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Gee Whiz, It’s YourGMap! July 31, 2006

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Social Studies, Technology, webtools , comments closed

Most Social Studies/Geography teachers know about Google Maps and use them (as well as Google Earth) from time to time. However, many educators are unaware of a simple, customizable resource that creates maps like those generated by Google (for advanced geeks, check out a gent from Blackpool named Mike with a meticulous Google Maps API Tutorial). If you’re an instructor gearing up to teach map skills and you want to integrate technology in process, consider having your pupils create maps containing personal points of interest. It’s easy to do. First, have your students generate a list of addresses that they consider to be important. Such a list might contain the street address for relatives or friends or locations where important events took place (i.e., “This is where I saw my first movie“). Next, direct learners to YourGMap. Once there, students can input their locations and create maps that are relevant to their own experiences. Afterwards, student-made maps can be copied into presentations or discussed via an interactive whiteboard.

Request A Transfer: Google Talk’s New Feature July 28, 2006

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Despite those who deride the use of instant messaging, IM is becoming more and more of a necessary tool for professionals. A 2004 Pew Internet study found that 4 in 10 online Americans make use of IM. Thanks to dextroz over at Digg, I’ve learned that my favorite, free IM client, Google Talk, has added some new features! For starters, users can now transfer files, leave voicemail, and show friends what tune they’re listening to at any given moment. Even if educators don’t latch onto these developments, students certainly will. File this under spiffy!

Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish: The PC De-Crapifier

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Blogs, Security, Software, Technology , comments closed

This post should appeal to a few tech directors. They’ve seen tons of useless shortcuts cluttering what should be a pristine screen. After purchasing new PCs for students, administrators, and teachers, they’re discovering alarming amounts of bothersome, preloaded software residing on the machines they’ll be responsible for distributing to the masses. Thanks to the innovative thinker at Yorkspace, tech directors have the option of unleashing the PC De-crapifier on an otherwise useful PC. Maybe we should just be thankful nothing is exploding or otherwise going down in flames.

Just curious: is pre-installed software (i.e., stuff like Quickbooks Trial, Corel Photo Album, McAfee Internet Security Suite, Internet Service Offers Launcher, Sonic RecordNow, et cetera) a big problem for any classroom teachers out there?

Become Virtual Astronaut from NASA July 27, 2006

Posted by Michael Stokes in : Astronomy, Government, History, Science, Technology , comments closed

NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston offers a free, online educational initiative called the Virtual Astronaut Program. It’s an interactive, three-dimensional web site designed for students in grades 5-8 that integrates existing life-science research data and NASA educational products into a suite of instructional materials. Activities include a “Complete the Skeleton” game, in which students put together all 206 bones in the adult human body; a topography hunt in which students locate Earth’s landmarks as viewed from space; a lesson and quiz on plants in space; and much more. The site contains electronic activities, teacher’s guides, and teacher briefs that include space and life science content. Educator guides help teachers with lessons on how astronauts purify their water in space, as well as solar power, neuroscience, microgravity, and more. The site also provides several links to additional life and space science resources for educators.

CHECK IT OUT

Where Do Hurricanes Come From?

Posted by Michael Stokes in : Uncategorized , comments closed

Where do hurricanes come from? This intriguing question allows students returning to school an opportunity to integrate technology in science and social studies as they explore a timely issue. Why not give pupils a chance to drop by the National Hurricane Center or navigate the eye of a hurricane? Note: You’ll probably need a VRML plugin from either CosmoPlayer or Cortona to get the full effect. If VRML seems daunting, have learners crank up Google Earth and use a dazzling set of automated storm tracking tools!

Scientists are certainly taking these destructive storms seriously. Researchers are flying across the Atlantic Ocean to catch the mighty storms in the act of being born. The data they collect could lead to better forecasting and a deeper understanding of hurricanes.
FULL STORY

Wet Paint Gets Better and Better

Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Current Events, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closed

logowp.JPGWet Paint, a wonderfully user-friendly and free wiki hosting site, has recently made some updates. First, you can now put tables into your Wetpaint site simply by clicking a button on the EasyEdit toolbar. Also, there is now RSS support built into every WetPaint site! Look for the RSS feature located in the Site Reports & RSS navigation box on the left side of your site.
If you don’t already have a WetPaint site, give it a try, or read more in our previous post about this spiffy wiki site.

InterACTIVe Learning With ACTIVResources At SCES July 26, 2006

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Hardware, Language Arts, Technology , comments closed

Today I’m working with Language Arts teachers at Screven County Elementary School. I’ve been asked to facilitate an exploration of Promethean’s spiffy ACTIVResources. One of the first things I’m going to share with the participants is the treasure trove of free, instructional “how-to” ACTIVStudio online videos available at Atomic Learning.

Video That’s Out of This World July 25, 2006

Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Astronomy, Earth Science, Linux, MacOSX, Media, Open Source, Science, Software , comments closed

mars_moonI was using Celestia yesterday to prepare for some JASON training when I discovered a little known but powerful feature. This free, open-source program has built-in video recording! Within minutes I had recorded a short video of Mars for my training, and I got to thinking about the uses of the video (requires free DivX to play). Since Celestia allows you to set the date & time & control the speed of the universe, I immediately thought of the 2006 solar eclipse. A few miutes later, I produced this video of the eclipse as seen with Celestia. To record videos, simply choose it from the File menu. Use F11 to start and F12 to stop. Also, you should consider using some sort of video compression. I used DivX 6.0 codec.

Oh, for those of you who are curious about what Celestia is, exactly, check out this previous SEGA Tech post. Also, visit the official homepage or see these galleries. Celestia was created by a guy named Chris Laurel, who now works for NVIDIA, and is available for Mac, Linux, and Windows.

Encyclopodia: Getting Wikipedia On An iPod July 24, 2006

Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Linux, MacOSX, Open Source, Reference, Technology, Wikis , comments closed

Ever wanted to carry Wikipedia along with you? According to the crafty folks at the Encyclopodia it’s not a difficult thing to do if you’ve got an iPod.

Wiki on a stick? July 21, 2006

Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Open Source, Software, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closed

tiddlywikiI just stumbled on a pretty cool open-source wiki software. I wish I could say that it’s new (it’s not), but it IS very interesting. It’s called TiddlyWiki, and it allows you to create your own personal wiki for offline work. What is so amazing about this wiki is that the whole wiki is one single html file. That’s right. This one file can be saved on a USB drive to create a “wiki on a stick” and can be uploaded to your website by copying one file.

The best feature is that you don’t need to install anything - just right-click on the Template and save it on your computer or disk, then get to work. The bad side is that you cannot edit it directly online without plugins and it’s not really designed to be a large collaborative work. However, it’s perfect for students to keep notes on, make study guides for, and many other tasks. Also, there is a tutorial online for those who want directions, with some handy Editing Tips.

tiddlyspot.jpgBut Wait, There’s More!
A website named Tiddlyspot.com has enhanced the core TiddlyWiki template and is now hosting Tiddlywikis. That means they keep your tiddlywiki on their servers and you can work online. You also have the freedom to download your wiki for offline work, then upload it again whenever you feel like it. They don’t ask you to sign up for anything (they don’t even ask for an email address), and it’s FREE.

So let’s review:

Too Cool!