TipLine - Gates' Computer Tips

The Scam - Part II

2012-01-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

It's only been about 24 hours since I heard about this scam, so we're not far into the process. Those scammers downloaded EVERYTHING off his computer. Everything. There good news, if there IS any to be found in this mess, is that he didn't have a quicken or Excel file anywhere that would have contained his important information. But, if they have his password to his email - which is the same password he has for everything - then they have access to WAY too much information.

So, the first thing he did was unplug the computer. (Closing the barn door after the horses have all left.)

Next, he called his Credit Union to report it and to stop his cards. For some reason it sounded to me like they only stopped his check card and not his Visa, so I encouraged him to call them back tomorrow to be sure they canceled both.

Next, he called the FBI to report it. The thinking was that they would then be on the alert for activity on his Social Security number. Wrong. They suggested he visit www.ic3.gov and file a report. Of course he can't do that on his computer, so he'll have to do it from work .

He will also be paying a company their $10/month fee to watch over and protect his SS#. An identity theft protection company. So, he's now got $120/yr added expense.

And he'll be coming over to my place on Sunday? Why? Well, I, being the closest thing to tech support that he can find, will spend much of Sunday reinstalling Windows XP. We'll format c: and start fresh. Of course, his CD is six years old, so the number of updates will be mind blowing, I'm sure. I'd rather chew razor blades than to sit and fuss with Windows all day, but that's what's going to happen. It's a full day's work. I KNOW why tech folks charge at least $200 to do it. It would be SO much easier if he could somehow spring for a new laptop, but I know that to be out of the question, as well.

Once again, PLEASE send an email to everyone in your address book and warn them against this scam. This isn't over by a long shot. It's going to get more costly as it moves forward. Costly both in terms of money AND time.

The Scam - Part I

2012-01-26T22:05:00.001-05:00

My friend is no dummy. It's just that the timing of this scam couldn't have been better - for the scammers, that is. Couldn't have been worse for my friend.

His 6 year old Windows XP machine is probably loaded with spyware. I say that because it takes about 15-20 minutes to boot. Sometimes even longer. There were multiple hangs and freezes, and each one accompanied by the notice that asked if this error should be reported. He always said yes, figuring that it would keep the Microsoft folks employed.

Re-imaging a windows machine is no job for a novice, and paying someone else to do it was out of the question. The computer just wasn't worth the $200 that it would no doubt cost. I showed him how to put it into Hibernate mode instead of shutting it down, and that helped him tolerate this slow machine a while longer. In retrospect, that turned out not to be such a favor.

One evening he received a phone call from a very pleasant sounding woman who identified herself as an employee of Microsoft. She claimed to have been noticing an abnormal number of error messages (I think she called them error codes), and she was offering to fix them. How? Just allow her access to his computer and she'd take care of it.

Now, you and I know better, right? Microsoft doesn't employ people to call the homes of users, even if they DID somehow know your phone number, and volunteer to fix your computer. But, she even gave him a phone number and suggested that they hang up and he could call her back after he confirmed everything. But, after all, there WERE a lot of error codes coming from his computer. Still... it smelled fishy. But yet, she was SO helpful over the phone. You can almost see the little angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, can't you?

Long story short, he DID allow this woman to have complete control of his machine. She said it would take quite a while, so he left it on and went to bed. Somewhere around 2:30AM he heard it reboot. That sick feeling in his stomach hadn't left. He just wasn't sure about this, but it was too late now. By the time I found out about it the next day it had been over 12 hours since she took control of his machine.

In the interest of reading comfort I'm going to stop this post here. I'll continue with Part II to let you know what he's gone through since then. In the meantime, PLEASE tell ALL your friends about this scam. It's SO easy for it to work, because if you've got a windows computer in the house, chances are it's running poorly and throwing errors. It's the perfect scam.


Creative Commons: Flickr: Ivers

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2012-01-21T19:31:00.001-05:00

Wolfram Education Portal: Free Resources and Materials for Teachers

Check this out. Send it to your math and science teachers, especially.

tags: wolframalpha
Welcome to the Frontpage

tags: history socialstudies animation battles revoutionarywar
Mission US | THIRTEEN

Revolutionary war game.

tags: revolutionarywar game
LIBERTY! . Road to Revolution Game | PBS

Nice interactive game about the Revolutionary war

tags: revolutionarywar history game interactive games

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2012-01-14T19:33:00.001-05:00

Record & Share your PowerPoint presentations | Present.me

A really easy way to present and record yourself.

tags: presentation

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2012-01-07T19:31:00.001-05:00

Top Ten Twitter Hashtags for Educators – SimpleK12

A nice list to get new twitter users started.

tags: twitter hashtags
QR voice

Record from the computer and it will generate a qrcode that will point users to the recorded message.

tags: QRcode
Reverb | ECHO

We are proud to announce the Operational release of "Reverb", the next generation metadata and service discovery tool. Reverb has been developed utilizing modern web development technologies and presents you with a fresh new look and interface for discovering Earth Science data. We invite you to give it a try and let us know what you think. Reverb will be continually updated on a monthly basis taking into account your user feedback and other enhancements which are currently planned. Your feedback will be critical in us ensuring that you are able to find and access the data you need in the best way possible.

tags: earth science nasa

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2011-12-31T19:31:00.001-05:00

Critical thinking

"Applying critical thinking skills through web research can help students:

Improve search skills.
Evaluate the information they find.
Incorporate them in their work."

tags: resources

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2011-12-24T19:31:00.001-05:00

How to Harness the Power of the Cloud | Mac|Life

Stash your stuff in the cloud with our handy guide on online backups http://t.co/MLN7l4Gu
geteach.com

tags: google earth
Using Google Earth in the classroom | Google Earth Blog

Today we're looking at GEteach [Google Earth PLUGIN required.] , a site developed by 9th-grade Geography teacher Josh Williams. The site uses the Google Earth Plug-in to give you quick access to a wide variety of information such as the CIA Factbook, population densities, and various other human and physical geographic overlays.

tags: google earth

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2011-12-17T19:31:00.001-05:00

YouTube Blog: Opening up a world of educational content with YouTube for Schools

YouTube changes for educators: "YouTube for Schools" http://t.co/xJ1RRZeo with educational playlists & network setting for administrators

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2011-12-10T19:31:00.001-05:00

PhotoFunia :: Effects

A fun way to make a new picture of yourself. Save this for when you want to turn yourself into Santa.

tags: photos fun
Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars - 60 Minutes - CBS News

advantage of PST “@jdickerson: The amazing Scott Pelley piece everyone is talking about on family homelessness. http://t.co/Y5GnrNZu”
Day 12: Google Docs on the Go With My iPad | PCWorld Business Center

Gdocs on iPad #edcamphbg @jgates513 http://t.co/IkupYoS4

tags: edcamphbg
I'm resending the link to the article about how we

#educoach I'm resending the link to the article about how we do coaching: http://bit.ly/ibU3Cf

tags: educoach
Sue Woodruff created this very useful tool for mea

#educoach Sue Woodruff created this very useful tool for measuring your impact: http://bit.ly/a0nthL

tags: educoach
edchat / FrontPage

Here is the #edchat wiki: http://bit.ly/3T4hh2. Archives are put up there by @jswiatek #140edu

tags: edchat 140edu
you can read about how we propose doing coaching a

#educoach you can read about how we propose doing coaching and how we enroll teachers in this article too http://bit.ly/peW4wy

tags: educoach
Literature and Latte - Scrivener

@jgates513 show her Scrivener... http://t.co/nzVcolN
Web 2.0 tools that will instantly impact your clas

Web 2.0 tools that will instantly impact your classroom: http://fishingforedtech.wordpress.com/
5 reasons parents should oppose evaluating teachers on test scores - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

5 reasons parents should oppose evaluating teachers on test scores http://j.mp/iXw4e9 We already have number 4.
Autistic Girl Expresses Profound Intelligence - YouTube

If u haven't seen this clip, this is a MUST watch! Carly's inner voice found a way out! Way to go @CarlysVoice http://youtu.be/F4XMlhCfp3Q
Why Education Needs to Change: A Student Perspective on Vimeo

@SirKenRobinson @TEDChris have you watched this grade 8 student response to your RSA video yet? http://bit.ly/dEcxtJ via @Neilstephenson:
RT : Guest Post by : Building a PLN Does Not Requi

RT @isteconnects: Guest Post by @TheNerdyTeacher: Building a PLN Does Not Require a Hardhat:Networking advice educators http://bit.ly/hefNKn
NASA - Swift Survey Finds 'Missing' Active Galaxies

[Video] Astronomers use Swift to find 'missing' black-hole-powered galaxies, previously too obscured to see http://go.nasa.gov/dHwFy3
Egyptian Revolution 2011 COMPLETE. World MUST MUST watch this. Freedom for All! - YouTube

RT @acarvin: Another video montage of the protests. Some great footage in here. http://youtu.be/-HGfFyqJMrk #jan25 #egypt #revolution

tags: jan25 egypt revolution
Free Technology for Teachers: Video - 7 Billion People

This video is amazing - 7 Billion People http://bit.ly/e9Qtvc
aids in swaziland - Wolfram|Alpha

.@jgates513 Since you're a WolframAlpha/Data fan...
and since it's World AIDS day... http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=aids+in+swaziland
Lauren's Life - the conjunction for my thoughts, ideas, and life

Blogs-o-the-week: 2 incredible student blogs! http://bit.ly/aLw3yv & http://bit.ly/ch7IQC See more: http://bit.ly/9qsplo #ebshare

tags: ebshare

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TedxWilliamsport

2011-12-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

On October 26th, I had the pleasure - the honor - the privilege and THRILL - of giving a TEDx talk in Williamsport. Many MANY thanks to Jerry Christy of Blast IU17 for the invitation to present. It was something I'll NEVER forget.

So, what would YOUR focus be if you were given 18 minutes (max) to talk. By now you know that the topic that starts me to screaming is the issue of access. Access to the tools of the web for both teachers and students. So, I wanted to make that point, for sure.

I won't spoil the plot for you. :) Here's my TEDx talk from October 26, 2011.

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2011-12-03T19:31:00.001-05:00

The World of Social Media 2011 - VideoInfographs.com - YouTube

Interesting video with some fascinating data about Social Media. Shared today on Twitter (social media) by @amjohnston. (NOTE: The original tweet was in French, but the Translate feature in Tweetdeck allowed me to translate it.)

tags: social media
Paul Otellini Busts Some Myths About Intel - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD
- Moore’s Law is still alive and well, Otellini said. In 1997, Intel built a supercomputer called ASCI Red that could compute one teraflop. It required 2,500 square feet of space and 9,298 chips to get the number crunching done. Earlier this month, Intel announced a chip codenamed Knight’s Corner that can do a teraflop by itself. In the mainstream marketplace, today’s notebooks are 300 times more powerful than notebooks built in 1995.
Easily Publish Gorgeous Magazines | Scoop.it

Interesting way to collect articles of interest. Manually or automatically.

tags: curation
Why Diigo Rocks for Educators! | TeachHUB

Nice article about Diigo for Educators

tags: diigo social bookmarking education technology socialbookmarking
Invasive species are blight on U.S. landscape – USATODAY.com

"America is under siege — not by a foreign power, but by invasive species slowly working their way across the nation, leaving a sometimes-devastated and often-changed landscape in their wake."

tags: insects invasive
- Just as Dutch elm disease from Asia removed an iconic tree from the American landscape beginning in the 1940s, the emerald ash borer may conquer the ash tree in coming years.

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2011-11-26T19:31:00.001-05:00

Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero: Top 100 Sites of 2011

A list of 100 sites from 2011 that will surely keep you busy.

tags: Tools

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2011-11-19T19:31:00.001-05:00

Roger McNamee: Six ways to save the internet | Video on TED.com

Interesting view of what's happening online

tags: internet ted
Popplet | Collect, curate and share your ideas, inspirations, and projects!

Described as Wallwisher on steroids

tags: collaboration
Thoora

Create your own customized "paper" from blogs, feeds, twitter, keywords, etc. Fresh daily. Looks very good!

tags: aggregator

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2011-11-12T19:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Erly

Upload photos, links, and more to your private site. Very nice

tags: collaboration
remind101 | Text Messaging For Teachers

" A safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. Free. "

tags: texting
ICDL - International Children's Digital Library

The mission of the International Children's Digital Library Foundation (ICDL Foundation) is to support the world's children in becoming effective members of the global community - who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online free of charge. The Foundation pursues its vision by building a digital library of outstanding children's books from around the world and supporting communities of children and adults in exploring and using this literature through innovative technology designed in close partnership with children for children.

tags: books library
Think Insights with Google

"Forward thinking and rooted in data, Think Insights offers you a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research. Stay updated and join the conversation:"

Try the search stories section. It won't raise a test score, but it IS fun.

tags: Google
Real-Time Insights Finder | Think Insights with Google

"Great marketing starts with greater understanding of people and their behavior. Today, search trends and online activity are a window into the attitudes, perceptions and needs of your consumers. So check out our 5 questions now and start gaining valuable insight in real-time. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing. "

tags: google
Popcorn Maker | Mozilla Popcorn

"Popcorn Maker brings the power of popcorn.js and its plugin system to a graphical user interface, with familiar timeline controls. Completely free and open source, popcorn maker offers a collection of useful templates, but since it’s built from standard HTML, you can customize it to your heart’s content."

tags: tools video
Socrative | Student response system | Engage audiences

Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

tags: interactive response
Productivity Future Vision (2011) - YouTube

Fascinating vision of the future. This time from Microsoft.

tags: future

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2011-10-29T20:31:00.001-04:00

Google Apps II

You can't have too many Google Apps resources, right? Unless, of course, it's blocked. :)

tags: google apps
Innosight Institute

Information about blended learning

tags: onlinelearning
Mail Merge from a Google Spreadsheet | Teacher Tech

Mail merge from a Google spreadsheet. Picture it: students complete a google form for a quiz. Teacher goes into the spreadsheet and adds comments to another column. Then, the teacher uses these instructions to email custom feedback to each student.

tags: mailmerge
Writing HTML

" By the time you have reached the end of this tutorial you will be able to construct a series of linked web pages for any subject that includes formatted text, pictures, and hypertext links to other web pages on the Internet. If you follow the steps for the Basic Level (lessons 1-14) you will develop a page about volcanoes and if you go on to the Advanced Level (lessons 15-29), you will create an enhanced volcano web site."

tags: html
Our philosophy – Company

Ten Things Google Found to Be True

tags: google
At Waldorf School in Silicon Valley, Technology Can Wait - NYTimes.com

" Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix. "

tags: waldorf

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2011-10-22T20:31:00.001-04:00

The A-Z Dictionary of Educational Twitter Hashtags - Edudemic

"That’s why it’s probably helpful for you to check out the following list of popular educational hashtags. They have been curated by Cybraryman as well as by the Creative Education blog, tweetsmarter.com our personal usage list and hashtags.org."

tags: twitter hashtags
Teaching with Twitter - YouTube

A nice video about how one teacher uses twitter with his students (college level)

tags: twitter

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2011-10-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

Technology Tool for Increased Student Achievement | Recipe for Time

Using Jing to provide feedback on Google Docs

tags: feedback jing
Dynamic Periodic Table

Be sure to watch the demo screencast in the top menu bar area. (youtube video)

tags: periodictable chemistry

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2011-10-08T20:31:00.001-04:00

iGenApps™ : The App Generator

Certainly the demand for apps isn't going away any time soon. Maybe this little app can help your students get excited about building their own apps.

tags: apps
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology
- "If you're in higher education and you're developing a strategic plan or making investment decisions based on conversations you're having with the students currently in your classrooms--or even high school students--you're talking to the wrong audience," she warns. "You really need to be talking to third-graders. The high school kid applying to your school today is just not as 'native' as the kids further down the pike."
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology
- "It is how they perceive [the web] that makes them different in my opinion," he explains. "Many older people use the web, of course, but for digital natives the web is an integral part of their lives. They go there first, instinctively. And yes, some are better at it than others. I definitely agree that there is a continuum of capabilities among the digital natives. But if we are talking about what makes them different from previous generations, I believe it is this connection to the web."
- She says this group of learners is more globally aware, thanks to the internet, and more adept at collaborative uses of the web.
- "This generation definitely has a thematic approach to learning," she says, "which is not about, 'I'm a vessel--go ahead and fill me up.' It's about, 'I'm the master of my own educational destiny. Give me lots of input and I'll find what I think is most important.' Most of the [K-12] schools I talk to still believe that they are the custodians of knowledge. But for these kids, increasingly, [schools] are just one more source of input."
- While Prensky's original definition might not survive close scrutiny a decade later--too generationally focused and without enough attention on how students use their devices--he was definitely on to something.
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology
- Certainly, there is no clinical evidence to back up any claims about physical changes in the brains of today's traditional-age students. But educators are providing anecdotal evidence of a shift in how students approach learning and education in general.
- "They go to a website and look something up,
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology
- Nevertheless, Hargittai's study concluded that socioeconomic status is one of the most important predictors of how effectively people incorporate the web into their everyday lives.
- They're digital dependent and digital stimulated. They know how to text messages and upload a video to YouTube, but in general they don't possess the deeper critical thinking skills they need to be truly digitally literate."
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology
- "I don't think the term was ever valid, or even very useful," she says. "It assumes that older people are worse than younger people when it comes to technology. And it seems to assume that all young people are homogenous when it comes to technology use. Neither of those things is correct."
- "My work has shown over the years that there are, in fact, significant differences among people of the same age when it comes to the skill with which they use digital media--and that age is not necessarily a determinant of skill,"
Will the Real Digital Native Please Stand Up? -- Campus Technology

I'd LOVE to have a discussion on this article

tags: native
- The problem with Prensky's assumption is that it's based on age--on the idea that, because you were born in a certain era, you must be a certain way
- Another flaw in the eyes of some educators is the fact that Prensky labels everyone else as "digital immigrants," unable to achieve true fluency in the new tech world

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2011-10-01T20:31:00.001-04:00

one young world - YouTube

One Young World - Hope!

tags: SocialGood

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2011-09-24T20:31:00.001-04:00

EDU - YouTube

I wonder if this is filterable. Meaning, I wonder if this can be open with the rest being closed? At least it would be a start.

tags: youtube education
FAQ - diigo help
- Privacy settings of student accounts are pre-set so that only teachers and classmates can communicate with them.
Crowds and Clouds: Data, Sheep, and Collaboration in the Works of Aaron Koblin | MIT World

This video lasts about 51 minutes. But, show this to your students. It starts out slowly (although still very cool, IMO) but this guy is amazing, as is his work.

tags: collaboration
THE JOHNNY CASH PROJECT

This is a crowd-sourced video made to Johnny Cash's "Ain't No Grave." You can watch the video AND see each frame and who made it.

tags: crowdsourcing

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2011-09-17T20:31:00.001-04:00

remind101 | Text Messaging For Teachers

" A safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. Free. "

tags: texting
Wolfram|Alpha Blog : Introducing the Wolfram US Presidents and US States Reference Apps

Learning all about the 50 US states and the history of the presidents of the United States is a pivotal part of the education of Americans. To assist people learning about these key aspects or those who want to freshen up on their trivia, we have released the Wolfram US States Reference App and the Wolfram US Presidents Reference App, both for iOS.

tags: wolframalpha presidents
Mycroft Project: Search.creativecommons.org Search Engine Plugins - Firefox & IE8

"Click once on the name (Creative Commons Search) to install. Confirm the addition and the new engine will appear in the search bar shortly."

tags: plugins

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2011-09-10T20:31:00.001-04:00

Corkboard.me - Shareable sticky notes web-app.

No accounts needed. As simple as it gets.

tags: sticky tools
Projects: A better way to work in classroom groups

"We’re calling this new feature Projects. Whenever you have a particular assignment or activity, you can create a project for it, then define teams of members, each with its own unique pages, files, and permissions. Team content (that is, pages and files) are grouped together, separate from the main area of the wiki. That way, students in teams can do their group work completely independently from other teams."

tags: wikispaces
- Drag members into the teams you want to reassign them to.
- To add a new page, just click the New Page icon in the action menu. This will create a new page on the team (not on the main area of the wiki), so it will be protected by the same permissions as the rest of the team.
- Your team also has a special set of files, separate from the files for the main area of the wiki. If you upload a file while editing a team page, it’ll be added to the files for that team.
Stixy: For Flexible Online Creation Collaboration and Sharing

Nice virtual bulletin board site

tags: collaboration
Flashing Electronic Ink Displays On "Cloths" Coming Soon | Upcoming Technology | Tech News, Gaming, Software, Web 2.0, Reviews

Get ready to update your dress codes!

tags: eink
Future of Screen Technology - YouTube

Do you think we'll see this in 2014? It's three full years away, y' know.

tags: future
The Next Big Thing is Web 3.0. Catch It If You Can

Watch this presentation. Watch the video included in it.

tags: web3.0
SideVibe

Watch the video from the home page

tags: webtools

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2011-09-03T20:31:00.001-04:00

Celly

Mentioned tonight on Twitter by Jimbo Lamb. This site lets you text to a group.

tags: texting
7 Library Tools Students Would Find Handy | Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers

Shared today on... where else?... Twitter

tags: library tools

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2011-08-27T20:31:00.001-04:00

OLE Products: Remembering September 11

Sept 11th will remain in our minds for years to come. In our classes, however, it might get overlooked - for a variety of reasons.

Here are some excellent resources to explore and use on that day.

tags: tools sept11
Create stories using social media - storify.com

Create a story from your twitter feeds or lists or keywords. Add you tube videos, Drag and drop content.

tags: storytelling tools
Unrest in the Arab World - Special Coverage on CNN.com

Interactive map of Middle East. Share this with your favorite Current Events teacher.

tags: middleeast

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2011-08-20T20:31:00.001-04:00

Adam Bellow's Tech Commandments - #140edu 2011 - YouTube

A 15 minute talk. Very interesting

tags: youtube
Word Clouds for Open Response (Free Text) Polls - Poll Everywhere's Blog

"People have been using Poll Everywhere to make word clouds and tag clouds for years. Now, we've made it even easier with a simple two-step process for our favorite word cloud services: Wordle, Tagxedo, and Tagul. You'll find a new view called "Word cloud" on your Free Text Polls."

tags: polls wordcloud

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Why the iPads are NOT Ready for Schools

2011-08-16T16:16:00.002-04:00

I keep reading about more and more schools that are giving all their students an ipad and the inevitable comments to the notion that they are cheaper replacements for laptops. I think there will be a LOT of folks who will be very disappointed if that's what they're thinking - the ipad replaces the laptop. It doesn't.

I sat down with my ipad recently and really tried to put it through its paces. Maybe my problems with it had more to do with my lack of skills than the ipad's missing functionalities. I wish that were the case. I WISH I could have made it work.

Here is a list of tasks that just don't work, or are so clunky as to be more trouble than they're worth. I hope that folks who are contemplating the purchase of ipads will read this carefully and weigh it against the other opinions. I hope they will think carefully about what it is they want to be able to do with them. I want them to think carefully about what they CAN do with them and whether or not that is good for Education and good for the kids. But it won't matter, will it? Those who are pushing for the ipads won't be swayed.

First, the ipad is NOT a replacement for the laptop, so if you're under that impression you REALLY MUST read further.

The Non-Starters (for me)

The ipad doesn't work with Google Docs! No, it does NOT. You get very basic line editing capabilities only. You cannot make a hyperlink, nor change styles, nor apply styles. Try to create a form. Some will argue, "It'll get better." Perhaps, but you're buying the ipads NOW, not later. We've been touting Google Docs as being a wonderful tool for collaboration, etc. It's not an option with the ipads. You can't even share a document. Is collaboration no longer important? Because you don't have that tool any longer, when using the ipads.
Shall we list all the websites that don't work due to lack of Flash? And don't pretend that this isn't an issue. It IS. Yes, yes, HTML5 blah blah, I know all about it. But, how many years are we away from a conversion to HTML5? This isn't going to happen overnight like a style change in gmail. This is a HUGE undertaking. Other tablets DO show Flash, but most do not even considering another brand?
The Safari browser doesn't work in Moodle. Supposedly it will in version 2.0 of Moodle, but it doesn't work now, and now is when you're buying it.What are you going to do with it NOW?
Multitasking is blind. Unlike on a computer where you can have many windows open, and even have a couple things open side by side, you cannot do that on the ipad. That is not likely to be a non-starter for many, but for me it's a serious drawback. It doesn't match how I work. Right now, for example, I've got this browser window open and shifted to one side while Tweetdeck and Skype run in the background next to it. You can't do that on the ipad. No Tweetdeck at all, in fact, as it crashes all the time. Yes, and I KNOW that we shouldn't compare ipads to laptops because they're not the same. But, isn't that the point? They're NOT the same and they can't do what we need them to be able to do.
Wikispaces opens in wikitext mode, not the WYSIWYG editing more. Yes, you can take the time to change it, but do you to make the kids do that every time they want to edit a page? This, of course, is NOT the fault of Wikispaces. Rather, it's the inadequacy of the device.
And, in wikispaces, try to make a hyperlink. Go ahead. I'll wait. Were you able to switch to the Visual Editor? Could you select a word that you wanted to turn into a hyperlink? Try to embed a youtube video. Try to embed a variety of objects from other sites. First, you're hard pressed to be able to create those objects while using the ipad anyway. But, try to embed something.

OK, so maybe a lot of states aren't into wikispaces like PA schools are, so this won't be a problem for you. But it IS a problem in PA. We DO use wikispaces a LOT and many districts have their own private label. Are we now saying that we don't think that wikis are a good tool for students to use to collaborate, partner, demonstrate knowledge?

Try doing anything in Google Earth besides fly-to's. Google Earth has the capability to allow users to create their own tour and add pushpins and embed video and SO much more. Not the ipad version.
Forget about making a screencast. Yes, you can take a screen shot, but you cannot record the screen. Why is this important? Using a laptop we're able to create and screencast and then embed it right into a Keynote. (Not so easily done in PowerPoint, however) When presenting those screencast videos are powerful tools. No can do on the ipad.
Excited about having Keynote, Pages, iMovie and garageband? (Aside from the cost factor?) Have you noticed how many significant features of those applications are missing? The lack of Dropbox integration means that students MUST have an email address to be able to create something and turn it in to the teacher. Are you saying that NOW you're going to give them email? Oh... wait. you're going to use iTunes? So, the students are going to need a laptop, then, to sync to. OH! Sorry. I didn't know that you were going to give them a laptop, too. That aside, the simplest of tasks, like adding a simple text field to a keynote slide is not possible. (note: Turns out that it IS possible, just not via a menu of any kind. Still not enough to sway me differently.) WHATEVER you plan to have the kids doing with those apps will be very basic, at best.

This brings me to my first challenge when folks want to talk about buying ipads for school. Make something - ANYthing in ANY app - and turn it in to me for a grade. Go ahead. Try it. And, if you manage to do that, do it again using a different application. I don't want you to hang your entire argument on one app. You've GOT to be able to MAKE things and SUBMIT them for a grade, don't you? And, if not, are you saying that the students will just be playing with apps? Read on.

So, you'll use OfficeHD instead of the iWork apps, eh? Nice. It does connect to dropbox so it is possible, although still QUITE difficult to manage, to have students turn a document in to the teacher. But, you still can't make hyperlinks. You can't do much more than type and change styles. Is that no longer what we want our students to be able to do? The idea of those "wikified papers" that we've been talking about - forget about them. And the students STILL need an email account to create a dropbox account.
Are you going to give kids Admin rights to the ipad - along with that email address that heretofore was an ABSOLUTE impossibility? If not, tell me again why you think the ipad with no admin rights will hold ANY appeal to the students whatsoever once the novelty of the interface has waned. What if I loaded up an ipad with my favorite apps and gave it to you without admin rights. Would it have the same appeal to you? Heck no! The fun of the ipad is in the exploration of the apps. Try one and decide if you want to keep it or not. Keep it a while and then later remove it. Exploration. Without admin rights they won't be able to do that. How long before they begin to forget to bring them to school?
Shall we talk about printing? There's no printing option in Pages, or Keynote, or Notes, or ANY app. Oh wait, you've heard about that AirPrint app, haven't you? So you have one of the airprint enabled printers? OK. Sorry. I didn't know you had purchased one of those printers. Of course, if you're doing this in a one-to-one situation, then you're going to have to buy LOTS of those printers. Oh, and you say you're going paperless so you won't need a printer? Well, if the students cant print something, and they can't submit it for a grade, then what ARE they going to do with it? Play with apps? The apps that YOU have installed?
What about Internet searching? That's what everyone always points to when talking about using the ipads, right? "The kids can research on it..." Really? Well, for years we've been pointing out that kids should be doing the Advanced Searches when searching, and not just the basic searches. In Google's Advanced search area, you can specify filetypes or date ranges or even that you wish to only see Creative Commons images. Sorry, ipad folks. The link for Advanced Searches is not present on the ipad. No advanced searching for YOU! Ooops - yes, you CAN do advanced searching if you type in the url manually. http://www.google.com/advanced_search OK. Nevermind that one.
What about typing on the ipad? Are we seriously saying that the kids can type as fast and as accurately as they can with a keyboard? Are we saying that the ipad keyboard will make the kids want to write more and edit more? And the girls with the long fingernails, they're going to be able to type on the ipads? The auto-correct won't cause problems? Copying and pasting won't be an issue? Moving the cursor within a word, currently darned near impossible to do, won't be missed? Ever try to change @jgates513 to D jgates513 to send a direct message? Pft! Well, not to worry anyway. Unless you give the kids email addresses or buy new printers you can't get the work to the teacher anyway. And, without Google Docs the students won't be collaborating online, etc.
Or, are we now saying that "We're not buying the ipads so they can write. We're going to install apps so they can play... sorry, practice with the apps." If that's the case, STOP NOW! Apps? Sure. There are apps. There are LOTS of apps that kids can play with. Practice this skill or that. Is that what you're after? A device to deliver apps to practice? First, will YOU install them or allow the students to install them? Because what are you going to do when the apps must be upgraded? What about when you find another "must-have" app? Will you collect all the ipads, install the apps, and then give them back? Second, do we really want to invest all this money and time, etc on a device that just lets kids play/practice? And yes, I do know of an art app that lets them draw, and the music apps that let them play, and little apps that allow them to create objects with pictures. But that's not going to raise a single test score, it? Nor will it reach those "21st Century Skills" we've been talking about.
And the MUCH greater issue for me is, either it was important that we talk about "21st Century Skills" or it wasn't. If it was, I want to know how that ipad will facilitate that. And don't say that 21st Century Skills weren't about computers. I know the drill. You're right. They're about those other skills, too. Fine. I'll give you that one. But, so very many of the skills that we talked about on the computer cannot be done with the ipad. So, were they important or not? Google docs being able to facilitate real-time collaboration? Not with the ipads.

And don't say that I should wait because those issues will be fixed. Maybe. But, what are you going to do with them NOW? Play with apps? And only the apps that someone else puts on them? The kids aren't free to follow their interests to find apps?

Yes, I KNOW that they are instant on, and your laptops (CFF'ers - especially some of those year one Lenovos that took ten minutes to boot) are too slow to be practical. Nobody can afford to waste 10 minutes waiting for a laptop to boot - or not. And I KNOW that the battery life is VERY nice - lasting almost all day. (Now, anyway. With fresh batteries.) But, none of that matters if we can't do anything but play. Yes, yes... there are a few apps that really do make the kids think. Right. And someone tried to make the case that Angry Birds could be used to teach physics, too. When did we all forget our Education training? Without the sexy interface and attractive instant-on and battery life - who would say that playing with single purpose games or using single purpose tools would constitute quality education? How did we get here? Brought down by a slick interface?

But, as I said, none of this will matter. There are other brand devices out there that DO do some of what I listed above as being impossible on the ipads. But, most folks won't even buy one to try; their minds are made up. They want ipads. Fine. Get them. Just plan now to change what and how you teach, because when the students can't do work and turn it in to you, everything changes.

I'm REALLY starting to detest FourSquare

2011-08-15T12:38:00.002-04:00

CAUTION: Gripe Session Ahead

First of all, I don't get the attraction. But then, I don't get the attraction to tattoos, either, so the fact that I don't get it may be beside the point. I'll grant that.

But, I find that the FourSquare posts to Twitter amount to little more than Spam. In fact, those annoying posts are the essence of what some people find as the major fault of twitter. "I don't CARE what people are having for breakfast." You've heard, or perhaps, even said words to that effect. Right? Well, FourSquare is just that. I'm here, or I'm there, or I'm the new Mayor of someplace. Really? And you think we need to know that.. why?

I follow educators who tweet about what they're reading and learning and discovering. But, more and more I find that the noise from FourSquare tweets amounts to a significant percentage of those tweets. If they were emails I'd have a filter on them to auto-delete them. At BEST they are worthless. At worst they are annoying, time-wasting SPAM and I want to yell, "Knock it off!"

Mayor of some pizza shop?... you've GOT to be kidding.

Update: 12:51 PM
Thanks to a twitter follower, I learned about the Global filter in Tweetdeck. I had been looking at the icons at the bottoms of the columns, but the Global Filter is in the Preferences. Here's a screenshot of what to look for if you, too, want to filter out the FourSquare (4sq.com) tweets.:

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-08-13T20:31:00.001-04:00

The Independent Project - YouTube

Interesting idea. What do you think? Kids directing their own education.

tags: independent
Modeling the Harrisburg Capitol Complex | Google Earth Blog

How cool is this - They've modeled the Harrisburg complex in 3d in Google Earth

tags: googleearth
Google Earth Basics

If you are new to Google Earth (GE), there are some useful stories written in the Google Earth Blog which might give a beginner, or even an experienced user, some insights about this exciting program. If you are looking for more advanced things, try going to the GEB home page and use the categories or Search option for things like: GPS, Geocaching, GIS, network links, image overlays, and more. On this page are links to stories which might help guide you to learning enough about Google Earth that you will soon be a GE expert.

tags: googleearth
Information Is Beautiful | Ideas, issues, knowledge, data - visualized!

Another data site - great visualizations and info graphics

tags: visualization infographics
18 Free Screencasting tools to Create Video Tutorials

"Videos are simply great to deliver a message in a very short time and for most people bandwidth is not a problem any more.The following screencasting tools are all free to record screen but of course their features are not as much as paid ones.You can easily record your screen and add audio or edit your recorded screen videos with these tools.If you know more free tools then please denote in comments section."

tags: screencasting

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

I'm SO glad this person is a teacher

2011-08-08T20:13:00.000-04:00

This person lost her job in June, but was lucky enough to find another. Read how she describes it. Aren't you, too, glad that this person is able to be a teacher?

When asked about her new job she said she was excited...

"And nervous, and anxious, and all of those good things that come with a teaching job. I am so lucky, I know. And the best part: not only do I get a class of my own (the newspaper class - SO much better than just advising a club!), but I get to be the high school librarian!!! How cool is that?"

Wouldn't it have been a TERRIBLE shame if she hadn't been able to find a teaching job - her obvious passion?

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-08-06T20:31:00.001-04:00

Google Earth: Learn

Nice collection of Google Earth tutorials - from Google Earth folks

tags: googleearth
Training Programs – Google Apps for Education

Got Google? Start here

tags: google google apps
I am Educator, Hear Me Roar! An Interview with John Kuhn - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

I'd like all the LTMS 600 students to read this.

tags: edreform
Matt Damon’s clear-headed speech to teachers rally - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Shared tonight on twitter. Are YOU on twitter yet?

tags: quotes
Flickr: Great quotes about Learning and Change

Why not contribute to this group? If not, I'll bet there are some pics in here that you can use with your teachers.

tags: quotes
google-domains

Looks like a pretty good list of Google sites in other countries. I don't see Korea, though.

tags: google

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-07-30T20:31:00.001-04:00

Facebook Investor Roger McNamee Explains Why Social Is Over

"Elevation Partners co-founder and Facebook investor Roger McNamee, who is also a rock musician, gave an amazing talk recently where he goes over some of the biggest trends affecting the technology industry."

tags: trends
Free and Unlimited Web Conferencing | Free Video Conferencing | Online Web Meeting | Multipoint video conferencing | video conferencing solution

This looks pretty nice. Anyone try it yet?

tags: collaboration webinars
EnergizingEnergy - Our Connections

Check out this fun science project done by elementary students. Look at all the tools they used. Can YOUR students use those tools?

tags: lesson
Visions of Students Today

Wow! Watch the initial video, then click through some of the individual videos along the outside when it's finished. What are your thoughts on the message from these students? Another Michael Wesch video

tags: education reform
Dgh - Golden Age of West Africa

Mentioned by Alan November a while back. A digital online textbook about Africa, built by the students.

tags: wiki
Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world | Video on TED.com

"Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can't understand, with implications we can't control."

tags: algorithms TEDtalks

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-07-23T20:31:00.001-04:00

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: A Beginner's Guide to Tumblr

tags: Tumblr
Visual Trace Route Tool - Find, Track, and Map the Route to an IP Address

Great tool to demo trace routes!!

tags: traceroute tools visualization
PrimaryPad - Superfunky collaborative writing for schools

" PrimaryPad is a web-based word processor designed for schools that allows pupils and teachers to work together in real-time. "

tags: collaboration writing
studio.M for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

FREE music creation app for ipod touch, iphone, and ipad. OS 4.0 or later

tags: app music
Web 2.0 scientific calculator

A great looking scientific calculator. Have the students add this page to their links bar. I wonder if it works on the ipad. Hmmm..

tags: calculator tools math

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-07-16T20:31:00.001-04:00

EdTech Toolbox

"A place to share e-learning and Web 2.0 tools for education. Computers and laptops in education are important only when used with good pedagogy. Digital content and creation is an important part of the process for educators in the 21st century."

tags: web2.0 tools
Straight from the DOE: Dispelling Myths About Blocked Sites | MindShift

Let's discuss

tags: CIPA filter
Unshorten any URL - unshort.me

Before you click on that tinyurl that someone just tweeted to you, you might want to check it out here first. If it doesn't show up - DO NOT CLICK IT!

tags: URL
ePub Bud - Publish, Convert, Store, and Download free children's ebooks online for the iPad and nook color!

"Free Children's eBooks" Make your own to sync to your ipad or iphone, etc

tags: ebook
70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! on Vimeo

I LOVE stuff that is very creative. This is surely one. Share it with your art teacher friends.

tags: Art music
Brian Crosby: Innovation Starts With Having Autonomy

Interesting article about school reform. This should start some interesting conversations

tags: innovation reform
- One thing the current "reformers" have right is that we should be innovating. We should be learning from innovative teachers, schools, programs and countries already showing success, as well as promoting real innovation through our policies and investments. Currently "Race to the Top" makes it very difficult to really innovate because it demands conditions that support too narrow an approach. It actually stifles true innovation.
- One thing the current "reformers" have right is that we should be innovating. We should be learning from innovative teachers, schools, programs and countries already showing success, as well as promoting real innovation through our policies and investments. Currently "Race to the Top" makes it very difficult to really innovate because it demands conditions that support too narrow an approach. It actually stifles true innovation.
Crap Detection 101 : Howard Rheingold : City Brights

" The answer to almost any question is available within seconds, courtesy of the invention that has altered how we discover knowledge - the search engine. Materializing answers from the air turns out to be the easy part - the part a machine can do. The real difficulty kicks in when you click down into your search results. At that point, it's up to you to sort the accurate bits from the misinfo, disinfo, spam, scams, urban legends, and hoaxes. "Crap detection," as Hemingway called it half a century ago, is more important than ever before, now that the automation of crapcasting has generated its own word: "spamming.""

tags: literacy
Google April Fools' Day 2011
Top 15 Kinect Hacks (So Far) | PCWorld

"You've heard the rumors, and they're true: Microsoft's motion-sensing Kinect camera turns out to be hacktastic. Mouse pointers and picture shuffling? So 2010. Why not control robots with your arms? Fire lasers from your head? Steal piles of candy? Fiddle with toilet seats hands-free?"

tags: kinect
Technology Integration Matrix | Arizona K12 Center

Wonderful matrix to help you determine your level of Tech integration. Thanks to Sue Sheffer for sharing this with me.

tags: matrix integration

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-07-09T20:31:00.001-04:00

Create Maps | BatchGeo

Paste your spreadsheet data here to create interactive Google Map

tags: Maps googlemaps
YouTube - ‪Maria Andersen: Where's the "Learn This" Button?‬‏

Perhaps the best Prezi example I've seen. (Still not a fan, but at least I now see a good example. :)

tags: youtube presentation
Fill Any PDF Form

Great tool for filling pdfs

tags: pdf
Twtpoll :: From Simple Twitter Polls to Powerful Web Surveys. Social Media Feedback Tool.

A great site to post quick polls to your followers

tags: Twitter poll
John Cole Cartoons » Cutting classes

PA's solution to too many well-educated kids leaving PA for better jobs. LOL!

tags: cartoon
Turn a paper based book into an interactive book with QR Codes

Nice article to show newbies how to get started with this idea of QRCodes

tags: qrcode
Kngine

Interesting new search engine

tags: searchengine search
http://www.mapmyfollowers.com/followers.php

If you're on twitter this is an oldie but a goodie. See where your followers are on a map

tags: twitter tools

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

For the love of beautiful writing

2011-07-08T00:11:00.002-04:00

As I write this I'm very moved. But, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing.

I'm currently teaching a Grad class for Harrisburg University. I'm privileged to work with some of the area's best teachers and learned people. Yesterday was day one of a series of days where we study "web 2.0" tools and their impact on teaching and learning.

Last night, when I read the discussion forums, I was struck by the eloquent writing of the members of the class. Having seen my share of poor spelling and bad grammar and incomplete sentences, etc, I was impressed by the writing of this group. I began the day by mentioning that.

I further confessed that I am a sucker for beautiful writing. I also told the story of when I taught 8th graders and, during a class where we were studying the Civil War (long story) I mentioned that, if they wanted to read one of THE MOST beautiful love letters ever written to research Sullivan Ballou and his letter to his wife Sarah. It was written, prophetically, just two weeks before he was killed in the second battle of Bull Run/ Manassas. I told them my class that I was so surprised to later find a few of those dear 8th graders sniffling back tears and when I casually observed their computer screens I saw that they were reading the letter.

This was just in passing. I then went on with the class.

Tonight I was reading their discussion forum (Moodle) posts. One person, Lou, pasted in this portion of the Sullivan Ballou letter. No comment. Just this portion:

"Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me - perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours - always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again."

Can you appreciate this? I LOVE my job. I'm a lucky man.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-07-02T20:31:00.001-04:00

Dr. Alice Christie's Site

"This site was created by Dr. Alice Christie to share an exciting new approach to teaching and learning. Enabled by Web 2.0 tools, GoogleTreks™ allows teachers and students to synthesize information in one easy-to-use map that places text, pictures, audio files, video files, and much more in one central location. GoogleTreks™ Video."

tags: google googletreks GoogleEarth
Stanford report finds good and bad in Pennsylvania charter schools - Page 2 - Philly.com
- But he said the Corbett administration wanted to make sure charter schools were held to the same performance standards as district-run schools.
Stanford report finds good and bad in Pennsylvania charter schools - Philly.com
- The results were more dismal for cyber charter schools: Students at 100 percent of them performed "significantly worse" than their counterparts in district schools.
- But, on average, the state's charter school students lag behind the gains of students in regular public schools - 39 percent of charter schools underperform their public school counterparts in reading and 46 percent in math.
Animaps

This looks like it has great potential.
"Animaps extends the My Maps feature of Google Maps by letting you create maps with markers that move, images and text that pop up on cue, and lines and shapes that change over time."

tags: maps tools
Google Swiffy

"Swiffy converts Flash SWF files to HTML5, allowing you to reuse Flash content on devices without a Flash player (such as iPhones and iPads).
Swiffy currently supports a subset of SWF 8 and ActionScript 2.0, and the output works in all Webkit browsers such as Chrome and Mobile Safari. If possible, exporting your Flash animation as a SWF 5 file might give better results. "

tags: html5 converter tools
Desmos Graphing Calculator

" Use this calculator for graphing, for calculating, for sharing, for creating. Look on the right for help or inspiration. "

tags: math

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-06-25T20:31:00.001-04:00

bloomsapps

Not sure I agree with where many of these are placed but it does start a good conversation

tags: bloomstaxonomy apps
KevinHoneycutt.com

Kevin has done a nice job here of categorizing a nice collection of web 2.0 tools.

tags: tools web2.0
What Happens in 60 Seconds on The Internet

Cool infographic about what happens on the internet in 60 seconds

tags: Internet infographic
Educational Hash Tags

A great place to start for finding hashtags for education. Check out the other links at the top of this page, as well.

tags: twitter hashtags
Electronic Teaming for Singletons in a PLC - The Tempered Radical

Getting started with PLC

tags: plc
Fostering Student Creativity and Responsibility With Blogging | Edutopia

Interesting article supporting blogging

tags: blogging
I Education Apps Review - I Education Apps Review

Want to know what apps teachers are using and what they think of them? Shared by Kevin Honeycut today

tags: apps iPad
Syncdocs - Easy Google Docs file sync and backup

Syncdocs lets you “Go Google” by migrating all your files to Google’s cloud.

Simply select a folder on your PC, like “My Documents”, Syncdocs copies it online and across all your computers, automatically. This folder is then kept in sync.

Syncdocs integrates right into your desktop opening your files in Google Docs.

tags: google docs
YouTube - Social Media Revolution 2011

Part of the world's most watched Social Media video series; "Social Media Revolution" by Erik Qualman. Based on #1 International Best Selling Book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman. This is a shorter version that includes new social media statistics for 2011.

tags: socialmedia youtube
iPads in Schools

I still don't like 'em, but here's a nice livebinder with tons of resources for the ipad. Shared tonight on twitter

tags: livebinder ipads

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Planning for Workshops - and the ipads

2011-06-20T22:01:00.000-04:00

I think it's very telling that as we are planning for the TechItU event coming up in July, we expressed real concern over the notion that someone might come with an ipad and expect to be able to do all that the rest will be doing. They will be able to browse some websites, but they won't be able to edit a wikispaces page (except in wikitext editor mode), they won't be able to edit a google doc (except in basic mode), they won't have certain toolbar functions (Digo toolbar, for example), won't be able to copy and paste (easily), won't be able to see some of the sites because they're flash based, won't be able to do MANY things in Google Earth - and the list goes on and on.

Yes, it was I who mentioned the concern first, but everyone else in the group also voiced concern. "They won't be able to..."

Very telling, I think.

Creative Commons Licensed:Flickr: Smemon87

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-06-18T20:31:00.001-04:00

ze's page :: zefrank.com: "Why Man Creates" :: by Saul Bass

VERy cool video about Creativity

tags: zefrank.com
The Best Guides For Helping Teachers Develop Personal Learning Networks | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

"Personal Learning Networks (PLN) is the phrase often used to describe connections that educators develop with other educators throughout the world by using online social media.

I’ve previously written more specifically about how ESL/EFL teachers can best create this kind of network, but I thought it would be useful to bring together a broader collection of resources that could be used as guides by any educator."

tags: PLN

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Learning from the Masters

2011-06-14T13:29:00.002-04:00

I was watching the video of this year's YouTube Symphony Orchestra performance (Outstanding, by the way) when I heard one featured performer talk about his violin training. This is what he said:

"I never went to music school.
I just learned from my mother
But all teachers have their limits
You can't learn more than the teacher knows
So who could I study with?
I put my entire career in the hands of the Internet.
These are my teachers.
Musicians who are no longer alive
But who left their work behind, recorded in black and white.
I learned from them.
I incorporated their movements into mine
When I play a new piece I upload it
I want people to know who I am
… what I do…
..and to appreciate it…"

So, here's a boy who studies violin with the masters in the field by watching them on youtube. I looked back through this blog at the number of times I said that we're risking having our schools become irrelevant to kids and their education. I found one post dated in 2006 that mentioned that. And where are we FIVE YEARS later? Are we much further ahead? Are we winning the fight against becoming irrelevant? In some schools, yes. Perhaps. But, certainly not as a nation.

Kids don't need school to be successful. They've got all the answers they need right in their pockets. But, when they come to school they can't use their cell phone. They can't access youtube. In some schools they can't even see wikipedia because it's blocked. Some are still blocking all wikis and even Google Docs! And that school isn't irrelevant? Are they really THAT ignorant of what's going on in the world that they think their school has meaning to their students? Not in ANY real sense.

I'm beginning to wonder if maybe this family doesn't have the right idea. Not only were they not schooled in a public or private school, and not even home schooled in the typical sense. They were "unschooled."

I don't know. Schools seem to be in business for the benefit of the school, not the students. Schools make decisions based on what will get the kids to score higher so that the school makes AYP. It's not about the students and what they need, is it? If it were, then a great many decisions would be made differently. At SOME point schools will HAVE to come to terms with the fact that it's not about filling in a blank or choosing A, B, C, or D, or True or False. Start listing questions that can't be answered from a browser. So, it's not about that any more. Let's start with a different 'Given.'

Given: Students have access to ALL the world's knowledge.

Now what? Build from there. Make decisions based on that. Make education meaningful in that context.

P.S.
Here's the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Make sure you watch it around the 1:47:00 mark to hear some beautiful music and see some amazing sand art being created live. What incredible talent.

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2011-06-11T20:31:00.001-04:00

newspaper map | 10000+ online newspapers in the world, translate with one click

tags: newspapers map world onlinenewspapers newspaper worldlanguage
JotForm · Easiest Form Builder

Create forms easily and quickly. Many options

tags: forms
Record & Share your PowerPoint presentations | Present.me

"With Present.Me you just upload your slides, click record, present into your webcam and then publish instantly on the web"

tags: presentation
http://audioboo.fm

Very easy and quick to use to create and share audio files

tags: audio
join.me – Free Screen Sharing and Online Meetings

Share your screen with others

tags: collaboration screensharing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-06-04T20:31:00.001-04:00

BBC News - Endeavour space shuttle set for final touchdown
- The children out there ought to be inspired that when they get to go to space they'll probably get to go beyond low-Earth orbit, maybe to the Moon, maybe to Mars or beyond."
Intel® The Museum of Me

a MUST SEE!

tags: facebook museum

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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2011-05-28T20:32:00.001-04:00

Free web based Webinar and Presentation service | Present Online Now

All your viewers need is their browser! Our Free, featured packed service, comes with full access control. Make your webinars open and viral or private and protected.

tags: webinar

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-05-21T20:31:00.001-04:00

A Fistful of Challenges for Ed Tech -- THE Journal

In the fourth slot was nothing short of the "fundamental structure of the K-12 education establishment," specifically, as the authors described it, "resistance to any profound change in practice."

tags: edtech
- In the fourth slot was nothing short of the "fundamental structure of the K-12 education establishment," specifically, as the authors described it, "resistance to any profound change in practice."
- The authors said that as long as the thrust of education support is on maintaining the existing system's "basic elements," meaningful change will face resistance.
- The lack of congruence between what students are learning outside of school and what they're being taught in the classroom is causing a disconnect in educational practices.
- The existence of a wealth of online tools and communications tools is allowing teachers to "to revisit our roles as educators."
- "As IT support becomes more and more decentralized, the technologies we use are increasingly based not on school servers, but in the cloud,
- "The digital divide, once seen as a factor of wealth, is now seen as a factor of education
- Digital literacy will also play an increasing role in career advancement, according to the report.
- The ways we design learning experiences must reflect the growing importance of innovation and creativity as professional skills."
A Fistful of Challenges for Ed Tech -- THE Journal

But the No. 1 challenge in ed tech, according to the report, is with teachers themselves and the inadequacy of their preparation and ongoing training.

tags: edtech
- But the No. 1 challenge in ed tech, according to the report, is with teachers themselves and the inadequacy of their preparation and ongoing training.
- "The challenge is due to the fact that despite the widespread agreement on its importance, training in digital literacy skills and techniques is rare in teacher education and school district professional development programs," the report said.
- The third critical challenge cited by the authors was the failure of both technology and teaching practices to meet demands for differentiated, personalized learning.
Transformation Coaching

A livebinder for Transformational Coaching. Excellent

tags: transformation

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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2011-05-14T20:31:00.001-04:00

Science on the Simpsons

These clips from The Simpsons cartoons are intended for use by science teachers. It is recommended that you download and archive each clip that you would like to use. The clips are in MPEG (.m4v) format and should play on iTunes, Quicktime Player, and many other free video players like VLC. They are a great way to liven up a slide presentation and should import into PowerPoint and Keynote. The posting and use of theses clips for educational purposes conforms with fair use of the copyright act. This website is a work in progress. If you have ideas for Science on the Simpsons clips, please email me a short description, the title of the episode, and the season number if possible.

tags: science video

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-04-30T20:31:00.001-04:00

YouTube - Tomorrow's World: Home Computer Terminal 20 September 1967 - BBC

a 1967 video showing a home computer terminal connected to a "giant brain."

tags: youtube computer
Earth Knowledge Virtual Globe

LOVE this! Uses the Google Earth plugin to display the globe. Fill in the search criteria on the side or choose pre-made searches on the left side.

tags: GoogleEarth
IU 12 - Teaching With Primary Sources - Home

a one stop shop for all things Primary Source

tags: primarysources
World Digital Library Home

wonderful site for social studies teachers

tags: social studies
Wolfram|Alpha Blog : Wolfram|Alpha Becomes Scannable with QR Codes

Check it out!

tags: qrcode wolframalpha

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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2011-04-23T20:31:00.001-04:00

http://www.grenadinesmarsis.com/uploads/Guide_GoogleEarthMaps_Training.pdf

Looking for a nice pdf Google Earth tutorial? Try this one.

tags: GoogleEarth
Iowa One to One Conference: Web 2.0 Smackdown Resources | Angela Maiers Educational Services, Inc.

Tons of links. Be judicious with your choices. Share today on twitter.

tags: web2.0
YouTube - Autistic Girl Expresses Profound Intelligence www keepvid com

Shared today on Twitter. Another powerful example of how technology can make a difference with children with Autism

tags: autism youtube video
View Video | Chemical Heritage Foundation

Watch these videos made by high school students. Jesse's won a grant for Ephrata.

tags: video chemistry
Pagination comes to Google Docs - Docs Blog

Today, we’re doing another first for web browsers by adding a classic word processing feature—pagination, the ability to see visual pages on your screen. We’re also using pagination and some of Chrome’s capabilities to improve how printing works in Google Docs. Pagination is rolling out now and should be available to everyone by the end of the day.

tags: googledocs
Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia

Get great book recommendations from people you know.
Keep track of what you've read and what you'd like to read.
Form a book club, answer book trivia, collect your favorite quotes.

tags: books reading

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Counterpoint to my ipad rant

2011-04-23T15:50:00.000-04:00

My keyboard wasn't even cold yet before I had my first comment on my ipad rant. Tony took exception to my viewpoint and here is his response. It's in the comments area, as well, but I wanted to give it more 'air.'

BTW - do you also think I'm way off base? Convince me. Tell YOUR story in the comments.

"Here is an example of using the iPads to improve instruction without any apps other than the Safari web browser that comes with the device: Let’s say I am teaching the concept of warm blooded vs cold blooded animals. At or near the end of the lesson, I can have the kids quickly turn on their iPads and go to a bookmarked Google form that I call a discussion form. It is nothing but a place for the child's name and a text box. I then ask them a question to test their understanding of the main concept. The kids know that their name will not appear on the LCD projector but I can see who says what on my screen. What this does is allows me instant feedback of who still needs more instruction or who is not getting it. It is hard to visualize without seeing it in action but I can walk around the room with my device right up to the struggling kids because I know instantly who they are as they submit the Google form. I have been able to actually help struggling students gain understanding in real-time. Now if a bunch of kids are struggling with the concept then I might have to re-teach the content in a new way (which has happened). However it is better that it happens during the instruction than at test time. Now how is the iPad better at this than a laptop? Well again, it is instant on with no log-in required for this. I have 3 science classes and all they do is leave the device on the desk. A bulky laptop on a desk leaves little room for books and just did not work when we left them there for the next class. I have also found that the kids really type faster on the iPad keyboard allowing me to offer thick questions with generous expectations of text and still not cut out a lot of instruction time. Lastly, all the responses are put into a spread sheet by Google Apps for a permanent record of how well my instruction went to allow me to reflect on how I will approach the lesson next year. And I will give you one more benefit that I did not expect. I had a student who was sick for a test. So I let him take it when he came back the next day. He did not do well at all so I looked back in his formative assessment data from the Google spreadsheet over the instruction period. It turns out that all the data proved that he understood the concepts well. So it made me think that he was perhaps not feeling well yet and I let him re-take the test the next day. He got an A. Needless to say that I am excited with implementing this new technology right now and I have several other examples which I think are unique to my classroom which I will talk about as I perfect them. I am not trying to push the iPad by any means, however for now it seems like the best device for my way of instruction. I am sure another device will come around that might offer even more benefits. But the kids really do like these things and after 5 weeks, have still not tired of them. I will keep you posted. Thank you Jim for letting me share."

The ipad craze. Part II

2011-04-23T11:52:00.000-04:00

A while back I wrote about my thoughts on the ipad craze. At that time I didn't own one. I do now and have had it for about 4 months. I like it. I'm not WILD about it, but I like it. I enjoy going out and finding apps that I think might help me be more productive on it, and I like finding challenging games, and I like the interface a lot.

Would I buy a cart full of them for school. Absolutely NOT.

To me this idea is STILL insanity. Normally rational people who are sound educators are touting the ipads as THE device to save our schools. They point to all the apps. They talk about putting textbooks on it. And they point to a few specific apps like Pages, iMovie, and garageband, and OfficeHD as evidence that the device is NOT just a consumer device.

I do agree that for some kids, the interface will keep them focused for a while. And some apps will also help to reinforce a particular skill. There are some flashcard apps and some math practice apps and some history facts apps. Insert your favorite app here - I don't care what it is. Some folks say, "You can put Google Earth on there, too!" OK. Google Earth. So? You're going to put your textbooks on it, too? So? So you think they're going to finally READ that textbook just because it's on the ipad?

The point that I just can't get past is that the device does NOT support the kinds of activities and assignments that we do in school. At least with OfficeHD and dropbox there's a way to turn in an assignment. Of course, dropbox requires an account. When I ask teachers how students will submit work they do they say they can email it. Really? Where did those email accounts come from and will the students have to set up their accounts each time and then delete them each time? Will they even have access to the settings area to be able to do that?

What kind of product can the kids create with this device? Copying and pasting is still clunky. How do they manage to find images, say, and then save them... where? What about all the other kinds of resources they deal with routinely?

Some rush to point to google docs. You've not tried that recently, have you? The application gets in the way. The INTERFACE gets in the way. Google docs is NOTHING like it is on a computer. (I'm going to distinguish between the ipad and computer, although I do know that the ipad IS a computer.) So, what other program will let the students create a product - AND be able to turn it in somehow?

And if this isn't important to you, then let's talk about what level of Bloom's you're reaching when the kids play with the apps. Remembering level? Understanding level?

Here's where folks rush in with their favorite app to make their point that no, it's NOT all about Remembering and Understanding. "Look at THIS one!" One? Two, maybe? Line up the apps to match the curriculum and THEN tell me. And, line up the apps for ALL of the different subject areas where this device will be used. What is this device being used for NOW? Practicing? Remembering? Understanding?

Don't point to an app and try to make the point that I'm totally wrong. One or two apps does not prove me wrong. Nor does it justify the expense. NOR, I might add, does it justify ignoring sound educational practices just so kids can be entertained by the slick interface.

There MAY come a time when this device IS suitable for schools. I just don't that now is that time. Will you give kids admin rights on the device? Heck no. So, the only thing they can do is all the stuff YOU put on there to keep them entertained. And really, when all other arguments fail, doesn't it always come down to, "They LIKE using the ipads." It's NOT about how they support your curriculum, is it? It's NOT about what it lets them do that they cannot do (and a LOT MORE) with a laptop. It's about giving them a device that they will like playing with.

Stop the madness.

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2011-04-16T20:31:00.001-04:00

PLTW | STEM Education Curriculum for Middle and High Schools

"The PLTW Innovation Zone (aka the classroom) is an engaging and thought-provoking place, where students develop critical thinking skills through hands-on project-based learning, preparing them to take on real-world challenges. More"

tags: STEM

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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2011-04-09T20:31:00.001-04:00

Augmented Reality Continues to Advance (Practical Practice)

VERY cool example of augment reality. Finally, an application that makes sense

tags: augmented_reality
YouTube - Human Planet - Web exclusive series trailer - BBC One

AMAZING video !

tags: youtube

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

THIS is why we do it!

2011-04-08T22:04:00.000-04:00

THIS is why we have schools:

Creative Commons license: Flickr: m00by

NOT this:

Let's not let government forget that!

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2011-03-26T20:31:00.001-04:00

12 Highly Useful Google Cheatsheets For Free Download

"To reduce the time and increase the accuracy Google cheatsheets came into existence. Here we are with 12 Highly Useful Google cheatsheets."

tags: google

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Controlling Your Laptop via the iPad

2011-03-23T10:41:00.000-04:00

After reading a post by Tim Tyson in which he showed how he controls his laptop from his ipad I went out in search of an alternative method. His method was a bit cost prohibitive for me. I had shared his post to a listserv that I belong to, and someone else wrote back in to mention three other options. The first two did allow me to control the laptop from the ipad, but it was blind controlling. The ipad was a black slate. I wanted to be able to SEE my laptop on the ipad.

Enter Splashtop Remote, a $4.99 app from the iTunes store. In no time at all I was seeing and controlling my laptop from my ipad. It did require two other downloads, a server app for the laptop (Mac or Windows) and another quick download, but it was very painless.

Basically you set up the desktop app with your ip address and a password. The software helped with that process.

Next, you open the app on the ipad and tap the laptop icon to start the connection.

Of course, you're accessing it via a wireless connection, so you will need that. When it connects you're presented with some helpful tips for how to control the screen.

Tap Continue and you're in. Easy as that.

If you've got an ipad at school and you're interested in using it to allow the students to control the laptop applications, this is the best $5.00 investment I can imagine.

Have fun!

P.S.
I'm STILL not at all convinced that the ipad is ready for prime time in schools, but if you've got one you may as well use it. :)

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-03-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

Knoword | Expand your vocabulary!

Great word game posted by Ann Johnston on Twitter tonight. It tells you the definition and you starts a timer. See how many words YOU can get in the time allotted.

tags: vocabulary
How to Cite an Online Image | eHow.com

How to cite an online image? Who doesn't need THIS little tidbit, huh?

tags: cite copyright
20 Ways to Teach About the Disaster in Japan Across the Curriculum - NYTimes.com

"Below are 20 more activity ideas for ways to use The Times to teach about what’s happening as the story continues to unfold."

tags: japan
Turn Your iPad 1 or 2 into an Interactive Whiteboard (Practical Practice)

"I recently figured out a way to turn the iPad into an interactive whiteboard. Now, I'm not talking about just drawing on your iPad and projecting that drawing in front of the class, and I'm not talking about using the iPad2 to connect directly into a projector and show what's on the iPad. "

tags: ipad iwb
Welcome to TeachingBooks

Listen as these authors read some children's books - and more. Shared today on Twitter

tags: books
Satellite Photos - Japan Before and After Tsunami - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

" Move the slider to compare satellite images, taken by GeoEye, from before and after the disaster. "

tags: tsunami japan

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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2011-03-12T19:31:00.001-05:00

HOW TO: Follow the Japan Earthquake Online

This was just shared on Twitter.

tags: twitter japan
iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » Twitter in the Classroom and Twitter Posters

Great post about connecting to parents via facebook and twitter. The kids get in on it, too

tags: twitter facebook
The Complete List of iPad Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials - How-To Geek

For the ipad lovers out there. :)

tags: ipad
Streaming Event Session Information

Links to the archive of Diane Ravitch's talk on March 8, 2011 in Wisconsin.

tags: ravitch
Welcome to M86VuSafe.com

"VuSafe is an online content library that enables schools/districts to create a secure environment for showing Internet-based videos in the classroom. Teachers can use VuSafe to find videos, post them to a VuSafe library, organize the videos using keywords and categories, and share them with their students safely. The service removes all outside content present on sites such as YouTube, eliminating access to inappropriate comments, advertisements or other non-approved videos."

tags: youtube
gigapan: Tahrir Square

Another amazing example of a gigapan photo. Just keep dble clicking in to see detailed closeups.

tags: gigapan

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

No Cheering. Homework instead.

2011-03-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

This story was told to me by a friend, Ralph Maltese. He said that his niece(?) had played a soccer game and her team had won. It was a big deal game. Ralph asked her, "So were you all cheering on the bus on the way home?" "No", she said. "We were all doing homework.

That's the gist of the movie "Race to Nowhere", isn't it? I don't know, but I think it's a sad day when kids can win a big game and not be able to celebrate because they have homework to do.

Or don't they do that at all any more? When I was in school the bus would rock with the noise we made, especially going through a town - the town of our rival, for sure. We would be hoarse from cheering and singing the fight song. Come to think of it, I was in a school recently where they didn't even know if they HAD a fight song. And they didn't know their alma mater, either.

Am I wrong to be mourning the loss of these traditions?

This is why we became teachers

2011-03-08T19:23:00.000-05:00

Just when I was feeling SO down and So worried about how this state budget ("Day of Reckoning") will effect our schools, my sister sent me this note below. It was posted to her Facebook wall.

"Speaking of your brothers, I had a patient out here in OH who was looking for your bro. Jim. She was from ####### and took guitar lessons from him when she was a teenager. When she found out I was from Homer City she wanted to know if I knew how to contact him because she always wanted to let him know how that changed her life! She has moved with her family to the South somewhere since then, but if you want to pass it along to him her married name is ########."

That was two lifetimes ago. But, I know that if you're reading this then you will understand how a simple note like that can mean so much.

And, when you read this and then you compare that to the teacher-bashing going on, now, it's enough to make a grown man cry.

What will become of our Education system?

Are You Average?

2011-03-05T10:10:00.005-05:00

You are if you're 28 years old, right handed, own a cell phone but have no bank account, and you're from China. Or, at least so says this video (below). The video came from here.

Thanks to @jigar_patel (A Tweeter) for sharing this with me the other day via Twitter. I had recently been in a small meeting with him and a couple others and he was sharing some fun infographic sites. I really admire the creative minds of those who create those infographics.

Take this example from flowingdata.com that shows how large Africa really is. Lots of others to explore there, too. Or this one from good.is that shows, by county, whether or not America's richest are also the most educated. And here's an interesting video that talks about data visualization. Or this website, coolinfographics.com has quite a few excellent examples. Or, the daily infographic. And, the inforgraphicsshowcase site that showcases the very best. Spend some time at these sites. Or, do a search for the term infographic and browse the resulting images. When you find one you like follow that link back to its source for the possibility of seeing others.

But, the point of this post is about whether or no you're average. Remember, there are almost seven BILLION people on this planet, living in a wide variety of conditions. So, watch this video. I think the description of what the average person is like will surprise you. I also think it will make a great Sociology lesson.

The Very Skills She Needs She Doesn't Have

2011-03-01T00:39:00.001-05:00

My cousin's daughter, now a sophomore at PITT is a nursing student. Her schedule is grueling, to say the least. How grueling? Last week she called her father at 5:30 AM, while riding the bus to the hospital for her clinicals, to ask him to look something up on the computer for her. No, she doesn't have a smart phone and yes, she needs one. But, a data plan is simply out of the question, at this point.

I asked if she was in some sort of study group. No, she's not. I asked if there was any sort of online forum where the nursing students could post questions and share their learning and the articles they find, etc. No, there's not. And no, nobody knows what a PLC or PLN is, let alone how to even begin to form one. The very skills that she needs to be successful in the "real world" are the very skills she lacks.

I suggested that she go to the library (arguably one of the best in the nation) and ask to get some help to learn how to access their databases, and to learn how to make better searches. She's too shy for that. Perhaps terminal shyness. I suggested that I could drive to PITT to sit in with the group to show them how to use Twitter or a private Facebook group to learn together. That might work - if I could do so without making it known who I was related to. Shyness is a terribly debilitating condition, isn't it?

But my point is this. We carry on and hoorah a lot about preparing these kids for real life, yet here is a clear example of how we failed them. They don't know how to learn on their own. We've never talked about it and certainly never modeled it. "What gets tested gets taught" is KILLING us!

No, I'm not suggesting that we stop teaching the 3 R's nor the science nor History, etc. I think that they should certainly know where Iraq is on the map and they should know how our planet functions and how our bodies function - and more. But, what I AM suggesting is that we're ignoring this skill, and it's the very skill that will last WAY beyond the time when they've forgotten the names of the capital cities of the countries, or the number of atomic particles there are in .. something.

I think every business teacher in the country should reexamine their curriculum to see if it includes anything beyond Office - via a textbook. And, if it doesn't, I think it's time that the curriculum be redesigned and that it be mandatory for every student. It's WAY PAST time. LONG overdue.

Sending our children out into this world without the skills they need to make sense of the world's knowledge and information is doing them a TERRIBLE disservice. Almost to the point of an injustice.

What do you think? If YOU have children in school right now, don't you want them to leave with those skills?

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-02-26T19:31:00.001-05:00

Moodle free tutorials! Learn from 55 easy Moodle tutorials!

Screencast tutorials for Moodle

tags: moodle tutorials
Google Moderator

I keep forgetting about this tool for getting audience input.
*
Let your audience decide
Get to know your audience by letting them decide which questions, suggestions or ideas interest them most.
*
Everyone's voice is heard
The voting box at the top of page focuses attention on submissions recently added and on the rise, making it simple and easy to participate.
*
Be creative
Include people in your preparation for lectures, interviews and hard decisions or work together to organize feature requests and brainstorm new ideas.

tags: google discussion
SHOW®/WORLD - A New Way To Look At The World

An oldie but a goodie. See the world in new ways

tags: visualization maps data
Real-time local Twitter trends - Trendsmap

Check on what the world is talking about. Interesting that tweets are coming from some countries - where the government has tried to block it

tags: twitter visualization
JESS3™

More excellent visualizations

tags: visualization
C-SPAN Video Library

Lots of video - but you can save just the portion of the clip you want/need

tags: visualization
NASA Buzzroom - Home

What are the astronauts tweeting? Want to ask them a question? Even if they're on a mission???

tags: nasa visualization
Project Vote Smart's VoteEasy ™

Check out this great interactive map about the candidates. Get down to your local area. Find out who the candidates are and what their voting record is - and more

tags: vote visualization
Google Fusion Tables

Check this out. Some great data charts. When you see the data, click the Visualize link above it.

tags: visualization tables
True size of Africa

Check out this map of Africa to see its real size. Tell me again why we don't study Africa in school?

tags: visualization geography mapping
America's Richest Counties and Best Educated Counties - Education - GOOD

Are the richest people in America also the most educated? Check out this and the MANY other visualizations on this site.

tags: visualization data
VizThink | All you need to know about Visual Thinking

More on visualizing data

tags: visualization data
A Visual History of the American Presidency | timeplots.com

BUY THIS POSTER!

tags: social studies potus visualization
Dipity - Find, Create, and Embed Interactive Timelines

Not only can you create your own timeline, but it will show a timeline of whatever is in the news. Check it out TODAY!

tags: timeline visualization
Twitter Sentiment - A Sentiment Analysis Tool

Want to find out what the sentiment of the people is regarding a particular hashtag or keyword

tags: twitter analysis
Mapping America - Census Bureau 2005-9 American Community Survey - NYTimes.com

"Browse local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, based on samples from 2005 to 2009. Because these figures are based on samples, they are subject to a margin of error, particularly in places with a low population, and are best regarded as estimates. "

tags: mapping demographics statistics data
Tracking Twitter Traffic About the 2010 Midterm Elections - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

" In the final days before Tuesday’s elections, Twitter users interested in politics have increased their bursts of 140 characters. The chart below highlights the number of posts related to candidates running for governor or the Senate. "

tags: politics data
Learn more about the US Presidents by using Google Earth | Google Earth Blog

Google has built a pretty neat site using the Google Earth Plug-in to show off information about all 44 presidents that we've had in the US.

tags: GoogleEarth

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Turning 10th Graders Into Readers

2011-02-21T22:05:00.002-05:00

This email came through on our listserv today and I wanted to share it. I asked Kathy Fiedler, the author of this post, if I could share it with you. She's my first guest blogger! She's the Instructional Technology Specialist at Northwestern Lehigh School District in PA.

I'll let this speak for itself. Personally, I think it's pretty darned cool!
----
I have been thinking a lot about an experience I had this past week with one HS librarian, a 10th grade English teacher, and some run-of-the-mill 10th grade students.

For the most part, they are not very motivated readers. The librarian was trying to convince the teacher that bringing the students to the library on a regular basis would be a good experience for her students. While the teacher agreed in principle, she was worried that the kids would not take it seriously and wouldn't make good use of the class time.

The two came to me for ideas. (I am currently mentoring the librarian because it is her first year as a librarian, and I was one for 27 years prior to becoming a coach.) Together, we discussed what the teacher would like to see her students learn as a result of regular library visits. She promptly answered, "a love of reading." The librarian agreed that this would be the ultimate goal. As we talked about what we could do that might engage the students, the teacher mentioned that she has tried literature circles, but that the book discussions never developed into the rich conversations she'd envisioned; students didn't seem to care about sharing their thoughts with others. Book reports were dreaded by the students and were CLEARLY not desired, thank goodness.

I left this meeting with edmodo http://edmodo.com in mind. I have used this tool successfully with other teachers and students to get everyone engaged in a discussion topic. It is the facebook-like interface that allows this tool to transcend other web 2.0 tools. The teacher must structure the conversation for the students, but little time is wasted in teaching students how to sign up or use the tool. This works great when the students are all on one topic or are reading the same book (either whole-class, or in lit circle groups).

What continued to stump me was what to do to engage the students as a community of readers who might all be reading different books. Furthermore, I wanted the experience to be one that students might learn a skill that could continue beyond the requirements of their 10th grade English class.

I went home and googled around a bit. The answer came to me in a nifty social book sharing site called Shelfari http://shelfari.com. At our next meeting, the three of us signed up for accounts (you need to create an amazon.com

account, but no personal information is required for shelfari) and played around a bit with the interface to see if it would suit the teacher's and the librarian's requirements. The signup is a bit tricky, so I made a step-by-step cheat sheet with screen shots for the students to follow. We set some parameters on what the students would be required to do: 1. Sign up for an account using first name and last initial only. 2. Create and post an avatar as the profile photo. Set their location as Our Town, PA (Trying to protect identity here.) 3. Start by adding five books they've already read to their shelf. Also, they would add three books they wanted to read, and any books they are currently reading. 4. "Friend" all of the other members of the class, their teacher, and the librarian.

Talk about transformation! The signup was a breeze. The avatar creation was simple (we used MyAvatarEditor<http://myavatareditor.com

>). Then the fun began. Instead of wandering around aimlessly finding a book (or not) which might be read (or not), the students began discussing (quite animatedly) books they'd already read, recommending books to their neighbors, searching the library's catalog to see whether the library had the latest book of interest, writing reviews and rating books they'd read, etc. etc. etc. Two boys who I know to be reluctant readers (they were my students in middle school) excitedly discussed the Pendragon series as they tried to convince their English teacher to read it.

Poof! Instant community of readers!

The librarian required the students to "friend" her on Shelfari. As she explained to them, she'd be looking at their "Books I Plan to Read" shelves for ideas of books to purchase for the HS library collection. Because this site is directly linked to amazon.com, she can quickly access professional reviews, bindings, and prices.

We had a difficult time getting the kids to return the laptops and leave at the end of the period. I was just on my Shelfari account a few moments ago and many of the students have friend requested me. Once I approve them, they will be able to see what I am reading and will receive a news feed about all of the latest updates I and their friends have made to our accounts. There's even a feature that suggests books you might like based on your reading history, which becomes more refined as you add more books to your shelves.

The teacher has a rubric that she will use to rate the students' use of Shelfari. She is currently teaching them how to write an informative book review, and she will evaluate their reviews by looking at what they've written on Shelfari. Talk about an authentic learning experience...with an authentic audience for their work.

I bet they're even on this site today...on their day off!!!

Just had to share. This is an example of 21st teaching and learning at its finest. I hope you can find a way to try it with your teachers.

Kathy Fiedler
Technology Integration Specialist, K-12
Northwestern Lehigh School District

P.S. I liked this so much, I decided to try it out on my 183 teachers. I asked them if they wanted to read The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner as a book discussion group. I told them there would be no deadlines, no meetings, etc. The group "meets" asynchronously on Shelfari. I had SEVEN takers, which I think is pretty good at PSSA time. Sneaky way to get a PLC started, don't you think? :0)

I'm asking the wrong question about Prezi

2011-02-20T23:44:00.000-05:00

I STILL can't tolerate a Prezi presentation. Recently, I had to endure two of them. I've already mentioned why I don't like Prezi, but perhaps I'm going about it all wrong. Perhaps I should be asking a different question. So here it is:

"Why do you like Prezi?"

"If you mentioned that you liked the animations, then I'll ask this: How do those animations enhance the point you're trying to make?"

"How are those animations different from the typical animations in PowerPoint?" (No, I don't mean that these twist and zoom, I mean, a gratuitous animation in Prezi is no better than a gratuitous animation in PowerPoint, yes? Or am I wrong. Just because you can animate something doesn't mean that it SHOULD be animated, right? Or am I wrong?

I don't mean to beat this dead horse, (ok, maybe I do) but I HAVE to know what YOU see in it that I'm missing. When we think about the best presentations we've seen, do the animations come to mind? When we think of the most annoying presentations we've seen, do the animations come to mind? Which is better, do you (REALLY) think: creating a Prezi presentation, or creating a Pecha-Kucha style presentation?

If your only response is that the kids like it better, then I submit to you that you're chasing an illusion. Kids will tire of Prezi animations just as quickly (if not faster) than they tire from a PowerPoint animation. THEN what?

But, I went too far. I just want to know the reasons why you like it. Maybe I'm missing something.

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2011-02-19T19:31:00.001-05:00

Arab Democracy Reference and Live Feeds - Home / Map

Correction - THIS is what Steve Hargadon sent out

tags: democracy
YouTube - citizentube's Channel

Videos of the revolutions happening in the world. Preview (always) before showing to students

tags: youtube citizentube
Google Public Data Explorer

Shared on Twitter: Students, journalists, policy makers and everyone else can play with the tool to create visualizations of public data, link to them, or embed them in their own webpages. Embedded charts and links can update automatically so you’re always sharing the latest available data. Here’s an example of an embedded visualization:

tags: Google data visualization
E - Home

You can use E from any phone with an internet connection. Exchange cards with multiple people from phone to phone instantly. Staying in touch has never been this easy.

tags: app
kmlfactbook.org

Excellent. Thanks to Jason Heiser for sharing this at PETE&C

tags: kmlfactbook GoogleEarth
Newsmap

THios kjhsdk jljkh ljgljshldjkhl jsf

tags: news

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

It's not that they don't want to do the work, necessarily

2011-02-17T20:18:00.000-05:00

During my session at PETE&C this year, we were talking about Forums and how great they are as a tool for teachers. I told of how students respond to forums. I mentioned that teachers often find that students are posting to the forum discussions in the wee hours of the morning. When you ask them why they were up at 3:00 in the morning, they will often say something like, "Someone texted me." WHA..??? Why are THEY up at 3:00 in the AM?

But, the point is that I really believe that for many students it's not that they don't want to do your work. It's that they don't want to do your work when YOU want them to. Not all, certainly, but for some I believe that to be the case. They must get done with their own social life which is a much higher priority, isn't it? At 14 you're still exploring your world. When you're done with that THEN maybe you'll do this school work stuff.

If you're in a discipline where you encourage a lot of discussion then I strongly suggest that you establish a discussion forum in Moodle or Blackboard of in any of the free forum sites. Consider assigning fake login names so that they can post anonymously (except to you) so that they are free to really express their thoughts. Moodle has a great feature that lets you split a discussion post into its own thread. Perfect for when a student's response is provocative or insightful enough to warrant its own discussion.

When I heard it said again at PETE&C that study found that some students will go for DAYS without being asked a question in school, that made me (again) ill. At least a discussion forum will get that student expressing his/her thoughts.

Try it; you'll like it. (Name THAT slogan!)

Building a safe, caring, fun School

2011-02-17T20:03:00.000-05:00

At this week's PETE&C conference we were treated with Mr Bill Strickland as the keynote speaker on our last day. If you don't know who he is, check out this video (start at about the 5 minute mark) of his talk. It's pretty darned close to what he said to us, as well.

One point, among many, that he made was that when you build (schools that look like) prisons the students will act like prisoners. I hadn't thought about that much in those terms, but someone at lunch pointed out that a local tech school must have heard that phrase and kept it to heart when they built their tech school. It's open, modern, and comfortable, and I really see that the students appreciate that.

But thats not the reason I write this. I just read this post by Karl Fisch in which he embedded a youtube video of their yearly faculty dance. I HAVE to believe that the students must feel safe, cared about, and respected when the faculty will hang themselves out like this. It's certainly fun to watch, and it sounds like the students were honestly cheering them on.

LOVE it!

I Want that list!!

2011-02-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

I just talked to a district administrator who had just gone through a tech audit. They passed, but one site "on their list" wasn't blocked. The tech person blocked it and life went on. I said, "What else was on that list?""Oh, she wouldn't let us see it."

THAT'S when you heard me scream!

I've asked this before, but seriously, WHY IS THAT LIST A SECRET??? Think about how many sites are blocked now that might not have to be if we only knew what was on that list!

Businesses, I've read, will create an offshoot company whose sole purpose is to, as it was described, "Sink the mother ship." Tell us where our weaknesses are. Where are we vulnerable? What are we doing that is keeping us from being the best we can be? If we did that in education they would have NO shortage of areas to point to as things we're doing wrong. Not necessarily in the classroom, but in our policies.

They're going to hold us accountable to match a list that we've never seen? NOBODY can say that this makes ANY sense whatsoever!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-02-12T19:31:00.002-05:00

YouTube - MLK Encourages Egyptian Protesters
" MLK Encourages Egyptian Protesters " This is POWERFUL!
tags: mlk egypt
YouTube - Egyptian Revolution 2011 COMPLETE. World MUST MUST watch this. Freedom for All!
A POWERFUL video montage of the revolution in Egypt. "Fear has been conquered. There is no turning back." I DO hope your social studies teachers know how to follow this in real time.
tags: youtube revolution
- Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-02-05T19:32:00.001-05:00

assertTrue( ): Google uses more electricity than most countries on earth

Could these numbers be accurate for Google's electricity use? Kinda makes me feel guilty doing a search.

This is a good science lesson and even a math lesson, don't you think?
DocsTeach

Turn your students into historians with primary-source based activities that develop historical thinking skills. Activities are ready to use in your classroom. Or alter an existing activity to fit your unique needs. Exchange primary source documents and modify activity instructions. Log in to borrow from an even larger selection from fellow educators.

tags: history primary sources
Intermediate and Advanced Forms - Google Apps Edu Certified Train

The slides from the Advanced Google Forms webinar

tags: google
10 Google Forms for the Classroom | ICT in my Classroom

Ten ideas for using the forms with a class. Pointed to in tonight's webinar. Already shared to this group, but if you've not yet seen it do heck it out.
Sputnik Moment: 21st-Century Rocket Boys & Girls | edtechdigest.com

A great discussion starter article for your teachers.

tags: STEM
- What we are missing in the 21^st century is the view that technology is not the gadgets and the hardware and the software. It is not the atoms or the photons or the electrons pulsing through the Internet or our home appliances. Rather, the technology is us. According to Dr. Kane, “Technology is human creativity and artistic expression… it is knowledge in action… knowledge with a purpose… it is the art in science and engineering…” According to this view, “technology is the space between our minds and our hands.” It is our imagination, our ability to tell stories, our drive to exist and make the world a better place. For Dr. Kane, “…this space is where the speed of light generation operates.”
The Futures Channel Educational Videos and Activities Deliver Hands-On, Real World Math and Science Resources for the Classroom.

The Futures Channel was founded in 1999 with the goal of using new media technologies to create a channel between the scientists, engineers, explorers and visionaries who are shaping the future, and today’s learners who will one day succeed them.

The Futures Channel partners with schools around the country as well as a wide range of publishers, science centers, professional development service providers, public television stations, websites and more to provide high quality real world digital content to enhance their education offerings and objectives.

tags: STEM

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-01-29T19:31:00.002-05:00

NOVA | Making Stuff: Smaller
This terrific episode is all about nanotechnology. Share with your science teachers.
tags: nano science
Venezuelan orchestra. [VIDEO]
Who says symphony orchestras have to be boring? Share this with your favorite music teacher
tags: orchestra
Google Apps Marketplace - EDU
Check this out.
The education technology space has seen an explosion of new offerings in the past few years. What has been missing is a centralized platform for schools and universities to easily evaluate and utilize web apps. Today we are excited to launch an education category in the Google Apps Marketplace designed specifically to help schools and universities easily discover and deploy new web applications that integrate with their existing Google Apps accounts.

The new education category includes over 20 applications from 19 vendors ranging from learning management systems (LMS) to student tools and teaching aids – all of which integrate with Google Apps for Education. Each app can be accessed through single sign-on and the Google universal navigation bar and many offer deeper integrations that synchronize with Google Calendar and Documents.
tags: googleapps
http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/film/film.htm
Wow. Share this with your art teacher(s) The videos are on this page, but check out the other galleries, as well. Won't raise a math score, but the art folks will love it
tags: art
Module 1: Google Apps Education Edition - Google Apps Education Training Center
" This Module covers the basics of Google Apps Education Edition and how you can use Google Apps on your school domain. "
tags: googleapps
Official Google Enterprise Blog: Upcoming Google Apps for Education professional development webinars
"These sessions, taught by Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, have received a great response and we've decided to hold them more frequently – you can now tune in every Tuesday at 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET to hear tips and techniques for using Google Apps for Education."
tags: googleapps
Thinglink — Make Your Images Interactive
Make images with clickable regions. Nice.
tags: tools
YouTube - Rethinking Education
- Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

A Fun Teachable Moment Today

2011-01-27T17:47:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of visiting a school near here today to see the kinds of activities that the teachers and students were doing with technology. One of those classes was being taught by a third year teacher. He is the Special Education teacher there, and he's been using the various technology tools in some powerful ways with his students. They have a moodle class set up, and when they're in the lab they're totally focused on the tasks at hand. It was something to see.

But that's not the story.

They were studying water pollution and I sat down beside a senior boy and asked him to show me what he was doing. He was fine with that, and he showed me the moodle class and "... all the stuff we can do in there." When I saw the title of the chapter they were in, I mentioned that I had seen a picture recently about the world's most polluted river. As I was talking about it, he opened a new tab and googled, "worlds most polluted waterways." He then clicked on the images link at the top. I hadn't suggested it; he did it on his own. As he did, I wondered, "How many times would he have done that in class if he had the opportunity to explore the ideas the interested him?"

The first image he found was this one: http://seawayblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/manilas-floating-rubbish-dump.html and the other images on that page. Then he found this one: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread576911/pg1(the second image on the page). He sat there and stared in silence at that picture for a good while before saying, "That's just awful! How can they live like that?"

Indeed.

But, I really have a feeling that this little bit of self-guided exploration did more to bring home the idea of why pollution is an important topic than ANY Study Island lesson could possibly have done alone. As I got up to leave he was still going through the images. I said, "THAT'S why we study the topic of water pollution."

Oh how I wish kids could have more time for that sort of thing. When you hear about something that sparks some interest, check it out. Look at images. Post to a discussion forum. Share those images with the rest of the class. Talk about it. If we'd had time I would have shown him the two poptech videos I had mentioned in a previous blog post. I had his attention and his interest. That's the time to provide more.

Anyway, just a thought about the difference a computer in front of a student can make.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-01-22T19:32:00.001-05:00

10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports - TheApple.com
- A bookcast is a movie trailer-like audio review of a book
- Students can add photos, video, audio and text to their timeline to support telling the story sequentially.
- Wikis are an excellent place for students to share book reviews.
- After students read a book, they can create their own book talk using a web cam or video camera.
- Students can create a slideshow summary of their book with pictures, audio, and text. Other students can leave text, audio, or drawn comments on the book reviews.
10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports - TheApple.com
- Let students create a cartoon version of the book they have just finished.
- summarizing the book they just read.
- Students can create an interview type show where they interview characters in the book, create a short movie trailer for the book, or actually have characters act out portions of the book.
- Students should include the title and author of the book, key characters, use pictures that support the story line, and create a tag line that will make others want to read the book.
- Encourage students to create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari http://shelfari.com.
- they can log onto their Book Adventure account and take a 10 question multiple choice quiz based on the book they read.
Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

This list has several sites I'd not heard of before. (Thanks, Doug Leisher) for sharing this with me via email.

tags: tools
Search Results

Excellent search results for Technology related search

tags: STEM technology
MATHCOUNTS Foundation - MATHCOUNTS

For Middle School students

tags: STEM math
Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Sites to Promote STEM

tags: STEM

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-01-15T19:31:00.002-05:00

YouTube - No Digital Facelifts: Thinking the Unthinkable About Open Educational Experiences
Shared by Will Richardson on twitter the other day. He described it as 'brilliant.'
tags: video
YouTube - The Gauss Christmath Special
- Y GOTTA watch this'
The Environmental Impact of Cell Phones | Techi.com
Another great article about the impact on the environment of something we take for granted - cell phones. (Thanks to Justine Kobeski for sharing this with me)
tags: environmental
Google Earth - Google Tools for Schools
All things Google Tools
tags: google
YouTube - 7 Billion, National Geographic Magazine

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2011-01-08T19:32:00.001-05:00

Google Maps Mania: 10 Great Car Journeys in Street View

Talk about virtual field trips. Here are 10 great Car trips that you can play right in your browser. Show your students!

tags: GoogleEarth
More Schools Embrace the iPad as a Learning Tool - NYTimes.com
- less costly options, like smartphones
- paying for their iPads through federal and other grants,
- “You can do everything that the iPad can with existing off-the-shelf technology and hardware for probably $300 to $400 less per device,
- About 5,400 educational applications are available specifically for the iPad, of which nearly 1,000 can be downloaded free.
- “It has brought individual technology into the classroom without changing the classroom atmosphere,”
- “It’s not about a cool application,” Dr. Brenner said. “We are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.”
More Schools Embrace the iPad as a Learning Tool - NYTimes.com

This REALLY upsets me. To me, it's clear that these folks should NOT be making decisions about what matters in education.

tags: ipads
- teach Kafka in multimedia, history through “Jeopardy”-like games and math with step-by-step animation of complex problems.
- The iPads cost $750 apiece
- Educators, for instance, are still divided over whether initiatives to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically.
- “IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning.”
- “If there isn’t an app that does something I need, there will be sooner or later,”
- $56,250 for the initial 75
- 32-gigabyte, with case and stylus
- play math games, study world maps and read “Winnie the Pooh.”
- “I think this could very well be the biggest thing to hit school technology since the overhead projector,
- The New York City public schools have ordered more than 2,000 iPads, for $1.3 million
- More than 200 Chicago public schools applied for 23 district-financed iPad grants totaling $450,000. The Virginia Department of Education is overseeing a $150,000 iPad initiative

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Response to "Top 10 Predictions for 2011 (with proof)

2011-01-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote this as a response to this article: http://www.techlearning.com/article/35406 but it turns out that it was over the character limit, so I decided that rather than try to trim it I'd just make it my own post.

Here'is my response:

I do believe that you will see these predictions happening around the country - just not in the same schools. A school here or there will stop textbooks, for sure. That's not that far fetched. And there are already some schools that are allowing their students to bring in their own tech, or using cell phones for educational purposes. But, there are a couple of these predictions that I think are harder to make happen except in rare instances.

The idea of assessments being comprehensive and constant, for one, will be much harder to see happening except in rare instances. Why? Because there are SO few models of what that looks like, and precious little professional development time being spend on showing that model. Teachers can't easily and suddenly change how they are teaching and assessing without some sustained PD to show them what it looks like and how to transpose those alternative assessments into letter grades. ANd that's their reality. Letter grades.

Students forced to use phones in class? Why? What pedagogical reasons are there to force the use of a cell? Force? Grounds for detention? In these litigious days? I highly doubt it. Schools are far too worried about the (perceived - right or wrong) dangerous uses of the phones. I don't think you'll see this in many schools at all. At least not to the degree that you have mentioned here.

Another area that I don't see changing is the use of Facebook. Yes, a student could make a facebook page about an historical figure and friend other historical figures. Is that all there is? That and friending a teacher? If that's all there is then I think, for all the distraction Facebook access would cause I just don't think it's worth it. It's certainly not the hill I'm going to fight for. Have you noticed how addicted some folks are to facebook? Do we want/need that distraction - for students AND teachers? I think it's a forced fit at best. If you can't do anything with it other than pretend to be an historical figure, then let's move on to what we KNOW to work in Education.

Finally, the end of testing? I have the utmost respect for Chris Lehman, but I respectfully disagree with the idea that the end is in sight. I see nothing to support that. A switch from NCLB to RTTT? No end to testing in sight there, for sure. And, I keep going back to the idea that there just isn't enough PD for teachers for them to know how to make that kind of switch. And, even if every day of PD this year were devoted to it, it's just not going to go away that quickly. I just don't see it. At the end of the day the teachers need to record a grade, and until they have a LOT of experience creating and using rubrics to score projects, it's just MUCH less work and FAR less subjective (if you have to support your grade to an upset student or parent) to give tests.

I'm not saying that I favor tests. I'm just saying that until colleges begin to show their education majors alternative ways to assess students (and start to model it themselves) that the test just isn't going to go away.

My hot button is the filter. (Ever hear me screaming?) The notion that this year students will be able to surf away is an exciting idea. But, in 2011? Again, maybe in isolated instances, but I doubt if you'll be able to look back on this year and say that you've seen a significant change. Not until the CIPA gods stop the nonsense of functioning as a "Gotcha!" To have such vague rules for being compliant and then keeping everyone on their guard about being audited and losing that e-rate funding (especially in these days of funding concerns) is not fair to anyone. If schools could run down through a checklist of searches that would show areas of concern then at LEAST they would know the boundaries. As it is, we've got some districts that block Google Docs and wikis, for crying out loud. When there is THAT much rampant fear in this country, then the idea of surfing freely is just unrealistic. IMHO.

Your article sure gave us food for thought. Thanks to Ellen for getting us thinking more on the topic(s).

Post weekly (weekly)

2010-12-25T19:32:00.001-05:00

Chirpstory - All Stories

"Your tool for
compiling, sharing, and enjoying Tweets.
Click "Create Story" to get started! "

tags: twitter newspaper

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2010-12-18T19:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to NBC Learn- K-12

This site replaces iCue with the news footage, etc. Looks good.

NBC News Archives on Demand (K-12) is a collection of NBC News videos, primary source documents, images, and resources specifically designed for use in the K-12 classroom.

* Thousands of searchable and downloadable resources (1600s to Today)
* Video content aligned to State Standards
* Current Events updated regularly
* Sciences, Social Studies, Language Arts, Health and Business
* Personalized playlists for teachers and students
* Revolutionary flippable media player

tags: news
Aviary Education - Home

Aviary for educators! Shared today on the CFF listserv. (Thanks, Susannah)

tags: tools aviary music audio
YouTube - Google Demo Slam: Epic Docs Animation

This won't raise any test scores, but check this out.

tags: google

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Favorite Christmas Story

2010-12-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

Every year for the past... many... I've tried to remember to send out this link to my favorite Christmas story. It's told by Henry Faulk and it used to be played on NPR each year. They finally stopped playing it, but the link to the story remains.

This has become a tradition for me. I play it at least once each year.

Gather the family around and settle in for what I'm certain you will find to be a wonderful story, brilliantly told. The story of a barefoot boy and his Christmas orange.

Enjoy. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5028755

21 Things that will Disappear in Ten Years? My reply

2010-12-12T14:37:00.001-05:00

Recently, someone on twitter pointed me to this blog post about twenty one things that will disappear in education by 2020. I read it fully and have copied and pasted it here along with my responses. What do you think?

1. Desks
The 21st century does not fit neatly into rows. Neither should your students. Allow the network-based concepts of flow, collaboration, and dynamism help you rearrange your room for authentic 21st century learning.

I don’t see this happening in the next ten years. Why not? There is nothing to suggest that our colleges are changing the way they teach, nor how they teach education majors how to teach. We teach how we were taught, so as long as the model remains the old model, well continue to teach that way.

Another reason - it would take WAY too much money to replace all the desks with tables, etc. Too many of us remember the Open Classroom fad of the 70’s and what a failure that was - for a host of reasons. I doubt that many will be splurging on new furniture with the risk of it turning into another fad.

2. Language Labs
Foreign language acquisition is only a smart phone away. Get rid of those clunky desktops and monitors and do something fun with that room.

This MAY happen if the foreign language teachers can see a successful model. Not until.

3. Computers
Ok, so this is a trick answer. More precisely this one should read: 'Our concept of what a computer is'. Because computing is going mobile and over the next decade we're going to see the full fury of individualized computing via handhelds come to the fore. Can't wait.

I HOPE this one doesn’t come to pass. Why? While the smart phones are getting better and the apps more powerful, they still can’t replace the laptop for MANY things. Typing any sort of text beyond a paragraph is far too cumbersome. In fact, doing much more than just using it as a consumer isn’t there, yet. Maybe in ten years. Still, we’ve got powerful laptops that can do everything the phone can do - and MUCH more - and many (most?) schools block access to to. I’d RATHER hear that schools will stop blocking Google Docs and wikis, and blogs, and other such nonsense.

the same holds true, in my opinion, for ipads and ipod touches. Our models for delivering our curriculum haven’t stalled because we’ve been waiting for an ipad. They’re consumer devices, not creativity devices. And pointing to a few exceptions doesn’t change the overall nature of the device, IMHO.

4. Homework
The 21st century is a 24/7 environment. And the next decade is going to see the traditional temporal boundaries between home and school disappear. And despite whatever Secretary Duncan might say, we don't need kids to 'go to school' more; we need them to 'learn' more. And this will be done 24/7 and on the move (see #3).

I would hope that homework would not disappear, either. Let’s do some math. We’ve got the students for 13 years, for 7 hours per day for 180 days per year. That comes to 16,380 hours. That, compared to 13 years times 365 days times 24 hours, MINUS the time they spend in school comes to 97,500 hours. That means that we have them for less than 17% of the time in those 13 years. I don’t think it’s possible for them to learn all that we’re saying that they SHOULD learn if they’re only asked to learn it in school.

I agree that the 21st Century may be a 24/7 environment, and not a 7/5 environment. So that means that learning must happen outside of school - at home. Doing homework.

5. The Role of Standardized Tests in College Admissions
The AP Exam is on its last legs. The SAT isn't far behind. Over the next ten years, we will see Digital Portfolios replace test scores as the #1 factor in college admissions.

Not so sure about this one, either. First, the teachers will need to become much more literate in those areas, AND they must see the model of its use in order to duplicate it. That means that the colleges themselves will have to be training new teachers to use the portfolios. And THAT means that the colleges will have somehow found a way (and the TIME) to examine portfolios of work in order to know whether or not to accept a student. They will have to know what to look for (how to grade them) in order to know if a student is college material or not. Think about how much time THAT would take. I just don’t see the colleges being eager to make that happen. Certainly not in ten years. We know how slowly things change in education.

6. Differentiated Instruction as the Sign of a Distinguished Teacher
The 21st century is customizable. In ten years, the teacher who hasn't yet figured out how to use tech to personalize learning will be the teacher out of a job. Differentiation won't make you 'distinguished'; it'll just be a natural part of your work.

Maybe, but not if computers are replaced by cell phones and ipads. Just having those students practice with ipad apps or cell phone apps isn’t going to give them the skills to do real research, manage their online resources, and create knowledge.

I do think that that a teacher who isn’t able to use technology seamlessly in ten years SHOULD be out looking for a job Now, I’m not talking about K-2 yeachers here. I still think the children need a LOT more than computers at that age. That said, however, there appears to be nothing on the horizon that would indicate that this skill - or lack thereof - will ever be grounds for dismissal.

7. Fear of Wikipedia
Wikipedia is the greatest democratizing force in the world right now. If you are afraid of letting your students peruse it, it's time you get over yourself.

I hope this is true, but unless Jimmy Wales can find a way to support that project, it may not even exist in ten years.

8. Paperbacks
Books were nice. In ten years' time, all reading will be via digital means. And yes, I know, you like the 'feel' of paper. Well, in ten years' time you'll hardly tell the difference as 'paper' itself becomes digitized.

Again, I hope this isn’t an accurate prediction. I can pick up a paperback at a yard sale for $.25 and it can circulate for years and years. Not so with e-books. Aside from the digital divide issues, I don’t think it’s good for education. It’ll happen someday. It has to. Just not in the next ten years.

9. Attendance Offices
Bio scans. 'Nuff said.

Yes, bio scans and along with that will be all the background information on that student. Past grades and disciplinary reports, clubs, etc. We won’t even have to get to know them!

Seriously, though, I REALLY hope this one won't happen.

10. Lockers
A coat-check, maybe.

A secure coat check. Some place to keep your personal items where they won’t be stolen. Something like, maybe, a locker. :-)

11. IT Departments
Ok, so this is another trick answer. More subtly put: IT Departments as we currently know them. Cloud computing and a decade's worth of increased wifi and satellite access will make some of the traditional roles of IT -- software, security, and connectivity -- a thing of the past. What will IT professionals do with all their free time? Innovate. Look to tech departments to instigate real change in the function of schools over the next twenty years.

I don’t know. I’d think that the additional demands on the network to be able to reach the cloud consistently, and to support a network that allows students and staff to bring in their own hardware, will make their jobs even more demanding, not less.

12. Centralized Institutions
School buildings are going to become 'homebases' of learning, not the institutions where all learning happens. Buildings will get smaller and greener, student and teacher schedules will change to allow less people on campus at any one time, and more teachers and students will be going out into their communities to engage in experiential learning.

That would be nice. I just don’t see us going from here to there in just ten years. WAY too much has to change in order for that to happen.

13. Organization of Educational Services by Grade
Education over the next ten years will become more individualized, leaving the bulk of grade-based learning in the past. Students will form peer groups by interest and these interest groups will petition for specialized learning. The structure of K-12 will be fundamentally altered.

Many schools today are saying that they’re becoming more individualized already - because they use Plato ro Study Island. I hope that if your prediction comes to pass that it’s done correctly. When the research begins to show that it’s the ideal way to go, then maybe.

14. Education School Classes that Fail to Integrate Social Technology
This is actually one that could occur over the next five years. Education Schools have to realize that if they are to remain relevant, they are going to have to demand that 21st century tech integration be modeled by the very professors who are supposed to be preparing our teachers.
(Ed. Note: Check out Plock's 2010 nomination for best blog post: "Why Teachers Should Blog")

There y’ go! This is what I was saying earlier. This MUST change. Otherwise, our “headwaters’ will continue to pollute our teacher pool. But, recently I spoke to a group of higher ed professionals. I made a lot of assumptions going in. I THOUGHT that most would have, by now, edited a wiki page, and have used Google Docs or Windows live and would have used discussion forums with the students. I was shocked to discover that in that entire room, only THREE had edited a wiki page, TWO had used Google Docs, and only half a dozen or so had used discussion forums with students. None in that room kmew what an aggregator was.

There is a VERY long way to go in this area. Things may begin to change in the next five years, but I don’t see significant, systemic changes occurring for some time.

15. Paid/Outsourced Professional Development
No one knows your school as well as you. With the power of a PLN in their backpockets, teachers will rise up to replace peripatetic professional development gurus as the source of schoolwide prof dev programs. This is already happening.

In Pennsylvania that is happening already. There is a very closely connected group of instructional coaches around the state - some 500+ strong - who are in PLCs in Twitter, facebook, classroom 2.0, and more, and they are, indeed, leading the PD in their districts. That’s been happening for years already. They are connected, and passionate learners who are the driving forces in their districts for instructional change.

Of course, all this comes at a time when I was hoping to be able to do some PD in my early retirement years. Oh well, what they’re doing is HUGE for PA. I’m proud to be associated with them.

16. Current Curricular Norms
There is no reason why every student needs to take however many credits in the same course of study as every other student. The root of curricular change will be the shift in middle schools to a role as foundational content providers and high schools as places for specialized learning.

That will happen if the tests go away. Once we stop trying to make every student the same, that will happen. Don’t see that happening any time soon, though.

17. Parent-Teacher Conference Night
Ongoing parent-teacher relations in virtual reality will make parent-teacher conference nights seem quaint. Over the next ten years, parents and teachers will become closer than ever as a result of virtual communication opportunities. And parents will drive schools to become ever more tech integrated.

I think that the technology will, indeed, make communication easier and more timely between teachers and parents. And students. Still, I like to press the flesh and meet them and establish a bit of trust and common goals. I hope those don’t go away.

18. Typical Cafeteria Food
Nutrition information + handhelds + cost comparison = the end of $3.00 bowls of microwaved mac and cheese. At least, I so hope so.

Amen.

19. Outsourced Graphic Design and Webmastering
You need a website/brochure/promo/etc.? Well, for goodness sake just let your kids do it. By the end of the decade -- in the best of schools -- they will be.

Yes. No reaon NOT to. I’m not a fan of Dreamweaver for making school websites. Too steep of a learning curve to master the program, and there’s no real need to. Setting up and customizing a Drupal or Joomla site to create a website that has dynamic content is the way to go, for me.

20. High School Algebra I
Within the decade, it will either become the norm to teach this course in middle school or we'll have finally woken up to the fact that there's no reason to give algebra weight over statistics and IT in high school for non-math majors (and they will have all taken it in middle school anyway).

Hmm. Not sure about that one. I WOULD like to see math being overhauled so that we’re teaching less of how to solve an equation and more about WHY and what to do with the answers. Like Dan Meyer and Conrad Wolfram have recently discussed in the Tedx talks.

21. Paper
In ten years' time, schools will decrease their paper consumption by no less than 90%. And the printing industry and the copier industry and the paper industry itself will either adjust or perish.

I do believe it will be reduced, thankfully, and it would be great if it did reach the 90% level. But, SO much has to change for that to happen, and change happens slowly in education. We used to joke that educators didn’t wear watches, we wore calendars.

---
So, what do you think?

P.S. (Added 12/13)
I think that all those points could happen in ten years, but the focus in the schools would have to be on change. That's not their focus. Right now it's on AYP. That's it. Nothing else matters if they're not making AYP. Right or wrong, it's just the way it is. So, change, if it's not going to either save money or improve test scores, I don't believe will happen.

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2010-12-11T19:31:00.001-05:00

Free Pictures - Wylio.com

search engine for creative commons images. Grab code to embed the image or click the image to be taken to the source

tags: creativecommons
PhotoFunia

Shared recently on twitter. No account needed. For you but probably not the students. Nothing wrong, but certainly won't raise a test score. :)

tags: photos fun

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Qwiki - project THIS out a few years! WOW!

2010-12-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

The typical search engine returns links to other websites that contain your keywords. WolframAlpha returns a computed answer to your query. But THIS website returns a multimedia story about your answer. Qwiki.com

Kristin Hokansen pointed me to this while on Twitter one night. This site is so new it's still in alpha!

Go to the qwiki site now and watch the introductory video. That will give you a sense for what it is. I've got 'unlimited' invitations open to share with others, so if you wish to join in on the fun, testing this alpha version of this amazing site, let me know. I ran a few tests to make sure that results were school friendly, and those that I ran were. You may know more of the names that would have cause for concern (someone mentioned 50 cent, for example, but I won't dignify the guy by searching for him.)

Once again, project this technology out 5 years. Incredible! There will surely be some teaching that we'll have to do about the site - I mean, look at what we went through with Wikipedia. But, this is a powerful example of Web 3.0 technology.

Wow!

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2010-12-04T19:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome - K12IMC.org

"Like an IMC in the real world, you will find...

* tools for planning, using and managing your own environment,
* a solid foundation for supporting standards and assessment practices,
* classroom projects, lessons, units, field trips, extended studies, international databases in almost any subject and across subjects,
* references and contests for students,
* multimedia creation and samples,
* professional development and publishing opportunities,
* tips for school, family and community partnerships, public groups and private industry, and
* space to conference with colleagues"

tags: iste
Science Museum - Launchpad Online - Launchball

Totally addictive game that teaches science concepts to get you to move a ball over to its target.

tags: science game
Hans Rosling gives a virtual space presentation - excellent

Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if our students could give presentations in Social Studies like this one by the Gapminder Founder, Hans Rosling?

tags: data gapminder

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Polluted - Part II

2010-12-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

I wasn't looking for this. I just happened to see an image on the back page of the Sierra magazine. It showed a picture of the Citarum River in Indonesia. It's "one of the world's most polluted rivers." ONE of? It's not THE most polluted?

These two images show men in canoes, salvaging what they can from the tons of debris floating in the river.

Now if those images aren't a writing prompt, I don't know what is. Send this to your favorite earth science teacher and sociology teacher and World Cultures teacher. There are prompts there for everyone.

Creative Commons Licensed: Flickr: LMGM: Liz Murphy Global Media

Creative Commons Licensed: Flickr: dosomethink!

I'm a lucky man!

Plastic - A Problem and A Solution

2010-12-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

This one is a MUST-SEE for your science teachers. It's in two parts. The first is a very moving slideshow by Chris Jordan. You may have seen some of his images before. He will create an image of, say, a human skull smoking a cigarette. But the image is actually a mosaic made up of cigarette packs equal to, in this case, the number of people who die from smoking related diseases each month in the US. Check out that image and the look at the others in the panel on the right. BE SURE to CLICK THE IMAGE to see it scroll in to reveal the details. And be sure to read the captions for each. Here's his second "Running the Numbers" collection.

Share those links with your students. No other comments. Ask them to write (a blog would be better) or post a discussion forum topic about which of those images hit home the most and why. Let them discuss it.

Then show them this poptech video from 2009 of Chris Jordan showing the photographs he took on Midway Island. It shows the decayed remains of baby albatrosses whose stomachs are full of undigested plastic. Play it through to the very end. When it's over, have them again write/blog/discuss their reaction to it. Have them suggest solutions to the problem - and maybe even vote on the best suggestion and state why they feel it's the best suggestion.

This youtube video tells us that in some parts of the ocean there are SIX pounds of plastic floating in the ocean for every ONE pound of plankton. SIX to ONE! It also talks about the situation on Midway. And there are PLENTY more resources that provide more information about the floating garbage dump. Are your students using Diigo? If so, let them find some resources and leave discussion notes on the pages they find. A great way to have them talking about YOUR content!

Then, maybe the next class period, after you've discussed the proposed solutions and talked about the problem some more, show them this amazing video of Ryan Smith whose company is converting raw sewage into clean, biodegradable plastic! Yes, that's right. Sewage into CLEAN plastic.

NOW have them write/blog/discuss about this solution and let that discussion lead you into the nature of bacteria and the fact that there still are BILLIONS of inventions/solutions still as yet to be discovered. And, a solution like this one will likely change forever how we deal with and think about plastic.

Science will be what saves this planet from our own ignorance.

Make sure that your science teachers see this. It's something that can fit into almost any science course.

This image is from Chris Jordan's website from the Midway collection.

The Power of the PLN

2010-11-21T00:56:00.000-05:00

It started with this blog post. A teacher commented in his blog that he was trying to create a new course, and he asked for help. He created a Google doc (the address is shared in his blog post) and asked for ideas. Visit the document and take a look at how his internet friends, his PLN, responded.

Is this powerful or what?

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2010-11-20T19:31:00.001-05:00

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Ten times more applications for Google Apps customers
Check this out!

tags: google
Tag Team Tech October 2010
Shared today on Twitter, written by our own Joyce Valenza. Forward this to YOUR librarian. NOW!

tags: library
The Innovative Educator: 10 Proven Strategies to Break the Ban and Build Opportunities for Student Learning with Cell Phones
Are you having trouble getting through to folks to try to loosen up the restrictions to allow you to do the kind of work you REALLY want to do? This article, shared by one of our new coaches, Jason Suter, may help.

tags: filtering

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Why Do You Need The Whole Internet, Anyway?

2010-11-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to work with about 400 teachers and instructional coaches from PA. I heard some wonderful tales of some excellent and exciting work that is going on around the state. It was SO inspiring to hear those stories. I saw a sample lesson where the teacher used the Classroom 2.0 ning to find other teachers who were interested in a joint project with their classes. They used Google docs to flesh out the project details. They used a wiki for their project. They blogged about their learning, And, they used a number of online tools to create their final projects.

And I heard the other side of the coin, as well. I heard from several who said that, while they loved that project idea, they wouldn't be able to do it, as ALL of those sites are blocked. Who is making that decision, anyway?

One coach even told me that she was asked by one of her board members who was concerned about their budget, "Why do you need the WHOLE Internet anyway?" Seriously! You can't make this stuff up! How do you respond to that? How confident can you possibly be in the sense that your school board is making intelligent decisions for the education of all the children in the district? How empowered does that make you feel?

I also talked to a number of coaches, including the 1:1 district coaches where Google Docs, wikispaces, blogs, and much more are blocked. I heard of their intense frustrations as they fight to get these tools opened up, only to be told no. Worse, the reasons given are completely WRONG. Total lack of understanding and an unwillingness to learn.

By their actions, those districts are saying, "We embrace technology - but only so far as it lets us do what we always did before."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to scream, now.

Tell me it ain't so!

2010-11-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

I was just in a webinar this morning with some wonderful educators from PA. During the session we were showing a wikispaces wiki that we will be using for an upcoming event. At one point one of those educators/leaders asked if we would not use wikispaces in the future (and I"m SURE it would also apply to PBWorks) any more because it's so frustrating for her teachers who can't access it from school because it's blocked. (You may have heard my scream, at that point.)

In all seriousness, how can that decision to block those sites STILL be allowed to stand? Where do the objections come from? If it's the school board, then someone (or a team of someones) MUST get on the next agenda and educate them on what this decision means. It's not only that the decision denies access to website but it's also that it denies access to TOOL. I'm SURE that each of us reading this post could speak for an hour without hesitation on the MANY wonderful and powerful uses for that tool, and we could talk about how such a tool raises the level of student participation on the Bloom's scale, or how it can so easily let our students construct knowledge with other students from around the world. This decision condemns every student in the district to an inferior education compared to those who are able to work with those tools. Stand up at the next board meeting and read (leave out the school specific items, of course) this post, http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/03/the-status-quo-no-longer-suffices-an-open-letter-to-the-ames-ia-school-board.html

If the objections come from the Superintendent, then he/she MUST be invited and encouraged to attend the next ISTE conference (in Philadelphia, in 2011) to discover what all is being missed by such a decision. In today's reality, even if we graduate 100% of our students who then go on for a 4 year degree, if those students graduate without having learned to use today's tools then we've done them a TERRIBLE disservice. Scott Mcleod even went as far as suggesting:

"...the tools of learning have changed, as have the tools of collaboration, of distribution, of creation, and if our schools do not teach these – and much more – help our students to understand how they must manipulate these tools for their purposes – and the world’s – nothing else we do in school really matters, because our students will not be able to effectively work with what they know."

Now, I don't think I'd go as far as to agree with that 100% (after all, if that were true, then I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today, as certainly I wasn't taught any of this stuff back then), but it does make us face the facts that the tools of the world have changed and it must be our duty and responsibility (Scott wonders if it's our 'moral imperative') to recognize that and to teach our students how to use them. A Superintendent who would insist that wikispaces be blocked is one, in my opinion, who is standing directly in the way and will eventually, if not SOON, be replaced with someone who has a clear understanding of these realities.

If the decision is made at the Tech Director position, then there is another person who is in jeopardy of losing his/her job. Why? If my district has invested hundreds of thousands - or even millions - of dollars into technology equipment and infrastructure and bandwidth over the years, there must be something to show for it. If it only amounts to kids using powerpoint, then it's been a HUGE waste of money. Would you agree? One person - no matter WHO that person is or WHAT position that person holds - CANNOT long stand in the way of meaningful education. We can't afford it financially, and we can't afford it as a nation trying to raise students to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Ask that person who is blocking wikis, "What can your objections to the site POSSIBLY be that others around the country haven't already thought of and dismissed?" And, "How could you POSSIBLY defend this decision to the parents in this community who are assuming that you're providing their children with the best education possible?"

Now, if you're reading this and are thinking, "We're OK, then, Wikispaces is open", and at the same time you're blocking Diigo or Delicious or Google Docs (seriously!) then this is STILL for you. This rant isn't just limited to wikispaces, y' know. :)

I have neither patience nor tolerance for it. We can't afford it, and we can't afford to wait around while ignorance is permitted to rule. I feel another scream coming on....

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2010-10-30T20:31:00.001-04:00

Online Spreadsheets - EditGrid
Need a quick spreadsheet? This is excellent, if you've not seen it before

tags: spreadsheets
Pittsburgh Public Schools | Instructional Technology (OIT)
Distance Learning opportunities. Got video conference equipment that's collecting dust?

tags: videoconferencing
98 Snow Leopard tips, tricks and tweaks | News | TechRadar UK
"We're willing to bet that even the most seasoned Mac user won't have used half of these cunning techniques on their machine. With this huge selection of tips at your disposal, prepare to speed up the way you work on your Mac forever. "

tags: macos

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Post weekly (weekly)

2010-10-23T20:31:00.001-04:00

Khan Academy
WOW! Make sure your math folks see this resource. Make sure your STUDENTS know how to get to this.

tags: math resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

"Does Comcast use Outlook Express?"

2010-10-17T15:09:00.001-04:00

Isn't it .. something.. that there is still such a persistent misunderstanding 'out there' about email? When you hear someone say that they can't get email any longer because they switched providers and, "... they don't use Outlook Express" then you know you're dealing with someone who still thinks this whole internet thing is just sheer magic.

Or when they say that they can receive email from their new provider but they can't send anything you know that they just have no idea how it works or why it works that way.

It made me wonder how many of our students know what an 'email client' is, or how it works. How many of your students would be able to effectively answer the question above - "Does Comcast use Outlook Express?"

(Creative Commons licensed on Flickr: FoleyPod)

One more thing before I leave this topic. Well, SORTA this topic. I heard an interesting story today on NPR's Weekend Edition about Captchas. Most of us have long known that those exist as a means of the user proving they're human. Only humans can read those things and enter the correct letters. A spammer's 'bot' can't do it. The article today told of spammers who hire people to decode those. They get paid $.75/1000 captchas successfully decoded. Just a couple bucks a day. But, the story said, it's more than in some textile sweat shops - and better working conditions.

Doesn't THAT speak volumes about SO many things of this world?

Post weekly (weekly)

2010-10-09T20:31:00.001-04:00

Cartoons from the Issue of October 11, 2010 : The New Yorker
WONDERFUL cartoon about blogging. Perfect for some schools around here.

tags: cartoon blogging
YouTube - CISCO - Welcome To The Human Network Original Full Length Comercial
Powerful video about the power of the human network

tags: video cisco
School 2.0 - Home
The School 2.0 etoolkit is designed to help schools, districts, and communities develop a common education vision and explore how that vision can be supported by technology

tags: leadership school2.0
We can’t let educators off the hook | Dangerously Irrelevant
"If you’re a teacher / administrator / librarian / education professor that somehow ‘doesn’t even realize [yet] that there’s a decision to be made,’ should you even be working in a school or university? Don’t our children and our school systems need and deserve someone who’s in a different place than you are? It’s one thing to still be a learner; heck, we’re all learners with this technology stuff. It’s another to opt out or not even recognize the choice. If we look at what our kids need, shouldn’t we replace you with someone else? "

tags: blog
The tools of learning have changed - Mind Dump
"the tools of learning have changed, as have the tools of collaboration, of distribution, of creation, and if our schools do not teach these – and much more – help our students to understand how they must manipulate these tools for their purposes – and the world’s – nothing else we do in school really matters, because our students will not be able to effectively work with what they know."

tags: quote

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.