John Costilla's Blog (116)

The next 5,000 days?

The last 5,000 days have brought together through computers, cell phones, servers, linking of pages, satellite images and Web 2.0.

So what does the next 5,000 days bring us?

Kevin Kelly shares the coming of the… Continue

Added by John Costilla on September 11, 2008 at 7:37am — No Comments

Facebook: Time is up.

We’ve known it for quite some time now: Facebook’s new design will soon be Facebook’s only design, although many users aren’t… Continue

Added by John Costilla on September 10, 2008 at 7:02am — 2 Comments

Thirst

Check out the world's best slideshare presentation from the 2008 World's Best Presentation Contest. Great message and imagery. See top winners in each category.…

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Added by John Costilla on September 9, 2008 at 7:11am — No Comments

It seems that in today's Web 2.0 society, we are open and willing to share just about anything. Sometimes, we even share the most meaningless information via our status updates, especially in the world of Twitter, Facebook and of course in this blog here as well.

So here are a few posts… Continue

Added by John Costilla on September 8, 2008 at 8:08am — No Comments

All the buzz... Google Chrome

Google has introduced a new Web browser, called Chrome, which is directly targeted at going head-to-head in the browser market with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The move takes the…

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Added by John Costilla on September 4, 2008 at 6:28pm — No Comments

Oh... The places we go.

According to comScore, a Web data tracker, Americans spent 302 billion minutes online last month. That's 6,760 lifetimes at 85 years apiece.

So where do we spend all this time?

Checking e-mail is the most popular online activity for the 221 million North American adults online, according… Continue

Added by John Costilla on September 3, 2008 at 9:56am — No Comments

The Study of a Culture - The YouTube Culture

No this is not the "Charlie bit me" video. This is Mike Wesch's presentation to the Library of Congress entitled "An anthropological introduction to YouTube." Mike is the creator of the now famous video - Web 2.0 Explained. This presentation really speaks to how widespread YouTube is and the notion of video blogs (… Continue

Added by John Costilla on September 2, 2008 at 8:15am — No Comments

I believe in YOU! Do you believe?

What a breath of fresh air and a burst of energy. Do You Believe?

In an era of NCLB, Assessment, and Accountability, there is a voice we should all be listening to. His name — Dalton Sherman and the many others across the great… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 29, 2008 at 11:30am — No Comments

Is This Good for the Company? (For Teachers & Students)

Over the past few weeks, I have been blogging about Web 2.0 tools and lists of great resources for school, work, life, productivity and more. Exploring, reading blogs and learning about these wonderful tools can take a lot of time and I'm sure I'm not the only one who juggles between work, family, and just getting on the computer to Stumble Upon or learn new techonlogies.…

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Added by John Costilla on August 28, 2008 at 6:21am — No Comments

Yet Another List - 5000+ Online Resources

Mashable always seems to have a few great finds. This is the mother load of Web resources so surely there is something here for you. Check it out.

View THE COMPLETE LIST

Everything from tools for blogging, podcasting, communications, photo & video editing, web… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 27, 2008 at 8:08am — No Comments

First Day of High School - Much ado about "Oh nothing"

I don't remember much of my first day of high school. I guess I probably remember being nervous, somewhat fearful of the juniors and seniors, but most of all a bit awkward about being in a new environment and about four foot tall. Well today I watched my oldest boy, AC, head out into the whole new world of high school and it really brought a lot of tears to see him go off. As he walked off down the street to catch his very first "yellow dog" I was comforted to know that there was a nice blue… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 26, 2008 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

100 Free Web Tools for Elementary Teachers

Tools of the Trade.

Oh the joy of the first week of school. Nothing like going with mom to the store and buying your new clothes, school supplies and Snoopy lunch box. Today, students are probably no different. I can see it now... go with mom and dad to get a new laptop, iPod, digital camera and upgrade to unlimited text messaging on the cell phone along with the… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 25, 2008 at 8:26am — 8 Comments

Summer 2.008 Recap

I bumped upon this great post by Mathew Inman who shares the State of the Web 2008 through a set of his own illustrations. I just thought it was a great recap of some very interesting and real experiences that transpired this summer. Click image to see the full summer recap.…

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Added by John Costilla on August 21, 2008 at 3:14am — No Comments

Online Conference at Second Life

I'm looking forward to diving into this world called Second Life. Quite honestly, I really don't get it and don't understand why their avatars are so "off-the-wall." I assume there are good and no so good "islands" in the 3D environment, but I've just struggled to find out what the point is. So in any case, I am going to dive in 3D glasses and all and join in to participate in this Pre-conference for Learning… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 20, 2008 at 3:13pm — No Comments

1950 Prediction of the home computer by 2004

I think they got it right...who would have known that my toaster would have more computing power than this thing.

A Chumby can do more in it's small shell that the beast above. With over 700 widgets across 30 different categories such as weather, social networks, photos, sports, news, entertainment,… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 19, 2008 at 1:59pm — No Comments

Are you Geek enough?

So what type of geek are you? I recently came upon this interesting set of characters that illustrate 56 Geeks types by Scott Johnson.

I would definitely consider myself to be a Gadget Geek. I love my iPhone, widgets, and my son's… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 19, 2008 at 11:24am — No Comments

Web 2.0 Workplaces

Have you ever wondered what and where the folks at some of your favorite sites such as Twitter, Flickr, Digg or Facebook might look like? You would think that folks from Web 2.0 environments might have a more vibrant, high energy look and feel. I think that the people and the work place tell a lot about your organization. Some places are in high… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 18, 2008 at 6:57am — No Comments

Stumbled Upon Textorizer

One of my new favorite "toys" is Stumble Upon. I added it a while back, but never really gave it much attention. Now I find it very addictive and interesting all the same. It's a great place to generate ideas and gather new one. The concept is simple actually. Once you register, it asks for you to select categories of interest. Then it adds a navigation bar to your… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 15, 2008 at 8:37am — No Comments

Do schools today kill creativity?

This is an excellent presentation by Ken Robinson.

If so, what are the ways you enhance creativity for your children in and out of the classroom?

http://www.ted.com

A must-see for every parent and teacher. Education guru Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 14, 2008 at 4:15pm — No Comments

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers

Although YouTube has been blocked from many/most schools, for obvious reasons and not so obvious ones. YouTube does provide great resources and content for teachers and students. View the list of the Top 100 Videos for Teachers. This list is provided by… Continue

Added by John Costilla on August 14, 2008 at 7:59am — 24 Comments