Listen to NPR's tribute to the anniversary of the blog

National Public Radio's tribute to the 10 year anniversary of the blog. NPR did a great job of giving tribute to the blog with a complete mashup of many voices (including mine) about the blog. It is amazing to be included in this tribute to the blog with many blogging greats. Amazing!Take a listen to the show. I think it is a great, creative piece that really highlights the aspects of blogging using aud...

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Blogs are not the death of writing but the evolution

a simulpost with TechLearningJust when society needs education to step in and help us learn to well-use this technology, education chooses to treat electronic media like some stiff sock found behind the bench in the boys locker room.This week as I pondered the tragic deaths of several people in our hometown, I had new insight into the meaning of the season. What did I do? I wrote a poem and blogged it. I want to share it and...

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Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas Wrap Up Based upon true happenings in my hometown this season. Snuggled amid neat, shiny houses set in a line the funeral home rests quietly across the street from mine. Tonight nestled in its silent passagesa young man reclines neath icy lashes. Ageless in repose,his friend slumbers at the church juxtaposedto the trappings and treeand merry gaiety. In the crestfallen mornthey’ll be transformed. Wrapped in silken...

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Federal Trade Commission Clears Google’s Acquisition of DoubleClick

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (December 20, 2007) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today welcomed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s clearance of its planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc., a premier provider of display ad serving technology and services. Google announced in April 2007 a definitive agreement to acquire the company for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity...

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My Top 10 Books for Christmas

I'd like to share with you my favorite books (since we're approaching Amazon's "drop dead" date for ordering for Christmas.) Amazon.com WidgetsDuring Christmas, I'll also share how I made this widget and ideas for bloggers to utilize them on their blog. A long time critic of google adsense, programs like Amazon Associates can allow a blogger to ethically "monetize" their blog while retaining their own independence and credi...

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Respond to Hurricaine Maine's Quandry

Hurricaine Maine has written a very open discussion about something happening within her control. I think that we need to respond on our various blogs and link back to his article to show multiple perspectives on this topic.This is a summary of what happened:Student's viewed Al Gore's Movie, an Inconvenient Truth. "Back to the movie: One student wrote in his my space about what he felt about the movie and global warming. Not...

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Motivational Friday: You Fill Up My Senses

The younger folks who read this blog will make fun of me for this. But I really needed this song this morning. Sometimes the greatest things in life are completely free. I particularly like this song because he sings it beautifully in Spanish at the end and it is just beautiful. The beauty of wanting to communicate, no matter the language.And I contemplate just the beauty of love. The greatness of my own husband. The beauty...

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Notes from Dan Pink Session Tonight

Twenty nine of us at the session with Dan Pink tonight over at Discovery educators took notes! We're still working on them and you can view the google doc to take a look of the current information.I've pasted the current document below. Great session!Group Notes from Discovery Educators Webinar with Dan PinkDecember 13, 2007Notes as taken...

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Google Announces 2007 End-of-Year Zeitgeist

AnnouncementDecember 13, 2007Today, Google announced its 2007 End-of-Year Zeitgeist. This year’s Zeitgeist reflects both the most popular and the fastest-rising global search terms that people have typed into Google.com. We mined millions of search queries to discover what captured people’s attention this year. To see the results of this research, both serious (news makers, presidential candidates, etc.) and light (movies, lyrics,...

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What happens when students take the reins

With a week and a half left in the semester and Flat Classroom under their belts, I allowed (with Administrative permission) my computer science to propose and carry out projects that will either promote internet safety or create a website that will improve the communication and connection in the school.The student projects are outlined on the Wildcat Web 2.0 project.Three days into the project and they have blown me away. Here...

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Google Announces Launch of Google Toolbar 5

AnnouncementDecember 12, 2007Today we announced the latest version of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. The beta version is now available in US-English at toolbar.google.com/T5. Google Toolbar makes browsing the Internet simpler and more efficient with integrated Google search and other web tools. This release is about improving the way the millions of Toolbar users can engage with content on the web and personalize the browser...

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Google announces Yann Arthus-Bertrand layer in Google Earth

AnnouncementDecember 11, 2007Enlarge imageAlmost 500 photographs by French photographer and environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand have been unveiled in Google Earth today. The photographs are presented as a layer in Google Earth with striking facts and figures about the state of the globe today. Yann Arthus-Bertrand and his non-profit organization...

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Motivational Monday: Non Partisan Basics of Democracy

Today for Motivational Monday, I want to share a video that I came across recently. I think that Richard Dreyfus' proposal on the non partisan basics of democracy are important to listen.I am a Christian and yet, I promote and allow full debate on all subjects in my classroom. Free choice is a tenet of my faith. Everyone has a choice of what to believe. I can (and will) share my faith, but each person has a RIGHT to have...

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Survey About Youtube: Get a Free Survey Share Account (3 months)

Posted for my new friend Dr. Curtis Bonk. I am sharing the following e-mail verbatim with permission:My research team and I are conducting research on the motivational and educational aspects of YouTube and have created a Facebook group for it. We need 1,000 respondents by January 1st. Please join this new Facebook group and participate in this research or pass this email on to your friends.New Facebook Group: “Bonkian YouTubian...

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Podcast about Social Networks and My New Book

I haven't talked a lot about the new book I'm working on, however, Bob Sprankle, Alice Barr, and Cheryl Oakes are really easy to talk to. See the show notes and links.The folks in Maine are just incredible! tag: Bob Sprankle, Alice Barr, Cheryl Oakes, education, teaching, learn...

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11 Suggestions for (Social) Network Heaven (from a teacher's view)

a simulpost with TechLearningI've been enjoying facebook and learning about social networking since Thanksgiving. I think that there are some things that need to happen in facebook and other social networks before we can head over there en masse and use it as the nexus of our life's network. (Author's Note: From this point on, I'll write...

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UNICEF, One Laptop per Child, Google Launch Initiative to Preserve and Share Stories around the World

AnnouncementDecember 7, 2007UNICEF, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and Google today announced the launch of "Our Stories" (www.ourstories.org), a joint initiative to preserve and share the histories and identities of cultures around the world by making personal stories available online in many languages.Using laptops, mobile phones and other recording devices, children will record, in their native languages, the stories of elders,...

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Join my class in elluminate between 8:15 - 10:00 EST TODAY

From 8:15 until 10:00 EST, I will have my two classes presenting in elluminate. They are elluminate newbies but Flat Classroom Pros.Each student is allowed 1 JPG file and 1-3 minutes to reflect on the project, the good, the bad, the ups, the downs. You get the real story.Please give us an audience and join us in elluminate by clicking on this link! I'm going in now!(Oh and tomorrow morning at 5 am EST, Barbara in Vienna will...

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Building the Perfect Mac for my Sister! HELP!

I don't know anything about buying a MAC!!!Regardless of my claim, on Friday, I have to help my sister, who is an online professor for Savannah College of Art and Design and freelance graphic designer for some really big names help her buy a mac to replace her big powerful mac we bought 6 years a go.Help! Quad core? RAM?I don't know! I need help!MORE INFORMATION!Thank you for commenting and yes, I do need to give you more information....

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Google Announces launch of iPhone Application

AnnouncementDecember 5, 2007Today, Google announced the release of a new iPhone application that integrates its multiple services into a single interface, making it easy for iPhone users to find, use and switch between Google search, Gmail, Calendar, Reader, and more. To use the application, iPhone users simply point their web browser to www.google.com.To accomplish this, Google is taking advantage of browser technologies (like...

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You're invited to the Flat Classroom Student Summit

Here are the currently scheduled dates and times for the student presentations in elluminate. These times are in Eastern Standard time, however if you have an airset account, go to the public calendar to view new summit times (that may not be mentioned here) and have it convert to your time zone.This week we have Austria and my classrooms presenting. Next week Julie in Qatar is presenting. We hope to see the other teachers...

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Corey Verner of LetterPop and Colleen King with Math Playground on Wow2 tonight

Tonight is simply going to be a great show on Wow2. Jennifer and Sharon are hosting Corey Verner from Letterpop and Colleen King with Math Playground.Remember it is at 9 pm EST. While I will be listening by podcast and reviewing the chat archive, I will be listening. I look forward to coming back in January!tag: letterpop, math playground, Corey Verner, Colleen King, Jennifer Wagner, Sharon Peters, wow2, education,...

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A VIP (Very important post) from Alec Corous on DigitalCitizenship

I don't have much time to give thoughts on this post from Alec Couros, however, it is brilliant and a must read for anyone trying to understand what needs to be done in schools to teach digital citizenship skills.It is NOT, I repeat NOT a post to share with your students because of references to some videos we should not repeat, nevertheless we should know that they are there.Several of the videos shown are key discussion points...

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Now chat with your AIM buddies inside Gmail

AnnouncementDecember 4, 2007In February 2006, we integrated real-time chat into the Gmail™ email service. Our goal was to let users switch between email and instant messaging without having to think about which they were using – we even kept a history of chats and emails together in conversation threads so you could view and search both without worrying about whether your conversation happened as an email or a chat session.But...

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Google’s Marissa Mayer To Announce Fastest-Rising Search Terms For 2007 And Host Google Trends Tutorial

Announcement:December 3, 2007Every day millions of people use Google™ (NASDAQ: GOOG) search to find information, and a snapshot of these searches presents a revealing look into the ideas, opinions, preferences and interests of internet users across the globe. Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products & User Experience at Google, will host an interactive webcast to give reporters an early look at the fastest-rising searches...

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