Google Wave

Take a look at the internet of the future. It's Google Wave and it's AMAZING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UyVmITiYQ

If you think the video is too long the following site explain the most important features of Google Wave:

http://mashable.com/2009/05/28/google-wave-guide/


Connie

Innovative and Creative

A) Examples of how can teachers and pupils be creative:http://pppts.com/

B) Kid Innovation provides the tools necessary to enable children to learn and explore the world in a safe, fun and affordable way. It’s what every child deserves.http://www.kidinnovation.com/

Doodle for Google

Doodle 4 Google is a competition by Google where they have invited K-12 students from the USA to play around with their homepage logo and see what new designs they come up with. You may view the interesting and versatile designs at:

http://www.google.com/doodle4google/winners_state.html

Fring - Moving to the mobile

There are more mobile phones than computers. Besides using mobile phones for the function they were originally designed to perform, today phones are being used for functions one could not have imagined in 1990’s when mobile phones started to become more accessible.

Typing on a mobile has propably overtaken speaking on it. Suffice to say that Gartner had forecast that the number of mobile phone messages worldwide in 2008 will pass 2.3 trillion. While maybe not as comfortable as using a keyboard, more people are confortable using the miniturised keyboard of a phone using multitap or T9 predicitive text functions that come built into the even the most basic of models.

Thanks to advancements in technology phones are cheaper and pack in more functionality and computing power than a computer of 20 years before. Faster CPUs, better phone operating systems, WIFI, GPRS, EDGE, handsfree functionality, better and larger keyboards, touch screens and cameras are all examples of kit that make a mobile phone a device that can be used to for social networking and communication functions.

And here comes Fring. You download and install the program on your mobile phone. Once installed you can use the program to talk and chat using Skype, ICQ, Google Talk, MSN Messenger / Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger.

Fring also supports a number of SIP providers. SIP is similar to Skype, in that both allow users to make calls over the internet. SIP is an open standard while Skype is a closed propriety system.

Besides handling the chat/talk aspect of our lives, Fring also helps us keep track of our favourite social networking portal. Facebook, Twitter and Orkut are all supported in Fring. Last.fm is a unique form of social network in that it dabbles in music. This program allows you to listen to artists whose music you like. The program will present you with music of the same genre by other artists. You can tag each track and share your musical pleasures with family and friends.

Fring also includes Gmail and Yandex email notifiers. When you receive a mail message you will be informed in real time. A great program to have if you are always on the lookout for free WiFi hotpots is WeFi. This program can constantly scan the airways for free hotspots and once it finds one it automatically hooks Fring to the internet.

In order to use the different chat and social networking programs all you need to do is to register with Fring and then with the individual providers. Within Fring you type in the username and password of the different content providers you want to link to (hint: you different passwords with different providers!) and that’s it.

With so many students and accademic staff having a mobile, a program such as Fring makes it possible to reach out and interact in a way not possible before. This is because, for many, a mobile is a constant companion that can be used technically anywhere something that cannot be said for a computer.

A good idea

Hi Connie,
It was a very good idea to create such a blog. I'm more willing to contribute.
Ray

3D webcam - why not?

Something new for the classroom!

Photos, videos and video calls in 3D are now very much possible thanks to the new Minoru 3D webcam. According to the site http://www.minoru3d.com/,

"Connect Minoru to your PC and he will come alive, his eyes will light up and he will be looking at you in 3D.
Your friends and family can now see you in 3D over your favourite messaging program like Windows Live Messenger, Skype, AOL instant messenger, OoVoo and many others.
You can also take 3D photos or even shoot 3D videos and upload them to YouTube."

The images can then be viewed through normal 3D glasses.

It can be connecred to the PC through a USB port.

It is priced at around €80 from online shopping sites.

Connie Bonnici

OER Commons

OER stands for Open Education Resources. It is a portal in which content providers (namely teachers) make available to others content they have created. When on the receiving end, visitors to the site can download content to use as teaching aids. This is one example of a site that, in my opinion, encourages the notion of use, improve and share.

On this site information is catalogued by subject as well as by level. There are three levels: primary, secondary and post-secondary. An teacher will then select the content.

The people who upload content can apply a licensing model to their work. The very popular creative commons (http://www.creativecommons.cc/) license model is supported as well as other lesser known restrictions.

In my opinion the success of any site lies in its search engine and on this front OER Commons is more than adequate. For example I typed in the the word "photosynthesis", selected the subject area Science & Technology and the secondary level grade. 10 documents came up ranging from the primary, secondary "A Beginning Look at Photosynthesis: Plants Need Light" made available by the The GLOBE Program, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and Colorado State University up to the "Virtual Cell" a secondary, post-secondary java interactive tool uploaded by SERC.

If you like the material made available by a particular contributor, you can tag it for future recall. By clicking on a contributor you can see other material made available on this portal. People who make use of material from here can rate the quality of the material. This feedback mechanism helps float to the top better quality material thereby making it easier for others to benefit from the experience of others.

A great resource for teachers!

Go to http://www.oercommons.org/ to give it a test surf yourselves.