It Started With a Tweet ...

One day on Twitter I came across this Tweet:

I thought this was interesting and I wanted to see what I could do to help find out some information about the feather.

Did you know that you can search by images in Google? 

I saved a copy of the feather picture to my computer. Then I went to Google Images and clicked on the camera in the search box. Then I dragged a copy of the picture into the search box (I could also upload the image). The first things that were related to the image search was Mrs. Yollis blogpost's about this feather. Her blogpost is located here: Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog.  

Then I typed "what bird is this feather from?" in the search box next to the image of the feather. The first thing to come up on my search page was The Feather Atlas. 

Score! 

I clicked on Identify Feather; clicked on Get Started; and then choose the pattern and color. As I scrolled through, there were several feathers that looked like the picture above. I am still not exactly sure what bird this feather belongs to, but it could be of an owl or hawk. 

So, I tweeted back to Mrs. Yollis (@lindayollis) the link to The Feather Atlas so her class could continue their detective work.

What bird do you think the feather comes from?

A New Twist on Google Maps

While at our state technology conference last week I sat in on a session discussing new ways that you can use/apply Google maps across the curriculum.  I thought it was interesting and was not sure what to expect but I wanted to see if there was something new going on that I did not already know.


I already knew that I could go into Google Maps and get directions and could both get a web link and embed a map into another website using the code.  But I had not gone through the process of creating my very own personalized map.  I thought it was very interesting and fun to be able to create my own map with the places I wanted to see in it.  I worked along with the presenter and created a map of vacation locations that I have been in the past number of years.  As I was doing this I started thinking of the many different ways that this could be applied to the classroom at all levels.  Now there is a catch in this and that is you have to have a Google Account setup ahead of time so that you can log into and create your map.  I setup a generic account and was able to follow along with the presenter and was caught up in a manner of minutes.

When you log into Google, click on the Maps button in the browser toolbar.  This takes you to the familiar maps screen where you can zoom in to a location and all the way down to the Street View, which I talked about in a previous blog.  First click on My Places then Click the Red Create Map button and enter in a Title for this map and a brief description of what the map will be showing.  In the map pane you can zoom into the area of the map you will be using and then utilize the Add Placemark and Draw Line option buttons to create the points on the map that are of interest.  

Select the Placemark button and choose a spot on the map and click, you will now have a box that allows you to enter in a title and description of the selected location.  You can add in as much information as you want including links and images if needed.  Once you have added in your points of interest you can then use the Line Tool and draw lines from a starting location to the final destination.  After you have placed all of your markers and created a pathway between all the points, just save the the map you have created.  

You can also choose the Collaborate button to grant others the ability to add to and take away the location points on your map.  When you have completed all of the edits of your map, click the done button and you have your very own self-created map.

Now that your personalized map is created you have the choice to make it either Public, for anyone to see, or Unlisted, in which you will share the map with only those you want to see it. You can then click the Link button and either copy the URL address to send out or you can Embed the map code into a website, wiki, or blog to share.  Another point to know is that when you are in the customize area there is an Interactive Tutorial that takes you through the whole process of setting up a map from start to finish.

So now that you have learned how to create a customized map in Google Maps what do you do with it now?  How can it help you in the classroom?  Here are a few suggestions on how to use them in your classrooms. (adapted from presentation)


Science:

• Natural disasters: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes
• Famous scientists
• Museums
• Endangered species
• Habitats/biomes
• Plotting field trips (virtual/in person)

Social Studies:

• Civilizations
• Tribes
• Military battles/movements
• Explorers
• Exploration maps
• Exploring my city/hometown
• States and Capitals
• Civil Rights
• Innovators
• Underground Railroad
• Alaskan Iditarod 

English:

• Famous Writers
• Literature Trips
• Ghost Stories
• Haunted locations
• Flat Stanley Novels

This is just a sampling of what you can use the Customizable Google Maps in your classroom.  You may have other thoughts of ways to use it and that is great, please share additional information in the comments area of this blog. 

images from Google Maps using Promethean Image Capture Tool

How to Find Longitude and Latitude in Google Maps

A conversation started earlier today where one of my co-workers asked about resources to help students find and figure out how to determine Latitude and Longitude.  It made me think back about some conversations that I had with some Kindergarten teachers regarding Google Earth and it dawned on me.  You can set Google Maps to show your Latitude and Longitude with just a few simple clicks on the screen.

I had forgotten all about the ability for Google Maps to display this information and it is very simple to do.  Once you have opened up a Map and moved into the location that you would like to find the Latitude and Longitude for you will Right Mouse click to see the menu.  In the Menu Click on What's Here?  When you do this you will see a Green Arrow pop up on the Map.  When you hover over the green arrow the Latitude and Longitude will display for the location.  You then can perform any of the normal options that Google Maps offers you users.

Here is a quick video that shows you how to determine the Latitude and Longitude on the Map.

video created using Google Maps and

ActivInspire Recorder tool

Google Searches You Might Not Know About

I am an admitted Googler. I probably do about 300 Google searches a day and rely on it for all facets of my life. From looking for definitions and spellings to directions, to research for my teachers I Google and I Google a lot. But did you know there are some really cool, specialized search engines that can really narrow your searches and help you discover some really nifty things about this world we live in.

Google Books
Ok, Google Books has been around for a while and I have neglected using it until I got into my Administrators program. I was able to find my School Law book, a book that costs around $100 bucks on Amazon for free. I can also find tons of other books there that the authors have either agreed to have them hosted for free or they are out of print books that I wouldn't find any other place. Besides books there are tons of magazines, both new and older and if you are an English teacher (or just lover of literature) they have some classics written by Dickens, Longfellow, Defoe and others that you can view online or download in the ePub format. Besides the book search you can create a bookshelf and share books from your bookshelf with other users so if you are a teacher you can create a custom book list and share it with your students.

Google Blog Search
I absolutely love blogs. I get up early in the morning just to catch up on my reader in an attempt to get the pulse of the world of education. If I get a free moment during the day I try to read a post or two. But one of my favorite things to do is find new blogs to read. Just doing a general Google search can be difficult at times to find what I am looking for. So I turn to Google Blog search. No matter how obscure the topic someone out there has a blog on it that you might want to read. Just put in your search term in the box and you are returned just blogs related to that topic. Great for kids doing projects so they can find current events or, better yet, opinions on current event topics, I encourage teachers to have students do a quick blog search when doing a project. I also like blog search to find new education bloggers and get an idea on new and exciting things that are going on in the world of education.

Google Scholar
As a graduate student I got to know Google Scholar very well. I could search 1000's of peer-reviewed, scholarly articles from the comfort of, really anywhere. Looking for legal opinions, recent research or journal articles, I was hardly ever let down with the content and actually found stuff there I couldn't find anywhere else. The advanced search is very powerful so get to know it well. Have kids (especially middle and high school) look here too when doing research, especially when stressing primary sources.

Google Patent Search

I admit, this might not be one you use a lot. But if you are a science or technology teacher this is a great search engine to try out with your kids. There are over 7 million available patents for search. Once you find what you are looking for you get what the applicant says the device does, drawings, any associated patents and detailed descriptions. For students learning design or mechanics this can be a cool place to look for ideas.  Start by looking at this awesome skillet for cooking just bacon!

Those are just 4 of many others that you can check out here. So go forth! Harness the power of Google Search. Be more productive, help kids search effectively and efficiently and find really cool stuff!

How Google Works

Recently, Google created a video for the general public on exactly (well at least as much as they want us to know) how their search engine works. At only 3.30 minutes it is cram packed full of information.


(The video is on You Tube so if you reading this in an RSS reader or some place where it is blocked you might not see anything.)

They also created a couple other videos on how Google Apps works (great for understanding Cloud Computing) and a video completely dedicated to their AdSense product. You can find those on their How Google Works Page.

Did you know that Google also has tons of lessons, resources and free stuff for the classroom? On the main Google Search for Educators page there are lessons educators can use to teach kids what search is and how to use it effectively. (While they hope you use Google Search the strategies presented work for any search engine.)

All throughout the site you will find information on how to integrate Google Apps into the classroom, lesson plans using one or more Google Products like Docs or Books, and some really cool posters you can hang in your room reminding students about how to use Search effectively. There is lots of information like the Doodle4Google Contest, webinars, web safety information and information on upcoming Google Teacher Academy application dates.

One of the coolest resources they have is the Educator Community. There you can connect with other teachers using Google Products, post your own lessons, and ask questions about how to better use their products with kids.

So be sure to check out the How Google Works video series and take time to explore what they have created for educators.

Google For Educators

Yep. Google Will Do That...

We all know Google will do searches, mail, calendars, images and tons more stuff but I got really excited when I came across this list on Twitter with all the Google Tools and Apps, listed A-Z. So many great resources.

It was so helpful, I have done several workshops for our district on the lesser known Google tools that can play big roles in the classroom and plan to do several more.

Below is the presentation. What are your favorite unknown Google Tools?

Trick Out Your Next Presentation With Google Charts

I am constantly encouraging teachers to use the Web 2.0 tools I blog about and teach about in their classroom. One of the tools I use to hook teachers is Google Docs. I have been using Google Docs for a while now. I like the ability to write and create from anywhere and the ability to give access to others with a simple email invite (Think Collaboration...isn't that the definition of Web 2.0?). While there are a few things missing, overall I have moved away from creating documents, presentations and spreadsheets in stand-alone applications to online creation.

Google continues to roll out improvements to all of the Docs applications. One of the newer ones is the ability to create charts in the spreadsheet application. Because editing charts is as simply as editing an URL, it is now possible to make some pretty amazing charts to spice up your presentations. There are tons of websites that will walk you through the process. I recently discovered a few on a list that came to me from Twitter. Here are the the highlights:


Create Pac-man Charts: Google’s own Matt Cutts describes how you can make a pie chart that looks like Pac-man.

Making maps with Google Chart API: With the Google Charts API, you can make maps and even place charts on top of maps.

WeatherMole: This site uses a number of different Google charts to display weather data like wind speed, hourly temperature, and humidity.

Convert simple tables to charts: Here you’ll find out how you can take simple two-column tables and turn them into attractive charts.

Automated Polls: This automated poll site displays poll data in real time with Google Charts.

Using Google’s Motion Chart to visualize population trends: Analyze trends in population with Google Chart API and Motion Chart.

Twitter Statistics with Yahoo! Pipes and the Google Chart API: Google Charts makes it possible to create a scatter plot that shows how much a user "tweets."

Excel and Google Charts: With Google Charts, you can easily and quickly make charts for Excel that would otherwise be difficult or impossible.

Track your grades: Start visually depicting your grades for various assignments with the Google Chart API.

There are several more, so hit the link below to see the rest of the list. If you create one using any of these, drop me a line so I can see it or share it with me. Now, get to creatin' some fancy Google Charts!

50 Google Chart Tricks

Image Courtasy Matt Cutts Blog

It's Google...Only Squared

The world of search is changing. Google, the leader, is being challenged by Microsoft and it's new search engine, Bing. In order to stay ahead Google is constantly working on new and innovative products to stay #1.

Last year Google unveiled, quietly, what they say is the next "big-thing" in search. And while it is, quite possibly the best search feature they have, it still has not caught on. But what is it? Why is it so good and why do I think it will change the way students conduct research online.

First, Google Squared is a search engine. It works just like Google Search. You type in a search term and you are presented with results. What is different is how the results are presented and what you can do with the data.

For this review I am going to use the search term "British Prime Ministers." When you do a regular Google Search you get what you expect, several sites that contains lists of British PM's. Students would then have to work through each of the links, trying to find the information, not knowing how that information is going to be organized on each resulting page.

With Google Squared the search results are presented in a table. Results are organized horizontally with several pieces of information (or what Google calls Attributes.) In the case of the British PM's you get the name, picture, description, date of birth, religion and who they were proceeded by. All of the results in each of those columns comes from different places on the web, organized in the Squares. You can check the information for each Result and Attribute but clicking the link in the Square. (Remember, its always a good idea to double check where the information is coming from.)

So how could this be of benefit for students. Lets say I want my students to research British PM's and I don't want them to know the religion, rather, I want them to know the date of death and political party. Again, these could all be separate searches on multiple pages, taking lots of time. In the Square you can designate what Attributes you want displayed. There are suggestions for Attributes or you can type your own. In the case of date of death, that is a suggestion. However, political party is not. So I type it in and am presented with the political parties for all the British PM's.

Do you not like one of the search results, or do not need one of the search results? Press the X and it goes away. So basically your search results are customized for your needs or what you want your students need.

Try some of these cool searches:
Baseball Teams
Types of Dogs
Elements
Roller Coasters

These are just some examples of how you could use Google Squared. Remember, this product is still a baby, so there are going to be mistakes or search results that just don't fit. But I am sure, just as other Google products, it will get better. So, head on over to Google Squared and give it a try!

Google Squared

Art Work presented by Google

As an Art teacher are you always wondering how you can help your students to understand the feeling behind a Chagall, Rembrandt or Picasso painting? Do you struggle to try and show line and depth using a 2D photograph from a textbook?

Well it just so happens that Google has brought you a new way to look at Art with Art Project. This website is the culmination of a collaborative effort of 17 museums from around the world to share their artwork for all to see. What I think is interesting about the site is that when you are looking at the art you see a small compass tool like object along the left side of the screen that allows you to zoom in and out as well as to pan and move. It is very similar to what Google offers you in its Street View add on for Google Maps. I don't know about you but I immediately started thinking about Virtual Field Trips when I saw this site.

When you land on the sites homepage you choose from the museums listed(17), once you make your selection the website background will change to a theme inspired by the chosen museum. You will then see to the right of the list a work of art and an explore museum option.

When you click on the View Artwork the work comes full screen where you can interact with it either by using the zoom in/out tool in the top left or bottom right of the screen. Once you have zoomed in you can pan around the picture by clicking and dragging around. There is a small photo shot of the artwork in the bottom left that shows you where you are on the image when you are using the zoom in feature.

Along what I would call the toolbar there are some additional options to choose from. One is an informational link at the far right of the page displays information about the work of art. On the left side of the toolbar you can choose a new location as well as another piece of art from the drop down menus.

If you had chosen the Explore Museum option you are taken to a similar screen which displays a point of view look of the museum. As you move the mouse onto the screen you will see arrows that allow you to walk around and move in on a specific area of the page. Just as you would if you were using Street View on Google Maps. When you walk around the room looking at the artwork the ones with a plus(+) sign will allow you to view/inspect them more.

This tool is a great opportunity for teachers to give their students a completely different view of art without having to look through a book or travel to a museum. The Virtual Field trip idea is what hooked me. Art in the virtual world and in a computer lab situation could allow students to walk through the National Gallery in London or the The State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Places that many students may never have an opportunity to visit.

The website also offers you a Learn More button that gives you some general information about the site and how to use it. You are provided with an FAQ section as well as the list of all participating museums. And if that was not enough Google has provided you with a link to the Art Project You Tube channel so that you can view some of the created videos that go along with this site.

Picnik, An Online Photo Editing Site by Google

It seems like people are always looking for a way to edit their photos. There are a number of places you can use or go to but here is another one for you to check out. It’s online so there is nothing for you to download. It works on a Mac, Windows or Linux. The free version gives you the ability to do a wide variety of things. Some of the options are not available in the free version. They require a fee of $24.95/year.

After you create an account or log in, you will see the button to upload a photo. Once this is done you will be on the edit tab. In the edit tab you have the options to auto-fix the image, rotate, crop, resize, sharpen, adjust the exposure or the colors and remove red-eye. The other tabs along the top are library, create, save & share. The library tab gives you the option to upload more images from your computer, create a show, view photos you have uploaded in the past, enter a URL to upload the image, choose images from your Picasa Web Albums, open and save images from Flikr and a number of other places. The create tab gives you the option to apply a number of effects. Most of them are available although a few require the premium version. There are featured effects available, the option to add text to the image, touch up options, several frames available, some advanced features are available in the free version and some seasonal option as well. The last tab along the top is the save & share tab. This tab gives you the option to save the edited image to your computer, email your image, print your photos from Qoop or from your printer or share it in a number of other places. So as you can see there are a multitude of editing options. Check it out.

6 Nifty Ideas For Using Google Apps In The Classroom

Over the past few weeks I have collected some great classroom resources surrounding the use of Google for various classroom activities. Here are a few of my favorites. (In no particular order. I don't want to make anyone jealous or anything...)
Googlios
http://sites.google.com/site/googlioproject/
E-portfolios are becoming more and more popular. This site teaches educators and students how to organize all of their digital content in one place (a Google Site) for showing off their best work. Using a Google Site is actually pretty easy but Googlios goes into great detail on how to create and maintain the portfolio and has a huge gallery of examples to draw inspiration from. Below is a preview video from the site.



Simple Google Docs Training
http://services.google.com/apps/resources/overviews_breeze/DocsSpreadsheets/index.html
This is a short (3 min, 56 sec) video slide show, introducing the features of Google Docs. If you are thinking about using Docs with your students or staff, this video could be a good jumping off point to your discussion.

Google Tricks To Save You Time
http://www.eternalcode.com/100-google-tricks-that-will-save-you-time-in-school
There are over 100 tips and tricks on this page. Everything from the most basic, like how to use the image search to keyboard shortcuts for your favorite apps (like Docs, Gmail and more), to how to use simple commands to perform deep web searches that will hopefully get you to what you are looking for faster. The best part for me were the tips for Google Books. Be sure to save this site. You will visit it often!

10 Google Forms For The Classroom
http://edte.ch/blog/2008/08/23/10-google-forms-for-the-classroom/
One of my favorite Edtech bloggers, Tom Barrett, post this a few months back but I keep visiting it because there are such great ideas. In short it is a list of 10 ideas on how to use Google Forms in the classroom. And the ideas are so great. Everything from the regular survey stuff to a prior learning assessment, to kids' book reviews. There are some great ideas in the comments as well.


Sharing Stories With Google Earth
http://joewoodonline.pbworks.com/w/page/10281223/Sharing-Stories-with-Google-Earth
I have written about Google Lit trips in the past, mainly showing the connection between technology an literature. Lit trips are great but what about other subject areas? This site will show you how to create your own story trips, step-by-step in Google Earth. Creating them is easy. The hard part will be figuring out all the great stories you want to tell! Lots of videos, handouts and directions here to guide you. 

Googleize Your Lessons
http://googlizealesson.wikispaces.com/
"Take your old worksheets, slideshows and webquests, and add a twist of Google to make creative, collaborative and engaging lessons," is the motto at the top of this site. There is tons of great information on the simple things teachers can do to spice up lessons using free Google tools. Here is an introductory preso to tell you all about it.

Ancient Rome Was How Big?

Today I came across a very cool site from the BBC. It is called Dimensions and it takes important events in history and current events and shows how big they are over a give area on a Google Map.

For example here is an image showing how big an area the flood in Pakistan is on the East Coast of the U.S.

Kinda puts things in perspective...

Or here is an image of what the footprint of the moon would look like centered over North America.

There are lots of other types of layers. Everything from environmental disasters like the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill to just how big an area the Three Gorges Dam is in China to the size of ancient cities. There are also layers for depths and distances.

I didn't find too many limitations with locations. I used both zip codes and the names of towns.You might have trouble with specific locations like the name of a school so stick with zip/postal codes or the name of your town.

What a cool way to show students just how big an area an event or place in history is or was. So head over to the BBC Dimensions and check it out!

ArcGIS Explorer Online Can Be Used as an Option to Google Earth

ArcGIS Explorer online http://explorer.arcgis.com/ is a free web application that allows users to look at existing maps or add content to their own maps.


The first thing you will need to do is install Microsoft Silverlight (a 5.96 mb file) on your computer. Once this is done, the program will load when you open the website. The default base map is a topographic base map, however, there are 12 other base maps available by clicking on the base map button. From this dropdown you can choose a Bing aerial base map, a Bing road map, streets, terrain, terrain with labels, a USA topo map, shaded relief, Imagery, Imagery with labels and others. The controls on the left side of the map are very similar to Google Maps. You can zoom in & out, use your mouse and scroll wheel and the arrow keys on your keyboard. The Map Center on the far left of the screen allows you to view pre-saved maps. Maps that you create can be shared with everyone, shared with specific people you designate or kept for your personal use. You can search for locations by typing in the address, zip code, international postal code, intersection, airport code or geographic coordinates. The pre-made maps contain details that you can click on to learn specific information about each place. You can add content to your maps, measure distances and areas and create presentations for later playback. Presentations allow you to create captures of maps or slides that include titles and other relevant content you add to the map. You can also add pop-up windows that include text, pictures or video. Once you have created all your slides, you can have users advance the slides manually or automatically. This online resource would be very beneficial to Social Studies and Math classes as well as other subjects.

Google Voice Is Now Available To Teachers And Students

Google Voice is now available to anyone (both students and teachers) in education with a .edu email account. Click on this link to see a video on all the cool features Google Voice has to offer: http://www.youtube.com/googlevoice.

I wrote a blog about Google Voice about a year ago. Google Voice www.google.com/voice is a free service. You still need a cell phone carrier. However, when you make a call to any number within the United States any day of the week and any hour of the day, the call is free because you dial your Google number to make the call. International calls are very reasonable. A call to Spain for example is only 2 cents a minute. You get to choose your Google phone number and area code from a list. If you change carriers, you Google number will stay the same. When someone calls your Google phone number you can have it ring your work cell number, personal cell number, desk phone, home phone, all of them or none of them depending on the time of day or the person calling you. Your messages are transcribed to text but the good thing is you don’t have to listen to the voice messages from each phone. You can access all your voice mail from your Google number. Your transcribed voice mails are also sent to your gmail account so you can read them at anytime no matter how noisy it is where you are. You can also set up different voice mail greetings depending on who is calling you. You can have one voice mail greeting for friends, one for work and yet another for your Mother-in-Law. Do I have your attention now! Speaking of Mother-in-Law’s, you can also block calls from a specific number. The next time she calls she will hear the message, “we’re sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or no longer in service. Don’t you just love technology! Google Voice also allows you to share your voice messages. Log into Google Voice select the voicemail you want to share and select email. Type in their address and click send. When a call comes in, you can take the call or send it to voice mail. To have a conference call, have the callers call your Google number. As your phone rings, you will be asked if you want to add the caller to your current call. With Google Voice Mobile App, you can visually navigate between your voice mails. You can also send SMS text messages without charges to your carrier. If you don’t have an .edu email address, I would still apply for a Google Voice account. It’s a very useful number to have.

First Impressions of Google Wave

So in one of the first "waves" ever sent to me, Angie (who I'd sent an invite to Google Wave) asked, "So can you describe Google Wave in five words?" Like many of us she wanted to know why she would begin using this new platform without watching the looooong video on the "About Google Wave" site and why she wouldn't just use email or skype.

Well, I've been using it a bit and reading some good posts on what others thought of the wave. And while I think the possibilities down the road are great, here are some of my early impressions.

Things I like:

• Like many Google products it's very intuitive and has a friendly, clean interface. You don't feel like you need a manual to get started. And if you have a Google account already this is just another piece to add.
• Possibility to be a great tool for collaboration. Sure you can use it for email communication, but it might be at its best with groups, where you need to track the thread of the conversation. Google Wave might really be a great way to share information, links and documents all in one "wave," in real-time.
• Less email (the bane of my existence on some days...I can't even talk about it) or at least the possibility to create one wave that would allow participants to respond without several "replies to all" ending up in inboxes.

Things I don't like (right now):

• Seems slow. In a few practice waves with multiple contributors the "real-time" communication was a little slow. I imagine this will get better as Google continues to work out the kinks.
• Not enough people on wave. As invites to wave continue to go out this will also get better, but Google Wave is not very exciting if you don't have anyone to wave to.

To be fair Google Wave is still in "preview mode," so it will improve and there are all sorts of cool things I've heard will eventually be a part of wave. So for now I enjoy what it is and look forward to the future of the wave.

In the meantime I have three more invites to Google Wave. I'll send them to the first three educators who contact me with the email or gmail account they'd like to use.

Oh, and my answer in five words was skypeIM + email + Wiki = google wave. Not bad for a five word limit. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/axio/3973598646/

Additional Links & Readings:

• Jane Hart has a great Google Wave Reading List
• Lee Stacey's short and sweet Confused by Google Wave? post
• Google Wave Overview from the official site
• ESchool News Google Wave has Great Potential for Education

Google Earth Real-time Animations

Remember what you said when you first saw Google Earth and Google Maps, you might have thought they were great to have as a utility. Especially due to the fact that they were updated more often then other options available at the time. Then Google Earth added a 3-D layer to the program that gave you additional features as well as the ability to create points of interest, etc. Then a little over a year ago Google Maps added its Street View option and many people thought that was a great feature while others immediately thought it was creepy.

There is more out there now and it is coming from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Students and faculty there have been able to design and adapt CCTV feeds into animated 3-D representations within the software. Now you will be able to see how heavy traffic is on the highway before you leave the office. Or you could see how many people walk through Central Park on any given day. You could even watch a football game or keep an eye on your child while they are playing in the park down the street.

Oh yes, the "creep factor" red light is going off with loud booming sirens on this one. But hey we live in a voyeuristic world where we have made TV history for highest ratings for shows like "Big Brother" and "Survivor." But I digress...

The official release will not be unveiled at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality(ISMAR) in Orlando, Fla. which is held Oct 19-22. Take a look at the video below to get a quick sample of what their new technology.

Video provided by Ga. Institute of Technology

Technology Beyond the Classroom

An advantage to the year-long staff development model is that you have the same participants every session, so there is opportunity to reflect on the prior sessions. This time can be an opportunity to ask questions or share accounts of how the technology was used since we last met.

Today I planned to start off the session reflecting on the September session when we covered RSS and Google Reader. I love RSS and am a big believer in the ways it can be used to make teachers' lives easier. However, RSS can sometimes take some getting used to. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out how best to use it and how to get around in Google Reader. So I wasn't sure what to expect when I asked for teachers to share any stories of how they'd used RSS or Google Reader since our last meeting.

After a few murmured responses a teacher said I taught my husband how to set up his Google Reader account. (laughter) What a great response.

I think too often in the effort to make connections to the curriculum, we forget to connect with the teachers who are people. If educators make connections between the technology and their lives outside the classroom, they'll be more willing and comfortable using the new technology. It's no coincidence some of the better teacher bloggers I've seen recently also have personal blogs they share with their families and friends. If subscribing to RSS feeds to the local paper, sports page or Target encourages checking the Google Reader account, that also has some ideas for teaching, so much the better. I've seen that the teachers who use Skype to communicate with family, then come to Skype workshops are much quicker to put it to use in their classrooms.

It's not about teaching just the technology, it is about giving teachers tools that they are inspired to use in and beyond the classroom.

Use Google Voice to Tie All Your Phones Together and Have Access To Many Cool Features!

Google Voice gives you a single phone number that can ring all your phones, saves your voicemail online, and transcribes your voicemail to text. Other cool features include the ability to listen in on messages while they are being left and the ability to make low cost international calls. Calls to Italy for example are 2 cents per minute. Calls anywhere in the United States are free. To start enjoying Google Voice, just give out your Google Voice number. You can record custom greetings for your favorite callers or block annoying callers by marking them as spam.
You have to receive an invitation to create your Google number by going to https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/. After a few days, you will receive an email with a link to set up your Google Voice account. Once you click on the link they send you, you will need to choose your Google number, enter a PIN to access your voicemail by phone, add your forwarding phones such as your cell phones and home phone and verify your phone numbers.
When someone calls your Google phone number, Google Voice will call your cell phone or the phone you have designated in your settings. You can make a call by calling your phone number, pressing 2, then enter the phone number you want to call followed by the pound key. The cool thing is your Google number is the number that is displayed to the people or businesses you call. You can also make calls using your Google Voice account on the web. You can also call a person back from the voicemail by pressing 2. Oh, but there is more! You can do conference calling by calling your Google number and initiating a call. Then have the third party call your Google number. You add them to the call by pressing 5. If needed, you can record the call by pressing 4. Now you can’t say you forgot what your wife wanted you to pick up at the store. If the battery on your work cell phone is getting too low, you can switch to another phone during the conversation by pressing the star button.
You can set which phone you want to ring based on who calls your Google number. You can also set up groups and direct those groups to a specific number when they call. You can set specific callers to go straight to voicemail, the spam folder or block them altogether. In the later case, they will receive a message that the phone number they have dialed is no longer in service, which can be very handy!
You can also listen to the phone messages left on any of your phones by calling your Google number. You can listen to the voicemail as it is being recorded. Press the star key to take the call. Voicemails are automatically transcribed into text by Google. They can even be emailed and SMS to you. You can forward a voicemail via an email to anyone, save a copy to your computer or embed the voicemail in a website or blog. You can also add a call widget to a webpage. They would just click the widget button to call you. Don’t worry, your Google number is kept private. You can receive and send text messages on one or more of your mobile phones. You can reply to a text message from any of your phones or from your Google Voice account. The messages will be stored in your in your Google Voice box.
If this all sounds good to you, sign up for an account today and enjoy the many free benefits that Google has yet again made available to all of us! You've got to love them!

The ABC's of your OS

2000. XP. Vista. Snow Leopard. What do all of these have in common? They are absolutely necessary for your computer to even function! Operating Systems (commonly referred to as simply “OS” provide the backbone structure for your desktop, laptop, or notebook computer.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, an operating system is a “program that manages a computer’s resources, especially the allocation of those resources among other programs. Typical resources include the central processing unit (CPU), computer memory, file storage, input/output (I/O) devices, and network connections. Management tasks include scheduling resource use to avoid conflicts and interference between programs. Unlike most programs, which complete a task and terminate, an operating system runs indefinitely and terminates only when the computer is turned off.”

So, what’s the latest and greatest in OS’s on the market today?

Windows 7 is the newest operating system for the PC. Check out this introductory video.

If you are a Mac lover, then Snow Leopard is sure to peak your curiosity as the latest OS to hit the scene for the Apple.

The Unix OS is a multi-user system that allows multiple users to take advantage of different resources all at one time! Nice thing about Unix? It is open-source (free) and runs on a variety of computer platforms!

Quite like Unix, Linux is another type of OS that is also open-source and runs on a PC. Who uses Linux? According to howstuffworks.com, typically the folks most interested in going against the norm of Windows and Mac operating systems…

· People who already know UNIX and want to run it on PC-type hardware;

· People who want to experiment with operating system principles;

· People who need or want a great deal of control over their operating system; and

· People who have personal problems with Microsoft

What's on the OS horizon? Google's newest arrival... the Google Chrome OS. It is in the works and is supposed to change how we look at the OS altogether... Stay tuned for its release...

So, after all is said and done, are you still using Windows 2000 or XP? Don’t feel bad. As long as your computer is performing up to par and your tasks and goals are met – all is well.

*Disclaimer – This post is for educational and information purposes only. Please do not attempt to upgrade any of the district and/or school-owned desktops or laptops. As with all processes and protocols, the Technology Department will handle upgrades, etc. when appropriate.

The Wonder Wheel Experience

When it comes to browsers and search engines, I’m always looking for some new element—something that will add to the experience. The Google Wonder Wheel won’t replace my traditional search process, but it has an interesting visual way to organize the results from a search. And the Wonder Wheel can help make connections to a topic or narrow a search for a broad term.

Enter a search term and when the results are displayed select “show options."

Wonder Wheel will appear as one the options on the left-hand side of the screen.

Your selected results will appear with your original search term in the center with related terms in a connected web circling the term. Click on any of the related topics and a new web is created. Links to the terms in the web are located on the right.

You can see that the Wheel is easy to use and is a great way to show connections between related search terms.