Vicki Davis

I'm laughing at mail goggles, but do agree, that even though I don't drink, sometimes when I'm angry, I need some sort of goggles to keep me from flaming and sending a bad email!! This new feature from google labs is something you can enable on your gmail account - at certain times of day it will check your reflexes and if your'e a little slow, it won't let you send the email but will save it for later. I find this interesting and funny but the truth is that when we talk to a person who is inebriated, we know not to take what they say seriously -- there is no such thing on email -- you cannot see their state of mind. Isn't this why emoticons evolved? - Vicki Davis

Google RISe awards is a grant program -- Supports program that advance STEM and computer science. Non profit, computer science facutly, staff and students. There are a lot of opportunities here. Good luck! Due December 1st, 2008. - Vicki Davis

Apple is quite protective of the uses of their devices and although they allow the development of "apps" -- they made waves recently when they denied the app that allows people to download and listen directly to podcasts w/out synching w/ the computer. Mobile itunes doesn't offer this feature. So, there is "open" and truly "open." Iphone apps store isn't really open, if this is true. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

Ford announces a car key will allow parents to set limits on their teenage drivers. If you want to require them to buckle up before the car cranks - you can do it. If you want them not to listen to loud music or not drive over a certain speed, you can do that too! Technology has brought freedom - it can also restrict teens as well, as many will begin to realize. They should behave responsibily or more devices such as this will emerge to elicit control at the source. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

Artists are moving to have their rights protected in new ways. With copyright infringement running rampant, somehow artists and others have to figure out how to navigate in this new world. I wish artists would consider some sort of educational license ot let students make videos and use their music in school media. - Vicki Davis

Article about teachers being filmed and put on youtube -- I did a post a while back called "spies like us" that talks about this happening. Again, talk about behavior to kids before this happens at your school - www.digiteen.net is our effort. - Vicki Davis

Doug Belshaw in the UK reflects on the role of administration and politics in British education. He and I see eye to eye on this one! - Vicki Davis

Matthew Bib tipped me off to this one -- this add on lets you open an IE tab in firefox. Not sure of the security of it and I want to check it out. My bank only lets me use IE. If it is safe as it look s(15 million downloads) - this is a GREAT tool. - Vicki Davis

Just finding so much funding for "educational innovation" but so little true innovation in education -- looking at this article from the UK -- they are praising universities for seemingly unquantifiable something or other that they've done. The aims are great, it seems - but also missing is the opportunity to bridge K12 to the business world through programs run by college students like they are doing at U Michigan. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

From this article in the New York Times: "The University of Northern Colorado is about to launch the Education Innovation Institute. University and government officials will detail plans on Sept. 24 for what is being billed as the "leading authority on education policy research and analysis." UNC has been a leader in the field of education since its founding in 1889 as the State Normal School." Another research program -- they started testing cash incentives. I would wish that they would test educational networking and other tools. In addition to testing how to improve lower scores and make them medium - -how about how to make gifted better as well? I often wonder where the next einstein will come from because Einstein would have been in remedials in American education. And remedials in the US don't make kids like einstein. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

This announcement came in recently: "The University of Northern Colorado is about to launch the Education Innovation Institute. University and government officials will detail plans on Sept. 24 for what is being billed as the "leading authority on education policy research and analysis." UNC has been a leader in the field of education since its founding in 1889 as the State Normal School." I hope that they will blog it, for if they truly want to influence educational innovation, they will share their findings and become part of this amazing grassroots network of educators. Be part of change or be irrelevant. - Vicki Davis

I highly recommend that elementary and middle schools at least sign up for a school code for woogi world - this is a great tool suggested by Hoover City schools for teaching digital citizenship. My daughter (my intrepid tester of all kid virtual worlds) loves it and says she thinks it is great for kids. - Vicki Davis

Twitter is a rapidly emerging place for people to connect. They can use their cell phone or a web browser to post updates called "microblogs" to tell others what they are doing. Many teachers and others throughout the world are connecting to one another via twitter, creating "viral" professional development as some call it. - Vicki Davis

Government organizations like the smithsonian are reaching out to educators and others with an online presence. This cool site has lesson plans and lots of great information for arts, science and technology, history and culture, and language arts. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

Web 3.0 and how the web is evolving is a part of current discussion. Some say Web 3D is more likely with Second Life like environments merging with the Semantic web. This is a great site for those working on inventing and predicting what will happen. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/... - Vicki Davis

Interestingly, inconvenient youth is built on the Ning platform. Fascinating use. This video from the blue man group on the environment has been widely viewed around the world. Such videos spark social change -- these are not TV commercials but viral videos that spread from blog to blog and email to email. How information travels has fundamentally changed. - Vicki Davis

Wiki about wireless connectivity and how it is changing. - Vicki Davis

Virtual communications give us a way to communicate with people around the world. This wiki won the award for best wiki, and also included award winning videos. The team mates were mentioned by Tom Friedman in his book, The World is Flat. - Vicki Davis

Mobile and ubiquitous computing means that we can compute anywhere any time. This award winning wiki from the first flat classroom project does an excellent job of explaning it, although the language is a little bit too first person, not really appropriate for a wiki. - Vicki Davis

Uploading, personal learning networks, and the changing shape of information are affecting our world. This is a page from the 2006 Flat Classroom Project. - Vicki Davis

Very nice wiki about how Google has transformed the world from Flat Classroom 2006. - Vicki Davis

This is an outstanding web page from the first flat classroom project on Globalization and Outsourcing. - Vicki Davis

2006 Web 2.0 Flat Classroom Project - Vicki Davis

2006 Flat Classroom Project - workflow software - Vicki Davis

2006 Flat Classroom Project - How the World Wide WEb Changed the World -- - Vicki Davis

The first flat classroom project and their topic of connecting the world online. - Vicki Davis

I'm finding the discussions about research on the Flat Classroom project to be very interesting. We have some researchers who are joining in the project just as observers and if you fit in this category, just join the project and join this group. Craig Union is sort of the de facto leader of this group and DJ White is also really contributing as well. Join in! - Vicki Davis

New website that lets you plan your lessons -- may want to test it a little. Looks kind of interesting. If you can't use Google Cal, this may be an alternative. Anyone using this, would like to know what others use to plan lessons. - Vicki Davis

Contest to encourage student to create a vision of the future of technology. This site shows the inventions and the awards. This is a neat competition and you might want to plug in your math and science program, particularly the gifted program. Competitions help your top students reach higher and are a very important part of gifted programs (and others too!) - Vicki Davis

Math and Science teachers -- beginning teachers should consider applying for these fellowships. These are in the United States. Here is what the ocmpany says about the fellowships (applications due Jan 15): "The prestigious KSTF Teaching Fellowship is valued at nearly $150,000 over the course of five-years and supports aspiring teachers of promise as they embark on careers teaching high school science and mathematics. Designed to meet the financial and professional needs of beginning teachers, the Fellowship exposes educators to a variety of teaching resources, new curriculum materials, and research and experts in the field. Most importantly, the program fosters professional development within a community of high school science and mathematics teachers and prepares Fellows to become leaders in their field." - Vicki Davis