Group items tagged

"Can speculation about the future of technology serve as a measuring stick for what we create today? That's the idea behind Envisioning Technology's massive infographic (PDF), which maps the future of emerging technologies on a loose timeline between now and 2040."

Last week, Ben Grey asked me, "In 5 tweets or less, can you share your vision for computing in education?" via Twitter. I'm not sure if anyone else was asked or the motivation behind the question, but I quickly rattled off the following five tweets. I could have accomplished the goal in fewer tweets, but a good tweet is a terrible thing to waste.

LEGO bricks shouldn't be limited to plastic bins-which is the idea behind Build with Chrome, a collaboration between Chrome and the LEGO Group that brought these colorful bricks to the web using WebGL, a 3D graphics technology. It was originally built by a team in Australia as an experiment, and now we're opening it up to everybody. So now you can publish your wacky creations to any plot of land in the world.

"When you create a form using Google Forms, the form is public by default meaning it can be filled out by anyone on the Internet as long as they know the web URL of that form. If you are a Google Apps user, you can put the form behind a login screen such that only members of your domain /organization can access and fill out that form but this feature is not available to other users who have regular Google accounts."

"Looking like a cross between ski goggles and Ray-Bans, Meta SpaceGlasses allow wearers to see and interact with virtual objects in 3D space with their hands. Wearers can see the non-existent objects thanks to tiny projectors in the glasses, while sensors detect hands and allow interaction."

"I went to the homepage of EdcampHome and saw four amazing educators: David Theriault, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, Kelly Kermode, and Shawn White troubleshooting, discussing and working diligently to put this together via a Google Hangout being streamed live through YouTube and simultaneously embedded on the front page of the website. Tweets were flying and being used to communicate issues, compliments, and questions from educators all over the world who have never met face-to-face. It felt as if I was getting the opportunity to be behind the scenes at NASA during a space launch! I hope you take the time to watch even a few minutes of the amazing collaboration between them. The lengthy video is still on the homepage for viewing for now."

"This visualization attempts to organize a series of emerging technologies that are likely to influence education in the upcoming decades. Despite its inherently speculative nature, the driving trends behind the technologies can already be observed, meaning it's a matter of time before these scenarios start panning out in learning environments around the world."

"Today, we're excited to announce the public beta of Google Web Designer, a new professional-quality design tool that makes HTML5 creative accessible to everyone from the designer to the dabbler. Google Web Designer enables you to: Create animated HTML5 creative, with a robust, yet intuitive set of design tools. View and edit the code behind your designs and see your edits reflected back on the stage automatically.  Build ad creatives seamlessly for DoubleClick and AdMob, or publish them to any generic environment you choose. Receive updates to the product automatically, without having to re-download the application. Access all of this entirely for free."

"The Internet is without a doubt one of the best resources available to us. Unfortunately it's also extremely dangerous if you aren't aware of who and what lurks behind the scenes. Everyone should know how to be safe when surfing the web, but internet safety tips and tricks are spread out all over the web without a go-to resource. Since the majority of internet scam and virus victims are students and young people, Open Colleges is a perfect place to post the very first full guide to being safe on the internet."

"Live.pics.io recreates the experience of real-world slideshows, when your guests would come by to see photos and hear you tell the story behind the shots. Drag some images and start the conversation."

[via @rmbyrne]

"This is a mirror of the NSW Rural Fire Service Current Fires and Incidents map. It should be at most a few minutes behind. "

"Want to be a reporter? Join ABC News journalist Del Irani as she takes behind the scenes of a newsroom and shares rare insights into the skills you need to find and tell the story. Sign up to the Splash newsletter for details of our 90-second news storytelling challenge, where you will tell the story. #ABCSplashLive"

"The cute, little, Micro 3D printer appears to be a very hot commodity. Touting it as "the first truly consumer 3D printer," the team behind The Micro, M3D, has worked to design an easy-to-use, low-cost, 7-inch tall printer. The device can print smaller items, such as a vase, custom cookie cutters, or cat toys. The Micro can auto-level and auto-calibrate and will also work with open-source software for more advanced users."

By hooking into Apple's iTunes Store APIs, the developers behind fnd have created a free website with a responsive design for any device you're on. I find fnd to be particularly useful on the desktop.

"Copyright has been firmly back on the agenda in recent months. We've seen the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) release its report on copyright which recommended that Australia adopt a "fair use" exception to copyright infringement. Yet we've also seen the Attorney General, George Brandis, get more exercised about copyright piracy this month, and pledge to do something to address it:"

Short codes are mobile numbers that are significantly shorter than regular mobile numbers (usually 5 digits) which are used for SMS, MMS and Interactive Voice Services. The idea behind short codes is to make them easy to remember.Short Codes have proven to be a huge marketing success over the past few years thanks to their quality, comfortableness and ability to attract a direct response.Short codes are often associated with automated services. An automated program can handle the response and typically requires the sender to start the message with a command word or prefix

"This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace."

As we shamble forward into the next decade, it might be prudent to take pause and take stock of the years behind us. Translation: Back up your stuff. .. We have a ton of information, photos and memories scattered around the web that we would be loathe to lose .. it still might be wise to put some of that stuff in an iron box for safe keeping."

Some good advice about how to backup various online web tools.

Printed media used to allow us to read in the places we found most comfortable ... Unfortunately, as news and media moves online, it moves us away from these places and into our desk chairs .. I've found that as devices become more mobile, it's not only changing where we read, but when. Today, I'd like to show you some of the data behind this movement.

ON APRIL 6, 1966, students from Westall High School and Westall State School claimed to have seen a mysterious metallic flying object hover above them before descending behind trees in Clayton South. Many more say they later saw the perimeter of a perfect circle singed into the grass at the Grange Reserve near Westall State School.