What Can You Convert?

File Conversion. Today, most saved files need to be used, viewed and accessed by many different users. Guaranteed – those users are not all using the same software applications. So, what do you do? You convert your file into another format. What are some options? There are plenty.

ZAMZAR
http://www.zamzar.com/
· Free online service
· Convert images, songs, videos, and documents
· Files you convert can be on your hard drive, or even from other websites
· The converted file is then emailed to you
· Examples of conversion file formats: .mp3, .wmv, .ppt, .doc, .avi, .zip, .jpg, etc.

PRIMOPDF
http://www.primopdf.com/
· Free application you must download
· Convert files to pdf (portable document format)
· Once downloaded, primopdf installs itself into every program you have installed on your hard drive – which is great! You can then choose the “print” option (in ANY program) and rather than printing to your printer, print to a primo .pdf file

SWITCH
http://www.nch.com.au/switch/
· Free application you must download
· Convert audio/sound files
· Application is very easy to use once installed. Simply “add” a file into the Switch program window and choose the output (conversion format). Switch then converts the file and saves the new format to your hard drive.
· Example file formats: .wav, .mp3, .wmv, etc.

MOVAVI
http://online.movavi.com/
· Free online service
· Convert videos
· Upload video to convert
· Receive email notification when file has been converted and is ready for you to download
· Example file formats: .mp4, iPod video, PSP video, .3gp (cell phone video), .flv (flash video), .avi, .mp3, .wma, etc.

IMAGE CONVERTER
http://www.online-utility.org/image_converter.jsp
· Free online service
· Converts images
· Choose desired file conversion
· Upload image to be converted
· Download newly converted file format
· Example file formats: .eps, .jpg, .tif, .svg, .pict, .psd, .png, etc.

Want to get technical?

Curious about the sizes of your files before and after the format conversions? Check out http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/ to figure out file sizes. Visit their site to get specific size conversions for files you use or need to email!

Remember – Copyright Matters! Be sure you own or have followed copyright guidelines for any files you convert!

What is on your virtual bookshelf?

Reading. The gateway to knowledge. Magazines. Newspapers. Journals. Books. All common sources for finding the information and wisdom you hope to gain. All of those options are now literally at your fingertips.

Check out these sites offering free (complete text) ebooks...

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://pdfbooks.co.za/

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

ebooks – Just for kids…

http://www.magickeys.com/books/

http://storynory.com/

Robert Munsch

Children’s Classics

Want to listen instead? Try these sites for free audio books!

http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/home

http://librivox.org/

Need books for your PDA or Mobile Phone? Take a look at these.

http://www.feedbooks.com/

http://manybooks.net/

Interested in ONLY computer books? Here are some sites to get you started.

http://freecomputerbooks.com/

http://www.freetechbooks.com/

Don’t have time to search site after site for a certain book topic? Try http://www.pdfgeni.com/. It is a search engine for pdf books and all types of publications! Simply type in the subject of the book you need and then choose from the long, long list that is returned. Now, be sure you check out the originating source and stay in compliance with ALL copyrights issued on your finds.

Remember... copyright matters, regardless of the ebook source!

Happy Reading. You now have a virtual bookshelf. Library card optional.

How Stuff Works

Inquisitive students in your class? Need a new direction to point them towards for answers? Check out howstuffworks.com! This website was first known as “the” place to go for how common gadgets worked. It quickly evolved, and now, this site has become a place that offers answers and great, simplistic explanations on all kinds of topics and processes.

There are now TONS of questions your students can find answers too. You can also easily build lesson plans around some of the questions/topics. Some questions are even answered in the form of a video!

Categories include History, Geography, Animals, Computers, Health, Science, Money, and many more. Need Examples? Take a look at these links… I am sure they will catch your creative eye!

Is the Dead Sea Really Dead?

Who Owns the Oceans?

How Viruses Work

How Stocks and the Stock Market Work

How Barack Obama Works

My personal favorite is a section called “Everyday Science”. Here, you can find the answers to questions like “How do Sunglasses Work?” or “What Causes an Ice Cream Headache?"

These are all questions that easily make you tilt your head and go hmmmmmm. Well, now you can find the answers!

Are You Blue?

Have you heard of Digital Blue? Their name is becoming common among kids in some classrooms across the globe these days. Digital Blue is an innovative technology company that specializes in products for today's youth. What are they known for? Their Digital Movie Creator which easily allows kids to become film directors and executive producers of their own movie productions. Digital Blue has gone so far as to incorporate their products into the classroom by teaming with another company called Freshi (pronounced Fresh Eye).

With the collaboration of both companies, state standards can be met in Science, Social Studies and even Math. They are also in the process of creating specific lesson plans for teachers.

Want to check them out? Visit them online at http://digiblue.com/education/

Check out freshi at http://www.freshifilmworx.com/

Web Proxy

We have all heard the terms “Web Proxy” but is there true understanding of what those words really mean? To understand this process, let’s first answer a few questions.

What is a proxy server?
A proxy server is a computer that offers a network service which serves as a middle-man in allowing a person/computer to connect to a website indirectly.

How does a web proxy work?
You are essentially allowed to anonymously browse websites. For example, if you try to connect to myspace.com on your computer and it is blocked/filtered within your internet access, you would connect to a proxy server web address and the proxy server web address would then connect to that site for you…. Literally, your computer connects to the proxy service on another computer and that computer then connects to the site you want to visit – and allows you to view it.

Why should a web proxy be a concern in the classroom?
There are many, many sites that students would love to visit and interact with during school hours. These developed web proxy sites allow students to temporarily side-step filtering processes in place that are set up to ensure and encourage their safety online.

How can educators and parents work together to solve this problem?
Continue to give students instructions on what is and what is not appropriate to visit online. Filters are already in place within schools, but new web proxy/sites are developed all the time! Teachers must monitor what their students are viewing online. And, equally, parents must monitor their children online at home, as well.

Rest assured that ever-increasing technologies allow these web proxy sites to become filtered. So, even though students may have found a temporary solution to visit their favorite sites – those web proxy sites soon get caught in school filtering systems and the students will be unable to visit those sites. District technology departments are always on the lookout to catch new web proxy sites and put them in their place - on the filter list!

Web Versions?

The World Wide Web has progressed tremendously over the past 10 years. I remember vividly the days of html programming before WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editors came along. The days when animation was “the” going thing on a website are long gone. Instead, we have evolved to the dawn of a new era we are now entering called Web 3.0.

Before fully appreciating Web 3.0, we must first understand Web 1.0 and 2.0! Here are some simple (definitely debatable) characteristics that function under each web version.

Web 1.0
-Reading, Reading, Reading
-All types of publications were posted online for viewing (brief “paper-less” time period)
-Usually “static” webpages there were not always updated on a consistent/evolving basis
-Sites were informational only, usually not requiring/providing the capability for website visitors’ input
-Sites were usually about selling/marketing products/services
-Netscape (popular browser then)
-Success sometimes defined by the number of page views!
-Web 1.0 was in full swing around the dot.com business boom and then losses…
-Mostly Dial-Up connections!

Web 2.0
-Interaction, Interaction, Interaction
-User-created/generated content
-Social Networking (Face Book, MySpace, etc.)
-Social Bookmarking (Delicious, etc.)
-Blogs
-Wikis
-Google
-Twitter
-YouTube
-TeacherTube
-Flickr
-RSS
-Open Source Applications

The list for 2.0 literally goes on and on and on...

What can we expect next/now?

Web 3.0
-Advanced computer graphics
-Artificial Intelligence/Semantic Web (computer-driven information & content distribution/sharing)
-Greater and more intriguing user-interaction
-Broader open-source applications
-More open-data sources (content to the masses with less restrictions)

Based on research from Nova Spivack, Wikipedia sums it up in an excellent manner… Web 1.0 was "read-only", Web 2.0 is "read-write", and Web 3.0 will be "read-write-execute."

What Makes a Technology Rich Curriculum?

Is it just the stuff? Gadgets like student response systems, document cameras, scanners, global positioning systems, laptop carts, digital cameras, slates, SMART Boards, ActivBoards, etc., etc. The list of “things” available to incorporate into our classrooms is astounding.

But, technology rich curriculums don’t begin nor end with just stuff. Add to that ever-growing and very long list resources like... web-based applications, widgets, wikis, blogs, traditional software, online learning communities (i.e. Moodle), global communities, online educational games, social bookmarking, virtual (educational) worlds, podcasts, vodcasts/vidcasts, video conferencing, Google Docs, SharePoint sites, digital storytelling, screencasts, vlogs… the list just keeps going and growing and going and growing.

So, how do you pull it all together? How do you incorporate the “stuff” with the resources? Simple. Think outside the box (textbook, worksheets, pen and paper). Instead, add to those common items imagination, creative planning and a lot of forethought.

What is the goal in producing a technology rich curriculum? A learning yet interactive experience in which your students gain core knowledge, insight, new perspectives and new technological skills.

Go ahead, think outside the box. Your students will appreciate it.

Can Wii Come into the Classroom?

Wii. Wii. Wii. Quite the buzzword these days. But, what exactly is the “Wii” and how can we utilize it for learning? Both are very important questions and imagination has lead the way in providing the answers. According to the official Nintendo site, the Wii is a social gaming experience. That is a pretty high level description when you compare it to “regular” old school games like Frogger, Pac Man and anything Atari provided in the 80’s!

So far, the offerings from Wii are extremely impressive and are mainly geared towards just having a fun time. But, there is one new gaming experience, Wii Music, that may find a niche within music classrooms across the globe. It allows you to play (experience) over 60 different musical instruments.

Want to see it in action? Watch this video of a kindergarten class being officially introduced to Wii Music at school. Be sure to take note of how many kindergarteners were already very aware of what the Wii does... even before they began to interact! Further along in the video, the teachers even got a chance to play. Or, should we say learn?

You may click the image below to view the video

*Image/Video from the Nintendo and Wii websites.

Use the Chalk!

Hotchalk.com is a web-based teacher community which provides lesson plans, activities, digital content, and professional development. This resource is free to teachers and students and requires a user account and password. Hotchalk offers TONS of videos and numerous lesson plans on just about everything including math, science, music, language arts, computers, physical education, social studies, etc.

What can you do right away on hotchalk… check out the section on digital content. Here is an awesome example of an interactive video… “Math Matters: Off-Road Algebra”... It shows students how mathematics is involved in everyday life. Don't forget to set up your free account to access the available resources. Use the chalk! Your students will enjoy it.

Let the Creativity Flow

Gale Cengage Learning defines creativity as “The ability to create inventions, produce works of art, or solve problems using an original, novel, or unconventional approach.” Let’s take a moment to bring that exact concept into the classroom. How would creativity look in a 21st Century Classroom? It depends upon the individual teacher’s creativity, of course.

Incorporating technology is an easy and invigorating way to allow creativity to flow in the classroom. Content and curriculum can remain the same – just focus on the outcome. Two main points to remember… engagement levels are sure to change and the delivery method is sure to excite the students. The end result of incorporating technology into regular classroom work gives way to student pride and ownership over their tangible, completed projects.

Where do you find creativity? Lots of places. To begin… look within – incorporate your personal likes, interests, experiences, current trends, imagination, etc. into the curriculum. Or, find out what interests your students and go from there. Next, seek out a technological solution to bridge the gap between your curriculum and the finished assignments.

Not sure how deep your creativity flows? Start here…

Start with the company known for being top of the line creative-types: Adobe. Find and watch ways to incorporate creativity using software applications. http://tv.adobe.com/#

Be inspired by this awesome article… “Six Essentials to Foster Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom: Technology Lives Up to its Potential When We Approach it Creatively” http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6938/is_7_44/ai_n28535997

Performance Learning Systems offers an online newsletter with one issue focusing on incorporating Creativity in the Classroom: http://www.plsweb.com/resources/newsletters/enews_archives/02/2000/10/05/

Open your mind and allow creativity to come in. Your students will learn from it, and appreciate it.

You want me to write about what? And...you want it written where?

“Today, class, I want to encourage writing skills”

… Easier said than done, right? Not really. Give your students a direction and then let their imagination, creativity and life experiences lead their writing oasis.

How exactly do you encourage your students to open up and let the words flow? Easy! With writing prompts. Writing prompts are loosely guided topics, with minimal directions, that allow the individual student perspective to shine through. The best part about writing prompts? They can be written on paper, typed on a computer or even spoken (example: Podcasts, etc.)

Why are writing prompts needed and useful? Writing skills are one of the most basic and fundamental foundations to effective communication. Regardless of the grade level, writing skills are key. Sure, there are always students who say, writing is not my thing – not my strength. Nonsense! Everyone has ideas, opinions and life experiences that form a knowledge base. We just need to help those students tap into those areas and learn how to express them clearly for others to see.

As a teacher, your first question may be “Where do I start?” There are tons of resources that provide random and/or topic-focused writing prompts. Check out these sources to get started…

-DE Streaming “Writing Prompt Builder” within the “Teacher Center”

-The Teacher’s Corner

-eMints.org

-Education World

So... let’s take it one step further. Let’s make the writing prompts interactive.

Classroom Idea:
-Set up a wiki page for your students
-Once a week, post a new writing prompt
-Make sure all of your students have access to your wiki
-Once they log in, they can respond to your writing prompt

Benefit to the Teacher:
You are successfully incorporating a collaborative 21st Century tool into your class that encourages dialogue and (over time) improved writing skills.

Benefit to the Student:
Each student learns how to use a 21st Century resource and, at the same time, they can read (and learn from) the perspectives of their peers. Not to mention, they gain an appreciation for contributing their important thoughts!

Get Started! Here is a 9th-12th grade writing prompt

(courtesy of DE Streaming)
-Many teens formed study groups in the fifties. Write a short essay defining what a study group looks like today. Be sure to consider technology and transportation, among your considerations for the definition.

Swap Knowledge

Love to read? Have a personal library of books you’ll never read/refer to again? Want to learn more about instructional technology or increase your computer skills? Try visiting paperbackswap.com for books on the subject of your choice. Costs? Minimal!

How does paperbackswap.com work?

1. Set-up a free account
2. You post the titles of books you are willing to swap (post as often & as many as you like)
3. Browse the millions of free books offered on the site
4. Mail out any books requested from your personal library (using library rate postage)
5. Request a book(s)
6. Wait for the book to arrive in your mailbox!

You may post as many books as you are willing to swap. You may request free books according to the credits you earned (based on the number of books you posted and on the number you have mailed out). The more you post/swap, the more free books you can request.

Happy Reading. Gain knowledge.