Where've You Been?

Hello! If you looking for fresh posts, surf on over to my new address, Preclectic.com. See you there.
:-)

Paradigm (Tilt) Shift

Ever heard of tilt-shift photography? By carefully manipulating a camera with special (often expensive) lenses, it's possible to produce a photograph of a life-sized location or subject that looks remarkably like a miniature-scale model. The results of the technique are engrossing and are useful for creating compelling images. Thanks to the TiltShiftMaker site, students can generate their own tilt-shift pictures without spending a dime!

Game to Learn?

I've been playing Planarity (devised by the ever clever John Tantolo) for years now. Planarity is a supremely addictive game/pastime that's based on planars and graph theory. Give it a try. Hours will disappear! In fact, I find it hard not to want to play Planarity because the game is so darned engaging. After playing the game I find myself thinking about what I should have done but didn’t do. What is it about certain games (like Snood, Sudoku and Tetris for instance) that generate a continual desire within us to play them over and over again? If only we could capture the thrill and satisfaction that games and enjoyable diversions provide and infuse the same qualities within other, more educational pursuits, our students would create a stampede to learn. Heck, we could use games with a purpose to make the world a much better place.

Marc Prensky, author of Digital Game-Based Learning and twitch speed expert, notes that most popular games:

• focus on engaging the user,
• encourage frequent, important decision-making in relation to the game,
• making provisions for leveling up (providing immediate feedback that tells players when they're getting better at the game–not,for example, unlike good assessment), and
• allow users to embrace technology.

Why aren’t schools doing more to incorporate Prensky’s ideas within classroom settings? I wonder what might happen if we designed instruction so that is learning emotionally engaging, relevant, and possibly fun. Fulfillment and education are not mutually exclusive pursuits. Technology gives educators the means of making travel along the path to enlightenment a pleasurable, meaningful journey.

Related links:

• Check out GWAP and get hooked on helping others.
• Sure, you know how to fold your clothes but what do you know about folding protiens?
  

Make Mine Mac: Picasa

Okay, Mac users, Google's sending you a spiffy, post-holidays gift: Picasa for Mac. Enjoy!

Far Out!

Have you heard of the Space Collective?


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Happy GNU Year!

Make the world a friendlier place. Exercise your freedom and teach your students to do teh same. Encourage your pupils to work cooperatively. How? Celebrate 2009 by exploring the GNU Operating System.

For more information, join the party at the GNU Project!

Countdown to 2009

Well, it won't be long now. TimeandDate.com's new year countdown is ticking away the moments. See you in 2009!

The Energy to Change

2008 is on the way out and 2009 is almost upon us. What better time is there to reflect upon ways we can all make the world a better place in the coming year? Consider, for example, peace on earth and sustainability. A big step toward making our planet a more tolerable place for children, living things, and other, equally interested parties, is making more informed, better use of resources. We, all of us--administrators, teachers, media specialists, students, parents, community members--need to know how much energy we're using. WattzOn is a website that helps users calculate the amount of power needed to support all aspects of a chosen lifestyle. Before ringing in the new year, pause to consider how and why we can all reduce energy consumption and get a handle on climate change.


Related links:

• It's later than you think. Take a look at Worldclock and you'll see why.
  

Construction Instruction: Sodaconstructor

One of the best ways to get pupils interested in school to construct learning experiences that are additively engaging, challenging, and fun. When students enjoy the process of experimenting with a concept and develop the desire to habitually ask, "Hey, why does this happen?" they're on their way to self-motivated lifelong learning. Good teachers do all they can to inspire, incite, and engineer such outcomes.

For example, dedicated Science teachers know that their learners need multiple pathways to understanding. As such, instructors can give students opportunities to play around with tools such a Sodaconstructor, an interactive tool that simulates the use and behaviors of masses and springs. Why is this good? Here are a few reasons:

• For starters, the resource is intriguing. Once people see it, they want to play with it over and over again.
• The wow factor in Sodaconstructor naturally generates a great deal of critical, higher level-thinking that's needed for comprehending the application of the Scientific Method. When students create interactive objects that move about as a result of masses and springs, budding engineers have an opportunity to adjust variables such as gravity, friction, and speed adnd hypothesize what should or will happen nezt.
  
• Next, Sodaconstructor is accessible anywhere there's an internet connection. Think 21st Century learning--anywhere, any time.
• Finally, it's free!
  

The best way to appreciate the power in Sodaconstructor is to give it a try. What are you waiting for?

Where to Go Bananas and Monkey Around with Lots of Data

Add context to your classroom content by having your students research and work with real-wold data. What's that? You don't know where to get that kind of data? No problem. Check out Infochimps. This site connects info-hungry visitors with a dazzling collection of free, redistributable data sets.


Spiffy!

I'm Back!

Well, I've returned from visiting all of my relatives for the holidays. Though I hate to go a day without blogging, I purposely avoided posting for a few days. I'm proud to say that my family received the gift of my undivided attention.

Merry Christmas!

Have a safe, happy, and copyright-free Christmas! The image above and other goodies like it are available from the United States Library of Congress by way of the Prints and Photographs Division.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...NORAD Style

Are the kiddies worried that the Man in the Red Suit may not arrive? If so, have them check in with NORAD Tracks Santa 2008.

Don't stay up too late. Santa does his best work when everyone's asleep!

Walking Through a Linux Wonderland

Anyone checking my blog can see that I've been taking it easy. Aside from slacking off from my posting and occasionally checking my mail, I've been playing around with all kinds of Linux distros. I'm fortunate to have a reputation for being a guy who takes worn-out PCs. I got a lot of old laptops and desktops to experiment upon in my quest for tried and tested tools for free computing. When I get aging machines I enjoy loading the hardware with all manner of open source and free software. For the last five days I've been working my way through all of the flavors of Ubuntu.

My wife, bless her, has been very accommodating with my holiday hobby. Antiquated computers adorn my home like scattered toys. My floors may be messy but they bear witness to my zeal. I've been installing, examining, reviewing, and testing stuff like:

• Edubuntu
• Xubuntu
• Kubuntu

I've known about and used these resources for a few years and I'm still eager to explore their potential. The kind individuals who invest time and knowledge in refining all of these variations of Ubuntu make the prospect of using the systems irresistible. That's why I'm on holiday from Windows and thrilled about touring an alternative operating system or two. Why not take the plunge and see what Ubuntu or one of its cousins has to offer? Better yet, burn a few Ubuntu CDs and give them to your friends!

Tuning into Youtube

Hmmm. Joyce Valenza of the venerable School Library Journal has some useful ideas when it comes to accessing Youtube under less than ideal situations. Spiffy!

Good Doggy!

Got old computers sitting around? Teach your old desktop and laptops some new tricks! Consider installing Puppy Linux. It's a small, fast operating system that runs from CDs, USB sticks and even hard disks. Puppy Linux has the potential to bring new life to an abandoned computer.


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May I Have a Word With You?

Language Arts/English teachers: You'll want to explore Lexulous (formerly Scrabulous, a game based on the commercial board game Scrabble). Lexulous is an addictive online word game that educators, pupils, parents, and others can use to build and hone vocabulary and spelling skills. To play Lexulous, participants generate words with a given set of letters (not unlike Scrabble). If you're hesitant about registering for an account, play the game in practice mode to get a feel for the action.

On a related note, Kotaku is reporting that Hasbro is dropping its copyright infringement lawsuit against the makers of Scrabulous.

Take It Easy: J2E

Every once in a while I run across something that's educationally useful and fun to play with, too. For instance, I stumbled across a playfully powerful Java-based (word?) processor that does some incredibly spiffy stuff. Although the site is for profit, j2e is currently free for individual users and worth exploring. It's just too easy to like this resource.

Key Resource

Hate having to access pull-down menus for features of a program? Use keystroke commands instead. Don't know the keystroke commands? No problem. KeyXL is an indispensable database of keyboard shortcuts (including shortcuts for Windows, Macintosh and Linux) that's searchable by program. Spiffy!

Everything's Under Control...Really

Teachers continually state that they want their students to do a better job of thinking. Many educators believe that popular culture seems to be anything but supportive such an endeavor. Ever wonder where popular culture originates? Ever wonder who decides what cognitive content will be generated and disseminated? Take a look at the Elements of Information Control.