Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Another great post from Richard Byrne that offers ideas and links for teachers who want to create interesting and dynamic experiences for their students

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.

"PrintFriendly cleans and formats web pages for perfect print experience. PrintFriendly removes Ads, Navigation and web page junk, so you save paper and ink when you print. It's free and easy to use. Perfect to use at home, the office, or whenever you need to print a web page."

via @Ideas_Factory

"The Google Docs collection provides a streamlined, collaborative solution to writing papers, organizing presentations and putting together spreadsheets and reports. But besides the basic features, there are lots of little tricks and hacks you can use to make your Google Docs experience even more productive. Here are 100 great tips for using the documents, presentations and spreadsheets in Google Docs."

"An Internet search engine developed specifically for schools is being tested as a way to increase reading abilities in challenged students and help motivate intellectual development in gifted students, while saving schools money on textbooks. Complexity Engine uses a sophisticated algorithm to search websites for content and delivers free, customized and age-appropriate reading materials to a user's computer. It promises to give teachers, parents and students an efficient, affordable way to promote reading. Teachers and administrators can set parameters for the search results, and the reading experience can be either student self-directed or guided by the teacher."

Some reflections from Vivienne Ming and Norma Ming in regards to designing educational technology.

An interesting take on Twitter as a learning tool.

"...a pedagogical alternate reality game we developed over the course of two years under the aegis of The University of Texas at Austin's Digital Writing & Research Lab. Battle Lines offers a compelling game experience that allows student-players to develop rhetorical, community-building, and digital literacies, crossing boundaries between academic and ludic practices."

"To improve the experience for the entire Google Apps ecosystem - that's our goal. Whether you're a Google Apps administrator, end-user, or even reselling Google Apps, BetterCloud products and solutions can help you do your job. We believe Google Apps is set to drive the next phase of innovation in the enterprise, and BetterCloud products will help turn that vision into a reality."

"This page has been designed to facilitate the iPad initiative begun at the Franklin Academy High School. Students and teachers within the school have been selected to experiment with the iPad and explore the possibilities of using this device in the classroom."

The philanthropic non-profit, and supporter of NewTech Network and EDWorks, has just released an infographic of what the future might hold. (Check out the accompanying report for the full shabam.) Possibilities include "individualized learning playlists" of "digitally-mediated or place-based learning experiences" in "self-organizing schools." KnowledgeWorks also has profiles and dossiers of what students and educators might look like in 2025.

Participatory Narrative Inquiry a process in which groups gather and work with real stories of personal experience to do useful things in their communities.

"The education sector is just beginning to experiment with, develop, and implement wearable technologies, though the potential applications are significant and vast. Smart jewelry or other accessories could alert students working in chemical laboratories to hazardous conditions, while wearable cameras can instantly capture hundreds of photographs or data about a user's surroundings on an offsite geology dig that can be later accessed via email or other online application."

"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 thesis investigates change in primary teachers' pedagogical practice following one year's interactive whiteboard experience and the factors that may influence whiteboard pedagogy."

"Here's what she found: hiding from big data is so inconvenient and expensive that even Vertesi doesn't recommend it as a lifestyle choice. (She presented her findings at the Theorizing the Web conference in New York last week.) So what does that mean for companies who say users can just "opt out" if they aren't happy with (so-called) privacy policies? Can you be a person on the internet without sacrificing all your data to the Google Powers That Be? I talked to Vertesi about her experiment, its implications, and why hiding from big data can make you look like a criminal"

"This week on Tech Weekly with games editor Keith Stuart we take a look at an emerging trend in games, where smartphones and cutting-edge robotics are used to create more socially inclusive and dynamic games. Joining Keith is Guardian writer Alex Hern; Iain Simons, director of the GameCity festival; and Jonathan Smith, games producer for Lego. The panel discuss why the screen is only a part of the gaming experience - and why small-scale, cheap robotics will open up a new world for developers. Also this week: Guardian tech writer Samuel Gibbs meets Ian Bernstein, co-creator of the robotic toy ball the Sphero, to find out about the evolution of the robot in gaming."

Interesting discussion about the future of gaming beyond 'the screen'.

"Something is wrong on Twitter. And people are noticing. Or, at least, the kind of people we hang around with on Twitter are noticing. And it's maybe not a very important demographic, this very weird and specific kind of user: audience-obsessed, curious, newsy. Twitter's earnings last quarter, after all, were an improvement on the period before, and it added 14 million new users for a total of 255 million. The thing is: Its users are less active than they once were. Twitter says these changes reflect a more streamlined experience, but we have a different theory: Twitter is entering its twilight."

"I'm Dr. Keith Devlin, a mathematician at Stanford University. In fall 2012, I gave my first free, open, online math course. I repeated it in spring 2013, then in fall 2013, and in February I am giving it a fourth time, each time with changes. This blog chronicles my experiences as they happen"

"Story maps combine interactive maps and multimedia content into elegant user experiences. They make it easy for you to harness the power of maps to tell your stories."