Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
Depending upon how this case comes out, this could REALLY drive a stake through the heart of creativity in schools. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1196318455194970.xml&coll=1
Some kids made a video for class. Fine.
Some kids edited the movie to make fun of the kid who starred in it. Wrong.
Mother of abused kid sues the school. Outrageous!!
During a recent "out-of-the-box" training by the Apple folks as part of the Classrooms for the Future this site was presented to us as part of.. well, part of something else, actually. But I thought your social studies teachers might like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_anniversaries
Yes, it's a wikipedia article. And it shows another reason why wikipedia should NOT be blocked at school. (https://webmail.caiu.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071127-banning-wikipedia-at-school-good-idea-or-missed-opportunity.html - thanks to Courtney Engle for sharing that one with us) Yes, we ALL know by now that you don't want to cite it. Fine. Now let's get past the fear, shall we?
There are those who will point to this site and declare it to be a very one-sided viewpoint – and the WRONG side to boot. Others will argue that it’s the correct side and impartial. Whatever your viewpoints this is bound to provide tons of material for debate, or some excellent writing prompt material.
How did I find this? First, I was perusing the list of nominated wikis for the Edublogs contest. One wiki (http://goapes.wikispaces.com/) was mentioned and I spent some time in there. (What? You say you can’t view wikis in school? Shame!) This wiki was put together by the teachers and students of an AP Environmental Science program. It is excellent! Check it out. Look at the books they’re reading. Look at the feeds they’re getting. Check out their projects. This is good stuff.
Oh, and here are the other nominated wikis:
Horizon Project 2007
Mr. Lee’s Math 12 Advanced Class
Salute to Seuss
Welker’s Wikinomics
Hurry and vote for your favorite wiki or blog. Voting ends on December 6th. http://edublogawards.com/2007/best-resource-sharing-blog-2007/
J
Check this out: “The
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16709807&ft=1&f=1013 This is part two of the series I mentioned earlier. What struck me about that introduction to the feed is that it mentions the professors using blogs and wikis in their classrooms. Yet, many of the districts right around here do not permit such tools. Tools that not only should not be blocked but should be promoted. Can they even say that they’re preparing students for college? They SURELY cannot say that they’re preparing them for life. <sigh>
Give part 2 a listen.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16638700
It's a fact - online education is here to stay. And it's big business, too. I just finished my Master's in Instructional Technology from Bloomsburg University - all done online. We met once a week synchronously via Centra and the rest of the materials were on Blackboard. For me, the only thing that kept me going were the live weekly sessions. They gave me a sense on a real connection to a class. But, the point is, the entire program was online.
The above NPR story is the first part of a two part story. They talk about the University of Illinois-Springfield, in particular. The second part should appear sometime today. If you get a chance, listen to the story. Both parts. Do you subscribe to the podcast?
People have been asking (ok… A person has asked), “When does the voting close for the Edublogs award?” To that person I say, “Thanks for asking. Voting ends on December 6th and the winners to be announced the next day.”
So, if you’re reading this post, I’d SURELY appreciate a vote here: http://edublogawards.com/2007/best-resource-sharing-blog-2007/
I feel cheapened. Begging for votes. So sad.
OK.. so here’s a tip to balance it out. Lots of folks have been talking about his site recently: http://www.asterpix.com/ Very cool site. It lets you build interactive videos with hypertext bubbles on your videos. Click on a link in the bubble to go to learn more about what’s going on. The only thing that bothers me, again, is that it IS going to be blocked at school. NO doubt. A very cool tool, perhaps, but it’ll never see the light of day. I’d tell you why but then this email would get caught in the spam filter. J
I just realized that I’d been sitting here for the past 5 minutes with my jaw hanging open in complete shock at this. http://edublogawards.com/edublog-awards-2007-finalists-announced/ I had no idea until I read Darren Draper’s post about it and … there it was. MY blog! Nominated in the Best Resource Sharing Blog category. It’s true. Here it is: http://edublogawards.com/2007/best-resource-sharing-blog-2007/
Show this one to your biology teachers. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/195 When I saw that it was about the foot I thought, “How good could this be?” I’m glad I watched it.
In this video Robert Full from UC Berkley shows slow motion video of how many different creatures use their feet. Why? To be able to build a robot who feet function just as well. Just wait until you see this video.
I think that it would be a fun video to show the biology classes.
http://www.izzit.org/videoclub/index.php
I saw an excellent video in a social studies class today. It was about eminent domain. It was free to teachers. In fact, teachers can get one free each year that they're in the classroom. The ONLY requirement is that they submit a feedback form to them regarding the video. Not bad, eh?
The teacher also said that the video he has from this site: http://stosselintheclassroom.org/ is also excellent.
Share this with your favorite social studies teacher.
Posted in: computer consulting
Ever since last year’s PETE&C conference and word that I was going to be involved with the conference this year, many people have said, “If you need any help, let me know.” Well, if that offer still stands, I’m letting you know. We’re looking for “Ambassadors” (aka volunteers) to help out with a variety of simple tasks from helping the presenters to helping with the many odd jobs that come up throughout the conference.
There are two goals for us and for those who take on those roles. First, we want to make sure that the volunteers can still get to see and hear the sessions that interest them. Second, we want to make sure those tasks are done.
And so, if you ARE interested in donating a bit of your time, please send me an email to jgates513@gmail.com to let me know. And thank you for even considering to help!
Here’s another article that was included in a recent ASCD brief. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071124/LOCAL/711240506/1196/LOCAL11
http://www.5min.com/Video/The-complete-I-tunes-tutorial-3455
Yes, it’s true. How on earth did I learn about this? Yes, you guessed it. Through my blogs, of course. J THIS post, to be exact: http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/archives/2007/11/entry_3928.htm
I have used Camtasia to record all sorts of screencasts or to convert other movies I’ve made into other more web-friendly formats. Like this video: http://home.comcast.net/~gates808/cabin/turkey2_controller.swf that I took with my digital camera and converted to flash for fast loading on the web.
Now, this free version is an older version, but so what? It’ll get you started editing and converting and making movies and screencasts in record time. And you’re then eligible for an upgrade to the current version. Still, I believe the education discounts are better than this upgrade price, but I’ve been wrong before. What I’m NOT wrong about is how good the program is. If you’re a windows user, rush out and get this today.
This past year I have had the opportunity to experiment with many of the Web 2.0 tools which have allowed me to share my desktop (Yuuguu.com, Gatherplace.net), do video-conferencing (Skype, OoVoo) and to collaborate with others. Using a host of these services has extended my reach shall we say, and I know that the upcoming new year will bring me opportunities to further reach out and provide a host of services that were once just not possible. With broadband access it is now possible to have a genuine presence and provide both tutoring, consulting and training with your computer. Having access to high quality video conferencing through a service like OoVoo changes the playing field and provides a level of communication and feedback that was not possible through email or instant messaging.
successfully able to share the desktop and share applications on the Windows platform. Moving through my PowerPoint was effortless and the audio and video really helped to have a presence as I was doing the webinar. Overall, dimdim performed well and the interface was easy to use without the need for any manuals or directions. If you are looking to provide webinars and do more of your training and consulting via the web then take a look at dimdim and let me know what you think. The price is right!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M
Carl Sagen narrates this perspective of the Earth in the galaxy and beyond. Another good writing prompt, perhaps? Someone posted this on the Classroom 2.0 ning.
Remember to use zamzar (or something similar) to download it if you can't see YouTube.
Hardly a topic for Thanksgiving, I realize, but this is when I’ll have time to write about it for a while.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7097052.stm
I first heard of this story from one of my blogs (can you imagine?), the Long Views blog. I’m a member of the Long Now organization, and a metal card-carrying one, at that. But I digress…
Here is a story about the doomsday vault which is built into a mountain. The vault “…will house seeds from all known varieties of key food crops.” Why? Well, in case of a major disaster of some kind. We’ll need seeds to begin growing crops again. It’s costing the Norwegian government $9m to build.
I don’t know what to say about this. I just think it’s … interesting.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/11/megans_tragedy.html
You won’t believe this story.
Cyber-bullying has been around since the first bulletin board. But THIS story will shock you. It ends with the suicide of Megan Meier due to continued cyber bullying. But the REAL tragedy and horror of this story lies with who was DOING the bullying. Read it.
You would think that cyber bullying would be the easiest thing in the world to avoid, wouldn’t you? If it’s happening in a chat, block that user. If it’s happening via email, set a rule to auto-delete. But, when it’s happening in your facebook account then only YOU can delete the comments – and you must first read them to see if they should be deleted.
Show these videos to your students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3oO3lbBGJQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtFtbaKIYyg And remember, if you can’t view these at school, DOWNLOAD them from sites like http://www.zamzar.com/url/ Just paste those url’s in the Step 1 field, choose your output format in step 2, give an email address in step three, then click to convert. You’ll receive an email later with al ink to the converted movie so you can download it to show to your classes. This is SO important, isn’t it?
I tend to use MindManager Pro 7 daily to plan and organize information that I will need for my seminars and graduate classes, but if you are like me you tend to use only a limited number of features in any software appliction. While I was perusing the Mindjet website I came across their 30 Minute Power Training video sessions which really shows you all of the ways you can use MindManager to be more effective at what you do. The four training video modules include:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/11/half-world-away-and-still-youre-near-me.html
Read that post. As she asks, “What are YOU doing to connect?”
Q: What do these folks have in common: Neil Turok, Dave Eggers, and Karen Armstrong?
A: They are all winners of the Ted Prize and will be granted a Wish
Many thanks to
Remember that? Well, at almost $400 we’re not there yet. BUT… you MUST check this out. The Kindle reader lets you wirelessly read books, blogs, news feeds and much more. You’ve GOTTA see this video demo on this page!
Project this out ten years. Twenty years. Do you think textbook publishers are nervous? Or do you think they’re already making plans for the conversion?
Better yet – do you think this device will be banned in our schools? :-)
Once again someone has asked for a suggestion for an alternative to flickr for creating photo slideshows. Why? If you create an embed object that pulls its images from flickr – and flickr is blocked – then your object won’t work. You can embed a slideshow, send a link to it, or post a or share a photo from the slideshow. You can also order prints or create gifts (calendars, books, posters, etc). There are some nice templates to use with your photos, too.
Bubbleshare doesn’t mashup with flickr. You must upload your photos. So, as long as bubbleshare isn’t blocked you can see your pictures. If it IS blocked, ask to have it evaluated. This looks like a very family friendly site. Now, I’m not guaranteeing ANYTHING. I looked at the first 7 pages and didn’t find any that were inappropriate. But, I did NOT look at all of them.
Anyway, check it out: http://www.bubbleshare.com/
My del.icio.us account has become quite the resource for me. It’s not because of what *I* add to it, but for what others have sent me. This is fun. But, it’s also a very good way for students to share sites with you. Show them delicious and let them know your account name. Then encourage them to send you links. Oh… but delicious is blocked in so many schools, isn’t it? Oh well….
Look at what has been sent to me recently:
MANY thanks to those who are sharing these links with me. Sue, Ken R, Ken P, Kevin, Kristin, Chris,
Posted in: Thanksgiving
The Windows keys have this symbol on, and are generally located near the Alt keys. Posted in: Keyboard shortcut
Amazon today released Kindle, a new book eReader gadget that allows you to download books, magazines and blogs. It uses the EVDO network to keep you connected to the Amazon website which means you do not need to be in the range of a Wifi connection to download books or to access the Amazon Store. There is no fee for being connected to the EVDO network for users. The Amazon Kindle will retail for $399 dollars and New York Times best sellers will cost you $9.95 to download. The question I have is, do we need another gadget to read books? While the demonstration looked pretty cool do we really need another electronic device to handle our books? Lets see I carry a cell phone, iPod, Palm and now a Kindle! While there are certainly advantages to digital books and magazines, I for one still enjoy holding a magazine or book when reading. I know that when I have to read long passages or documents on the web I still prefer to print them and read them at my leisure. For those with reading disabilities it would be great to have text to speech built into the Amazon Kindle-but this is not feature that is built in at this time. I would be interested in your comments and views on the Kindle.
If you wish to remove a button from the toolbar, follow the instructions above for opening the 'Customize' dialog, but rather than drag from the dialog box to the toolbar, click on the button you wish to remove from the toolbar and drag it into the dialog box.
Posted in: IT audits
About a year ago I read about a company that was working on a SD Memory Card which would also include WiFi support. Having a SD Card with WiFi support would allow you to upload your digital pictures from your camera as long as you were in earshot of your WiFi network. It would be as simple as configuring the SD Card and then have your digital camera upload the pictures to your favorite website through your wireless network. Well today I was reading Steve Hargodon's blog as he recounted his experience with Eye-Fi the new 2GB SD Card with built-in WiFi. Steve had a great experience with Eye-Fi out of the box and it looks like this could be a great gift for the holidays. I for one know that one of the stumbling blocks of using a digital camera is uploading my pictures to my Phanfare account. With the Eye-Fi the problem could be easily solved. I hope to get an Eye-Fi SD Card to review shortly.
Posted in: computer consulting
I want to thank Gaelen and Kymberly from Mindjet, Inc for all their help and assistance for putting together the webinar which I recently did focusing on: Innovative uses of MindManager Pro 7 Pro both in and out of the Classroom. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but the webinar was recorded and is now available online for those of you who weren't able to see it live. To view the recorded webinar click on this link. I hope you enjoy it- I know I really enjoyed doing the webinar and look forward to working with Mindjet, Inc on some future webinars.
Anyone else see today's Dilbert cartoon? Since it's likely blocked at school I'll give you the details. ;-)
Scene 1: "Mordac: The preventer of Information Services"
Mordac (who has tiny little devil horns) says: "Security is more important than Usability"
Scene 2: Mordac continues, "In a perfect world, no-one would be able to use ANYthing."
Scene 3: User sitting at a computer. The message on the computer reads, "To complete the log-in procedure stare directly at the sun."
Have a GREAT Friday! :-)
Chuck Frey has posted the results of a his most recent survey on web based mind mapping applications which can be viewed with this link. Chuck's survey are always informative and insightful and speak to the issues of using web based applications for mind mapping. I think that you will find both the quantitative and qualitative results very interesting. In particular, I think you will find user comments very interesting and right on the money. There are certainly lots of advantages as well as disadvantages of using web based applications which the survey highlights.
Many thanks to Ken Pruitt (http://dasdtips.blogspot.com/2007/11/knowing-vs-understanding.html) for sharing this one with us on his blog. http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html
This flash-based site will have the kids exploring and discovering all sorts of things about the first Thanksgiving. Make sure you see the Teacher’s Guide.
Oh, and this may load slowly for you as the word spreads on this very timely site.
I love my blogs. Not "MY" blogs, y' know, but the blogs that I read. Have I mentioned that lately?
Take this post: http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=357
He asked his third graders to write a short essay about what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving. Then he.. well, I'll let you read it. But he pointed me/us to this site: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373664,00.html It's a photo story entitled, "What the World Eats." It's just 16 slides. Take a look. THEN write YOUR essay.
I'm a lucky man.
Why can’t WE do this? http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/11/meet-my-students-live-on-wednesday.html
I had reported to you several months ago about the Livescribe smartpen which will be released early next year. Livescribe is presently accepting pre-orders at this time through the end of December. If you want to be first in line to receive this technological smartpen you can pre-order and save on the shipping and handling charges. There are some new pictures on the web site which show the actual pen and some of the accessories. The pen looks to be about the size of a Mont Blanc pen and it has an OLED display as well as a microphone and speakers built in. I am hopeful that I can receive a Livescribe smartpen to
review for the blog and for my newsletter Inclusion Times. With all of its capabilities it could be a real god send for those that struggle to simultaneously take notes and listen to the content. Since the Livescribe pen synchronizes the audio and the text the student could always go back and review the notes. Wow- that will be way cool! Time will tell!
Sitting in a three day workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) gave me some time to reflect on the state of software development and the power of the Internet. The focus of the three day workshop was on helping teachers to remove barriers to math instruction (Grades 5-8) in the classroom. Using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model we were able to look carefully at textbooks and lessons and figure out ways that we could present math lessons so that we provide students with multiple mean of representing math concepts. As our workshop leaders from CAST were presenting the information they pointed us to various sites on the Internet that offered students the opportunity to work with virtual manipulatives. I was thinking that just a couple of years ago we would have been discussing the use of commercial software to meet our objectives but now we were focused on websites that offer a rich source of math manipulatives that students could work with to help them better understand and visualize math concepts. Tings have certainly changed in such a short period of time. Take a look at some of these websites to see whats there- you will be amazed!
Posted in: handheld devices
Posted in: PowerPoint
MANY thanks to Kurt Paccio for his post that tells us of a free, remote control ap for PowerPoint on the macs. http://weblog.techruminations.org/2007/11/macbook-remote-control-with-powerpoint.html As soon as I get home I'm going to download this one and give it a workout. As Kurt asks, has anyone out there tried this one yet?
As you can see, I have a number of drives on my PC. On most machines there will only be two drives listed in the list. Select the drive you wish to search for deleted files, usually this will be 'Windows drive C:', and click on the tick.
The software may take some time to scan your drive, when finished it will present you with a list of deleted files and folders that it has found. Note that each file's condition is listed and even when the file condition is 'good' it may not be restored in totality.
Try to locate the lost file in the list. If you find it, right-click on it and select 'Save as'. If possible select a location of a different hard-drive or a USB memory stick. With luck your file will be restored.
If you can't find your file in the list, try searching for it by clicking on the magnifying glass icon, and typing in the filename of the lost file. The search engine supports wild-cards. Click here for a previous post that explains the use of wild-cards. If the software finds your file you can right-click on it and save it as above.
Posted in: computer consulting
1:32 PM
ari sari
