6 Best Tech Gifts for Boys and Girls

The holiday craze is on. But why brave the parking lot dings, the long lines, and the limited selection when you can take your time, perfectly pair up the gift and the giftee (yup, just made up a word), and get a better deal while you're at it. Here is my contribution: a list of 6 cool, creative, memorable gifts for the boy or girl in your life (some of these will work for adults too!)

#6: Mr. Personality, in a Flash
We all know that one special geek who has absolutely every gadget that has been invented. Now you know what to give them – a designer flash drive. Gadgettown has over 400 unique designs, from yummy sushi roll to a slightly gory “thumb” drive… Follow the links below, and search for "Flash Drive" to see all 400+ designs in various storage sizes and budgets. Watch for the coupon banner on this site, offering discounts and free shipping. Prices vary, starting at just $4.99.



#5: uCorder Records Your Life
Cell phones and digital camcorders have one big handicap, literally: they occupy your hands, making it difficult to have fun, and film your fun at the same time. uCorder solves that dilemma with its Pockito wearable recorder. For true multitasking, clip to your shirt pocket or wear it on lanyard to capture family reunions, bloopers, ski trips, bike rides, and sled rides for an epic experience. And of course, do the responsible thing, and let others know you're recording them. Price: $69.99 to 99.99
uCorder.com


#4: Circuits for Young Engineers
AM radios, burglar alarms, flashlights, and doorbells are some of the more than 100 possible projects you can make with Elenco's Snap Circuits Junior. Pieces snap together and are numbered and color-coded to make it easy for young hands to complete projects. The kit includes snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker, as well as a project manual with pictures and easy to follow directions. Order before December 31st to take advantage of Kazoo Toys’ 20% off sale.
Price: regular $29.89, sale $23.91


#3: Ms. Personality Threads
They can dress up their dolls and draw crazy fashion designs on paper, but to really make a statement, girls can now design their own clothes to wear! Fashion Playtes is perfect for girls 5-12 who have their own, unique sense of style. First pick the dress, shirt, hat, leggings, or other garment you want. Then choose from a variety of colors, fabrics, graphics, rhinestones and other add-ons to make your custom clothing. When the design is complete, place your order and show off your threads. Price: $6 - $22 depending on garment. 15% off by Dec. 15th.


#2: Pulp Archives At Your Fingertips
Remember when you used to Google your way through a writing project, finding key sources and ideas for your project in mere seconds? These days, every search seems to return "optimized" links to sites that are trying to sell you stuff, and it is harder and harder to find the right information. Now there is a source that compiles decades of trusted publications on any topic, ready for writing projects, hobbies, school work, or simply curiosity hunting, all without getting out of your pajamas. NewspaperARCHIVE.com offers a monthly subscription that gives you access to over 100,000,000 pages of print, plus search, saving, and print tools. You can even use old articles to make gag gifts or order a special commemorative full-size reproduction print on papers covering the start of the Civil War, the story of Al Capone, or the 2005 Superbowl. So retro....
Price: prints $29.95, subscriptions start at $5.99


#1: Builder's Ultimate Gift
OK, so LEGO is a bit on the traditional side for a holiday gift. But I just can’t resist recommending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit as a the ultimate gift for any kiddo interested in building or programming – and even for some who have not tried yet but show an interest. For those who are only familiar with LEGO bricks, let us explain. LEGO company has an education arm that sells kits for building anything from a simple 30-minute project to sophisticated robots that can be programmed to walk, climb, follow sound and light, interact with something, or simply scare the whiskers off your furry family pet. The kit comes with instructions for a bunch of projects, of course, but there is also a vibrant community of fans out there, and one can find thousands of other project plans for building and programming a variety of novel, creative, and weird contraptions programmed to draw, make sounds, respond to commands from your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, dance, carry your favorite drink, and engage in many more dubious acts of creative play. It's not cheap, but given to the right person it will make endless proud memories. Like we said, it’s the ultimate gift.

Price: $279.00

Motion Math

While games like Plants vs. Zombies and Fruit Ninja might help your child get through the line at the grocery store, learning how to effectively splatter virtual fruit is not going to help on her next math quiz. But a game like Motion Math might.

In Motion Math, available for iPhone, iTouch and iPads, players must help a star return to a galaxy far, far away by using their knowledge of fractions to place numbers correctly on a number line. Kids tilt the phone to drop the star on the correct part of the number line, and the game gives gradual hints to students that need a little help.

As described on the website, Motion Math “was inspired by academic research into embodied cognition, the idea that connecting one’s body to abstract concepts can deepen understanding.” With more and more kids getting their hands on a parent’s iPhone, we’re sure to see more education apps coming to an itunes store near you. Not a bad way to spend a buck.

The Space Place

You might be familiar with NASA’s Kids’ Club, a flashy site with some fun games, but lite on information and interesting facts.

If you’re looking for a kid-friendly NASA site with a bit more substance, check out The Space Place. Although it has less eye-candy, it does have plenty of cool games, DIY projects, and “amazing facts”. Younger kids might have some trouble navigating the site on their own, but with the help of a parent or older sibling, they’ll be piling-up photons, saving words from black holes, making Newtonian Physics Machines, and learning in no time.

Back to School

By Leonid Tunik

My parents have always told me to study in a quiet spot, focus on one topic, and avoid cramming. I've passed the same wisdom to all the young students in my family. Every published textbook and study skills book on the market has the same advice, but apparently only the last bit is supported by recent cognitive research. The New York Times recently reported this bit of advice in Forget What You know About Good Study Habits: "...instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing."

As well, pseudo-scientific notions about right-brained and left-brained learners are being debunked by new research. It seems that learning through multiple senses is beneficial to retaining materials. Frequent quizzing also seems to help, although it is more effective when questions are not of the same exact type, as is often the case with computer-gradable quizzes used in many schools. This notion seems to support "quizzing" your kids about what they learned in school each day, even if they hate you for it.

I hope this helps. Happy learning.

Modern Boy Scout Badges

The Boy Scouts are currently getting a lot of press about new awards (not badges) Scouts can earn for video games. No, simply sitting on the couch playing Mario Cart doesn’t count; Scouts must complete a list of tasks to earn their belt loops and pins, including explaining the importance of video game rating systems, have a family tournament, and playing games that involve academic skills.

But with all the attention aimed at this new addition to scouting, some of the badges have been left out of the limelight. Here are a few lesser-known merit badges Scouts can earn, with links to the requirements for completion. The full list is on the Boy Scouts website.

Computers

Engineering

Architecture

Cinematography

American Business

Nuclear Science

World Expo 2010

The 2010 World Expo, a 6 month international showcase described as the “Olympic Games of economy, science and technology” kicks off this May in Shanghai China. Countries and corporations around the globe are busy building incredible pavilions to exhibit their innovations and ideas. Here are just a few of the incredible architectural designs currently under construction. Pavilions Pictured: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Shanghai Auto Industry and General Motors, and Romania. To see more pavilion designs and learn more about the Expo, visit the official website at en.expo2010.cn

Boston FIRST Competition

The 2010 Boston FIRST Regional Robotics competition happens this weekend at the Agganis Arena at Boston University. This year's challenge: to score the most points "by shooting soccer balls into a goal, climbing on the Alliance Tower or Platform, or by lifting and suspending an alliance robot off the playing surface."

This is a free and public event! This Friday (26th) and Saturday (27th) you can go see the robots, meet their student developers, and cheer on the participants. The atmosphere is often described as "a rock concert that meets the Super Bowl mixed with science and technology. Can't make it? Don't worry- you can still watch the live webcast on the Boston FIRST website.

NESA Saturday Classes- Animation Movie

Students in our Creative Adventures in Technology classes at New England Sports Academy just completed their final projects in stop-motion animation. In addition to writing their own stories, making their own characters and artwork and filming their movie footage, they also edited their movies with titles, credits, and sound effects. Here's one of their creative films.

FlyFire Lights

By now we’ve all heard about the Parrot AR. Drone ‘copter that you control with your itouch or iphone. Yes, it’s a really cool gadget, but there is another helicopter-inspired project being developed that might be getting some attention soon.

SENSEable City and ARES Labs at MIT are working on FireFly, a project of flying LED lights that hover to create illuminated images. Each light is a “smart pixel” that can change color and move in air. When combined and coordinated, these smart pixels make moving pictures and a “spatially animated viewing experience”. The project would be more impressive if the FlyFire video showed the actual LED lights instead of just a digital conception, but let's give them some time.

Camper LEGO Robotics Projects

Making a LEGO rover takes patience and persistence. Here’s Savian with a description of his first robotics project.

Camper Fashion Design Project

Using a combination of digital art tools, this camper designed her own clothing line- complete with testimonials!

Consumer Electronics Show 2010

There were over 20,000 new products at the 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show, and, believe it or not, not all of them were 3D tvs, tablets, iphone accessories, and Google phones. Here are a few items you might not have seen on the evening news.

Cyber Clean: a gooey substance to clean your keyboard

Zomm: a remote cell-phone finder

Sensawaft: control computer cursors with your breath

The Guardian: waterproof Kindle case, making it safe to read in the tub

Fils Sound Film: a clear, flexible speaker

Intel Reader: scans printed text and reads it out loud

Waveface Ultra: a smartphone for your wrist

Peregrine: a video game controller in glove form