Google Maps. WhatWasThere: Old pics and new maps Lisa from Maryland stopped by the other day to browse the Google Maps Gallery post and left a quick comment about the similarities of the Maps Gallery and a site called WhatWasThere. (Lisa works as a Secondary Social Studies Mentor in the Howard County Public Schools and also made sure to pass on another great D-Day photo source and oral history archive.) I had never heard of WhatWasThere. I’ve heard of HistoryPin. And Histografica. And I’ve even heard of Smithsonian’s interactive maps. But WhatWasThere? Nope. The WhatWasThere folks say that their project And for the last few years, they’ve been collecting old photos and pasting them onto Google Maps around the world. Using the site couldn’t be much simpler. Google Maps Gallery: Interactive digital atlas Google just keeps coming up with more cool stuff. Maps Gallery works like an interactive, digital atlas that lets you search for and find powerful, compelling maps.
Need a bit of a taste of their stuff? Vytheeshwaran Vedagiri's Blog | My blog on science, teaching and education. The Educator's PLN - The personal learning network for educators. Better Beginnings: how to start a presentation, book, article... « Dilbert and the zone of mediocrity | Main | Why does engineering/math/science education in the US suck? » Better Beginnings: how to start a presentation, book, article... You are in a dimly lit room. You are alone on a stage before an audience of 1,000. 10 minutes into your presentation, your hands no longer shake or sweat. This is going well, you think. But just then you notice a vaguely familiar sound--tap, tap, clickety-clack--which in one horrifying moment you recognize--it's your audience. IMing, checking email, live blogging ("wifi sucks at this hotel and OMFG this is the most boring speaker ever") What went wrong?
Nobody knows more about the importance of beginnings than novelists and screenwriters, but too often we think their advice doesn't apply to us. Oh really? So, we took some tips on making a good beginning from those whose work depends on it. 1) Do NOT start at the beginning! Advice for first-time novelists is often, "Take the first chapter and throw it away. Be provocative. Evolving Schools for a Whole New Mind. Today I have been at Munich International School listening to the keynote from Dan Pink. This was a great start to the conference.
Dan started with a quote from Dr Richard Moniuszko: We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past. He argued that the purpose of education is to allow individuals to participate in society and to have young men and women being the best they can. At the moment education spends a lot of time talking about preparing students for the future - but are we approaching this in the right way?
At one time parents used to say get good marks, go to university, find a job that will give you economic security. Dan spoke about tasks that are done by the different hemispheres of the brain. Dan went on to discuss what is causing this shift: Asia, automation and abundance: Asia: Computer scientists, engineers and so on in Europe earn 50-70,000 euros, in Asia they are earning about 12 - 15,000 euros.
Dan had 4 ideas about how to prepare students for the future: Connected Principals | Shared views on education from a group of passionate school administrators. Will Richardson's Wiki - Information Literacy. IOE - Home. 10 Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom. Skype is a free downloadable software that lets you do voice and video calls combined with instant messaging for free. The possibilities of Skype to flatten your classroom are endless. 5 Skype Companion Tools To get the most out of Skype, you should consider utilizing other web 3.0 and social networking sites such as Web 2.0 Tools for Class Projects – such as Twiddla in order to brainstorm, collaborate, and share ideas in real time.Google Docs – allows participants to share and edit documents.Flickr – to share photos and enhance the feeling of learning together across a distance.Blogs – to reflect and share learning.Twitter - as a backchannel during interviews, lectures, etc and as a way to continue the conversation throughout the school year. 3 Ways to Connect with Others Using Skype Online Skype Communities ePals Global Community offers a free 30 day trial.
Global Skype Projects Skype in Education Directories Ready to install and get started with Skype for free? Community | Edublogs - teacher and student blogs. Curriculum21. Welcome to GETideas.org – A Community for Education Leaders | GETideas.org.