Already, freshman Sage Taylor at Gulf Coast High School in Naples gives the gadget high marks. Her algebra teacher, Renee White, has been using the pen to record lectures in an earlier class, which allows her to replay her instructions for a later class and frees her to walk around the room and help students.

“My grades were slipping before this,” Taylor said. “And I’ve noticed them improving.”

On Tuesday morning, White’s freshman students helped her demonstrate the technology for local media. Teachers volunteered for a chance to test the technology. The only requirement was that teachers had to have some special education students in their classes, because it may be most helpful to them.

Marketed as the Livescribe pen and selling for about $149 regular retail — plus $20 for the special paper needed, sold in a notebook — the smartpen allows the user to write on the paper and record his voice at the same time.

It’s then possible to stop and rewind to an earlier point in the session by tapping the penpoint on a character or simple dot written earlier. It syncs with computer software to project it all onto a large wall screen for classroom use.

White has observed more kids asking questions or for help as she walks around the classroom while the lecture plays. This educational multitasking has also helped students who missed a day or more of school.

By signing in to the Angel online learning platform, which the district has used for several years, students whose teachers use the smartpen can pick up the day’s lesson and not…

[Click here to read the entire story]

The competition deserves kudos for seeking out the two companies, but both Micromidas and Ecofactor have compelling stories that propelled them to success. Micromidas converts carbon from organic wastewater into biodegradable and recyclable bioplastics. The advantages are twofold: Micromidas eliminates the need for petrochemical-based plastic and cuts down on the amount of solid waste for disposal by wastewater treatment facilities. The company’s innovative approach to bioplastics scored a $3.6 million series A round.

EcoFactor offers a straightforward solution to high residential energy costs: a broadband gateway-connected wireless thermostat system that combines information from set parameters, past thermostat usage, and local weather patterns to adjust the temperature to comfortable–and energy-efficient–levels. “A big part of what’s resonating with people is the realization that a huge percentage of energy consumption in the U.S. is home energy use,” explained Ecofactor CEO John Steinberg in an interview with Fastcompany.com. “Half of all energy use in the country is in buildings, half of that is residential, and half of that is controlled by thermostat.” That huge potential market is why investors ponied up $3.6 million for a series A round of funding.

Other Cleantech Open alumni who have received funding in 2010 are listed below.

• Adura Technologies received a $12 million funding round from NGEN Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Claremont Creek Ventures

• Alphabet Energy received $320,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Army, and the Air Force

• Cascade Clean Energy received a $400,000 PIER Grant from the California Energy Commission

• EnerVault received $3.5 million in funding from U.S. Invest and Oceanshore Ventures

• FloDesign Wind Turbine closed a $34.5 million Series B funding round, with Series A venture investor Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers adding a syndicate of three major new investors: a Goldman Sachs managed investment fund, Technology Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners

• Lucid Design Group received a $1.5 million Series A funding from Dry Creek Investments

• New Sky Energy received $750,000 in upfront R&D funding from the Westlands Water District (Fresno, Calif.), with a total of $3.2 million set aside for a carbon capture and desalinization project in California’s Central Valley

• Nila received $100,000 from an individual investor

• Power Assure received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy

• SolarNexus received a $312,000 California Solar Initiative grant

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Può un software aiutarci a ridurre il consumo quotidiano di energia? La risposta arriva da Redwood City, cittadina in provincia di San Francisco sede, nei giorni scorsi, del Cleantech Open National Business Plan Competition, il concorso che da quattro anni a questa parte premia le invenzioni tecnologiche più eco-sostenibili. Dalla prima edizione del 2006 ad oggi, il Cleantech Open ha fatto emergere 125 team di ricerca che grazie ai finanziamenti e alla pubblicità ricevuta hanno portato a termine progetti interessanti e soprattutto utili. Da questi progetti sono nati 700 nuovi posti di lavoro, un po’ come a dire che la tecnologia verde non fa bene solo all’ambiente ma anche all’economia.

A vincere quest’anno è stata la EcoFactor, un’azienda specializzata in soluzioni personalizzate per il risparmio domestico di energia. Ha scavalcato i 278 concorrenti con un’idea semplice semplice ma utilissima: un software capace di regolare automaticamente il termostato di casa per ottenere ogni istante il maggior risparmio energetico alla miglior prestazione. Il premio consiste in un corposo assegno da 250mila dollari, naturalmente da reinvestire in altrettanti progetti verdi, accompagnato da nuovi uffici e servizi di consulenza gratuiti.

I progetti scelti per la selezione finale sono stati 70, suddivisi in cinque categorie, e per la prima volta quest’anno i partecipanti non provenivano tutti dalla California, indiscussa patria della new technology, ma anche dalla Rocky Mountain Region e dal Pacific Northwest. “Quest’anno è stato molto difficile scegliere il vincitore – spiega il presidente di giuria Christopher O. Vargas – ma abbiamo deciso di premiare la EcoFactor perché è riuscita a ottenere due ottimi risultati in un colpo solo: ridurre l’impatto del consumo energetico sull’ambiente e i suoi costi per l’utente”.

[Read entire article at repubblica.it]

Other features we’re seeing so far:

http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2009/10/west_coast_greens_coolest_things.html

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/02/west-coast-green-2009-day-1-roundup/

http://www.examiner.com/x-25408-Silicon-Valley-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m10d2-From-the-floor-of-West-Coast-Green

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/west-coast-green-2009-free-design-clinic-makes-quality-design-accessible.php

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail??blogid=150&entry_id=48668

http://www.greentechmedia.com/green-light/post/a-new-lease-on-light/

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/10/green-horizon-ondemand-housing-premiere.html

and more coming…

When the lights go down, the learning cranks up at Vans Elementary in Tinley Park. These second graders are getting their lesson with the help of interactive technology. They don’t sit and try to absorb what’s being taught. They get out of their seats and learn by doing.

These active classrooms as they’re called involve white board screens what about projector, and digital lesson plans. Students use remote controls for popsies, giving teachers instant feedback on how well students are learning.

Watch video below…

The digital team at District Administration paid a visit to eChalk at TCEA. Here’s the video:

Green’ construction guidelines go residential

“My contractor was reasonably receptive,” she recalls, “but things didn’t turn out as successfully as I wanted them to. We knew we wanted a more environmentally friendly home, but we didn’t really know enough to make that happen.”

While its windswept shape recalls jet aircraft, the Aptera 2e could also be the silicon sister of Eve, the streamlined robot from the animated film “Wall-E.” And as it glided silently through Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, the three-wheeled electric car seemed as futuristic and provocative as Wall-E’s icy-white object of desire. From children to usually stoic cops, onlookers pointed, grinned and gaped at this ultralight two-seater, which its backers said would go on sale later this year.

The Aptera took its star turn for the media, including a video I’m shooting for this Web site, at the Classic Car Club in SoHo. The car’s California-based backers discussed everything from the price — $25,000 to $40,000 depending on the powertrain — to its roughly 100-mile driving range, top speed of 90 miles an hour and eight-hour charge time on a normal household outlet.

[Read more about it at the New York Times]