Posts
Educational Video Games Mix Cool With Purpose: "One of KC Phillips’s favorite video games is the Xbox shoot-’em-up Halo, because, he says, his dad taught him how to play it when he was younger. Now 15 and a high school sophomore in Madison, Wis., KC views the game with a more discerning eye. Last year, he played Gamestar Mechanic, an educational video game that asks players to solve a set of puzzles in order to win enough power to design and create their own video games.
“Now every single time I play video games, I really ..."
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
When Teachers Are the Experts. From Tradtional to Collaborative Pro. D.
This article from Ian Jukes' blog is a great summary of where I think professional development is heading. It's exciting to think of the equal access that the internet will provide for schools that haven't traditionally been able to afford the high-cost programs we've grown accustomed to.
When Teachers Are the Experts. From Tradtional to Collaborative Pro. D.: "I think I’m going to miss the coffee and Danish most of all. I won’t miss staring at the clock with my politely disengaged colleagues. And I won’t miss the guy up front, some former principal or ace teacher, who’s going to teach us about some topic that has been deemed important for the entire staff. These whole-school workshop sessions that many of us have experienced are what I’ll call “old PD”: professional development in the form of an expert up ..."
When Teachers Are the Experts. From Tradtional to Collaborative Pro. D.: "I think I’m going to miss the coffee and Danish most of all. I won’t miss staring at the clock with my politely disengaged colleagues. And I won’t miss the guy up front, some former principal or ace teacher, who’s going to teach us about some topic that has been deemed important for the entire staff. These whole-school workshop sessions that many of us have experienced are what I’ll call “old PD”: professional development in the form of an expert up ..."
Empire of the Word to examine the last 5000 years of reading
Empire of the Word to examine the last 5000 years of reading: "
The written word: in prehistoric times, it took the form of drawings in caves. Today it speeds past on the screens of our electronic devices at the touch of a finger. How did the simple act of reading come to be? How has it shaped our lives? And what role does a modern society play in providing and protecting literacy for all?
The Canadian network TVO will be broadcasting the world premiere of Empire of the Word, a fascinating four-hour documentary series chronicling the origins of reading and writing and its impact on 5,000 years of human history.
Hosted by renowned Canadian-Argentine author Alberto Manguel and based on his A History of Reading
, Empire of the Word explores how reading and writing were born; how we learn to read; who or what might prevent us from reading; and the future of reading.
Eight years in the making and shot in 15 countries, the series journeys from prehistory to present day and beyond, illustrating how reading and writing are inextricably linked to human evolution and existence.
We witness some of the people and events that create the story of the written word: the genesis of the alphabet; the earliest forms of portable reading; Alexander the Great’s dream of the first universal library; the role of Irish monks in saving reading during the Early Middle Ages; the groundbreaking concept of interpreting your own meaning from a text; the printing press; and the challenges and opportunities for reading in a digital world. At the heart of the series is the question of why reading has survived throughout the ages despite poverty, resistance by organized religion, authoritarian rule, censorship, learning or health impediments and interactive media.
While the invention of the Gutenberg press some 500 years ago made reading a universal possibility, the ability – and freedom – to read and write is not as universal as we may think, even in the 21st century.
After the series has premiered in Canada, it will screen in Australia, Ireland and France. It will also be available to the rest of the world online, along with a series of interactive features.
Click here to go to the Empire of the Word website.
Click here to go the Empire of the Word Facebook page
"
The written word: in prehistoric times, it took the form of drawings in caves. Today it speeds past on the screens of our electronic devices at the touch of a finger. How did the simple act of reading come to be? How has it shaped our lives? And what role does a modern society play in providing and protecting literacy for all?
The Canadian network TVO will be broadcasting the world premiere of Empire of the Word, a fascinating four-hour documentary series chronicling the origins of reading and writing and its impact on 5,000 years of human history.
Hosted by renowned Canadian-Argentine author Alberto Manguel and based on his A History of Reading
, Empire of the Word explores how reading and writing were born; how we learn to read; who or what might prevent us from reading; and the future of reading. Eight years in the making and shot in 15 countries, the series journeys from prehistory to present day and beyond, illustrating how reading and writing are inextricably linked to human evolution and existence.
We witness some of the people and events that create the story of the written word: the genesis of the alphabet; the earliest forms of portable reading; Alexander the Great’s dream of the first universal library; the role of Irish monks in saving reading during the Early Middle Ages; the groundbreaking concept of interpreting your own meaning from a text; the printing press; and the challenges and opportunities for reading in a digital world. At the heart of the series is the question of why reading has survived throughout the ages despite poverty, resistance by organized religion, authoritarian rule, censorship, learning or health impediments and interactive media.
While the invention of the Gutenberg press some 500 years ago made reading a universal possibility, the ability – and freedom – to read and write is not as universal as we may think, even in the 21st century.
After the series has premiered in Canada, it will screen in Australia, Ireland and France. It will also be available to the rest of the world online, along with a series of interactive features.
Click here to go to the Empire of the Word website.
Click here to go the Empire of the Word Facebook page
Virtual Classrooms Could Create a Marketplace for Knowledge
A really interesting article from the NY Times that poses some thoughtful questions about the potential benefits and risks of online education.
Virtual Classrooms Could Create a Marketplace for Knowledge
Virtual Classrooms Could Create a Marketplace for Knowledge
Virtual iPhone Phrasebook Brings Us Closer to the 'Babel Fish'
Virtual iPhone Phrasebook Brings Us Closer to the 'Babel Fish': "In Douglas Adams's best-selling novel The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a space traveler could stick the Babel fish right into his ear, making it so he could understand speakers in any language. Emirates airlines' iLingual iPhone app doesn't exactly realize his dream, but it's a step in the right direction.
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Saturday, November 14, 2009
Scholarship on Ancient and Medieval Middle East Becomes Free Digitally
Scholarship on Ancient and Medieval Middle East Becomes Free Digitally: "A wealth of material that documents the ancient Middle East has become available through a new, free online service at the Oriental Institute.
¨
The material comes from the extensive collection at the institute, which is a major publisher of important academic books on the languages, history and cultures of the ancient Middle East. The effort began in 1906, when the University started issuing publications that have been essential for studying the past.
Since that time, more than 272 books have been published, ranging from dictionaries of the Assyrian and Hittite languages, to historical and archaeological studies and oversized folio volumes that document Egyptian temples and tombs.
Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, said, 'Our publications are the lasting record of our excavations and research. They are fundamental tools for scholars of the ancient Middle East throughout the world. Making these books available to our colleagues, to educators and the public reflects our mission to share knowledge.'
Publication of its research is a central tenet of the mission of the Oriental Institute. Equally important is making that research accessible to scholars and individuals throughout the world.
Toward that end, in October 2004, the Oriental Institute announced the Electronic Publications Initiative, which stated that all publications of the Oriental Institute would be simultaneously published in print and electronically.
New titles are made available for free download at the same time they are issued in print. Individuals, libraries and institutions may download one complimentary copy for personal use from the Oriental Institute's Web site: https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/.
More than a thousand copies of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary have been downloaded since May 2008. To date, 147 Adobe PDFs (portable document files), each containing an entire book, can be accessed at the site. Many of those titles are older publications that have long been out of print. An additional 125 older titles, which comprise the institute's Egyptological collection published since the 1920s, such as the Epigraphic Survey, are being scanned in preparation for free Internet distribution.
¨
Another 138 older titles, which document the institute's research on Anatolian, Arabic, Iranian, Mesopotamian, Syro/Palestinian cultures, among others, will continue to be scanned and distributed as time and funds permit.
Medieval Titles include:
Changing Social Identity with the Spread of Islam: Archaeological Perspectives, edited by Donald Whitcomb
Bir Umm Fawakhir Survey Project 1993: A Byzantine Gold-Mining Town in Egypt, by C. Meyer et al.
Ayla: Art and Industry in the Islamic Port of Aqaba, by D. Whitcomb
Daily Life Ornamented: The Medieval Persian City of Rayy, by Tanya Treptow
European Cartographers and the Ottoman World, 1500–1750: Maps from the Collection of O. J. Sopranos, by Ian Manners
Response to the EPI has been overwhelming, with positive comments received from all over the world. Complimentary Web distribution ensures that publications of the Oriental Institute, whether new or old, are made available to everyone with access to the Internet, especially in countries where the institute conducts research.¨
Thomas Urban, manager of the Publications Department at the Oriental Institute, said, 'Technology now makes it possible for us to make these works widely available. So much effort goes into each volume—the author's original research, editorial work, artwork and photography. It is rewarding that these books, many of which are long out of print, can be consulted.'
Statistics on downloads of electronic files and sales of printed books have been carefully tracked, and the Publication Sales office has noted that the availability of free downloads has not adversely impacted the sale of the printed volumes. In fact, the availability of free PDFs of titles has increased print sales. After the complimentary distribution of 21 titles—books that had not been accessible via the Internet before 2008—print sales of those same titles increased by 7 percent compared to the previous two years.
'It seemed counterintuitive that making the electronic files available without charge would actually stimulate the sale of hard copies, but that is what we are seeing,' Urban said. 'We suspect that people are sampling the book through the download, then they decide they want a hard copy. This is an important message to others who are contemplating making their books available on the Internet,' he added.
"
¨
The material comes from the extensive collection at the institute, which is a major publisher of important academic books on the languages, history and cultures of the ancient Middle East. The effort began in 1906, when the University started issuing publications that have been essential for studying the past.
Since that time, more than 272 books have been published, ranging from dictionaries of the Assyrian and Hittite languages, to historical and archaeological studies and oversized folio volumes that document Egyptian temples and tombs.
Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, said, 'Our publications are the lasting record of our excavations and research. They are fundamental tools for scholars of the ancient Middle East throughout the world. Making these books available to our colleagues, to educators and the public reflects our mission to share knowledge.'
Publication of its research is a central tenet of the mission of the Oriental Institute. Equally important is making that research accessible to scholars and individuals throughout the world.
Toward that end, in October 2004, the Oriental Institute announced the Electronic Publications Initiative, which stated that all publications of the Oriental Institute would be simultaneously published in print and electronically.
New titles are made available for free download at the same time they are issued in print. Individuals, libraries and institutions may download one complimentary copy for personal use from the Oriental Institute's Web site: https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/.
More than a thousand copies of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary have been downloaded since May 2008. To date, 147 Adobe PDFs (portable document files), each containing an entire book, can be accessed at the site. Many of those titles are older publications that have long been out of print. An additional 125 older titles, which comprise the institute's Egyptological collection published since the 1920s, such as the Epigraphic Survey, are being scanned in preparation for free Internet distribution.
¨
Another 138 older titles, which document the institute's research on Anatolian, Arabic, Iranian, Mesopotamian, Syro/Palestinian cultures, among others, will continue to be scanned and distributed as time and funds permit.
Medieval Titles include:
Changing Social Identity with the Spread of Islam: Archaeological Perspectives, edited by Donald Whitcomb
Bir Umm Fawakhir Survey Project 1993: A Byzantine Gold-Mining Town in Egypt, by C. Meyer et al.
Ayla: Art and Industry in the Islamic Port of Aqaba, by D. Whitcomb
Daily Life Ornamented: The Medieval Persian City of Rayy, by Tanya Treptow
European Cartographers and the Ottoman World, 1500–1750: Maps from the Collection of O. J. Sopranos, by Ian Manners
Response to the EPI has been overwhelming, with positive comments received from all over the world. Complimentary Web distribution ensures that publications of the Oriental Institute, whether new or old, are made available to everyone with access to the Internet, especially in countries where the institute conducts research.¨
Thomas Urban, manager of the Publications Department at the Oriental Institute, said, 'Technology now makes it possible for us to make these works widely available. So much effort goes into each volume—the author's original research, editorial work, artwork and photography. It is rewarding that these books, many of which are long out of print, can be consulted.'
Statistics on downloads of electronic files and sales of printed books have been carefully tracked, and the Publication Sales office has noted that the availability of free downloads has not adversely impacted the sale of the printed volumes. In fact, the availability of free PDFs of titles has increased print sales. After the complimentary distribution of 21 titles—books that had not been accessible via the Internet before 2008—print sales of those same titles increased by 7 percent compared to the previous two years.
'It seemed counterintuitive that making the electronic files available without charge would actually stimulate the sale of hard copies, but that is what we are seeing,' Urban said. 'We suspect that people are sampling the book through the download, then they decide they want a hard copy. This is an important message to others who are contemplating making their books available on the Internet,' he added.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Archaeologists May Have Found Remains of Lost Persian Army
Archaeologists May Have Found Remains of Lost Persian Army: "
"
2,500 years ago, an army of 50,000 men left an oasis in western Egypt and were never heard from again. Now, archaeologists think they may have uncovered the missing troops, who were probably killed in a sandstorm.
...the team decided to investigate Bedouin stories about thousands of white bones that would have emerged decades ago during particular wind conditions in a nearby area. Indeed, they found a mass grave with hundreds of bleached bones and skulls. 'We learned that the remains had been exposed by tomb robbers and that a beautiful sword which was found among the bones was sold to American tourists,' Castiglioni said.
And now, unless popular film and novels have lied to us all, every last one of those skeletons will struggle to its feet and--enraged at the disruption of a centuries' long slumber--visit destruction upon archaeologist and Bedouin alike.
Vanished Persian Army Said Found in Desert, from MSNBC, via Martin Bosworth, who agrees with me about the inevitable walking skeletons. In your heart of hearts, you know we're right.
Image courtesy Flickr user spratmackrel, via CC
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