The Beauty of URLs/the internet

It's October. College midterms are in full bloom. Homework is now cranked up to the max for students around the world. As a college student, I have realized the beauty of the internet and URLs! A bit weird to say actually. Anyhow, I just wanted to share some of the experiences I have had with homework in school so far. 

No Computer? No good. 

Something that has drastically changed over the last decade is that, without a computer, homework is practically impossible to do in college. Essays are submitted electronically via an online dropbox. Quizzes and sometimes even exams are done on the internet. Even homework written on paper refers to URLs that students have to visit in order to complete the task. 

PROs: 

I am a believer that this revolution of technology is a great thing for students. Homework assignments are now so much more interactive. For example, in one of my classes, Meteorology 201: Weather Analysis, every week we receive a problem set to complete as homework. Within this homework, there are dozens of links we have to click on to interact, then respond to questions. For example, we may be told to click on this satellite image and provide an analysis regarding the weather at that specific time frame. Another example is an interactive tool with clouds/moisture/water vapor imagery. 

By using technology, people who are "visual/do-it" learners can learn so much more! Personally, it is difficult for myself to learn simply via text. Seeing and then interacting solidifies my understanding of something tremendously.

Cons:

The increased use of technology has led to increased plagiarism. Often, students are unaware of the infraction and involuntarily plagiarize. This is a mistake very easy to make as a student when the internet is filled with all types of resources and a citation is left out by accident. With the benefits of the internet, comes a price.

Overall, college is a wonderful experience. The education methods have drifted towards more technology over the last decade and the quality of education has improved. With this post, I encourage educators around the world to increase technological interactivity within assignments. You will be shocked by how much the results can change!

Wolfram Alpha for YOUR Math homework!

Have you ever had a question on your math homework that you were stuck on forever and could never find a solution online? The "solution" to your problem is Wolfram Alpha! Wolfram Alpha is a very complex computer program where you "simply" type a question into the box and it spits out an answer and also computes step-by step directions for you. Take note that some step-to-step directions require the pro version.

The above is pretty much a random question I made up and plugged into Wolfram Alpha. They give you the solution, the plots and also alternate forms of the answer. These are all very useful when it comes to "verifying" your answer on an assignement.

The reason to why I decided to put "verifying" in quotations is because it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for students to know that this program should only be used as a guide to the correct answer and to check answers. Plugging in problems and pasting the answers into the assignment does a student no good in terms of learning the material. If the student is really stuck and cannot figure out the steps, the pro version is also a good option.

In addition to simply plugging in math, Wolfram Alpha also has a few fun features as well! For example, you could ask it pretty much any question that you would ask a person. (Well, not really... but you can get close.) In the above image, I asked Wolfram Alpha when the world would end and it gave me a perfectly scientific answer.

The takeaway from this is this posting is that Wolfram Alpha is a extremely powerful and fun tool to utilize. However, there shouldn't be any expectations to rely on this tool because the process of learning is more important than plugging in the correct answer. Have fun and post a comment below if you find any cool/funny responses from Wolfram!

URL: http://www.wolframalpha.com/

K12.com

I believe that, for many families with school-age children, this may be a useful full-time program or as a backup/additional study course.  Today and Tomorrow, this world we live in is going to require much more than just the “Four Rʻs”. Early start equals better results. Whether you prefer homeschooling, have issues with accessing a preferred School, a Special Needs student, or live outside access to a Public or Private school, or additional classes not offered in your area,  K12.com offers classes and career learning in “most” States.

If you have been looking for an alternative, K12.com offers online Free Tuition Public School classes and Paid Private School classes.
Assess your needs by investigating the security and safety of this online service.
Now enrolling for 2018-2019 Classes.
K12.com

By: Bill Martin

Minecraft Education Edition!

Minecraft is a sandbox video game where the player designs freely by using blocks of material. This game was released in 2009 and without a doubt it became one of the biggest video game hits in history. The concepts which govern the game are actually quite interesting and there is great potential for enhancing creativity in its gamers. However, since this game is usually bought by parents for begging kids, its perception is that it simply is a video game, and perhaps maybe even a bit addictive. 

Fast forward to November 2016, Mojang releases a new edition of Minecraft in which is designed for education. In fact, it was so specifically designed for education that users must have a Minecraft: Education Edition subscription to use the software.  Schools can actually buy this software using volume licensing. 

Why Minecraft Education Edition?

The million dollar question. In 2018, there are a plethora of educational resources online, but Minecraft Education Edition stands out especially because students have a deeper connection with this game. The first second they walk into the classroom, they will say, "YAY we're playing Minecraft in class today!". That's actually a very good thing to happen because if they're more passionate about something they are doing in class, then they will more likely be engaged. 

Source: https://education.minecraft.net/ipad

With these educational resources having such stimulating features, educators are bound to ask if students will be able to stay on task. However, Minecraft Education Edition is like any other educational tool nowadays. Educators are able to control what the students can or cannot do in the game. To explore even more feature of Minecraft Education Edition, click here!

Bring Nearpod into your classroom!

If you are familiar with this blog, you would notice there are tons of posts about classroom tools teachers can utilize. Today, I plan on sharing with the readers of this blog another excellent classroom tool by the name of Nearpod. In some aspects, Nearpod is actually similar to the Apple's Classroom App that was shared a few weeks ago on this page. However, as previously discussed, the Classroom App by Apple can be quite pricey for the school districts with limited tech budgets. On the other hand, Nearpod is excellent because all you need to do is create a free account to start using this tool.

What is Nearpod?

Nearpod is a simplistic online computer program which allows educators to create assessments or lessons easily. One of the objectives of the program is for teachers to "spend less time planning and more time teaching". Teachers in Nearpod have the ability to create interactive lessons in a matter of minutes by importing existing lessons then also adding additional custom interactive tools. Students are also given a voice by the program with a variety of classroom discussion tools. For example, Nearpod can provide a classroom poll in which students can vote and discuss their thought processes for an answer.

To see more of what Nearpod can do, click here.

For a brief video explanation of Nearpod, click here.

Nearpod is simply an amazing tool. The fact that it is a free-to-use program means that I highly recommend educators to simply experiment with it. There are no risks involved in testing out a new gadget for your classroom.

Enjoy!

URL: www.nearpod.com
Video URL: https://vimeo.com/129830045

Photo Tools

THE PHOTO ARGUS
11 Outstanding (Free) Alternatives to Photoshop
<https://www.thephotoargus.com/11-outstanding-free-alternatives-to-photoshop/>

I have only tried GIMP.  It had a steep learning curve when I tried it out as a possible solution for struggling Free Lancers back in the early 80ʻs.
However, I hear that it has a cleaner interface and isnʻt quite the struggle it was.

As to the others, I have no feedback to offer.  They are free or donationware.

I am no longer a fan of anything Adobe anymore since they instigated the draconian pricing model of their subscription “service”.  I know many industry and service/printing companies are so tied to Adobe that they cannot extricate themselves.  But if you find any of these that offer compatibility/SaveAs features for current, “native” Photoshop/Illustrator apps, dig in.

If you are looking for a mostly “compatible”, commercial and affordable solution, look closely at Serifʻs Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer are both just $49.99 $US each and NOT a subscription.  You pay for it and own it and all the files you create in them.

And guess what:
PSD import/export
Import and edit Photoshop files directly in Affinity Photo, keeping adjustments, effects and layers intact.
Support for large PSB files, Photoshop plugins and ABR brush files are also included.

Affinity Designer is a good replacement for Adobe Illustrator.  (Iʻm not sure if it will open and save out to Illustrator.

Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer are for both the Mac and iPad.  Both compatible with the iPad Pro Pencil.

Check them both:  <http://www.serif.com>

Full Disclosure:  I am not connected to Serif, nor do I get money or beer from Serif for hawking their products.  Just a happy user!!

By: Bill Martin

Fact Check IT with Gapminder!

Have you ever been in an intense or heated debate regarding a topic on the world in general? Have you ever wondered if the fact/argument that your opponent stated was valid? If so, you should definitely check out Gapminder Tools. The purpose of Gapminder is to promote basic facts regarding this world and to stop people from being ignorant about facts of the world. They actually provide a short 13 question quiz regarding the basic facts of the world that most people fail. Click here for the link to the quiz to see if you can pass!

Above are examples of topics that are often misunderstood. Gapminder erases all of these misconceptions by using concrete facts. In addition, all of these tools are interactive and easy to operate.

Source: https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$state$entities$show$geo$/$in@=chn&=usa&=deu&=prk&=kor;;;;;&chart-type=linechart

For example, if you were arguing with someone regarding wealth, Gapminder has a plethora of tools to fact check with. These tools include bubble charts, maps and graphs. Additionally, for all of these tools you can even select your own regions or countries. In the above graph, I selected a GDP per capita graph for 5 countries. My favorite part about this type of graph is that a general trend can be seen. 

Obviously, all these tools are free to use and are simply at your discretion. Check it out! 

URL: gapminder.org