Eclectic Technology

There are so many buzzwords today...a list that goes on...and on...and on. What words do you want your students to see in your classroom? Here is an image with six phrases that you might want to use in your classroom. As Krissy Vensodale states in her post "Buzz words aren’t going to fix education. We are. One day at a time. By doing what’s right for our kids in our classrooms. Not just because it’s a popular word. Because it’s what matters." 

How can the iPad and Project Based Learning (PBL) come together in a classroom? Here is a post that explores how you may use PBL and the iPad in your classroom. There is a great visual that is "laid out in terms of the kind of workflow a learner might encounter in a 21st century, K-20, project-based learning environment." 

Qwiki Creator allows you to create amazing interactive stories. A quick overview of the steps:
* Upload images or video from your computer or search for media (media assets)
* After uploading all media you will click on each piece an add title, captions, links, photo credits
* Narrate your Qwiki by uploading narration or record directly
* Set timings
* Preview the qwiki
* Publish
All Qwiki's you create are stored in your dashboard and appear on your channel.
Head over to Qwiki, sign up for an account, and create a Qwiki!

"Tools for Data Visualization
One of the most frequent questions I get is “How can I start creating infographics? Where to start?”. Well, this article is exactly about “Where to start”, as as well as how to get inspired and how to start experimenting with visual-based data.
If you are worried that creating an infographic will be too hard, you should be pleasantly surprised by these tools. All of them pretty much do the work for you, and yet the end result is professional looking."

"Knoema is your personal knowledge highway. The basic idea is to connect data with analytical and presentation tools. As a result, we end with one uniformed platform for users to access, present and share data-driven content.

We have 515 datasets, 17,760,000 time series, 242,000,000 data points available and it's growing.

You can browse through datasets by topic, source, name or publication date. Selected time series can be easily visualized as table/chart."

If you are feeling that you are stuck in rut and need to be more creative here are 101 "tips to change your usual mental patterns,"

How about;
* Taking a walk and looking for something interesting.

* Opening up the dictionary to find a new word and then use the word in a sentence. 

* Taking a different route to school.

Another 98 ideas are available in the post!

Mobile apps and Web 2.0 tools can facilitate implementation of activities requiring students to use skills at the top three levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy--analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Five great ideas that will help your students with critical thinkings. Most examples will work with elementary through high school students. 

The Daring Librarian provides more than 20 sites where you can create fun avatars. Tips are provided on how you may save your picture. And not all are sites, the first one, Futurama Head-in-a-Jar Creator is an app for the iPhone and iPad (free). Many of the sites suggested have examples of avatars (with instuctions) so you get an idea of what is possible. Have fun and play!

"Silk is a new way to create and consume content. Structuring and visualizing your content is now as easy as writing it!

Create beautiful, structured pages with powerful and easy-to-use tools.

Relate - Add deeper meaning to your content. Tag and link to spin a web of information.

Envision - Visualize your content in amazing ways. Look at your data from a dozen new angles.

Silk enables users to choose the data they want from the mass of information available, and to view and arrange it in ways that make sense to them." Try Silk today.

From the Google Official Blog: 

Just like the Loch Ness Monster, you may have heard the rumors about Google Drive. It turns out, one of the two actually does exist.

Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.