Change, underestimated?

Here’s something that I assume will eventually come to NZ, Google street view as viewed on google maps. Some cities in the US are completed, the following image comes from Castro street in San Francisco.

This from businessweek

Maybe you’ve seen one cruising the streets in your city: A platinum gray Volkswagen Beetle with a camera that looks like a small disco ball fixed to the roof. They’ve been driving the streets in major cities across the country, snapping some 125 million images to be digitally woven into 360-degree views of everything from New York’s South Street Seaport to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

For a laugh check out some of the random images snapped at mashable.

Technorati Tags:
streetview, google, geography

In the last week of school I made some comments about computers not really being about the programs on them rather the read/write web as being the future. The implications of the upcoming Microsoft deal with schools, whereby $33 Million will be spent on software over the next three years does get me thinking. Why do we as schools have to pay all this money, not just for Microsoft but also other companies when we are the ones who introduce students to the programs, effectively being the gateway for software companies.

With options such as Google Docs and open office there is no barrier to people having access to these programs for free. I am reminded of this when I see students with laptops doing their homework in word pad or Microsoft works because they cannot afford the upgrade to Office. As Teachers I believe we need to understand the tools available and use them as best we can.

Recently I have been using Freemind. This is Open Source (read Free) software for concept mapping. It also has the added bonus of integrating with Mindmeister which allows anyone with an account to edit the concept map live online.

The following video I came across thanks to Karl Fisch’s blog and is simply more food for Teachers looking for reasons to get Technology involved in their classroom.

When I see these changes in students lives I’m reminded by how different my 7 month old daughter views the world of technology.  A normal phone call for her is through the computer using iChat or Skype.  What will school be like for her?  Hopefully not exactly the same as it was for me.