Mr. Gawron's Blog

Whiteboard Share

2012-01-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

Sample from an Android Phone

Makes whiteboard images easier to read, share and print.

Whiteboard Share (WBShare) is a FREE application for easily capturing and sharing whiteboard discussions.

The WBShare app removes the unwanted artifacts from your whiteboard images, making them easier to read, share and print. It also reports the approximate percentage of savings in toner usage, which helps you go GREEN.

Link: on the iTunes App Store
Link: in the Android Marketplace

How Big Is It?

2012-01-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

The 2010 Gulf oil spill would have covered the entirety of
Orange and Rockland Counties in New York State.

BBC's How Big Really? and How Many Really? use meta-data to allow students to make visual correlations to abstract or statistical information.

A student can understand the area affected by the 2010 Gulf oil spill (Coastal areas in the Southern U.S.) but they can see the size in comparison to their own residence (left image).

Personally, I like the Ancient Worlds sections because it serves as a great introduction to historical architecture by demonstrating relevance, in size, to the world today.

web: http://howbigreally.com/
web: http://howmanyreally.com/

Visualising China: explore historical photos of China

2011-10-21T09:06:00.003-04:00

一畫勝千言
"One picture is worth ten thousand words"

Visualising China is an interactive database of images from 1850-1950. Using crowd sourcing each image is being placed into a location, time period, and surname.

This images are available under a Creative Commons license and can be a great addition to any presentation on the history, culture, and development of China.

Link: Visualising China: explore historical photos of China

Jay-Z and Warren Buffett Team Up to Teach Kids Financial Literacy - Education - GOOD

2011-10-20T09:25:00.001-04:00

Which is the cartoon and which is the real Warren?

So you didn't get involved in Bershire-Hathaway in the early 90s ($111,440/share at the moment), but your student can learn a thing or two from an investment Guru. Warren Buffett has gone digital to teach financial literacy to a new generation of investors.

The AOL Kids Secret Millionaires Club has simple videos, games, and discussions to help students understand the importance of money and its efficient use.

Link: Jay-Z and Warren Buffett Team Up to Teach Kids Financial Literacy - Education - GOOD:

Give Your Resume an Edge by Making It More Modern

2011-10-20T08:46:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's time to switch schools or your career. Maybe your students need some tips for creating a presence in today's competitive (or non-existant) job market. Below are plenty of tips and tricks for putting together a professional and modern resume that will garner attention.

Link: 4 Digital Alternatives to a traditional resume

Link: Give Your Resume an Edge by Making It More Modern

Joliprint | Save web articles as PDF for reading later

2011-06-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Creating PDFs on a Mac is easy. Joliprint is just as simple.

For interoperability, mobility, portability, file-size, and maintaining visual layout and design PDFs (Portable Document Files) are the way to go. Though .pdf readers are common on most personal computers, a .pdf creator may need to be installed separately. Joliprint makes it easy to create PDFs from web documents by simply inserting the URL of your desired document.

Create your personal library of PDFs that can be printed, displayed, and attached to emails with ease.

Link: http://joliprint.com/

Google Body - Google Labs

2011-06-03T08:14:00.000-04:00

Google Labs is where some abstract ideas have an opportunity to flourish in the world of Google.
Google Body is a searchable, scalable, manipulative 3D presentation of the male/female body. Users can add and remove systems within the body.

I personally like the idea of being able to add notes and "pin" information to the the diagram. It may be good for a collaborate group or lab project for identifying body parts.

If you manipulate the body yourself a link can be provided to show exactly what you want your students to see. Example: link (a view of the heart and circulatory system of a male from the right side of the body)

Note: Google Labs contains beta items so they may contain "bugs" during their development phase.

Link: http://googlelabs.com
Link: http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/body.html

PSU: Copyright Perspectives

2011-05-29T07:00:00.009-04:00

Penn State University has put together a respectable website containing simple discussions on copyright including music, plagiarism, and digital media. Their explanation of Fair Use is very cut and dry to allow any student or educator understand what can and can not be used in the classroom.

Also, here's a simple check-list from the University of Texas to let you know if what you are using in the classroom is protected under Fair Use and the TEACH Act.

Link: http://copyright.psu.edu/
Link: http://copyright.psu.edu/2010/08/fair-use-ruling-and-implications-for-educational-and-non-profit-use.html
Fair Use: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
TEACH Act: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/teachact.htm

Virtual Sistine Chapel

2011-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Exterior view of the Sistine Chapel

Tourists can view the inside of the Sistine Chapel, but are normally forbidden from obtaining images like this. The Vatican hosts a virtual Sistine Chapel. It is not as user friendly as Google Art Project but the resolution quality of DaVinci's paintings are unmatched.

Link: http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistine_vr/index.html

HandBrake

2011-05-06T07:00:00.007-04:00

Now with 21 essential vitamins,
including Apple TV support

If you own a Mac and don't have HandBrake, what have you been thinking? You can take DVDs and capture chapters, time lengths and have it in a nice small, portable file. Great for use with Keynote and PowerPoint presentations, or standalone presentations. Everything falls under Fair Use, and having a specific clip is easier than finding a spot in a DVD or remembering that DVD to begin with. Very simple interface for easy use.

Also available for Windows and Linux Operating Systems.

Link: http://handbrake.fr

Search Strategies in Plain English

2011-05-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

A short educational video on simple search strategies to make the Internet a friendly pond of information, instead of a vast ocean of confusion.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rESpZFGgFsY

YouTube Copyright School

2011-05-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

YouTube presents a simple cartoon on what is and is not in violation of copyright on their site. I'll try to post sites and references to better understand copyright to educate students and increase knowledge on what can be permitted in a school setting.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/t/copyright_education
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InzDjH1-9Ns

Screencast-O-Matic

2011-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

An online screen recorder can do many things. Screencast-o-matic will allow you to record your screen with a 15-minute time limit for free. Add the fact you can download any recording into an .mp4 format you have a small, portable file that contains everything. For $9 a year you'll have advanced features. I personally like the mouse actions to cue a viewer into what is occurring (you'll notice in the video).

Some ideas:

Quick and easy podcast

Don't worry about multiple third-party products. Record your voice, record the screen, done!

Recording key lessons

Can you get the point across in 15 minutes? Then you can make as many as you want. FREE!
Don't worry about clunky SMARTBoard notebook software.

Recording repetitive computer tasks

Want to spend more time teaching and facilitating? Create a video FAQ for simple tasks that your students can go to for help.

Link: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com
Help Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/screencastomatic

Art Project - powered by Google

2011-04-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Again, this video can explain more than I ever could:

Art Project, powered by Google

Link: http://www.googleartproject.com

Dragon Dictation for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

2011-04-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Nuance's Dragon: Naturally Speaking is a top-notch speech recognition software program for those who favor speaking over writing. The $50-$100 price tag may detract a user, but what if F-R-E-E came into play?

Dragon Dictation is available for Apple products for free. For Android users a $4.99 will add other features. Anything recorded will be converted to text and has the ability to be sent to a variety of interfaces for later use. This form of Naunce's program is actually stronger than the purchased products because the conversion is web-based. That means no massive updates for users.

Nuance: http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm
Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8
Android: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.nuance.flext9.input&feature=search_result

"GOOD" Infographics

2011-04-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

GOOD

From their mouth, not mine:

GOOD is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD's mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community.

Their philosophy sums up everything I enjoy about this site. From education to the environment, food to action projects. GOOD is just that ... good. Well, it's really good. What I enjoy the most is their infographics. Putting reliable sources in a graphic form allows students to better understand and appreciate data. Having students replicate some of these infographics for your classroom can enhance their understanding and create an enjoyable presentation of information for future classes. Each infographic has a zoom feature to expand the image for personal or classroom use (preferably on a SMARTBoard).

Click here to see their representation of earthquakes: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1102/earthquake/flat.html

Link: http://www.good.is/infographics
Link: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1102/earthquake/flat.html
Link: http://Good.is

Sweet Search

2011-04-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

Google, Bing and Yahoo can provide users with plenty of websites. But, can they provide a student with evaluated and credible websites? SweetSearch will provide effective search results for more appropriate research. There is also features (upper right corner) to browse, bookmark, and transfer information to Google Docs, for multiple selected links. SweetSearch makes searching the Internet more reliable and the retention of information for research easier to retain.

Link: http://www.sweetSearch.com
Ten Steps to better searches: http://www.sweetsearch.com/TenSteps
Slideshare Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/sweetsearch/teaching-the-ten-steps-to-better-web-research

Using Google Docs to Tag-Team Class Note Taking

2011-04-20T07:00:00.005-04:00

Shep McAllister over at hackcollege.com demonstrates an interesting idea for using Google Docs. The ability to share access to an online document can serious enhance note-taking in the classroom.

Currently, Google offers their entire application suite free to schools in NYS. Students can obtain a Docs account without the need of a Gmail account. The potential for this as a valid means of note-taking and collaboration in the classroom is very strong. (Video following a 15 sec ad)

Google Docs: http://docs.google.com
"I'm in a Google state of Mind": http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/im-in-google-apps-state-of-mind.html
"Tag Team Class note-taking": http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/3/30/use-google-docs-to-tag-team-class-note-taking.html
Website: http://www.hackcollege.com
Shep McAllister's Posts: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/author/shepmcallister

RegentsPrep

2011-04-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you're a high school teacher in NYS and are not aware of RegentsPrep, where have you been?

A small and simple post for study strategies, old Regents exams, and key topics.

RegentsPrep - Oswego City School District Regents Exam Prep Center

HippoCampus

2011-04-17T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hippo Campus is another self-paced study guide for the sciences, US history, and American Government. It can be utilized for web-based homework for AP/Honors and Regents level students with topics broken down into two unique presentations.

A look into those two presentations will see a difference in vocabulary used, questions asked, and depth of topic. The use of audio, visual, and text-based presentations attempts to address multimodality. In regards to history, users are often presented with primary source documents and audio summaries over historical imagery.

Most lessons also include review questions though a teacher can generate their own questions to allow students to review.

Bonus: Algebra and Calculus lessons are also provided in Spanish

HippoCampus - http://www.hippocampus.org
Multimoldality - http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=multimodal

Kahn Academy

2011-04-16T09:25:00.004-04:00

With over 2,100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises, Khan Academy started out as simple YouTube videos that became a new way of learning. Covering the Maths and Science and now expanding into the Humanities you and your students will be able to find simple videos to break down big topics.

Based on the concept of Universal Design, Khan Academy will allow a student to learn and review in as a self-paced environment regardless of learning environment. When a student can not progress through the exercises, Khan Academy can recommend a video or base-level concept that the student may be deficient in to strengthen their skills.

Universal Design - http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4.cfm
Khan Academy - http://www.khanacademy.org
Scientific Notation 1 - http://www.khanacademy.org/video/scientific-notation-1?playlist=Algebra%20I%20Worked%20Examples