Imagine going from dial-up to a 1GB Internet connection overnight? It was an “amazing experience” for Nayland College, as David Maida discovers. The Nelson Loop is a fibre-optic and wireless network that’s delivering Internet connection speeds of up to 1GB to schools in the Nelson/Marlborough region – schools who previously had not even enjoyed basic broadband, let alone speeds comparable to the best in the country. Charles Newton, principal of Nayland College in Nelson and chairman of the Nelson Loop, says it’s amazing. “The difference is astronomical. It’s only when you get up into the 10MB to 100MB to 1GB range that you can start doing simultaneous high-capacity activities.” Newton believes that small-capacity broadband (around...   more

Specialist magnification software can help students with low vision to access every day computer applications, writes Mark Tweedale. If students can’t see something on a screen, there’s a simple solution: magnification. There are a number of software programs available that enable them to specify such things as preferred magnification level, area to be magnified (moveable lens, split screen or whole screen), size of mouse pointer, colour of screen, and so on, with the simple press of a keystroke. Screen magnification can be adjusted ‘on the fly’ from x2 to x36, depending on what the user wants to look at. Some use magnification all of the time; others prefer to toggle it on when needed. The software also works with Web browsers and has the advantage over...   more