Right now there are 10 students in my after school club.
What do you, my students, want to accomplish?
What is something you would like to learn how to do?
Is there something specific you already know about but would like to learn more about, or have some help with?
Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Homemade spacecraft
This is a video a local father and son made. They wanted to see what space looked like so they create their own spacecraft and set off for the stars.
No, the father and son were not on their homemade spacecraft, they put a video camer on it to record the journey and an iPhone so they could use the cell-GPS to locate the camera when it returned to earth.
If it a great example of the fun, homemade science projects you can create. A little imagination and some help from parents can get you your own images of space. And the trip up and back.
Enjoy the video. For my 3rd-5th graders, does it inspire you in any way for your own Science Fair project?
No, the father and son were not on their homemade spacecraft, they put a video camer on it to record the journey and an iPhone so they could use the cell-GPS to locate the camera when it returned to earth.
If it a great example of the fun, homemade science projects you can create. A little imagination and some help from parents can get you your own images of space. And the trip up and back.
Enjoy the video. For my 3rd-5th graders, does it inspire you in any way for your own Science Fair project?
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
10 things you need to know about Google Basic Search
This article, The Google Basic Top 10, is a great, simple, breakdown of ways to make searching with Google easier and more effective.
A few highlights include:
- the word "and" is assumed. You do not need to type it in, Google knows it's supposed to be there.
- use quotes around a search to find only results for that phrase, not each individual word - "Brooklyn Bridge" will get you only results related to the Brooklyn Bridge, not Brooklyn results and bridge results too
All 10 things can be found here:
Ten Items All Should Know When Using Google Basic Search…. Far From Basic! by Michael Gorman TL Advisor Blog - TechLearning.com
Monday, September 13, 2010
Vote for these PS 10 teachers!
Sonic and Donors Choose have partnered fund teacher created projects via a website called Limeades for Learning:
SONIC® and DonorsChoose.org are working together again to support public school classrooms. Last year, SONIC donated more than $600,000. By October, SONIC customers, friends and fans will have directed more than $1 million dollars to support teachers in local communities across the country.
There are 2 projects by PS 10 teachers eligible for voting. Go to http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/ to find the projects. When doing a search you'll find both projects under the following search criteria:
Vote for these projects and help get PS 10 classrooms these additional supplies!
(you can also find direct links to these projects on the Mr. Casal Twitter page)
Vote for these projects and help get PS 10 classrooms these additional supplies!
(you can also find direct links to these projects on the Mr. Casal Twitter page)
Monday, September 6, 2010
The big picture...
As we start a new school year I thought it would be nice to step back and look at the big picture, take in the full view so to speak...
NASA Astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock has been photographing the Earth from space and posting the pictures online.
This is a picture of New York City, at night. It might be a bit confusing at first because it is backwards. From Astronaut Wheelock's position in space Long Island appears on the left side of the picture. The very bright center of the picture if Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey. If you look very close you can see the tiny sliver of light, surrounded by darkness, that is the island of Manhattan.
Click here http://twitpic.com/2izl9u/full and the picture will be big enough for you to see the dark area that is Central Park as well as the 2 dark areas in Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery.
Follow all of Astronaut Wheelock's pictures from space here:
http://twitter.com/Astro_Wheels
Enjoy the pictures and think about just how much is out there beyond our school, neighborhood, and city.
Welcome back to school...
 |
| New York City from space |
This is a picture of New York City, at night. It might be a bit confusing at first because it is backwards. From Astronaut Wheelock's position in space Long Island appears on the left side of the picture. The very bright center of the picture if Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey. If you look very close you can see the tiny sliver of light, surrounded by darkness, that is the island of Manhattan.
Click here http://twitpic.com/2izl9u/full and the picture will be big enough for you to see the dark area that is Central Park as well as the 2 dark areas in Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery.
Follow all of Astronaut Wheelock's pictures from space here:
http://twitter.com/Astro_Wheels
Enjoy the pictures and think about just how much is out there beyond our school, neighborhood, and city.
Welcome back to school...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Not technology related but still important...
20 Words you should make sure you know how to spell:
1. Separate
2. Definitely
3. Manoeuvre/Maneuver
4. Embarrass
5. Occurrence
6. Consensus
7. Unnecessary
8. Acceptable
9. Broccoli
10. Referred
11. Bureaucracy
12. Supersede
13. Questionnaire
14. Connoisseur
15. A lot
16. Entrepreneur
17. Particularly
18. Liquify
19. Conscience
20. Parallel
These are the 20 most misspelt words in the English language, according to a new British study.
1. Separate
2. Definitely
3. Manoeuvre/Maneuver
4. Embarrass
5. Occurrence
6. Consensus
7. Unnecessary
8. Acceptable
9. Broccoli
10. Referred
11. Bureaucracy
12. Supersede
13. Questionnaire
14. Connoisseur
15. A lot
16. Entrepreneur
17. Particularly
18. Liquify
19. Conscience
20. Parallel
These are the 20 most misspelt words in the English language, according to a new British study.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Good "everyday" applications...
From the "Tech Learning" blog, a great resource for not only teachers but parents and students as well...
1. NetNewsWire - I use this to stay current with news and blogs from the web. Some use Google Reader but I've always found NetNewsWire to be more than enough for me.
2. Polaris - A dream come true for anybody that uses Goggle's Blogger as his or her blogging platform. This is ideal to track network traffic, top hits, referring sites, etc.
3. iChat - When I'm online and not at work I like to use iChat as my instant messaging client.
4. Bean - A simple, easy-to-use word processor that is a bit more robust than text edit as it can handle images.
5. Skitch - A fun, easy-to-use photo editor that I use mainly for highlighting and making tutorial screen shots.
6. Screenflow - Simply the best screen casting tool around.
7. Pulp Motion - By far my favorite application for making creative slide shows.
8. PhotoPresenter - A nice alternative to Pulp Motion that is very user-friendly.
9. RapidoStart - A great way to organize all of your applications visually.
10. OmniDazzle - A presenter's dream, good for creating effects or spotlights around cursor.
2. Polaris - A dream come true for anybody that uses Goggle's Blogger as his or her blogging platform. This is ideal to track network traffic, top hits, referring sites, etc.
3. iChat - When I'm online and not at work I like to use iChat as my instant messaging client.
4. Bean - A simple, easy-to-use word processor that is a bit more robust than text edit as it can handle images.
5. Skitch - A fun, easy-to-use photo editor that I use mainly for highlighting and making tutorial screen shots.
6. Screenflow - Simply the best screen casting tool around.
7. Pulp Motion - By far my favorite application for making creative slide shows.
8. PhotoPresenter - A nice alternative to Pulp Motion that is very user-friendly.
9. RapidoStart - A great way to organize all of your applications visually.
10. OmniDazzle - A presenter's dream, good for creating effects or spotlights around cursor.
Taken from:
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Creating slideshows, digital art, and music - online!
Here are 3 article that list 10 sites each for creating slideshows, like in Powerpoint, art, and music.
10 sites for creating digital art
10 sites for creating slideshows
10 sites for creating digital music
Check them out (they are free) and post some comments about what you are able to create.
Enjoy!
10 sites for creating digital art
10 sites for creating slideshows
10 sites for creating digital music
Check them out (they are free) and post some comments about what you are able to create.
Enjoy!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Some fun things for the summer...
Just because it's summer doesn't mean this blog shuts down. Check back periodically for updates and useful links.
Here are a few websites you might enjoy playing with over the summer...
Here are a few websites you might enjoy playing with over the summer...
is an interactive music creation site. You create your own sheet music using various instruments and cords and can hear your composition played instantly. Free and fun.
For those of you who like to dance and prefer the mixed sounds of a DJ over live instruments check out the Fat Boy Slim Online Mixing Game. You get to create your own beats and mixes and watch the games characters dance to your creations. This was created by the DJ/musician Fat Boy Slim with the help of BBC Radio (British Broadcasting Corporation).
Mybytes is
probably the simplest of the 3 musical sites, but no less entertaining. Create a 5-track mix using drums, guitars, piano, synthesizers and more.
Monday, June 7, 2010
3-412 - Green Meadow Farms trip - reflection
3-412,
This assignment is about our trip to Green Meadow Farms today.
For this assignment you will post your thoughts on the day as comments to this blog. There are specific questions to answer at the bottom of this post.
Think about today, the activities. This assignment asks you to reflect on your experience at the Green Meadow Farms.
Make sure you comments are thoughtful and constructive (don't say "it was stupid we should just have free time" or something like that, be positive and helpful). Comments must be in full sentences with proper spelling and grammar.
Here are your questions:
What are your thoughts about the day, how did it go, did you enjoy it?
Which activity was your favorite and why?
Which activity was your least favorite and why?
Any final thoughts about the day, the activities, things to do again, things to avoid?
Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.
This assignment is about our trip to Green Meadow Farms today.
For this assignment you will post your thoughts on the day as comments to this blog. There are specific questions to answer at the bottom of this post.
Think about today, the activities. This assignment asks you to reflect on your experience at the Green Meadow Farms.
Make sure you comments are thoughtful and constructive (don't say "it was stupid we should just have free time" or something like that, be positive and helpful). Comments must be in full sentences with proper spelling and grammar.
Here are your questions:
What are your thoughts about the day, how did it go, did you enjoy it?
Which activity was your favorite and why?
Which activity was your least favorite and why?
Any final thoughts about the day, the activities, things to do again, things to avoid?
Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.
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