December 2008 Blog Posts (111)

iTunes DRM Removal - Remove DRM from iTunes M4A M4V M4P AAC

ITunes DRM files include AAC, M4V and M4P. If you don't remove itunes DRM it’s impossible to play them on any Apple incompatible devices, like Zune, Creative Zen, PSP, mobile Phone, etc. This turns out really bad if you want to buy a new mp3 player which is not manufactured by Apple.

So, The way not to delete itunes DRM files, you could try some methods or programs that remove DRM off of the iTunes files. Please note that using programs might be illegal in the country where you are… Continue

Added by Scorpio on December 26, 2008 at 11:37pm — No Comments

What is it?

I'm always looking for tools and resources that making teaching and learning online easier for both educators and students. In that quest, I was intrigued by the ease implied in the name EditMe. So, what is it?

It's a Blog. It's a Wiki. It's an Intranet. It's a Website.

And, not only is it super easy to use, it's also respectful:

Instead of demanding credit card information in exchange for a free trial and then hoping users… Continue

Added by Ellen on December 26, 2008 at 8:36pm — 1 Comment

Your Take?

Generally when I discover a new resource I'm pretty good at extrapolating its use across a myriad of situations. This isn't the case with YourTake http://www.yourtake.org. This is probably a non-issue that I need to "get over" because Your Take looks to be an intriguing tool for developing thought, as well as empathy, among students.

I think my reality is that I really want a reason to be able to use it and in writing this out… Continue

Added by Ellen on December 26, 2008 at 7:48pm — No Comments

Cool Text

The following is well, cool and fun. Create your own from no other than CoolText.com.

Added by Ellen on December 26, 2008 at 6:30am — No Comments

How to Make Personalized Animated Flash Greeting eCard from PowerPoint

Tired of the same eCards provided by many eCard websites? Why not create your own personalized eCards to WOW others with your photos and personalized greeting message? It is an ideal way to strengthen and maintain ties between distant family members and friends by sending personalized eCard to them in holiday.

With PowerPoint, you can easily personalize the colors and design, include your own videos and photos of the family, and choose just the right message for each… Continue

Added by SunnyY on December 25, 2008 at 2:00am — 1 Comment

Challenge Software Program "Helping Children Help Themselves"

The Logic behind this program comes from research on Personality Development and Cognitive-Behvioral Psychology. We understand that we cannot control the Events that take place around us, but we have a great deal of control over the interpretations of those events, which ultimately dictates how we feel.

This is where we need to focus our energy. Through my work with children and adults over the past several years, the majority of individuals who were really struggling spent a great… Continue

Added by Brad Chapin on December 24, 2008 at 10:38am — 1 Comment

Turbocharge your Google Searches with Lumifi

I was reading about the Washington DC social media and technology scene and ran across this cool search application called Lumifi. It allows you to search and break down your subject, so you aren't restricted as much to the first 10. (check out the Global Warming demo) It allows you to "drill down" to more results in a very easy fashion. Also other academic research applications for teachers and students, although these are aimed more at the… Continue

Added by Nathan Ketsdever on December 23, 2008 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Comment to Chris Sessums Blog

I was reading Chris Sessums' blog post Driven to Distraction: Notes on Young Adults Living and Learning with New Media and felt compelled to add my 2 cents worth:

Chris,

You raise some interesting questions in your article, but you also wonder "...how we can "measure" self-directed learning in this new media context?" and that's where the problem lies; we educators must justify what we establish in our learning… Continue

Added by Gary Latman on December 21, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Let's Change The World

December 21st, 2008

First blog entry.

Belief statements “up front”:

1. I think learning is the greatest adventure on the planet! Should be some tv reality shows that explore it and celebrate it.

2. I have tremendous respect for teachers and teaching. I don’t know any group that works harder for more people. ANY comment I may make that sounds contradictory to that is a result of frustration with an old system of “school” that gets in the way of great people being… Continue

Added by Tom Welch on December 21, 2008 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Re: Best Ways To Use YouTube At School; Learn About M.L.King, and More

Hi, Everybody,

Here are some more "The Best..." lists:

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Social Network Sites

(http://tinyurl.com/8fyweq)

The Best Applications For Annotating Websites

(http://tinyurl.com/7afu2x)

The Best Ways To Access Educational YouTube Videos At School

(http://tinyurl.com/7b6kd7)

The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King

(http://tinyurl.com/9kjytz)

Part Twenty-Eight Of The Best… Continue

Added by Larry Ferlazzo on December 21, 2008 at 6:18am — No Comments

Are you LinkedIN?

Classroom 2.0 is one of my single best resources for networking with tech-savvy educators. So, I started thinking about those other tools where I interact with and learn from folks.

Connected through LinkedIN?

I must confess LinkedIN was my first venture into online networking. While the community is made up of far more business minded folk than teachers, the education sector is ever-growing.

Consider… Continue

Added by Ellen on December 20, 2008 at 8:02pm — No Comments

Read the Words

Just added this great resource to the Teacher Toolbar.

What?! You don't have the FREE Teacher Toolbar (listed among Jane Hart's BEST eLearning Tools in Education)?

Take a look and download it here: http://professionallearningboard.ourtoolbar.com…

Continue

Added by Ellen on December 20, 2008 at 7:00pm — No Comments

The Pros and Cons of Social Networking in Education

As a follow-up to the lesson I described in my last post, Mr. Magadance and I facilitated a student debate about the pros and cons of social networking in education.

In “The Machine is Us/ing Us,” Michael Wesch demonstrates how… Continue

Added by Honor Moorman on December 20, 2008 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Create your own Word Clouds

Time to have a look at Wordle

Added by Hans Feldmeier on December 20, 2008 at 5:47am — No Comments

A Look Back at My China Experience

Ni Hao

哈罗

Anyone can fly to China and climb the Great Wall. Only a lucky few can journey to a remote village and walk hand-in-hand with the precious children who live there. Only a few can laugh and delight in doing the hokey pokey in a tiny village at the base of a mountain surrounded by happy young faces.

This journey opened my heart and my mind. The world IS a global village. There are things that my children and I can do to make the world a… Continue

Added by Dr. Kari Stubbs on December 19, 2008 at 2:15pm — 6 Comments

Christmas Day Around the World: 25 December

Christmas Day Around the World 25 December by Maggi Carstairs

Get your own…

Continue

Added by Alfajri Alwis on December 19, 2008 at 5:06am — No Comments

Getting started ~ putting knowledge into practice

Following the excellent Weaving Technology conference that was held in Wagga, NSW, Australia last October I composed a few ideas regarding the thought or process or getting started with technology in the classroom.

I blogged about these ideas here on my main blog ~ Watershed.

Essentially, when starting out with technology in the classroom I feel it is useful to keep the following three rules of thumb in mind...

1. Choose… Continue

Added by John Larkin on December 18, 2008 at 2:00am — 2 Comments

Learning Before Growing

Today was a reassuring day that proved my point that ife isn't as black and white as it seems. In our AP English class we have been getting grades not expected for an "ACE student". Our essays are being "destroyed" and our teacher has little to no experience when dealing with kids who can't get it through their head that its all about the learning process that the class is going under. That the grade you get isn't the most important thing. True it will reflect your achievement in the class, but… Continue

Added by Hector Guzman on December 17, 2008 at 11:08pm — No Comments

Breaking the Mold and Accepting New Ideas

A few weeks ago we were given the assignment of writing an essay about the English-only movement and what its affect would be on people in America today. The idea of making English the only spoken language in America baffled me. I felt that the idea neglected the civil rights of the people. That English is not the only language spoken in the world. Languages like Chines, Spanish, and Hindi consume more than 2/3 of the Earth's population.

What right do we have to say that if you're an… Continue

Added by Hector Guzman on December 17, 2008 at 11:01pm — No Comments

The Open Writing Space

[cross-posted from K12 Open Ed]

I've been thinking about creating a high quality curriculum resource that is open and have focused in on writing as a subject matter. Why? First and foremost, I love writing and think it has the ability to transform lives. Beyond that, it transfers to all other subject areas and grade levels, and success in writing is correlated to success in many other endeavors. Writing is fun and rewarding. Technology can… Continue

Added by Karen Fasimpaur on December 17, 2008 at 5:30pm — 1 Comment