I think the subtitle of this list should be “How to impress your kids with your uber cool tech knowledge”. It all wouldn’t fit on one line so I decided for the simpler title. These ideas and products were discussed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this year. I was in tech girl heaven there. There was such a wealth of information to enjoy there and I wanted to share those ideas with you.

  1. Parrot’s AR Drone – The AR Drone is a wifi helicopter with two cameras which could be used indoors or outdoors. It had the cool factor to gather crowds wherever it was demonstrated and we were all saying ‘Wow’ to the fact that all of this was controlled through an iPhone. Take a look at the videos on their webpage and you’ll see why it was one of the most popular booths at CES.
  2. Prezi – Prezi is an online presentation tool which can be used completely on the web – no need for software to be resident on your computer. The most innovative thing about Prezi is how intuitive it is to use. Instead of individual slides you lay out your information on one worksheet and zoom and page into each of the ideas step by step. My words don’t do it justice. Watch the introductory video and then click on the ‘showcase’ tab to see some of the innovative ways people have used Prezi. My 8 year old uses it to study for spelling tests now. My 13 year old just created a presentation about ‘The Influence of the United States Media on China.’ My husband has used it during brainstorming sessions at work. It’s flexible!
  3. Intel’s Infoscape Prototype – This amazing concept product had people standing with their mouths dropping to the ground. The display consisted of two 7′ X 7′ touch screens. On each screen were open live links for over 500 items set in a grid of cubes. When you touched one of the cubes it flew open and was ready for use. The processing feat alone was amazing (this is Intel after all), but the intuitive visual user interface could be used in so many educational and corporate situations. It was a bit of today brought into a future idea. Brilliant.
  4. Scratch v. 1.4 from the MIT Media Lab – Want your child to do more than just play games on the internet? Scratch is a free, interactive website developed to teach kids basic programming techniques and it is just as powerful as the tools used by current software developers. It’s a fantastic teachable moment to see your child create a sprite for an animation, give it the instructions which will make it become part of a game, and then set it in motion. There is a whole community of young users set up around sharing and collaborating the fruits of their labors. It’s a great introduction to programming, logic, and imaginative technology.
  5. Educational iPhone Apps from Duck Duck Moose – This last items is a fun thing you can download and use immediately on your iPhone. The cost is minimal, but your young child will love it. Let’s just call this a preview of what can be done for children’s gaming when using a touch screen. When compared to the flat design of past ideas, it is a winner. I hope to see more from this company because the apps they have created make use of the touch technology to an educational advantage. Wheels on the bus, version 2.0.
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