iDisinfect

My old friend who is an art teacher in the town where I grew up (and I blogged about here) is having her students design advertisements based on the iPod theme. Students come up with their own poses to communicate a certain meaning. My favorite is by joseph318:

iDisinfect by joseph318

Richard Diebenkorn by a 4th graderI am constantly amazed by the work her students are doing–especially when I think back to what I created in that same classroom space: papier-mâché everything—a memory my sister also shares. Van Gogh by a 1st GraderTheir understanding of technique, theory, and form suggest that there is something significant going on in their minds and in her classroom. When I first saw the pieces I immediately thought of Janet Emig’s The Composing Process of 12th Graders, wondering if there is a composing process that can be identified for K-6 art students.

Posted in art, IT, pedagogy, teaching | Comments Off on iDisinfect

wetpaint macs wikis

Via Common Craft, WetPaint has created a series of video parodies to advertise their easy to use wiki service. WetPaint uses a WYSiWYG for editing, which seems to be less awkward than the one now being used by PBwiki. It also offers users unlimited memory, though there is a limit to the number and size of uploaded files. Common Craft, the creators of the Plain English series, has partnered with WetPaint and has created a video highlighting its fearures.

A sampling of their parodies:

Continue reading

Posted in IT, technews | 3 Comments

on veterans day

A good friend from from Texas blogs at Ima Shalom under the name Maya. Her recent post, pre-Veterans Day, reminded me of great work that the Patriot Guard Riders are still doing.

Listen to this NPR story about what they are doing for families of the fallen and for sailors, soldies, and marines upon coming home:

A funny thing happened to Army Spc. Jeremiah Sullivan after his recent return from Iraq. As he and his fiancée were on their way home from Fort Bragg, N.C., they stopped at a gas station and were abruptly circled by a motorcycle brigade, gathered to welcome the soldier home.

The event was planned by the Patriot Guard Riders, a grassroots group that just keeps growing.

Over the past year . . . 61,000 strangers have come together to do works of good will: homecomings, visits to veterans hospitals, even house-painting. Sadly, though, their chief mission — done only with family approval — is to attend the funerals of military personnel.

Posted in peace, war | 1 Comment

one laptop per child give-one, get one campaign

ONLC laptop

I have been meaning to post this reminder that the One Laptop Per Child Give One, Get One campaign is currently under way. Between Nov 12 and Nov 26 you can purchase 2 of the way cool, eco-friendly, hand-powered, solar-powered, outlet-powered OLPC laptop for $399 (plus shipping) and one will be donated to a child in a developing country. Your tax-deductible donation comes with one year of free T-Mobile hotspot access.

The laptop runs on the Linux operating system which means that user-driven development will be creative, practical, fun, and on-going. You can see the applications (called Activities) that come standard as well as others that have been and are being developed.

This review of the OLPC laptop is quite good.

I can’t wait for mine to arrive.

Posted in IT, pedagogy | Comments Off on one laptop per child give-one, get one campaign