A Case for K-12 Engineering

I received a link to this video via email.  Help spread it around.

Increased Reading Speed?

I found ZAP Reader while looking at http://www.rsinnovative.com/.  I use their Ruler Game with my Eighth Grade Class. 
I am going to try it out on myself and see if I notice any results.  I just figured I would share.

Copyright Resources and Somes Examples of Consequences

At Techapalooza 2011  Joyce Mason presented a session called Copyright not Copywrong.  In this post, I am going to share some of the information and resources she shared with the group here. 

Since copyright law is very confusing, it seems to be one of the hardest things to teach students and adults.  Here is a video from the Copyright Clearance Center that I think does an excellent job of explaining copyright.
http://learn.copyright.com/copyrightoncampus/

Look at this data (embedded below) from http://www.carolsimpson.com/copyright/copyright_action_data_results.htm and notice who reported some of the cases. Think twice before you use something in your classroom.



Here are some other copyright resources I just learned about today.

http://librarycopyright.net/digitalslider/
http://techapalooza2011.iu1.wikispaces.net/file/view/Fair_Use_Checklist.pdf

Storybird - Collaborative Storytelling

Storybird is a  tool for creating digital books using image galleries and  text.  You do need to create a FREE account if you want to save and publish your book.  You can play around without an account, but you will be given the option to create an account before you close what you made.  This is a nice option if you want to demo before you sign up. 

The idea behind this tool is that you select an artist or theme and then create a story using the images provided.  

Another nice feature is that you can add collaborators to your story.  Here is a quick story I create in just a few minutes.

The Night I Went to Bed Without Dinner on Storybird

Museum Bots - Videos

Here are two videos of student projects from our Museum Bots units. I am also including the presentation I will be using tomorrow to talk about the project at Carnegie Mellon University.

About the Curriculum

The Museum Bots curriculum was created with the purpose of integrating science, technology, mathematics, social studies, language arts, and art by using robotics as a knowledge vehicle.  Students began with an introduction to circuits and robotic components.  They created robotic characters from ancient civilizations and narrated about their lives.  Students integrated sensors to have their robots interact.

 

Museum Bots

View more presentations from ruddler.

Animations Made Simple | DoInk

DoInk is a web-based application that allows users to create animations from scratch or with props submitted by other users.  Users can easily share their animations on YouTube and other social networks.  You can also embed your creations like I did below.  I think this is a promising digital storytelling tool.

Zombie Walk by ruddler, made at DoInk.com

Here are the tutorial videos from the site.  Looks pretty easy.

Drawing Tutorial from Aaron White on Vimeo.

Animation Tutorial for DoInk.com from Aaron White on Vimeo.

Watermark Your Images

I stumbled across PicMarkr which is a web2.0 tools that allows you to add watermarks to you pictures.  You can upload pictures from your computer or connect to facebook, flickr, or picasa.  This is a lot easier than using Adobe Photoshop or GIMP.  I watermarked a picture from my computer in about 30  seconds.  Plus, you can do it from any computer.

You have options to use black and white text and/or backgrounds and you can choose from multiple locations for the watermark.