Here are some things that caught my eye today. Hit play on this video while you read the rest of the post, it’s such a sweet video.
Ok, now that we have some music…
Tools & Sites
I just installed a little map widget down in the lower right sidebar that shows a map of visitors. It’s a free download from ClustrMaps.com and tracks by IP address where in the world your readers are. Not sure how often it will update, but so far I’m big in the US and barely heard of in Europe and completely absent everywhere else. 😉 It’s going on data since this morning though, so we’ll see how it goes.
Next up is Freebase. I don’t know what it does yet, but their tagline is, “Freebase is an open, shared database of the world’s knowledge.” Hmmm. Definitely will check it out in a bit.
Last is a site that looks to be about teaching programming concepts to high schoolers, called Greenfoot. I’m already a fan of Alice, but might be of interest to those of you working with high school students.
Teaching & Learning
I dig this graphic, created by Bill Mosely (SL: Pirate Shipman), and winner of the NECC08 button contest. Great job Bill!
And last, three essays that address the meta topic of college education in the US today:
- The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
- In the Basement of the Ivory Tower
- No Matter What They Say, College is Not For Everyone
If you only have time to read one, read the second one, and then Chris’ take on that article in 3rd link. I don’t agree with all of the positions taken, but as I try to imagine what education could be, it’s helpful to read critiques by others.
Tags: Colleges and Universities, Education, Educators, Europe, Greenfoot, High school, Higher education, US