March 4th, 2010
Garmahis.com has posted a review of some of the Photoshop alternatives that are available for free.
What amazes me is that some of these programs can run quickly right in your browser.
Sumo Paint, Pixlr Editor and Aviary Phoenix each look like promising tools for simple (and in some cases not-so-simple) image editing.
February 27th, 2010
It’s been over two years since the last time I had my students send tweets during their field trip. The folks at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (one of our field trip stops) wrote a fun article about my students’ recent Twitter-filled visit.
Such may have been the disapproving sigh of an observer watching a busload of teenagers tour Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory last week. The 11th and 12th graders from Appleton, Wisconsin, spent an awful lot of time typing away on their cell phones. But be not dismayed, O horrified observer. They were just doing their homework. [read on...]
In two years, making this project work has gotten a lot easier. Here’s why:
a lot more students have cellphones with unlimited texting- and they all know how to textThis makes me think about what we’ll be able to do in two more years.
I do have two more things to add to my list of things that teachers should consider when using Twitter:
Lastly, check out the students’ tweets from this year’s trip.
December 31st, 2009
Recently, I attended a presentation for Britannica Online.
Britannica Online School Edition
To test the resource, I searched for my favorite physicist- Richard Feynman.
While Britannica gave me a brief summary of Feynman’s physics career, I was disappointed by the questions that Britannica could not answer.
They also neglected to include Feynman’s involvement with the Challenger explosion and the popular books that he wrote.
Some teacher’s give Wikipedia a hard time for it’s openness but it does a much better job at showing us the more interesting and human elements of historical figures.
Two more things that annoy me…
The one-stop-shop argument…
Others defend resources like Britannica because they are an easy-to-use place for students to find things without having to search all over the web for what they need.
But isn’t the skill of effectively searching all over the web what our students need?
If your students are elementary level…
Then I take it all back. Britannica does a nice job getting little kids started with material that is written at their level. They also have some quasi-educational games at the Britannica Learning Zone that are worth a look.
December 1st, 2009
A survey by Common Sense Media of more than 1,000 students ages 13 to 18 found that 48% of teens with cell phones call or text friends to warn them about pop quizzes.
I say, “who cares?”
If a pop quiz is given to offer students a chance to review past material or to provide teacher feedback on how the class is doing then the text warning is only going to trigger more students to study. That’s a good thing, right?
However, if the pop quiz is given to punish students who haven’t been studying, stifle bad behavior or just take up some class time, then Who’s Cheating Whom?
November 13th, 2009
Have you tried Wordle? If you provide the text, Wordle will create a word cloud that will display each word used in the source text in a font size based on the frequency that the word appears in the source. The more the word is used, the larger it appears. Take a look at Wordle’s gallery to see some examples.
Some have criticized Wordle by suggesting that Wordle’s only attribute is that it is eye-catching.
I’m okay with that. I can work with eye-catching. Below is a Wordle I made using all the text from a recent test.
Wordle the test at Wordle.net
A few days before the test, I shared this with my students. They were eager to hypothesize as to how words like “astronaut” or “gravy” would be used to access there knowledge of friction and momentum. Some student suggested possible questions that used the terms from the word cloud. A few of their questions were so good that I plan to use them next year.
While Woodle wasn’t able to teach physics, it was able to start a conversation. That’s perfect. I can take it from there.
November 4th, 2009
Well, it happened. Our school finally upgraded to Office 2007. I was reluctant to be happy about the switch. The new version took away all the menus just when I was starting to figured out where everything was.
However, after a few weeks of use, I have grown to like the new Office. Yet, I still get stuck from time-to-time with the new version.
The good news is that Microsoft has a real treasure trove of demo videos on all sorts of things within the entire Office 2007 package. The sad thing is that they hid them away at there website where you have to download each video one-by-one to view. (Come on Microsoft, streaming video online was innovative in 2005. Where have you been?)
Fortunately, someone has posted all these videos to YouTube; making browsing through them much easier.
Here’s what I recommend, go here to see what videos are available and then find that title at this YouTube channel. I think the Word video above is a perfect place to start. Share which ones you’ve found valuable in the comments below.
October 18th, 2009
Usually, I never do this. But recently I didn’t have time at a computer to type up a quiz for my physics students so I did it the old fashion way. I (gulp) hand wrote their quiz.
Sure, it is faster sometimes- especially if you have an elaborate drawing or graph. However, revising and archiving materials is not easy unless you start with a digital copy.
Nevertheless, the quiz went out to students and I jokingly made the comment that I used a special font for this week’s quiz.
I’ve had my fun with fonts before, but it turns out you can actually do this.
Check out fontcapture.com:
There’s no software to download and install, all you need is a printer and a scanner. Simply fill in the font template, scan and upload it to our website, and download your completed font. The fonts you create using fontcapture.com can be used on both Windows and Mac computers.
As I typed out my own letters for the first time, my seven year old son explained to me that he could do a better job with his letters. I think this might be a fun activity for elementary students too.
October 10th, 2009
Washington's Secrets
Here’s a great idea from Tom over at Bionic Teaching:
Basically, you research a historical hero, one of those unimpeachable people students have been forced to memorize facts about since kindergarten. Only this time you’re researching the figure as if you were a reporter for a semi-sleazy tabloid. Let’s keep it semi-sleazy so there’s a core of fact to anything reported.
I think this could work in several subject areas. I personally would like to see glossy covers with Newton, Einstein or Curie. You could also have students write exposés for famous fictional characters.
Don’t like the tabloids? Try wanted posters instead.
April 28th, 2009
I’ve talked about timers in the past but e.ggtimer.com is my new favorite. Here are a few tricks that make e.ggtimer.com a handy classroom tool.
Read on…
March 24th, 2009
YouTube is riddled with distractions that can take your students’ eyes off the main video you wish them to see.
Read on…
Between fatherhood and teaching science, Dale Basler is an independent consultant, podcaster and web page designer who specializes in work for institutions and organizations in education.
