June 2007
June 29, 2007
Quote of the Day
During his 1956 presidential campaign, a women called out to Adlai E. Stevenson
Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person! Stevenson called back...That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!
June 28, 2007
iQuiz maker
According to the site: " iQuiz Maker is an easy way for you to create custom quizzes for the iQuiz game for the iPod. iQuiz Maker works seamlessly so you can write, create, package your very own quizzes."
e-Clippings (Learning As Art): iQuiz Maker - Make Custom Quizzes for the iPod - oh yeah, its free
Teen Driving
To better understand parents' knowledge of the teen driving issue and to help parents prepare their teen for driving, The Allstate Foundation recently conducted a national survey of 1,000 parents of teen drivers.
Quote of the Day
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try something.
former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
June 27, 2007
50 Free Full PC Games
I never expected the original 100 full version PC games list to make the impact and receive the traffic that it did! The response was phenomenal.
Photosynth demo
There are very few things on the internet that makes me go…holy crow that is so cool. I might be a little jaded but holy crow this is cool. Check it out.
TED | Talks | Blaise Aguera y Arcas: Jaw-dropping Photosynth demo (video)
Quote of the Day
Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's best friend, and inside of a dog, it is too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
June 26, 2007
Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness delivers programs and services to all instructors at the University of Saskatchewan to encourage, develop and support the scholarship of teaching and learning.
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
Queeky - Draw online
QUEEKY is a Web 2-Tool for people who like drawing and share their pictures with others. But QUEEKY can do even more: pictures made on Queeky can be replayed by the visitors. So you have the possibility to check out how an intersting picture is made..
QUEEKY - Draw online! - QUEEKY - draw online
YoYo games
Quote of the Day
Never make forecasts, especially about the future.
Samuel Goldwyn
June 25, 2007
MizPee
Now this is the best idea I have ever seen for a website.
MizPee finds the closest, cleanest toilet and gives you entertaining reading material once you get there. Since the service is cell phone-based, it's always with you, when you really need it.
Toufee
The fastest flash movie maker online
Toufee - Create Flash Movies in Seconds!
Education Quotes
The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.
Robert Maynard Hutchins
Great teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe the each one has something special that can be built upon.
Ann Lieberman
The principle goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done - men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers.
Jean Piaget
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Albert Einstein
The most damaging phrase in the language is: It's always been done that way.
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
June 22, 2007
YackPack
This is a perfect tool for English as a Second Language and language education.
Digital Media Scoring Guides
Digital Storytelling takes the ancient art of oral storytelling and engages a palette of technical tools to weave personal tales using images, graphics, music and sound mixed together with the author's own story voice. Digital storytelling is an emerging art form of personal, heartful expression that enables individuals and communities to reclaim their personal cultures while exploring their artistic creativity. While the heart and power of the digital story is shaping a personal digital story about self, family, ideas, or experiences, the technology tools also invite writers and artists to think and invent new types of communication outside the realm of traditional linear narratives.
DigiTales - The Art of Telling Digital Stories
Wow, Teachers are Smart!
I have to admit, talking to a couple hundred K-12 educators scared the hell out of me. I am used to higher education and corporate audience so my talk as the lunch keynote for the Third Annual One to One conference was well outside of my comfort zone. Turns out we are all in the same boat - huge challenges in driving acceptance, adoption, and diffusion of innovation within our environments.
Wow, Teachers are Smart! at Cole Camplese: Learning & Innovation
One thing that keeps worrying me.
I guess what concerns me the most about trying to fix all the not-working-so-well things about schools is not that I fear we cannot fix them.
It's that we can, but we aren't, or won't.
Bud the Teacher: One Thing That Keeps Worrying Me
I liked this comment as well.
Oh, this is exactly correct. We know what is wrong, and we could sit down and make it better. The problem will always be dealing with the people who will lose something if we do so. From the teachers who will lose that unit they love to do in a curriculum re-alignment, to the administrators who may find their job now requires something different than what it currently does, to the people in the community who may find they will need to invest in the schools to make them something better.
Never mind the political fallout if we start to ask states to move away from the Carnegie unit, dealing with NCLB, and determining what we even want our children to learn. To do all this will require someone to step up and ask people to dream and do something amazingly new...and that's scary. Most people probably would prefer to stay safe. Leaders don't last long.
The A-Z of Achieving Your Dreams
A-void negative sources, people, things and habits.
B-elieve in yourself.
C-onsider things from every angle.
D-on’t give up and don’t give in.
E-njoy life today: yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.
F-amily and Friends are hidden treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches.
G-ive more than you planned to give.
H-ang on to your dreams.
I-gnore those who try to discourage you.
J-ust do it!
K-eep on trying, no matter how hard it seems. It will get better.
L-ove yourself first and foremost.
M-ake it happen.
N-ever lie, cheat, or steal. Always strike a fair deal.
O-pen your eyes and see things as they really are.
P-ractice makes perfect.
Q-uitters never win and winners never quit.
R-ead, study and learn about everything important in your life.
S-top procrastinating.
T-ake control of your own destiny.
U-nderstand yourself in order to better understand others.
V-isualize it.
W-ant it more than anything.
X-ccelerate your efforts.
Y-ou are unique of all of Nature’s creations. Nothing can replace you.
Z-ero in on your target, and go for it!!
Education Quotes
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
- Malcolm Forbes
A child miseducated is a child lost.
- John F. Kennedy
He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
- Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.
- Elbert Hubbard
One good teacher in a lifetime may sometimes change a delinquent into a solid citizen.
- Philip Wylie
Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.
- John W. Gardner
"Do you think you can maintain discipline?" asked the Superintendent. "Of course I can," replied Stuart. "I'll make the work interesting and the discipline will take care of itself."
- E.B. White, Stuart Little
June 19, 2007
Funology
Funology.com is the best place on the Web to find things to do. Not just while you’re sitting at the computer, but anywhere. Things to do by yourself or with your friends, your parents, your pets, anyone. We’ll teach you a million and one ways to make things, explore the world, and discover skills you never knew you had. It’s one place where you’ll never be bored!
Funology -- The Science of Having Fun!
HowStuffWorks
Howstuffworks "Science Channel"
Quote of the Day
Don't be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life.
Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956)
Truth never hurts the teller.
Robert Browning
June 18, 2007
Report sees online schools as models for reform
Virtual schooling is driving the very transformation in public education that advocates of school reform long have sought, says a new report. The report urges educators and policy makers to look to virtual schooling as a model for reform strategies that can be applied more broadly to education in general.
eSchool News online - Report sees online schools as models for reform
Computer makers thinking outside the box
At a recent Wall Street Journal technology conference, technology companies unveiled the newest forms for computers. From Microsoft’s Surface to LiveScribe’s Smartpen, computer developers are taking new approaches when designing computers, diverging from the traditional formats.
eSchool News online - Computer makers thinking outside the box
Teachers are Experts
For a little while I’ve puzzled over how to get more of my colleagues engaging in online learning and using Web 2.0 tools to share their tools and expertise. I know I’ve only been involved in educational blogging for under two years but my view has always been that if an ordinary, average teacher without any prior claim to fame (and only one recent step up the leadership ladder in twenty years of teaching) can use these tools and so quickly utilise them for my personal professional learning, then anyone can do it. So why aren’t teachers coming online en masse and collaborating and sharing their obvious expertise?
Teaching Generation Z ? Blog Archive ? Teachers Are Experts
Google's e-mail for universities
Google is expanding its empire into universities - with entire campus e-mail networks switching over to using Google's e-mail service.
BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Google's e-mail for universities
Hard Questions for Teachers Who Teach Blogging
After a few months of blogging with all of her classes at YouthVoices.net, Susan Ettenheim sent Paul Allison a few questions:
The Ultimate RSS Toolbox
Never again will mankind have to look for RSS info in more than one place…ok, we’re kidding, but we’ve aimed to create a near comprehensive list of all the RSS readers, tools, browser plugins, tips, hacks and directories available on the web.
The Ultimate RSS Toolbox - 120 RSS Resources
Quote of the Day
If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm.
Elizabeth Bowen
June 15, 2007
Best Practice in E-Learning
I did this a few years back and laughted at the presentation design. Hope you enjoy.
Report sees online schools as models for reform.
Virtual schooling is driving the very transformation in public education that advocates of school reform long have sought, says a new report. The report urges educators and policy makers to look to virtual schooling as a model for reform strategies that can be applied more broadly to education in general.
eSchool News online - Report sees online schools as models for reform
Quote of the Day
No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
William Blake
June 14, 2007
FactBites
What do you get if you cross a search engine with an encyclopedia?
Factbites - a new way to search the web.
Other search engines spew out meaningless site-names and mangled phrases.
Factbites offers you real, meaningful sentences that are right on topic.
Factbites: Where results make sense
Digital Whatevers
Some very poignant observations - the digital immigrant tag can be a cop out for many educators. Interestingly, the enhanced version of Karl Fisch’s Did You Know? is what most of the preschool people were talking about at the end of the session as compelling evidence for education keeping pace. And hey, if an interactive whiteboard gets them started and envisioning the possibilities, what’s wrong with that? Better than digital immigrant denial.
Interesting powerpoint at the end of this posting.
Teaching Generation Z ? Blog Archive ? Digital Whatevers
Wearable code
The T-shirts and tote bag that Julia R. Vallera created as part of her course work at Parsons the New School for Design hold an open secret.
What appears to be merely a cool design is actually a diary entry, locked within a special barcode that can be read by a cellphone.
The code presents “my private thoughts and writing, kind of exposed in a really public way, but contradictorily, being still private because its encoded,” Ms. Vallera said in an interview.
The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog: Wearable Code
Coursework scrap plans finally announced.
“The internet has changed the parameters of coursework and the continued credibility of coursework marks depends upon the work being done under more controlled conditions. It’s important that we do not lose the positive side of coursework because of the problems of plagiarism.”
Ed tech is raising student achievement
The nine states that have received $15 million in "Evaluating State Educational Technology Projects" grants from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) over the last three years are expected to submit their final reports from these studies to ED officials this fall--and an early look at their results suggests that technology is having a positive impact on student engagement and achievement.
eSchool News online - States: Ed tech is raising student achievement
Quote of the Day
Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.
Bruce Barton
June 13, 2007
Will e-learning make teachers redundant?
Will e-learning make teachers redundant? : Mail & Guardian Online
Dear Administrator
I am writing after an exhausting year of instructing my students. I want to thank you for hiring me and keeping me in this position. I have been teaching this same content for the past 5, 10, 15 years ( you choose). Each year it gets harder and harder to teach these kids. They come to school tired from all the activities they are involved in. They are tired from staying up late watching TV, I don’t even have time to watch TV! I don’t understand why they are not doing well on their tests. I know my content, I know my students from 5, 10, 15( again you choose) years ago did much better on these tests. I don’t think the tests are testing what I have been teaching, but rather testing students who are not interested in learning the way they have in the past.
Moving at the Speed of Creativity ? Blog Archive ? Dear administrator,
Online communities transform teacher development
Teacher professional development is undergoing a radical change for the better, thanks to the development of new online professional “learning communities” that give educators the chance to network and exchange ideas with their peers at their own convenience. Members of these online communities also have “just in time” access to instructional tools such as videos, tutorials, and other advice whenever they need it.
eSchool News online - Online communities transform teacher development
Bibme
If you write essays this is for you.
BibMe - the fully automatic & free bibliography maker (MLA, APA & Chicago)
Voicethread
Could have many uses for english, english as a second language and just second languages.
Quote of the Day
Since it is seldom clear whether intellectual activity denotes a superior mode of being or a vital deficiency, opinion swings between considering intellect a privilege and seeing it as a handicap.
Jacques Barzun
The House of Intellect
June 12, 2007
‘E-books' get a boost with new kids' offerings
In a move that could spur the development of more e-books for schools, leading children's publishers Scholastic Inc. and Disney are announcing new products that make children's books available in electronic format.
eSchool News online - ‘E-books' get a boost with new kids' offerings
ScienceHack
What is ScienceHack?
ScienceHack is a unique video search engine for science videos.
What makes ScienceHack unique?
Every video is screened and approved based on accuracy and quality by our scientists.
What fields of science are you focusing on?
So far we indexed: Physics, Chemistry, and Space.
Quote of the Day
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.
Basho
June 11, 2007
Microsoft debuts math software
Software giant Microsoft Corp. has released a standalone math software product, called Microsoft Math 3.0, that can be purchased and downloaded from the company's web site. The software is intended to help students (and their parents) work through math homework problems together, and it also can be used for classroom demonstrations of abstract math concepts.
eSchool News online - Microsoft debuts math software
Quote of the Day
During my eighty-seven years I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But one of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think.
Bernard M. Baruch
June 8, 2007
wwwtools for education
Their objectives:
wwwtools is designed to keep you informed and to save valuable time in tracking down information and resources on the World Wide Web.
Each article is on a particular topic or issue related to Web-based teaching and learning. The articles take a skilled researcher between 10 and 20 hours to research and prepare.
Many of the topics covered are suggested by our readers--if youre curious about a particular subject or issue send a "research" request to the contact below.
Journey of Mankind
This presents a virtual global journey of modern man over the last 160000 years.
JOURNEY OF MANKIND - The Peopling of the World
Tips for Teachers
Many faculty members find it hard to connect with students and get them involved in classroom discussions. So the California State University system is leading a project to produce videos of professors explaining how they changed their teaching methods to make students better understand academic material.
The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog: Tips for Teachers
Foreign Language Convening Group Links
Here is a group of links that deal with language education.
AniBoom
aniBoom is a cross-media, cross-platform animation content project which addresses wide audiences through a range of genres, techniques and means. In order to get things started we chose the most democratic medium, the Internet. In our next phase we intend to cross over to other mediums as well as TV, Cellular, PC games etc. We're also deeply proud at the fact that aniBoom is the first content project of its kind which focuses solely on animation in the hyper world of user generated content and Web 2.0
Quote of the Day
You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizons. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about -- the more you have left when anything happens.
Ethel Barrymore (1879- 1959) American actress
June 7, 2007
WebSiteOptimization.com
Try our free web site speed test to improve website performance. Enter a URL below to calculate page size, composition, and download time. The script calculates the size of individual elements and sums up each type of web page component. Based on these page characteristics the script then offers advice on how to improve page load time. The script incorporates best practices from HCI research and web site optimization techniques into its recommendations.
Teacher Laptops are an essential tool
This blog entry just reinforces our decision to buy all the cyber teachers their own laptops as well as their desktops.
Teaching Generation Z ? Blog Archive ? Teacher Laptops Are An Essential Tool
Management kills innovation
A breakthrough innovation is something that challenges existing procedures and norms. "Invention is by its very nature a disorderly process...
elearnspace: Management kills innovation
Grammar Learning Objects
There is a series of great learning objects list here.
Gas prices continue to rise
This made me giggle.
Quote of the Day
If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you'll end up not doing anything for anybody.
Malcolm Bane
June 6, 2007
Quote of the Day
The great trouble with most men is that those who have been educated become uneducated just as soon as they stop inquiring and investigating life and its problems for themselves.
Newton Diehl Baker
June 5, 2007
SpringWatch
Watch the live webcams on the website so that you keep in touch with the animal stories throughout the day.
BBC - Science & Nature - Springwatch
Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab
OK. You asked for it. Here's some more experiments from Reeko's bag of tricks. And don't forget - you're in the Top Secret Section F of Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab so please understand that all knowledge gleamed from conducting these experiments must be kept strictly confidential...
Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab - Top Secret Section F
Why Nerds are Unpopular
Thank to Stephen Downes for pointing me towards this article.
When we were in junior high school, my friend Rich and I made a map of the school lunch tables according to popularity. This was easy to do, because kids only ate lunch with others of about the same popularity. We graded them from A to E. A tables were full of football players and cheerleaders and so on. E tables contained the kids with mild cases of Down's Syndrome, what in the language of the time we called "retards."
We sat at a D table, as low as you could get without looking physically different. We were not being especially candid to grade ourselves as D. It would have taken a deliberate lie to say otherwise. Everyone in the school knew exactly how popular everyone else was, including us.
I lost something very important to me
So they did a “sweep” with metal detectors at a middle school on the Upper West Side of New York City on Thursday and the result wasn’t pretty. Out of 900 plus students, 404 cell phones were “confiscated” from the kids, some of whom were put to tears over the incident. About 70 iPods and a couple dozen other assorted devices were nabbed as well, all causing some parents to threaten lawsuits and the building principal to avoid questions at the end of the day.
Weblogg-ed ? “I lost something very important to me”
When staff members are away...
Don't ever leave your pod station empty for too long because you will never know what might happen to it.
Quote of the Day
On two occasions I have been asked (by Members of Parliament), "Pray Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answer come out?" I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
Charles Babbage (inventor of the Difference Engine, an early mechanical computer)
June 4, 2007
The Net Generation
McToonish ? Innovate June/July Issue: The Net Generation
The No. 1 Graduate School of Education?
Education Sector: Analysis and Perspectives: The No. 1 Graduate School of Education?
Learn Quebec
Leading English Education and Resource Network
When staff members are away...
Don't ever leave your pod station empty for too long because you will never know what might happen to it.
Quote of the Day
Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.
Walter Anderson
June 1, 2007
A walk in the woods
The wonders of nature are right in front of you, if you take the time to look closely and explore things carefully.
Interactive Moving Applets
This is a great collection of applets
Maps made for printing and copying.
A great collection of maps for printing and copying.
Atlas - Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com
School Interactive Exercises
This is a good collection of interactive exercises in different languages.
Interactive exercises and eResources
Year end ideas / projects
It's the last three weeks of school and the year will come to an end soon. You have done your best and your students have done their best. Classes are winding down but you don't want the learning to stop until the year is over. Your hard work has paid off and your students will graduate on to the next grade! Here are some fun ways to finish out the year with your class! We hope you find an idea or two you can use in your classroom to make the end of the year fun & educational for your students.
Global internetTV Portal
Welcome to the gateway to global internetTV! - our database provides you with free access to 7241 TV-Stations from nearly all states and countries all over the world.
When Staff Members Are Away Part Three
Don't ever leave your pod station empty for too long because you will never know what might happen to it.
Quote of the Day
The shortest distance between two points is under construction.
Noelie Altile
