After I first saw the above video on the The Weekly Squeak blog (Link), I immediately did a search on prices for interactive whiteboards. That is a seriously cool combination of technologies. And I’m not the only one who thinks so; Julian Lombardi has been posting rare updates to his blog (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4), so he’s certainly into it.

Now I’m not one to emphasize computing technology in the classroom, well-compensated teachers and increased community emphasis on academics is still the best way to educate students imo; however, the more fun learning becomes the more likely students will be interested, and I can see where a larger, more physical interface makes sense in a classroom environment.

Meanwhile, there’s been some buzz surrounding a recent brain-computer interface linked into Second Life that I first caught over on Pink Tentacle (Link). It’s not the first such interface, but I believe it’s the first to be publicly demonstrated using the Second Life virtual world.

There will doubtlessly be additional blog entries/articles on this and so I’ll add them below if they’re of interest. And who knows, perhaps we’ll even see IABIT come back from the dead, though I doubt it; the people behind it are either still trying to get their Neuronet up and running or are too busy dealing with other issues (or maybe now, inspired by JibJab’s latest effort, “Night of the Living Democrats/Republicans”, they’re working on a brain dead interface {that’s a joke; let’s not go threatening lawsuits boys ‘n girls}).

Anyway, here’s those links:

“Researchers help users control Second Life avatars via brain activity” (Link) – Ars Technica

“The Second Life of the Mind: The story behind the brain-to-SL interface” (Link) – New World Notes

“Brain-Computer Interface for Second Life” (Link) – Virtual World News

“Second Life Avatars Controlled by the Human Brain” (Link) – Second Life Insider