Download old presidental TV ads for class

Dale

The Living Room Candidate on ColbertA few weeks back, on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, I saw David Schwartz discuss The Living Room Candidate— a website that archives presidential campaign television commercials. The site has ads going back to 1952. They even have lesson plans in their ‘For Teachers’ section.

The site can provide a great history lesson. Many of the commercials showcase the issues that were on voters’ minds at the time. I think there are a lot of possibilities for this site’s use in the classroom.

Perhaps an assignment where students are asked to act as the candidate and make their own commercials could be created. That’s just one idea; I’m sure you have many more.  If so, share them in the comments section below.

18 technologies every teacher should know about

Dale 3 Comments

18 TechnologiesYou don’t have to use them all, but I think every teacher should become familiar with the technologies on this list.

Many things, such as RSS feeds, Skype and wikis, are powerful tools that will save you time and allow you to do remarkable things in the classroom.

Knowing about these technologies may also help you learn more about your students. Some items on this list, like iTunes, instant messaging and social networks, are becoming a part of every student’s entertainment and social life.

  1. Audacity: a free and easy to use audio recording and editing program
  2. blog: they started as online diaries, but blogs have become an easy way to create websites
  3. Firefox: an Internet browser that is better than the one that comes preinstalled on your computer
  4. Extensions: little applications that make Firefox do just about whatever you want
  5. Creative Commons: licenses that provide a variety of protections and freedoms for artists, authors, and educators
  6. Google Earth: this is a map on steroids, it allows you to fly around a virtual Earth; download it and check out the Grand Canyon
  7. IM: instant messaging allows you to chat with a group of people; it’s like real-time email
  8. iTunes: buy music and movies, download podcasts using iTunes; iPod owners need this program to put files on their device
  9. iPod: the most popular portable media player; this is a pocket entertainment system
  10. mp3: a file type that is used for audio; mp3 files can be relatively small in size because the technology removes the frequencies of sound that we don’t need
  11. PDF: the most common way to share documents online that are usually printed; typically used for things like manuals, prospectuses, newsletters and forms
  12. podcast: an audio or video program that is set up to be downloaded automatically to your computer on a regular basis
  13. RSS (News Feed): a way to allow websites to deliver their new content to your computer without you having to visit each site
  14. Skype: this program allows you to talk to anyone in the world for free; it also does chat and video conferencing
  15. social network: when you’re online this label refers to websites that have create an easy way for you to share your favorite pictures, websites, music, recipes and much more with others; MySpace and Facebook are two of the most popular social networks
  16. TiVo: like ‘Kleenex’ for facial tissue, the word ‘TiVo’ refers to the technology that allows you to save your TV shows to a hard drive so you can watch them on demand; TiVo is just one brand of digital video recorders or DVRs
  17. Wi-Fi: this allows you to connect to the Internet wirelessly; laptops come standard with this technology but other devices with Wi-Fi, such as printers, are popping up more and more
  18. wiki: a website technology made famous by Wikipedia; wikis allow users to edit the content of a webpage; a great way to work collaboratively on projects

Of course, I don’t claim that this list is exclusive. I’m sure I’ve missed a few. I welcome you to make suggestions in the comments.

PBS premieres WIRED Science

Dale

WIRED ScienceWhat do you get when you combine a great technology magazine with PBS’s ability to create science-rich television? WIRED Science.

On Wednesday, October 3rd, PBS will premiere its new weekly series- WIRED Science. The first episode will feature:

…an Internet botnet attack of Estonia’s banks and newspapers; WIRED Science reports on cardiac surgery performed by a “RoboDoc”; Adam Rogers explores the disappearance of home chemistry sets; and Ziya Tong delves into technology that is helping children with Asperger’s Syndrome by translating facial expressions into emotions.

The fun doesn’t end in your TV, their website also promises:

  • full episode segments online
  • access to exclusive content
  • activities for the classroom

Can’t wait until tomorrow? Visit the WIRED Science website to watch their pilot episode.

Count stars, report results, collaborate worldwide

Dale

The Great World Wide Star CountNext Monday is the start of the The Great World Wide Star Count. From October 1st through October 15th, you can report how many stars are visible in your location’s night sky. With these data, this project can determine the amount of light pollution in different parts of the world.

Why do we care about light pollution? Light pollution is a strong indicator of wasted energy. Lights, contrast, and glare all impact the number of stars that are visible in a given location. Only the brightest stars are visible when there is a lot of nighttime lighting. Many people in the urban locations have never seen the Milky Way.

The project is an opportunity to encourage astronomy education and great example of collaboration via the web.

Reasons NOT to send that next e-mail

Dale

email closedIn an effort to cut back on all the e-mail we receive, Dan Costa at PC Magazine wrote an article listing 29 reasons not to send an e-mail message. This list is funny, yet many of the reasons are painfully true.

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • You spent 15 minutes on the e-mail, and the recipients will spend 0.15 seconds before hitting Delete.
  • Everyone got that joke, saw that video, and sent money to that dying kid two years ago.
  • You’re slow. By the time you finish typing your message, one of the 20 other people on the list has already responded and made your response outdated.

Missing from the list was– Today is Friday. I think we should all take a break from e-mail on Fridays. I’m not alone on this.

Google’s new presentation app has room to grow

Dale 1 Comment

Google PresentationsGoogle has just released a presentation program that runs right in your browser. Now you can create and share presentations online. With the addition of presentations, many are claiming that Google Docs now has three tools (they also have a word processor and a spreadsheet program) that can rival Microsoft Office.

Rival? Not really. While I like the ability to work together with people all across the Internet to create a slideshow, I’m disappointed with Google’s new tool. After uploading a PowerPoint file, I saw that its functions are quite basic. Google’s PowerPoint ‘wanna-be’ has a long way to go.

He’s what I think Google’s presentation software needs:

  • Animations and transitions: If Google really wants to stand out, they need to add a little motion. (The folks at SlideRocket are doing exciting things in this area.)
  • An easy way to embed slideshows: The whole point of putting a presentation online is to share it with a wider audience. Where is the button that shows me how to embed my presentation into my website?
  • Sound would be nice: Let’s face it, without the presenter many slideshows are quite boring. Google needs to add audio so the presentations can at least have narrations.

For now, Google’s presentation program is just a toy. It’s worth looking at and it might be fun to dream about what it will someday become, but I don’t see anything useful here. If you want your presentations online, I suggest you create them offline with PowerPoint or Keynote (or OpenOffice for free) and then share your work at SlideShare.

A year of podcasting- what have I learned

Dale

Last year I created a podcast for my physics students. It started off as a simple recap of the past week and an overview of the week to come. However, it evolved into much more than just a review for the students. It became a learning experience for me.

For starters, I learned that students, like with any other resource, needed to be shown how to use the new medium. I guess all the hype over the so-called “digital native” made me think that my students would just instantly pick up on the idea of a podcast. Not true at all. A large majority of my students didn’t even know what a podcast was before I started using them for class. Don’t let the “your kids already know how to do this” blather fool you. They need to be taught.

The students taught me several things too. Especially helpful was the feedback they gave me on a survey I gave at the end of the last school year.

Below is a slideshow of the results:



Slideshow above might be blocked (download original slides)

Based on the student feedback, here is what I plan to do differently regarding this year’s podcast:

  • encourage students to use it: Just like the textbook, notes or homework, a podcast is a resource that needs promoting.
  • have an out-of-class experience: We always have extra problems and labs to do in physics. The podcast allows students to see examples that we just don’t have time for in class.
  • always keep the quiz in mind: When making a podcast, always keep your next assessment in mind because it is what many of your students are thinking about as they watch.
  • more videos: It take more of your time but the videos were far more valuable to my students that just the audio.
  • write a script: You don’t need to write a script that you plan to follow verbatim but an rough outline will cut down on the “babble” in your podcast.
  • keep it short: My students complained incessantly when the podcast went over seven minutes. Many of them said they wouldn’t watch it if it was too long.
  • share clips in class: This goes back to encouraging students to use the podcast. If you have something great in the podcast, there is no reason not to show a little clip in class too.
  • get them subscribing: Show students how to subscribe to the podcast with tools like iTunes, Google Reader, or MyYahoo. If your podcast shows up on their desktops automatically, they will be more compelled to use it.

Watch (or subscribe) to this year’s season of BaslerCast.

When you’re teaching, timing is everything

Dale

Online StopwatchThere’s a reason sporting events show timers on their scoreboards. When the game is on the line, everyone needs to know how much time is left. With little class time to spare, teachers and students need to keep an eye on the time too.

Whether you’re giving a timed exam or you just need to set some boundaries for your students work in groups, Online-Stopwatch.com provides a timer that can easily be displayed in your classroom.

The site offers a stopwatch and count-down timer. Simply displayed in your browser, the Online Stopwatch has a full screen display for every student to see. It’s like having your own classroom shot clock!

Online-Stopwatch also offers their product in gadget form for your own personal homepage at iGoogle or Microsoft Live. Windows Vista users can get a gadget for the Sidebar.

Can’t always get to the web? They even offer a free stand alone versions for download on Windows and Mac.

Rule the Web is perfect if you’re new to web 2

Dale

Rule the WebI just finished reading “Rule the Web” by Mark Frauenfelder. The book reads much like one of those ‘for Dummies’ books. It is the type of text that can be thumbed through and allows the reader to pick up anywhere they see a topic that interests them.

Frauenfelder covers topics such as Firefox extensions, how to podcast, creating a PDF file, and editing photos online. Of course, as the founder of BoingBoing– the world’s most popular blog, Frauenfelder explains how to set up a basic blog and provides tips such as:

  • include an image with every post
  • try to post at least once a day
  • write about your passion

While the book was perfect for someone who is looking to start a blog or podcast, I was hoping for a little more. For me, the book’s title and cover implied that it was going to spend time discussing how to start an online business.

For the novice, “Rule the Web” is perfect. I think it is a great book for schools to purchase and place in their professional libraries or staff lounges. If you already know how to create a blog or wiki, chances are “Rule the Web” won’t have much new to offer you.