Category Archives: Technology

Great Web Tools | edtechteacher.org

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In order to help educators integrate technology effectively, we have compiled a list of technology tools focused on learning goals consistent with the CRCD [collect-relate-create-donate] framework. Unlike other lists that promote “cool tools,” yet leave teachers wondering about purposeful educational integration, our list is driven by specific learning goals that promote critical-thinking, creativity, collaboration, and community-mindedness. We hope you will find our list useful.

What are your Learning Goals?

  1. I want my students to be able to create web based timelines.
  2. I want my students to create web based mind maps / graphic organizers.
  3. I want my students to publish their writing online for others to read.
  4. I want real-time, online discussion with my students.
  5. I want my students to search and evaluate web sites.
  6. I want to create guided research activities for my students.
  7. I want to connect my students to other students around the world.
  8. I want my students to create online portfolios.
  9. I want my students to create books, magazines, posters, or newsletters online.
  10. I want my students to record or edit audio.
  11. I want to use an interactive whiteboard effectively with my students.
  12. I want my students to create and edit maps.
  13. I want my students to draw or create comics on the Internet.
  14. I want to create tests, quizzes, and games online.
  15. I want my students to organize, bookmark and edit their research online.
  16. I want to find or create rubrics for multimedia projects.
  17. I want to connect to other teachers to share ideas and resources.

A comprehensive resource recommending a variety of tech according to each learning goal, as listed above. This is also a great resource for anyone looking for unique tech tools related to the activities listed.

techtools

via Great Web Tools | edtechteacher.org.

Pew: 86% Of U.S. Adults Make Efforts To Hide Their “Digital Footprints” Online; Fear Of Creeping Ads And Malicious Hackers Outweighs State Spy Worries | TechCrunch

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As surveyed by the Pew Research Center, the average U.S. citizen appears to be more concerned about the data collecting abilities of advertising networks like those of Google and Facebook, faceless malicious hackers, and even friends and family, than they are the government.

See the full discussion of the research findings: Pew: 86% Of U.S. Adults Make Efforts To Hide Their “Digital Footprints” Online; Fear Of Creeping Ads And Malicious Hackers Outweighs State Spy Worries | TechCrunch.

32 Free Library Webinars in September | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org

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32 free webinars that are relevant for librarians and information professionals.

via 32 Free Library Webinars in September | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org.

Scientists Use Videogames to Improve Older Brains | WSJ

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In the future, your doctor may prescribe you a videogame.

In a groundbreaking new study at the University of California, San Francisco, scientists found that older adults improved cognitive controls such as multitasking and the ability to sustain attention by playing a specially designed videogame — and that the effects can be long lasting.

The study, to be published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, is part of a broader effort to understand whether specially designed videogames can help treat neurological disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even depression. There is growing evidence, researchers say, that videogames could eventually become therapies on par, or used in tandem, with ingestible medications.

See the full story: Scientists Use Videogames to Improve Older Brains | Digits | WSJ.

Dr. Seuss Available as eBooks for First Time | GoodReader

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Random House Children’s Books, the publisher of multi-award winning and best-selling children’s author Dr. Seuss’ entire catalog of children’s content, announced today that it would begin releasing most of the author’s forty-four books as ebooks for young readers, starting with fifteen titles near the end of this month. The ebooks will keep the original layout and beloved illustrations, but will also incorporate a read-aloud narration.

Dr. Seuss Ebooks

See the full story: Dr. Seuss Available as eBooks for First Time | GoodReader.

New Kindle Paperwhite Has Goodreads Built into Device | GalleyCat

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Amazon has unveiled a new Kindle Paperwhite, building Goodreads interaction straight into the $119 eReader. Goodreads members can now rate books and share passages from inside the Kindle.

via New Kindle Paperwhite Has Goodreads Built into Device | GalleyCat.

10 Great Sites for Bored History Nerds | Flavorwire

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10 Great Sites for Bored History Nerds | Flavorwire.

See the post for links to an eclectic list of history websites.

  1. The Bowery Boys
  2. Fuck Yeah, Victorians
  3. The Smithsonian’s History Blog
  4. The History Chicks
  5. My Daguerreotype Boyfriend
  6. Messy Nessy Chic
  7. Edwardian Promenade
  8. Calumet 412
  9. Food History Jottings
  10. Russian History Blog

I recommend Jane Austen’s World, PBS History Detectives and Best of History Websites (a comprehensive resource portal).

From Collaborative Coding to Wedding Invitations: GitHub Is Going Mainstream | Wired.com

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“The open, collaborative workflow we have created for software development is so appealing that it’s gaining traction for non-software projects that require significant collaboration,” says GitHub cofounder and CEO Tom Preston-Werner.

With 3.4 million users, the five-year-old site is a runaway hit in the hacker community, the go-to place for coders to show off pet projects and crowdsource any improvements. But the company has grander ambitions: It wants to change the way people work. It’s starting with software developers for sure, but maybe one day anyone who edits text in one form or another — lawyers, writers, and civil servants — will do it the GitHub way.

See the full story: From Collaborative Coding to Wedding Invitations: GitHub Is Going Mainstream | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com.

University of Texas at Austin Online Class Aims to Earn Millions | WSJ.com

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Two University of Texas at Austin professors this week launched their introductory psychology class from a makeshift studio, with a goal of eventually enrolling 10,000 students at $550 a pop and bringing home millions for the school.

The professors have dubbed the class a SMOC—Synchronous Massive Online Class—and their effort falls somewhere between a MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course, a late-night television show and a real-time research experiment. The professors lecture into a camera and students watch on their computers or mobile devices, in real time.

The class, which made its debut [August 29, 2013], is emblematic of just how quickly the once-static business model of higher education is shifting as technology gives students more options and forces schools and professors to compete for their attention.

See the full story: University of Texas at Austin Online Class Aims to Earn Millions | WSJ.com.

Digitize Your Large-Format Film At A Fraction Of The Price With This DIY Scanner ⚙ Co.Labs

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With a bit of elbow grease and a DSLR, a few large-format-film-buff hackers have built a rig to scan in photos at a much higher resolution than your average desktop scanner.

The DIY DSLR lightbox has been around for a few years, but only for traditional 35mm film, the dominant format for film and still photography. This new model is specifically for large-format film, from the popular 4″x5″ format (which is 16 times the size of a 35mm frame–and thus has 16 times the resolution) up to 8″x10″, after which it reaches “ultra large” format resolution.

via Digitize Your Large-Format Film At A Fraction Of The Price With This DIY Scanner ⚙ Co.Labs ⚙ code + community.