Tech Time

The 14 Most Dominant Sports Performances by Individuals

2011-06-30T05:55:00.001-05:00

A list like this is almost always going to cause controversy as you can't get too much more subjective than this. That being said, all I know is they got Number 1 correct IMHO!

Amplify’d from joeposnanski.si.com

The 14 Most Dominant Performances

So, this is an attempt to come up with my 14 most dominant performances in sports history. The idea — thought up by my friend Tommy Tomlinson* — began with the simple question: Was Tiger Woods’ amazing performance at Pebble Beach in 2000 more impressive than Rory McIlroy’s amazing performance at the U.S. Open this year? This led to the question: What are the most dominating performances ever?

Unranked: Rory McIlroy shoots 16-under at the U.S. Open

No. 14: Bobby Fischer at the 1963-64 U.S. Chess Championship

Fischer's perfection will likely never be matched. (AP)

No. 13: John McEnroe wins the 1984 Wimbledon Final

No. 12: Bo Jackson on Monday Night in 1987

No. 11: Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl

No. 10: George Brett in Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS

Brett propelled the Royals to an improbable championship in '85. (Manny Millan/SI)

No. 9: Steve Young in Super Bowl XXIX

No. 8: Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game

Wood allowed just one hit in his '98 masterpiece. (AP)

No. 7: George Foreman knocks out Joe Frazier in 2

No. 6: Usain Bolt in the 100-meter dash in Beijing

No. 5: Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open

No. 4: Wilt scores 100

No. 3: Joe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling

Louis put Schmeling on the ropes at Yankee Stadium in '38. (Bettmann/Corbis)

No. 2: Tiger Woods at Augusta, 1997

No. 1: Secretariat at the Belmont

See more at joeposnanski.si.com

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Giveaway of the Day – Aiseesoft Total Video Converter 6.1

2010-11-15T07:57:00.001-06:00

I found this today and wrote a quick post on the advantages of great video converters--especially if they are free! Aiseesoft is VERY fast.

Amplify’d from jeffthomastech.com

Giveaway of the Day – Aiseesoft Total Video Converter 6.1

The Giveaway of the Day today is another video converter and it is a great one– Aiseesoft Total Video Converter. I wish I had it yesterday because I did some conversions of Flip video to Apple TV. Aiseesoft Total Video Converter converted my rather large Flip files 3 times faster! Instead of yesterday’s 71 minutes, this piece of software could have done the job in 24 minutes.

Aiseesoft Total Video Converter usually retails for $35.00 but today you can get it for free at Giveaway of the Day. Follow the link and download the software. It comes in a zip file–unzip it and be sure to read the accompanying text file that tells you how to register for free. It must be installed today and today only! Enjoy!

See more at jeffthomastech.com

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16 Feelgood Movies That Don’t Treat You Like A Moron

2010-11-15T06:26:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of my favorites from the 16 movies mentioned in this post. I probably could add a few more--one that comes to mind is the best golf movie ever: "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

Amplify’d from www.popcrunch.com

16 Feelgood Movies That Don’t Treat You Like A Moron

14. Lost in Translation

13. Rudy

11. Billy Elliot

7. School of Rock

1. The Princess Bride

See more at www.popcrunch.com

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8 Clever Solutions for Cleaning Windows

2010-11-14T03:45:00.001-06:00

Some great information here!

Amplify’d from shine.yahoo.com

8 Clever Solutions for Cleaning Windows

1. "My windows always
streak after washing"

Use a window-washing
squeegee with a smooth, soft rubber edge. Washing windows is a
tiresome chore, but it’s even worse when your labors leave streaks
on the windows

2. "My blinds are dust magnets!"

Use an antistatic spray.

3. "There’s mildew on my window frames"

Wash with a bleach-detergent solution

4. "My outside windowsills get dirty so
quickly

Apply a coat of floor wax

5. "My shades are filthy"

Dust or wash the shades.

6. "My windows get dirty too fast"

Change your heating and cooling system's filter.

7. "Secondhand smoke is killing my
windows"

Wash it with ammonia solution.

8. "My screens are filthy"

Remove and wash.Read more at shine.yahoo.com

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Treasure Chest-100′s of Resources, Ideas & Videos for EdTech!

2010-10-31T07:45:00.001-05:00

Just a small taste of my weekly edition of Treasure Chest! I scour the web for the best educational technology resources each week and post them every Sunday!

Amplify’d from jeffthomastech.com

Treasure Chest-100′s of Resources, Ideas & Videos for EdTech!

Here is this week’s edition of Treasure Chest–the best resources and information from the past week on the web!

Tools

Işıl Boy: 50 Tools and Tricks to Revolutionize Your Note-taking–Great tools, especially if you are an MA student!

Powerful Sound Recording Tool- Audio Recorder–Audio Recorder is a powerful and useful sound recording freeware app for Windows. With this app, you can record sound from microphone, line-in, streaming audio

10 Ways to Get More From Google Voice | Maximum PC–If you have any interest at all in turning your normal mobile communications into a supercharged environment boosted by the best of what the Web and a mobile network could possibly offer… it’s time to go Google Voice.

How to Teach with Tech Tools–In Western Civilization class at The John Carroll School, freshmen grab plastic chairs from a stack against the wall, gather around the room in different areas and jump online with their tablet PCs.

Using Creative Commons Images from Flickr–Flickr is an excellent place to find images that are available under a Creative Commons License but it won’t let you properly attribute CC work. Here’s how!

The Complete Guide to Watching Video on the iPad–With the iPad’s large screen and light weight, it makes it the ideal device for watching movies and TV shows lying in bed, on the go, or pretty much anywhere you want to. That said, Apple’s embargo on flash makes it difficult to find a lot of content to stream online.

40 iPad Apps That Librarians Love–Whether you’re looking to get creative or organize your life, nearly every librarian will find these iPad apps fun and useful.

60 Educational Game Sites That You’ve Probably Never Seen « Tech:-)Happy–These aren’t in order of greatness – they all have their own specific applications for education. A few of these appear on my Sites for Kids (and Teachers) page.

25 Safe, Fun & Educational Virtual Worlds for Toddlers, Kids, and Tweens | eLearning Gurus–Parents may be concerned about the safety and security of their children online, so here are 25 safe places for kids to play online.

Facebook Instant–Browse the Facebook Instantly like never before !!. Search in your friends’ posts, status, comments and much more… Visit to try it out: (No registration required, Just type and search)

An Overview of Windows Live Essentials 2011–This article will give an overview of what’s there to explore in this latest edition of Live Essentials and how to install the programs

Screenshot Tour: Evernote 4 for Windows Make Taking Notes a Pleasure – How-To Geek–Evernote 4 for Windows is finally here, bringing with it a much needed UI refresh and an amazing speed boost. Let’s look at how Evernote has improved and now makes it easier than ever to save all of your memories.

Ideas for a Flip Camera Video Scavenger Hunt « Moving at the Speed of Creativity–Monday in class, we brainstormed ideas (using an Etherpad shared document) for a video scavenger hunt. Based on the input and suggestions of students, I created the following activitywhich provides several options for students working in partner teams.

See more at jeffthomastech.com

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Videos – I hate my teacher

2010-10-22T07:49:00.001-05:00

I am wondering how many teachers will actually watch these videos or dismiss them without a thought. Many teachers have their students provide feedback about their course at school via a survey. I have never found these to be particularly useful. Instead, what students really think about your school can really assist in changing the atomosphere.

Amplify’d from dangerouslyirrelevant.org

Videos – I hate my teacher

Do you know what your students are saying at home about your school? Is this something that educators should care about or just ignore?

WARNING: Language often is not safe for work or young children.

See more at dangerouslyirrelevant.org

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11 Funny Graphs About Twitter

2010-10-17T13:01:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how true most of thee graphs are when describing the behavior of Twitter and how it's used/viewed. Enjoy!

Amplify’d from www.11points.com

11 Funny Graphs About Twitter

Who's Big On Twitter?

The Most Played Out Jokes About Twitter

The Best Thing About Celebrities Being On Twitter Is...

Twitter Follower-Following Scatter Plot

The Conan O'Brien Paradox

Things You Do On Twitter That Annoy Your Friends

If I Click On a Trending Topic, What Will I See?

Use of the Word "Your" on Twitter

Reaction to a Celebrity Death, Twitter vs. Mainstream

What Happens When You Introduce Someone 55+ To Twitter

Who's Making Money Off Twitter

See more at www.11points.com

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7 Fantastic Free Social Media Tools for Teachers

2010-10-16T15:36:00.001-05:00

I'm familiar with 6 out of the 7 choices given here by Mashable. To my surprise they have listed EDU 2.0 first! Why am I surprised? EDU 2.0 has been around for a while but has not received near the attention of other sites. It has great features, great security and it's free! If you have not tried EDU 2.0, you should give it a try!

Amplify’d from mashable.com

7 Fantastic Free Social Media Tools for Teachers

Even when people say they want to incorporate social media, they don’t always know the best ways to do so. It’s especially daunting when those efforts can affect the education of your students.

1. EDU 2.0

EDU 2.0 is a lot like online course management systems Blackboard and Moodle, but with a couple of distinct advantages. First, teachers can share their lesson plans, quizzes, videos, experiments and other resources in a shared library that currently hosts more than 15,000 pieces of content. Second, a community section allows teachers and students to network and collaborate with other members who share the same educational interests. And third, everything is hosted in the cloud for free.

2. SymbalooEDU

The popular visual organizing and sharing tool Symbaloo launched its “EDU” version last month. According to the company, 50,000 teachers are already using Symbaloo to organize classroom resources. The new EDU version comes with academic subject-specific resource pages or “webmixes” and top tools like TeacherTube, Slideshare, Google () Docs, Flickr () and more are fully embeddable. Teachers with a “Free Plus” account can add their school logo and customize the links. The site also allows students to easily share their Symbaloo pages and projects with classmates.

3. Collaborize Classroom

This app gives teachers four discussion format choices. Students can either agree or disagree with a statement, answer a multiple choice question, post responses, or have the choice between adding a new response or voting for someone else’s response. Teachers can add photos or videos to their prompts and all of the discussions take place on one class page.

4. Edublogs

Common uses for blogs in classrooms include group projects, reflection journals, school newspapers, class web pages and parent newsletters. But, as evidenced by the winners of the 2009 Edublog awards, there are plenty of other creative options for integrating the blogs into curriculum.

5. Kidsblog

Kidsblog is a bit more specific than Edublogs. There are fewer options to adjust the appearance of the main page, and it’s hard to use the platform for anything other than as a system for managing individual class blogs. The homepage serves as a catalog of student blogs on the right with a recent post feed on the left.

6. Edmodo

Edmodo looks and functions much like Facebook (). But unlike Facebook, it’s a controlled environment that teachers can effectively leverage to encourage class engagement. The platform allows teachers and students to share ideas, files and assignments on a communal wall. Teachers can organize different groups of students and monitor them from the same dashboard. Once they’ve organized classes, they can post assignments to the wall and grade them online. They can then archive the class groups and begin new ones.

7. TeacherTube and SchoolTube and YouTube

As the name implies, TeacherTube is YouTube () for teachers. It’s a great resource for lesson ideas but videos can also be used during class to supplement a lecture. For instance, you can let Mrs. Burk rap about perimeters if you like her idea but lack the rhyming skills to pull it off yourself. This site also has a crowdsourced stock of documents, audio and photos that can be added to your lesson plans. Unfortunately, every video is preceded by an ad.
Read more at mashable.com

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60 Sites in 60 Minutes

2010-10-16T12:49:00.001-05:00

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60 Sites in 60 Minutes

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Teaching and Learning with Twitter

2010-10-12T03:27:00.001-05:00

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Teaching and Learning with Twitter

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler.

Flip video miguel_mendoza

2010-10-10T14:33:00.001-05:00

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Flip video miguel_mendoza

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10 Movies to Make a Man Cry

2010-10-02T13:46:00.001-05:00

Without a doubt, my Number 1 is Brian's Song. As long as were being honest here--don't even want to think about watching Born Free.

Amplify’d from holykaw.alltop.com

10 movies to make a man cry

The Pride of the Yankees

Rudy

Saving Private Ryan

Dead Poet’s Society

Brian’s Song

See the full list at BuzzFeed.
Read more at holykaw.alltop.com

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Google Tools For Schools

2010-10-02T02:54:00.001-05:00

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Google Tools For Schools

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Where do Good Ideas Come From

2010-09-25T14:17:00.001-05:00

Another look at creativity or in this case "Where Do Good Ideas Come From?" A very well done video on illustrating Johnson's take on creativity.

Amplify’d from www.openculture.com

Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

Where do good ideas come from? Places that put us together. Places that allow good hunches to collide with other good hunches, sometimes creating big breakthroughs and innovations. During the Enlightenment, this all happened in Parisian salons and coffee houses. Nowadays, it’s happening on the web, in places that defy your ordinary definition of “place.” In four animated minutes, Steven Johnson outlines the argument that he makes more fully in his soon-to-be-published book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. The video is the latest from the RSAnimate series.
Read more at www.openculture.com

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John Cleese on the Origin of Creativity

2010-09-25T14:09:00.001-05:00

A very interesting video of John Cleese sharing his ideas about where creativity comes from. Although not aimed directly at educators, his thoughts are well worth the time to consider as creativity is what all great teachers hope to accomplish--for themselves as well as their students.

Amplify’d from www.openculture.com

John Cleese on the Origin of Creativity

British actor John Cleese is best known for his comedic talent as one of the founding members of Monty Python, which makes his intellectual insights on the origin of creativity particularly fascinating. This talk from the 2009 Creativity World Forum in Germany is part critique of modernity’s hustle-and-bustle, part handbook for creating the right conditions for creativity.

“We get our ideas from what I’m going to call for a moment our unconscious — the part of our mind that goes on working, for example, when we’re asleep. So what I’m saying is that if you get into the right mood, then your mode of thinking will become much more creative. But if you’re racing around all day, ticking things off a list, looking at your watch, making phone calls and generally just keeping all the balls in the air, you are not going to have any creative ideas.” ~ John Cleese

Cleese advocates creating an “oasis” amidst the daily stress where the nervous creature that is your creative mind can safely come out and play, with the oasis being guarded by boundaries of space and boundaries of time.
Read more at www.openculture.com

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Amplify’d from www.elearnmag.org How to Help Teachers Use Technology in the Classroom--My Thoughts

2010-09-14T12:37:00.001-05:00

The 5J approach has some valid observations. I agree with numbers 3, 4 and 5--just in time, just in case, just try it. However, I strongly disagree with numbers 1 and 2-job related and just enough. My view has always been to successfully integrate technology into education, one must learn the technology. Technology is the only area where it is okay not to know what you are doing and then attempt to teach it or integrate it! I am not saying that teachers as a whole need to become experts, but from my experience, there is no danger of that happening. Increased comfort as a goal as opposed to proficiency is tantamount to starting a project and stating "I have no plan to become very good at this!"

Amplify’d from www.elearnmag.org

How to Help Teachers Use Technology in the Classroom

The 5J Approach

By Mary Burns

Recent reports (from The Chronicle of Higher Education and Walden University [PDF], for example) point to teachers' continuing difficulties integrating technology into classroom learning. Despite access to technology and despite the fact that novice teachers are entering the classroom with far more advanced technology skills than their counterparts of an earlier age, only 39 percent of teachers report "moderate" or "frequent" use of technology as an instructional tool (Grunwald Associates, 2010).

This limited use may have multiple causes: Teachers may be overwhelmed by demands of testing; they may not see the value of instructional technologies in their particular content area; they may work in environments where principals do not understand or encourage technology use; and the types of software most helpful in instruction are not always the types of applications students know how—or want—to use.

Teachers do use technology—for administration, personal productivity, and displaying content (via projectors and document cameras)—but not so much as a student learning tool. Why?

After 25 years of incorporating technology in the learning space, we still may not have figured out how to do technology-related professional development that helps teachers use computers as part of the instructional process. After 25 years of having computers in schools, we still lack an approach that ensures teachers truly understand the benefits and appropriate uses of computers for instruction and that teachers actually use technology as part of teaching and learning.

The overall approach, sequential and cumulative, is grounded in two basic premises. First, if technology is used as a teaching and learning tool, tied to curricular goals and assessment and embedded within strong instructional techniques, it can promote better instruction and greater student collaboration, enhancing student learning. If not, it can't. Second, professional development can promote quality technology integration and learning by minimizing the importance of computers within professional development and concentrating instead on the core areas of teaching: content, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and classroom management.

According to the 5Js, technology-related teacher professional development should be:

job-related, focused on the core competencies of the classroom, not technology

just enough, emphasizing increased comfort, not proficiency, with computers and management of limited technology resources

just in time, meaning teacher are provided with skills as and when needed

just in case teachers need to plan for contingencies

accompanied by a "just try it" attitude, wherein instructors apply both pressure and support to compel teachers to use what they've learned.

Job-Related

The teacher's primary role is to help students understand particular subject matter. Everything else is secondary. Therefore, the focus of any computer-related professional development should not be on the technology itself, but on how computers can improve performance in these core areas of the teacher's "job."

Just Enough

Teachers don't need to know everything about a particular piece of software. They only need "just enough" to help them complete a curriculum-related or instructional task. Anything beyond this is wasted effort.

"Just enough" focuses, not on proficiency with technology, but comfort using technology within a curriculum activity.

Just in Time

The third 'J' is a truism in the field of professional development. Professional development should support teachers' learning just in time — when they are ready to both learn and apply what they've learned with students.

Just in Case

This fourth 'J' therefore focuses on helping teachers address these control issues by adopting a just-in-case attitude toward computers. This approach focuses on carefully planning the classroom activity. By remembering that computers are just one of many learning tools, teachers can reduce their chances of being caught unaware when computers fail technically or instructionally.

Just Try It

Central to change is action, and this is where professional development often breaks down. "Just try it" is the most important 'J' principle of them all. Without application in the classroom, professional development is a waste of time, money, and effort.

Third, technology professional development should de-emphasize the importance of teachers' expertise with software and hardware (Just enough) and emphasize teachers' comfort and confidence with computers. Over the years, I've found it helpful to encourage teachers to envision themselves as project managers who set up the activity, with students as "technicians" who delve into the intricacies of the software.

Only when these five 'J's come together in a systematic way might the story of technology-based trainings have a different ending.
Read more at www.elearnmag.org

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Computer lab rules and procedures illustrated 2010

2010-09-14T07:52:00.001-05:00

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Computer lab rules and procedures illustrated 2010

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We're going to need a bigger bowl! Fisherman catches massive 30lb 'goldfish'

2010-09-08T20:01:00.001-05:00

Amazing!

Amplify’d from www.dailymail.co.uk

We're going to need a bigger bowl! Fisherman catches massive 30lb 'goldfish'

The orange koi carp weighs 30lb - the same as an average three-year-old girl - and is thought to be one of the largest of its kind ever captured.

What a whopper! Angler Raphael Biagini got the surprise of his life when he landed this gigantic koi carp on a fishing trip to France. At 30lb it's thought to be the largest of its kind ever caught in the wild
Read more at www.dailymail.co.uk

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The Best TED Talks To Make Use Of Social Media #edtech

2010-09-06T17:58:00.001-05:00

Do you need some inspiration? Do you need to hear the experts talk about how best to take advantage of the Internet and particularly social media? Then this is the place! It might take you a while to listen to them all, but it will be well worth it.

Amplify’d from www.makeuseof.com

The Best TED Talks To Make Use Of Social Media

Lalitesh Katragadda: Making Maps To Fight Disaster, Build Economies

Ethan Zuckerman: Listening To Global Voices

James Surowiecki: When Social Media Became News

Matt Ridley: When Ideas Have Sex

Clay Shirky: How Social Media Can Make History

Seth Godin : On The Tribes We Lead

Howard Rheingold On Collaboration

Hector Ruiz On Connecting The World

Yochai Benkler On The New Open-Source Economics

Gordon Brown: Wiring A Web For Global Good

See more at www.makeuseof.com

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Free Books, Google Search, Wikipedia, Apple, Math, Games and So Much More

2010-09-05T10:42:00.001-05:00

My latest blog post featuring tech resources for educators!

Amplify’d from jeffthomastech.com

Treasure Chest–Free Books, Google Search, Wikipedia, Apple, Math, Games and So Much More

“Talent is a wonderful thing, but it won’t carry a quitter.“ –Stephen King

The Online Books Page

Ten Items All Should Know When Using Google Basic Search…. Far From Basic..

Create an eBook or PDF from Wikipedia Articles for Offline Reading

Math is not linear on Prezi by Alison Blank

For the love of learning: Digital Natives they are not

10 Environmental Games That Teach Kids About Earth, Ecology & Conservation

15 Free Tools for Web-based Collaboration

The Google Docs Drawing Tool Makes Collaborative Drawing Easier

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Definitive Study: Heavy Drinkers Outlive Non-Drinkers…

2010-08-30T19:15:00.001-05:00

"What does the research tell us?" I hear this question asked repeatedly by educators. Usually my answer is: "I'm not sure, I just know it works!" Research can be valuable if held in proper perspective. As this story indicates, you can justify just about anything with research if you are so inclined!

Amplify’d from www.dvorak.org

Definitive Study: Heavy Drinkers Outlive Non-Drinkers…

But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that – for reasons that aren’t entirely clear – abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one’s risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers’ mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers. But why would abstaining from alcohol lead to a shorter life? It’s true that those who abstain from alcohol tend to be from lower socioeconomic classes, since drinking can be expensive. And people of lower socioeconomic status have more life stressors – job and child-care worries that might not only keep them from the bottle but also cause stress-related illnesses over long periods. (They also don’t get the stress-reducing benefits of a drink or two after work.)

But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables – socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on – the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who had never been drinkers, second-highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers. The sample of those who were studied included individuals between ages 55 and 65 who had had any kind of outpatient care in the previous three years. The 1,824 participants were followed for 20 years. One drawback of the sample: a disproportionate number, 63%, were men. Just over 69% of the never-drinkers died during the 20 years, 60% of the heavy drinkers died and only 41% of moderate drinkers died.

These are remarkable statistics. Even though heavy drinking is associated with higher risk for cirrhosis and several types of cancer (particularly cancers in the mouth and esophagus), heavy drinkers are less likely to die than people who have never drunk.
Read more at www.dvorak.org

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Twitter Myths

2010-08-30T11:26:00.001-05:00

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Twitter Myths

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10 Incredibly Inspirational Moments on YouTube [VIDEOS]

2010-08-29T17:03:00.001-05:00

This post by Mashable could be the number 1 reason why YouTube should not be blocked in schools. At least unblock it for teachers! Yet, I know of many schools/districts that continue to block the site. Here is what they are missing.

Amplify’d from mashable.com

10 Incredibly Inspirational Moments on YouTube [VIDEOS]

Here, we’ve selected 10 videos highlighting some of the most amazing scenes that can be witnessed on-demand through the world’s most popular online video platform.

1. The Fall of the Berlin Wall

2. The Moon Landing

3. Tiananmen Square Protests

4. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech

5. Professor Stephen Hawking's Zero-Gravity Flight

6. Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics

7. Wright Brothers

8. President-Elect Barack Obama's Victory Speech

9. Roger Bannister Breaks the Four-Minute Mile

10. Gandhi's Dandi Salt March

See more at mashable.com

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Gmail Call Gives Every Teacher a Classroom Phone–Or Does It?

2010-08-27T11:16:00.001-05:00

Check out my new blog post on http://TechthePlunge.com

Amplify’d from jeffthomastech.com

Gmail Call Gives Every Teacher a Classroom Phone–Or Does It?

by Jeffrey Thomas on August 27, 2010

I then began to think about classroom applications. I’ve worked mostly in private schools and it seems like it is very difficult to make a call to a parent because either someone else is on the phone or you would rather not make the call when the room is filled with other teachers. How great is it that now you’ve got your own phone in your own classroom. Or do you? Here are some problems that should never happen but do:

Is Gmail blocked in your school/district?

Does your computer have a webcam/microphone so that you can actually talk?

Eight Clever Ways to Take Advantage of Free Calling in Gmail
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Eight Clever Ways to Take Advantage of Free Calling in Gmail

2010-08-27T06:13:00.001-05:00

I made my first Google Gmail call yesterday to test it out. I have had a Google Voice account for some time now. Yesterday's call worked just fine. From an educational point of view it puts a phone in every classroom. But after thinking about this further, I wonder how many teacher computers even have a microphone let alone a webcam! Here are more ways to take advantage of free calling in gmail.

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com

Eight Clever Ways to Take Advantage of Free Calling in Gmail

Get Caller ID from Your Computer

Transfer Calls to (and from) Your Computer to Save Cellphone Minutes

Find Your Misplaced Phone

Use It for a Quick-and-Dirty Speakerphone for Group Calls

Make a Quick Followup Call in Response to an Email

Secretly Record Calls

Prank Time

Make Free Calls Anywhere You've Got Free Wi-Fi
Read more at lifehacker.com

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Phone Blogging-Video

2010-08-25T16:37:00.001-05:00

The next step is to test out video blogging from the phone. In addition I have attached a photo of Slicky. The ability to master this type of blogging with your cellphone can be a quick and effective way for teachers to communicate with parents and takes little effort or technological skill--not to mention the complete mobility of this solution.

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Simple Blogging with Amplify via Email

2010-08-25T08:30:00.001-05:00

The last post was sent via MMS which does not require a data plan. This post is being sent via regular email which should allow the text here to show up! More details to follow.

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Simple Blogging with Amplify

2010-08-25T07:46:00.001-05:00

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/b9kRqA

20 Back to School Apps and Tools for Students

2010-08-20T12:48:00.001-05:00

Here is a comprehensive list of apps and tools for students returning to school. It is a fairly decent list and of course there is no way they could have included everything. One particular app/tool that was included was FileDestructor. For the life of me I'm not quite sure why they included it since its purpose is deception. Oh well, obviously not put together by an educator!

Amplify’d from web.appstorm.net

20 Back to School Apps and Tools for Students

A lot of you may be dreading school, but it doesn’t have to be all bad, especially if you’re prepared. For all our student subscribers out there, we at Web.AppStorm have compiled a list of websites and tools that are guaranteed to help you get the most out of your education this semester. Go back to school with confidence!

Shmoop

Shmoop is an online study guide and resource for literature that provides summaries, analysis, quotes, themes, and follow up questions for lots of popular literature.

LectureFox

Use the LectureFox website to sift through all the different lectures from different universities. Learn chemistry, physics, computer science and more from some of the best universities in the US.

Snapter

Instead, you can use the tool Snapter to get your documents online. You just need to take a picture of your document and Snapter will clean and fix the image for you and make it look as if you scanned it. Scan stuff without a scanner

BookFinder

BookFinder is the best way to find textbooks online

EasyBib

EasyBib automatically creates citations for you based on the book, website, and newspaper information you provide

Zotero

Zotero is a must-have Firefox extension for all students, especially if you do a lot of research online

Zotero helps you save websites, links, images, and will cite all the sources for you.

FlashCardExchange

But with a tool like FlashCardExchange, you can use online flashcards to quiz yourself and memorize anything with a little bit of practice.

Printable Paper

With PrintablePaper, you can access hundreds of types of paper for you to download. Get binder paper, graph paper, isometric graph paper, music sheets, printable games, and more. All for free. Let’s just hope there’s still paper in the printer!

Spreeder

Spreeder is a tool for slow readers or those of you who get distracted by all the pretty little words on a page.

FBPurity

FBPurity is a Greasemonkey script that hides those annoying game invitations and other distractions.

Dropbox

Dropbox, a tool that the Appstorm staff absolutely loves, can keep your precious files safe from exploding computers, your vicious roommate, and theft.

MyNoteIt

Using MyNoteIt, you can create groups and invite your classmates so you can all share notes, edit notes, and manage tasks

Amazon Student

As of right now, US college students can get a year’s worth of Amazon Prime membership for free.

PocketMod

Meet PocketMod, a nifty tool that helps you customize your own little pocket notebook.

WePapers

WePapers wants to create “the world’s biggest study group”, and they’re doing pretty well.

FileDestructor 2.0

With FileDestructor, you can make a “fake file” that looks exactly like the real thing in terms of size and extension but conveniently gives an error when your professor attempts to open it up. By the time your professor figures out what happened, you’ve got the real thing done and turned in.

WriteCheck

If you’re paranoid and afraid that parts of your paper was plagiarized, use the WriteCheck tool to find out for sure

Software For Starving Students

See more at web.appstorm.net

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/a4hCra

Creating a Personal Learning Network

2010-08-20T07:06:00.001-05:00

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Creating a Personal Learning Network

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Glogster EDU Education 2.0

2010-08-20T03:58:00.001-05:00

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Glogster EDU Education 2.0

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Glogsteredu Webinar

2010-08-20T03:56:00.001-05:00

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Glogsteredu Webinar

View more presentations from pinctripod.

If Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare were a Part of Soap Operas!

2010-08-14T20:50:00.001-05:00

These videos are great for a good laugh! They've got the soap opera acting down perfectly!

Amplify’d from techcrunch.com

If Facebook, Twitter, And Foursquare Were A Part Of Soap Operas [Videos]

It’s hard to imagine anything more vapid than a daytime soap opera. They’re seriously the worst things in the world. But they’re also great for parody as LG is obviously aware. Sure, their The Young and the Connected YouTube series is one big ad, but it’s also pretty damn hilarious.

See more at techcrunch.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cVgU0e

12 Beginner Tutorials for Getting Started With Photoshop

2010-08-12T14:47:00.001-05:00

Even though these tutorials are labeled "Beginner" I'm sure most of us could learn a thing or two. As far as Photoshop is concerned, you can never have too many tips or resources!

Amplify’d from mashable.com

12 Beginner Tutorials for Getting Started With Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop, the ubiquitous and industry standard graphics software for photographers, designers, digital artists, as well as casual enthusiasts, can be a baffling application to understand the first time you fire it up. Luckily, littered across the vast space of the web are tutorials in all shapes and sizes that will help you get up and running in no time.

Because this is specifically for beginners — and because Photoshop’s robust set of features is near-bottomless — I’ve skipped intermediate and advanced topics such as drawing with the Pen tool and working with 3D effects.

1. Getting Started with Photoshop

2. Photoshop’s Toolbox

3. Photoshop For Beginners: The Power of Layers

4. Photoshop’s Filters

5. Layer Styles in Photoshop

6. Photoshop 101 – Adjustment Layers

7. Retouch and Healing Tools

8. A Comprehensive Introduction to the Type Tool

9. Photoshop 101: How To Use The Free Transform Tool

10. Master Photoshops Selection Tools in Under 30 Minutes

11. Installing And Managing Brushes And Other Presets

12. Photoshop Actions

See more at mashable.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/a5BKAs

Top 25 Android Apps for Education #edtech

2010-08-08T12:53:00.001-05:00

I don't have an Android, iPhone, iPad, etc but I am growing envious with all the apps out there for these phones. OnLineDegrees has another Top list with these 25 apps for education on the Android.

Amplify’d from www.onlinedegrees.org

Top 25 Android apps for education

The iPhone and iPad don’t get to have all the fun. Android is among the leading smart-phone technology, and there are over 70,000 apps available for it. Though we can’t claim to have reviewed all 70,000 of them, here are our suggestions for some of the top apps available for education — for use in or out of the classroom:

Memory Trainer

Capital Quiz

Fact Book

Google Sky Map

Formulas Lite

This app gathers together some of the most important and often used formulas for math, physics and chemistry. It also includes a scientific calculator and basic translator. Don’t expect to be able to pass yourself off as a quantum physicist with the help of this app, but it might help get you through some intense study sessions.

Plink Art

The same way that Google Sky Map helps you identify the stars, Plink Art helps you identify works of art. Take a picture of what you’re looking at, and Plink will match it to its database and give you the identifying details. You can also browse art according to era, art movement, or gallery, or simply hit “random” for an unexpected — though maybe not unknown — masterpiece. This app is great for brushing up on your art history knowledge or for discovering new favorites!

Wattpad

Over 100,000 novels, short stories, poetry collections and more are available for download on this app, which is composed of entirely user-submitted content.

Sixty Four

Document Scanner

If you need a document in a pinch, or you just don’t feel like taking it to have it scanned or faxed, you can use this app to do it on your phone. You can scan any number of pages and convert them into a single .pdf file.

USA Quiz

Deluxe Moon Lite

This app lets you learn more about the moon and its influence on your everyday activities. Features include names and pictures of the moon phases, current zodiac sign for the moon’s phase, information about the moon’s cycle, moonrise and moonset times, and more.

Kids Numbers and Math

Preschoolers can get help learning their numbers and developing basic math skills with the help of this app. Addition, subtraction, and learning numbers are the primary features, but there are also optional advanced exercises. Language options include English, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian.

Urban Dictionary

When your kids want to know the 411, do you know what they mean? Do you find it hard to follow when they end every other word in “izzle?” Perhaps this app can help. You can look up the meaning of modern slang words in the user-generated database. You can also browse random words or check out the word of the day.

LSAT Assassin

Kidroid

This game for kids ages 3 to 5 aims to help improve recognition skills by matching images with a written or spoken word.

GeoQuiz

Here’s another trivia game to enhance learning. The app covers topics from capitol cities and flags to natural extremes.

PhotoMix

My Pocket Prof

Organize your classroom notes and assignments with this handy app! You can synchronize your notes then share them with your friends. You can even sell your notes, or create online courses and quizzes that you can sell. And, of course, what you can sell, you can also buy.

Nook for Android

Pocket Knowledge

Have a question? This app has the answer. Ask it whatever you want, and it will generate an answer that you can then store for later use. Topics include math, culture, sports, weather, physics, chemistry, socioeconomic data, nutrition and more.

Electricity Calculator

Music Dictionary

Guitar Solo Lite

StatDist

This handy app “calculates densities, probabilities, and quantiles of common useful continuous and discrete distributions.” If you don’t know what that means, you might need an app to help you figure out this app. Categories include uniform, normal, gamma, exponential, chi, discrete uniform, binomial, geometric, and poisson. This is a handy app for the statistics classroom.

Math Wizard

Kids can use this app to learn basic math skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Flash cards and study questions are used to guide students through the material. In addition, the app offer stats on the student’s trouble areas, and the difficulty level can be adjusted for individual needs.
Read more at www.onlinedegrees.org

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/94YRNL

7 Easy Steps for Creating Your Own PLN

2010-08-08T06:35:00.001-05:00

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7 Easy Steps for Creating Your Own PLN

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Top 10 Resources to Download Freeware Programs

2010-08-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

Here is a great list of sites where you can download freeware. We all love to get stuff for free and these 10 sites are the places to do it.

Amplify’d from technologytosoftware.com

Top 10 Resources To Download Freeware Programs

You can simply improve your productivity with the collection of best websites where you can Download Freeware Programs as per your need. Internet users would be happy after finding the apps and utilities which will satisfies the need of their Windows, Linux, Mobile, games and many more.

We believe that you will be amazed by our collection of “Top 10 Resources To Download Freeware Programs” which may be handy for your work in many ways.

CNET

Brothersoft

Freedownloadscente

ZDNet downloads

Download3000

All-freeware

Tucow’s Butterscotch

FreewareFiles

Get Jar

Majorgeeks

See more at technologytosoftware.com

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"PLN" Me!

2010-07-31T07:18:00.001-05:00

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"PLN" Me!

View more presentations from Angela Maiers.

Some Stunning Facebok Stats

2010-07-20T03:50:00.001-05:00

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Some Stunning Facebok Stats

View more presentations from Simply Zesty Ltd.

20 Beautiful Examples of iPad Finger Painting

2010-07-19T11:42:00.001-05:00

The iPad seems to be a great platform for graphic artists as I have seen several examples of iPad artistry. Here are some of my favorites from this post at hongkiat.com from their full list of 20 paintings.

Amplify’d from www.hongkiat.com

20 Beautiful Examples of iPad Finger Painting

Let’s be open-minded, finger painting is no longer just child’s play. There are numerous online artists including some friends of mine who are designers love to use their iPhone and iPad to draw pictures.

Thanks to some apps like Brushes, these artistes can upload their masterpieces directly online to social networking sites like Deviant Art, Facebook or Flickr. They also created some awesome videos teaching you how you can do that too.

Below are 20 Piece de Resistance (which means masterpieces) that are painted only with iPad.

See more at www.hongkiat.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/99QV9a

Every Teacher Should Have a Blog

2010-07-18T08:42:00.001-05:00

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Every Teacher Should Have a Blog

View more presentations from Richard Byrne.

Sports Car Wallpapers For Your Desktop

2010-07-18T07:43:00.001-05:00

I'm still on my wallpaper kick as I ran across these Sports Car wallpapers. I have included a few of my favorites but check them all out as everyone has different tastes!

Amplify’d from www.guidingtech.com

15 Stunning Sports Car Wallpapers For Your Desktop [Cool Collection]

Each of these wallpapers are available in different resolutions. When you click on an image it directs you to the site, where you could choose the one that fits your computer’s resolution.

See more at www.guidingtech.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dkQvFE

Digging Deeper With Diigo - Education

2010-07-18T06:34:00.001-05:00

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Digging Deeper With Diigo - Education

View more presentations from Jennifer Dorman.

Setup Blogger Tutorial

2010-07-18T06:30:00.001-05:00

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Setup Blogger Tutorial

View more presentations from Lisa Huff.

Bridges at Night Wallpaper Collection

2010-07-17T07:46:00.001-05:00

Every Friday the How To Geek releases another theme based wallpaper collection. I never used to change my wallpaper because it seemed to take so long to find one that I liked. No more! Every Saturday morning I can usually find a new wallpaper from these collections. Make computing just that much more fun! These are my favorites from this week!

Amplify’d from www.howtogeek.com

Desktop Fun: Bridges at Night Wallpaper Collection

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes across the world but when viewed at night they can be very beautiful. If you love mixtures of architecture and lighting then enjoy looking through our Bridges at Night Wallpaper collection.

Note: Click on the picture to see the full-size image—these wallpapers vary in size so you may need to crop, stretch, or place them on a colored background in order to best match them to your screen’s resolution.

For more wallpapers be certain to see our great collections in the Desktop Fun section.
Read more at www.howtogeek.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cUePrs

Web 3.0: The way forward?

2010-07-17T03:51:00.001-05:00

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Web 3.0: The way forward?

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler.

Is PowerPoint a media?

2010-07-15T07:23:00.001-05:00

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Is PowerPoint a media?

View more videos from SOAP - State of the Art Presentations.

The Evolution of Web 3.0

2010-07-11T14:41:00.001-05:00

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The Evolution of Web 3.0

View more presentations from Marta Strickland.

Introduction to Social Media

2010-07-09T03:32:00.001-05:00

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Introduction to Social Media

View more presentations from Kelsey Ruger.

Creating Characters

2010-07-06T03:28:00.001-05:00

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Creating Characters

View more presentations from S. Hendy.

Building Your Pln

2010-06-22T10:07:00.001-05:00

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Building Your Pln

View more presentations from Collegiate School.

15 Fab Flash Mob Videos on YouTube

2010-06-20T15:00:00.001-05:00

I must admit that I'm a sucker for these Flash Mob Videos. There are a couple in here I really like. What do you think? http://bit.ly/9IvZCy

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Our Beautiful Earth

2010-06-17T19:33:00.001-05:00

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Our Beautiful Earth

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Some Cool Tools for a Hot Topic: Social Learning

2010-06-16T05:58:00.001-05:00

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Some Cool Tools for a Hot Topic: Social Learning

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Bubble and Pebble

2010-06-16T02:57:00.001-05:00

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Bubble and Pebble

View more presentations from ozge.

Priceless education

2010-06-14T05:04:00.000-05:00

video.mp4

2010-06-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Superman's Greatest Hits!

2010-06-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009

2010-06-12T05:49:00.001-05:00

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Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Twitter Starts Teaching You How to Tweet With Videos

2010-06-10T16:57:00.001-05:00

Maybe this will help explain Twitter to newbies! http://bit.ly/a31jXx

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

How Monetary Rewards Can Demotivate Creative Works #edchat

2010-06-06T07:14:00.001-05:00

A very interesting article on monetary rewards and creative works. I have seen the results of this study before, but what makes this different is the incredible video put together to illustrate the results. This study is often used to fight the concept of merit pay in education. Unfortunately, I don't think that is the point of the study. I truly believe most educators are against the method of implementation of merit pay or pay for performance--not the concept of being rewarded for doing a great job. I don't believe you need a study to come to the conclusion that if you don't receive ANY rewards then your job performance will suffer compared to what it could have been! http://bit.ly/d5UmtU

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Creative Commons in our Schools

2010-06-03T11:14:00.001-05:00

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Creative Commons in our Schools

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Creative Commons: What every Educator needs to know

2010-06-03T11:06:00.001-05:00

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Creative Commons: What every Educator needs to know

View more webinars from Rodd Lucier.

Field Guide For Change Agents

2010-06-03T11:04:00.001-05:00

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Field Guide For Change Agents

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier.

Top 10 YouTube News Bloopers

2010-05-30T03:59:00.001-05:00

Some Memorial Day Weekend Humor! http://bit.ly/d452XG

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Podcasts in Education Made Simple

2010-05-29T02:22:00.001-05:00

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Podcasts in Education Made Simple

View more presentations from Andi Kenuam.

Choosing the right social and collaboration platform

2010-05-28T07:46:00.001-05:00

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Choosing the right social and collaboration platform

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

EDUCAUSE 2009 -- Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence

2010-05-25T14:51:00.001-05:00

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EDUCAUSE 2009 -- Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence

View more presentations from Patrick Lowenthal.

Twitter power: Learning from ourselves, in real time #edtech

2010-05-25T11:50:00.001-05:00

A pretty comprehensive article on the power of Twitter in today's USA Today! Interestingly enough, I read the article in the newspaper! Then went and found it on the website. Draw your own conclusions on that! Anyway, a good article to introduce the value of Twitter to the naysayers who aren't interested in "I just made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." http://bit.ly/a41wBA

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Social Learning: an explanation using Twitter

2010-05-25T03:24:00.001-05:00

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Social Learning: an explanation using Twitter

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ILTA Keynote

2010-05-23T12:04:00.001-05:00

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ILTA Keynote

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Social Bagging 101

2010-05-18T08:28:00.001-05:00

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Social Bagging 101

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Firefox 4: fast, powerful and empowering

2010-05-13T12:45:00.001-05:00

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Firefox 4: fast, powerful and empowering

View more presentations from Mike Beltzner.

The Remarkable Power of Twitter: A Water Cooler for the 21st Century

2010-05-10T16:49:00.001-05:00

I may have to read this several times to make sure my eyes are not deceiving me. A positive, mainstream article including teachers and education? Good thing I'm sitting down! This article does a great job of describing the power of Twitter and its effect on PLN's. Still can't stand up--not quite yet! http://bit.ly/9tUVKh

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Best of web 1

2010-05-06T09:05:00.001-05:00

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Best of web 1

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Tyson Gay Says He Can Go As Fast As Usain Bolt

2010-05-04T08:11:00.001-05:00

We'll see! Would be great for Bolt to have some competition! http://bit.ly/9OsZGk

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

Changing Education with Web 2.0 Tools

2010-05-04T07:43:00.001-05:00

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Changing Education with Web 2.0 Tools

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Easy Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

2010-05-04T07:40:00.001-05:00

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Easy Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

View more presentations from pingable.

Web 3.0 The Semantic Web

2010-05-03T20:44:00.001-05:00

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Web 3.0 The Semantic Web

View more presentations from Hatem Mahmoud.

Top 7 Semantic Search Engines As An Alternative To Google Search via MakeUseOf.com

2010-05-02T17:50:00.003-05:00

via makeuseof.com

Looking for an alternative to Google? Try out these 7 Semantic search engines! Don't know what a semantic search engine is? Read on and find out how to search out more resources!

Posted via web from jeffthomas posterous

There’s no denying the power and popularity of the Google search engine, and in comparison to other similar search engines such as Bing, where results are based on page rankings and algorithms, they excel.
But there are other ways to search the web, using what are known as semantic search engines. Using a semantic search engine will ensure more relevant results based on the ability to understand the definition of the word or term that is being searched for, rather than on numbers. Semantic search engines are able to understand the context in which the words are being used, resulting in smart, relevant results.

This is a list of the top 7 search engines to get you started in the world of semantic searching.
Kngine
Kngine’s search results are divided into either web results, or image results. They are preceded by information about the search term, known as ‘Concepts.’ For example, searching for the iPhone 3GS will be preceded by the device’s specs. Searching for a film will be preceded by information about the film, links to trailers, reviews and quotes. Searching for a city will be preceded by information about the city, local attractions, events, weather and hotels.
Kngine currently contains more than 8 million Concepts, and that is where the site’s strength lies.
You can quickly share results from Kngine on Twitter, Facebook, Digg and Delicious and Kngine can be set as your default search engine if you are using Firefox, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer.
Hakia
Hakia’s search results are divided into Web, News, Blogs, Twitter, Image and Video, and can be re-listed according to relevance or date. Depending on the search term, results can also include an excerpt from its Wikipedia entry. They also have what are labeled ‘Credible’ results that come from trusted sources.
Each link is followed by a text excerpt, giving you an idea of what you would find in that search result.
Hakia can also be added to the list of search engines included in your browser’s quick search bar.
Kosmix
Kosmix has a start page which is more elaborate than the most of the other semantic search engines listed here – with popular content featured on its front page from Yahoo Buzz, Digg, YouTube, Fark, Flickr, and a ton of other sources, making it a hybrid aggregator and search engine, with results included from Google and Bing.
Despite this, it is still considered a semantic search engine because it uses semantics in an attempt to link data from all over the web, giving you relevant search results.
When it comes to the search results themselves, they are divided into Video, Web, News & Blogs, Images, Forums, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook. In the case of some results, such as searching for the iPhone 3GS, you will also find Fix-It and How-To Guides.
Kosmix is one of the few semantic search engines which does contain sponsored content, but that is a small price to pay for the wealth of information you can find all in one place.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a feature-rich semantic search engine, that gives you countless reasons to leave Google behind. Searches are divided into a classic search, information search, shopping and their own spin off from Google, “I’m feeling ducky.”
If you search for a term that has more than one meaning, it will give you the chance to choose what you were originally looking for, with its disambiguation results. For example, searching for the term Apple will give you a long list of the possible meanings – including the fruit, the computer company, the bank and many others.
You can also set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine, and still get results from other search engines without ever leaving the page using their !bang feature. You can search any major site such as Google, YouTube, Amazon and eBay by preceding the search term with “!youtube” or “!google” and so forth – and you will automatically be taken to a list of search results from that service. It also works with keywords such as weather, images, and lyrics.
A full list of the !bang keywords can be found here.
DuckDuckGo features ‘Zero-click info,’ where like with Kngine, information about the search topic precedes the search results.
Other features on DuckDuckGo include category pages, keyboard shortcuts, customisations, and it can detect calculations, WolframAlpha conversions, colour codes and much more.
Evri
Evri, like Kosmix, has an information rich landing page, with top news stories from around the web, which you can scroll through using the navigation at the top of the page.
Search results can be filtered into Articles, Quotes, Images and Tweets, and can also be shared on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. You can either share the entire page of results, or one specific item from the list.
Signing up for an account gives you the added benefit of following specific information streams on certain results. However, not all search results can be followed. So while searching for “Barack Obama” can result in a stream that can be followed, searching for “Obama” alone does not give users the same option.
Additional information about each search term will also be displayed on the page, but again, this is limited to certain results. Using the example of Barack Obama, additional information includes links to other world leaders, an excerpt from Wikipedia, and product results from Amazon.
If you don’t want to sign up for a new account, you can connect your Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Facebook, Windows Live or Blogger accounts in order to sign in.
Like DuckDuckGo, Evri has its own disambiguation results, in a sidebar, giving you the chance to choose a more specific and relevant term.
Evri has a toolbar which supports Firefox and Internet Explorer, allowing you to easily search for and share content. They also provide users with a slick, free iPhone app [iTunes link] which is divided into 3 main tabs – Recent popular news, a search tab, and collected items. Searching for any given term will result in the option to view recent news, images, a profile page, and related items.
It should be mentioned that if you want to use the follow feature on the iPhone app, you will have to create a new Evri account, as connecting to one of your existing accounts will not suffice.
Evri recently joined forces with Twine, so it will be interesting to see how these two services are brought together, in an attempt to provide even more relevant results.
Powerset
The Microsoft-acquired search engine Powerset focuses on doing only one thing – and doing it really well. All search results on Powerset come from Wikipedia, making it the ultimate way to search Wikipedia, using semantics.
Search terms can be formulated as questions, which will be answered, or as simple terms, and results will be aggregated from all the relevant pages on Wikipedia.
Truevert
Truevert presents an interesting twist on the semantic search engine, labelling itself as a ‘green search engine.’
All results are filtered and organized from one specific perspective – with the topic of environmental awareness in mind. Searching for any term will be put in the context of environmental concerns, so for example, searching for ‘meat,’ – the first page of results consists of meat in relation to climate change, organic options, and sustainable food.
Truevert’s front page features the latest news from popular environmental websites and blogs.
If you’re interested in semantic search engines, you should also take a look at Stefan’s article about Juice, a Firefox addon whose results are also based entirely on semantics.
Have you tried out a semantic search engine as an alternative to Google? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments.
Image credit: Chris Chidsey

Video Embedding Test

2010-05-02T11:25:00.005-05:00