Ed Tech Crew 148 – Google Whacked and Google Ganger

Podcast number 148 – Feb 7th, 2011

[Running time: 1:02:14 hours, size: 42.8 MB]

Download it here!

Think like a computer scientist (Python). http://greenteapress.com/thinkpython/

News & General Websites of interest:

“IPocalypse” The Internet has finally run out of addresses: http://goo.gl/cSQUa

New home for Global teacher blogs http://global2.vic.edu.au/

In search of the Googlewhack – interesting conversation around search and google.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlewhack

10 Tablets to Keep an Eye on in 2011

http://gigaom.com/mobile/10-ces-tablets-2/

Great site for learning Trig

http://www.touchtrigonometry.org/

Comic Life 2

http://plasq.com/products/comiclife2

Sound Cloud – http://soundcloud.com/

Google Body Browser – http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/body.html#

Skype Education – open in Beta

http://education.skype.com/

Google Docs – another update http://www.google.com/google-d-s/whatsnew.html

OCR is an interesting one: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=176692

New Social Web Browser – Rock Melt Beta release

http://www.rockmelt.com

State Library of Qld donated 50,000 images to Wikimedai Australia for the public domain (Dec 21st) – http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/WMAU-SLQ3?utm_medium=sitenotice

Newspapers available online to browse: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

Add the Australian Schools Calendar to your Google Calendar:

https://www.google.com/calendar/b/0/embed?src=r6rued9pal4i9kb6f9192t48h8@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Australia/Adelaide&gsessionid=OK

or Events from EDNA in iCal http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/schooled/schools_events

Changes at the WayBackMachine – Calendar View http://waybackmachine.org/

Some of the many Feedback from listeners:

Brendan O’Brien

• The 60second science video competition is now International. Open to everyone. A$9000 in cash prizes http://bit.ly/4du9KR Students LOVE it!

John Pearce

• Mapping the Twitterverse: http://www.readwriteweb.com/assets_c/2011/01/Twitterverse-26752.php


• Challenges, change and trends 2011 – http://www.slideshare.net/dwenmoth/challenges-change-and-trends-2011?from=ss_embed


• QR Stuff – http://www.qrstuff.com/index.html


• TwitterCure by Kathy Schrock – https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/twittercure/


• How to make an interactive lesson with YouTube – http://www.knewton.com/blog/edtech/education-edtech/2010/12/15/how-to-make-an-interactive-lesson-using-youtube

Clay leben

• Connectivism and Connective Knowledge 2011 – http://cck11.mooc.ca/


• Open Exhibits – http://openexhibits.org/


• SimpleDiagrams – http://www.simplediagrams.com/home

Ian Guest

• EmbedPlus – http://embedplus.com/

Roland Gesthuizen

• Things babies born in 2011 will never know http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111745/things-babies-born-in-2011-will-never-know?mod=family-kids_parents


• IBM 100 * 100 YouTube Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39jtNUGgmd4&feature=youtube_gdata_player


• Lost Canister of Film – http://mashable.com/2011/01/18/lost-canister-of-film-prompts-youtube-search-for-its-owners/


• A video by Roland – check it out – very interesting video: Get involved…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9KhR4qRC8I

Shelly Terrell

• MyTweeple – Relationship Management – http://mytweeple.com/home.aspx?yourock=true

Important Notice

There have been so many links over the Christmas break please go and have a look at the Ed Tech Crew Diigo Bookmarks Group here: http://groups.diigo.com/group/ed-tech-crew

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Ed Tech Crew 158 – Google Teacher Academy Sydney 2011

Podcast number 158 – May 1st, 2011

[Running time: 1:40:14 mins, size:  86.6 MB]

Download it here!

Links and Resources from GTA Sydney 2011

• Google Teacher Academy Details


• Past GTA Events


• GTA Sydney Agenda


• GTA Materials


• List of all current Google Certified Teachers


• Google For Educators

Event was hosted and lead by

• Mark Wagner: Profile – Blog


• Dana Nguyen: Profile


• With the assistance of Google Teacher Academy Leaders

Sessions were presented around a range of Google tools:

• Google Search by Lisa Thumann


• Google Apps for Education by Kern Kelly


• Google Docs by Wendy Gorton


• Google Sites by Lisa Thumann


• Google Calendar by Danny Silva


• Maps and Google Earth by Wendy Gorton


• Gmail and Google Talk by Danny Silva


• Google Apps Administration by Kern Kelly


• Research Tools by Mark Wagner

During the day we were presented with examples of applications and ideas around the use of Google tools in education called “Inspiring Ideas”

• The Spread of Google Spreadsheets by Pat Wagner


• Using sites for student e-portolios by Joe Donahue


• Creating an augmented reality school tour by  Chris Betcher


• e-portfolios using Blogger and Google Apps by Rob Clarke


• Minimally invasive education by Tara Taylor-Jorgensen


• The dog ate my homework by Dorothy Burt

We also had the opportunity to listen to and provide feedback around a few Google tools from the following Google employees:

• Google Apps New Features (and Blogger) by Anil Sabharwal


• Google Mobile by David Loxton


• Google Apps for Education Training Programs by Dana Nguyen

The following are a range of reflections from those that attended the GTA in Sydney 2011:

• Chris Betcher


• Chris Christodoulou


• Corrie Barclay


• Glenda Baker


• Glenda Morris


• John Thomas


• Kelly Jordan


• Mike Reading


• Penny Collins


• Tania Coutts


• Tania Sheko


• Tara Taylor-Jorgensen

Media on the Event:

• Whangarei Leader – NZ

Resources discussed on the podcast and others relating to GTA:

• Open Notes from the Day – compiled by Jason Zagami @jzagami


• Guide to Going Google


• Twitter Hash Tag Archive of GTA using Twapper – undertaken by Roland Gesthuizen @rgesthuizen


• Data Liberation


• Google Testing Centre


• Google Apps Education Training Centre


• Panoramio


• Google Map Maker


• Blogger – Dynamic Views


• Gone Google – Lessons and Ideas


• Flubaroo – Grading with Google Forms


• Google Apps – What’s new


• Harpa – Goolge Apps Teacher Dashboard

Interview Participants

Casandra Workman

Classroom Teacher – Centennial High School

Twitter: @workmanworld

Lisa Perze

Area Library Coordinator at Chicago Public Schools Department of Libraries

Twitter: @leperez1

Michael Beilharz

ICT Specialist / EdTech Specialist – Knox Grammar

Twitter: @MikalB

Philip Hogg

eLearning Coordinator – St Patrick’s College Sutherland

Twitter: @pehogg

Andrew Williamson

Classroom teacher and Music Specialist – North Fitzroy Primary School

Twitter: @willie42

François Jourde

Classroom Teacher – European School (EU institutions)

Twitter: @francoisjourde

Boris Yarmakhov

Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogic University

Twitter: @yarmakhov

Joe Donahue

Santa Ynez School in Santa Ynez, CA

Blog: http://syes.edublogs.org/

Twitter: @jdonahue805

Glenda Baker

American School in Japan

Blog: http://glendabaker.net/blog/

Twitter: @glendab

Lisa Thurman

GTA Leader – Lisa Thumann

Twitter: @lthumann

Glenda Morris

Our Lady of Mercy College

Blog: http://www.groovylibrarian.edublogs.org/

Twitter: @jasmont1

Corrie Barclay

Manor Lakes P-12 College

Blog: http://teachwithtech.global2.vic.edu.au/

Twitter: @CorrieB

Wendy Gorton

GTA Leader – Wendy Gorton

Twitter: @wendygorton

Dorothy Burt

New Zealand

Twitter: @dorothyjburt

Danny Silva

GTA Leader – Danny Silva

Podcaster: Podcast

Twitter: @iteachag

Kern Kelly

GTA Leader – Kern Kelly

Website: KernKelly

Twitter: @kernkelley

 

 

 

 

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Ed Tech Crew 159 – Budget Cuts & the Big Boys (Microsoft & Google)

Podcast number 159 – May 12th, 2011

[Running time: 1:02:16 mins, size:  42.9 MB]

Download it here!

News and websites discussed on the show

The Pool – http://pool.abc.net.au

Tony’s photosynth shot of SLAV tech and assistants conference

http://goo.gl/3Pbwt

Microsoft Purchases Skype

http://mashable.com/2011/05/10/microsoft-acquires-skype/

Google Takes on Apple and Amazon

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/may/10/google-music-service-apple-amazon

And Android @ Home http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385158,00.asp

Googlr music service: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20061575-266.html

GTA Sydney resources

http://teacher.global2.vic.edu.au/2011/04/28/inside-the-google-teacher-academy-2011/

Also see Tony’s shownotes from last week (Episode 158)- WOW!

NAPLAN

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/education/naplanstyle-testing-has-failed-us-schools-20110501-1e395.html

Facebook opened up to (NSW) school teachers

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/facebook-opened-up-to-school-teachers-20110428-1dyxa.html

NSW Social Media Guidelines: http://www.scribd.com/doc/54221457/Social-Media-Guidelines-for-Teachers

Finnish Schooling System

http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/2011/04/insightful-videos-exploring-why-finnish.html

Government Cuts DER Funding

http://www.zdnet.com.au/budget-2011-digital-school-funds-slashed-339314755.htm

QANTUM Victoria Fly through

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-1IXSSXkI&feature=youtu.be

Ed Tech Crew – Mentioned on the Small School Big Tech Podcasts

http://smallschoolbigtech.com/2011/05/01/episode-32-the-first-international-edition/

Flash Mob Teachers

Article: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-school-where-teachers-really-rock-flash-mob-farewell-goes-viral-20110511-1ei5h.html

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aQkDZwpV_U

Feedback

From Clay Leben

http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/

And from that list http://online-convert.com/

From Shane Roberts

EyePlorer http://vionto.com/show/

From Ian Guest

http://list.ly/

Via Roland G – Raspberry Pi

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13292450 & http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Screencasting via iPad

http://www.iear.org/iear/2010/12/20/screencasting-via-the-ipad.html

Darren Murphy & Tony Richards

http://mootuk11.org.uk/videos/

John Pearce

Facebook can serve as personality test

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/05/10/3212621.htm

Links from Shelly Terrell including:

http://chogger.com/ & http://masher.com/

TimeLine Tool – Tiki- Toki (suggested by Glenn Mc)

http://www.tiki-toki.com/

Ed Tech Crew Podcasts Timeline – http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/3012/Ed-Tech-Crew-Podcasts/

Apps & Software:

Via Clay Leben

http://www.blurb.com/mobile/features

Events:

The DERNSW team is hosting a 1:1 Learning Unconference

http://regodirect.com.au/unconference & http://1to1learningunconference.edublogs.org/

VITTA – registrations: http://www.vitta.org.au/conferenceinfo

ICTEV – http://ictev.vic.edu.au/

 

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Using GME with other Google Services

Posted by Paul McDonald, Google Mashup Editor Team

Reto Meier has posted a great article about using Google services like Google Calendar and Google Spreadsheets with GME. Check out the article on Reto's site, Radioactive Yak, and see his work in action with his latest mashup: Hit for Six, The Ultimate Cricket Mashup.

Thanks Reto! Nice work.

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Google Gadgets = Traffic

Posted by Paul McDonald, Google Mashup Editor Team

Do you want millions of people to use your mashup? If you are looking for traffic, the easiest way to get some eyes on your mashup is by creating a Google Gadget in GME and submitting it to the iGoogle Directory. We've made this drop dead simple with the Google Mashup Editor.

To help you get started Jason Cooper, our developer support lead, just put together a tutorial taking you through the process creating Google Gadgets with the Mashup Editor. In one click of a button you can add a Gadget view of your mashup and distribute it to millions of iGoogle users.

Have you created a Google Gadget using GME? Add it to our gallery or post about it in our developer forum.

Happy Mashing!

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Google Earth Outreach on GME

Posted by Paul Mcdonald, Google Mashup Editor Team

Google Earth Outreach gives non-profits and public benefit organizations the knowledge and resources needed to reach the hearts and minds of charitable donors. To do this they are using a mashup, form and data feed created in GME to show how these non-profits are using Google mapping technology to improve their organizations.

Check out the Google Earth Outreach home page. The mashup on the bottom left was created with GME. If you are part of a non-profit you can add your organization to the map using the link below the map.

This is great way to showcase the utility of GME with a professional implementation using the same tools as our GME developers.

Do you have great examples of GME in action? Add your mashups to our mashup gallery or post about them in our developer forum.

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Google I/O

Posted by Paul McDonald, Google Mashup Editor Team

Almost 9 months ago we released the first version of GME at Google Developer Day. Since then Google Developer Day has morphed into Google I/O, a two day developer gathering on May 28th & 29th in San Francisco. The purpose of the event is to bring developers together to learn about products, tools, and techniques which are moving the web forward as a platform.

There is going to be lots of discussion about client side development and mashups Google I/O. We hope to see you there.

For more information on the event and to register checkout the Google I/O announcement on Google Code.

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Making sense of science: introducing the Google Science Communication Fellows

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

In an effort to foster a more open, transparent and accessible scientific dialogue, we’ve started a new effort aimed at inspiring pioneering use of technology, new media and computational thinking in the communication of science to diverse audiences. Initially, we’ll focus on communicating the science on climate change.

We’re kicking off this effort by naming 21 Google Science Communication Fellows. These fellows were elected from a pool of applicants of early to mid-career Ph.D. scientists nominated by leaders in climate change research and science-based institutions across the U.S. It was hard to choose just 21 fellows from such an impressive pool of scientists; ultimately, we chose scientists who had the strongest potential to become excellent communicators. That meant previous training in science communication; research in topics related to understanding or managing climate change; and experience experimenting with innovative approaches or technology tools for science communication. This year’s fellows are an impressive bunch:

• Brendan Bohannan, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, University of Oregon
• Edward Brook, Professor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
• Julia Cole, Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona
• Eugene Cordero, Associate Professor, Meteorology and Climate Science, San Jose University
• Frank Davis, Professor, Landscape Ecology & Conservation Planning, University of California-Santa Barbara
• Andrew Dessler, Professor, Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University
• Noah Diffenbaugh, Assistant Professor, Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University
• Simon Donner, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
• Nicole Heller, Research Scientist, Climate Central
• Brian Helmuth, Professor, Biological Sciences, University South Carolina
• Paul Higgins, Associate Director, Policy Program, American Meteorological Society
• Jonathan Koomey, Consulting Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
• David Lea, Professor, Earth Science, University of California-Santa Barbara
• Kelly Levin, Senior Research Associate, World Resources Institute
• David Lobell, Assistant Professor, Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University
• Edwin Maurer, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, Santa Clara University
• Susanne Moser, Research Associate, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California-Santa Cruz
• Matthew Nisbet, Associate Professor, School of Communication, American University
• Rebecca Shaw, Director of Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, CA Chapter
• Whendee Silver, Professor, Ecosystem Ecology and Biogeochemistry, University of California-Berkeley
• Alan Townsend, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado

At our Mountain View, Calif. headquarters in June, the fellows will participate in a workshop, which will integrate hands-on training and facilitated brainstorming on topics of technology and science communication. Following the workshop, fellows will be given the opportunity to apply for grants to put their ideas into practice. Those with the most impactful projects will be given the opportunity to join a Lindblad Expeditions & National Geographic trip to the Arctic, the Galapagos or Antarctica as a science communicator.

Congratulations to all of the fellows! And we’ll keep you posted on more ideas and tools emerging for science communication.

Posted by Dr. Amy Luers, Google.org and Tina Ornduff, Google Education

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Find electric vehicle charging stations on Google Maps

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long blog)

At Google, we’ve been supporting environmentally-friendly cars through initiatives such as RechargeIT, an effort to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. As consumers embrace electric vehicles, we’ve also been adding information to Google Maps over the past few months to help users find charging stations. Just search on Google Maps for “ev charging station” plus the appropriate area, for example, “ev charging station near mountain view ca.”

We’d like to continue adding more charging stations to Google Maps, so we’re excited that our friends over at the the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are working to make more data available.

NREL has launched the GeoEVSE Forum to help develop a detailed, accurate database of electric vehicle charging stations. We’ll be adding more EV charging locations to Google Maps as their database, and others, are updated. As always, you can use the Report a problem tool to inform us of any corrections.

If you represent an automaker, an electric vehicle charging station manufacturer or installer, an EV consumer group or any other interested party, you can join the GeoEVSE Forum by visiting this site.

We look forward to adding even more information to Google Maps to help you recharge your electric vehicle. Happy green driving!

Posted by Cynthia Yeung, Strategic Partner Development Team

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Google just got serious about mobile

It looks like the power balance between desktop computers and mobile devices has finally shifted for good. Google debuted improvements to its web search on Tuesday that show the search giant’s increased prioritization of the mobile experience. Two of the three technology updates Google announced for desktop are of features that were first available on mobile and the other will make the mobile browsing experience better.

Here’s what Google showed off:

• Voice search. Google has made speech recognition search available on the desktop for Chrome users to allow people to speak, rather than type, their queries. Desktop Chrome users will now see a microphone icon next to every Google search box. Voice search has long been available on Google’s mobile search applications.

• Search by image. Google debuted the capability to search using an image on the desktop browser. Users can now upload any picture from their hard drives, or plug in an image URL from the web, and ask Google to identify what it is. Google’s “Goggles” mobile application has allowed people to search by taking photos with their mobile phones since its launch in 2009.

• Instant Pages. Pages is an iteration of the Instant Search feature launched last year. Instant Pages renders a visual of the search page a user is likely to click on while the query is in the process of being typed. According to Google, Instant Pages shaves between two to five seconds off of the typical search time. Instant Pages is only available on the Chrome browser for now, but much like Instant Search, which launched on the browser before coming to mobile search, hopefully Instant pages can make the transition. Like Instant Search, which seemed tailor-made for searching on a mobile device where every click counts, Instant Pages could be a boon for mobile devices as Google pre-renders pages in the cloud while your search is being performed.

For years, Google’s efforts on the mobile web have seemed largely about trying to translate the desktop experience onto a handheld form factor. But recently, it seems even the tech industry’s largest players, companies who got their start by succeeding in the desktop environment, have acknowledged that the power dynamic can and should change. Lion, the new version of Apple’s desktop operating system launched last week, took a number of cues from Apple’s mobile operating system iOS. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the latest updates from Apple and Google indicate that desktop software has finally started to look to mobile for inspiration.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Navigating Google Instant – Tips for Search Marketers
• 5 Mobile Companies to Watch in 2011
• Report: NoSQL Databases – Providing Extreme Scale and Flexibility

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Could Google Sync updates push Android users to iOS?

Google added three new features to its Google Sync solution Wednesday, all of which are specific to Apple iOS devices. The trio of changes will make it easier for users of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to interact with Google’s Gmail and Calendar services. These improvements from Google, along with the upcoming new features in Apple’s own iOS 5 platform, could sway some Android users back to Apple’s mobile devices.

Here’s a rundown of what’s changed in Google Sync for iOS:

• Server search. Instead of limiting email searches to the mail stored locally in the iOS Mail application, searches can be extended to Google’s Gmail servers. This is how Gmail in Android works, and it brings value because of Gmail’s archive feature. Unless mail is specifically put in the Trash, its available for searches forever.


• Calendar invites. Google Sync users can now accept, decline or edit Google Calendar events directly in the iOS Calendar application.


• Send as your alter ego. In Gmail for Android, users can choose which email address to send from, via a drop down menu. Now with Google Sync, iOS users can effectively do the same, directly within the Mail application.

The lesser Google experience on iOS isn’t the only reason that some consumers opt for Android devices, of course. Some don’t care for Apple’s control over both its ecosystem and its platform, for example, although such control guarantees a certain user experience for all. Others like to customize and tinker with their handset far more than Apple allows. And a lack of useful features such as Google Voice and Google Navigation in Maps have made Android more appealing for some.

While Google could keep holding iOS back from good integration with Google services, there’s little need for it to do so. While the two companies are clear competitors, they each have different approaches to mobile. Apple earns millions from the sale of hardware that supports its ecosystem, while also making money on the digital goods in that ecosystem. Google on the other hand, earns no money directly from the sale of mobile hardware, but instead hopes to get its services in the hands of as many people as possible. Doing so gives Google information, which it uses to create revenue-generating services. Catering to all mobile devices places money-making ads in front of more eyeballs.

The timing of the Google Sync improvements with the fall arrival of iOS 5, however, could result in some switchers from Android to iOS. When I examined some of the new iOS 5 improvements from an Android user’s perspective — Notification Center, iMessage, and wireless synchronization — I found much to like. Yes, a few of the iOS 5 features are mirror images of what Android always does, but as I said earlier this month, “[T]o be honest, it really doesn’t matter to me who created a feature or function vs. who might have copied or borrowed heavily. At the end of the day, if the smartphone is improved and meets my needs, that’s all that counts.”

Another thought on the timing comes from my iOS-totin’ colleague, Darrell Etherington: Could Google be adding these features now to try to lock in more iOS users into Google services before Apple’s iCloud breezes in?  It’s a logical thought, because there’s no reason Google couldn’t have added the new Google Sync features for iOS uses prior to now. And now that MobileMe is closed to new users until the iCloud service goes live, it’s a good time for Google to pull more iOS owners into its world. For suggestions to do so effectively, check our recent post that provides tips and tricks to make an iPhone play nicely with Google.

Ultimately, though, I think there’s a little more potential for Android owners to consider a switch as opposed to Google gaining more users through the existing user base. How about it Android users: Between iOS 5 changes and the new Google Sync features, is there any chance of a switch to Apple in your future?

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Mobile Q1: All Eyes on Tablets, T-Mobile and AT&T
• A Media Tablet Forecast, 2011 – 2015
• A Global Mobile Handset Platform Forecast, 2011 – 2015

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