Cool Toys pics of the day: Griffin Science Exam Study Guide

Griffin Science: Exam Study Guide: Participation Due Friday:
http://griffinscience.com/2009/12/02/exam-study-guide-participation-due-friday/
Exam Study Guide:
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AbhBHo3CHaKgZGQ3Z2tkN21fMTUzZzJwODd4Zzc&hl=en

Sam Harrelson uses social media and online tools quite a bit with his
8th grade students. He has a class blog, which is getting to be common
enough nowadays. He lets the kids comment on it, though, which is
nice, and they do seem to be chatting there. Podcasts, too! But I was
surprised to notice a Facebook page for the class, a comment and link
posting 'Wall' with lots of Youtube videos, a Twitter stream ... even
a Pandora stream listing songs listened to. I wonder what that's
about? Is it songs they play in class, or just background noice to
make him seem more human and approachable, or is he hoping to subtly
shape appropriate music choices among the students?

There is so much interaction on the various class 'locations' that is
is obvious the students are fully engaged. The kids are posting videos
and science games and saying, "Mr. H, you gotta play this" to which
the teacher is replying, "Haha, good one!" with obvious mutual regard
and respect and enjoyment.

Yesterday I noticed a tweet from Sam the night before. He had posted
the students' exam study guide as a Google Doc on December 2nd. He
was asking them to build their own study guide before taking the test
Friday, and giving them credit for their work there. By the time he
was going to bed that night the students had made 876 edits!!!!!
Pretty amazing, and the quality of the work was excellent. Here is the
scenario he posed them.

EXAM STUDY GUIDE, FALL/WINTER '09
" * Describe a robot you would construct for a specific purpose in
colonizing a new planet. Include the elements that make up the robot's
parts, its purpose and what powers it has. State why you chose each of
these. Be specific. Include a sketch if you wish.
* Describe a possible journey through a black hole. You are alone
except for the DVD of your choice. Include where you start, where you
arrive, and what changes(if any) your body and the DVD go through on
your trip."

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Need someone to cuddle up with tonight? Women's torsoes are 25% off.

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Posterous Catches Friendfeed

Data via trends.google.com

Since it was acquired, I have basically abandoned Friendfeed. I love the service, but I am waiting to see how the team integrates it into Facebook.

Unsurprisingly, traffic to the Friendfeed site has plummeted since the acquisition in August. And Posterous now has nearly as much traffic (Posterous is the red line above), but trails Tumblr by a wide margin and Twitter by light years.

What does this say about the future of lifestreaming services? I still see a big space in between in between blogs and Twitter that allows you to have a hub and spoke strategy and post in multiple formats. That's one reason I am bullish about both Posterous and Tumblr.

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How to write a blog using Google Wave Robot for Posterous

Note: If you have problem with inputing the password, change your browser to Firefox. Currently, Google Wave has a lot of bugs with webkit browser.

Using Google Wave? And have a Posterous account? Now you can write your posterous blog in Google Wave now!

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A Week in the Clouds Without a Notebook

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Creative Truths

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Enable GNOME Support in Firefox 3.5 with Ubuntu 9.04

Ubuntu 9.04 ships with Firefox 2 as the default Web browser. You can install Firefox 3.5 (aka Shiretoko) through the Applications menu if you want. However, Firefox 3.5 breaks compatibility with the default Firefox 2 application handler. If you click on a package installation link and get a message that looks something like

Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (apt) isn't associated with any program.

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Installing Dropbox in Ubuntu 9.04 with Update Support

I installed Dropbox in Ubuntu 9.04 so I could access my files in the cloud. The process was kind of a hassle, because of a few details which were not well-documented. There are a couple of approaches you can take. You can download the .deb package and then double-click it to install. This works, but you won't get automatic updates through Synaptic. I decided to add the 3rd-party Software Source and Key, so that I can get automatic updates. The procedure goes like so: open System > Administration > Software Sources, go to the Third-Party Software tab, click Add, then paste in:

deb http://linux.getdropbox.com/ubuntu jaunty main

then do the same thing with

deb-src http://linux.getdropbox.com/ubuntu jaunty main

Exit the window. Don't worry about the warning message. Then go to Terminal and paste

gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 3565780E
 then hit Enter. This will import the keys to authenticate the PPA. Then type 
apt-get update 
and hit Enter, this will refresh the package list. Next, type 
sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox
 and hit Enter. This will actually install the application. After it's installed, type
dropbox start -i

to start Dropbox. You may have to logout then back in first. I have found that the Dropbox app does not automatically start on startup, so instead of opening the Terminal every time, I created app launcher by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Create Launcher." Enter the command above and you are good to go.

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Coca-Cola: If it doesn't add anything, take it away.

via underconsideration.com

Striking example of a remarkable redesign for the most iconic brand in history. Get rid of the bubbles, the drop shadow, the embellishments. Unclutter. Simplify. Reduce.

Do less, be less, and end up with more.

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Thoughts from the Road: Rage Against the Machine

Kicking off a new feature here - short podcast all created and mailed in via my iPhone 3GS. In this episode (03:45)...
 
* why suddenly is there a rage against the services we once loved - Twitter, the iPhone and perhaps even Friendfeed?
* will this push power users more toward open systems like Android?
* will this push users to trust only themselves and and perhaps return to blogging?
 
What's your view. Listen in and leave a comment below. Audio follows.

Click here to download:

Memo.m4a (2238 KB)

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