Wikis in Plain English

Not long ago, Melba blogged about a neat video on RSS; here's a new video that deals with Wikis.

I *Know* Its Here--Somewhere

If you're anything like me, you have a ton of files on your hard drive, some going back some 8-10 years. I've tried to be organized about it--putting older files in a folder named "Archive" or "1998" or "Old Stuff"--but darned if that has helped much beyond keeping my current course files more visible. Finding those files in Windows Explorer resembles the old needle-in-a-haystack routine and usually gives rise to numerous Advil moments, not to mention the inevitable loss of hair. One of my mainstays against the inevitable flood is, of course, Google Desktop. A new app, tag2find is bringing file management into the 21st century, allowing you to apply tags to your files, similar to del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, and other social bookmarking sites. While still in a Technical Preview version (not even a Beta yet), its time has come. So if you're still lost in the Great Sea of Too Many Files, "tag it, don't file it!"

In Plain English

Got to love these youtube videos:

Wikis in Plain English
RSS in Plain English

Itchy?

Scratch is a new programming tool that lets users create video games, animated stories and interactive artwork by layering blocks of actions -- this was actually designed for children, so I think I may be able to figure it out, and it seems like this would be adaptable for some classroom applications. Download it for free here or view shared projects in the gallery.

PDF = Pretty Darn Fine

I seem to have collected a number of PDF resources, to wit:

• PDF-Xchange Viewer lets you type on any pdf in typewriter mode even if it wasn't designed for that. Sweet.
• Koolwire lets you convert docs, ppts, xls, jpgs, gifs, rtf and txt into pdfs. Kool.
• DocMorph (those National Library of Medicine people are a stitch!) lets you convert just about anything to just about anything else, including pdfs. Handy.
• Scribd is kind of an anti-pdf site that lets you upload documents to a special flash viewer so anyone can view them online; also building the world's largest open library of documents. An interesting assortment, including "4 Reasons Why Good Girls Cheat." Hmmm.

Blogging in my classroom

Thanks to my experience with the Rock Tech Talk Blog, I've begun introducing blogging to my classes. They really seem to enjoy the blogging & some are considering using it in their classrooms. Here's a link to the blog from my summer presession class. Based on this blog, I'm planning to do a class blog for the entire fall semester. I'll have to let you know how it goes. I just wanted to say thanks for launching me into the blogosphere.

BTW...I have changed my screen name to reflect an alias. It's a concept I introduced my students to recently. Alias names help to protect the identity of our K-12 children. We discussed strategies for safe use of blogs in the classroom & they really enjoyed creating the alias names.

Winner is....

Winners of the Web 2.0 Awards

Worth at Least 1,000 Words

Need some help with your vacation pix? Find first aid for photos at Phixr, Fauxto, Creating Online, and Wiredness.

Generate images with Image Chef, Image Generator, or Custom Sign Generator. Fun stuff -- but watch out for the annoying wizard from the last one.

Also, cool Photoshop tutorials from Melissa Clifton, including how to turn photos into Warholian art.