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Showing posts from January, 2010

Hashtags and Snuggies for Geeks

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so, i spent all last weekend blogging about the iPad...reading the #educon tweets and thinking about the unconference....thinking about hashtagging, falling in love with Sqworl and trying to empty out my DVR. (and missing the Pirate Feast my wimpy fears of driving in snow in DC!) " Hashtags are fun for creating short-lived little memestorms..." Nancy White is brilliant. i can't believe she's part of my PLN! her latest blog entry is amazing! Tagging and face-to-face events she writes and i also take the pledge: "My days of passive participation are over and done with: For me, the reason to go to a big conference is the small group conversations with people I already know somewhat or with whom I share a common interest We have the tools to coordinate and connect before, during and after the event — to keep the conversation going (it starts before the conference and goes afterward as well) "Using CPsquare’s “ sidecar ” participation in the AoIR Conference (

Field Guide for Change Agents

Field Guide For Change Agents View more presentations from Ben Hazzard . From the Educon Twitter Feed: benhazzard : We wrote a book today at Educon! The Field Guide for Change Agents http://bit.ly/chffPw (RT, take, read, share!) ....and since i couldn't be at Educon (i can't afford to go to EVERY conference....if only!) i'm posting and loving the above creation.....just brilliant....!! And all hail the power of technology, Twitter and the PLN this slideshow has in less than 24 hours the following stats on slideshare: Sunday Afternoon: 1650 views , 12 favs , 8 embeds Monday Morning: 2647 views , 17 favs , 16 embeds Tuesday Morning: 3617 views , 23 favs , 20 embeds more stats WOW!.....that's pretty daggone amazing!

Apple iPad vs.the Lenovo U1 Hybrid

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Anyone who knows me knows i'm a Mac grrl.... from way back. From my first apple classic, apple IIe, apple IIgs,my first Internet computer Apple LC3 with a 14.4k modem, to what i helped to furnish my first new school in 97 by ordering for every classroom the Mac5200 which featured the S-Video out to connect to the TV before the LCD projector was invented (and cheaper to run!)to my beloved MacBook...heck, i'm head over heels in geek love with Jonathan Ive ! so when apple announced a new tablet i was so freakin STOKED! but....i'm now a little let down. "A list of the iPad non-features and let downs came to light and spread through the interweb community, "Apple shares reacted, dropping 3.5 per cent after gaining one per cent just prior to the launch. In contrast, Amazon - the manufacturer of the Kindle, iPad's main e-book competitior - gained one per cent." i want a tablet that i can take to ISTE10 Denver !...lightweight to carry, able to do presos, twe

TL Virtual Cafe: FREE Monthly Techie Klatch

I'm going to shamelessly steal from my guru & friend Joyce Valenza's NeverendingSearch blog here....cause YAY ! and"Yippee! We are about to launch our monthly online get-togethers. Try to save the first Monday of each month for live, web-based chat. For starters, join us Monday, February 1, at 8 PM Eastern for the first of our TL Virtual Cafe events. Our first chat, What is in a Name will be hosted by Mike Eisenberg . Joining us also, will be AASL President Cassandra Barnett , ALA Presidential candidate and former AASL Pres, Sara Kelly Johns . Gwyneth Jones and I will facilitate. Look for many other library folks and many members of the AASL Geek Squad. Topic for the evening: AASL's official adoption of a professional title , as well as a general discussion of our professional vision. Our gathering space is generously hosted by Steve Hargadon , who manages the The Future of Education as well as the Classroom 2.0 Nings . Steve is also a contributor to SLJ

Steampunk Field Trip: ISTE Goes to Caledon

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Last month i blogged about Caledon Oxbridge University..i even made the below Go!Animate vid (which i'll shamelessly post again cause they have a super new widget! LOL) introducing it...well, if you'd like to learm more about the Steampunk aesthetic, the Steamlands of Second Life and take a genteel walking tour of the university pray come dear ladies & gents and join us! Tuesday, January 26, 5-6 PM SL (8pm EST) ISTE Speaker Series Event Join ISTE Island for a Steampunk field trip touring the beautiful Victorian campus of Caledon Oxbridge University. View! The beautiful campus of Oxbridge! See! The 6 Colleges of Learning with a guided tour! Experience! The Interactive exercises! Ride! The self guided horse drawn sleigh! Obtain! Free full avatars and prizes (free full avatars are for 30 days or less new to SL residents only) The party of interested ladies and gentleman will kindly meet at ISTE island for a brief introdcution to the Steampunk aesthetic and the Steamland

Steamfish: Virtual Learning the Steampunk Way!

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Mermaid Sculpt by super talented (and dishy!) Mr. Jasper Kiergarten On-line Virtual Environment for Education The Voyage of the Stella Maris After nearly a year at sea, the research vessel Stella Maris has made a risky decision. What happens next depends on you. from Rezzable: "How to get – and especially, keep – modern, tech savvy kids interested in clinical trials and scurvy? Simple, just give them the opportunity to experience the disease for themselves. This quest leaves players stranded on a ship where they have to complete a set of challenges in order to rescue themselves. The young minds learn fast as they help the ship’s doctor cure the crew. Creating an educational game interesting and fun to keep kids playing, whilst still accurate and informational enough to teach them about clinical trial and scurvy was a very big challenge. Created for Rezzable Inc, in partnership with YTouring of London, Steamfish was designed for high school students and teaches the principles an

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: A True Servant Leader

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As an educator I was touched today by this article from Mr. James Perry candidate for the Mayor of New Orleans: "Among the most important lessons I've learned from Dr. King is the example of servant leadership. A servant leader is one who offers an inclusive vision; listens carefully to others; persuades through reason; and heals divisions while building community. It is easy to spot servant leaders. In a room where others are jockeying for attention, they are the ones listening to someone others might consider unimportant. When faced with a problem, they look for solutions that benefit everyone. When something goes wrong, they take the blame. When things go well, they share the credit. They tell everyone the same story, even when it is inconvenient or difficult. They know that they don't have all the answers, so they seek advice from others. They work hard and inspire others to do the same. Martin Luther King, Jr. is an example of a servant leader. His life shows the

It's a Steamy Valentine: the Primgraph Proposes

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That you proclaim your most heartfelt feelings in the premier Victorian & Steamlands publication on the Second Life grid! From their advert: "Valentine's Day is coming ... Do you want to shout your love from the rooftops? Do you want to share a secret? You can do both with the special Valentine's feature in The Primgraph! This month we will be publishing a special classified section - for YOUR Valentine's Day messages. You can tell your love in twenty words or - at the far end of the scale - book a double page spread. There's a size - and a price - to suit all pockets. And there will be all the fun of reading ... and guessing ... And wondering who on earth could Snookie of Babbage or Sweetlips of Caledon really be." The deadline for ordering your Valentine Classified Ad is January 31, 2010. To learn about pricing, ad sizes and to place your order, go to the form located at this link or click below: For display ads or questions please email 'elegia dot

The Snuggie Situation

It's Spoof Sunday! we've got a situation here with the kids from the Jersey Shore spoofing themselves! The REAL Situation (Feat. MTV Jersey Shore's The Situation, Snooki, and Pauly D) - watch more funny videos Want a Jersey Shore Nickname? Try the Generator ! my nickname?...The Tan-Tric Rack Snuggie Worldwide! and here....we got the snuggie going around the world.... Snuggie Worldwide - watch more funny videos Travel the world by Snuggie! All video was shot on location. No green screen was used for the filming. Are you down with MTV's Jersey Shore? ( online surveys )

Buffy the Filter Slayer! Tonight!

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"Fight the Filter" ISTE Sigms 2nd Webinar! Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 8 pm E.S.T., 7 pm C.S.T., 6 pm M.S.T., 5 pm P.S.T Presenter: Buffy Hamilton Want to start your new year off by making a positive difference in your library program? Join ISTE SIGMS for our second FREE webinar on January 13 at 8 pm E.S.T. when Buffy Hamilton, The Unquiet Librarian , will share her ideas on "fighting the filter." Directions to join the SIGMS webinar event 1. Check that your computer is set up for Adobe Connect by visiting Adobe Connect Pro Connection Test 2. Use this URL to enter the webinar room 10 - 15 minutes before starting time: http://Montgomery.na4.acrobat.com/SIGMS 3. Enter as a guest and type your first and last name. 4. Here is a link to a Visual Quick Start guide (pdf) to help you if this is your first webinar event. https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a227210/vqs-participatemeeting/

Anne Says: Lessons from Green Gables

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“For we pay a price for everything we get or take in this world; and although ambitions are well worth having, they are not to be cheaply won, but exact their dues of work and self-denial, anxiety and discouragement.” "Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?" "Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" "And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?" "There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be

Social Networking & Internet Awareness

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( click here or above for video - i had it embeded before but it was on auto-play and it drove me bonkers!) i blogged on my library media school blog at the beginning of the school year about ethical social networking habits and i want to share a new resource with you so i'm going to re-post & update it! ...I've been saying it for years but it bears repeating - in regards to the Internet: There is no safe, there is only AWARE "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" Helen Keller , The Open Door -1957 I've been teaching/preaching Internet safety awareness since 2000...i was first asked to do so by Maryland Public Television and then the Horizon Foundation...and through their patronage i created a website called Internet Safety for Parents & Teens that covered a lot of common sense information about how to be more AWARE of the pitfalls and dangers on the Intarwebs. Again, the subje

Fight the Filter: ISTE SIGMS Webinar with Buffy Hamilton!

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"Fight the Filter" ISTE Sigms 2nd Webinar! Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 at 8 pm E.S.T., 7 pm C.S.T., 6 pm M.S.T., 5 pm P.S.T Presenter: Buffy Hamilton Want to start your new year off by making a positive difference in your library program? Join ISTE SIGMS for our second FREE webinar on January 13 at 8 pm E.S.T. when Buffy Hamilton, The Unquiet Librarian , will share her ideas on "fighting the filter." Directions to join the SIGMS webinar event 1. Check that your computer is set up for Adobe Connect by visiting Adobe Connect Pro Connection Test 2. Use this URL to enter the webinar room 10 - 15 minutes before starting time: http://Montgomery.na4.acrobat.com/SIGMS 3. Enter as a guest and type your first and last name. 4. Here is a link to a Visual Quick Start guide (pdf) to help you if this is your first webinar event. https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a227210/vqs-participatemeeting/ Graphics from Buffy Hamilton's Slideshare and from Adobe PhotoElements if you don&#

Blabberize This Xtranormal That: Cheat Sheets

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I created a couple of Comic Life At-A-Glance type cheat sheets for ya about Blabberize & Xtranormal! Snag & use all you like! They're here on the blog medium sized....and also full size (81/2 X11) on my Flickr also you can grab it from my wiki !

It's Xtranormal to Blabberize and GoAnimate-Part the Third

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I'm once again proud to say that today's blog is being posted on the front page of ISTEconnects ! It's part 3 of a 3 part series. Click here for the link to the full posting! Also, you may want to watch the video on the left of the main page....for a full page of the animations I've done and links to my animation channels you can visit my wiki page ! It's been a great honor to have been asked to write this series and a whole heck of a lot of fun, too! Thank you for your readership! Bonus: Xtranormal in the classroom an awesome posting from the fantastic & edublog nominated site Box of Tricks! Any other ideas for classroom or media center connections using animation products? I would love to see your comments, ideas and thoughts!

8 Things Every Geek Should Do Twice a Year

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Ok, so this great posting says things to do before 2010 but after reading these very good tips i think it's the kinda stuff we need to keep on top of at least twice a year! and though it's not as geeky as: "Compile your own Linux kernel" "Install LAMP on your phone and turn it into a web server!" or "Build a cluster of 100 discarded ten year old computers" - Buck Mojo Really!? 1oo discarded 10 year old computers? Buwaaa! But the stuff mentioned in that posting are things that may be obvious to some but maybe not most or maybe we're doing half and need to step it up.... i would also add....these ideas for technology educators: look at the "look" of your blog . ...update your banner graphic once a year at least so that you don't look stale. don't go too crazy in re-design or people may not feel comfy or not recognize your style but spruce it up! combing iPhoto with Comic Life for Mac users will give a lot of style without havi

It's Xtranormal to Blabberize and GoAnimate! - Part Deux

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I'm again proud to say that today's blog is being posted on the front page of ISTEconnects ! It's part 2 of a 3 part series. Click here for the link to the full posting! Also, you may want to watch the video on the left of the main page....for a full page of the animations I've done and links to my animation channels you can visit my wiki page ! Cheers & Happy New Year!