New Visualization Charts in Google Apps

From Richard Byrne's blog Free Technology for Teachers is a nice piec e about using Google Forms and Spreadsheets to create charts: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/10/new-visualization-charts-in-google-docs.html

Using Power Point as a visual aid

Here's a great piece from Garr Reynolds' Presentation web site. He does an excellent analysis of how to use Power Point as a supplement to a presentation.
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2010/10/talking-clearly-visually-about-plastic-pollution.html

Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Here are a couple of outstanding video presentations on the author Washington Irving. The first is by a high school student. Notice how she uses the medium of video well with good transitions. The only thing she could have done better is to make the text easier to read by making it more in contrast to the background. The second is a cool animation of the author reading the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Bridge eaters

This is a great use of time-lapse photography with a tilt effect.

Bridge Eaters from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.

Coach Wooden and Winning

Here is a great blog entry by Vern Gambetta from Elite Track:

"Steve Odgers send me an email yesterday reminding me that it was John Woodens birthday and that Coach Wooden never spoke to his teams about winning. Never speaks volumes when you think of the championships and wins his teams accumulated. The message here, a message I have seen in everyone that are consistent winners, is that they focus on the process, not the outcome. If you pay attention to details, have a plan and get absorbed in the process then the winning is an outcome. Conversely think of the losing teams and organizations you see. They are always talking about winning. There are banners and slogans everywhere, but bottom line they are focused on the outcome and they make losing a self-fulfilling prophecy. They seem to find a way to lose. Winners find ways to win to because they have paid attention to the process. If they do lose there are no excuses, just learning, then back to the process."

This just re-enforces what so many others say about the importance of the process. It's what you do every day that defines you, not the short term results of winning or losing. If you focus on each day and get the best you can out of it, then the wins and losses will take care of themselves.

Responsibility in education

Students in Finland are at the top of the world in student performance.  One thing they teach there is personal responsibility.  Teachers are responsible for their curriculum.  Students are responsible for their learning. What does this mean for us?

New Library of Congress Catalog

The Library of Congress has a new online catalog providing access to a large number of databases: http://eresources.loc.gov/  

You can read more about it at: http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2010/09/a-new-catalog-in-town/