Who will win the Stanley Cup?

Web2.0Calc

http://web2.0calc.com/

I have seen several of online calculators before, but this one is amazing!!! They even have code you can use to embed it in your site!! I did however find a problem with this, the "widget" does not re-size when you use such functions as graphing or matrices. No big deal, though, just click on the link and go to the Web2.0Calc site and you are good to go!!

You can see it in use on my wiki site at MrO-Physics.

You have to try this one out!!!

Project-Based Learning: A Case for Not Giving Up | Edutopia

Project-Based Learning: A Case for Not Giving Up | Edutopia

This is a real good article about the "stumbling" blocks you may have when introducing and using PBL in the classroom.

Fixing the Chrome Error: “Could not create directory for unzipping” - Eddie On Everything

Fixing the Chrome Error: “Could not create directory for unzipping” - Eddie On Everything

This is the one that worked!! I was pulling my hair out to get extensions to work and this was the ticket.

What I am working on is using Portable Apps from a USB drive with Chrome Portable. I kept getting the "create... " error. I found this page and followed the directions. I tried using Win7's built in zip ability but it did not work. So I installed 7zip portable on my USB drive and extracted files with it.

I can now install and use extensions!!! Thank you very much Eddie on Everything!

Five Myths About School Attendance

Five Myths About School Attendance

This article from Education Week is very interesting. I have been on "Attendance Committees" and it has been very eye opening to see the trends in attendance. I do agree with the 5 myths and also agree with the premise of "students cannot learn if they do not attend school". I do however want to throw in a little monkey wrench: online schooling. Do we count attendance when the student logs on to the computer to do school work? And is it really necessary for a child to attend school to learn? In other words, can learning occur outside of school?

I will ponder these questions and respond at a later date. I would like to hear what others think, this could be a very good discussion.

Dealing with WIKIs

Wikis are a wonderful tool.  They allow for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.  They can be used like websites to pass on information and share documents or they can be used like electronic portfolios or they can be used just like Wikipedia (which of course is a Wiki). The problem is when do you use them?  And how to use them?

From an article found in the August 2010 edition of “Tech Learning”, Ellen Ullman writes:

“Middle and high school teachers use them for group projects. A math teacher who solves problems with the screen capturing tool Jing (jingproject.com) embeds his work into his wiki for continuous review. Third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers use wikis to create centers that include directions for assignments and student work.” (Link to article)

I personally can only answer the questions above by simply saying, try it.  If it works great!  If not, adjust!

The two Wikis out there that are used in the classroom the most are Wikispaces and PBWorks. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.  I personally find Wikispaces very easy to use and it is the one I prefer.

Give Wikis a try… you will find your students will get involved and possibly even find creating a wiki fun!

A problem with my last post….

As I have said before, I am trying to use Windows Live Writer….  Apparently when I use the “embed” code for my Scratch project it shows up with no problems in Writer, but when it gets posted, it either disappears or does not work.

It may be due to my “AD Blocker”, but I tried viewing the blog on another computer and it still had issues.  So, if anyone else has any ideas on how to solve this problem, I would love to hear form you!

First Scratch Upload

I was first introduced to Scratch about a year ago.  I have not really had the time to play with it and see what it can do.  I recently was reminded of it while attending Alan November’s Building Learning Communities 10 conference in Boston.  I decided to download it and give it a try. 

I am very happy to say that it is very easy to use.  It basically is an “integrated development environment” like you would find using Visual Studio.  HOWEVER it is EXTREMELY rudimentary and designed for young people.  AND it is FREE! You are not going to develop the next big Windows app with it BUT you will learn about programming and object based coding.

I worked through a couple of tutorials and in about 30 minutes of “playing” I was able to code and upload the following:

(To view it click on the “green flag” in the upper right hand corner)

Learn more about this project

As you can see it is just a very basic little "movie" like presentation. However I do suggest that you check the website, it is amazing what some students are doing with this program! I used the embed code generated to place it here.

Below I used the “html” generated code to embed it in the blog.  You need to click on it and it will take you to the website where you can view it:

 

I hope you take the time to look into this valuable free application!!

My First Blog entry using Windows Live Writer

This entry was made using a component of Windows Live Essentials. This is a set of programs that include a Photo Gallery, Messenger, Live Mail and a few others.  I found the set up to be very straight forward. 

Live Writer connected to my Blog on Blogger, downloaded all the posts and even the theme! 

I will be interested in seeing just how good this is compared to just using the online editor.  At first glance it does seem to be a little easier to add certain things to the blog.  For instance there is a “task” bar on the left (like you would see in Word) that has options to insert “Pictures”, “Map”, “Video” and other items.

I will continue to explore and report back when I can.

BLC 10

I am attending the NovemberLearning BLC10 conference and I am learning soooo much! I have a lot of ideas that I need to put into action this school year.