Have Your Students Build Multi-touch Tablets for Under $15

...and learn about optical multi-touch techniques in the process

 I found the above video on StumbleUpon a couple of months ago. That video led me to this link about building a cheap and easy multi-touch display called the MTmini. Apparently I was to busy to think but I had the good sense to at least bookmark the link in Diigo. While looking ahead in my curriculum I realized that next quarter we start talking about computer peripherals and in that is a section about multi-touch displays.

I remembered the link and started looking online for where I could find the necessary parts and how much they would cost. I decided to stash the links I find here so that others can use them (and so I can find them later).


What You'll Need

Here is the list of the required items with links and costs. I will update the list if I notice a price change or if the item no longer available at the link:
  1. Cardboard/Plastic Box- Depending on the amount of displays you plan on making you can either find an appropriate sized box around the house or buy packs of 25 at Staples. Tip: ship to a local store to avoid shipping costs.
    • Cost: approx. $1.50/box ($36 for a pack of 25)
  2. Clear Acrylic/Glass- Check your local hardware stores or sign shops for deals on clear acrylic (glass may be to fragile). 1/8" thickness should be enough for a small display. You can order pre-cut sheets here cut to the specific size for the box you bought. Tip: order the sheet 1/16"-1/8" oversize to ensure a secure fit.
    • Cost: $3.75 per 12"x12" sheet (15% discount on 10 or more)
  3. Paper- You will need on standard size sheet of printer paper per tablet. You most likely have access to enough sheets of standard paper around your school or home. If not you can grab a ream at Staples when you pick up your boxes.
    • Cost: Free-$6.00
  4. Webcam- The instructions say any generic webcam will do but recommends a Sony Eye-Toy. You can find both on Amazon for about the same price
    • Cost: approx $5+shipping
  5. Computer- This is only item that I am not going to include on the list. You will need a computer for each MTmini you are going to build
    • Cost: Already Owned
  6. Software- All required downloads are listed on the website.
    • Cost: Free
Total Cost per Student= $10-$15


This project is an excellent way to teach students about optical multi-touch techniques as well as how to install and troubleshoot drivers and software. The website this is derived from has project guidelines that allow students to start with the above project and gradually build up to making a full size multi-touch surface like the one in the video below. I am planning on doing this with my students around the beginning of December, I will update with tips and tricks to pulling this off as soon as I can.

Teachers Are Like Silicon Valley CEOs...

Read Write Web is one of the best sites available for interesting articles that may or may not apply to education but are interesting none the less. This was what attracted me to this article titled, "The Pay-It-Forward Culture: Silicon Valley's Practical Generosity". Written by Steve Blank the article describes the culture present in Silicon Valley from the 1960's through today which helps entrepreneurs and start-ups by providing information and lessons that can only be learned through years of experience. This immediately reminded me of the current culture among teachers.

Just like the CEOs described in the article, teaching is becoming a pay-it-forward culture. However we are actually taking the idea to another level. While the Silicon Valley culture is mostly limited to Silicon Valley, teachers have leveraged social media in order to more easily share the things that help one another succeed. Those that participate are able to leverage the collective intelligence of thousands of other educators. Reaching out to other educators who collectively have seen much more within the world of education than your local network could ever hope to experience. 

We as educators should take it as a point of pride that we have been able to so easily migrate from our own local PLN's to the global teacher network that has become quite powerful on social networking sites sch as Twitter. In the past 30 days "Education" peaked at .11% of Twitter traffic (for comparison the term "Emmys" peaked at 2.29% this year). 

While that doesn't seem like alot it must be understood that Twitter recently announced 100 million "active users" (users that post at least once a month). That means nearly 110,000 Twitter users were posting something relating to the topic of education.

Even assuming 25% of those posts were actually irrelevant to educators that leaves 80,000+ posts relevant to education. That means that if an educator were to log onto Twitter on a given day they could potentially have access to thousands of educators actively sharing their thoughts and ideas, most of which can be highly relevant to that person. Scott McLeod had a great post on 20 great things an educator would have found if they were on Twitter the day before.

As educators we must be on top of the latest trends and changes within our society. As cliche as it may sounds we are literally teaching the future. We must know what is coming to the best of our ability, and be willing to share that information as openly as possible. Silicon Valley CEOs may be creating the future, but we are creating the Silicon Valley CEOs. So get out there and network, and remember to pay-it-forward.

Irresistable

This comic is based on an experience my wife had on her first day back to school.

I'm always looking for stories to illustrate. Got a great one? Let me know!

3 Wishes...

You took this photo
You are spending your last days off for summer on a beautiful beach in Hawaii (I can dream can't I?). You decide to take a stroll along the coast in order to take in the scenery. You are enjoying the walk, digging your toes into the wet sand as the tide kicks up to your bare ankles. Suddenly you wince in pain as your toe stubs an object buried in the sand. You reach down and uncover a lamp. It looks old, but through the aged dirt and grime there seems to be some writing etched into the side. You attempt to clear the dirt away with your hand when suddenly the lamp begins to shake and a large burst of smoke envelopes you. A genie has flown out of the lamp and proceeds to offer you three wishes, however there is a catch. The genie explains that he is a former educator, and explains that while you have three wishes you must use those wishes to improve your classroom. You can't wish for smarter students or a new room (not the most talented genie) but you can wish for new items to be put in your room. What do you wish for? Here is what I would ask for:


#1 IdeaPaint

I fell in love with this stuff from the moment I heard of it. IdeaPaint is a paintable whiteboard. After having read several reviews on the product I have a high confidence that it work exactly as advertised. Imagine having a white board the size of the wall, letting students create giant graphic organizers and illustrate ideas on a canvas as big as their imagination. Or how about painting desks or tables in your room. Allowing students to collaborate by spilling their mind directly onto the table. Check out the video below to see IdeaPaint in action.
Students draw on their desk because they simply can't keep the ideas in their own head. Let them free their mind and decorate their own space without the fear of having to clean it all up. Plus it can be really enjoyable to just let loose over once in a while.
Coloring! This kid loves it!


#2 Surface Table

Let's take the idea of student desk interaction a little further. Several years ago Microsoft introduced their Surface table. A large multi-touch interactive table which allows users to interact with photos, videos and files using natural gestures. This would have an incredible impact in a classroom, allowing multiple students to interact with the lesson simultaneously. Below is a video of a surface table in a classroom

Here is the best part of this whole post, a link from Maximum PC which not only describes the theory behind how a multi-touch surface  works (with little illustrations) but also how to construct one yourself for around $500. Considering these tables cost several thousand dollars a piece $500 is nothing. The best part is the build can be accomplished with a few basic tools and some general know-how about electronics. I am currently working on funding to have my senior computer tech class build one of these in order to show off at the yearly "open-house" my school has. This would be a show stopper and I think that my students would be able to handle this build. 


#3 Tablets

I am lucky enough to have a forward thinking school with a 1-1 initiative starting this year. I do think however that netbooks are quickly becoming a thing of the past as people notice that tablets fit perfectly in that phone-to-laptop niche.

Now I don't have a definite stance on what tablet would be most useful in a school setting (I'm not exactly an Apple fanboy). For a few months I heard a lot of talk about a company called Kno who was getting into the tablet game with a focus on education however they soon back tracked (the tablets were incredibly expensive and looked rather unwieldy) and said they would focus only on the software.

Turns out that was probably a good idea. Kno recently announced they are up and running and they are not taking the challenge lightly. They offer over 10,000 textbooks on everything from Math to Computer Technology, and these aren't just online versions of old textbooks. There are iPad, online and Facebook flavors, with each getting great new features often. Students can highlight, annotate and mark-up any place in the book and then share those mark-ups with each other via various methods. While the iPad is the only supported tablet right now I predict that we will be seeing great things from Kno, and I believe that they may become a standard in schools in the near future.

What would you wish for in your classroom? Let me know in the comments.
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