Not happy?

Blogger wouldn't just add this. In the end I had to save and then add picture! Shouldn't it be easier? Oh No! I am becoming like my students who said today, "How do I print from my iPad?' answer - THERE IS AN APP! eeeggghhhhh or hhhhoooooooorrrrayyyyyyyy? I say hooray!

Activity #10.3 Image Chef

Well, I think I need to call it a night. I used my Easter DC display text to make this image. (turtles are live - I have been working/thinking too hard = turtles to go/more thinking? NO!)  I think wordle or tagxedo are easier. For classroom use it might be easier to save as a jpeg file that way it can be imported into a variety of programs and then used in a wider variety of things. Not sure?

<a href="http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/" target="_blank"> <img src="http://cdn-img1.imagechef.com/w/110324/b1f36f437d6ea7d2.gif" alt="ImageChef Word Mosaic - ImageChef.com"/> </a>

Activity #10.2 Comic Strip Generator

Well in the life of turtles I am sure that there is a limited expected lifespan for those living in the virtual world! However, my five pet turtles seem to keep living! The question begs - Who is feeding them? When do I change their water and how long till my turtles lay eggs?

This cartoon generator is fun! I told some of the student about this after school and they loved the idea. This could have so many uses in so many teaching situations! So what do I do? Keep the turtles or delete them?

Activity #10.1 Online Image Generators

How much fun can this be! One of my favorite books has to be "WOW! The Visual Encylopedia of Everything" just because you think that everything is in there and then NO! WAIT! THERE IS MORE! So we have moved from everything that I knew of photography - yet the actual method of making pictures of the real world by capturing light from objects hasn't changed, has it?

But now, our photographs have a new lease on life! Is this SECOND LIFE again? These photos not only show us the wonders of nature but microscopic bacteria, the horrors of war, distant galaxies, sporting triumphs and family memories. One leisure activity that I like is jigsaw puzzles. (Even though Kevin Henna says not to have them in libraries!) So here is my first attempt! I went to bighugelabs.com and created a giant puzzle. Now how do I do it? Can I manipulate the pieces?

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN TAKEN? DO YOU KNOW? WHAT SEASON MIGHT IT BE?

Activity #9 Virtual Worlds

Well, well, well - this opens a WHOLE NEW WORLD. I find myself asking "are my students on Second Life?" and "Why is the world of Virtual Avators so attractive?" and "Do I NEED to join this?" and then I hear myself say; "NO MORE TIME WASTING!" only to think "Well it might be fun to think about who I might like to be and do and wear" and then I think "Who am I? Is it ethical? What happens to my identity? Why do I want to become a virtual character?" and the questions keep coming.

The focus on WHO AM I? in this day and age is a big question for our students. The Biblical implications are overwhelming too for those who are trying to work out who they are. If there are 100 touch receptors in each fingertip and this form of second life is relying on the sense of touch then cyber space doesn't offer me enough in the sensory realm.
I mean the likes of online "virtualness" for me have been limited to Farmville and Farm Town. Infact I still like to visit my farm on Farmville quite regularly!

I think it is instinctual to decorate your surroundings, but is online WoW and Second Life too much for the purposes of education. A study has found that 75% of learning occurs through visual stimulus while 13% occurs through hearing and touching. Smell and taste count for 12%. I think this is a significant thing! Did you know there are 16,000 hair cells or sound receptors in a human cochlea?

Now info island does interest me and maybe this alone will attract me onto Second Life! And Exit Reality might even make learning for some of our students even more fun. Traditional schooling can be isolating maybe these online virtual worlds offer our 21st century learners a place to connect in a new and different way? If schools are social institutions then are we just helping them prepare for the future? WOW!

It takes a village to educate a child - African proverb

iGoogle

This is fun! Way too many gadgets and not enough time in the day to look after virtual pets! THEY HAVE TO GO!

"No!" says the hamspter, "Aggh no!!!" squeek the turtles and "I'll think about it!" says the Blogger!

Activity #8 iGoogle is FABULOUSLY FUN

This is amazingly fun! Idon't just like it, I think this is fabulously FUN! I LOVE IT!

Map searching - easy and quick and as it remembers where you have gone you can just link to it!
Book search - great gadget to quickly find a book, even better if it is out of print or publication as it will be there for you to read and refer to! TOO GOOD!
Facebook - I can't believe this - I jsut logged in and even though this is another email account it links and shows my feeds - and I can post there too! TOO EASY!
Google Docs and Spreadsheets - are there too. As are hamsters, turtles and loads of other virtual pets you can care for! heheeh There are optical illusions, quotes of the day, my shares, headlines and even RECIPE OF THE DAY!
Improvements would have to be the addition of a virtual cat to look after!
Now about working at Googleplex! Well I am curious, creative, innovative, friendly, know i can help them work on what's important, driven, talented and motivated! Knowing that they receive a resume every 25sec is a bit daunting - but knowing that you are making a difference in the world as we know it is enormous! WORKING FOR FUN MAKES IT FUN TO WORK! I LOVE MY JOB!