Amazon released its previously announced Public Data Sets web service this evening. The project encourages developers, researchers, universities and businesses to upload large (non-confidential) data sets to Amazon – things like census data, genomes, etc. – and then let others integrated that data into their own AWS applications.
This in from Gizmodo
This looks like a new killer app.
Adobe researchers have constructed a time machine that lets you view any web page over time, scrolling to see changes in data. But the Zoetrope software that lets you watch pricing or news-story changes over time has even headier magic powers, too.
This from BoingBoing…
Malcolm Gladwell has a good piece in the current New Yorker about how hard it is to figure out what makes great teachers great.
This in from Open Culture…
Google Brings Massive LIFE Photo Archive to The Web
Google is bringing the massive LIFE photo archive online. 2 million photos are already uploaded, and another 8 million will be coming online soon. The current archive moves from The American Civil War to present, and it includes a large number of photos never seen before. Here???s one of MLK Jr, another of Pablo Picasso, and then one of FDR. All of these images will be added to Google Image Search, but if you want to peruse the collection, you can simply access it here. You can also read more about this ambitious undertaking on Google???s corporate blog.
Remember everything.
Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.
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This is a very cool app available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, web-based. I’ve just started using it and have been very happy with the results. If I had an iPhone it would be even more useful because of it’s text recognition. Be sure to watch the video demonstration.
This in from LifeHacker…
Check out their readers choices of the best photo sharing sites.
This from the College of Southern Idaho…
This tool was developed to help you create quizzes for Blackboard. It allows you to type up the quiz offline in a program like Word or Notepad and not have to go through the trouble of making long quizzes via the Blackboard web interface.
Simply type or paste your quiz in the text area and click the Create Quiz button. This will produce a zip file that you can import into the Pool Manager in Blackboard…
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I have tried this tool and recommend it. It is a quick way to created question pools for Blackboard. Read the documentation to see how to easily format your questions. The Quiz Generator will create six question types.
* Multiple Choice
* Multiple Answer
* True/False
* Essay
* Fill in the blank
* Matching
From Computerworld:
By Don Tennant
October 20, 2008
Last week, I had the good fortune of coming across a column written by Kip Layton Jr., a school administrator in the tiny, remote village of Eek, Alaska. It wasn’t fortunate simply by virtue of the entertainment I derive from being able to mention a place called Eek. Layton’s column provided a valuable insight into what our kids have missed out on by virtue of their ties to the Internet.
Read the full story at http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=328135
The original column is also an interesting read at The Delta Discovery.
This from openculture…
Smart video collections keep appearing on YouTube. But rather antithetical to the ethos of its parent company (Google), YouTube unfortunately makes these collections difficult to find. So we???ve decided to do the job for them. These enriching/educational videos come from media outlets, cultural institutions, universities and non-profits. There are about 70 collections in total, and the list will grow over time. If we???re missing anything good, feel free to let us know, and we???ll happily add them. You can find the complete list below the jump.
When almost 1,000 freshman students showed up at Abilene Christian University on Aug. 16, they got something more than the usual medical release forms, parking permits and Welcome Week t-shirts.
They got a choice of a brand-spanking-new Apple iPhone 3G or iPod Touch, plus a package of ACU-written Web applications to use on them. (Watch a slideshow of the coolest iPhone apps.)
The hardware is part of the Texas university’s pilot mobile learning project, which has been gestating for over a year. About 650 first-year students chose the iPhone, and about 300 the iPod Touch, which is a very similar device but without the 3G radio (both devices incorporate an 802.11g Wi-Fi adapter). ACU pays for the hardware, student (or their parents) select and pay for their monthly AT&T service plan.
After just six weeks, the freshmen seem fully mobilized.
Continue reading “iPhones go to front of the class at Texas university.”
