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!

Can't Read That, Huh?

I've occasionally been accused of having handwriting that is -- well -- a "challenge". Palaeography is the study of making sense of challenging handwriting, typically in historical (obviously handwritten) documents.

Courtesy of the National Archives is a set of resources, including a tutorial, that will give you tips on how to decipher that old (or more recent) scratch that is just not making sense.

Stealing Ideas

Discovery Channel (cable) has a program called, It Takes A Thief. I'm going to have to catch this one. Apparently the set-up is that the program follows and films some actual (former) thieves as they try to break into a (pre-arranged) home. We get to watch their techniques and, afterward, glean ideas on how to better protect our own homes from this kind of instrusion and violation.

What will they think of next!?

A Defiant Tacoman

Although I've been gone from Tacoma for more years than I would care to admit, I know the town where I grew up has not entirely left my consciousness. I've already brought you a link about the "Galloping Gertie" Narrows Bridge.

Now I take you to a very picturesque part of Tacoma: Point Defiance Park. Here is a site dedicated to this refuge from the city streets and noise. You can walk, run, bike, and (yes) drive through miles of trees and nature. You can also stop at Fort Nisqually and play our some historical dramas, if you have a fancy to.

Point Defiance Park is a place filled with a number of great childhood memories -- of family picnics, swims on the beach, eating at waterfront restaurants, watching the ferry leave for or return from Vashon Island.

It's a great place!

Copy That

One of the challenges we teachers face is keeping ourselves and our students aware of, and in compliance with, the concepts (and laws) surrounding copyright and fair use.

In the school setting, one issue that is often on the minds of teachers -- perhaps more so in high school and college, than in middle or elementary school -- is plagiarism.

Click here to go to a good resource for information about all these related realities of today's classroom.

Make Mine Vanilla

Here is all you need to know about that favorite for those of us who love vanilla ice cream....the vanilla bean!

What A Way To Go

In case you've wondered if there are a set of recommendations about how to take your leave in as environmentally-friendly way as possible, read this article from Mother Earth News.

Choosing A Career

One of the biggest challenges, I imagine, for some kids anyway is deciding what to do with the rest of their lives once they're out of school.

One online resource that can help kids (and maybe grown kids, too) hone in on that thing they might want to explore as a college pursuit and career is TheFunWorks.

You can take a quiz to help identify your real interests and get hooked up with some great career tips and resources.

Keep It Hoppin' And Poppin'

Guess what? October is National Popcorn Month!!! Now I'm a fan of popcorn, but in our family we have a couple people who need a popcorn fix every day.

Click here for a gathering of pages about popcorn. There are some activities and games, too. Enjoy....and keep your microwave busy all month!

So You Wanna Learn Something?

Well, then, go to SoYouWanna.com.

Here's their succinct summary of the mission:

SoYouWanna.com teaches you how to do all the things nobody taught you in school.

Fascinating place, well worth a visit!

Once Upon An Eon

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a unit devoted to the study of geological time.

Called, Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth, this site presents the visitor with all kinds of information about the phases in our earth's formation and history.

This is the place to come to get some sense of the span of time the earth has been evolving to where it is today. We might think that life goes by in the "blink of an eye." Seeing this timeline, and realizing how many billions of years have passed, will put our time on earth in a completely different perspective.

Help Resource For Hurricane Survivors

As a sort of follow-up to my earlier post regarding resources for Katrina survivors, I add the US government's attempt to help people out.

Housed at FirstGov.gov, the "federal government's official web portal," there is a Hurricane Recovery site dedicated to providing information and links to those affected by these disasters and those who want to help those made homeless or who were injured during, or in the aftermath, of the storms.

There are linked resources for Finding Family and Friends, How To Get Help, Shelter and Housing for Survivors, and so on.

In fact, even at the FirstGov.gov home page, there are many, many resources listed for information and help.

Another terrible storm

Hurricane Rita has arrived after days of ominous progress toward the Gulf area of the U.S. I mark this event with a link to an article summarizing Rita's birth, development, progress, and devastation on Wikipedia, the free, online encyclopedia "that anyone can edit."

My reaction toward this whole idea of there being an encyclopedia -- something I've always associated with an absolute and ultimate authority on a vast range of topics -- that this would be a resource that could be edited by anyone has evolved. I used to assume that such a thing could not possible have any validity to a more moderated attitude which is a mixture of curiosity and "hmmm, maybe they're on to something!" More about Wikipedia later.

Click here for the article on Hurricane Rita.

Help Resource For Katrina Survivors

A wiki site has been assembled that has collected a number of resources for people injured, displaced, separated from family, out of work, homeless, and otherwise in need of help.

Click here.

Looking At New Orleans From Many Perspectives

The New York Times has an interactive set of maps of New Orleans that shows us a number of aspects of this disaster.

The first map gives us a chance to see a satellite image of the city (dated August 31). By clicking on various buttons you can view the area by elevation (above & below sea level) or by population density, by non-white population, and by median income. Being able to see this information helps bring into much sharper focus the realities of the scope of the catastrophe including the topological layout of the city. The sociological ramifications are also inescapable.

The locations of some of the primary landmarks we see and hear about in news reportsand (i.e. the Superdome, the Convention Center, the 17th Street breach of the levee, the French Quarter, etc.) are labeled which help orient us to the geography of the area.

Other maps at this site indicate regional updates which show where refugees are finding shelter and help, and yet another map has additional (and updated) satellite images of the region.

For those of us who are trying to visualize the levee system, there is a map that clearly lays out the incredibly intricate system that has protected New Orleans for so long and its pumping stations.

Two additional maps are there. One displays the evacuation routes which give another indication of the widespread damage as it shows how many roadways are closed. Finally, there is a map that shows the location of the oil platforms out in the gulf and graphs that show why the potential impact on the oil industry is so great.

As difficult as it is to grasp what has been and is going on in that part of our country, this series of maps help a great deal in getting some idea of the exceptionally daunting challenges facing the people who live in that area, have been completely uprooted, and have nothing left.

It also helps us see the challenge all of us as US citizens face as we continue the task of helping many thousands of our fellow citizens regain their health, their homes, and their lives.