Welcome to my blog! My name is Paul, and I am a college student studying Biomedical Engineering (BME) in the US. I have finally decided to join the blogging craze. I know I’m quite behind on the curve, but I don’t mind.

I will not be revealing my full identity on this blog. Why? I’m not sure, but I think it’ll be more interesting this way. All you need to know is that my name is Paul and I am a college student. In subsequent posts, I will most likely reaveal small tidbits of info about me, most likely unintentionally. So if you want to know more about me, you’ll just have to read my blog.

I felt is was fitting that my first post would be the weekend after my quarter ended. Finals are done, and I have time to think about stuff other than biomechanics and biostatistics. Also, during this break I will be going on a cruise to the Caribbean (over Christmas), and then I’ll be in Dubai during New Year’s. If anything interesting happens, I’ll post here.

However, that’s not the main purpose of this blog. The purpose of this blog is to let you, the people, know anything interesting I stumble onto. For example, today, I’d like to show you an awesome widget that charts the entire history of the internet, particularly all the memes that have arisen since the internet’s inception.

Here’s the link: http://www.dipity.com/tatercakes/Internet_Memes/embed_tl?skin

WARNING: If you get too caught up in it (i.e. zoom in on the timeline for a more detailed view of memes), you will lose track of time and spend hours browsing through the history of the internet (I know this from experience).

The site, Dipity, can do this for all kinds of subjects, such as a timeline of the H1N1 vaccine or the official Tom Cruise timeline. It’s pretty cool, and I’m still exploring it’s uses.

That’s all for tonight. I’m sure I’ll have more interesting things later today.

Paul

Línea de tiempo con videos de la historia de los ordenadores

http://www.dipity.com/timeline/Historia-Ordenadores#

Do you love Christmas time and soaking up as much holiday spirit as you can? Well I know I do! Christmas came early for me this year. For Halloween my roommates and I decided to be  Christmas elves and instead of putting up Halloween decorations, we transformed our apartment into a winter wonderland!

Me with my roommates Jenn, Lauren, and Megan

New Jersey has lots of fun things to do but I know sometimes they might be hard to find. So I organized a few ideas and events going on throughout New Jersey for the month of December so everyone can get into the holiday spirit because no one likes a grinch! ( 25 Days of Christmas ) Hopefully this is helpful and I will be adding more to it! Feel free to browse around! Ideas from cooking ideas, star gazing, parades and more!

Throughout the years, people have been encouraging us to stay happy and inspire us with their words. Here’s a timeline of happiness since before we even realized it.

A timeline can be a great way to tell a story that stretches over a long-period of time.

History of Health Care Reform (NYTimes.com)

Michael Jackson’s Billboard Rankings (NYTimes.com)

Williams Sisters and a Decade of Tennis Dominance (NYTimes.com)

Maddoff Fraud (NYTimes.com)

Seven eye-popping interactive timelines (10,000words.net)

Dipity is a simple tool to create online timelines. It is open to anyone, but is also being used by news organizations like Huffington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. You can pull in videos, pictures, and updates from hundreds of sources instantly. Or you can create your own timeline manually.

See how the Chronicle, a small newspaper in Lewis County, Washington, used a dipity timeline to cover the history of floods in the area.

Here is a brief overview and some simple instructions for getting started…
To start, go to Dipity.com

How to Use Dipity:

Go to Dipity.com.
Sign up for an account.

Inside you will see an option to “Add a Source.” Dipity can pull in information from photo sharing sites, blogs, Twitter, and bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious.

Select a source or sources and click the “Done” button.

You can use the zoom tool in the upper left hand corner of the timeline to narrow or extend the timeline.

Or you can add one event at a time by clicking the “Add an Event” button.

You can click can then put the information in manually: title, date, description, pictures, links, etc. When you are done click on “Save” or “Save + Add Another.”

In the top left hand corner you will see tabs for “Timeline,” “Flipbook,” “List,” and “Map.” You can click on these to view the information in various formats.

You can also add “Topics” at the bottom. It will search the Internet for sources of information that fit your topic search.

When you are done, click on “Embed.”

Take the embed code and paste it into your Word Press blog. Unfortunately, your timeline will not show up in your blog post. It will only give you a link. So you can write up a description that explains what your timeline is, how your user should use it, and then link to your Dipity timeline.

Dipity is great free data visualisation tool (thanks to Riyaad Minty for this tip) that allows users to collect and present data from any site on the web. You can then present it as a timeline, a map, a list or a fipbook. Dipity then allows you to embed the collection in your website. The example below shows someone tracking the development of the swine flue story.

For a fun Dipity check out the one on internet memes

Dipity tracking Swine Flu story presented as a timeline

Dipity tracking the Swine Flu story presented as a flipbook

Dipity tracking Swine Flu story presented as a Map

I am now all set for my little history / ICT project. At lunchtimes for this week I will be working with a small, select group of Year 6’s to investigate the learning potential of several web tools.

We will start by researching the topic using the Internet alongside books from the library so that the children can compare sources and discuss reliability. Do they understand why wikipedia cannot necessarily be trusted?

Following that I have set up the following:

Wallwisher – I have created a Wall for the children to post profiles of the main characters involved in the plot. Would really welcome comments once they have started.

Google Maps – After my successful trial of this I will be asking the children to create a map and plot some of the places mentioned in the story of the Gunpowder Plot and then create a tour guide.

Geni – To help the children understand the political and religious background to the Plot I will ask some of them to create a family tree of the Royal Family starting with James I. They have just finished a Tudors learning journey so I will ask them to find the connection between James I and Henry VIII.

Dipity – I will also have children creating a timeline of the events using www.dipity.com.

Twitter – I have created a twitter account for Robert Catesby, the leader of the Plot for the children to update over the next few days. We will plan the tweets in advance and maybe use a service to schedule the tweets.

My plan is to have 1 or 2 children working on one site at a time and then rotating them so they experience and contribute to them all.

All will be available on our Learning Platform -> look for the folder titled Gunpowder Plot on the left.

I would welcome any comments about this little project. Hopefully it will be successful and I will be able to plan bigger projects that other schools can contribute to as well.

Tomorrow I am starting to work with a small group of Year 6 children on a history / ICT project.

I will be using some of the tools I have been experimenting with other the past few days. These include:

Creating a topic related Google Map like my Gunpowder Plot map -

View Larger Map

Using dipity.com to create a timeline.

Using geni.com to create a family tree.

Using Wallwisher to create a ‘wall’

And using Twitter to create a historical account @LCS_RCatesby

I will blog again tomorrow to let you know how it all progresses.

If you have any other suggestions for sites that could be used for history topics then please let me know.

Author Clare Dudman wrote a post on Reading and the Internet a few days ago, listing a variety of ways in which the internet can enhance the reading experience. When I read her post, I automatically changed the word “reading” to “writing” in my mind because the two are interchangeable and intertwined for me. I posted one of the ways I, as a writer, use the internet and then realized my mistake, suggesting that Clare create a list for writers, in addition to her reader list. She may be considering that, but I thought I should post my own list and then, if she decides to create one, I can compare our uses.

So then ….

25 Ways Writers Can Use the Internet

1. Search for character names, both first and last, using a baby name site.

2. Investigate locations using Google Maps or Mapquest. Though Google may be at the top of everyone’s mind, I have found that Mapquest tends to give more direct routes, using roads the locals might use, and its drive times are more accurate than those on Google Maps. Google Maps has Street View, though, so you’ll want to check out both for your settings.

3. Get help with grammar and punctuation.

4. Use an online dictionary and thesaurus.

5. Find great quotes to start your book chapters. (Why do so many writers use this technique?)

6. Look up health-related info for whatever ailments you want to inflict upon your characters.

7. Collect “clippings” by bookmarking news stories, blog posts and other online content. Use the Bookmarks feature on your browser, or sign up for a social bookmarking service like del.icio.us. (Looks like delicious has lost the dots in its name. Thank goodness. Too darned hard to remember how to spell the word & where to put the dots.)

8. Get a grip on journalistic ethics so as to avoid any legal issues with your writing.

9. Commune with other writers online. Ask for help & get feedback.

10. Locate basic writing advice.

11. Keep track of your reading. (And other writers!)

12. Find pictures to help you create scenes.

13. If you’re in need of an unusual prop, search museum websites for artifacts. Don’t just visit sites for Really Big Museums, look for small, local museums, too.

14. Mine Wikipedia articles for original sources. Check both in-text citations and those at the end of the article.

15. Get inspiration from writing prompt websites and Oblique Strategies.

16. Learn various poetic structures, such as haiku and sestina.

17. READ! For free! Because you can’t be an effective writer unless you are also a reader. (Oh, my. I think I’ve just made a pronouncement. Shame on me.)

18. Follow trends.

19. Get technical information for those technical things you want to insert into your articles and books.

20. Allow Dr. Wicked to prod you into writing.

21. Use Dipity to follow historical time lines.

22. Add a dash of a foreign language to your writing using Google Translate. Check with a native speaker during editing to make sure the translations are accurate.

23. Start a blog in order to maintain a regular writing practice, market your work, and connect with readers.

24. Self-publish a book.

25. Brush up on copyright and an alternative to copyright.

Got other suggestions for ways writers can use the internet? Leave them in the comments, please!

Dipity is a platform that I stumbled upon yesterday, that allows you create attractive timelines on anything you want, and then share them with the world!

Its free and easy to set up, and you can include info from other platforms such as YouTube, Flickr, Twitter etc.  You can then embed your timeline in your website or blog – either as as funky moving timeline or in an equally funky flipbook view…or as a map or a list. 

Nice.

Not sure what I will use it for yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something.   

The example picture below is taken from the Dipity website and is for illustration purposes only…

…I would never actively seek nor promote anything to do with Sarah Palin normally! 

A organização internacional Médicos Sem Fronteiras publica, desde 1998, lista anual das dez crises humanitárias mais negligenciadas pela mídia nos Estados Unidos.
Crises de humor da Britney Spears ou de Amy Winehouse recebem mais cobertura midiática do que a crise humanitária em países como Somália, Zimbábue e República Democrática do Congo.
Organizei o Top 10 elaborado pelos Médicos Sem Fronteiras em uma linha do tempo usando a plataforma do Dipity.

Clique para acessar a linha do tempo no Dipity

A lista mais recente apresenta as seguintes pautas negligenciadas em 2008:

• Catástrofe humanitária na Somália;

• Crise na saúde em Mianmar;

• Desnutrição infantil;

• Violência no Sudão;

• Guerra devasta região leste da República Democrática do Congo;

• Necessidade crítica de assistência na região somali da Etiópia;

• Crise na saúde devasta Zimbábue;

• Civis iraquianos necessitam urgentemente de assistência;

• Co-infecções de hiv/tuberculose;

• Conflito no noroeste do Paquistão.

Veja o documento completo:
Top Ten Humanitarian Crises of 2008

Shared via AddThis

Dipity is a tool that could be very useful in education. I did a search on A(H1N1) and this is what I got. It’s an interactive timeline comprising of various resources from the WWW!

Dipity helps make temporal and visual sense of searches. This organises the plethora of information that typically results from a Web search and makes it easier to manage. Better still, the information can be reorganised into a list, flipbook or a map to suit the needs of the searcher!

I wonder if Google might acquire Dipity some day…

Glogak izan daitezke oso tresna baliogarriak gure ikasleek egindako lanak edo proiektuak aurkezteko eta bide batez oinarrizko konpetentziak garatzeko, hizkuntza komunikaziorako konpetentzia eta konpetentzia digitala bereziki.
Materiaren ezaugarriei buruz Urkitzako ikasleek egindako proiektutxua aurkeztu nahi dizuet bi glog hauen bidez.

Glogek eta Web 2.0-ren beste tresnek duten aplikazio didaktikoa izan da nire ponentziaren edukina Getxo Linguae Jardunaldietan. Bloggeando-ko neskak nirekin egon dira eta Scrapblog, Pixton, Dipity … izan dira guk  aurkeztutako beste 2.0 tresnak.

“Glogeatu!. A poster with Glogster!” post-ean glogak zer diren azaldu nuen

***Podemos ver los Glogs a tamaño natural si hacemos clic en su parte superior derecha, en donde pone  -View full size-

Las aplicaciones didácticas de los Glogs y otras herramientas de presentación de la Web 2.0 (Scrapblog, Slideboom…) han sido el tema de mi comunicación en las Jornadas de Getxo Linguae 2009 .  Me han acompañado las chicas de Bloggeando que han presentado otras herramientas para crear líneas del tiempo (Dipity),  comics (Pixton) etc…

Aquí os presento el trabajo realizado con mis amigas y amigos de 5º y 6º de  Urkitza LHI, de Bakio. Son dos glogs realizados con Glogster que recogen un proyecto que integra dos áreas del curriculum: Conocimiento del medio y Euskera. La realización de este proyecto ha contribuido a que desarrollen varias de las competencias básicas de la enseñanza obligatoria: la competencia en comunicación lingüística , la competencia digital, la científica, etc…

Para terminar os dejo este enlace a una entrada, del 24 de Abril, en la que explico lo que es un Glog por medio de un Glog: “Glogeatu! A poster with Glogster!”

Alors que le vote final de la loi Création et Internet est prévu pour demain, je vous propose d’aller faire un tour sur quelques sites qui permettent de se représenter d’une manière différentes les informations et les ressources nécessaires pour mieux comprendre ce texte.

On commence par les Inrockuptibles (qui tiennent en passant une intéressante rubrique sur leur site consacré au numérique) qui nous propose un tour du monde des pays qui ont tenté de mettre en place des systèmes de lutte contre le piratage, sous la forme d’une Google Map. Si “comparaison n’est pas raison”, ce panorama permet de mesurer à quel point il est difficile de mettre en place efficacement une réponse au problème du téléchargement sur un mode répressif.

View Larger Map

Le Projet Magellan (une association qui promeut de nouvelles formes d’accès à l’information sur Internet) a mis en place de son côté un véritable portail collaboratif de collecte de ressources liées à la loi Hadopi, comportant des documents, des liens et profils de personnalités s’étant engagées pour ou contre la loi. Le tout est aussi couplé à un moteur de recherche permettant de prolonger la recherche sur Interne (intéressante démarche, soit dit en passant, qui pourrait se décliner sur d’autres thèmes en partenariat avec des bibliothécaires).

L'Hadopithèque (Projet Magellan) : un portail de ressources pour mieux comprendre la loi

Enfin, sur le site Dipity, outil bluffant pour créer des frises chronologiques thématiques, on trouve une timeline qui résume les grandes étapes de l’élaboration de la loi et qui présente la particularité de se prolonger dans l’avenir pour essayer d’imaginer l’après Hadopi. Excellent exercice d’anticipation législative !

Une frise chronologique sur la loi Création et Internet, avec projection dans l'avenir !

Des variations géographique, documentaire ou chronologique sur le thème de la loi Hadopi, qui prouvent que ce texte aura quand même quelque part réussi à promouvoir la création sur Internet, mais peut-être pas de la manière dont ses concepteurs l’attendait !

(et pour suivre en direct le scrution de demain à l’assemblée, c’est là)

Si cet article vous a intéressé, voir aussi sur S.I.Lex :

• Une nouvelle formulation pour l’exception Bibliothèques dans la loi Hadopi 17/05/09
• Riposte graduée et loi Hadopi : où en est-on après le vote du Parlement européen ? 09/05/09
• Hadopi, jusqu’à la lie … et après ? 17/04/09
• La menace du “portail blanc” en bibliothèque paraît s’éloigner … 13/03/09
• Projet de loi Hadopi : la proposition de “portail blanc” en bibliothèque devrait nous faire voir rouge ! 19/02/2009

]]> http://bernaycompany.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/parte-3-reflexion-3/ Sun, 10 May 2009 12:07:33 +0000 bernaycompany http://bernaycompany.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/parte-3-reflexion-3/

1. Herramientas utilizadas:

2. Proceso de trabajo:

La primera sesión para la realización de esta práctica tuvo lugar la mañana del 5 de mayo, cuando las cinco componentes del grupo nos dispusimos a decidir qué herramienta utilizar. Una compañera del grupo propuso “Dipity”, una herramienta que había explorado previamente para práctica 3 de la modalidad 1 y a todas nos pareció muy interesante. Durante esa mañana pensamos en diferentes posibilidades para aplicar la herramienta y estuvimos indagando en ella, viendo todas sus prestaciones. También buscamos herramientas parecidas en la red, aunque ésta fue la que más nos gustó desde el principio.

Ese mismo día por la tarde, después decidir qué tipo de actividad íbamos a diseñar y de buscar los objetivos y contenidos relacionados con la misma, la desarrollamos en profundidad y preparamos el tutorial de la herramienta, redactando la narración explicativa, grabándola y capturando las imágenes. Por fin, después de varias horas de intensa búsqueda, dimos con cómo colocar el tutorial de vídeo directamente en el blog. Utilizamos para ello la widget VodPod que ofrece WordPress, aunque previamente hubo que cargar el vídeo en una página web dentro del servidor ftp de una de las chicas del grupo.

La segunda sesión tuvo lugar el día 6 de mayo, y lo que abordamos en ella fue, en primer lugar, la redacción de esta parte de la práctica y, en segundo, la búsqueda de páginas web educativas, discutiendo acerca de cuál era la más interesante, decidiéndonos por una y poniendo en común los puntos más detacables de la misma.

Por último, una vez redactados los puntos 3 y 4 los publicamos en el blog.

3. Motivos de la elección del tema:

Todas estuvimos de acuerdo con la elección de la herramienta desde un principio por varios motivos:

• Se pueden trabajar contenidos del área de Música (los cuales no habían sido trabajos todavía en ninguna de las prácticas anteriores, aunque se pueden aplicar a otras materias).
• Es una herramienta sumamente sencilla para ser utilizada por niños.
• Ofrecía posibilidad de insertar archivos multimedia, con lo cual esa parte de la modalidad 2 quedaba cubierta.

4. Herramientas que se barajaron:

Otras herramientas parecidas que hemos encontrado en la web son:

• http://www.xtimeline.com
• http://www.simile-widgets.org
• http://www.timelinemaker.com (versión de pago con una demo de 30 días)

Pero ninguna de ellas permite insertar contenidos multimedia.

5: ¿Qué hemos aprendido?

Cada vez nos resulta más fácil y rápido realizar estas prácticas, puesto que ya va habiendo una consolidación del proceso de trabajo. En ésta, destacaríamos nuestro pequeño gran descubrimiento de embeber vídeos en el blog, que nos ha dado muchos quebraderos de cabeza en las prácticas anteriores.

Objectives:

1. Instead of students using PowerPoint to present projects, let them post on their blogs using these useful tools!

To do list:

1. Glogster - register a new account. Start working on a new glogster! If you think it is difficult look at tutorial here!
2. Timeline – Make an account at dipity – add a topic,  add a topic, or create an event. Some good points to be found at technology for teachers, 
3. Photostory - Download photstory to your computer. See tutorial here! Or here!

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any other neat places to visit! Visit my students’ blogs, you can find the links on the right!

Smarthistory.org è senza dubbio una delle idee più interessanti nell’ambito della didattica della storia dell’arte.

L’idea di fondo che anima il lavoro di due professori statunitensi, Beth Harris e Steven Zucker, è quella di creare un ‘web-book’, un luogo virtuale in cui raccogliere immagini e video prodotti da insegnanti, studenti, visitatori di musei, professionisti del settore, capace di sfruttare al meglio le possibilità di interazione e riuso dei contenuti offerte dalla rete.

Il primo nucleo di Smarthistory era costituito da un blog creato nel 2005 da Harris e Zucker per la distribuzione gratuita di audioguide (‘conversazioni’, come preferiscono chiamarle gli autori), sotto forma di podcast, del MOMA e del Metropolitan di New York. Il successo fu tale che l’offerta culturale si ampliò a tal punto da divenire un ambizioso progetto, sostenuto economicamente dalla Samuel H. Kress Foundation, che vuole coprire la storia dell’arte occidentale.

L’aspetto più interessante di Smarthistory non è costituito tanto dalle funzionalità del sito (immagini e video possono essere organizzate per epoca, stile, artista, o tema), quanto dall’uso a fini didattici dei più diffusi strumenti di social networking. In fondo all’homepage si trovano i link alle pagine di Smarthistory su Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo e Dipity, sulle quali è possibile condividere foto e video e organizzarli in una timelime.

Flickr, in particolare, ha dimostrato di essere la piattaforma più utile ai fini della didattica e della discussione tra gli studenti (e non solo) grazie alla possibilità di condividere online le annotazioni su un’opera d’arte. Questo gruppo è al momento costituito da 116 persone che condividono 952 immagini personali di opere d’arte [MP].

I ran across a few interesting data visualization products: some open-source, some commercial:

• http://www.tableausoftware.com/ (commercial)
• http://code.google.com/p/birdeye/ (open-source) — ActionScript
  • BirdEye is a community project to advance the design and development of a comprehensive open source information visualization and visual analytics library for Adobe Flex. The actionscript-based library enables users to create multi-dimensional data visualization interfaces for the analysis and presentation of information. The project is based on development and the integration/adoption of related open source libraries (see credits and attributions).
• http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/page/Visualization_Options.html — you submit the data and they process it on their servers. Good set of visualization tools, but data becomes public.
• http://www.simile-widgets.org/timeline/ (open-source) — JavaScript
• http://www.dipity.com (commercial)

I created a timeline chronicling the 2009 baseball season for the Rowan University Profs.   Check out the timeline, click on the boxes and read up on all of the scores and stats.

click here for my timeline

I am a firm believer that there is at least one point in a person’s life that helps them decide how they want to spend the rest of it.  I was never known as the most decisive person in the world, so for me, there are ten moments where I can honestly look back and say “This is why I want to be involved in professional sports.”  I created a timeline of these events, and in the description, I wrote a lead for each to give my audience a little dose of how I would have written an article on the occurrence.

The Top Ten Events That Influenced My Decision To Be A Sports Writer.