Mario's Top 8 Tech gadgets to pack for NECC 2009
Hi all, my name is Mario Armstrong & I'll be MC'ing the Member Welcome: http://www.iste.org/content/Navigationmenu/membership/member_welcom...
Follow my NECC updates on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarioArmstrong
I wanted to take a quick second to share some of my recommended tech you should bring to NECC:
#1. Laptop with wifi - wifi will be everywhere throughout the convention center so come ready to tweet & take notes
#2. An extra laptop battery - well, cause you just never know or maybe bring an extension cord so you can always connect to an outlet :-)
#3. Ill have my XANTREX backup power solution it costs like $99 but it's worth it when your battery runs dead and you have no immediate access to a wall outlet, this little backup power solution holds a charge for months and gives my laptop an extra 3 hours of battery life
#4. Bring a thin power strip and extension cord & make new friends - For $24 bucks or cheaper a slim power strip comes in very handy for conferences and hotel rooms. Look into the Outlets to Go power strip from Monster. You can use a single outlet to charge up to a total of six outlets, three on either side, spaced far enough apart to handle bulky AC power adapters. You'll make tons of friends at every outlet you encounter :-)
#5.The Flip HD camera or some other type of video camera - there will be so much to see from innovative exhibits to incredible people - capture it all to take back to your classroom or administration and make a short video presentation of what you witnessed and what solutions may be perfect for your environment. In other words use this opportunity to capture the positive impact you see and bring that back to your school to educate others.
#6. A Twitter account - yes, I'm telling you to get on the bandwagon. Hey, if Oprah can tweet so can you ! But seriously twitter is a great way to connect and make new relationships with those that have similar interests. For example if you want to follow all of what's being tweeted about NECC just head to: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23NECC Here you'll get to see a snapshot of twitter users who are actively talking about the NECC conference. Get you FREE username and start posting your 140 characters - head to twitter.com for registration AND MAKE SURE whenever you post something you use the #NECC hastag somewhere in your message so others can read it.
#6. For my note takers who prefer to use pen and paper and not a laptop the tech you should have is called "The Pulse Pen" made by Livescribe. It is a ball point pen that is also a mini computer. The pen records audio it hears and links it to what you write on paper. For example, lets say you are in a NECC session, the pen is capturing all the audio and you are writing notes - 5 days later when you return to your school you simply touch the notes with your Livescribe pen and sit back and listen to the audio that was captured at the time. This is a true advancement in note-taking technology.
#7. If you do step #5 and join Twitter then you should get yourself a really cool Tweetup badge - goto http://tweetupbadges.com/ Tweetup Badges are a really unique way to differentiate yourself from everyone and a way for everyone to easily identify your twitter name. I've ordered my Tweetupbadge.com for the NECC, its about the same size and thickness as credit cards and they come with lanyards, ohh and you get to choose any color combination (maybe your school colors might be neat) These ID badges are made to last so you can use them over and over again and they cost under $10 but hurry shipping can be a bit slow.
BONUS PRIZE: The first person that finds me at NECC '09 (read top of post for a clue of where to find me) and shows me their TweetupBadge will win a cool tech prize. I'm known to carry a stash of awesome tech giveaways so be prepared!
Follow my NECC updates on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarioArmstrong
I wanted to take a quick second to share some of my recommended tech you should bring to NECC:
#1. Laptop with wifi - wifi will be everywhere throughout the convention center so come ready to tweet & take notes
#2. An extra laptop battery - well, cause you just never know or maybe bring an extension cord so you can always connect to an outlet :-)
#3. Ill have my XANTREX backup power solution it costs like $99 but it's worth it when your battery runs dead and you have no immediate access to a wall outlet, this little backup power solution holds a charge for months and gives my laptop an extra 3 hours of battery life
#4. Bring a thin power strip and extension cord & make new friends - For $24 bucks or cheaper a slim power strip comes in very handy for conferences and hotel rooms. Look into the Outlets to Go power strip from Monster. You can use a single outlet to charge up to a total of six outlets, three on either side, spaced far enough apart to handle bulky AC power adapters. You'll make tons of friends at every outlet you encounter :-)
#5.The Flip HD camera or some other type of video camera - there will be so much to see from innovative exhibits to incredible people - capture it all to take back to your classroom or administration and make a short video presentation of what you witnessed and what solutions may be perfect for your environment. In other words use this opportunity to capture the positive impact you see and bring that back to your school to educate others.
#6. A Twitter account - yes, I'm telling you to get on the bandwagon. Hey, if Oprah can tweet so can you ! But seriously twitter is a great way to connect and make new relationships with those that have similar interests. For example if you want to follow all of what's being tweeted about NECC just head to: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23NECC Here you'll get to see a snapshot of twitter users who are actively talking about the NECC conference. Get you FREE username and start posting your 140 characters - head to twitter.com for registration AND MAKE SURE whenever you post something you use the #NECC hastag somewhere in your message so others can read it.
#6. For my note takers who prefer to use pen and paper and not a laptop the tech you should have is called "The Pulse Pen" made by Livescribe. It is a ball point pen that is also a mini computer. The pen records audio it hears and links it to what you write on paper. For example, lets say you are in a NECC session, the pen is capturing all the audio and you are writing notes - 5 days later when you return to your school you simply touch the notes with your Livescribe pen and sit back and listen to the audio that was captured at the time. This is a true advancement in note-taking technology.
#7. If you do step #5 and join Twitter then you should get yourself a really cool Tweetup badge - goto http://tweetupbadges.com/ Tweetup Badges are a really unique way to differentiate yourself from everyone and a way for everyone to easily identify your twitter name. I've ordered my Tweetupbadge.com for the NECC, its about the same size and thickness as credit cards and they come with lanyards, ohh and you get to choose any color combination (maybe your school colors might be neat) These ID badges are made to last so you can use them over and over again and they cost under $10 but hurry shipping can be a bit slow.
BONUS PRIZE: The first person that finds me at NECC '09 (read top of post for a clue of where to find me) and shows me their TweetupBadge will win a cool tech prize. I'm known to carry a stash of awesome tech giveaways so be prepared!
Comment
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Comment by gwyneth jones on June 27, 2009 at 7:55pm -
LOVE gadget guides! but no fair! you post that on june 19th was that enough time (if it's a slow deliver) to have gotten the Tweetup badge??? [grins] also, i have a wikipage called Gadget-A-Go-Go can i snag some of your ideas there? (with credit of course!) but i gotta say i don't like the Flip HD for my needs it's overkill and extra work....though i do love my Mino! Cheers!
~G
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Comment by jerry myers on June 19, 2009 at 11:04am - Top technological gadgets is no.1#,but what literally fuel the hottest advancement in technology is extreme levels of mathematics.Which stem from the deepest use of the zero levels creatively shrunk to equal tiny equations,yet still maintaining link to zero levels over 7000 times the level of Centillions.Making space, energy,propulsion and atomic equations far superior.This is no.1# in mathematical supremacy technology.NOT being exposed.
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Comment by Andrew Pass on June 18, 2009 at 12:32pm - This is great. I'll be standing behind booth 3744 hoping to chat with people about the kinds of technology that they've got with them. Personally, we'll be demonstrating English/language arts and social studies units that use Google Earth.
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Comment by jerry myers on June 18, 2009 at 11:11am
- I realize the importance of keeping up with Technological gadgets.But the literal blood lines of space, Nuclear and mathematical technology is the extreme use of the Numeral and zero levels, applied to equations.This is the UNSUNG force in science being ignored.Mario Armstrong do not address this issue.Neither do media in general.
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Comment by Jennifer Ragan-Fore on June 17, 2009 at 9:38am
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Great tips, Mario! I'd also add an iPhone or iTouch to this list. I predict that we'll see more of these devices and fewer bulky laptops this year than ever before.
(And if you visit Mario at the Member Welcome, you'll have a chance to win some great prizes on this list--a flip video camera, an iTouch, etc., and even some that aren't. Hint: Kindle Reader.)
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Comment by Alice Mercer on June 16, 2009 at 7:23pm - Always an idea worth revisiting as each NECC has new newbies
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Comment by Mario Armstrong on June 16, 2009 at 7:15pm -
@Alice great points and thanks for the Flicker link! Hope to see you there this year!
@Walter no problemo! glad the tips of advice could be of some help!
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Comment by Walter McKenzie on June 16, 2009 at 11:14am - Thanks Mario and Alice! :]
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Comment by Alice Mercer on June 15, 2009 at 9:45pm
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There was a similar thread in the forums last year that you can see here:
http://necc2008.ning.com/forum/topics/1997968:Topic:1224
and there was a flickr group for "what's in your bag at NECC"
http://www.flickr.com/groups/732103@N24/
Lots of advice is still pretty up to day. I always bring my slim power strip with an 8 ft cord which gives me and neighbors power. No one will complain about you uplugging them if you have a power stip you can plug them back into.
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Comment by Mario Armstrong on June 15, 2009 at 9:41pm
- What did I miss? What other tech might you be bringing with you?
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