Teachers' Picks

Back-to-school books, literacy games, and the best new tech for your classroom.

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BEST DATA STORAGE
It’s right there in the name:
The 2big Quadra from LaCie offers space for a pair of hard drives and can hold up to 4TB of data. If that’s not enough room, you can stack several together and connect them for a nearly unlimited storage system. $320–$700.

BEST NEW-LOOK NOTEBOOK
Travel bold and light with Dell’s Studio 14z. This lean portable system can keep up with any assignment, from homework to Web research. It’s available in six vivid colors, has a 14-inch HD screen, has up to a 500GB hard drive and a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and weighs in at about 4 lbs. Starts at $650.

BEST TIME SAVER
Hate grading multiple choice exams by hand? Then you’ll love GradeCam . This USB camera uses image recognition software to power through a mountain of tests. The system also allows for easy tracking of a child’s progress through the year. $360.

BEST EASY-TO-USE PROJECTOR
The Sanyo PLC-XU305’s Auto Capture memory key lets students save work, plug in, and display in less than a minute. The PLC-XU305 also boasts the best remote on the market. In addition to having a built-in laser pointer, the remote can highlight a region of the screen, freeze, zoom, and page back and forth. $2,400.

BEST NOTE TAKER
Students will never ask you to repeat directions again. Livescribe’s Pulse Smartpen remembers everything the device writes and simultaneously captures sound. Plug it into a laptop and Livescribe’s software puts the two together so that not a syllable gets lost. $150.

Are kids so into tech that they're tuned out?
Getting through to today's teched-out children

Almost There
It's now a given that technology belongs in our schools. It only took 25 years.

Teaching With Technology: Exploring Nature on the Web
Buckleitner evaluates four Web sites that address children's questions about butterflies: www.yahooligans.com, www.eblast.com, www.encarta.msn.com and www.electroniclibrary.com.