Technology & Learning - February 2009 - (Page 24)

PRODUCTREVIEWS PRODUCT: SAMSUNG UF-130DX DIGITAL PRESENTER www.samsungpresenterusa.com The Samsung UF-130DX Digital Presenter is a 720i high-definition wide-screen document camera with Windows CE built in. In a science class, a teacher could display a sample of an organism, then, using the PIP feature of this equipment, pull up a Web page that displays information on that organism. The same could be done in a socialstudies class: an artifact could be displayed, and the Web site on that artifact could be displayed with it. Using the drawing tools, the instructor could easily place notations on an image that was being displayed. PROS: The clarity of images produced by this system is fantastic. You can output to two different displays at the same time; you can do PIP (picture-in-picture) displays. The system has three USB inputs that can be controlled from a standard keyboard, by the controls on the unit, Retail price: $2,600-$2,999 or from a remote. The unit comes with built-in drawing-tool software. CONS: It would be nice if the unit had full Windows rather than CE, and the cost may be a little high for some K-12 schools. The unit’s additional features require that the instructor spend some time practicing before using it with a class. Other than that, there should be no problems with this unit. OVERALL IMPRESSION: If I had the choice and money were not a question, this is by far the best document camera on the market. All the additional features in this piece of equipment in the hands of a trained instructor would make it invaluable in today’s digital classroom and a musthave for any 21st-century educator. PRODUCT: BROTHER MFC-6490CW ALL-IN-ONE www.brother-usa.com Retail price: $299.99 allows the teacher to print pages that are almost poster size, and photos can be printed directly from photo memory cards or a camera. PROS: The Brother MFC-6490CW printer is reasonably priced, has wireless and wired networking built-in, has built in media slots for photo memory cards, and can print up to 11x17 inches in 6,000x1,200 dpi. CONS: Does not have a multipurpose tray. Because the printer has only 64MB of memory, spooling more than one image is difficult and could result in a network lockup. OVERALL EVALUATION: There are many things that make this printer attractive, and every school needs at least one printer that can print up to 11x17 inches. Because the printer is reasonably priced, schools can afford to have it set aside to do nothing but large-print jobs. Since it comes network-ready, schools can place it on the network and grant access to all users in a building from just about any location. It uses four different ink cartridges, so schools need only to replace the one color they use up. This is much better than printers that use a multi-color cartridge. This all-in-one color ink-jet printer can print 11x17 inch pages, which can be used to print a classroom or school newspaper. This is advantageous where a small number of copies are needed. It also 24 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.samsungpresenterusa.com http://www.brother-usa.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - February 2009

Technology & Learning - February 2009 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends How It's Done - The Science of Class Collaboration Put to the Test: T&L Editors Take Some New Products for a Test Drive NComputing X550 Epson DC-10s Samsung UF-130DX Digital Presenter Brother MFC-6490CW All-in-One Adaptive Curriculum: Science Dukane AirSlate 3 A Second Life for Professional Development Control Room 11 Tips for Better Laptop Learning One-to-One Veteran Advice What's New They Said It

Technology & Learning - February 2009

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