E = mc2 Explained

How would 10 top physicists two Nobel Prize winners among them describe Einstein's equation to curious non-physicists? Listen online by selecting Play All or choose individual clips below. PBS NOVA as some real cool podcasts. Check them out.

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Knoppix 4.0.2 DVD Released

The latest version of everyone's favorite bootable Linux distro is now available. The long-awaited DVD release was pushed out to FTP sites on the 24th of September; torrents are now available. Grab it while it's hot and seed it till you bleed. My students like Knoppix because it lets them have control over their computer or their parent's computer. Last year, one of our students used a school computer to download Knoppix. He then attempted a hack on his father's company computer. It cost his father several hundred dollars to have a tech rep restore the company PC. His father was not very happy at me. I told him he had been punished at our school. We just did not allow him any computer access on our school network. So, download it on your own time. You will need a DVD burner to create the disc.

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Podcasting in My Earth Science Classroom

Testing to see if I can make this work.

Apple to drop another bomb soon!

According to some sources Apple is planning to realease their new computers as early as next week. This is hopefully true, but it will still be next year before our school will buy more computers...maybe! I would love to have a super fast laptop, but the G4 Al Book I am using now is plenty fast for me. I can not wait to see if Steve is really ready to launch actual new computers yet.

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Love the GIMP, hate it's look? GIMPshop, the GIMP that acts like Photoshop

If you love Photoshop and hate the GIMP because of its unusual interface, you need to use GIMPshop. - An article on the newly popular GIMPshop.

This is a piece of software I plan to add today to my classroom iBooks. My students can edit images with iPhoto, but GIMP is full featured. Now, I need to find a good tutorial for my middle school students to use...I will post more on this project soon.

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Multiple Linksys WRT54G Vulnerabilities

Several severe flaws have been recently discovered with Linksys WRT54G wireless routers. If you have one, patch it up now.

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Rain from Ophelia

yard2.jpg
Originally uploaded by The Blake Slate.

Well, not school again today. We missed yesterday and today. We will make-up yesterday on this coming Saturday. That is will interesting. I think the worst is past us (1:49 p.m.) Maybe not, the wind just rattled the windows here at the house. This image was taken about 12 noon. I am thinking about creating. Hope to get out and ride around and take some more stills after the Soaps are over on TV. Not that I watch them...my wife does and I am going to get her to drive so I can take some video and stills without having to worry about running into someone...

My Class Podcast Project Update

Friday, I tried to have my students record their thoughts on what they had been doing in middle science this past week. I had them brainstorm on what they had been doing in class as we study the growth of plants. One of my students has a speech impediment so I modified the assignment so that student could create an iMovie report instead of creating a podcast. I noticed something very obvious-- they do not have a clue what the learning objectives are for this activity! They are just going through the motions! Some students could sort of tell me what we had been doing. This made me realize that I need to do a better job making sure they know what we are doing and why.

I think I will ask them to write a paragraph, in a journal each day. I need to decide what they need to record in their journal entries. Then next Friday, they will have some ideas to include in their podcast. Basically, it is a writing issue. If they can not write it, they do not know it.

I plan also to include more concept maps for them to use. This may help them organize what they are learning.

Bottomline- trying to get my students to create a short audio clip of what they are learning is not easy. The process seems to offer some challenges that I have to address before I stick a microphone in their face and start asking questions. I have to figure out a way to make them successful.

AJAX Powered Online Calendar!!!

Certain apps tend to jump out for Ajaxian writers. The online calendar is one of them, and Kiko has stepped up to the plate with their offering.

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Amazing News: New Mars Image from Spirit

Working atop a range of Martian hills, NASA's Spirit rover is rewarding researchers with tempting scenes filled with evidence of past planet environments. I would not have imaged that Spirit could have lasted this long. This is incredible. They should have named it the "Little Train that Could."



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Google Maps adds Katrina Tab

Now along with "Map", "Satellite", and "Hybrid" a red "Katrina" tab has been added when a map of New Orleans is search for using maps.google.com
Now this is using technology. Two thumbs up for this link. I can not wait to share this with my students.

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