IBM LENOVO L3000 Y410 IS AVAILABLE NOW

According to Lenovo , The L3000 Y410 is featured with up to Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 processor at 1.66GHz, a 667MHz frontside bus, the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 to run the laptop's 14.1″-diagonal WXGA (1280 x 800) display, 2GB of system memory which is expandable to 4GB, as well as a 160GB hard drive, and a DVD burner. The laptop is accompanied by an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera ,

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Laptop Rentals For Trips & Travel

As the end of fall is fast approaching many of us have already started planning our winter vacation. Some of us want a getaway to a warmer climate while others dream of that snow covered cabin for a ski trip or even just a quite time away from the daily grind.

What ever your reason, and where ever your destination, don’t forget about a laptop rental from your Tech Travel Agent.

A laptop rental from RentOurLaptops.com can be delivered right to your hotel, condo or ski lodge. Local delivery of your laptop rental saves you the trouble of getting your laptop through airport security, or the general risk involved in traveling with any fragile electronic device.

A laptop rental for your winter getaway is the perfect accessory to help you stay connected while out of town. A laptop rental allows you to stay in touch with friends or co-workers via e-mail, or even an instant messenger, or video service. Don't forget a laptop rental is always a great backup for your digital camera, enabling you to take virtually an unlimited number of photos and then offload them to your laptops hard drive.

To arrange for a laptop rental on your next vacation call your Tech Travel Agent today at 800-736-8772 or visit our Laptop Rental Website.

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NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800M GTX COMING IN NOVEMBER

NVIDIA has announced that , they will release the GeForce 8800M GTX during the third week of November . From Inquirer reports ,GeForce 8800M GTX is a DirectX 10 high performance video card for gaming notebooks. The first 8800M GTX GPUs will feature 512MB of video memory, with 256MB models to follow.Due to laptop-specific thermal and power consumption requirements , the card will operate at

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APPLE MAC OS X 10.5 LEOPARD OFFICIALLY RELEASED

Apple has released the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system on 26 October which brings "more than 300 '' new features and some changes over the previous 10.4 Tiger version. The new version of Mac OS X requires a minimum of 512 MB of system memory and is designed to run on any Mac computer with an Intel, Power PC G5 or G4 (867 Mhz orfaster) processor. Leopard is a 64 -bit OS also compatible

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DUAL 3G LAPTOP CHIP

Qualcomm launched a chip which will make easier to build laptops compatable with the 2 domina cellular broadband technologies in United States. The major AT&T uses the High Speed-Packet Access technology for data transfer and Verizon and Sprint uses the Evolution-Data Optimised technology. They compete with the WI-FI technology.These technologies try to improve the speed at which the data is send

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SAMSUNG'S 1.8 '' SSDs to STORE 512GB of DATA

Samsung Electronics has announced 30 - nanometer 64 Gigabit (Gb) Flash memory chip . It is first time developed by a company . This will enable the company to produce a 1.8 -inch solid state drive with 512GB of data storage capacity, TG Daily reports. Also, 16 of these 30 nm 64 Gb NAND Flash chips (one chip represents 8 GB of storage) can be packed into a memory card form factor, such as SD or

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FINDING THE BEST LAPTOP

Today’s laptop computers popularly called as notebooks are very much convenient and portable to use. There are various models available in the market and may get confused as to select which of the model. Here are a few simple tips on how to find a suitable laptop. Prioritise Price, Performance,Portability: Before selecting the model, one must decide his needs to be fulfilled. If the

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OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) XO Laptop Faces Production Delay

The non-profit organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has announced that its low-cost XO notebook computer for poor children faces a production delay, which would cause a shortage of these computers available in the United States and Canada as part of a holiday giving program.Mary Lou Jepsen, chief technology officer for the OLPC Foundation said, it would now be tough to get those laptops to

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DELL INSPIRON LAPTOPS TO SELL BY STAPLES

From 11th, Staples will start selling the Dell Inspiron 1521 and Inspiron 1721 notebooks. Although Dell has a retail agreement with Wal-Mart, In the United States. But according to Dell, Staples willbe the only office superstore to offer Dell products in stores and through its web site. Along with the 15.4-inch Inspiron 1521 and 17-inch Inspiron 1721 laptops, both based on AMD

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STRONGEST SECURITY HARD DRIVE

Seagate has announced the hard drive which is said to be the world’s strongest encrypting 2.5inch hard drive. The company says that the intial products are shipped for a laptop company. It could be seen soon in the market. Seagate's Momentus 5400 FDE.2 (Full Disc Encryption) hard drive uses perpendicular recording technology. This means larger capacity which is 160GB. It AES

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Parent Teacher Conferences-Reflection

As previously posted, I changed the way I did conferences this semester. Instead of concentrating on my students' progress via their grades in class, I conducted conferences with their learning as the focus. I asked my students to reflect on their learning based on the following questions:

• Assess your learning in class so far this semester. Look at your participation, growth in writing, comprehension, etc..
• Where, in terms of your learning, do you want to be at the end of the semester?
• How are you going to get there?
• What can I do to help?
• Write a message to your parents.

The students then were asked to bring home a copy of their learning assessment for their parents to read before conferences as well as place a copy in my class drop box for me to access at conferences. Most of my students did give a copy of their assessment to their parents. Some parents hadn't read it but had been told by their kids they had a letter for them about school and so they read it off my laptop as part of our conference time. Only a few parents had no idea their child had written a learning assessment. Overall, the reaction I received from a number of parents was positive to what they read regardless of how their child grade-wise was doing in my class (we post grades online so almost all of our parents know their child's grade). In fact, I recall only once throughout two nights of conferences actually talking about grades- the student is failing.

What was difficult about this whole process was that 5 minutes for conferences was definitely not long enough. I had actual conversations with parents about their child and feel like I took away more from them about how their child is growing as a learner, or how their child needs to grow as a learner. I felt like I listened as much as I talked which is a huge change from the way I participated in conferences before. I was the one relaying all my information to the parent rather than allowing them to give me insight into their child and react to what their child had written.

Here are a few samples of things students said in their assessments:

Student 1: I have grown a lot so far during this year in terms of my reading comprehension and the understanding of different texts. Being in this class has definitely improved these things. I love coming to this class every day because it is very enjoyable and it is a great learning environment. The way that our class learns is so different that it is almost motivational for me to learn in it because it is so much fun. We have already read Macbeth and Lord of the Flies so far this year. Every day we would have discussions in class about the story, which not only allowed me to share my ideas and interact, but it allowed me to gain more understanding of what was going on in the story. When our class was required to read and annotate Lord of the Flies it helped me learn about the book by myself. My reading understanding has definitely improved. I also love participating and speaking up in this class because everyone will listen and then be able to give you feed back about your thoughts.

At the end of this semester I want to be able to read a book without any annotations or discussions but still be able to fully understand it. I want my mind processing to become much better, and for me to have deeper thoughts even when reading a book that was not assigned in class. I love reading and it would be great if I were able to understand something without having to research or ask questions about it on paper. I want my head to do all of the work in my head and be able to understand a book that I might read in my free time.

I am going to achieve this goal by doing all of my work for reading books. I will annotate and ask questions which will then teach me to do thinking for myself in my head. It is something that I will have to work for, and it will also come as I get older and grow in my thoughts and ways.

Mrs. Smith, you can help me achieve this goal by having more class discussions and helping me ask good questions. It might sound like a funny goal, but it would be amazing if I could understand everything that I read. Even if it was some book that had nothing to do with our class. I don’t know if there is much else you can do to help me achieve this goal. It is mostly something that I have to work for.

Student 2: Mrs. Smith’s class really is my favorite class. I actually understand what is going on. She always has interesting and different projects for us to do so that we don’t lose interest and work hard. Even though I like the work in her class I think that she kind of gives us a lot of it. Even though her class is my favorite, it is also the class that I have the most homework in. But the reason why I don’t mind doing it so much is because a lot of it is done on the computer and I like working on the computer. But I always do the work that we are given. But now that cross country is over I will have a lot more time to work on my homework and assignments. I know you think that I am a horrible student that doesn’t work hard and only cares about her social life, but I’m really not like that. I promise that my grades will go up and I am striving for an A in this class, Soccer/ Rec, and US History and a B in Science and Math. I really want those grades by the end of the semester. I am going to start going into my teachers when I need help after school and during my off hours, I’m going to spend less time on the phone willingly instead of being grounded from it, and I’m going to start studying really really hard on all my tests. I don’t like studying for tests very much but I will start doing it more often. Mrs. Smith doesn’t have to do anything to help me other than when I go in for help because she is already doing a good job teaching me in class. But the only thing I would like for you to help me with is to not put me down so much. I know I have bad grades, but I’m working on it really hard and when you take my phone away and tell me I can’t go trick or treating with my best friend. High school is already stressful enough and it doesn’t help very much when things like that happen.

Student 3:

1. Assessing my learning: I feel like I have learned a lot this semester, but not just learned. I feel like I have actually connected things we learned to life. Macbeth and LOF, for instance, were very relevant to human nature. It was so interesting to read these and talk about humans and society and the attrition thereof. The discussions we have are awesome and I always want to keep going. I think the main thing I need to work on is responding to others more on blogger. I need to learn how to have actual conversations on blogger (since it is hard for me to do this when there is no actual verbal dialogue going on). Other than that though, I feel pretty confident with what I have learned.

2. At the end of the semester I really want to take the idea of “learning outside of the school walls” to a whole new level. I definitely incorporate what I learn with how I live, but I feel like I could do more. Overall, there is no specific goal I want to achieve, like better grades or anything, just continuing to add my learning to my way of living. After all, that is the true reason for education.

3.I just want to continue conferencing with you about papers. This really helps me to understand what I need to fix in my writing, and it is just so cool that a teacher actually wants to spend time talking about learning instead of just being a teacher when in the classroom.

Student 4: I have grown in class in a few different ways. First off, I am able to make connections to different things better. For example, I was able to make a lot of connections to Lord of the Files and Macbeth. I have also been able to manage my time better. I feel that I have participated in class quite a bit. I not only raise my name in class, but I also participate in all of the class blog discussions. I feel that my writing has always been pretty good, but I feel that I have gotten a little bit better at extending my word choice. For example, I think that I used good vocabulary words in my Macbeth essay. I think that I do have a good foundation for my comprehension. I feel that I really benefit when we discuss the book in class, though.

At the end of the semester, I would like to be in the position where I feel less stressed. At times, we have a lot of homework, and on other nights we don’t have hardly any at all. I would like to have a more constant amount so that we can plan out nightly homework a little bit more. I would also like to write more essays, rather than do so many projects.

I will reach that goal by trying to plan ahead more. I will try to use all of my time wisely. I will continue doing what I have been doing all semester. I think that I have been doing a pretty good job this semester.

You can help my by giving us more warning for all of our projects, and assignments. I think that you could maybe print us out a sheet that has due dates and our schedule for about a month. There would be no surprises this way, and we might be able to all have things done on time.

Would I do it again? Most definitely, but I would do a couple of things differently. One I would make sure all the parents had received the letter early enough to read it and be able to react to it. Also, I would have sent a letter with their child's learning assessment indicating my purpose behind doing conferences differently.

I am going to ask my students and hopefully their parents to comment on this process as well. Yep, that's right I want the parents to create blogger accounts as well so they can participate in the conversation. After all, that was my goal all around to create a conversation about learning.

¡

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LENOVO PRODUCES RUGGEDIZED THINKPAD

According to the company's official blog , Lenovo has produced a fully ruggedized ThinkPad notebook PC with enhanced ruggedness has outer casing made of thick magnesium, while the corners are reinforced with thick rubber pads . From that blog post we came to know thelaptop's exterior is completely sealed so that it can be used under running water . That means, From now rain isn't a problem for

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HITACHI’S TERABYTE LAPTOP

Hitachi has announced that it developed the CPP-GMR technology, the world’s smallest read head technology which is expected to quadruple the current storage capacity limits to 4TB in a desktop and to 1TB in notebooks. Here is the extract from their journal which says “Researchers at Hitachi have successfully reduced existing recording heads by more than a factor of two to achieve new

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Releasing My Seniors from Grades

My seniors created their own semester long project constructing their own definition of a hero through studying the works of Oedipus Rex (tragic hero-Greek), Beowulf (epic hero), Canterbury Tales, and Hamlet (Shakespearean tragic hero) as well as connecting to our in class discussions of modern day heroes. These are group projects which will be presented as their class final.

We discussed some ideas together one day in class about different ways they could demonstrate their understandings of heroes. I shared with them some projects I had come across regarding creative ways to construct a definition. One was as sample Oxford English Dictionary Definition my friend and colleague Lauren Gaffney created. Another was a Time Magazine article of the future looking at heroes (Gaffney created this as well- what can I say, she has great creative assessments so I keep stealing them from her). I showed my classes these two assignments but clarified for themas well that I wanted this to be their project. After taking the better part of two classes (different weeks) we came to the following criteria:

Final Project: What is a hero?

• Multi-media
• -- Photo story, movie maker…
• Group project
  -- 4-5 maximum
  -- Everyone participates significantly-veto power
• Individual reflection of contributions
  -- Self reflection
  -- Peer evaluation
• Modern examples
• OED Definition as a part
  -- Portfolio
  -- Document comprising all work
  -- Include OED written definition
  -- Overview summing up all ideas into one
  -- Organized
  -- Creative
• 10 minute presentation
  -- Clear and smooth transitions
  -- Organized
  -- Answers essential question
  -- Goes beyond the expectations
• Synthesize all text covered in semester
• Personal commentary
  -- React to what you have learned about a hero
  -- Give feedback through modern day heroes
  -- React to the evolution of the hero
  
  Point Value:
  No grade-intrinsic motivation

Hopefully, after looking over the criteria you noticed this final point (no pun intended):

Point Value:
No grade-intrinsic motivation

This was the decision the class agreed upon after much deliberation. We talked about the seriousness of an agreement like this and the trust that takes place between the teacher and student as well as the students working together. What would happen if members of your group weren't taking the assignment seriously? What would happen if members of your group weren't completing the project? What would happen if group's fall short of the expectations of the assignment? If groups don't show any work at all? I really felt like we talked through a lot of the pitfalls that could come from releasing the control of this project by getting a grade to completing this project to demonstrate learning. This is a project they created so if research is correct, they shouldn't need to receive a grade on it because they will be intrinsically motivated to succeed. Right?

My reaction to all of this is two-fold. On one side, I am excited of the possibility. How could I not be? Here are students taking their learning in their own hands. YES! They are using real world skills of collaboration, critical thinking, synthesis of information, to demonstrate their own understanding of information as well as relating it to the real world. On the other side,I am scared. How could I let them not be graded especially on something as important as a semester final. What are my colleagues going to say? What is my principal going to say? I feel like instead of letting them down I am raising the bar, but will they see that?

But I have hope. I believe in them. Why? Read their comments after we created the project. Here are a couple:

Brooks K...

Guys, it is our duty as responsible students to take a leading initiative and care enough about our scholastic achievement that we excel beyond standards despite receiving a grade or not. I have found that when grades are less applied to study habits and to my work ethic, I succeed. When I go into class not for a grade but to actually learn and take away something valuable, my mentality is always in the right place and I know I have structured myself with full potential to learn.

Kyle B...
I think that all the fuss that this style of evaluation has created is based upon the fact that, ever since middle school, we have strived for personal gratification through good grades. This is all we have known and, by not receiving a grade on an assignment that would normally comprise a sizable portion of our grades has upset the pattern that we have known and accepted for the past 7 years of our education. We are all members of an exceptional class and none of us would wish to abuse this opportunity that Mrs. Smith has given us, an opportunity to succeed and exceed expectations solely for the knowledge of success.

I will keep you posted on the progress of the project. I am planning on giving them some tools like Google Docs to organize their projects as well as some in class time to meet and discuss with the group where they are going.

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ASUS EEE PC IS COMING WITH WINDOWS OS

ASUS has confirmed this time they will offer the Eee PC with Microsoft Windows operating system by the end of this year. The first Asus Eee PC notebooks, based on the Linux OS, are expected to hit the US market by the end of this month, with prices ranging from $259.99 to $399.99. But it is not known which version of Windows will be preinstalled on these new 7 -inch ultra low-cost laptops.

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WI FI IN PATENT FEARS

The IEEE working group is so confused and is holding urgent meetings to discuss the serious issue about the significant threat to the usage of 802.11n from patents held by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation(CSIRO). The next generation WiFi standard, 802.11n has been under development and is already halted by many factors. CSIRO holds the patents and has failed to issue

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DELL IS GOING TO OFFER PCs WITH UBUNTU 7.10

The Ubuntu version 7.10 is the latest release of Linux OS distribution and Dell is going to offer laptop and desktop computers with this latest version. This week Linux introduced The Ubuntu 7.10 and replaced the older 7.04 version. Consumers were introduced by the first Linux-based Dell notebooks and dekstops in this year . These computers was shiped with Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed. But

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CHEAP NEW LAPTOPS

Overall, the Sony Vaio N170GT offers a competent laptop at a reasonable price. The stylish and attractive looking notebook isn't the fastest laptop on the market, but is far from the slowest as well. A good deal for the price, expect to pay around $1100.Next we have the HP Pavilion dv6205us. This laptop is part of HP's DV6000 line, and is manufactured with the mass market in mind. The shiny

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DELL LAPTOPS

For this piece, we will discuss the the various classifications of Dell notebook PCs. Here you will find the basics about all that Dell has to offer in the form of portable PCs.Dell's economy class notebooks, the Dimension, have recently been replaced by the Vostro. The Vostro are being marketed by Dell as a "value-oriented" line of laptops, specifically for the small business sector. Possibly

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100$ LAPTOP

A budget laptop aiming at the under developed societies have started its production of laptops for 100$. This is being done by the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) group. But actually they have not yet reached the target of 100$ but at 180$ per laptop. Then Intel came with the rival classmate PC which created a rift in the market. Now Intel has joined the OLPC programme group. Since then about

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AT&T HAS ANNOUNCED AIRCARD 881 HSPA PC CARD

AT&T 3 G wireless network is now available. This Type PC Card made for notebooks which Compatible with High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technologies, the AirCard 881 PC will enable average upload speeds between 500 to 800 Kbps and download speed 600 to 1,400 Kbps reportedly. By that AT&T commences the industry's first U.S. deployment of High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). After completion of

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LAPTOP FOR EVERYONE

Industry analyst Gartner reports that major pc builders have shipped more laptops than desktop pcs this year. This is the first time in the history. This indicates the consumers taste of buying the products. They always prefer buying handy goods which is a all stop shop for them. They must have all the facilities and most important is the mobility of laptops what make them to buy in large

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FUJITSU LIFEBOOK A6110 LAPTOP AVAILABLE NOW

New affordable 15.4" laptop is available now from Fujitsu . After rebates The Fujitsu LifeBook A6110 , is available for purchase , starting at $799 . LifeBook A6110 series notebooks are Based on the Intel "Santa Rosa" platform which are featured by a Core 2 Duo processor and the IntelGM965 chipset with the GMA X3100 integrated graphics to run 15.4 " widescreen display provides 1280x800 screen

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FLASH HARD DRIVE IN LAPTOPS

DELL has started its plan on working out flash hard drives for laptops. These hard disks will improve the performance to the maximum. They offer a 32GB bandwagon solid state device. They also enable quick booter times. Dell has promised to offer this service but they have not yet fixed up the price. This is estimated to offer an operational power of 2 million hours with a rate speed of

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INTEL HAS TOOK A PLAN FOR LOW-COST LAPTOP - DIOMANDVILLE

Intel has took a plan to launch a new ultra-low cost laptop PCs with microprocessor in April of next year. The laptops called 'Diamondville' which is aimed at a new segment of low-cost mobile PCs just like the XO laptop from OLPC, the Eee PC by Asustek Computer. These notebooks are mainly designed for children and for use in rural area where need long-lasting batteries and durable, dust- proof

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LCD SCREENS THAT WORK IN BROAD DAY LIGHT

We use different technologies that are integrated and make us comfort. These technologies have given us a comfort zone in every walks of life. LCD screens replaced the old cathode ray tube monitors. Almost they have been replaced by LCDs in the western world. The touch screen facilities are amazing. But still they have some problems. On a broader light or sunlight, one cannot have a proper

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TOSHIBA HAS LAUNCHED SATELLITE PRO LAPTOP AGAIN

The Satellite Pro is one of the low-cost business notebook brand in Toshiba . Toshiba has re-launched re launched that series by introducing A210 -EZ2203 X and A200 -EZ2204X models. The Toshiba Satellite Pro A210 -EZ2203X can be purchased for $899 it features the AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-602 dual-core processor at 2 GHz, the AMD M690 V chipset with the integrated ATI Radeon X1200 graphics to run

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DRIVING MONITORS BY USB - TOSHIBA DYNADOCK LAPTOP

We live in a world of advancement in every field. We also need some better features to enhance the way we look at our computer monitors. A company called Display Link on contract with Toshiba will change the way we look at our monitors soon. Toshiba’s latest Dynadock laptop will deliver a very high resolution images and pictures via a USB 2.0 connection. Dynadock PA3542E-1PRP plugs into a

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USEFUL LAPTOP TIPS

Do you own a laptop computer? Are you in the market for one, but don't know what to expect after your purchase? Here are some tips that will help you maintain and even extend the life of your notebook PC.Extend the battery life.If you are constantly on the go, one of the biggest challenges a laptop owner faces is keeping their machine powered up. Often times you will find yourself using your

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TAIWAN'S ASUSTEK HAS LAUNCHED " LOW PRICED " LAPTOP

On Tuesday Taiwan Asustek Computer Inc launched a low-cost laptop computer . Their target mostly on children, elderly people and low-income users in the developing world.They described the cheaper laptop called "Eee PC" as easy to work, play and learn. The models are launched Tuesday carries a price tag of 11 ,000 Taiwan dollars ($337.4). Three other models of the line will come to the market

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Welcome to Conferences

I am one of those teachers that usually walks towards conferences dreading the conversation with parents because of the fear that one of them will go off on me about some aspect of my classroom, teaching, something random I said (I say a lot of random things not realizing what I say until I see it on a scribe post- i.e. I would kick kids in their shins if they didn't complete an assignment). However, usually, I walk away from conferences feeling appreciated by the parents as well as having learned more about my students. One aspect of conferences that we have been trying to change here at AHS is to steer the focus away from grades per say and focus more on the student specifically. In fact I recall a teacher who will go nameless saying he wished to put up a sign at conferences that would say, "If you want to talk to me about your child's grade, check Infinite Campus; if you want to talk about your child, see me." This is the direction I am hoping to go with conferences this year. I asked my students today (I wish I would have done this on Monday) to reflect on the following questions in a typed paper:

Assess your learning in class so far this semester. Look at participation, growth in writing, comprehension, etc…

Where do you want to be at the end of the semester?

How are you going to get there?

What help can I provide to achieve your goal?

Write a message to your parents.

I let them know before I gave them these questions my purpose behind doing conferences differently was that I know grades are important to them and to their parents, but what my greater concern is about is their learning. That is what I wanted to focus on with their parents at conferences rather than just talking about their grade. Now I know some of you are thinking that their grade should be a true reflection of their learning, and I agree that it is in part, but I an still one of those teachers who holds my students accountable for turning in work on time. Because of this, I think their grade measures part of their learning but not all of their learning. I actually think that grades can't fully capture a student's understanding because there are too many other factors to consider, but that is another conversation entirely.

After my students responded to the questions, they were asked to print out a copy to take home to their parents. The had a couple of options with what to do once they gave the note to their parents. One option is to let their parents know that we will be talking about this at conferences and not to talk about it till then or option two is to talk right then and there discussing their learning with their parents. Either way their parents are to bring the copy to conferences. Also, my students were to put a copy in our class drop box for me to access at conference to discuss.

I am anxious to see how this all turns out.

¡

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SONY VAIO AR SERIES ( BLU-RAY GOOF )

Sony as a Conglomerate leader recently celebrated a decade of his VAIO innovation. With this completion Sony VAIO has introduced a new flagship series of laptop, the VAIO AR, which is especially designed to motivate Sony VAIO AR Series Blu-ray Goof, the next generation video format. Sony AR series has been considered carefully from nick, such as color combination selected to suit other devices in

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Cross Curricular Happenings

I have always been fascinated with the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. I know it sounds dorky but here is a teacher, John Scopes, who chose with the help a few close friends (I don't know if I want these kind of friends) to challenge a law he felt was unjust. I find the history behind the whole trial as well as the outcome fascinating. I think I bring a lot of this enthusiasm into our discussions when we start reading Inherit the Wind. However, one area I feel like I have never done a great job of is making the trial relevant to my students- that is until yesterday.
Ideally, I wanted two Biology teachers to come and speak with my ninth graders about what it is like to be a biology teacher in the 21st century. I asked Adam Wallace, a passionate evolutionist, as well as Cara Syers, a devoted Creationist, to come and speak to my students. Cara wasn't able to find a sub for her class but we were quite fortunate to have Adam come and speak. The kids didn't say much to Adam after his presentation, but they left some interesting comments on our class blog in reaction to his presentation.
I do have to confess I was nervous exploring the issue of religion/ faith/ creation of the earth with ninth graders but I am very pleased with how this turned out. I hope it made to more personal and relevant to them. I know I learned many new things from Adam that I hadn't thought of before regarding his role as Biology teacher and all the various beliefs versus hypothesis about the creation of the world (notice Adam I used the word hypothesis). I am looking forward to next year hoping that I can have Cara and Adam both present to facilitate this important conversation with our students.
Adam- I would love for you to comment about the presentation and experience as well.

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LONG LASTING HOURS AND LAPTOPS

A nation wide survey in Britain recently suggested that a laptop user works more time than a desktop user does. Also laptop users are more productive besides working longer time because of the mobility which comforts them to work when ever they want. The better results are because of the better flexibility in working time and the environment. The report highlights issues such as

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$599.99 CHEAPEST SONY LAPTOP EVER !!

Sony's 15.4" VAIO NR Series budget notebooks are now only for $599.99. It can be purchased via Best Buy and Amazon. The VAIO VGN-NR120E/S model offered by Best Buy is priced at $ 599.99 which is $150 less than the announced starting price of $750 . As well as it is the cheapest laptop from Sony ever . The VAIO VGN-NR120E/S features are not poor . It has Intel PentiumDual-Core T2310 mobile

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Macbeth Fishbowl Discussion Test...A Student's Perspective

Being an honors student all my life, I have gotten used to discussing, and I have loved it since my very first guided discussion in fourth grade. Personally, the best way for me to process my thoughts, and for them to be fully formed, is for me to talk them through with other people. I grow so much from hearing others ideas and from having to support my own. It helps me to become a better communicator and a better thinker. This past Tuesday, we had our final test on Shakespeare’s great tragedy, Macbeth. Generally, a test is a series of questions on a piece of plane white paper. However, Macbeth is not black and white, so that type of test just wasn’t going to cut it. Instead, we tried out our very first world famous Anne Smith Fishbowl discussion. This is not your usual discussion (Surprise, surprise! Like Ms. Smith would do something out of the box, please!). In this discussion, we mixed verbal discussion with blogger.

When I first heard about this double discussion idea, I was not too jazzed. I am not a lover of technology, so it seemed very impersonal to me for there to be a chance for teenagers to not talk in class. I mean, what sane teenager wouldn’t rather blog than discuss Macbeth? Let me just say, I was very pleasantly surprised! I couldn’t get a word in edgewise! Me, of all people, the one girl who usually dominates discussions and prays for others to speak up, did not get more than three chances to talk! It was astounding how much thinking was going on during those forty minutes of class. I felt like we could have spent many more hours discussing and growing as learners. There were 175 comments on our blog when we were finished, and there are only about 30 of us in the class! Wow!

Even though I didn’t blog too much, it was such a relief to type my thoughts when I couldn’t speak up because of all my fervently discussing peers. In that way, I could still have a discussion and finish thoughts that had been passed over in the verbal discussion. I could also remember what I was going to say during those long periods when others were conversing.

People whom I had never heard speak before let go of all their reservations on the blog. They spoke freely about their opinions and gave new insights to portions of the text. I was truly enlightened by the findings of my peers, and apprehended the material much more completely. Also, it was fun to have little disagreements that had to be worked through, and to be in complete agreement at times as well.

For any teachers who may be reading this post, I would seriously recommend trying this type of discussion out with your students, especially if you are reading literature that has important implications but that may be hard to understand. It was very beneficial to my understanding of Macbeth and I look forward to many more rewarding discussions like this in the days to come! - Hannah L.

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This laptop is also a movie lovers dream with a high-definition DVD player with an optional display of 1920 x 1200 resolution, now thats what i call HD. The only downside to the Xtreme 770 is its price, which starts at $2,450. But then again that's why a rental on a high end laptop makes the most sense.

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Audio of PLN Presentations

Anna K.
Josh TS.
Brandon H.
Alex E.
Lauren E.
Alena V.
Sean B.
Carter W.
Carter W. 2
Joey W.
Annie S.
Berek M.
Kelly S.
Angelica O.
Lauren E. 2
Xavia H.
Alena V. 2
Dennis K.
Sean B. 2
Brandon H. 2
Anna K. 2
Lauren P.
Samantha H.
Jackie N.
Mandi G.
Ethan L.
Berek M. 2
Sean D.
Adam A.
Kelly S. 2
Mandi G. 2
Alex E. 2
Joey W. 2
Samantha H. 2
Annie S. 2
Jackie N. 2
Lauren P. 2
Adam A. 2
Ethan L. 2
Josh TS. 2
Dennis K. 2
Sean D. 2
Xavia H. 2

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The list offers valuable information that can be extremely helpful in planning any sort of business trip to cities such as Houston or Las Vegas. RentOurLaptops.com understands the need for excellent service and quality laptop rental equipment when important business trips are made to these cities.

Please check out our new Top 10 Laptop Rental Cities page and our comprehensive inventory of laptop rental equipment.

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