tech+tip+18

If you are running Firefox as your browser, there is an add-on that makes it easy to download videos and audio from any web site. Download Amazing Media Browswer. When a web site has a video or music that you like, open the Amazing Media Browser under Tools. The window will show links for all of the media available for that site. Highlight the one you want and click save. It will save the media in whatever format you wish. This is great for podcasts. We played with Picasa from Google in my Internet Tools class this week. I found a really fun geography game called "Where in the World". To play, you look at five pictures from somewhere in the world. You think click on the place you think the pictures were taken. The site gives you a world map with no political boundaries or labeling. You earn points based on how close (in km) you come to the actual location. I admit, that I played for awhile.
 * Having started a Wiki with one of my classes that had no idea what one was, I found a couple good ways to get them up to speed. I set up a contest with trivia to get them to go to the page and understand how the discussion forum worked. Next I posted a simple assignment on finding info. on the web with a URL to post and then checking others responses to be sure they didn't have duplicate answers. (The biggest challenge for them has been following directions!) Once it seems everyone is on board, I'll addmore assignments where they discuss and post comments to each other as part of the grade. Because it is a new technology idea for them, working into it step by step seems to be creating more success. The final challenge will be their own wiki page!

There are also links to pictures from different cities and countries around the world.

To get there you go to Google, then Picasa, then Explore.

The web page is http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/explore


 * My gifted students are conducting a mock election and we are studying elections. A good website is PBS, The Democracy Project. The students can be president for a day, play games, look up info on candidates, etc.