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Sunday, December 27, 2009

My Public Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Posted by Peter Beens at 6:30 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 20, 2009

My Public Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Posted by Peter Beens at 6:30 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

My Motorcycle Trip Log (United States)

It's been awhile since I updated my trip log, and with two big trips this past year (Florida, West Coast), I thought now was a good time.

So now the challenge will be how to fill in some of the gaps this coming summer. Perhaps a loop around the southern states, like this: http://bit.ly/5UzYTL? It's just over 5000 miles, and I can easily do 500 miles per day. If I take two weeks, it should give me time to stop and take a few pictures, hehe...





Free, personalized travel maps at mytriplogs.com


Posted by Peter Beens at 8:46 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 13, 2009

My Public Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Posted by Peter Beens at 6:30 AM 0 comments

Friday, December 11, 2009

Ontario Nature's Writing and Art Contest for 2009-2010

Please share this with grade 7 and 8 teachers in Ontario.

"The Year 2010 has been declared the Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Simply put, biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals in the world, or in a particular area. If the earth's living systems are to remain strong, those systems must have a high level of biodiversity. Our well-being depends on it.

In keeping with UNEP's efforts to raise awareness about the critical importance of biodiversity for a healthy planet, the topic for this year's Ontario Nature Youth Writing and Art Contest is: Wild species and wild spaces: why biodiversity is important to me. The contest is open to students in Grades 7 & 8 across Ontario."

To continue reading about this contest, please visit http://www.ontarionature.org/events/youthchallenge.html.

Posted by Peter Beens at 2:30 PM 0 comments

Monday, December 07, 2009

Google Goggles

Google Goggles (type that three times fast!) is a visual search tool that uses your phone's camera, and depending on the search type, your phone's compass and GPS. To learn more about it, visit the following link, and be sure to check out the video.

http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/#landmark

Alas, it's only available for the Android phone. Shame.
Posted by Peter Beens at 7:55 PM 0 comments

Article: Jobs disconnect in RIM's hometown

Here's an interesting article about the disconnect between the high number of vacant "high tech" jobs and the high unemployment rate. It's specific to the Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge area, but there are lots of good generalities applicable elsewhere.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/jobs-disconnect-in-rims-hometown/article1359650/
Posted by Peter Beens at 7:37 PM 0 comments

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Beens.org is coming down!

Well, not really! I'm embarking on a grand experiment to replace my current website with one done entirely in Google Documents. I'm not sure if the transition will ever be totally complete, but I'll be moving content from the old site to the new one as it's needed for my students. Eventually my old site (www.beens.org) will be dismantled and replaced by Google Docs. At least that's my goal...  :)

If you want to visit the new site, you can visit here:

http://www.beens.org/docs/

Why am I doing this? Well, as I explain on the new home page, the bottom line is I want something that lets me makes changes FAST, and that gives me more flexibility for working on collaborative projects that are embedded right on my website.

I think it will make me a better teacher because I'll be able to be more responsive to my students' needs. Right now, I often have to delay getting information posted for my students because of the software I am using (RoboHelp) and the network limitations at my school. That's unacceptable, and this is my solution.
Posted by Peter Beens at 3:20 PM 0 comments

Want to Edit MP3 Files?

Here's a quick video from cnet showing you how:

Posted by Peter Beens at 11:20 AM 0 comments
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Move ACSE Mail List from Yahoo Groups to Google Groups?

ACSE Executive,

When I started the Yahoo mail list for the ASCE membership back in 2003, Google Groups and the popularity of Gmail, Google Documents, Google Calendar, etc., did not exist.

Since that time, there has been an explosion of services available with a Google account, the most popular, I would guess, being Gmail and Google Documents. But that Google account you may now have also buys you membership into Blogger, Google Wave, Google Reader, Picasa Web (photos), Google Video, YouTube, and many, many others. Never mind the hundreds of gadgets from outside parties that integrate with Google, like my Remember-the-Milk gadgets that I use in Gmail and Calendar, or the weather gadgets that I use in iGoogle.

Personally, I think it's time to move from Yahoo Groups to Google Groups. I run over a dozen mailing lists at Google Groups very successfully, and I see so much more potential there than at Yahoo, particularly with the ability to collaborate on resource development in Google Wave or Google Docs, or even the Google Group itself.

To me, it's a no-brainer. Yes, we may lose a few in the transition, but my feeling is that most have Google accounts already anyway, many will get excited of the prospect of the collaborative features and want to convert, and most of the rest will come along willingly.

To aid in the decision making, I have created a Poll (at Google Docs, of course!) to get a sense of how many members already have a Google (or Gmail) account, and then we'll start making some decisions about the transition.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFRyY3NDUHdlV2ZLeDcwWml4Mk1halE6MA

In anticipation of the positive feedback we'll get about this (I'm optimistic), I've already created a Google Group that mirrors the same name used at Yahoo:

http://groups.google.com/group/acse_discussion?hl=en

If you'd like to go ahead and join to give it a test drive, feel free. All restrictions, security, and privacy settings are already in place.

Comments?
Posted by Peter Beens at 11:15 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Put your town on the 3D map: Google Model Your Town Competition

http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2009/12/put-your-town-on-3d-map-google-model.html

This looks like an amazing project to do in class! Take the students for a photo-walk, let them choose the buildings they want to model, take lots of pictures, then head back to class and have some fun!

Perhaps schools within the same town can collaborate so the work is divided.

(Be sure to check out the video)
Posted by Peter Beens at 3:17 PM 0 comments
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