resident Barack Obama announced today that the federal government will be moving boldly to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) achievement by America’s students. National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel, who joined the president at the White House for the announcement, applauded the administration’s efforts to boost innovation and learning in these fields.

“We applaud this announcement because we too are committed to preparing our students in STEM fields so that they can be competitive in the global marketplace. We understand that our nation’s prosperity is tied to innovation spurred on by students’ engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Van Roekel said. “For America to be technologically competitive in the future, our students must become more fluent in complex science and math.”

During a nationwide back-to-school tour in late August, Van Roekel saw a prime example of STEM innovation, in the form of the innovative new Math and Science Leadership Academy (MSLA) in Denver. At this school, the local NEA affiliate is collaborating with management to create new ways of doing business. It is a union-designed, teacher-led public school that is making a difference for urban students within the Denver Public School System.

“As I toured MSLA in August, I saw teachers inspiring children in math and science in exciting new ways,” Van Roekel said. “I am optimistic that President Obama’s announcement will encourage more innovative schools like MSLA in the future.”

In addition to NEA’s work on school transformation, the NEA Foundation is working closely with the Ohio Appalachian Educators Institute (OAEI) in Columbus, Ohio, the Bogalusa Association of Educators in Bogalusa, La., and the Milwaukee Public School system in Milwaukee, Wis., on projects that inspire educators and students and increase their awareness of STEM-related fields.

For the past two years, students in Bogalusa, La., have enthusiastically participated in a STEM summer camp that emphasizes hands-on learning. This summer, camp enrollment doubled, and students were involved in building a model green home.

Educators in Ohio attended a 2009 summer immersion program through OAEI where they learned about advanced energy and alternative energy curriculum issues. Last summer’s program was so successful that it was repeated this year.

In Milwaukee, educators are creating a curriculum on the sustainable food-growing practice of aquaponics, in conjunction with the Urban School Aquaponic Initiative. This curriculum will be used to engage students in hands-on learning in two of Milwaukee’s high-needs schools.

“By giving educators access to top-notch professional development on STEM issues, we are giving them the tools and skills they need to further inspire STEM achievement with their students,” Van Roekel said. “These projects have the power to engage our students with real-world learning opportunities and inspire them to raise their achievement in STEM areas.”

Read NEA’s Policy Brief on STEM at www.nea.org/assets/docs/mf_PB16_Math.pdf
Read about the Math & Science Leadership Academy in Denver at www.nea.org/home/37611.htm

Evolution Robotics, Inc., a leading robotics technology company, today announced that its Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner is now available for purchase through select retail partners and online channels. This initial set of retailers includes Amazon.com, Frontgate, Hammacher Schlemmer, Home Shopping Network, RobotShop.com and SkyMall. Later this year, Mint will also be available in stores through national retail chains.

Mint is a robotic floor cleaning appliance designed exclusively for hard surface floor cleaning. Mint automatically dusts and wet mops hard surface floors using popular cleaning cloths, such as Swiffer® brand Dry and Wet Cloths® and other similar products. In addition, natural, re-usable microfiber cloths ship with each unit, allowing consumers to continue to use their preferred cleaning products.

“We are very excited to have a great group of retail partners assembled and selling Mint so customers can now experience the latest evolution in floor care,” said Dr. Paolo Pirjanian, CEO of Evolution Robotics. “Customers that purchase Mint will spend less time cleaning their floors, benefit from much cleaner floors, and will have more time to spend doing the things they enjoy.”

Mint has been honored with a Popular Mechanics’ Editor’s Choice award for best new product at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and a silver IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) in the “Home Living” category by the Industrial Design Society of America. Guided by Evolution’s own NorthStar® technology, Mint is smart enough to navigate and clean a room systematically without human assistance and meticulously tracks where it cleans to ensure it doesn’t miss a spot. To clean into hard to reach places, Mint’s unconventional square body breaks the mold of traditional round robots allowing the cleaning cloth to clean along edges of walls and all the way into corners. Mint adapts to different home environments using a range of sensors including first-of-their-kind floor sensors to detect floor transitions and sensors for cleaning on slippery floors which allow Mint to adjust friction of the cleaning pad to maintain optimal traction with its wheels.

The MacTech Conference for IT Pros and Mac developers, November 3-5, 2010 in Los Angeles, has opened registration, released its speaker and session list, and described the many details of the conference. Keynote speaker Andy Ihnatko will open MacTech Conference: a three-day, information-packed event will have sessions and activities throughout the day and evening. This immersion conference is hotel-based, giving attendees the opportunity to not only learn from the best, but get to meet new people and spend time with their peers. Information about the conference is at http://www.mactech.com/conference

“The whole idea of the MacTech Conference is to allow members of the Apple community to meet and exchange ideas,” says Edward Marczak, Conference Chair and Executive Editor of MacTech Magazine. “This will be spurred on by presentations from some of the best and well-known experts in the community — not to mention a few surprises.”

The MacTech Conference will have two separate tracks: one focused on IT, and one focused on programming/development. Sessions will focus on both desktop and mobile, with appropriate levels of attention paid to the Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod. Check out the speaker and topic list (http://www.mactech.com/conference/sessions) for specific sessions.

The conference will kick off on with a keynote by Andy Ihnatko at 10am on Wednesday, Nov. 3. “We’re thrilled to welcome Andy as our keynote speaker. As an internationally beloved tech journalist (not to mention that he’s Chicago Sun Times’ Technology Columnist), Andy is insightful, funny, and simply a pleasure to work with,” says Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher, MacTech Magazine.

Wednesday through Friday, November 3-5, are packed with sessions. The evenings have two very special events. First, an exclusive visit to the Griffith Observatory, one of Los Angeles’ greatest landmarks. Second, the MacTech Conference Party including dinner, billiards, video games, air hockey, a dedicated Guitar Hero room, and more. The first ever MacTech Bowl will take place to raise money for the “School Field Trip” program at the Griffith Observatory.

MacTech Conference is priced economically at $899 including all meals, a MacTech Magazine subscription, a schedule packed full of sessions, exclusive entertainment, and more. That said, we understand what it’s like to be on a tight budget, or be a smaller developer. While we do expect the conference to sell out, special discount pricing is available for the early registration at a rate of $699 — a savings of $200! Early Bird Pricing is limited to availability, and ends July 22, 2010. Register at http://www.mactech.com/conference/registration

A limited number of partial and full student scholarships are available. See http://www.mactech.com/conference/student for more information.

The Sheraton is a quality venue with rooms that typically run $229.00 or more per night, plus tax, and with Internet for an additional fee. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, MacTech Conference attendees get a special rate. Just $169 per night which includes Internet. Taxes and service charges are extra. Room quantity is limited.

Those interested in sponsoring a MacTech Bowl team, or one of the other sponsorship offerings, see the details at < http://www.mactech.com/conference/sponsorship>.

Early Bird pricing for registration ends in just a week. http://www.mactech.com/registration

Hey, if you’ve been wondering why there has been a lull of posts and then a burst of them, well, my day job is keeping me busy. Sorry. But with the addition to Twitter to my life, now I have — wait, less! — time on my hands.

Seriously, since many times I’ve queued interesting ideas and leads for a story but never got to them, Twitter will help with this problem perfectly. Instead of holding back on these stories, I’ll simply post something about it on Twitter. When I get a chance to flesh it out, you’ll see the full blown post right here on SvenOnTech. So watch my Twitter feed and follow me if you already haven’t. I’m 7Mary4.

I’m not going to turn this into a door step for Twitter and then simply stop blogging technology items. Nope, I plan on actually putting more time into the site; however, Twitter will really help me get MORE information to you as I come across it.

Lastly, you’ll get some insight into who the Sven on tech is. I’ll try to refrain from TMI topics, but hey, it might happen.

Verizon Wireless, the builder and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless network, and VOCEL, publisher of premium branded mobile phone applications, today announced the availability of The Pill Phone, a new Get It Now® application that provides Verizon Wireless customers with detailed drug information and automatic dosing reminders – right on their phones.

The mobile version of the best-selling medication reference guide, The Pill Book, The Pill Phone application is available exclusively through Verizon Wireless. With The Pill Phone’s Pill Lookup feature, Verizon Wireless customers have access to critical information on more than 1,800 medications and prescription drugs that are commonly prescribed by physicians, including indications, dosing, side effects, drug interactions, photos of medications, and more.

The Pill Phone also offers a Medication Reminder feature, which allows customers to schedule automatic reminders to take their doses at the appropriate times. With the Medication Reminder feature, customers can stay on their familiar medication schedule at home and even when they are traveling. The Pill Phone has received FDA 510 (k) clearance and is protected under U.S. Patent No. 7,340,503.

“The Pill Phone helps our customers leverage technology to manage their health by providing educational information and dosage reminders,” said Mark Bartolomeo, vice president of enterprise data sales for Verizon Wireless. “Our health and wellness conscious customers want to be able to access important health information and The Pill Phone can serve as a valuable resource to help them access this information while on-the-go.”

Verizon Wireless customers can purchase and download The Pill Phone from the Get Going or Tools on the Go virtual shopping aisle of the Get It Now virtual store by clicking on “Get New App” and then “Mind, Body & Soul.” The Pill Phone is currently available for a $3.99 monthly subscription on a number of popular Get It Now-capable phones, including the Chocolate and the enV by LG, the LG VX9400, the MOTORAZR™ maxx Ve, and the Alias™ by Samsung. Airtime or megabyte charges apply for sending and receiving data using Get It Now, depending on the plan. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled phone and Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.

For more information on The Pill Phone, or to see an interactive demo, visit www.pillphone.com. For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.