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We're done. Firefox 3 is going to be launched very soon. In anticipation of this long-awaited event, the folks in the Mozilla community have been writing extensively about the new and improved features you'll see in the browser. The new features cover the full range from huge and game-changing to ones so subtle you may not notice them until you realize that using Firefox is just somehow easier and better. The range of improved features is similar - whole back-end systems have been rebuilt from scratch, while other features have been tweaked slightly or redesigned in small ways. Overall the result is the fastest, safest, slimmest, and easiest to use version of Firefox yet. We hope you like it.

Interesting discussion going on about the pros and cons of a strict school environment

This article is dealing with a school and a social environment that has deteriorated past the ability to self-regulate through a series of stated guidelines. Both your school and ours are able to maintain their levels of operation through similar sets of guidelines, but in viewing the situation in the article I can completely understand how that school would need to take those steps to regain control over what had become an unmanageable situation. Looking at examples from the article of students who receive detention for failing to carry their ID after being reminded of it the previous day is not an unusual policy in most public schools. Denial of the "pleasant" aspects of school life for students who struggle academically or behaviorally is also nothing new. In this case they have made it a core part of the students life. Think about it this way: how many of these students who learn through these hard lessons of personal responsibility are going to be come parents who pass along to their children the values of personal responsibility? Some of the parents at CCS have a saying..."It's good to be in the bubble." There is a safe, easily maintained environment at the school, reinforced by clear guidelines and rules with defined penalties for failure to comply. To those who would think this too strict or limiting I would refer you to the number of students returning to our school after venturing into the "real world" and realizing "the bubble" is a better place for them. This is very similar to what I saw at SLA when I visited. Your students are committed to attending the school. They have a personal investment in their futures and the future of the school, something many mandatory schools lack. It's that personal investment that makes respect mean something to them and carry the weight it should in balancing their actions and behaviors with the greater good. For those of us "in the bubble" it can be disturbing to observe the tactics necessary to restore, or in some

I think that Elaine's viewpoints on edubloggercon are excellent ones and I think it is worth reading her thoughts and hear her side as she was with Pearson and the film crew. I keep thinking that as long as I've been in the edublogosphere I've heard people say that "we don't have the right people in the room." We finally get a company listening and then people don't want them in the room. Of course, it could have been filmed a little better but it was their first edubloggercon -- we can all live and learn and grow together. The edublogosphere is growing and we're going to have to learn how to deal with that.

Describes the problem with using miles per gallon as our fuel efficiency metric for automobiles. Points out gallons per 10,000 miles provides better information to consumers.

Summarizing complex texts using cell phones increases understanding.

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Detailed UStream setup on Mac side

Finally, an easy way to tell your story. Just drag and drop your favorite stuff into Freepath's playlist - no need to convert files, upload videos or embed links. Just like that, your digital life became bigger and better! Best of all, it's FREE.

The purpose of this site is to help instructors and parents better understand how the internet can facilitate plagiarism. We present strategies to prevent plagiarism, explain some of the underlying causes, and provide advice on dealing with cases of confirmed plagiarism.

It's my experience that people forget that these are a learning process and not better over worse ways to teach.

Each day seems to produce a new hack, tool or tip for better Gmail use. In this post, I want to highlight only the very best, hand-picked from hundreds of resources. This is not another resource list you'll bookmark and never look at again. These tips, monster resources and tools will change the way you use Gmail.

Been watching this group blog of students and want to share it with you. At over 1000 readers strong, this is an educational blog to watch -- students are speaking out. Who is listening? Of course, teachers IN the classroom had better be listening. I hear my students thoughts in person and on our class blog, but how many teachers truly ask and how many listen? Even more so, how many administrators or curriculum directors listen and are involved. Good teachers listen to students and know when to say yes and when to say no. However, it is great that now students can speak out!

A student website that starts on Monday launched by Artus. Cool

Free creative commons licensed music for download!

Digital storytelling music site - just be careful, you may want to prescreen and download some yourself as there may be some profanity.

a source of free and legal music downloads. The music on Jamendo comes from the artists who upload it themselves. While not all of the music is licensed for re-use, there is a substantial collection of music labeled with a Creative Commons license. As always, before re-using any of the music you download make sure it is labeled for re-use.Applications for EducationJamendo could be a good source of music downloads for students to use in video and podcast projects. Some of the music does come with an "explicit" label so you probably don't want to send young students searching on Jamendo on their own. In that case it would be better for you to build a collection from which students choose.

If you think that cell phones can't improve math scores -- check again - read this report about a pilot where algebra problems were sent to smartphones. (So much for "leaving your homework at school.) "During the 2007-2008 school year, Wireless Reach began funding Project K-Nect, a pilot project in rural North Carolina where high school students received supplemental algebra problem sets on smartphones (the phones were provided by the project). The outcomes are promising -- classes using the smartphones have consistently achieved significantly higher proficiency rates on their end of course exams. So what's so different about delivering problem sets on a cell phone instead of a textbook? The first obvious answer is that the cell phone version is multi-media. The Project K-Nect problem sets begin with a Flash video visually demonstrating the problem -- you could theorize that this context prepares the student to understand the subsequent text-based problem better. You could also theorize that watching a Flash animation is more engaging (or just plain fun) and so more likely to keep students' attention."

E-learning for Kids isn't only for kids, though; it's also a site where:* Parents get more engaged in their kids' education  * Educators and experts champion e-learning and contribute their knowledge on how kids can learn better.* Commercial education and game developers contribute to the next generation.* Corporations and associations channel their social responsibility efforts.  * People with a passion for childhood education make a difference.

a new twist on the many flashcard sites - this one says it can predict what you're going to forget, so it can quiz you better & you learn more. i'll give this one a try with my students

Looks like they beat Apple to the punch. Looks better/less childish than the Classmate.

middlespot is a better way to visually discover, collect, and organize what you like. With a mashtab you can collect webpages, images, music, videos, web widgets, files, documents, code, and more in one central spot.

I still am not convinced of a better way to personalize your web experience. As an educator, I view them as learning spaces where metacognition is king. That's not the thrust of this post but I wanted to make that clear. ...So the question remains, should he have posted it? Did he break any ethical code? My instinct is to say no to both but I want to throw it out there.