to create a class blog and find other blogs by grade level, state, or country. Due to the safety features on this platform, this service is rarely blocked by school filters.
25. Edublogs. Also made just for educators, this blogging platform provides lots of features and short, simple URLs for the blogs that make them easy to share with parents.
26. Blogger. Blogger is teamed up with Google and has easy to use blogs that you can set up with little tech knowledge.
27. WordPress. The free WordPress blogs provide access to tons of tools such as spellcheck, integrated stats tracker, and spam protection.
28. 21Classes. Set up classroom homepages and host and manage blogs for your students or let students host their own blogs with this free service.
29. ClustrMaps. ClustrMaps tracks the geographic location of visitors that appear as dots on a world map.
30. Classtools.net. Create Flash-animated games, activities, or diagrams that you can integrate into your class blog.
31. Gickr. This tool lets you create a photo slide show easily and without using Flash that you can add to any blog or social network.

Twitter Tools

Twitter has caught on in academic circles as a powerful tool in education. Use these free tools to use Twitter with your classes.

32. Atlas. Use this tool to see a map of tweets in an interactive geography lesson.
33. TwitterLocal. Zero in on a specific geographic location to find out what people are tweeting about in that place.
34. Twitxr. A great way to document a project on your Twitter feed, use this tool to send photos from a mobile phone to your Twitter feed.
35. TwitPic. Students can view photos from all around the world for a first-hand look at places far beyond the classroom.
36. Outwit Me. Let students play these fun and educational Twitter games in class.
37. twiggit. This tool combines Digg with Twitter and is a great way for students to find interesting news articles.
38. QuoteURL. If your class is creating a project with several different tweets, use this tool to put them together on one page.
39. TweetScan. A great alternative to search Twitter, type keywords into this tool and have tweets that match your keywords emailed to you.
40. Tweetizen. Start your own group of Twitter users or connect with a group already going strong. This is an excellent way to find experts in a specific field.
41. Twrivia. Get a daily trivia question with this Twitter tool.
42. Plinky. Each day this app provides a prompt in the form of a question or challenge. Have students reply by posting text, photos, maps, or images in response to the prompt.
43. @EarthquakeNews. This twitter feed is provided by the USGS Earthquake Center and sends tweets on any earthquake that hits around the world and registers over 2.5.
44. twittories. Students can practice storytelling when they participate in this project that asks each person to add 140 characters to contribute to the ongoing story.
45. twitterbookgroup. Have students take part of this book group or model one of your own after this one where a book is posted each month and participants leave their thoughts on the book in a tweet.
46. Edmodo. If you haven’t already embraced Twitter, use this private microblog similar to Twitter that is designed especially for teachers and students.

Teaching with Comics

Using comics in the classroom is a great way to reach students and make your teaching more entertaining. Check out websites such as Comics in the Classroom for great ideas on how you can use these tools to create engaging lessons.

47. Comic Creator. Supply the information you want in this tool that provides people, animals, thought and speech bubbles, props, and backdrops.
48. Howtoons. These comics from Instructables are specifically for teaching children how to do stuff. Let students use these cartoons to learn how to do projects or use them as a role for students creating their own how-to comics.
49. Tech Module: Using Comic Life in the Classroom. Learn how to use Comic Life, an inexpensive comic generator, in the classroom with this tutorial that also includes tons of fun lesson plans from several outside resources.
50. Pixton. Opt to let students create their own individual comic strip or try the free trial of Pixton for Schools for a class project.
51. Make Beliefs Comix. This tool allows students to create comic strips with lots of options for customizing their strips and plenty of teacher resources too.
52. Bitstrip. Let students create their own comics or browse through other people’s comics posted at this site.
53. ArtisanCam. Students can also create comics with this tool as well as other art projects.
54. BeFunky. Have students use digital photos to turn them into digital comics with this tool.
55. Comiqs. Use ready-made templates or design your own images with this cartoon generator that creates a slide show with the results.
56. PikiKids. Students upload images, then choose their layout, add speech bubbles, and more to create their own comics.

Educational Videos

Incorporating video into your lessons allows students to connect with the outside world without leaving the classroom. These sites all provide excellent educational videos for free.

57. TeacherTube. The videos here are made by and for educators.
58. Nova Teachers Watch Video Online. Teachers can choose short videos (under 15 minutes) from NOVA’s magazine-style series to enhance lessons or choose longer videos (1-3 hours) from their programs for a more complete lesson.
59. Teacher’s Domain. This site provides video and audio segments from PBS programming.
60. TED. These videos feature inspirational talks by fascinating people from all walks of life.
61. Teachers TV Videos. This site from the UK hosts a wealth of educational videos.
62. Learner.org. This site promotes quality teaching with videos for teachers, most of which are free.
63. iMovie in Teacher Education. Watch four movies that show how teachers incorporate digital video in their classroom instruction.
64. TEACH. This documentary follows four first-year teachers working in some of the toughest schools.
65. YouTube EDU. Visit this specific branch of YouTube devoted to videos related to education.

Tools to Make Writing Fun

Writing can be difficult for many students, but these tools are great for drawing out creativity and the awesome power of words.

66. Big Huge Thesaurus. Use this site as a reference source to look up synonyms, antonyms, and rhymes, then get blog post ideas and story plot ideas too.
67. Visual Thesaurus. This tool maps out synonyms and offers a fresh way to explore words with related connotations.
68. McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Thirteen Writing Prompts. This tool offers a variety of different prompts ranging from ending sentences of a short story to writing about specific scenarios.
69. Creative Writing Prompts. Get over 300 writing prompts that range from writing about physical objects to specific memories to creating a poem.
70. Imagination Prompt Generator. Have students browse through these prompts or use the first one that comes up.
71. Writer’s Digest – Writing Prompts. With pages and pages of writing prompts available here, you and your students won’t run out of ideas to jumpstart writing.
72. Writing Prompts. Click the button to get a random selection of writing prompts with this tool.
73. WritingFix: The Daily Prompt Generator. Students can get questions that leads to writing prompts with this interactive writing prompt generator.
74. Portrait of Words: Writing Challenge Photo Prompts. Writers are invited to view a set of photographs posted on this blog and are challenged to create a story around them. Photos change each month.
75. Writing Prompt Generator. Select from one of the three buttons to generate different prompts to spark creativity.
76. About.com Creative Writing Prompts. If you need more writing prompts, visit this page that lists several links to ideas and writing prompt generators.

Fun Tools for Students

Students will love these great tools that range from learning the history of stories to creating a map of a persuasive argument to an interactive periodic table.

77. Dynamic Periodic Table. This interactive periodic table provides students with fun and easy access to detailed information on each element.
78. Online Etymology Dictionary. Let students discover the interesting and entertaining origins and history of common words and phrases.
79. Awesome Stories. Find original sources from national archives, libraries, universities, museums, and government databases for awesome stories.
80. Gliffy. Create sharp, professional looking flow charts, diagrams, drawings, and more with this tool.
81. Glogster. The entire class can work on multimedia projects with this tool.
82. Create a Graph. Students can easily create a pie, bar, line, area, or XY graph that they can print or save.
83. Grow a Tree. When it’s time to study family, using this family tree generator makes it fun for students to show off their family members.
84. Persuation Map. Map out an argument for a debate or persuasive essay with this tool.

Professional Networks

Connect with other teachers to discover fun teaching tips while also expanding your professional and social network.

85. Classroom 2.0. Join this active professional networking site to learn about web 2.0 and collaborative technology in education.
86. Passionate Teachers. Share ideas, strategies, and resources with these teachers who feel passionately about their work and promoting quality education.
87. Edutagger. Find interesting articles and tag them to share with other teachers or browse other educators’ finds.
88. NextGen Teachers. This organization supports teachers making positive changes in education through technology.
89. Education Leadership. Education Leadership offers a place for educators to discuss what makes effective leaders in education.
90. The Schools United. This professional networking site brings schools around the globe together in order to collaborate, communicate, and share resources.
91. TeachAde. You can connect with other teachers as well as find resources for professional development at this online networking site.

Sites Offering Great Ideas and Inspiration

Be sure to check out the resources and ideas available at these awesome sites that are made exclusively for teachers and students.

92. Discovery Education. Find a plethora of classroom resources aw well as resources for students to use at home on Discovery Education’s site.
93. Edutopia. This site is packed with inspiration for teachers and students, including articles, blogs, videos, and much more.
94. Google for Educators. Google hosts lots of tools, opportunities, news, and more to help promote quality education.
95. National Geographic Education. This site offers resources and programs for educators and students.
96. Smithsonian Education. Get resources tailored to your geographic location, grade level, or subject with lesson plans, field trips, professional development, and much more from the Smithsonian.
97. Creative Teaching. This site is dedicated to helping teachers create creative and effective lessons.
98. Adventures of CyberBee. Find plenty of ideas here from treasure hunts to web projects with the projects on this site that are directed to younger learners.
99. Scholastic Teachers. This popular site provides teaching resources, activities for students, and information on Scholastic books and authors.
100. TEAMS Educational Resources. This site offers a wealth of projects to inspire teachers and is organized in an easy-to-use fashion.

Park may come up at Gorai dumpyard

Anil Singh I TNN

Mumbai: The BMC hopes that it will earn a total of Rs 73 crore from the closure of Gorai dumping ground and Rs 26 crore earned from carbon credit is essentially for the capture and combustion of methane gas emanating from the dump which results in a substantial reduction of greenhouse emissions.

As heartening as the cashfrom-trash bargain, however, is the transformation of the 50-acre dumping ground, more than twice the size of the Oval Maidan, from a stinking mountain of garbage into a contoured, landscaped hill. The initial plan for a golf course here seems too optimistic but it can surely serve as a public park after three to fours years, by which time the dump will have reached its final shape.

Garbage was being dumped at this plot adjoining the Gorai creek since 1972. Thirty-five years later when the dump was closed in December 2007, it was receiving 2,200 tonnes of refuse a day, and the 2.3 million tonnes of accumulated waste had stacked up to 32 metres, as high as an 11-storey building. By this time, the urban sprawl had reached the edges of the dump and pressure from local residents in the form of agitations and lawsuits played its part in expediting its closure.

The consultants appointed by the municipal corporation, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL & FS), recommended scientific closure of the dump as it had reached saturation point. The cost of the project, the first of its kind in the country, is Rs 62 crore, which includes post-closure maintenance of 15 years.

“The Gorai experiment succeeded because of proper project development and structuring coupled with unstinted support from the civic authorities,’’ said Chetan Zaveri, vice-president of the environment division of IL & FS, which worked out the carbon advance transaction.

Today, not only is the dumping ground unrecognisable from what it was two years ago, the stench from it has also vanished. In fact, standing atop the 26-metre high plateau on the mound, this correspondent got a breathtaking view of the lazily flowing creek, the lush green mangroves and the soaring Vipassana pagoda in the backdrop.

The contractors, United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) and their joint-venture partners, Vanderwiel Strotgas BV, basically flattened the top of the garbage mound and created gentler slopes after which it was sealed in three layers of dense plastic at varying depths. The plastic sheets prevent the seepage of rainwater and the formation of leachate, a cocktail of highly toxic compounds.

Over the topmost plastic sheet is a two-feet layer of construction rubble topped by one feet of earth which supports foliage in the form of grass, shrubs and small trees with shallow roots.

“An intricate subterranean network of pipes collect the gases, 70% of which is methane, from the rotting garbage and relays it through 40 wells to a chimney where it is flared,’’ explained Sundar Balasubramanian, UPL’s vicepresident, Environment Business. One tonne of methane is equivalent to 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide in terms of global warming potential.

To prevent the leachate from seeping into the creek, a seven-metre deep concrete wall has been built into the edges of the dump. Whatever leachate is formed because of the existing moisture is channelised into a processing tank to neutralise its toxicity.

“Earlier, the mangroves ringing the dump had turned brown because of the water pollution but now they have regenerated,’’ said P S Awate, executive engineer of the civic corporation’s solid waste department, pointing to the dark green foliage on the fringes of the dump.

What are carbon credits
Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from industrial processes have contributed in a big way to global warming. To counter this and get countries to reduce emissions, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), provided for by the Kyoto Protocol, allows a developed country to take up a greenhouse gas reduction project activity in a developing country where the cost of such projects is usually much lower. The developed country will get carbon credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country will receive the capital and clean technology to implement the project. One carbon credit equals one tonne of carbon, and these credits are bought and sold on international carbon credit exchanges.