Mobipocket and Feedbooks

I always knew that the SMART Phone was a fabulous tool and could be extremely useful in the classroom – but today really takes the cake!  Feedbooks is a web2.0 resource that allows users to dowload free books!  But what made this site extremely powerful was downloading the books to my mobipocket reader! Mobipocket is like the iTunes for books on mobile devices! You can use the mobipocket store to purchase, download, and syncronize books to your smart phone.  However, when using both feedbooks and mobipocket,  I can now synchronize literary works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, White Fang, or Hamlet onto my Palm Treo for FREE!  I also noted that mobipocket has free application called Mobipocket creator (home and pro) which enables users to create personal content like ebooks, photo albums, ect.. and then distribute via the SMART phone!  I think our teachers and students could be very creative when using tools like this in the classroom!  What do you think?

TIES 2008 – Opening Keynote: Daniel Pink – My Notes

This morning I am sitting at the  TIES  convention and waiting to hear Dan Pink’s opening keynote along with the other +1700 educators, administrators, teachers, and technology directors from all over the US and Canada.  (very impressive turnout by the way)  My notes are sketchy, as I was busy typing and listening.  (I apologize for that)  If you get a chance to see him – I highly recommend it!

What makes a good speech? Good speeches in general…always have 3 ingredients…brevity, levity, repetition.  Influence of a teacher – “repetition is an effective form of emphasis”.

Education and the economy  – purpose of education is not to deliver to employees to employers – allow every young person – achieve their full potential, well informed citizens, digital citizenship…

“We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past.”  (Fairfax, administrator)

Before the conceptual age we were told as kids… “get good grades, go to college, get a good jobs”.

Brains. Left hemisphere, Right hemisphere.  Last several years, because of technology, we know more about how our brains work.  Complicated and complex – elegant and efficient.  Different specialties – the left contains the logical, linear, sequential, analytical.  Right – Tasks, process at once, understand concept, facial expressions, synthesis context.

Our past – kids future.  past – Most important ability – were the  characteristics of left hemisphere and it was absolutely necessary.  BUT – no longer sufficient. Right Brain –  Big picture thinking, conceptual. ect.

The 3 causes that for our the shift in workforce in the states.  (This is also the Need for shift in Education)

Asia – 15,000 computer science degrees, upper class incomes in their country.  White collar jobs loss in the less 4 years is not an issue,  India has advantage in global economy.  Billion People.  15% of billion = 150 million.  US – last month –  just counting the those who work for pay in the US – 144 million.  If 15% make it to the status of being competitive  – then we have cit.  In 14 months – India will be the largest English speaking country.  English is the language of the global economy. Technology – cost of communication btw us and India is $0.  “Focusing on Routine is a death sentence.” This is the fault line between our past and kids future.  This skill is going out fast -right steps and have.  Accounting, financial analysis, programming. Anything that focuses on a series of steps or has one right answer will be unnecessary.

Automation- machines replace our muscle, software replace our brains.  Replace logical linear rule based side.  collaborative exercise – gov sites – figure what lawyer uncontested divorce – all steps.  Routine is off shore or gets automated. complete case.com affordable divorce solutions.  $249.  123Divorceme.com  Tax preparation. Turbotax.  Certain accounting is routine

Abundance – standard of living is breathtaking.  chart “consumption spreads faster today” –  material goods have migrated to above 80-90% of homes.  Telephone, electricity, TV, Computer, Internet, cellphone.  Storage Industry – $22.6 Billion industry.  We have too much stuff! In a world of abundance, there is a premium on getting something to people they didnt know they were missing.  Offering to consumer, has to be big and bold especially in recession.  Downturn – can still make it.

3 questions –

  • Can someone do it cheaper
  • Can a computer do it faster?
  • Is what your delivering in demand in an age of abundance?

What about STEM?  Not vending machines of right answers.  Evidence is not routine – ex. Silicon Valley, Google

“Non-routine savants”  Medical Schools – at art institute – part of diagnostic training.  Certain is routine, Ask right question.  Extraordinary observation skills.    Now measurable – those who have been thru art training are better than traditional medical training.  Art education is spreading among colleges however in elementary and secondary arts if first to go.  “This is a colossal mistake.”

Last Rant. Can you see the problem?

Technology today

  • Novelty
  • Nuance
  • Customization

Education today

  • Routines
  • Right answer
  • Standardization

6 abilities that matter most.

  • Design – make something beautiful, whimsical, emotionally engaging
  • Story – story matters, facts are free. facts in context
  • Empathy – stand in someone shoes, human ability.
  • Play – laughter humor games, in economy – shouldn’t be banishing
  • Meaning – not just accumulation.  What has meaning has purpose.
  • Symphony – Not just focus – ability see big picture, connect dots, and design something new.

check him out at – twitter.com/DanielPink

TIES 2008 – Exploring Google for Educators – My notes

Molly Schroeder, Edina Public Schools

Saturday, Dec 6 from 8:30 – 11:30

What a wealth of Google knowledge this Minnesota Google CERTIFIED teacher has!  I thought I had a pretty good knowledge of Google, but she took me a step further!  We played with:

My favorite resources was something called Google Lit Trips.  Basically the site teaches great literature by using Google Earth mapping out road trip stories from literary works.  Grades k-12!

Her agenda can be found here

Midomi – find song titles by humming?

Are you looking for a song but only know some of the notes to it and the title simply escapes you?  Then you might want to check out Midomi.com Just sing, hum, or whistle into your computer’s microphone Midomi will find your music for you.  It’s not perfect, but is a cool way to find that song you don’t know the title of. You will have to give permission for the site to use your microphones!  It is the coolest Web 2.0 tool I have seen in a while!

Downloading videos from youtube

This year our district teachers and administrators received new laptops and with the new laptops, came a new version of Firefox.   Many of your had an extension called “unplug” so that you could download youtube or teachertube videos on to your computers.  Unfortunately this plugin is no longer compatible with the new version of Firefox so we needed another alternative.  The one I have found is called Video DownloadHelper 3.2.2 and it works just as unplug did.  I have created a screencast for you if you would that shows the step by step process!

Tag Galaxy – a new way to look at Flickr pictures

You have to check out Tag Galaxy a 3D Flickr image search engine!  First enter a tag, and a related galaxy will appear on your screen. Each planet contains the pictures of a certain tag, and when you click on them, the images are placed on a globe.  Your can rotate the orbe until a picture catches your eye.  Click the pictue and it will expand – click it again and it grows larger and will give reference to the Flickr site the picture comes from.  Sure, you can go to Flickr.com and search the traditional way – but exploring this way is just more fun!

World Wide Telescope – Microsoft’s answer to google earth?

Microsoft Research recently released its free World Wide Telescope application. The WorldWide Telescope draws on more than 12 terabytes of imagery from several orbiting and land-based telescopes.  The desktop application downloads the images on demand and stitches them together to form an interactive, browsable universe supplemented with information from top astronomical databases.

It also allows the user to take “Guided Tours” that astronomers and others have put together.   I thought it was pretty cool!

You can check it out at: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

Voice Thread

Last week, as I was in JITT (Just In Time Training) at the Middle School, Christine J. introduced me to a new tool that has quite a bit of potential! It is called Voice Thread. How cool would it be to use a tool like this to be able to comment, collaborate, or even debate photographs or videos. Voicethread is a Web-based digital-storytelling application that allows users to share their stories through audio, images, videos or text. It also allows visitors to make comments on their stories in five different ways:

  • voice with a microphone
  • voice with cell phone
  • text
  • audio file
  • video with a webcam

The stories can be shared with anyone in the world or they can be kept private for selected individuals. Like many Web 2.0 applications, you can get a free basic account as well as a VoiceThread Pro account with unlimited creation and advanced features for a fee. However, VoiceThread is offering free educator accounts for all k-12 classroom educators.

It didn’t really dawn on me how valuable this (FREE) tool was until I was at JITT at the Elementary School talking to Mapuana about her penpal program with students from India. We were discussing ways each classroom could collaborate with each other using todays 21st century tools. Since we have a 12 hour time difference – tools like Skype would not work so well. I think Voicethread could be the ticket! Wouldn’t it be cool for each class to take a picture of something meaningful in their communities, upload it, and invite the other class to comment/collaborate on it? If you would like to learn more – I invite you to watch this VoiceThread presentation, What is VoiceThread Anyway? I am very interested if any of our teachers decide to use this program and how they use it! TOO COOL!

Online enviroments in education

Yesterday, I was quite impressed with Carl Anderson’s presentation of “Online Virtual Environments in Education” at SEMTEC’s Techspo in Stewartville, MN. He used a program called Active World and built virtual 3d webquests. It was truly and AWESOME project and I think that kids are going to enjoy it immensely as it has much of the “video gaming” feel. We need to investigate this technology more as we look at the future – not only curriculum delivery but an alternative method of professional development. It is definitely a head turner. Thanks Carl!

Cool Graphing Tool!

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has created a nice little data site for kids called the NCES Kid Zone. Check out the graphing tools on this site! Students are able to design, (2d and 3d graphs!), label, and print or save the graphs in multiple formats. They will even store the graph for 30 days and email you the link! (click the link and then click preview the graph) What a great global collaborative tool! This graph is only meant to demo the tool – so note the data is not accurate!

My Demo Graph