pbwiki is Tasty! September 29, 2008
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Web Authoring , comments closedIf you haven’t checked out pbwiki in a while, they have made several changes and improvements. Their new pbwiki 2.0 is quite impressive!
Their academic version is free as far as I can tell, but space is limited (only 10 MB). You can upgrade the space for a fee, starting at $99 per year. Still, the free version should suffice for many out there. So what are you waiting for? Give pbwiki a spin!
Distribute your media with Divshare! February 29, 2008
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Audio, Blogs, Media, Video, Web Authoring , comments closedDivshare (www.divshare.com) is a file hosting site that allows you to store and host up to 5GB of media for free. You also get 50GB of bandwidth per month. What’s better, Divshare will even give you direct links to the files and even embed code so you can play the file in a webpage or blog. Below is an example of a video about Celestia (a free space program) embedded into this blog, but hosted on Divshare.
What’s so cool about this? Well, it means that you can have free and easy file storage, direct links to those files, and can embed those files anywhere. Podcasting, Videocasting, or even temporary storage – all possible and easy. There is even a Wordpress plugin to seamlessly integegrate Divshare uploading into your Wordpress dashboard. Get your free account today!
A Site to See February 28, 2008
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Blogs, Collaboration, Emerging Tech, Innovation, Learning, Reform, Teaching & Learning, Technology, Web Authoring , comments closedIf superintendents, administrators, media specialists, teachers, students, and parents want to see some real improvements in schools they should begin collaborating. It’s sad to walk into a school–a place where learning is supposed to be happening–only to watch teachers close their doors and minds to the prospect of working with their colleagues or peers from other educational facilities. With all of the technology currently available (i.e., Skype and its kin), distance and other barriers to communication can be dealt with in a pretty easy manner. Still, many instructional leaders and educators act as if going into a room and shutting out the rest of the world is the only way to teach.
This needn’t be the case. For progressive schools, places where administrators take a bold step forward by modeling and expecting collaboration, lifelong learning is growing in the hearts and minds of students and teachers. One simple way to work together is to have stakeholders in a school/district make an effort to digitize and centralize all kinds of information. When people–superintendents, administrators, media specialists, teachers, students, and parents–have access to the same information, everyone has access to the power within that information. For example, allowing teachers and students to collaborate with their peers via common documents (i.e., Google Docs and Spreadsheets), usually makes working with information a more engaging, efficient process.
Creating, sharing, editing, and revisiting word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations is a powerful step beyond individualized work. We can do better. Good leaders understand the value and necessity of encouraging groups (whether students, teachers, or instructional support specialists) to come together to make great things happen. That’s why you’ll see innovative, effective superintendents and principals suggesting that educators and learners make use of resources like Google Sites. Informed leaders know that schools can use such resources for free and greatly impact the effectiveness of instruction.
Listen Up…It’s Soundsnap! October 22, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Audio, Media, Media Literacy, Productivity, Web Authoring , comments closedInnovative administrators, media specialists, teachers, students, and parents want to integrate the power of digital content creation in learning experiences. Why? Digital content creation is a useful means of providing evidence of learning. Having learners work together to create multimedia products encourages collaboration. Furthermore, constructing projects rich in images, sounds, and other digital qualities engages students in new ways of thinking. In the course of such activities and experiences, students inevitably want to generate and edit their own sounds.
After turning educators and students on to the awesome audio goodness of Audacity, a free audio editor and recorder, many of the teachers and pupils I work with begin bombarding me with with requests for copyright-free sounds. Their pupils need and want access to royalty-free sound effects, loops, and other audio-rich resources. Thanks to Soundsnap, they’re in luck. Soundsnap is a free online sound library and community for audio designers where people can upload sounds and share them with the world. Learners, educators, and parents have access to a large (think 30,000 sounds!) and growing body of audio resources that are tagged. Sounds good to me!
.
Just Your Type: Font Tester October 17, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Technology, Web Authoring, webtools , comments closedMany educators are increasingly relying upon the web to disseminate their content. Teachers are also beginning to see the value of having pupils use webpages as a vehicle for sharing what they’ve learned in class. If you or your students are designing a webpage or site and you want everything to look just right, drop by Font Tester. It’s a free, online font comparison tool that makes it very easy to preview and compare various fonts side by side with various CSS font styles applied to them. Spiffy!
Got Gig?: Revisiting eSnips September 25, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Audio, Blogs, Media, Technology, Video, webtools , comments closedHere’s a quick post that ought to whet your appetite for accessing easy online storage. We’ve mentioned eSnips here before so regular readers will remember that it’s an excellent, free means of storing rich content. If you’ve never seen eSnips before or haven’t dropped by this boon to educators and other digital content creators, you owe to yourself to check it out and soon. Why? Well, as most teachers know, turning students loose with technology can unleash a tidal wave of digital content–audio files, graphics, movies, slideshows, et cetera. The problem–and it’s a good one–is where to store all of the great works pupils generate. That’s where eSnips comes to the rescue. eSnips now offers users 5GB of free storage space–online! What’s more, eSnips will generate html code so digital content like movies can be embedded in other resources, such as Google Earth or blogs and wikis! Spiffy!
The Circle is Now Complete September 18, 2007
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Emerging Tech, Media, Reform, Software, Teaching & Learning, Technology, Web Authoring, webtools , comments closed
“Now witness the power of a fully FREE and ONLINE office suite!”
Google’s free, online alternative to PowerPoint is here! PRESENATION has arrived! It’s at Google Docs. Now pupils and teachers can create collaborative, online presentations without spending a dime. Imagine the possibilities! By using Google Presentation, students can continue to work on the same presentation simultaneously whether at home or at different locations throughout the school. Thanks to internet access, connectivity (via the built-in sharing feature at at Google Docs), and a willingness to collaborate, learning can continue regardless of location.
Science Friday September 7, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Blogs, Science, Technology , comments closedA big part of successfully teaching Science (or anything, for that matter) involves helping learners understand (my apologies to Dr. Richard Feynman) “the difference between knowing the name of something and actually knowing something.” It is entirely possible for eager minds to memorize the Periodic Table, the Laws of Motion, and the events that take place in photosynthesis and still be unable to make use of any of the details. Despite living in an era of fanatic fascination with standardized testing, a time when many instructors are hell-bent on funneling facts into the minds of pupils for on-command regurgitation, there are educators out there who realize the importance of exploring and demonstrating the characteristics of Science.
It’s foolish to assume that there isn’t a need to memorize important foundational concepts and ideas. All disciplines–Mathematics, Language, Literature, History, Music, and so on–demand that learners commit essentials to memory and develop a healthy level of automaticity for improved command of content. Easily retrieved information can be handy. However, many teachers seem to have lost sight of one of the most important goals of education: being able to use what has been and is being taught.
Toward that end, modeling how scientists and average citizens can and should experience Science is vital. Along with discovering and memorizing scientific laws learners should also have opportunities to examine and practice Characteristics of Science. One way to do this is to explore how noted scientists perceive Science, to listen to their personal accounts as to how and why they go about their work. By integrating technology (in the form of searchable podcasts from sites like Science Friday Kids Connection or visiting rich sites such as Science Netlinks), teachers and students have a means of understanding the difference between knowing the name of something and actually knowing something.
Gone Google June 21, 2007
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Government, History, Language Arts, Maps, Media, Reference, Social Studies, Web Authoring , comments closed
A while back, we posted about Google Teacher Academy, and were curious about the work they would be doing there. Well, Cheryl Davis, a Google Certified Teacher from Miramonte High School, has put together her own webpage on how you can use Google Tools in Social Studies. Gone Google.
Her page is clean, easily navigated, and currently showcases eight lesson ideas. Each idea comes with a 2-minute video “podcast” (though there doesn’t seem to be an RSS feed), a PDF of the lesson, and links to the tools and resources used. The ideas presented are excellent and well planned, and invite a deeper level of understanding for the subjects presented.
Please take a few moments and check it out. You won’t regret it.
The Circle is Now Complete… April 18, 2007
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Current Events, Software, Web Authoring, webtools , comments closed
“Now witness the power of this fully FREE and ONLINE office suite!”
Ok, enough with the Star Wars jokes…
Google has officially announced at the Web 2.0 Expo at it will soon launch a free, online PowerPoint clone, completing their already very appealing office suite (they already have a Word and Excel clone at Google Docs). Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt confirms the news.