Back To School
Technology Must-Haves for Back-to-School
By
Aug 20, 2005, 14:58

(ARA) - Getting back into the back-to-school groove is always a challenge, especially for parents who want to motivate and inspire their children. This back-to-school season offers a number of new technologies designed to do just that.
For the parents who want their student to explore the world of music, there’s StikAx (www.stikax.com). Hundreds of prerecorded sound files from violins to Congo drums can easily be programmed to the handheld device. Think of yourself as a music producer. Create a traditional symphony or an out-of-this-world hip-hop club mix. All of your creations are recorded event by event, so if you create something great, it's saved for you.

Add video -- pictures of kids skateboarding or summer vacation highlights -- to your favorite songs and you have your own music video. You can even use a PC microphone to record your vocals or musical performances and incorporate them into the mix. Simply assign any music or video content to buttons on StikAx and mix your music and video on the fly.

Fourteen-year-old Frank Kohl was never really interested in music beyond his R.E.M. CD collection but thanks to StikAx, he now wants to learn guitar. His parents couldn’t be happier. “StikAx is easy to use and really lets me be creative,” says Kohl. “I use it to mix movies and photographs with my music. As simple as click, drag and drop, I turned my PC into a super cool mixing studio. I plan to use it for upcoming school projects this year. I can’t wait to show the world my creations.”

Another exciting innovation that’s new this year, technology designed to keep students who are learning to drive safe on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teenagers and young adults. To give your teen the edge that could one day save their life, there’s CarChip (www.carchip.com), an auto data-logger technology and software for monitoring vehicle and driver performance. It’s a crucial tool for teens taking drivers education classes and racking up the necessary hours to get their licenses.

The CarChip package consists of a tiny “black box” data logger (about the size of two 9-volt batteries stacked together), a CD with software for analyzing the data, and a connecting cable and power adapter. The data logger plugs into the OBDII connector in your car, and continuously collects and stores data from the car’s computer control systems. Later, you use the cable and power adapter to download the information to your PC.

Parents can review the data with their child and help him or her correct problems like hard-braking, jack rabbit starts, and speeding. CarChip with Alarm also offers an audible alarm to warn the driver when user-set speed, acceleration, and braking limits are exceeded. CarChip is available for most cars and trucks sold in the U.S. and Canada -- model year 1996 or later.

While students are in class, parents can take advantage of their newly-acquired free time to capture memories of the summer. LivingTime (www.livingtime.com) lets you create a personalized timeline, complete with journaling entries, photographs and mini movies. It's easy to use, and once entries are made and tagged, easy to sort through and find events that are important to you and your family. In addition, the program provides access to thousands of world events that can be imported to provide additional richness and perspective to the act of remembering one's experiences.

Students can use LivingTime to chronicle year-long school activities for clubs, student government organizations and community service groups. It’s a great tool for keeping that “required” journal or for documenting science fair experiments and mandatory senior projects.

Using technology to enhance your student’s school experience is not only fun but it’s also a smart move towards guaranteeing their academic success. Courtesy of ARA Content

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