[TIPS] - email threat and toys from trash

http://snipurl.com/m39q - If you don't have an anti-virus program, then THIS is what awaits you.

 

Don't want to spend the money on antivirus programs? Try one of these:

http://www.free-av.com/

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

 

But - you MUST have antivirus protection!

 

And now for something completely different...

 

http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys.html - make toys from trash

[TIPS] - Partners in Distance Learning

Does your school have a video conferencing unit? (Ask your tech person, if you're not sure) If you do have it, then this site may help you find some fun things to do with it. Virtual field trips, for example. Sign up at the site for more information.

 

http://www.partnersdl.org

 

 

[TIPS] - podcast examples

http://www.sandaigprimary.co.uk/radio_sandaig/index.php

 

This is a very cute example of a podcast. They do one monthly. I'd be willing to be that you can't listen to this without having a flood of ideas of your own.

 

Here's another one: http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/

 

Fun stuff for the kids! (Teachers, too)

[TIPS] - TiddlyWikiTutorial - Learn the Basics of TiddlyWiki

http://www.blogjones.com/TiddlyWikiTutorial.html
- - - - -snip - - - -
Welcome to TiddlyWiki, a free MicroContent WikiWikiWeb by JeremyRuston. It's written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run on any modern browser without needing any ServerSide logic. It allows anyone to create personal SelfContained hypertext documents that can be posted to any WebServer, sent by email or kept on a USB thumb drive to make a WikiOnAStick. This is revision 2.0.3 of TiddlyWiki, and is published under an OpenSourceLicense.
- - - - -
Or, skip the tutorial (not advised) and go right/write to it. :-) http://www.tiddlywiki.com/

This is very cool stuff, but I'd be interested to know how many of you really understand what you're seeing. Below are the main features:
- - -snip- - -
compatibility with most modern browsers (at the moment you can only SaveChanges on FireFox, InternetExplorer under Windows and Safari on the Mac
various InterfaceOptions, including the ability to GenerateAnRssFeed, SaveBackups and AutoSave
a liquid CSS layout that can be customised with a CustomStyleSheet
KeyboardShortcuts so you can finish editing a tiddler with Control-Enter or abandon it with Escape
rich formatting including MonospacedText, ExtendedFormatting, NonWikiWordLinks, WikiWordEscape, PrettyLinks, SubHeadings, BulletPoints, NumberedBulletPoints, Tables, BlockQuotes, HorizontalRules
InlineHTML
..EmbeddedImages:
Macros providing rich interactive features, including Sparklines and Gradients
some BugFixes balanced by some KnownBugs
a flexible OpenSourceLicense
- - - -
I sure hope the links in here aren't all messed up as they are from time to time. But, if you get an error message for a page, check the URL to be sure that there aren't two http:// in the beginning of the address. Also, a reminder thta you can find an archive of my tips here: http://tipline.blogspot.com

[TIPS] - DV editing - free

http://www.avid.com/freedv/

 

- - - - snip - - -

Professional DV Editing for the enthusiast

Perfect for students, DV camera owners, video enthusiasts or anyone exploring video editing - Avid Free DV software is an easy, free way to join the Avid family and test-drive the industry-standard editing interface used by more professionals than any other video editing solution.

Avid Free DV is feature-streamlined, standalone software which includes basic video and audio editing capabilities, up to two streams of real-time effects and support for both Windows XP and Macintosh OS X platforms.

[TIPS] - 2005 in Pictures

I was reminded that I had already sent out the last tip. So sorry.

 

Try this one: http://www.msnbc.com/modules/yip05/dw.asp?nStartOn=1 

 

Make sure you see the tabs at the top, as well. Perhaps a good writing prompt for your students?

[tips]- Essay Contest from Oprah

http://www2.oprah.com/obc_classic/open/obc_essay_contest.jhtml

 

Did your students read, "Night" by ELIE WIESEL? If so, perhaps they'd like to enter this essay contest. Better hurry - the deadline is Feb 6.

- - -

Thanks to Sue V for sharing this.

[TIPS] - sightseeing with GoolgeMaps

http://perljam.net/google-satellite-maps/

 

Sightseeing with Google Maps. What's fun to see?

 

Try the Airplane graveyard site - thousands of old, abandoned airplanes, rusting away on the desert.

Or, how about the infamous Area 51? Some are quite good. Others are disappointing - like the Pyramids, for example.

 

If you follow some of the other links you can find a blog (http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/) where you can find all sorts of "mashups", or Google maps with markers on them. One such mashup will show you - in real time - where the trains are in Dublin, Ireland. Another will tell you where you'd end up if you dug a really deep hole to the other side of the Earth. :-)

—---

P.S. Remember, if you click a link and you get an error on the page, check the address to see if there are two http:// in the front. I've not yet figured out what's causing that to happen.

[TIPS] - Web 2.0 example

Check out this scenario that would not have been possible just a couple of years ago.

--------

In last night's online Grad class (from Bloom) my group of four was given the daunting task to develop a lengthy presentation for next Thursday. YIKES! How were we going to work together as a group to accomplish this? We had to settle on the topic, outline, details, and finally the building of the presentation itself.

 

Enter writely.com (remember it from a previous tip?)

 

I created a document at www.writely.com and typed in the basic shell of the assignment along with MY proposed solution for it. I then clicked the collaborate button and entered the email addresses of the other three in the class and the site sent them an invitation to work on this document. We can work on it either synchronously or asynchronously, so we COULD join our live Centra class to gain access to the voice communication tool, then log into writely.com and all work on the file together. Each person's additions are color coded so we know who is adding what. We can also choose to save the file to our hard drive, as well so we can work on it later without going online, but this copy stays online.

 

Cool? it gets better.

 

I then went into my bloglines account and, using the RSS feed from our document in Writely.com, I subscribed to that document. That means that anytime one of our group gets in there and makes changes I'll get notified in bloglines (and on my homepage in Firefox) of that change.

 

How cool is that? THAT is why they call it The Read/Write Web.

[TIPS] - Free Spanish Lessons via Video Podcast

Get Spanish lessons as podcasts! Very cool.

 

http://www.rollingrs.com/

 

[TIPS] - Qoop

Here's something very cool. Do you know Flickr? www.flickr.com - it's a place where you can store and share photos, link them to your blog, and so much more.

 

Anyway, THIS site: http://www.qoop.com/ will let you select a set of your Flickr images and create a book out of them. It'll print them as a poster of smaller images, or as a book with 4 images per page, complete with your written description. All with just a few clicks of your mouse. The price is reasonable, too.

 

What a great way to capture the fun times from your classroom. Post your digital images to Flickr, then use this site to make the printed copy. The kids will love it.

- - - - -

And, once again, yesterday's link came through with two http's again. Just when I thought I knew what was causing that. Bottom line - if it doesn't work when you click on it, copy and paste it into your browser.

[TIPS] - Education Podcast Network

The education Podcast Network.

http://www.epnweb.org/

- - - - - snip - - -

The Education Podcast Network is an effort to bring together into one place, the wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

[TIPS] - power of ten - revisited

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5555313278261147278&q=powers+of+ten

 

If this site isn't blocked at your school, check it out. This video starts with a picture of a couple having a picnic. Each subsequent frame is shown from a distance of a power of ten further away. It zooms out to many light years away, then back in again down INTO the hand of the man at the picnic.

 

This is a narrated movie version that's similar to the other power-of-ten animation I sent out a while back.

—---------

And just for fun...

http://www.fabrica.it/flipbook/flipbook_maker.php

 

Thanks to Dave K for sharing this one. An online flipbook. Remember how we used to draw little pictures at the bottoms of our tablets, then flip through them to watch the animation? At this site you can create your own flipbook.

[TIPS] - Martin Luther King, Jr resources

Thanks to Carolyn P for putting me onto this site: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/listen  There you can listen to three different speeches - Dr King's "I Had A Dream", another by President Kennedy, and a third by President Johnson.

 

And, don't forget to check United Streaming for videos of that speech (and others), as well. In fact, click the "Learning Tools" link in the top, blue frame, then the Calendar, and then the 16th of January for a nice list of links to videos, etc.

 

Oh, and don't forget Nettrekker, too. I'm CERTAIN there are MANY sites in there.

[TIPS] - sudoku puzzles

Thanks to Deb M for sharing this one.

Ever heard of sudoku puzzles? Here's the wikipedia definition (very complete): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku

And here: http://www.sudokuscore.com/ is a sudoku website where you can find puzzles for all age and skill levels. I thought I was doing pretty good- until I saw that it was set to Kids level 1. <sigh>

There is even a bit of html code that will allow you to paste that code into YOUR website to let users click a link to get the puzzle of the day. I'll bet that those of you with middle school aged students and above might be surprised to see how many of your students would get hooked on these puzzles, too. Print out the daily puzzles for your bulletin board and watch to see who accepts the challenge.

[TIPS] - bibliomania

Remember cliff notes? THere are several places online where you (or the kids) can find the electronic version of cliff notes - which is worse since now all they have to do is copy and paste. They don't even have to read the notes anymore, either!

 

Well, here's another one that you may want to be aware of. http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/frameset.html

 

And here's another one (oldie but goodie) that has undergone some big changes of late: http://www.sparknotes.com/

 

[TIPS] - Amazon phishing scam

Thanks to Barry for sharing this. He received the following message in his email. The address appeared to be Amazon.com where he'd made purchases in the past. I'll let you read it, then I'll tell you how to avoid becomming a victim. I've modified the URL so it shouldn't work. Don't try it.
- - -

Greetings from Amazon Payments.

Your bank has contacted us regarding some attempts of charges from your credit card via the Amazon system. We have reasons to believe that you changed your registration information or that someone else has unauthorized access to your Amazon account Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized listings placed on your account, we will require a second confirmation of your identity with us in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. Your account is not suspended, but if in 48 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to suspend your Amazon registration. If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of Amazon policy to represent oneself as another Amazon user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. Amazon is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To confirm your identity with us click here:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidois/flex-sign-in/ref=pd_irl_gw_r/103-31707084-75067864?opt=oa&page=recs/sign-in-secure.html

After responding to the message, we ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated. Emailing us before that time will result in delays. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you and we would like to thank you for your cooperation as we review this matter.
Thank you for your interest in selling at Amazon.com.

Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
- - - -
It APPEARS as though the URL is indeed amazon.com. It SOUNDS official. And, if correct, it COULD mean a real hassle with your bank. Right?

 

WRONG! What are the signs that this is a fraud? Read this: http://tinyurl.com/eyv4h (Note the link at the bottom of the page for how you can report such emails so that they can investigate them.)

 

In fact, your banks don't contact you this way, nor does ebay. If anyone DOES then they will NOT send you a link. Why, it's VERY easy to create a link that LOOKS like it's going one place but actually goes somewhere else. So, knowing that, the companies will make YOU type in the address. There are other reasons why this is bogus, but it's important that you know about these phishing schemes.

 

Oh, DO NOT CLICK THE LINKS in those emails, either. You'll be taken to a page where some code could be executed that extracts things from your computer before you have even read the page. Either delete the email or send it along to Amazon so they can try to find the culprit.

 

Let's be safe out there.  :-)

[TIPS] - littleclickers

http://www.littleclickers.com

 

- - - snip - - -

Welcome all you kids, teachers, children's librarians and really smart goldfish! This site is dedicated to excellence in educational web sites for children (aged 3-to 12-years), as judged by the picky editors of Children's Technology Review magazine.

 - - -

 

I now know why my links were getting corrupted, so it shouldn't happen again. The links from the past two days (writely.com and the nasa site) were BOTH bad, and while that was MOST bothersome it did clue me in on why it was happening.

 

- - - More from the World is Flat- -

Two thirds (2/3) of the nation's Math and Science teachers will retire by 2010. Yet, the number of 18-24yr olds with science degrees is 17th in the WORLD! (Interesting that he'd go as young as 18, isn't it?)

[TIPS] - Earth Observatory at NASA

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

From the site:
- - - - - snip - - - -
MISSION

The purpose of NASAs Earth Observatory is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earths climate and environmental change. In particular, we hope our site is useful to public media and educators. Any and all materials published on the Earth Observatory are freely available for re-publication or re-use, except where copyright is indicated. We ask that NASAs Earth Observatory be given credit for its original materials.

We encourage Earth scientists and science writers from all NASA centers, as well as all agencies and universities affiliated with NASAs Earth Science Enterprise, to submit articles and/or images for publication on the Earth Observatory. Prospective contributing authors and graphic artists should refer to our Online Style Guide before submitting.
- - - - -

From the World is Flat book: (re: The importance of Science and Math in schools today)

40% of the 18000+ employees at NASA are over the age of 50

22% are over 55

12% over 60 while only 4% are under 30

Will YOUR student become a scientist for NASA?

[TIPS] - collaborate with your word files

http://www.writely.com/

Writely is a web word processor that provides simple and secure document collaboration and publishing on the web using only the browser.

1. First, you create a document: Either by typing it in, or by uploading a Word/OpenOffice document, html, text or image file. Use our editor to format the text, add tables, images, etc.

2. Next, you share it with others: Enter people's e-mail addresses to grant them access to the document. Send them a message from Writely to tell them about it.

3. Then, you can edit it together online: If another person starts editing the same document, a small notice will appear. Your changes will be automatically sync'd with theirs every few seconds.

Oh - it's F-R-E-E!

- - - - - - - - - -

Watch this spot for some (alarming?) statistics that I've read in, "The World Is Flat." That was my Christmas break read. Oh, and a reminder - http://tipline.blogspot.com is my blog archive of tips dating back to May, if you'd like to find an old tip.