Visual Learning - Example diagrams

We're all aware that our students -- heck, even ourselves -- have different learning styles. We have worked with kids we would classify as "auditory learners," "visual learners," and various combinations.

The software application, Inspiration, is an especially helpful tool to use with visual learners as it provides a way to show ideas and their relationship to each other in a visual fashion (you may have heard of this referred to as 'conceptual mapping').

Here are some lesson plans and ideas that use Inspiration in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Math, among others.

Visual Learning - Example diagrams

More Da Vinci

Here is a site that focuses on Leonardo's famous painting, The Last Supper. You're able to view some of the restoration work as well as preparatory drawings by the artist as he planned his panoramic painting.

Cenacolo - Last Supper

MySpace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Sites such as MySpace are garnering a tremendous amount of publicity. Some of it positive about the changes such sites are making in terms of "social networking." Others are very concerned, especially parents who wonder if & how their child might have a site on MySpace and how much personal information they are sharing....not to mention the extent to which their child may be communicating with who-knows-who on the Internet.

Check out this article that examines the current and future implications of such sites.

MySpace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?

(For those who may not be that familiar with how sites like MySpace operate, click here to go to an article at the HowStuffWorks site to get some background info.)

Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Home Page

I suppose I add this type of site to this blog at my -- and your! -- peril. Just exactly does "forensic views of the body" mean??

Still, with the popularity of TV programs such as CSI, a number of us are fascinated with many aspects of crime-fighting.

So, without further ado:

Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Home Page

School Technology Plans Online

Although, as we all know, technology is changing all the time, including the way in which we use technology in the classroom, it is important to have plans that look at where we are now and plot a course in the next few years.

We can learn a lot from each other, so here's a collection that Dr. David M. Marcovitz of Loyola College has put together of the technology plans of a group of schools.

School Technology Plans Online

Wacky Recipes

In our household, I generally do the cooking, at least for the main meal (dinner) on most days.

I wouldn't say I'm the most imaginative cook; I have a range of "specialties, but I realize there is a cycle of "favs" and that some of them do return now and then.

So, what could be better to run across than this website to whet my appetite for new fare at the dinner table.

Despite the "wacky" name, the recipes themselves are not way-out and more than a few are worth trying. You can also submit your tried-and-trues, too.

Visit Wacky Recipes!

The Challenges Of Being A Responsible Digital Citizen

The world is indeed changing and the cliche is that the world of technology is changing the fastest. Don't know for sure if tech is changing faster than anything else but it is certainly moving at a clip.

The challenges for all of us is how to be residents of this digital world in a way that's safe and responsible. And for those of us who are parents and teachers have the added responsibility of trying to help the kids we work with learn to make "safe" decisions about how to use and be part of the digital world.

The link below will take you to a page on the Lowell School website that has some useful resources to think about and learn about digital citizenship. Quite a useful site.

Lowell School - Washington, DC

We Sure Can Use Some of This Every Day

Everyone should make a stop here at least once a day!

HappyNews.com - All The News That's Fun To Print

The Best of the Humanities on the Web

This is a collection of many interesting and useful humanities-related sites on the Internet. A terrific place to start exploring

EDSITEment - The Best of the Humanities on the Web

San Francisco Earthquake

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the 7.8 Richter scale earthquake that hit (some say "devastated") San Franciso at 5:12 a.m. Then, following the earthquake came the fires.

A few sites you might consider if you're interested in viewing this calamity that took the lives of more than 3,000 San Franciscians (some thing many more than that).

The 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance

Eyewitness accounts

The Wikipedia article about the San Francisco earthquake and fire

San Francisco Chronicle coverage

Another potentially useful tool....and it's free!

ScreenHunter Free is a screen capture tool that I discovered and will try. Thought you might find it useful, too. There are version that are not free, but this version (which is) seems to have a lot going for it.

Go to:

ScreenHunter Free Screen Capture

Wonder If You're Clogged Up With Duplicate Files

From what I've read, this utility is a boon to those of us who have saved a file in various places on our computer.....and we can't remember where all those places are. It will help you find them, delete them, or move them where they need to be.

Go to:

DoubleKiller - find and remove duplicate files (Big Bang enterprises

A Handy (Free) Media Conversion Program

Check out Digital Media Converter.

Go to:

Media Conversion Software: Digital Media Converter

Out Of This World!

Google has added a new "out of this world" website for those with an eye for other-worldly places.....Mars!

Try Google Mars!

Greatest Apps of 2005

According to Dion Hinchcliffe, here are his choices for the Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005. Certainly worth taking a look. You might some very handy (and maybe free!) programs to try out!

That Amazing Benjamin

Today marks the birthday of Benjamin Franklin, one of country's founders and, many would argue, one of the heroes in the process that led to the formation of our country and our break with our colonial stronghold, England.

Many sites are out there that speak to and cover the life of Mr. Franklin. The one I choose to highlight is the one that offers online reading of his autobiography.

Here is the introduction on the Archiving Early America website:

A year after Benjamin Franklin's death his autobiography entitled "Memoires De La Vie Privee...," was published in Paris in March of 1791. The first English translation, "The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D....Originally Written By Himself, And Now Translated From The French," was published in London in 1793. (Please see the title page at the left)

Known today as "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," this classic piece of Americana was originally written for Franklin's son William, then the Governor of New Jersey. The work portrays a fascinating picture of life in Philadelphia, as well as shrewd observations on the literature, philosophy and religion of the time. Franklin wrote the first five chapters of his autobiography in England in 1771, resumed again thirteen years later (1784-85) in Paris and later in 1788 when he returned to the United States. Franklin ends the account of his life in 1757 when he was 51 years old.

Considered to be the greatest autobiography produced in Colonial America, Franklin's Autobiography is published here in 14 chapters.

I encourage you to visit and continue to read about Mr. Franklin's eventful live.

And, while we're talking about Mr. Franklin, consider visiting a site dedicated to making available his writings. Thanks to the Library of Congress, there's a site called Benjamin Franklin.....In His Own Words. As you discovered in his autobiography, he's a great writer.

To Be Thankful For

One of the aspects of life in the United States for which (at least in my opinion) we all should be thankful is our freedom of press. Leaving aside the possible threats to that freedom in the current day, I invite you to visit the Newseum.

Its mission: to help the public and the news media understand one another better.

Cool.

Cable Crossing

This PBS site is dedicated to documenting the laying of the first translantic cable. Most fascinating.

Giving Thanks For Things Nice

I came across this web presence that just seemed to be a great antidote for a lot of the wringing of hands and concerns being voiced in many quarters these days....at school and elsewhere.

The site is called NiceNet.Org. Here's their philosophy:

Nicenet is a volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to providing free services to the Internet community. Nicenet's primary offering, the Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA) is designed to address the pedagogical needs and limited resources of teachers and their students.

Before the commercial frenzy of the "dot com" years the Internet was home to a thriving culture of openness and sharing. This culture was born from the distributed, peer-to-peer nature of the Net, a model that to this day stands in stark contrast to the one-to-many print and broadcast commercial mass media. Nicenet's foundation was built upon this spirit of free flowing ideas and new possibilities.

The first project at Nicenet was aimed at educating the masses about the unprecedented potential of the Internet. Nicenet's founders soon realized that merely espousing the virtues of this new medium was not sufficient and set out to create their own contribution to the Internet community. Thus, the Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA) was born.

The ICA was first conceived as a web-based classroom environment that could be used by post-secondary teachers with their students. The system was designed not as a replacement for the classroom, but rather as a supplement allowing greater communication and sharing of information among students and between teachers and their students. However, Nicenet does not restrict the use of the ICA for any purpose and our users have frequently found creative and unimagined uses for the ICA.

The power to utilize the Internet effectively must remain open to everyone for its potential to be realized. The advent of the World Wide Web provided a perfect forum to offer a solution that could be easily adopted by teachers directly, without the need for institutional support, technical expertise or financial resources.

Nicenet set out to provide a tool that is very easy to adopt and use. The ICA requires only a web browser and a connection to the Internet, so there is no software to install or servers to manage. The simple format of the system is highly intuitive with a very low learning curve, requiring no formal training. The interface has low graphical content to make it easy to use through a standard modem. Such a model allows teachers to incorporate the ICA based on their personal pedagogical priorities rather than institutional infrastructure.

Nicenet strongly believes the classroom should not be a marketplace. The ICA is offered free of charge with no advertising, allowing even classrooms with modest resources access to powerful tools. Nicenet relies on the generosity of our supporters and volunteers to continue to provide the Internet Classroom Assistant.

This gets two thumbs up from this reader!

Just Ask Gammaw

Although I think the webmaster/originator/teacher that has created this actually named "Fran", I gather that there are some folks who call her "Gammaw".

Anyway, this Gammaw has her own website with all sorts of tutorials and other aids/tips/handy info at her Gammaw Geek site.

Lots here!