Does This Scare You?

Found this provoking video on Twitter.  Although it is from a business blog, Kneale Mann, it is a good reality check of what our now and future digitally-native students are and what they demand from their education.

This video talks about Augmented Reality or AR; somewhat new technology, yet been out for awhile in some areas like the military.  AR will soon be moving into (some avenues, already is) the Education field.  If you are not familiar with Augmented Reality, Vicki Davis, edublogger from Georgia, gives a good explanation.

Google Inside Search

I just recently held a workshop on how to teach students the 21st Centry skill of Search; and how teachers can help their students learn its art with some simple tricks and wording.

I just stumble upon a nice, new change and directory to Google's Inside Search help pages.  Go to Google Inside Search and view the Features tab.  You will find a long list of search tips, tricks, and ways to format your search in an easy to navigate directory.  A lot of what Google offers for tips is often used in other major and popular search engines as well.

You will find these tip extremely helpful when teaching your students how to make smart web searches.

Here is a sample shot:

Satellite imagery and 3D model of the cruise ship Costa Concordia

The Google Earth Blog (unofficial) featured today Satellite imagery and 3D model of the cruise ship Costa Concordia

Frank Taylor took DigitalGlobe's satellite shot of the Costa Condoria cruise liner that crashed in Italy last week, created an overlay in Google Earth and offers the download for your own Google Earth application.  He, also, offers a .kmz file (Google Earth file) of one of Paul van Dinther's 3-D models of the ship that can be viewed in your Google Earth application

Program Flyer: A View from the Top: Looking at Earth from Space - Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration

Program Flyer: A View from the Top: Looking at Earth from Space - Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration
is a free video conference from NASA. Great for middle school or any level discussing how NASA's International Space Station uses pictures to gather data on climate change, weather events, demographics and more.

Here is a snipet of their description:

Many of us have seen photos of the Earth taken from the Space Shuttle and have marveled at their beautiful vistas. Such imagery will continue to be collected as the International Space Station becomes fully operational, providing a permanent platform for remote sensing. At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Earth scientists study images of Earth from geographic and scientific points of view, and their investigations reveal telling facts about our planet and its processes. NASA also collects data relating to climate change, weather events, pollution, and demographics using Earth Observation Satellites. Join NASA's Digital Learning Network as we work together to develop interpretive skills and learn how to look at space-based photography the same way Earth observation scientists do at NASA.

Google Elections

Google Elections is a great way to keep you and your students up to date when following the Iowa Caucuses.

Google Elections is a huge resource of news and information.

Not only does it provide up-to-date results through an interactive map,

but you can follow Google search trends (which candidates are being searched for),

students can see who the running candidates are; view news articles and video on current issues like economy, healthcare, and national security.

On the Ground provides video news coverage throughout the caucuses from various places and sources in the country.

PBS Newshour provides a Google Calendar of the candidates' itinerary and whereabouts that you can add to your own Google Calendar.

For more information go to Google Elections. 

Also, for those who utilize Twitter, add @mentionmachine to your list to follow.  @mentionmachine monitors Twitter for political candidates mentions and and trends.