27 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/26/2009


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26 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/25/2009


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23 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/22/2009


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21 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/20/2009


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20 May 2009

Take Your Students to the Moon

Cross-posted on Dorman's Trouvailles

Image Credit: NASA

Did you know that Discovery Education streaming is adding new video content all the time?

I am really excited for the newest video added to extensive media library, In the Shadow of the Moon. This 2-hour special production aired on the Discovery Channel just last year and it's already available for teachers and students through DE streaming.
Journey with crew members from NASA's Apollo missions as they recount the exhilaration, fear, and awe of voyaging to the moon. Featuring never-before-seen, remastered footage shot by the astronauts themselves, the program captures the thrill of the space race and pays tribute to the men and women who dedicated their lives to space and scientific advancement. Interviews with astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins, James Lovell, Eugene Cernan, Alan Bean, Charles Duke, and others provide an intimate view of the lunar missions from the only men who have ever walked on another world.

This show tells the story of true human ingenuity, creativity, and fearlessness. It is a story of hope that is uplifting and inspiring. It is also a story seeped in contextual understanding of the historical time and place that made a mission of this unimaginable magnitude possible.

In the Shadow of the Moon is available as a full video and also as video segments. There is an excellent teacher's guide to help you find creative and engaging ways to use the video with your students.

If you are a DE streaming subscriber, click here to access the video and teaching materials for In the Shadow of the Moon. If you are not a current subscriber, click here to request a preview.

For additional teaching resources, check out NASA at 50 - available through Discovery Education School. The Discovery Channel has some terrific resources available online:
DE streaming also has some excellent video series that also appeared on the Discovery Channel within the past year:

  • The NASA at 50 series contains 18 videos, all with teacher guides. DE streaming subscribers, search for "NASA at 50" to access the full collection.
  • The When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions six-part series is available in both English and Spanish and has awesome resources included in the teacher guides. DE streaming subscribers, search for "When We Left Earth" to access the complete series.

The story of America’s journey to the moon is interdisciplinary.
  • Science: study the science behind space travel or research the solar system
  • Social Studies: study the space program and its place in the larger context of the Cold War or investigate the geography on Earth that was used as a training ground for astronauts to prepare for the geography of the moon
  • Math: investigate the mathematical principles that allowed humans to travel to the moon or use Google Earth to measure distance, angles, and practice geometry
  • Language Arts: investigate themes of heroism and how the journey to the moon has entered into our modern mythology
  • Art: create artist renderings of the moon or investigate photographs of the moon as a lesson in color and shading
  • Music: discover how space travel and the moon inspired popular songs
  • Industrial Arts: create a model of a lunar landing or transportation vehicle
  • Family and Consumer Science: study the nutritional needs of astronauts while in the zero gravity of space
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Education: investigate how the space race and the journey to the moon impacted the educational programs in the USA

So, spark your students' imagination by taking them to the moon with Discovery Education!







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Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/19/2009


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16 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/15/2009


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14 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/13/2009


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13 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/12/2009

  • The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

    From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

    tags: environment, sustainability, consumption, consumerism, activism, stuff, animation, education


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07 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/06/2009


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06 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/05/2009


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05 May 2009

Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/04/2009


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04 May 2009

Leonardo da Vinci Sparking Imagination Today

The Mona Lisa.Image via Wikipedia

[Cross posted on Dorman's Trouvailles]

There is a new series on the Discovery Channel that has me hooked, Doing DaVinci.

Leonardo da Vinci was the original Renaissance Man — master of science, master of the arts, master of war. His revolutionary designs were the most advanced weapons of their day and were capable of unparalleled destruction. Yet no proof exists that they were ever constructed.


In Doing DaVinci a team of expert builders will try to construct these unique inventions using only materials available in da Vinci's own time. It's a modern twist on the classics, but will these outrageous machines work? Or were Leonardo's genius ideas better left in the history books?

Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT


doing-davinci-_-discovery-channel.jpg

This series is devoted to testing the plans and inventions imaged by Leonardo da Vinci hundreds of years ago. There are also some terrific interactive resources available online:
If you are interesting in exploring the world of Da Vinci with your students, be sure to check out the resources in DE streaming and DE Science. In streaming teachers and students can access 24 full videos, 53 video segments, 9 articles, and 18 images. Here are a few highlights:
DE Science subscribers can access 3 full videos, 8 video segments, and 3 images. One of my favorites are the three video clips about da Vinci in Understanding Robotics.

EdSITEment has a series of great lesson plans that are part of "Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius."

Science NetLinks also has a few lesson resources for teaching about da Vinci:
So, if you are looking to bring one of the Renaissance's greatest thinkers to life in your classroom or you are brushing up on your history for a Dan Brown novel, check out some of these lesson resources and Doing DaVinci on the Discovery Channel.







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Websites I Found Interesting - Diigo 05/03/2009


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03 May 2009

Tap Your PLN with Twitter Polls

Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase

[Note: Cross posted on Dorman's Trouvailles]

I admit that I am a bit of a Twitter junkie. It's not like I get the shakes when I am away from Twitter for too long (though, TwitterBerry may have something to do with that . . .) Really, Twitter is one of the primary places I go to learn. I have an AMAZING professional learning network populated primarily by Discovery Educators and Twitter is one of our primary sharing platforms. Sometimes I just jump into the Twitter stream and immerse myself in collective knowledge. Other times I enter with a specific purpose of seeking answers or suggestions. It's a bit like open swim verses lap swimming at the local pool.

Twitter polls are a terrific way to accomplish the latter. I have used twtpoll numerous times to gather information in a highly visual format. I have found twtpoll to be very effective in gathering information quickly and succinctly.

twtpoll-__-which-professional-development-model-would-your-district-be-most-likely-to-engage-in-given-budgetary-constraints-via-cliotech.jpg

There are a couple of other really good Twitter polling applications:

PollDaddy Twitter Polls

polldaddy-twitter-polls-send-a-poll-directly-to-your-twitter-stream.jpg

StrawPoll

strawpoll.jpg

All of these polling applications are simply a way to visualize the results you might receive with @responses on Twitter. One advantage is that respondents have anonymity which, for some questions, may increase your response percentage. Plus, you "see" the results instantly without having to filter through responses over time.

So, if you are looking for a quick way to harness the collective intelligence of your professional learning community on Twitter, try out one of these free polling applications.







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Going Googley with Google Tools - Week 10

Image representing Google Docs as depicted in ...Image via CrunchBase

After a VERY long hiatus to allow myself time to settle into my new job as a DEN Account Manager with Discovery Education and an adjunct professor for Wilkes University, I am back to my weekly series, Going Googley with Google Tools.

My topic for this week is the new set of Getting Started Guides for Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations.


Even if you are a regular user of Google Docs, I can almost guarantee that you will learn something new from these Getting Started Guides.

Did you know that the Forms feature in Google Spreadsheets now supports the use of themes? Check out the details.

For integration ideas and support resources for Google Docs be sure to visit the Google Docs page on my Google Tools for Schools site.







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Posted by at 9:51 PM 1 comments

Cell Phone Podcasting with Phone.io

I've been looking for services that could possibly step in where GCast starting charging and phone.io might just fill that void. I already use drop.io constantly to share resources with others and collab.io for virtual meetings.

phone.io is a service of drop.io designed for recording voicemail directly to the web, and podcasting. In two clicks you get a custom phone line and record MP3s instantly to the web. You can then share via web (URL), email, iTunes, RSS, Twitter, and Facebook 'outputs'.



Make a phone.io 'drop' for voicemail and podcast now







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