Jeffco Teachers

Kindle users know they can e-mail documents as attachments to their Kindle account and Amazon will convert and upload them to the e-book reader for a 10-cent fee. Windows users aren't tied to the e-mail option, though, thanks to the Auto Kindle eBook Converter.

With all the buzz about Amazon's new Kindle 2, you'd think this revamped e-book reader was the most advanced piece of technology this side of designer babies. After all, for $359, you get a color screen, Wi-Fi and Web browsing, video playback, 60GB of storage, and a reasonably usable keyboard. Oh wait, you don't get any of that stuff. No, that's what $350 can get you if invested in even a low-end Netbook, such as the new 10-inch Acer Aspire One. Not only is there a wide range of PC software available for buying and displaying e-books (and tons of free content as well), when you're done with all that highbrow readin', pop open a Web browser and rot your brain with some Hulu videos.

One teacher's creative use of Web 2.0 tools to enhance classroom instruction.

AYKM (are you kidding me)? No, contrary to popular belief, text message-speak or textisms actually improve language skills, according to a recent study. No, RLY (really).

A Google jockey is a participant in a presentation or class who surfs the Internet for terms, ideas, Web sites, or resources mentioned by the presenter or related to the topic. The jockey's searches are displayed simultaneously with the presentation, helping to clarify the main topic and extend learning opportunities. The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues. In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

Rigor, Relevance, Relationships in education

Even if you could never justify spending $360 on a Kindle, you can still partake in the mobile eBook revolution. Amazon Kindle for iPhone & iPod Touch (Free) is a new app that lets you buy and download Kindle books and read them on the go - without buying the Kindle 2. In addition to having access to more than 240,000 books, the app lets you adjust text size, add bookmarks, and get free samples. If you already have a Kindle, the app's Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your bookmarks across your Kindle and your iPhone.

Here are six great sites that will help you publish your work, guaranteeing you a published book that can be sold via different outlets, such as Amazon.

Talks Evan Williams: How Twitter's spectacular growth is being driven by unexpected uses

Fliggo allows you to create your own video sharing website in seconds. It makes the process very easy by taking care of the technical part. All you have to do is select a title and address for your site, fill out description, choose site template, upload videos and invite friends. You can build a simple private site to share videos with friends, a video blog or a full-featured community video site like YouTube, where other users can upload videos, leave comments etc.

I think it might be more accurate to say that "Web 2.0 will be a significant part of the future of learning," and that in the best case scenario it will become an important part of our formal educational institutions.

When reading your RSS feeds, do you prefer a local application versus one that is online-only? If so, look no further than ShareFire. Besides being platform-independent (courtesy of Adobe Air), it is also completely free and open-source. It was created with article sharing in mind, as its name implies. According to its creators, Christian Cantrell and Dan Koestler, this was a priority. ShareFire supports sharing stories to AIM, Twitter and email, and posting articles to many services including Delicious, Digg, MySpace and Windows Live Bookmarks (now called favorites).

Customizing Google News

Hearst to try and stop newspapers from dying...with version of e-reader like the Kindle.

Listening to podcasted versions of university lectures seems to be better for students than simply going to class, according to new research by State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia psychologist Dani McKinney. Her study, titled "iTunes University and the classroom: Can podcasts replace Professors?" suggests that students who download the podcast version of a class tend to achieve better academic performance than those who don't, though it's more about what the students do when they download the podcast than the existence of the podcast itself.