Two sites you might like

I have not written for awhile…. I have been a little busy!
I did however run across 2 sites that you might find interesting.  One is a file conversion site and the other, well, I can only say is interesting.
Most of you are probably familiar with ZamZar and how wonderfully easy it is to convert just about any file type to any file type.  However, at my school the site is blocked.  I was however able to get to DocsPal (at least on the day I tried it )  It is just as easy and wonderful to use as ZamZar.  Using DocsPal you can either upload a file or enter a URL for it.  Select what file type you want to convert it to and click convert.  You can have a download link sent to your email or wait for the conversion to be done online.  File conversion sites are extremely useful especially when it comes to video.  Digital cameras may record in an MOV format and you need it to be in WMV to use in Windows Movie Maker.  Using DocsPal the conversion is simple.
The other site is called CodeOrgan.  To really understand this site, you just have to go out and try it!  What it does is takes a URL, analyzes it and creates music based on the text it finds on the page.  Some URLs sound very happy, others sound downright scary!!  I can see this site being used by a computer science class or digital media class as they explore ways to make different sounding websites!  I am not sure exactly what other educational uses there are for the site, but I am sure someone will be able to come up with something!
(UPDATE: It appears CodeOrgan is no more.  If you find it, please let me know!)

A replacement for My Webspiration

In my last post I discussed how My Webspiration will no longer be free in April.  I also discussed how Google Docs Drawing no has connectors so it can be used to create concept maps.  Well, a few days ago I was searching through Google’s Chrome Web Store and ran across Lovely Charts.  If you are a Google Chrome user, you can install a free version of this very powerful diagramming application.

To use the free version you have to be using Google’s Chrome Web browser (here is the link to download Chrome). After you have Chrome installed, go get Lovely Charts here from the Web Store.

The free version does have a few limitations.  For instance you can only save one editable diagram at a time and can only collaborate on one diagram at a time (I have not tried this feature yet….)  Straight from Lovely Charts here is what they say about the free version:

Please note that Lovely Charts free version only allows you to maintain one editable chart of your own and collaborate on one chart at the time.
You certainly CAN create this new diagram, and you WILL be able to export it if needed, but you WON'T be able to save it for later revision, unless you delete the already existing diagram or decide to upgrade your account.
A premium account is exceptionally available from as little as €29/year for now, would you like to upgrade now?

I have “played” with it for awhile now and it is very user friendly.  It has a lot of stock symbols and shapes.  You can also import your own!  So give it a try, it might be just what you need!

My Webspiration is no longer free….

Ok, everyone is familiar with the saying that the only constant in education is change. I would like to extend the same saying to technology. The only constant in technology is change. Let’s face it, people find ways of doing or making things better, faster, cheaper, etc. Just take a moment and think back to 1996. Do you remember the sound your modem made when you were dialing into your ISP? When you finally connected, pages with pictures took forever to load and web pages were static. Now look at the page you are reading right now. The page and picture loaded almost instantly. There are hyperlinks you know that if you click on them they will open in seconds. Google even returns thousands of hits in milliseconds! Change is good.

It is unfortunate in education that we are limited by money. This is why teachers and educators are always looking for a “free” way to do something. I was extremely excited to find Webspiration, an online concept mapping tool. It is fantastic! I got my students to use it and they were completing concept maps and sharing them with the world. All for free.

But then the constant of change reared its head. Starting in April of this year, Webspiration will no longer be free (See this page to learn more: No longer free). Although the subscription price is extremely reasonable, I cannot bring myself to pay it.

 

But just as quickly that Webspiration is no longer free, Google docs adds “smart connectors”!! This allows you to add arrows between shapes and if you move a shape the arrow stays connected! Oh, and Google docs is still free!

You can find the info about using the new connectors for Google docs at this link: Google Docs Drawing Connectors.  And if you don’t have a Google account yet (and why not?), you can get one here: Google Accounts (Note: if you already have a Gmail address then you have a Google account. If you need a Gmail address go to www.gmail.com and get one.)

So, thanks to change I will still be able to have my students make concept maps and share them with the world!!

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

 

I believe this article was written by Lisa Nielsen. The following is a direct quote from the article:

 

Principal Patrick Larkin from Burlington High School in Massachusetts has this advice for administrators who are considering whether to embrace cell phones as a learning tool, “Start now. If you haven’t embraced cell phones as learning tools, you are missing out on a valuable resource to engage students. At the very least you can save money on the response systems that many companies are pushing in schools.”

It is about time we embraced the technology that students use on a daily basis and use it to educate!!

The article does offer some interesting ways on how to use cell phones in education. Also Lisa Nielsen's blog can be found at http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

She offers even more ideas on how to use them in class.

Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 - A Scientific Calculator

Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 - A Scientific Calculator

OK, this is just a “pass it along” post.  I just read a blog from Mr. Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers about a free calculator program offered by Microsoft.  I downloaded and installed the 64bit version and fired it up and…..

WOW!

This thing is amazing!  It does 2D and 3D graphing, derivatives and integrals, matrices and vectors, unit conversion, triangle solver and it even recognizes handwriting! Oh and it can add and subtract too!

What is really awesome about this program is its ability to show solution steps… yes I said it, solutions to problems are given!  I tried to solve basic algebra equations, derivatives, integrals and even using my own variables… all the solutions were correct and shown in an easy step by step manner.

Click on the pic to the left to see a screen shot of a solution to a basic algebra equation.

This would be extremely helpful for those students who need some extra help in learning how to solve equations.   This program even has an equation solver with equations form Physics, Chemistry, Exponents, Geometry and others!!  You just choose an equation, substitute in the known values and click solve!!

As Mr. Byrne stated, if you are 1:1 and don’t have the funds for TI-83’s or TI-84’s, this little program can easily replace them for……… FREE!

So go get Microsoft Mathematics 4.o – A Scientific Calculator, install and be amazed!!!

NOTE:  There is a math plugin for Word and ONE Note, though not as cool as MM4, it is very useful.  Here is the link:

Microsoft Mathematics Add-In for Word and OneNote

My Saga with SMART Notebook Document Writer

I am a huge fan of the SMART Notebook software from SMARTtech.  The software will work with any interactive whiteboard and it is very user friendly.  I have been using the software in my classroom for 3 years now and love it.  One of the “coolest” things you can do with this software is “print” anything you want to SMART Notebook.  Let’s say you have a PDF document that has a great picture of the human brain and you would love to be able to project it so all your students can see it and mark it all up using SMART Notebook.  No problem!  Go to “File – Print” and rather than printing to a “normal” printer, change the printer to “SMART Notebook Document Writer” and click print!  In moments, your PDF is magically “printed” to a new notebook!!  This will work with any program that you can print from.  Just change the printer to “SMART Notebook Document Writer” and watch the magic happen!!

I use this feature a lot!  Then, one day not to long ago…. tragedy happened.  When I would try to print to SMART Notebook, what I ended up with was a mess!  It appeared like the font was all wrong!  Look at the pics below:

The original PDF document:

What I got when I printed it to SMART Notebook:

As you can see it is not pretty.  After a few emails and a LOT of searching for a solution I almost gave up!  I thought to my self, “It worked before!?!?  Why does it not work now?!?!  What is different with my computer from August 2010 to December 2010?!?” I tried everything SMARTtech wanted me to do (make sure everything is up-to-date, remove and reinstall, try it on another computer, blah, blah, blah……) Then, late at night, it hits me…. What if it is not a SMARTtech problem but an Adobe problem? I have always used either Adobe Reader of Adobe Acrobat Pro to view PDFs, what if that was the issue? 

It was then that I remembered I had a PDF viewer on my PortableAPPs enabled USB drive.  I fired it up, loaded a PDF, printed to SMART Notebook, and crossed my fingers, toes and arms even though I really thought it wasn’t going to work.  And wouldn’t you know it? It worked perfectly!!!   Happiness and jubilations ran through me!!!  I knew I had to pass this on to other teachers, so I decided to find the PDF viewer I used.  It is called SumatraPDF .  I went to the website, found the download, installed it on my computer, and tried to print to SMART Notebook again.  Hitting the print button with complete confidence I was slapped in the face when it did not work!!  I got the same messed up font again!!?!  How is this?  It worked just minutes ago…. what is going on?!?!  After a brief “spaz out” moment (and a few words, because hey, it is getting late and I am tired) I took a closer look.  The version I downloaded was Version 1.2 and looking at my portable apps version it is Version 1.1!  OK, we are on to something here!!!

Back to the website, I found a link to download previous versions.  Clicked and “looky there”, Version 1.1!!  Downloaded it, installed it, fired it up, loaded the same PDF, print to SMART Notebook, and…….. Success and jubilations once again!!  It worked!!!

So, the only thing I can think might be happening is the PDF specification has “changed” and SMART Notebook has not “updated” it’s drivers. (NOTE: this is only my OPINION and in no way should this be taken as a derogatory remark about SMARTtech.  They are an awesome company and have high quality products and excellent customer service.)

In summary: if you are having problems using the SMART Notebook Document Writer follow the link below to get Version 1.1 of SumatraPDF and try it.  Hopefully it will work for you!

Sumatra PDF Version 1.1