Google Plus Games Arrive to Challenge Facebook

I am sure it is not a surprise to anyone that Google Plus is trying to compete for the attention of Facebook users.  Now they have invested $200 million or more in game design to try to cash in on those users.  Specifically they have invested in Zynga who were the designers of Farmville and Cityville which were designed specifically for Facebook.  Zynga has primarily been dependent of Facebook for their games but that is about to change.

Google is saying that their games will change the gaming industry.  Google has also stressed that the games are only there if you want them.  Their platform can also be game free.

Now after reading the article, I go further to read the comments.  Most of the comments are that why are they spending money on gaming.  Really people don't join Facebook for the games and a lot of people are ready to leave Facebook because of the gaming invitations.  Most people are using Facebook to stay connected.  They want to be in the loop of what is going on.  I have to say that I agree.  I am on Facebook for two reasons.  One, to see what my kids are up to.  Two, to keep in touch with people that I don't see very often.  I have never played a game on Facebook and I don't plan on it.  For me, it really is all about staying connected.

Resources:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_plus_games_arrive_to_challenge_facebook.php

5 Ways Small Businesses Can Use QR Codes

Okay, I have to be honest I did not even know what QR codes were until earlier this week.  I was setting in my bosses office and we were talking about how we need to do things differently and think "outside of the box".  She showed me a QR code that was in our non credit course catalogs.  She said that department had put one of these codes in their catalog and if someone with a smartphone scanned it they would be downloading the catalog to their phone.  Wow, what a concept.

So as I am going through my RSS feeds, I come across this article.  Who knew there was so much that you could do with these codes.  I plan on going back to work on Monday and asking to put one of these on the back on my business card.  The college just made a decision to stop printing our college, for credit, catalog and strictly making it online.  The catalog could be loaded into the QR code on the back of my card so students can access it right from their phone.  Oh the possibilities...

Resources:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/01/how-small-businesses-use-qr-codes.php

Android Tablets Begin Chipping Away At iPads Dominance

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about iPad still dominating the enterprise.  This week, I am reading another article about how Android is starting to narrow the gap on their version of the iPad.  Although the article talks about Android making some changes and how Google is releasing their newest OS code named "ice cream sandwich", they have a ways to go to match Apple.  The author states that right now Android has taken 20% of the market share from Apple and that by 2015 they should have 38.6%.  I wouldn't say that is leaps and bounds and the way Apple is going by 2015 they will have something even better. 

Apple is amazing and so are their products.  Have you ever walked past an Apple store and seen it empty?  Well, I haven't and I don't think I will any time soon in the future.

Resource:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/android_tablet_growth_ipad_dominance.php

Wooden Bathtubs

All right this doesn't have a lot to do with technology, but I am a huge fan of HGTV so I subscribed to their RSS feed.  This article (see link below) is about a totally wooden bathtub.  It was designed by yacht builders which gives the tub the same richness of a yacht.  These tubs are absolutely beautiful.  According to the article, they don't warp or get water damage and they wont splinter.

Their special design tub looks like a huge salad bowl.  These are really cool. 

Reference:  http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2011/07/29/daily-delight-wooden-bathtubs/

Apple Comes Closer to Taking Over Your Livingroom

Apple is one step closer to release their updated television sets.  The new televisions will include cloud space and streaming of movies and shows that are purchased through iTunes. Right now the only way to view these are if you have them loaded on another Apple devise and use Air Play or Home Share.   They are planning to release iCloud this fall, which will sync content, contacts and calendars across Apple devices. 

By next year, Apple is hoping to stop their "hobby" of television sets and release three different HDTV sets. This new initiative will take Apple into a whole new realm. 

What will Apple think of next?  With all the gadgets they will have on the market and the ability to sync them they will continue to be a technology giant.  As it is you see people who can't go five minutes without pulling out their iPhone, iPad, ITouch or other technical devise.  Apple is just going to make it that much easier to be connected.

Resource:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_moves_closer_to_taking_over_your_living_room.php

Google Expands International Support for Chrome Web Store

Google released an article today about expanding its Google Chrome web browser into the International Market.  Google will allow merchants to target or leave out international markets.  The new browser will allow apps to be purchased through the new market on a tiered pay. 

Mozilla Firefox is challenging the apps and browser because of some of the downloadable features and storage on computers.  They say that it is not a a true web app because it can't be available on any web browser.  Google wants a complete web based software and is working on producing one.  They want that to be the main point of entry for people like a portal.

I think this is good.  There is always room for improvement and advances. I don't currently use Google Chrome but I may just give it a shot.

Resource:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_expands_international_support_for_chrome_we.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

iPad Still Rules the Enterprise

Apple is still leading the market with their iphones and ipads.  Android is starting to pick up some of the market, but Apple is still holding the lead.  For now.  In quarter 2 of 2010, Apple held 94.3% of the market with Android only holding 2.9%.  If quarter 2 of 2011, those percentage had some major change.  Apple only holds 61.3% and Android holding 30.1%.  Apple is losing some of their clout to Android.  It will be interesting to see what the 2nd quarter of 2012 will bring.

Resource:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/07/ipad-for-business-round-up-ipad-shipments.php

The Tiny Spanish Town of Juzcar Get's Smurf'd

Okay I just posted a blog about how kids should be allowed to use their imagination when writing in school.  Then I found this article.  I have a huge fan of HGTV so I subscribed to their RSS feed.  One of the articles that I just found is about a little town that, thanks to Sony Pictures, has been repainted to Smurf blue.  The town is a little town with a population of 205.  Sony is using the town to promote their new movie The Smurfs 3D.   The houses were once white and nestled into the hills, but now they are blue.  Sony has promised to make the houses white again in September, but some of the towns people are getting attached to the blue.

Resource:  http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2011/07/21/the-tiny-spanish-town-of-juzcar-gets-smurfd/

Fantasitical Enlightenment for Elementary Students

There is a lot of truth to this article.  The author talks about how for him, school started at 4:00pm.  That is when he could go home and grab his toys and write about what he liked...fiction.  He talks about how teachers want kids to write and when they start writing, often they are stumbling to come up with something to write about.  Often they are told to write about "what you know".  Some start to do that and then they are told that they need to write about something real, not fiction.  He talks about how much better students would write if the restrictions on their topics were lifted.  One of his examples is Joanne Rowlings  and how her teachers knew of her talents early on.  If any of you have ever watched Harry Potter, you know where her talents are too.  What an imagination. 

The author also has another good point which is that we read to our kids when they are little.  What do we read?  Fiction books about frogs, dogs, cats in hats, and so on.  Two of my kids favorite videos when they were little were Barneys Imagination Island and Grandpas Magical Toys.  Barney's video was all about using their imagination to go places.  The other video was about how all the toys came to life when no one was in the room. 

Kids should be encouraged to use their imagination as it is a very powerful thing with endless possibilities. 

Reference:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/elementary-student-writing-fantasy-gaetan-pappalardo

Humanities in the 21st Century

This article is all about whether attention in education should be on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) or should there be some humanities involved.  The author ends the article with humanities and STEM should merge in education for the 21st century.  My thoughts before I read this article were not so much, but the author makes some good points. 

One statement that he said that can really make you ponder is students need  "to know there are values beyond profit and self-interest."  That is a pretty powerful statement when you really think about it.  I think sometimes people lose site of the importance of values and their purpose.

Resource:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/humanities-twenty-first-century-bill-smoot

8 Great Free Digital Presentation Tools for Teachers to Try this Summer

This article is about some different software tools that are out there that can be used in presentations.  There is a variety of them.  Some very similar to another.  We are using some of these in this class and some we have used in past classes.  There is also a spot for people to submit other free software that they have used and comment on it. 

One of the softwares is Vuvox and there is a video that the author and his family put together that is really cute.  This software can be used to put pictures in a presentation, including hot links, and record music with it to post on Youtube.  Another one is Voki.  This is a software that does some things that I would like to do with Avatars, but what they don't tell you in this article is that it has a limitation on the length of your presentation. 

References:  http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/07/8-great-free-digital-presentation-tools-for-teachers-to-try-this-summer/

Daily Delight: Stacked Book Desk

This is kind of cool.  The designer of this desk likes books and like to use books in clever ways.  I have to say this is pretty clever, not something that I would have thought of. 

Resource:  http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2011/07/17/daily-delight-stacked-book-desk-and-a-design-mystery/

Hey! Marketers! Leave Those Customers Alone!

Ok, I have to admit that I kind of chuckled when I read this article.  Why?  We just had this conversation at work this week. 

I agree with this article, when I login to Facebook it is because I want to see what my friends are doing and talking about.  I don't care what the bank or car dealership is doing.  But (this is where my work conversation comes in), how are you going to market to the new generation?  When a commercial comes on the radio, kids change the channel.  That is, if they are listening to the radio.  In most cases they are listening to their iPods.  Television commercials, forget it.  We Tivo or we change the channel.  I have heard over and over, if I am paying for cable why do I have to watch commercials?  Marketers are going to have to get a lot more creative because what used to work isn't going to in the future.

Resources:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/07/hey-social-media-marketers-lea.php

The Absolute Awesomess of Field Trips

This article is about the power of field trips.  What can be learned and how much can be accomplished.  I agree that field trips can be very educational in many ways.  Last year, my daughter joined the cross country team, mostly because her cousin and one of her good friends were on the team.  She was a little nervous about the team because she either didn't know other teammates or wasn't a fan of some of the personalities of other teammates.

The coach took the whole team to a Cross Country camp where there were other area teams.  The coach required that the girls all stay in one or two tents and the same with the boys.  They were not allowed to separate into their little clicks.  That season was the most amazing season for all the runners.  They were the closest team that I have ever seen.  They encouraged each other, they trained together (even after the season was over), they cheered for each other, and they showed their support for all players whether they came in first or last.  There was 9 boys and 6 girls on the team.  One of the boys and two of the girls went to states.  The whole team, including all the parents, went to states to show their support.  The parents were just as disappointed as the kids that the season was over.  That group of kids learned so much in that one week.

Now, I know that some of you are saying yea, but what does that have to do with education.  Well, let me tell you.  Their closeness did not end on the course.  They were study buddies.  When one would be having trouble in a classroom subject, the others would jump in to tutor and help that student through the rough patch.  Here we are a year later and those kids are all still really good friends and are continuing their training with more intensity now that it is season again.  The one thing they are all looking forward to...camp.

Resource:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/field-trips-absolute-awesomeness-elena-aguilar

Student Committment Depends on Teacher Committment

Isn't it amazing how responsibility changes depending on whom you ask. This article is about who is responsible for learning in the classroom. Is the teacher responsible for the learning in the classroom or is the student responsible for the learning? It was split down the middle when teachers were asked. Some teachers felt they were responsible for making sure their students were learning. Some teachers felt that students are responsible for their own learning.

Personally I think it is ... both. Teachers have some responsibility to make sure their students are learning. However, students have to want to learn and be willing to do so. If you have a student who is adamant that they don't want to learn, chances are they won't. That is unless you can find something to tie the learning to what interests them. Lets say you are an English teacher and your students need to write a paper.  If you have a student who is interested in welding and you want him to write a good paper, you may want to have him write a paper about something to do with welding.  If you ask him to write a paper about the Roman Empire, the paper will probably either not get done or will not be very good.  I think it takes a little give and take on both sides.

Resource:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-commitment-depends-on-teachers-ben-johnson

Measuring a Teacher's Effectiveness Goes Beyond Test Scores

I really like this article because it talks about the things that I think administration and government forget when they assess schools and learning.  Yes, there needs to be test assessments and those need to be looked at.  But, I agree that there is more to success than test scores.  Students who have a connection to a teacher is often do better in class. 

The last paragraph of this article talks about how in Tennessee five percent of a teachers evaluation is based on student feedback.  I think this is a great idea as long as the gathering of student feedback is done correctly.  I think student feedback is important and a lot can be learned from it.  You can't please everyone, but if the majority of the class rates the teacher the same then there is something to be said for that.

Resource:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-effectiveness-measuring-test-scores-elena-aguilar

Assessing the Common Core Standards: Real Life Mathematics

This article talks about the new buzzword in education, which is relevancy.  It talks about how instead of giving students math problems, give them a project instead and don't call it a problem.  For instance they talk about having students design a swimming pool for everyone, young, old, disabled, etc.  It talks about not giving them the criteria, but instead make them research it.  It also says that the rubric is where all your demands of the student should be listed.  Like if you want their calculations or a graph,  it should be stated in the rubric.

Resources: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/assessing-common-core-standards-real-life-mathematics

Leveling the Playing Field: How to Make Standardized Test Preparation Accessible to All Students

I found this article very interesting because one of my current job duties is to go to ISD's and give COMPASS testing to area high school students.  This article talks about what teachers can do to help students prepare for standardized tests.  It also lists different companies that offer practice tests via the internet.   Although I think the article is good and has some good points, there is more to it than that.

I think that teachers could do what the article states to help students.  But, I would hate for teachers to change their curriculum just so students can pass these tests.  If they are so focused on what is needed to pass the tests, they may leave other just as important things out of their teaching that maybe the students don't need for the tests but need for everyday survival.

What I hear from the students who take the test is that they have not done some of the stuff on the test since junior high.  They can't remember how to do it.  The other big one that I hear is that they did not take the test seriously.  They just blew through it to get it done.  Part of that is us educating them.  We do tell them that the test is going to be used to place them into classes and establish their prerequisite level, but still they don't take it serious.  We have some that miss the college level class by one or two points and they don't care.  They would rather pay for and take a developmental course than retest.

Resources:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-make-standardized-test-prep-available-to-all-students

Debunking Those Pesky Classroom Myths

What an interesting article.  I've not heard of some of these.  But the one I like most is "Don't Smile Until Christmas".    I think the reason that I like this so much is because it talks about not going over the rules the first day of class, but instead have a little fun.  Most kids are pretty quiet the first day so the rules are not important.  Yes there always has to be rules and guidelines, but not the first day.

Another reason I like this and maybe the biggest reason is because of the ending quote.  That quote is :  "We don't stop playing because we grow old -- we grow old because we stop playing".  That quote is so true.  It reminds me of my father.  My dad has always been the leader of the pack.  No matter what us kids were doing, my dad was right there.  If we were playing volleyball in the back yard he was playing too.  He might now hit it the "right" way according to the rules, but he hit it.  If we were out riding motorcycles through the trails, so was he.  He always stayed in the back to make sure no one was left behind.  If you were to see my dad and I told you how old he was, you wouldn't believe it.  Has he slowed down, yes, but he is still a kid at heart.  I think people (me included) forget to have fun and that is really sad.

Retrieved from :  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/debunking-classroom-myths-ben-johnson

Stick Pick

Okay, I don't teach (yet) but I just found an app for ipads and iphones that sounds very interesting.  It is called StickPick and a license costs $2.99 at the itunes store.

It is an app that leverages Blooms Taxonomy and English as a 2nd Language.  The way it works is that you basically have a soup can that you name (your class name) and inside the soup can are Popsicle sticks with your students name on them.  Once you set up your classroom, you can select a stick multiple ways and then a multitude of questions pop up on the screen.  The teacher can go through the questions until they find one for the student.  Once the student answers the question, the teacher can mark the student as "used" which sends them to the used soup can or "new" which puts them back in the original can.

There is also an assessment built into the app that the teacher can track.  Teachers can send the results of the assessment to parents or principles.

This seems kind of neat.  Of course, not all students have an iPad or iPhone, which would be a drawback.

Resource:  http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/06/stickpick-an-individualized-learning-app-for-the-ipad-and-iphone-that-leverages-blooms-taxonomy/

The Pros and Cons of Education Technology

The article I just read is about weighing the pros and cons of education technology.  It talks about going away from purchasing text books and replacing them with e-reader.  They talk about how e-readers are nice, but will they be able to hold up to the rigor that students will put them through.  When you think about all the things students do with their textbooks, that is a very valid concern.

This article also talks about video conferencing and the benefits of it to businesses for the reduction in travel costs.  But for education there are some draw backs.  First with internet connectivity.  Not all students have high speed internet or even internet is some areas.  There is also a limit for the schools in the amount of space it takes on the server when all the students are trying to hit at the same time.  Both very legitimate concerns.

The third are that is covered in this article is about virtual lab training software.  This one especially was interesting to me because I was just in a meeting where this was discussed.  We were talking about increasing dual enrollment and how we could look at virtual labs to do some of our health classes at other locations to be more assessable to students.  This article talks about how virtual labs may be good for middle school and maybe lower grade high school students but when it comes to college students they may not be so good.   They talk about how students no longer have to wait for a bacterial culture to grow, it does it immediately with the software.  The problem being when the student is faced with the real life situation, they may not know how to handle it.

I believe technology is great and it has it place, but I can see the legitimacy of all the concerns that were brought up.

Resources:  http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/06/education-technology-weighing-the-pros-and-cons/

Creative Commercials

Some commercials are so creative.  As I was scrolling through my site, I came across this commercial for taking the bus.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OX8_7l4rf8&feature=player_embedded


Pretty creative and cute too.  :-)

Apple

According to one of my feeds, Apple is announcing their financial results with almost $70 billion in the bank.  The feed states that "it is almost enough to buy all of their competitors and that with market value of phone vendors dropping it will only increase the money they will have in the bank". (TipB)

Wow, can you even imagine $70 billion?  What would you do with all that money?

Retrieved from: http://www.tipb.com/2011/06/17/apple-cash-buy-competitors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheIphoneBlog+%28TiPb%3A+iPhone%2C+iPad%2C+iPod%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Music, a funny thing.  Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon was among the top albums this week for downloads on iTunes.  This album was first released on Mar 24, 1973.  I would like to say that was not that long ago, but it was almost 40 years ago.  I know that there are older generations out there downloading off of iTunes, but I also know (having a couple of teenage kids of my own) that the younger generations are downloading this music too.  Isn't funny how some music never gets old.