Annotating on Flickr

The whole Merode Altarpiece
Originally uploaded by beth h..

Here's a great example of the annotation feature in Flickr .

Flickr allows users to not only post pictures for others to see, but to also provide annotations to further explain the photo.

There are many "copyright friendly" photos for use in education through the Creative Commons.

Human Contact is Possible!

Thanks to Paul English, here's a site that has tips on how to speak to a human and bypass IVR (Interactive Voice Response) key presses on your phone.
Some common ways are:
* Press 0 (or 0# or #0 or 0* or *0) repeatedly, sometimes quickly, ignoring any "invalid entry" messages.
* Say "agent" or "representative" (or sometimes your favorite four letter word).
* Just hold, pretending you have only a rotary phone.
* Connect to sales; they always seem to answer quickly, then have them transfer you to the department you need.
* Call investor relations or the president's office. You can usually find this info from Google. :)

For Paul's complete "IVR Cheat Sheet" visit: http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/

Footprints in Cyberspace

Ok... enter Web 2.0 --- the read/write web --- the social web --- the web that allows anyone to leave their footprints in cyberspace. Here's yet another site that can help you to track and keep your digital footprints assembled in one place... Suprglu! Check it out! http://cchausis.suprglu.com/

iWork Community Template Exchange

Here's a place to go if you are new to Apple's iWork (consisting of Pages -- a word processor, and Keynote --presentation software). One great feature of both Pages and Keynote is their extensive use of templates - and the iWork templates provided by Apple are beautiful! This site has been set up to allow the community of iWork '05 users to share what they have created.

Visit: http://www.iworkcommunity.com/

Time for Play! This is too much fun!

Those who know me, also know I have an affection for "the Mouse." Although, just purely for fun (and not so much education) this website is a wonderful playground for kids of "all" ages.

Get creative! Try Disney's Magic Artist Online for calendars, coloring pages, greeting cards, and more!

:-)

Just when you think it can't get "cooler than this" -- here comes more!

More and more I am discovering the uniqueness of the World Wide Web "2.0" also known as the "read/write web" -- which includes sites for social bookmarking such as (del.icio.us, 43 Places) and photo sharing (Flickr) and along comes Woophy!-- the WOrld Of PHotographY -- maps and pictures rolled into one!
So very, very, cool!

Don't you hate to leave your email address on webpages?

I do! Here's a site to try when you are presented with having to subscribe to a website to view content. This site provides login and password information that are "bogus" accounts, but will grant you access. In some cases, you may need to try several of the available logins.
http://www.bugmenot.com

And if you must register, consider using a one-time email address from Mailinator.
http://www.mailinator.com

Mailinator is your personal disposable email account. Here is how it works: You are on the web, at a party, or talking to your favorite insurance salesman. Wherever you are, someone (or some webpage) asks for your email. You know if you give it, you're gambling with your privacy. On the other hand, you do want at least one message from that person. The answer is to give them a mailinator address. You don't need to sign-up. You just make it up on the spot. Pick schminky@mailinator.com or funwump123@mailinator.com — pick anything you want. Mailinator accounts are created when mail arrives for them. No signup, no personal information... it's an anti-spam solution for everyone. Your temporary email account will be automatically deleted after a few hours, giving you time to visit the Mailinator website to check mail when you need to authenticate your address before you get access.

Check Spelling in Safari!

Check spelling as you type... on web pages!
Did you know there are easy, free ways to have spellcheck whenever you are typing something on a webpage? This can be real handy for composing messages in Squirrel mail, or entering comments in your blog/journal, or completing web forms. Choose Edit -> Spelling -> Check spelling as you type. Misspelled words are identified by red dotted underlines. Control + Click (or Right click if you have a 2-button mouse) to bring up the dictionary

Convert AppleWorks to Microsoft Word

If you have a standard word processing document in AppleWorks that you would like to convert to Microsoft Word, simply drag and drop the file's icon onto the Word shortcut on your dock, or the Word application icon in the Microsoft Office 2004 folder. Voila!

NECC!!

The National Education Computing Conference (NECC) has just ended. More than 17,000 educators and vendors were in attendance in the city "that loves you back" -- Philadelphia, PA.
What's hot? -- Blogging is hot, but Podcasting is all the rage http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2005/glance/blogging.php.

Virtually non-existent this time last year, podcasting may be the single most talked about application of technology for education this week. Some say you might think of podcasting as "TiVo" for the iPod, although an iPod is not necessary to participate. Also called "Audio-blogging," all the content can be listened to (and, some are supported with visuals) via the Internet, however, the iPod (or most any MP3 player) is a very powerful factor in this equation. Powerful, because the content becomes portable. By downloading the content, you can listen whenever it is most convenient, and go back and listen again and again. And, now with podcasting being supported through iTunes 4.9, downloading is SUPER easy -- click and subscribe!

It's not hard to determine that today's kids are great consumers of all things "portable." Cell phones in kids pockets today are more common than YoYos were in the '50s. A quick look at students at my high school, either before or after school, and you will see earbuds dangling out of one ear, and a cell phone attached to the other. If both ears are "budded" the cell phone is being used to text message. Talk about hyper-communicating!

What else is cool?

Wikis... something to further explore for the hyper-communicator. Wiki-pedia is growing in popularity, and today is listed as #37 in the top 100 visited English language websites [http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=lang〈=en]

Blogging is great for sharing ideas and thoughts, and posting comments, but wikis allow all contributors to edit the content. Think of the collaboration you could establish with your kids!! The fact that virually the whole world can access, and EDIT the content as well, makes this truly authentic learning.

Visit the NECC website and explore how educators are sharing the "Voices of Students" --- http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2005/

Educating the Net Generation - Free eBook!

From... http://www.educause.edu/books/educatingthenetgen/5989

Educating the Net Generation
A New EDUCAUSE e-Book

The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised—one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up.

This collection explores the Net Gen and the implications for institutions in areas such as teaching, service, learning space design, faculty development, and curriculum. Contributions by educators and students are included.

"Educating the Net Generation," edited by Diana Oblinger, vice president of EDUCAUSE and director of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, and James Oblinger, chancellor of North Carolina State University.

The e-book is available in PDF and HTML formats, with Web-only resources (further reading, video, podcasts, and useful links) listed on its home page. A file of the complete book is available for download and printing.

Welcoming you...

Welcome to the Educating Educators weblog!
A periodic posting of thoughts, views and ramblings in support of educators grappling with technology to improve student learning.

What's the buzz????

WIKIs!! Come and play in the sandbox. http://epnweb.org/wiki/wiki.php?page=CharleneChausis