Sites that Caught My Eye Today 06/11/2008
Microsoft Innovative Teachers network
Microsoft's Innovative teacher's network. Another network for teachers.
OnlineKnowHow.com - Open Source Finder Google Gadget
Those people who are open source junkies -- this is a great google gadget custom search engine to add to your igoogle or gadget. It will help you easily find open source software.
Windows and OS X Software Alternatives | Linux App Finder
For those using linux, this linux app finder helps you find what will replace other apps that you may be used to.
Adobe - Adobe AIR Marketplace Audio & Music
Adobe Air will let you store searches on craig's list and access them even when your computer is offline. Adobe Air has some cool things that are coming and this is just one of them. I wonder how it will affect download time?
Why Users Don't Read Documentation | Idiotprogrammer
I love this article which talks about the most common problems when people call customer service. I believe that as I teach my students I should help them become technically fluent to minimize these problems and maximize their potential in this increasingly technical world.
The most common problems are:
* Users don’t know the terminology to describe the problem they have or to know what to look for.
* Users haven’t studied the problem long enough.
* Users don’t recognize details or signs which might aid in understanding the problem.
* Users might not have easy access to the documentation, may not be qualified to understand it (because of language barriers or technical level), or they may simply not have the time or energy to use it.
* Users might be unaware of the status of their computer/account/browser and/or they might be limited in their ability to obtain this information.
* Users might have received incorrect or misleading information from someone else, or they might have made incorrect assumptions about the product.
* Users may be familiar with one kind of product and lack the appropriate mental model for knowing how the product is supposed to work.
* Users might have previous problems in the past and found it easier just to call technical support than to risk aggravating the problem when trying to fix it.CSTA National Secondary School Comparison of 2007 and 2005 Results
Current comparisons of computer science and introductory computer science courses from the Computer Science teachers Association. I find it interesting that only 33% of schools require such a course and that the #2 choice for professional development for Computer Science teachers is now online networking.
Tapped In Festival 2008: Beyond conflict -- Building Peaceful Communities
Tapped in has been a mainstay in education and a non threatening method of using chat to link with people around the world. This longstanding contributor to education has its 2008 Tapped In Festival scheduled for July 23 and July 24th with some neat things planned. This website has more information for you and certificates of participation will be available for those who participates.
Teachers should connect in which ever way they feel most comfortable and the power of embedded networks should never be ignored.
