Blogs in Education

http://courses.uhcl.edu/blog/

I like this website because this page is designed to provide you some resources if you want to get started using blogs for yourself or with your students.  This website has articles, examples and advanced blogging techniques for a beginner in blogging. And ways to enhance your writing tools.  It also talks about options for instructors using blogs and options for students using blogs in your courses.

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History of Computers in Education

http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html

I like this website because it talks about when computers were first made and other informative information that is listed below:

History, the History of Computers, and the History of Computers in Education

1780 – Early public schools adopt the teacher/manager model with the teacher as the primary manger of instruction and assessment in a single classroom.

1946 – First vacuum tube-based computers developed; universities help in computer development effort; technology used in war effort.

1951 – Little technology used in schools, primarily TV; baby boom begins with resulting increases in class size; first-generation Univac computer delivered to the US census bureau.

1954 – General Electric is the first business to order a computer. Early rock and roll music, based on the rhythm and blues tradition, gains a little in popularity.

1955 – IBM’s first commercial computer is sold; the cold war results in use of technology in aircraft design and in weapons control. Russia developing the technology for the first spacecraft.

1956 – Eisenhower elected president; Elvis Presley records “Hound Dog”; school overcrowding growing; school dropout rate rapidly declining toward zero; schools still based on the teacher/manager model in individual teacher-controlled classrooms; the cold war continues with technology playing an important role and is intensified when Russia sends up their Sputnik space vehicle to demonstrate their lead in technology.

1958 – As cold war continues, National Defense Education Act brings some new money and some new technology into schools, but primarily in vocational education. Mainframe host computers are not widely accepted in schools that are still using the si ngle classroom, teacher/manager method of delivering information to students.

1959 – Transistor-based computers in use; the cold war continues with public support for the development of technology needed for space exploration.

1960 – COBOL business-oriented, high-level programming language created; Kennedy elected president with campaign promises to put more money into education; crime rate doubles in one decade; Gary Powers shot down in hi-tech spy airplane; 70,000 invo lved in civil-rights sit-ins.

1962 – Airlines begin to use a computerized reservation system. President Kennedy diverts more money into education. The cold war continues and results in a confrontation with Russia as hi-tech spy planes discover missiles in Cuba; George Wallace campaigns for governor of Georgia pledging segregation forever.

1963 – Vocational Education Act passes with new money supporting the use of technology in schools; however, the mainframe and minicomputers in use at this time are using batch processing methods that do not fit well with the single teacher-as-manag er-of-learning methods in use in most schools; BASIC, a simple high-level programming language is developed, mostly for use in universities to train programmers; IBM 360 family of computers is developed; most computers still using host methods with punche d cards as the primary input device; line printers are still the primary output device; the cold war and the competitive space exploration effort continues with President Kennedy’s call for the science to be developed that could put a man on the moon.

1964 – Johnson elected president; the Beatles rapidly rise to stardom; Bob Dylan writes songs that give voice to the protest movement; the Gulf of Tonkin incident results in the first confrontation between the US and the government of North Vietnam ; the civil rights movement grows including a one-day civil-right protest absence of 464,000 students in New York; China explodes a test Atomic bomb.

1965 – Elementary and Secondary Education Act brings new money into schools for technology. mainframes and minicomputers are put into place in some schools, but most are used for administration or for school counseling (databases for information a bout and for students); the cold war continues as President Johnson expands the war, with 125,000 American troops in Vietnam; ; hi-tech weapons are used in bombings of North Vietnam; 50,000 Americans killed in traffic accidents.

1967 – High-level programming languages such as Fortran are being taught are in universities. School vocational training programs begin to include computer maintenance; Stokely Carmichael declares a need for SNCC to move from civil rights to black power; Mohammed Ali refuses army induction for religious reasons bringing national attention to both the black power movement and the anti-Vietnam movement; student strikes on many campuses related to protest over both civil rights and the policy in Viet nam; acid rock and protest rock grow in popularity; centers of dissidence like Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco develop; anti-war protests grow, especially on college campuses; 380,000 US troops in Vietnam.

1968 – Nixon elected president; riots in many cities break out over civil rights issues; the cold war continues with a rapid expansion of the war in Vietnam 9,419 dead in Vietnam; some programs designed to bring money for technology into schools ar e canceled; host computers are not widely adopted in schools because they are seen as appropriate for use with the teacher/manager model of learning (they don’t fit into the single classroom, but instead are accessed remotely by sending batches of data).< BR>
1969 – Neil Armstrong arrives on the moon; the Woodstock rock concert in upstate New York draws hundreds of thousands; the cold war and the war in Vietnam continues; many students, religious leaders, civil rights leaders, and ordinary citizens begi n to speak out against the war in Vietnam.

1970 – Pascal created; the US bombs Cambodia; Kent State antiwar students killed by Army reserve troops; mainframes and minicomputers in use in some schools, but very little use in the delivery of instruction.

1971 – Intel’s first microprocessor developed; the first microcomputers (PCs) are developed; mainframes and minicomputers are in wide use in business; a few software companies begin to develop mainframe and minicomputer- based instructional program s; 18-year old given the vote.

1972 – Five men working for President Nixon’s re-election caught in the Democratic party’s headquarters in the Watergate hotel complex; Nixon re-elected president and orders the bombing of North Vietnam.

1974 – President Nixon resigns and is given a full pardon by his successor, President Ford; a gasoline embargo creates lines at gas stations; Patty Hurst kidnapped; Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s lifetime home run record; Apple I computer is sold in kit form.

1975 – Some Apple 1 PCs are donated to schools; some schools have adopted mainframes and minicomputers and refuse to consider PCs; four Nixon administration official convicted in Watergate cover up; The war in Vietnam ends and the government of Nor th Vietnam invades and takes over South Vietnam.

1976 – Carter elected president; the cold war continues; Iraq holds hostages, rampant inflation; the Apple I computer gains popularity in small business.

1979 – 15 Million PCs estimated to be in use worldwide; PC-based spreadsheets developed, mainframes and minicomputers still in wide use.

1980 – Reagon elected President, the cold war continues with Reagon declaring Russia to be the “evil empire”; the TI 99 which uses a television screen as the monitor is the world’s most popular PC.

1981 – IBM is the first mainframe manufacturer to develop a PC; drill and practice CAI gains acceptance in schools; the cold war continues. The first educational drill and practice programs are developed for personal computers.

1983 – IBM PC clones proliferate; Sperry Corporation is the second mainframe manufacturer to develop a PC (actually developed by Mitsubishi in Japan); the Apple II computer finds widespread acceptance in education because PCs better fit the teacher /manager model of instructional delivery (PCs can be used to “support” the ongoing teaching in the single classroom). Simple simulation programs are developed for personal computers.

1984 – Reagon re-elected; 31 states use 13,000 PCs for career guidance, but there are still relatively few computers in classrooms; the Apple Macintosh computer is developed; computer-based tutorials and learning games are developed by commercial software manufacturers.

1986 – 25 % of high schools use PCs for college and career guidance, K-8 schools buying mostly Apple II and Macintosh computers, high schools buying mostly DOS-based clones.

1988 – Bush elected President; 60 % of all workers in the US use computers, laptops are developed; Gorbachoff proposes an end to the cold war;.

1990 – Multimedia PCs are developed; schools are using videodiscs; object-oriented multimedia authoring tools are in wide use; Simulations, educational databases and other types of CAI programs are being delivered on CD-ROM disks, many with animati on and sound; the US crime increases dramatically; the cold war ends.

1992 – Clinton elected President; for the first time, police and prison budgets begin to surpass education budgets; schools are using Gopher servers to provide students with on-line information.

1994 – Digital video, virtual reality, and 3-D systems capture the attention of many, but fewer multimedia PCs than basic business PCs are sold; object-oriented authoring systems such as HyperCard, Hyperstudio, and Authorware grow in popularity in schools; most US classrooms now have at least one PC available for instructional delivery, but not all teachers have access to a computer for instructional preparation.

1995 – The Internet and the world wide web began to catch on as businesses, schools, and individuals create web pages; most CAI is delivered on CD-ROM disks and is growing in popularity.

1996 – The Internet is widely discussed as businesses begin to provide services and advertising using web pages. New graphics and multimedia tools are developed for the delivery of information and instruction using the Internet; many schools are rewiring for Internet access; a few schools install web servers and provide faculty with a way to create instructional web pages.

1997-2007 – The growth of the internet expands far faster than most predicted. It soon becomes the world’s largest database of information, graphics, and streaming video making it an invaluable resource for educators; but marketing-oriented web pages, computer viruses hidden within downloadable programs and/or graphics, and spam (widely disseminated email-based sales pitches) threaten it’s usefullness. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo constantly develop new ways to find information within the ever-growing number of web pages. Web sites that offer individuals a place to put personal information become popular, as does internet-based publishing and discussion forums. Voice recognition slowly enters the computing mainstream, but it’s development is slowed by an unacceptable frequency of errors. Some computers incorporate TV input, but it is not as common as many predicted. Educational software becomes more useful and interesting to students as graphics and video are incorporated. Larger computer storage capacity and the growing prevalence of CD-ROM and DVD drives in personal computers make it easier for educators to store large graphic and video and sound files for educational applications.

2008 and beyond ???

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RSS Feed

1. Step 1
2. Log into your Blogger.com account. This will take you to your Blogger Dashboard, which is a list of all of your blogs on the site along with controls for customizing them.
3. Step 2

   Select “Layout” for your desired blog. The “Layout” tab will be displayed, providing a graphical representation of your blog, including the area where blog posts appear and areas where you can add customized elements.

4. Step 3

   Click on “Add a Page Element.” Another window will open with a list of elements that you can add to your blog. Select “Add to Blog” underneath the “Feed” element, which opens a “Configure Feed” dialog box.

5. Step 4

   Copy the RSS link URL from the external blog. Most blogs place their RSS link as either text or an RSS icon somewhere on their blog. Clicking on this link will open a Web browser page with the feed URL, often a Feedburner.com address. Select this link and copy it to the clipboard.

6. Step 5

   Paste the RSS link URL into the “Feed URL” box of the Blogger “Configure Feed” dialog. Select “Continue.” If you make a mistake, click “Cancel” and start again.

7. Step 6

   Save your changes. After clicking on “Continue,” a dialog box will open showing the title of the blog feed you are publishing, an option to select how many items you wish to display, and check boxes to show “Item dates” and “Item sources/authors.” Make your selections, review how the feed will look on your blog, and select “Save Changes” when satisfied.

8. Step 7

   Place your new feed. The feed you just added will show up as the top item in your list of side page elements. Left-click, hold, and drag the feed element to move it to a different slot on the side, or to the top or bottom section of your blog. When satisfied, click on “Save.” Then click “Preview” to see how your new feed appears. Use “Clear Edits” to undo the changes and start over.

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CLRN

Home

CLRN makes it easy for you to find the standards-aligned software, video and Internet learning resources you need. CLRN experts have identified, reviewed and organized hundreds of Electronic Learning Resources (ELRs) in a searchable database that allows you to compare key features of selected resources. The Web Information Links (WILs) let you search or browse hundreds of free primary, secondary and reference resources. Electronic Learning Assessment Resources (ELARs) are data management programs that simplify delivery, aggregation and disaggregation of assessment data.

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Databases

A Database is an integrated collection of logically related records or files consolidated into a common pool that provides data for one or more multiple uses. One way of classifying databases involves the type of content, for example: bibliographic, full-text, numeric, image. Other classification methods start from examining database models or database architectures: see below. Software organizes the data in a database according to a database model.

The definition of a database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system. In order for a database to be truly functional, it must not only store large amounts of records well, but be accessed easily. In addition, new information and changes should also be fairly easy to input. In order to have a highly efficient database system, you need to incorporate a program that manages the queries and information stored on the system. This is usually referred to as DBMS or a Database Management System. Besides these features, all databases that are created should be built with high data integrity and the ability to recover data if hardware fails.

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DIFFER BETWEEN A POST AND A PAGE

Posts

Posts are listed in reverse chronological order on the blog home page or on the posts page if you have set one in Settings > Reading. If you have created any sticky posts, those will appear before the other posts. Posts can be found in the Archives, Categories, Recent Posts, and other widgets. Posts are also displayed in the RSS feed of the blog. You can control how many posts are displayed at a time in the Reading Settings. The URL for a post includes the date the post was published like this: http://blogname.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/post-title/

Pages are static and are not listed by date. Pages do not use tags or categories. An ‘About’ page is the classic example. Pages are displayed in the sidebar using the Pages widget, and some themes display pages in tabs at the top of the blog. If you have 50 pages and you use the Pages widget, then all pages will be listed all the time. The URL for a page looks like this: http://blogname.wordpress.com/page-title/

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WAYS TO USE POWERPOINT

Alternative Ways To Use PowerPoint Software

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Let us continue to explore some alternative applications of Microsoft PowerPoint. As you have seen in the first article, it is not only used for designing presentations. These ideas are based around the concept of taking a particular slide layout and using it in isolation rather than incorporating it into a presentation.

Diagrams

It is often more useful to display a collection of information in the form of a diagram rather than as a solid body of text. One idea is to use a hierarchy diagram, from PowerPoint templates. This could be used, for example, to show the staffing structure in your workplace. It could be incorporated into the welcome pack for new staff and assist in their acclimatization process.

Diagrams can also be used to effectively display the stages in a particular process. Perhaps you are undertaking a large scale project at work and would like a simple graphical representation of the phases which are to be undertaken. This could be a useful tool in meetings when you wish to give colleagues or clients an overview of the current situation.

A Family Tree

Many people are interested in exploring their family origins. It can be a complex process and involve tracking down records to try to identify possible family connections. However, once you have located your distant descendents you could use PowerPoint to proudly display your family tree. It could be an idea for a gift or simply something to show your children.

Calendars and Schedules

If organizing your time schedule effectively is a top priority, you could use PowerPoint to generate a monthly calendar. This could be displayed on your wall or on your fridge and thereby limit the likelihood of you forgetting important occasions. By selecting photographs or images as a background, you can give your calendar a personal touch.

Place Cards

PowerPoint templates can be used to design place card for a variety of events. You can choose to preprint an individual’s personal details onto a place card or alternatively, leave the form blank if it is to be used as a name card. This is a useful solution if you are on an economy drive and cannot afford to have them professionally printed.

Posters

PowerPoint can be useful for creating posters to inform friends, family and your local community of upcoming events. Sales, car boot sales and open days can often do with a little extra advertising to achieve a successful outcome. Perhaps you have lost a valuable item and would like to alert as many people as possible to this fact. With some creative input and technical know-how, PowerPoint has the capability to create eye-catching posters for whatever purpose you have in mind.

In summary, PowerPoint is a useful piece of software than can be used for a variety of different applications. Attending Microsoft PowerPoint training courses can provide you with the technical skills to use PowerPoint in your personal and professional projects.

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Tags & Categories

Tags vs. Categories

What’s the difference between tags vs. categories in your blog?  A lot.  Knowing the difference between tags and categories can help you better structure your blog for browsing and SEO.  Personally, I hadn’t noticed the issue before because I only have tags on my MSDN blog.  As part of my research on effective blogging practices, I hit the issue.  Now that I’ve experimented with a few blogging platforms, the difference between tags and categories is more obvious.  For example, WordPress 2.3 supports tags in addition to categories.

Categories, Internal Tags and External Tags

• Categories. Categories are your high-level buckets.  You should be able to chunk up your blog by a small, mutually exclusive set of categories.  Imagine a user trying to browse the broad themes of your blog.  Categories can also become part of your URL.
• Internal tags.  Internal tags are for finer-grained slicing and dicing and hopping across your categories.
• External tags.  External tags, such as Technorati and del.icio.us are for showing your conent in the relevant topics and niches at Technorati and del.icio.us.

Tag Clouds
I think the big benefit of tags is creating browsable tag clouds where you can discover related content.  Whereas categories are just one topic, you can use tags to find related content.  For example, you might browse a “security” tag and then browse a “performance” tag to find the intersection of content tagged both “security” and “performance”.

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Why Spread Sheets

A spreadsheet is a document that stores data in a grid of horizontal rows and vertical columns. Rows are typically labeled using numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.), while columns are labeled with letters (A, B, C, etc). Individual row/column locations, such as C3 or B12, are referred to as cells. Each cell can each store a unique instance of data. By entering data into a spreadsheet, information can be stored in a more structured way than using plain text The row/column structure also allows the data to be analyzed using formulas and calculations.

For example, each row of a spreadsheet may store information about a person who has an account with a certain company. Each column may store a different aspect of the person’s information, such as the first name, last name, address, phone number, favorite food, etc. The spreadsheet program can analyze this data by counting the number of people who live in a certain zip code, listing all the people who’s favorite food is fried veal, or performing other calcuations. In this way, a spreadsheet is similar to a database.


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WAY’s TO USE WORD PRESS BLOG WITH PICTURES

One technique that many successful bloggers use to stand out from the crowd is to use images in their feeds. This means switching your feeds to full feeds, enabling html and putting up with a little more bandwidth but in my experience of surfing through thousands of posts a day in RSS it makes a big difference.

Images draw the eye, they pique interested, they grab attention and they have the potential to make what can otherwise be a dry and text filled environment (news readers) a more visually pleasing and sensual space.



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