Tech Tips, Tricks and News

Posts by eric

Think You Can Outsmart Internet Scammers?

Dec12
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

Here’s a great free test provided by our web filter company to test whether you can recognize phishing sites. Phishing (pronounced fish-ing) is a method that a scammer uses to steal online login or financial information where they create a close replica of a trusted site’s login page or other communications in an effort to get you to put in your username and password. Once there they can empty your bank account, make purchases, or access other sensitive information.

So, are you up to the task? Take the OpenDNS Phishing Quiz to find out, and be sure to check the “find out why links” to learn how to best identify these sites in the future.

Posted in Uncategorized

SimplePhysics for iOS

Sep06
2011 1 Comment Written by eric

I stumbled across this app last week and quickly found myself engulfed in a this addictive physics/engineering simulator. SimplePhysics is a $.99 app that runs on all iOS devices (iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone) and puts you in charge of building different structures that can withstand a simulated environment designed to mimic a real world event. Your score (either 1, 2 or 3 stars) is awarded based on how cheaply you are build a structure to meet the requirements. Its sort of a digital analogue to the balsa wood or toothpick bridges that are often built in Physics classes but while we were able to test for downward stress using those models this app allows us to test the effect of Tornado strength winds on a skyscraper or rotational stress on a ferris wheel.

This app could easily be used to illustrate reinforce basic concepts of physics or engineering in science class in both a structured or free exploration setting. (And for those of us who may not remember much about designing a bridge aside from using a lot of triangles you can unlock the ideal solutions for $.99)

Personally I would appreciate if the app would give me some suggestions or explanations when my dam failed to hold under the onslaught of a river flood for the 15th time… but perhaps that’ll be in version 2.

Check out SimplePhysics in the iTunes App Store.

Posted in Science - Tagged , , , ,

ScreenChomp – Create & Share Tutorials on the iPad

Aug31
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

“ScreenChomp is a free app for creating and sharing short tutorials or lessons on your iPad. ScreenChomp provides a whiteboard on which you can demonstrate things by drawing and talking people through your instructions. ScreenChomp records your voice as you go. When you finish your recording share it to ScreenChomp.comwhere a shortened URL will be provided for you to share with anyone you like. From ScreenChomp.com you have the option to download recordings as MPEG-4 files.

Applications for Education
If your school has purchased iPads for your classroom, ScreenChomp could be a good app to have to students use to create and share short demonstrations of their understanding of a particular topic or concept. ScreenChomp reminds me quite a bit of Show Me so you might want to do a comparison and decide which one works best for you and your students.

H/T to Silvia Tolisano at Langwitches.”

(via Free Technology for Teachers)

Posted in General - Tagged , , , ,

Behold – A Search Engine for Creative Commons Images

Aug29
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

Behold – A Search Engine for Creative Commons Images:

“Behold is a search engine that is designed to help you find the best Creative Commons licensed images for your blog, slideshow, or video project. Behold searches the catalog of more than one million Creative Commons licensed images on Flickr. What makes Behold different from just searching by using the license filter on Flickr itself is that Behold searches not just by image tag but also by the quality of the content of the images. When it works correctly if you used Behold to search for images of “buildings in New York City” you would not only be searching the tags people assigned to their images, but you would also be searching the actual content of the images.

Applications for Education
When students create multimedia projects in my classroom, I require them to use either Creative Commons or Public Domain images if they don’t create their own images. I do this to teach and reinforce the point that they cannot just grab and re-use images without regard for Copyright. Behold could help my students find quality images that meet my Creative Commons requirement.”

(via. FreeTech4Teachers)

Posted in Art, Foreign Language, General, Language Arts, Math, Music, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Special Education - Tagged , , , , , ,

Google Docs Outage

Aug26
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

There is a currently a service outage affecting the Google Docs List. Until the outage is resolved by Google you may be unable to select or view your documents at http://docs.d181.org/. Direct links to a document are unaffected.

I will update this thread as more information is available.

UPDATE: Google reports this problem is resolved.

Posted in 181 News - Tagged , ,

Spent – A Game for Learning About Life on Minimum Wage

Aug24
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

SPENT Logo

“Spent is an online game designed to teach players about the challenges of living on minimum wage (or slightly higher) employment. Players begin by selecting a job which will provide the wages they have to survive on for a month. Then throughout the game players are confronted with challenges that they have to handle by making an “either or” choice. After each choice the player’s account balance is adjusted. In addition to the change in the player’s balance sheet, each choice is followed by an explanation of consequence of the choice made.

Applications for Education When I saw Spent it reminded me of a simulation activity called Life on Minimum Wage that I developed and have used for a couple of years now. Both activities are useful for teaching students about the difficult decisions that some people have to make just to take care of the basic necessities.”

(Via FreeTech4Teachers.)

Posted in General, Math, Social Studies - Tagged , ,

New Infinite Campus Teacher Tools Videos

Aug22
2011 Leave a Comment Written by eric

Infinite Campus has significantly upgraded their teacher tools (answering in a lot of teacher feedback) for the 2011 – 2012 school year. Many of our middle school teachers viewed a webinar overview of the changes this past spring or summer but for those that didn’t (or those looking for a more in-depth look ) Infinite Campus has posted 5 videos on YouTube. You can find links to these videos here on the tech blog under the Resources > Infinite Campus menu.

Or you can click this link.

Posted in General - Tagged , ,

Watch the World Cup Soccer Ball Being Manufactured

Jun08
2010 Leave a Comment Written by eric

With the year drawing to a close I just wanted to show you a great “how its made” type video for the soccer ball being used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most popular sporting event.

Have a great summer!

Posted in General

Keeping Score – Study the Symphony

May03
2010 Leave a Comment Written by eric
San Francisco Symphony Keeping Score |.png

Keeping Score – Study the Symphony:

“The San Francisco Symphony’s website Keeping Score is up for a Webby Award this year. Keeping Score is a comprehensive website full of educational materials about composers, scores, musical techniques, and symphonies.

There are two elements of Keeping Score that should be of particular interest to educators. The most immediately accessible section of Keeping Score is the interactive education elements that contain videos, images, and texts that tell the stories of composers. The interactive section also features explanations of musical techniques, the history of notable events and themes in the symphonic world, and analysis of various scores.

The second section of Keeping Score that teachers will be drawn to is the lesson plan library. In the lesson plan library teachers will find lesson plans developed to incorporate elements of the Keeping Score website. There are lesson plans appropriate for every grade level.

Berlioz_ The Score - Symphonie fantastique, The Idée Fixe | San Francisco Symphony Keeping Score.png

Applications for Education

What I like about Keeping Score is that while the materials are obviously appropriate for music classes, there are also materials that could be used in a social studies classroom. The stories of composers and the history section provide teachers with opportunities to talk about what was going on in the world when the composers were creating their scores and how that may have affected what the composers created.”

(Via FreeTech4Teachers.com.)

Posted in Music - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

5 Resources for Learning About Volcanoes

Apr29
2010 Leave a Comment Written by eric

A little late for the Iceland Volcano to be considered current events I guess, but the resources contained are still valuable when talking about natural disasters.

5 Resources for Learning About Volcanoes:

“The eruption of the volcano in Iceland may present teachers with an opportunity to combine lessons in science and current events. The list below contains five resources for learning about volcanoes in general. If you’re looking for links specifically about the volcano in Iceland, Larry Ferlazzo has a good list going.

NOVA | Volcano Above the Clouds | PBS.png

Volcano Above the Clouds is a NOVA program that chronicles an ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro by a group of climbers and scientists. In addition to the video, Volcano Above the Clouds offers a large collection of materials and teaching guides for learning about volcanoes, glaciers, and climate change with Mount Kilimanjaro at the center of each lesson. As Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven Summits of the world, NOVA provides a slideshow of the Seven Summits which puts Kilimanjaro into perspective relative to those other summits.

Forces of Nature is a feature of National Geographic’s website. There are four sections to the Forces of Nature. The sections focus on tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes. There are six parts to each section. In the last part of each section students can create their own natural disaster using the knowledge they’ve gained from the previous five parts about how a natural disaster is formed. The Forces of Nature also offers photo galleries and interactive maps about tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

The BBC has a series of interactive guides that explain how natural disasters are caused. Included in this series is a twelve part animated explanation of volcanic eruptions. The series also includes explanations of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

National Geographic’s film Volcano: Nature’s Inferno follows scientists as they explain what causes volcanoes to erupt and as the scientists try to predict when volcanoes will erupt. Watch the film for free on Snag Films.

The PBS Series Savage Earth offers animations how volcanic eruptions happen. The series also contains animations that explain earthquakes and tsunamis.
”

(Via FreeTech4Teachers.com.)

Posted in Science - Tagged , , , ,
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