In this new video, Corning envisions the future, specifically the role smart glass will have in your day-to-day life. In A Day Made of Glass 2, Corning shows off a collection of awesome glass technology that will make its way into your home, school, office and car.

From smartphones and tablets to edge to edge displays around your house, and the networks that carry all the information you need to stay connected Corning is counting on a glass filled future.

Take a look at this cool video, it is well worth the 10 minute runtime.

How Glass Will Shape Your Future

In the video above, you can see how Corning, a maker of specialty glass, imagines a day in the life of a shoolkid and a medical professional. From see through tablets, smart closets, adaptive glass dashboards and full wall conferencing systems and outdoor signage that can do amazing things, like bring dinosaurs to the forest. At the end of the day, forget a 55 inch HDTV, and tune into your tablet controlled smart wall edge to edge display.

One example of how a transparent tablet can make augmented reality awesome.

Some of the cool tech includes;

• Super thin, see through displays on tablets that need less power.
• Window that changes from tinted to clear on demand.
• Automotive glass that tints on demand.
• Edge to edge display so you can have a smart mirror on your closet, powered by your thin tablet.
• Community Activity Surfaces – Essentially Microsoft Surface style multitouch glass activity surface on a huge scale.
• Dashboard made of thin glass, that’s also a display.
• Huge outdoor glass barriers that can display information and enhance the environment with learning.
• Many improvements in weight of automobile parts.
• Better solar power panels that are aesthetically pleasing and efficient.

Here’s a collection of images showing off the technology Corning has envisioned for your glass filled future.

Via Android Community

Corning Visualizes Our Glass Future: Tablets & Huge Displays (Video) is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

That is, for adults.

But what about kids like me? After all, the iPad is not the only tablet out there. The Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and Asus Eee Pad are all new tablets on the market. HP is also out now with a new TouchPad, which uses the WebOS operating system. But which device would kids like?

The Options

The iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy 10.1, and HP Touchpad are all great tablets. To be honest I’d be really happy if my parents got me any of these tablets. Any of these tablets will be good for most of the things kids would use a laptop for, except for typing and homework.

Most people use the iPad for browsing the web, doing e-mail, using Facebook and watching movies. Some adults love to play games on the iPad, as well. My mom likes her iPad for web browsing, reading e-mail, and using Facebook because she finds it easy to use, and light.

I currently use an Android phone right now, as well as an Android tablet. Android has more customization features such as home screen widgets and moving backgrounds, and there are a lot of free Android apps, which is great for kids who have limited allowances. Even though the iPad has more apps than Android tablets, it doesn’t make much difference because most good apps such as Angry Birds or Homerun 3D are available on both platforms. Android apps get updated faster than iPad apps, due to Apple’s harder update process. Android devices offer a lot of choices from different companies with wide ranges of features.

ThinkPad Android Tablet with Pen

There are some cheap Android tablets, but be careful because they probably don’t work with Android 3.1 Honeycomb, which is the first version of Android you should use with a tablet. Android devices crash more often than iPhones and iPads, and they can be more complicated to use.

The HP TouchPad is brand new. I haven’t had a chance to use it. When I asked around, none of my friends even knew about it yet. Some kids know about Android tablets, but the iPad is definitely the most well-known of all tablet devices. There aren’t a lot of apps available yet for the TouchPad, which is one reason why kids probably won’t like it. Also, there is no 3G version of the TouchPad so far, which means you can’t use it in the car.

From a kid’s perspective, I would have to go with the iPad 2 out of the three. The iPad has a lot more apps than the Android and HP tablets out there, and 100,000 of them are made especially for the iPad: like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. The iPad 2 just works a lot better than Android tablets.

Tablet Only?

Right now, a tablet is not a good choice for a kid who needs a computer for school. Tablets are not good for typing reports, making presentations, and using apps required by most schools today. I really couldn’t have done this review on an iPad or Xoom, for example. You can use Google Docs on a tablet, which I tried while writing this review, but it is hard to type, make corrections or print from a tablet. If you are thinking about getting your kid one device for school, get a low priced laptop or netbook (like Asus or HP or MacBook) instead of a tablet. Only get a tablet if your kid already has a computer for school.

The Best Tablet for Kids

So, in my opinion, the iPad 2 would be the best tablet for anyone because of its wide range of apps, good performance, ease of use, and beautiful 9.7 inch display.

So, what would you choose? I hope lots of kids and parents will share your ideas in the comments section below.

iPad vs. Android Tablets: A Kids Perspective is a post by Joshua Moore from Gotta Be Mobile.

Instead of trying to uphold the iPad as an all-in-one type of device, Webb School focuses on two specific points: use as a textbook substitute and advantages as a mobile computer. While they admit not all texts will be available in digital form, they emphasize that the breadth of digital bookstores available on the iPad, including Amazon, makes the job of finding digital texts a lot easier. It also provides access to texts that are posted on the web and greatly brings down the production costs of texts they create in-house.

As a computer, they point to the built-in email, calendar and Internet functions as key tools, as well as office software which they will install on each one (presumably the iWork suite). Essential to making it a seamless classroom experience are its instant-on functionality and all-day battery life. They are even looking into the possibility of building custom apps for their students, as well as opening the door for student-made projects. While you aren’t likely to hammer out an essay on the on-screen keyboard, remember, most of that kind of stuff is homework, where the iPad can be set on a desk and text can be entered by keyboard.

We’ve long argued that the tablet is an ideal form factor for students. While the iPad lacks some of the advanced features we’ve promoted, such as inking, it does offer clear advantages over the Tablet PC with instant-on, adequate battery life, and ease of use. I love Tablet PCs, but their complexity is a big obstacle to users, particularly in a classroom setting. There’s simply too much effort required to learn how to use one properly. By contrast, I’ve seen my three-year old second cousin navigate through and manipulate an iPad. A simple tool that everyone can use offers broader benefit than a more versatile tool that few can use.

iPads mandatory at Webb School of Knoxville is a post by Sumocat from Gotta Be Mobile.

The Public School Setting

There is strong resistance to using technology in general throughout classrooms in America.   The reasons provided by school leaders for shying away from the use of cell phones, mp3 players, laptops, blogs, wikis, or social networking in the school setting are various.   I have found the following as reasons schools lock the door to social networking and technology:

• Students uses cell phones and mp3 players to cheat on quizzes and exams.
• There is an inability to control or filter student content.   Students may seek sexually inappropriate, violent, or offensive content.
• The threat of harassment and cyberbullying via social networking sites/instant messages is a growing trend among school aged children.
• There is the belief that using social networking sites or private computers will bring computer viruses to the school network.
• Teachers and administrators have been urged to avoid these forms of communication as they open doors to false accusations and inappropriate methods of educator-student communication.

Many teachers and administrators agree that social networking has no place in the school setting.   The key to this problem should be addressed largely in the university teacher preparation programs.   Teachers should be trained not only how to implement the aforementioned technologies into engaging lessons, they should have the knowledge and wisdom to monitor such technologies for appropriate personal and classroom use.

Businesses

My discussions with folks working in larger organizations reveal a fifty-fifty approach; some businesses welcome social networking while others filter as strictly as schools.   Despite these two perspectives, most organizations have an overall more relaxed approach towards the Internet and technology than schools.   Companies want happy employees, because happy employees are more productive.   Many businesses filter the information on their network, but they do allow access to personal email sites such as Yahoo Mail and Hotmail.   Here are a few reasons why businesses limit access:

• Employees might access inappropriate, vulgar, and offensive content.
• Use of technology or social networking might reduce worker productivity.
• Bringing in a personal computer/Wi-Fi enabled device or accessing a personal email account might introduce viruses to the internal network.

I have spoken to many business professionals that tell me their company allows them to use social networking sites such as Facebook.   Recent news articles tell of progressive companies using Twitter to recruit candidates for open positions.   A company’s approach towards social networking may be directly related to its size, focus and understanding of the Internet.   Is it possible that smaller companies are unaware of their employees at-work Internet habits?

Individuals

I sat down with my 89 year old grandmother to show her my cousin’s Facebook the other day.   Although she understands the basic concepts of social networking and the Internet, she doesn’t see the need to share pictures, stories, or tweets about what she is presently doing.   She enjoys when I show her what our family in other states are up to but doesn’t have the desire to own a computer or even cable television.   Some folks simply resist online communication because they find it too complicated or they don’t see the need.   Whatever the case, the world in which we live continues to demand people of all ages interact with and use various technologies, including social networking sites.

An article by Amanda Lenhart at the Pew Internet and Life Project states, “The share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years — from 8% in 2005 to 35% now, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s December 2008 tracking survey.”   The growth of social networking has also been seen as TechCrunch recently reported FaceBook has officially hit the 250 million user mark.

An individual’s chosen career may significantly impact the way they engage online communication.   Folks such as teachers have been encouraged not to use social networking, a potential tool to improve student learning.   A 2007 statement published by the Ohio Education Association (OEA) states, “[The] OEA advises members not to join [social networking sites], and for existing users to complete the steps involved in removing their profiles,” and, ““While this advice might seem extreme, the dangers of participating in these two sites outweigh the benefits.”   Eschoolnews.com has a nice article summarizing the OEA memo.   Although somewhat dated, the dangers associated with social networking still exist for anyone that works in a public profession.

Many of the arguments for or against online communication boil down to the intended purpose.   How are the students, employees and individuals using these technologies?   While there is great benefit in social networking, the old adage, “Do not post drunken party pictures or bad things might happen” remains to be true.

What approach does your business or school take towards controlling your use of the Internet and social networking sites? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Does Your School, Business, or Grandma Embrace Social Networking? is a post by Matthew Dillon from Gotta Be Mobile.

Our local NBC affiliate put together the following video that features Jordan, who seems to really enjoy using gadgets in the classroom.

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Touch Computing Helps Autistic Kids Speak is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.