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The article evaluates several products including CP745es DLP projector from Boxlight Corp., 2400MP DLP projector from Dell, and multimedia LV-7365 LCD projector from Canon Corp.

The article presents a comparison of laptop computers including Macbook from Apple, ThinkPad from Lenovo, and Inspiron 1525 from Dell.

The article examines the efficiency of cellphones among students, and how well they work for a PowerPoint project. The column is divided into several parts, individually discussing the features of the cellphone. The first part reflects on the use of cellphone cameras, while the second focuses on the video recording feature of cellphones. The third reports on the audio capability of the phone, and the fourth reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of using cellphones. The last part explores on other possibilities that can be created using your cellphones.

The article offers instructions on how to use the Skype service to provide Internet telephony service for a school.

The article offers tips on how to keep personal computer run smoothly. The author suggests that users must empty the trash and the recycle bin to free up space by using software applications such as Sure Delete and Digital File Shredder, clear the Internet cache and the Web history to speed up future reloading of pages, delete temporary files by applying a Disk Cleanup program, and have an antivirus program running and make sure that its antivirus definition file is up-to-date. Furthermore, it recommends the use of defragging program to perform defragmentation that would make computer files contiguous.

The author offers information about a video blog (vlog) and how it is created. Video blog is a blog that uses video in its posts. It is a way to easily post one's thoughts online in print, which includes multimedia capabilities. People who create vlogs are vloggers, while the worldwide community of vlogs and vloggers is called vlogosphere. Most vlogs are created by students, which are considered as a great learning experience. To create vlog, a video, a blog, and a video host are needed. They can be created from your own video, or from Google Video or YouTube.com, but with permission from those sources. Several Web sites with examples and techniques for creating vlogs are also presented.

The article offers tips for using multimedia in teaching documents. Research studies have shown that higher levels of learning occur when students are presented information via multimedia rather than a single medium. One way to create multimedia content is for teachers to create it themselves. Teachers and students can use video cameras or the audio recording capabilities of computers to create movies and sound clips. Used in conjunction with editing software such as Movie Maker or iMovie, audio and video clips can be created to meet specific curricular needs. Alternatively, there are a number of free resources available on the Internet where audio and video can be downloaded. Many schools subscribe to video streaming and downloading services such as unitedstreaming, from which they obtain video content. The actual mechanics of inserting multimedia components into a file varies from application to application. For example, to insert a movie or sound clip into PowerPoint, go to the Insert menu and choose Movies and Sounds. In AppleWorks, go to the File menu and choose Insert. Multimedia is inserted into a document either by embedding or by linking. If the files are linked, and presentations were copied to another computer, it is important to make sure that the video and audio files inserted are also copied. It is suggested that presentations and any inserted files are kept all in the same folder, then copy the whole folder.

The article evaluates the RE-455X Visualizer projector from Canon USA.

The article evaluates Califone's MP3 Player designed for students.

The article offers instructions and tips for using a document camera.

The article evaluates the QD700 Digital Processing Visual Presenter projector from Qomo.

The article evaluates the ELMO TT-02 Teacher's Tool camera from Elmo USA.

The article focuses on the Classroom management systems software. The features of the Classroom management systems include viewing student's screen on the teacher's screen, freezing student's screens, broadcasting the teacher's computer screen to the student's screen and broadcasting a screen to other student's screen. Communicating with student's computer, control desktops, copy files to or from computers, and remotely installing software and product updates onto student's computers are the other attributes of the Classroom management systems.

The article focuses on new printers and printing trends in schools. The author discusses the latest trends in printers and printing capabilities for schools. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of networked printers, improvement in ink-jet technology printers, and the latest innovations and prices of printers. He also provides a checklist of requirements to consider before buying a printer, such as the intended users, importance of speed, resolution and need for color printing. Affordable, classroom-appropriate color, laser, and ink-jet printers are recommended.

The article provides suggestions to consider when purchasing a computer printer. It discusses 11 features or areas to think about including resolution, speed, ink-jet versus laser, color versus black and white, and paper handling. It also discusses new printer features such as multifunction printers that are able to scan, copy, fax, print photographs, access network connections, and support memory-cards that do not need to be connected to a computer to print.

Presents information on the Moodle course management system which is an open source system that educators can use to create online courses. Advantages of a course management system for teachers; Reference to the popularity of the Moodle system; Information on how to use the Moodle system.

The article focuses on Macros that can change all text to a specific font, reformats page margins, and then saves it in a specific folder. Macros are usually created by recording them. One can perform a sequence of keystrokes once, give it a name and/or shortcut key combination, and the computer remembers it. For example, in Microsoft Word one can begin by choosing the Record Macros command from the appropriate menu and then type the text. Some word processors have already built in a number of commonly used macros which do things like insert the date or current time. In many computer applications, creating and using macros that are automatically executed, usually by pressing a specific key combination allows repetitive data-entry tasks. Some programs have such sophisticated macro capability that it is possible to include a computer program as part of a macro.

The article offers tips on choosing a broadband connection. Broadband connections are always on--no need to dial up through a modem. Turn on your computer, and you are connected to the Internet. Cable modem access to the Internet is transmitted over your cable TV lines and is offered by cable television companies. Like cable TV, neighbors share the signal; some people believe that this can affect speed. Digital subscriber line (DSL) is a telephone technology that sets up a direct connection over your telephone line from you to the phone company, and is not shared. It does begin at a lower speed than cable, though. T1 lines are a third type of telephone communication line, directly connecting two points, and capable of transmitting data even faster than DSL or cable. While DSL and cable can be used in the home, a T1 line is business- and education-oriented.

The article presents tips on organizing email messages. There are ways of creating folders in email program. Emails may be stored in separate folders. They can be organized by sender, topic or project. Some programs even allow to create folders within folders for more specific organization. Even when filed in folders, specific email messages may be difficult to find. Many email programs offer a Find utility that can be used to locate a message. In addition to keyword searches, some programs offer the ability to search by sender, recipient, date sent or date received. It is also said that sorting is an alternative to searching. Most email programs presents a columnar list of messages, usually sorted by date. In many of these programs, simply click on a column heading and sort list by that column. Filters and rules can be used to automatically sort and deal with incoming email. Both Microsoft Outlook and Apple's Mail program offer the ability to customize colors for certain messages. Archiving can be especially important if there is a network storage of email, such as with FirstClass or Microsoft Exchange. It is important to store copies of email locally. Programs such as Outlook have an Archive command that allows to make a copy of any email folders on the computer. Some programs can be configured to do this automatically. If email server is periodically purged of old messages, it will still be safe on the computer.

Presents some options for dealing with pop-ups, advertising windows that pop up over or under other windows while using the Internet. Software products that block pop-ups; Optional pop-up blocking provided by the free Google and Yahoo! Companion toolbars; Internet service providers that provide pop-up blocking.

Presents steps in defragmenting computers. Selection of a defragging software program; Enhancements included in commercially available defragging programs; Ways to run the chosen program.

Evaluates the computer-assisted teaching material Scholastic Red. Emphasis of the teaching material on professional development; Benefits of Red's online curriculum to educators; Incorporation of multimedia demonstrations in the teaching material.

Provides tips in creating a file format from computers. Use of the Save As or Export function; Relevance of a file converter; Functions for the most common viewer Adobe Acrobat reader.

Describes how to create templates in a computer. Starting a new document in the word processor; Use of a template; Changing a template.

Explains the basic features and functions of computer browsers. Technique for surfing many sites at the same time; Strategy for saving pages onto the computer; Tips on customizing the toolbar.

Features online directories compiled by educators and librarians to help improve Internet searching. Includes KidsClick!, an online directory developed by librarians; Availability of reviews of education-related sites at StudyWeb's site; Comprehensive menu system of Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators site.

Offers suggestions on how to find specific information on the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). Information the Internet and the WWW provide for educators; Problems educators encounter with accessing information; How keyword searches are conducted; Details on menu searches.

Presents information on the use of a computer and a large screen in the classroom. How to introduce computer software programs to students; Recommended software titles for large screen use.

Focuses on the use of computers in the classroom, with emphasis on word processing. How to create a `how-to' book using the word processor; Steps to take when creating the `how-to' book. INSET: Other word processing projects.