Google Apps Marketplace

From Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology 01/26/11

Google has introduced a new education-focused area in its Google Apps Marketplace, which provides Web applications that integrate with and extend Google Apps.

According to the company, this area will be a central destination for educators to find new Web applications specifically intended for K-12 and higher education use. The apps don't require additional logins, are available from the Google navigation bar, and can access data stored in Google apps with approval.

Currently, the site has 24 applications, including Aviary Design Suite for Education, a set of free tools and templates for creating multimedia projects; RCampus ePortfolio, a free version of an e-portfolio environment; and Applane SIS, a six-month trial version of a student information system still in beta form.

Listings for higher ed users include EasyBib, an automatic bibliography composer; Digication e-Portfolio, which allows students to showcase work online; and EduTone Connector for Moodle, a trial version of a utility that facilitates single sign-on authentication through Google Apps.

Khan Academy

Perhaps you've become aware of Salman Khan on PBS, CNN or through one his promotional appearances, talking about his wildly successful Khan Academy?

This is an open-source (free) project that is nothing short of amazing. He has self-produced an online library of 1600+ instructional videos for math, science, finance, economics, biology, chemistry, astronomy, history, physics, and statistics. Although many of his lessons do specifically address curriculum standards (for a purpose, such as the CAHSEE), this library is not driven by a curriculum structure, but is instead driven by learner need and interest.

This is SO totally cool!

Keith Devlin's Math Game Research

Keith Devlin has been doing very cool research at Stanford regarding the use of games to teach math at the Middle School level. He has a project idea that I hope finds a greenlight:

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/february15/devlin-aaas-mathematics-021910.html

Here's some of his recent presentations:

http://www.stanford.edu/~kdevlin/videos.html

Augmented Reality using Kinect

This is a very cool health viz example of the Kinect used for augmented reality:

Google Chrome Web Store Open

Google has launched its Chrome Web Store, an HTML5-based app marketplace that operates on top of the Chrome web browser, including games from Electronic Arts and numerous other developers.

"People want to get paid for their apps, but they don't want to trust a small, independent developer. That's one of the problems we wanted to solve with the Chrome Web Store," Google VP of Product Management Sundar Pichai.

The store already lists 195 titles in the Games category, including offerings from Namco (Burger Time Deluxe), Zynga (FarmVille) and Digital Chocolate (Millionaire City) designed to run seamlessly inside the newest version of Google's web browser.

EA Games content is featured, with EA showing off a new version of the company's Pogo Games balloon-popping title Poppit as a free download for the platform. The game will be built-in to the upcoming version 9 of the Chrome browser.

Other EA titles available for download on the Chrome Web Store include existing web games such as FIFA Superstars, Lords of Ultima, Mirror's Edge 2D and Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online.

The latest version of the Chrome browser now supports hardware acceleration for in-browser apps.

300,000 Android Phones Daily!

Google's activating more than 300,000 Android phones daily -- more than other popular mobile devices like iPhone and Blackberry, a sign that the search giant's increasingly-popular game-friendly platform is continuing to close what remains of the gap between itself and iPhone.

According to Fortune magazine's tech blog, Google is now selling 10 million Android phones per month, as compared with 14.1 million iPhones sold in Apple's most recent quarter -- its best quarter ever, to boot.

Earlier this month, research firm ComScore released data suggesting that smartphones using Google's Android operating system gaining on Apple's iPhone in terms of market share. ComScore said Android has gained 17 percent share since July, bringing it to 23.5 percent versus the iPhone's 24.6 percent.

Chris Pruett on Tuning Gameplay

This Gamasutra article by Chris Pruett is a very compelling look at a super cool system for visual feedback (in the form of heat maps) using player metrics to indicate gameplay through the level.