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Youtube has a great tool called Spotlight that lets you make any video interactive. It’s really handy for lessons and quizzes. Essentially, you can ask students a question — or a series of questions — and when they answer show them a personalized video response according to how they did.
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After launching a Profile redesign in December, Facebook released design and feature changes to Pages today, bringing them up to date with a new design that features photos. The result? Page owners now have more reach and utility across the platform.
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This could possibly the best compilation of photography i have ever did. All are beautiful , in some is use infrared photography and in some are night vision etc. Hope you Enjoy it.
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Mobile device manufacturers are increasingly supplying their products with barcode readers pre-installed. For example Nokia Barcode Reader is pre-installed on the N82, N93, N93i, N95, E66, E71 and E90. If this is not the case for your mobile device check the readers below for your model and download the appropriate application version via the links.
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You can download the extension and start blocking sites now.
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Some tips for the new user to Twitter.
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In a report from New Scientist, Max Schuchard a computer science graduate student and his buddies claim they’ve found a way to launch DDoS attacks on Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) network routers that could crash the Internet.
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GameSalad makes iPhone, iPad and Mac game creation free and accessible to the 99% who don't like to code
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The Botball Educational Robotics Program gives students skills, experience, and opportunities to succeed as they work in teams to design, build and program a pair of autonomous robots for regional and international competitions
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Can you transfer iTunes music from Windows to Mac OS X? Is it even possible? Yes, it really is, and it is easier than you might think. This guide will walk you through all the steps involved to ensure that your music is transferred safely and securely to its new home on your Mac.
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Persuasive texts
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Our Special Section on mobile learning ("From Zero to Wireless," "An App For That… and That… and That," and "Why Mobile Is a Must") takes a look at what many expect will be the next revolution in education. As educators continue to weigh the many considerations attached to allowing student-owned handheld devices on campus, Speak Up asked parents what good they think the use of mobile technologies would have on their children's education.
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If you've been looking to learn how to code, we can help you get started. Here are 4.5 lessons on the basics and extra resources to keep you going.
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Saved by the Web (again)
Sometimes, you just get so busy that you forget things. Most recently for me, I had forgotten to fill out the application form for the OTF Summer Institutes. Thankfully, I was at the OTF Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century session last week and Siria was there to give me a prod reminding me the due date was February 11. This, on February 10.
I had the application form sitting on my desktop – it was a PDF file that I had every intention of printing, completing, scanning back to PDF and sending back. I only had Adobe Acrobat Reader on the computer that I was using. Gulp!
What to do?
A couple of things sprang to mind immediately. First, I could plead stupidity and ask for an extension. Secondly, I could upload the file to Zamzar, convert it to a document format that I could edit in Libre Office and then print back to PDF format. But, surely there’s another option. Maybe there’s some functionality in the Preview application or something else on my computer. Nope.
Maybe there’s some smart startup that has created a program that does what Adobe Acrobat does. But, before I even got a chance to look to deeply, I found PDFescape. Could it be that I could actually upload a PDF file to their service, do the edits, save it and then submit on time?
The document isn’t a simple one. It’s actually five pages with lots of tables and graphics that would need to be navigated if this is to be successful. What the hey? Let’s give it a shot. I upload the document and it appears right in the editor.
Doing what I need to do appears in the top left. All that I need to do is navigate to the right page, click to find the right starting point, select Text, and start typing? Could it really be this easy?
It turns out that the answer is absolutely yet. Within moments, I had the form completed and I download it as another PDF file and it’s nicely attached to an email and submitted ON TIME! I feel pretty accomplished!
Hopefully, the proposal will be accepted. Ontario teachers – look for an orange and green flyer in your mailbox at school in the upcoming months with details about the OTF Summer Program and the three day session dealing with Wiki Creation and other Web 2.0 Classroom tools.
In the meantime, bookmark PDFescape in case you are ever caught needing a utility to edit a PDF file. It may save your bacon like it did mine.
links for 2011-02-13
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dotvoting.org easy online dot voting — no registration required
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Create an easy photo collage online
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Links to resources and group feedback from the Ontario Teachers Federation Retreat held in Barrie on February 11, 2011.
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Stykz is freeware, meaning it's completely free to download and use to create animations that you can show off to others or import into other applications. No hidden costs, license or permission are required to use Stykz to its fullest.
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The University College London (UCL) CIBER group will be conducting a study for the JISC and the British Library to investigate how the Google generation searches for information and the implications for the country's major research collections. The study will try to address the following questions:
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Daily Todo is a simple tool that lets you to track your daily tasks.
So whether it is sticking to an exercise routine, taking your dog for a walk, or learning a new English word, you can track each of these daily tasks with this tool.
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Download NimbleKit and try it for free. You'll need an Intel Mac, Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later, iOS SDK 4.2 (or newer), and 15 Mb free space on your Hard Drive. The free download gives you access to all of NimbleKits features and you can build and test your apps on the iOS simu
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Want to create a book of your own? These templates will give you the first few pages of a book idea that you can complete on your own.
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Free prek-6 resources by teachers for teachers.
Rainy Days
Do you remember the old saying about saving things for rainy days? I had the opportunity to reap the benefits of my own personal rainy day savings yesterday.
It was the Minds on Media event in Toronto. The event was a full day of professional development for over 200 teachers. There were no traditional sit ‘n git sessions but rather the event was an Open Court for those in attendance. In the large ballroom, we had 8 learning sessions available for participants. Some sessions were structured and others were truly drop in and talk about where you are in your learning and where you wish to go. I was at a centre with @kellmoor to help consolidate the learning from the previous two days. We thought that it would be about doing a little work with Twitter and that was that.
In fact, there was a lot to do with Twitter. Kelly had her camera and was helping new Twitter users break out of their shell and replace the default egg icon with a real photo. The next step was to find someone to follow. The traditional route is to search and find people but I had a stash that helped out immensely. It was the Ontario Educator list that I’ve been curating for a while. There was real pleasure and surprise when people would recognize others already on the list. So, folks, check your account today – there may be a bunch of new followers! Welcome them and follow them back. Let’s keep this thing going.
As I check my form this morning, it’s cool to see that there were a number of people that have signed up at the LiveBinders site. I hope that there are more great Ontario blogs to read as a consequence.
That was pretty much what my partner and I expected but we were really wrong in our expectations.
In fact, the only time throughout the day we got to talk was before the event and at lunch. For the rest of the time, we headed in separate directions at separate tables. I did sneak a look over once and it was classic Kelly. She had her camera out taking pictures and had some of those at her table working their bling magic updating wikis and webpages with things that sparkled and shined.
Over at mine, we got into the whole concept of social bookmarking. Again, my rainy day kicked in and I was able to show how Diigo and Delicious works with my own examples. I explained how I post to Diigo which posts to Delicious which posts to my blog. It was kind of cool to be able to explain this chain of electronic events rather than just blog about it as I’ve done recently.
Oh, blogs? That opened the door to a comparison of platforms and we took a look at a number of different platforms. The popular choice seemed to be WordPress. We dug into the analytics and talked about the value of analyzing just who is visiting your site. The question then turned to looking for something simpler. We took a look at my Tumblr account that I’m using for my DailyShoot images. Someone had been digging around and I had to explain what my Posterous account is all about. That’s a place where I just tuck away links to media that I might use in presentations. BTW, my favourite snag of all time, dedicated to that little guy who hangs out at our house some time.
The conversation just kept getting richer and richer. We dug into wikis and tools for class organization and establishing a web presence. I had a few exemplars tucked away for that too. There was a stumper too. A Desire2Learn question made me “call a friend” and fortunately, there was a current DeLC in the audience and when I last looked, @techguy1717 was doing some noodle scratching as he looked at someone else’s configuration.
And, we did some video embedding and some editing and some configuring and probably a great deal more. It was wonderfully engaging as a facilitator and so comforting to know that there are such awesome people so dedicated to getting their students connected to these powerful tools. It’s so difficult to believe that only a few years ago, we tried to host everything on a server at the school level.
The folks that dropped by really seemed to understand the concepts and had a desire to take advantage of it. I think that it’s a testament to the profession that there were no complains about time and effort to learn these things. Don’t overlook the fact that this was done on a Saturday when there were a million other things that could have been done.
If people who attended truly follow though, I hope that they’ll take the opportunity to create their own resources so that they have their own rainy day examples that they can share with others and that the learning just keeps on going and going and going.
Thanks, @aforgrave – CC- BY NC SA
That’s the power of Minds on Media. Kudos to @brendasherry and @peterskillen for keeping the pot stirred.
links for 2011-02-12
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Problems really are an everyday part of lifestyle. Regardless of whether it is fixing the problem of juggling the everyday family agenda or coping with the most recent disaster at perform, major or modes there is normally a problem someplace that needs your attention and motion.
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There are some do's and don'ts with location sharing. Things like not publicly posting geo-tagged photos of gold bricks near open windows, or alerting the world to your extended absence are the more obvious ones. But not everyone knows these things, which is why Microsoft is sharing some tips of its own based on research it commissioned around location based services.
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Microsoft has announced that all current versions of Internet Explorer are currently at risk of being hacked due to a flaw in the programme.
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My 10th and 11th grade classes are housed in the Academy of Information Technology which means, among other things, that students are in the same English classes. One benefit of this setup is that we can do projects that span both a programming class and an English class.
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This Wiki is a place for MHMS teachers to share information
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Pros and Cons of Google Education and Google Applications.
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We bring to you the absolute hottest, most fresh videos of the day, from all around the net – every day!
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Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) are part of a global community of education leaders recognized for doing amazing things with Apple technology. They explore new ideas, seek new paths, and embrace new opportunities. By engaging learners in powerful, new ways, they foster unique learning environments that inspire creativity and collaboration. And they share their knowledge with peers around the globe so that others can benefit.
Don’t Do Stupid Things
Isn’t that great advice? I received it from my parents, I’ve given it to my own children, and I was reminded about this on Thursday night.
On Thursday night, as part of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Professional Development event, I was asked to chair a panel after supper. I agreed to do this and a great deal of preparation went in to the event.
I decided that I would script the event using a Google Document and laid out the evening as I thought that I would like it to go. Once I was ready, I shared the document with the project manager for the event, Siria Szkurhan who went through and helped tighten the language in the questions. We also talked on the phone to make sure that we got the maximum value from the panel of experts to make the event the most beneficial for the participants. So that the panelists could be prepared, they were shared the agenda as well, in advance of the event.
With as big an audience as we would have (potentially over 200 educators), I felt that we also needed to have some visuals to put the questions in context and so went about doing some research that would complement the questions posed to each of the panelists. My friend Peter Skillen volunteered to man my laptop and go from tab to tab as the event unfolded. He did a great job and the visual helped put a context to each of the questions. I put links to all of the resources together into a bit.ly bundle and shared it here if you’re interested.
During the panel, we encouraged the continuation of the conference backchannel on Twitter and there were many comments flying about from the tag #OTF21C. There weren’t any specific questions that appeared but we did have microphones for the audience to take advantage of the expertise on the stage.
First up, was Will Richardson who would lead a full day on Friday. The goal here was to set the stage for why we were here and to break the ice for the rest of the panel. I know that Will is widely travelled and asked him to share a couple of examples of the use of Social Media that he felt was exemplary. I liked the answer that it was a great deal easier to find uses today than it was three years ago when he first spoke at another OTF event. And, the panel was off.
We next heard from a couple of Ontario Educators. Kelly Moore, an elementary school teacher from Greater Essex County share some of the successes that she enjoyed as a Teacher Librarian. She gave some examples as Peter showed off her wiki on the screen. Through example, Kelly explained how getting online was so helpful for the students that she reached. I did get her to explain how she used Social Media to help her differentiate the learning process for her students. After Kelly, we moved to Danika Barker, a secondary school English / Media teacher from Thames Valley. I think that I had talked with her personally once or twice before this event but I sure knew all of the interesting things that happens in her classes. She is very open with her comments on Twitter and through her blog. What I was most interested in getting her to share was how she used Social Media in a blended format with her classes. There were great answers and I think that the audience may have been surprised to hear that she had the luxury of an English class booked into a computer lab for an entire semester. That opened all kinds of opportunities to move everything that she did online. After their individual responses, I did ask both Kelly and Danika about balance and how they managed to learn these new things while at the same time having a real life. There were interesting responses that reflected the professionalism in both of them attempting to reach every student in their charge, all the while looking for new and innovative ways to motivate. At one point, Kelly noted that this was her hobby. Imagine having a hobby that also turned into accelerated learning opportunities for students!
What would be an educational learning event if we didn’t have a student to talk about things? Jaxson Khan was a very well spoken young man from a Peel Region school. I didn’t know Jaxson going in and so decided to lob up a softball to get things started. I had checked before he took the stage and yes, he was packing a smart phone. What I didn’t expect was him to pull out a knapsack filled with the technology that he uses on a daily basis, including “his baby”, his Macbook Pro that he had worked for and paid by himself. I suddenly felt badly that I wasn’t wearing a tie. He then proceeded to share how he connects to his school network both inside the physical building and outside on the yard. He freely talked about access to technology and how it didn’t seem to be distractive to him or his friends. Jaxson is also a leader through the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association and talked about a recent survey of Ontario students and their attitudes towards the use of smart phones in school. Jaxson also shared some insights about equity and even offered suggestions about how to put personal technology into the hands of all students. Plain and simple, for me, this gentlemen stole the show. You couldn’t help but feel humbled knowing that he was speaking for thousands of students. We owe it to the Jaxsons in Ontario to provide the very best.
Next up was a guy with a tie. Mark Carbone is the CIO for the Waterloo Region District School Board and he had his black tie with his Twitter name silk screened on it. Mark and I have a long history of talking and debating educational technology issues. I know that he and his district anguished long and hard about what parts of the internet provide the best educational relevance for students. It was this relevance that led the district to not only unblock Facebook, but to develop strategies for using that as a community learning environment within their schools. Mark talked about the successes but also reminded us that this project also had questioners within the district, particularly as it launched. The administrative team is behind this effort and the audience got to experience the visionary approach taken under Mark’s leadership. If you’re interesting in providing this type of learning environment, then you should cast a look at what Waterloo is doing.
Three of the teacher federations had representation on the panel. At the first event three years ago, Bob Fisher from OSSTF had delivered his thoughts at that time. As Bob noted, the big concern then was whether we should be using email to communicate with students. Things certainly have changed since then! Bob, Joe Pece from OECTA, and Jennifer Mitchell from ETFO shared some great advice from their individual federation perspectives. Joe cautioned the group about keeping things in perspective and under control. Bob talked about professional boundaries which is always a concern whether you’re using technology or not. Finally, Jennifer talked about the differences between a personal and a professional appearance on services like Facebook. It may not have occurred to the audience that you could manage two identities for specific purposes. All three had great reminders that educators are very visible and that people are watching what we do and how we do it online and off. All federations regularly provide advice to members about important issues. ETFO provided a paper handout with reference to bulletins from Toronto about how to handle yourself online. She encouraged all to take a look through the memos. It is good advice for everyone. All three representatives noted that their mandate was to stand behind and support their members. We were all reminded that it is very easy to create videos or podcasts and quickly post them online for good and sometimes not so good purposes.
Coming full circle, I had the opportunity to ask Will Richardson about transparency and the teaching profession. Just how transparent should an educator be? Will shared his thoughts while we checked out what things that Danika has on her class blog. There were specific directions for students and for parents as they use her resource. As you’ll note in the article that Will wrote recently for ASCD, he pulls no punches in his thoughts about where all learners should head in their approaches to learning that take advantage of the network. Will loves to talk about his kids and we closed by discussing parts of their Christmas gifts – personalized domain names for his children that he hopes they take advantage of in the future. He did share with us that they were a little more excited by the other packages under the tree!
As you can imagine, with this great discussion, we had gone beyond our one hour timeline but nobody was leaving. The discussion was first-rate from the panelists and we opened the mics on the floor to the audience for some great questions. One that really interested me was a question about making schools hot spots. There was a good discussion about equitable access throughout the province for all students to bring personal devlces and engage in their learning. After all, they use them outside school hours and it’s just part of what they do. Mark took us on one of those cart/horse stories with the neverending question of what do you buy first – connectivity and infrastructure or the devices? Waterloo is in the enviable position of having their technology budget topped up to cover for the Ministry cutbacks in grants to school districts.
I was so happy with the way that the panel discussion went. All of the panelists were on their game and shared successes, cautions, and strong doses of reality. Time and technology are such precious commodities that they have to be managed intelligently. With all that can be done, a considered approach does need to be taken. I think that Bob spoke for everyone when he offered the best advice of all. With all the good that can be done, ”Don’t Do Stupid Things”.
links for 2011-02-11
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SugarSync: Faster, Simpler, More Productive
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down, more than two weeks after the protests that began January 25 in the country — and launched a flood of #Jan25 and #Egypt tweets as well as media coverage that broke the mold — to remove the president from power
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If you logged into your Google account today, you may have noticed a newer, safer Google. That, at least, is what the search engine hoped you saw, with the launch of its new, secured login for Gmail and other Google services. Is the new service worth the extra steps? We take a closer look…
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The true taste of Twitter's success is Valentine hearts from Walgreens with "TWEET ME" on it!
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i strive to be different. i like to be unique. i have a dream of becoming a cinematographer shooting commercials features. i'm a teenager. i do what i love.
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Create and sell your own books
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Inquiry in a Connected World:
For our students and for ourselves -
Create beautiful text based pages in seconds and share them with the world
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Candid community-created reviews of business professionals
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'Everybody admires the of value bright young things more than they did a couple of years ago'
This Week in Ontario Edublogs
It was yet another good reading if you’re checking out the Edublogs from Ontario Educators. You can check out the entire list at http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=52544 and see all of the great things that are flying off the fingers of Ontario educators.
From Trustees and Higher Education
Robert Hunking shed some light on the recent consultations from the Ministry of Education dealing with its Early Childhood/Best Start Child and Family Centres. The program draws a question about the funding from the author.
From Principals, VPs, and Administration
Shannon Smith post a very interesting post dealing with trust. It garnered some nice replies to her commitment of trust in her schools. It’s been a long time since I read a blog post twice but I found that I did this time. A very well written post and something that all administrators should read and ponder.
From K-12 Teachers
You can’t go far wrong with engagement if you’re working with Penguins. In The Library Rantings of Mrs. R. Malo, take a wander through the eyes of a teacher librarian who spends some time time getting age appropriate reading. It involved the new reading level recommendations from Google. This could be a very handy tool for those looking for just the right resource.
From Consultants and SATs
Educator Paul Cornies always has something interesting to read in his Quoteflections blog. He always seems to find the interest, the odd, the good. So good, he’s listed in the good section of Alltop. Earlier this week, he blogged and shared some of his thoughts about trends. I found that really interesting because I had blogged about trends myself. His take was a little different.
Stay in touch by visiting the LiveBinder above and see what’s happening. That’s what I do.
At the LiveBinder site, there is a form that will let you add your own favourite Ontario EduBlogger site to the mix. That favourite person might well be you. Let us know all about you.
links for 2011-02-10
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Valentine's Day Activities for Beginners and Elementary Learners
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DropEvent allows you to create photo galleries that others can contribute to without signing up, so everyone at the party/wedding/birthday can share their photos in one place.
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MiniCards are half the size of Business Cards but some say 'twice as nice'! Upload your own images or personalise our designs.
Use up to 100 different designs in each pack, and show off your portfolio, your products, your business or yourself.
Make MiniCards
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Interactive map of Tahrir Square
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Since 2007, Michael Wesch, a Kansas State University anthropologist, has released a series of viral videos interrogating the ways in which new web technologies shape human communication and interactions with information
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Take and share scientific pictures
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Lifehacker, along with every other Gawker property, experienced a lengthy site-outage on Monday over a misbehaving piece of JavaScript. Gawker sites were reduced to being an empty homepage layout with zero content, functionality, ads, or even legal disclaimer wording. Every visitor coming through via Google bounced right back out, because all the content was missing.
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’ve been getting madder and madder about the increasing use of dorky web links
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We are extremely excited to announce our latest partnership, which will give YOU the opportunity to have your video shown around the world via MBTV! All you need is a good quality video and a Musicfinity profile to upload it too.
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Welcome to Mrs. Art Teacher, formerly Apples Love Oranges. This blog covers the classroom side of my life, a K-8 art room, at a public school in Oregon. I'll post about how my room is set up, the art projects I teach and the art history I share with my students.
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In China, a six-year-old boy is returning home with his father, three years after being abducted by another man. The child was rescued by the power of social media, and in particular the Chinese version of twitter.
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Video tutorials to teach you to do all things Macintosh…
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PBS KIDS announces on-air, online and mobile milestones showcasing its commitment to using media to prepare America’s youth for success in school and in life.
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I would prefer to run iPhone apps on the iPhone only, and have the iPad-specific versions of the same applications running on the iPad. But it’s hard to tell which versions have been developed for which platform, especially for older versions, like Words with Friends (iPhone) and Words with Friends HD (iPad).
Why Do You Do It?
I get that question a great deal. Why do you spend so much time getting connected to other people? Why do you blog? Why do you use Twitter? Why do you create and share resources? Why do you give whatever it is that you do away by posting it on the web and hoping that someone stumbles into it?
Those are really good questions and yet, I think that the answers belong to another time and era. The answer actually is given in a blog post created by colleague Colin Jagoe last night. You see, if I didn’t do any of the above, I would never have had the honour of meeting Colin. As you’ll note in his posting, we’re both in Toronto at the Ontario Teachers’ Federation Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century event. Last night, those of us who will be working the Minds of Media event on Saturday got together for supper with tomorrow’s facilitator, Will Richardson, and enjoyed a bit of networking and conversation.
Around the table, there was there were a group of us that get together periodically to do things like this. There was Peter and Brenda and Barbara and Kent and Kelly and Colin and … You get the idea. I’ve commented many times that the interesting part of all of this is that, despite the big differences in geography among us, when we get together it’s like we never left. The interactions and connections and learning with this group is ongoing in the things that we do online.
Over supper, I did throw much of the same question to Will. "Why do you do this nonsense?" His head kind of snapped as he looked at me and the conversation turned to a deeper discussion about or common thread which is teacher professional development. On the surface, everyone at least spoke a similar message. We’re all involved in professional development activities in one shape or another.
But, I think that the real answer is considerably deeper. I suspect that we’re all selfish and we’re here for ourselves. After you’ve attended a professional development event or two, they all tend to be the same. The presenter, who may have also ordered the food, shows up with the Powerpoint presentation and the handouts, does the presentation and then leaves. It is an efficient way to get a common message to the masses with a particular focus. Put another of them together and you have a mini-course. Put even more of them together and you have a full fledged course.
I think that the folks around the table recognize this old school method of professional development for what it is. Certainly it’s not without its merit but the potential for independent growth after the event is limited. I suppose that you could take a second course in using Excel or making paper airplanes and discovering aerodynamics or whatever the topic might be. Learning tools in depth can be a daunting task.
In our case this weekend, the tools are very simple. It’s the results of using the tools where the payoff comes. There will be many "how do you do that" moments over the three days but the real value will be in connecting with the people that know the answers. Those who get to know Colin and how to find him after the event will have the opportunity to develop a learning relationship that endures long after we’ve said our goodbyes and head out to take on the 401.
For me, it definitely is selfish. It’s the ability to connect with the Peters and Brendas and Barbaras and Kents and Kellys and Colins and to know what they bring to the conversation so that I can continue to use their strengths to my own selfish, personal benefit in the future. I want to know how to do things like Skype to a friend that I’ve never met in Philadelphia all the while charging a cell phone with a portable battery. I want to get ideas about digital story telling or new ways to use Google applications or any of the myriad of things that fall from the Minds on Media event. I want to have the connections to the wisdom of the group long after this event is over.
The whole notion is different if all you’re doing is going to an event to learn a focused task. If you’re going to learn how to make and leverage connections, the results are far more powerful and long lasting. That’s why I do it.
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