Emotional Technology – a deeper connection

There are times when colleagues, my PLN and students leave me ‘gobsmacked’. Just speechless and gushing and reflective and…. I must say that one of the reasons why I appreciate using technology in education and in my own learning is that sometimes it has that magical “je ne c’est quoi”. I cannot put my finger on it but it evokes an amazing amount of emotion, tugging me to REALLY take time to reflect on myself, our students, our staff, our communities and indeed, globally.

Here are a couple of emotional technology exemplars that have made an emotional impact on me. Eric Whitacre came to my attention last year his Virtual Choir of Lux Arumuque and now his Sleep virtual choir is even more amazing. Andre Chocron’s architectural music light show first came to my attention via Gizmodo where Andre, a Norwegian, has used time-lapse photography and computer programming to the tune of “Time is of the Essence” by Cold Mailman.

Watch and leave comments about how you felt after watching one or all of them! Or share other examples of Emotional Technology that you have been part of or witnessed!

Cold mailman – Time is of the essence from André Chocron on Vimeo.

 

Check Out Evernote, You’ll Be Glad You Did!

photo © 2009 David Reber | more info (via: Wylio)
Evernote offers endless possibilities for educational, professional and personal use. This blog is dedicated to a brief introduction of Evernote, some of its uses and recent news.

 

 

What is Evernote?

Evernote is a free web tool that allows you to easily capture information using whatever device or operating system you use. It then makes this information accessible and searchable from anywhere.

 

 

 

Key features of Evernote:

• Create text, web-clips and PDF notes
• Auto-synchronize notes among every computer and phone you use
• Evernote makes printed and handwritten text within images searchable
• Share your notebooks with friends and colleagues
• Capture task lists
• Copy webpages, links or specific parts of a website
• Take photos with your smartphone, Playbook, iPod Touch or iPad2 and input them into Evernote

Evernote is available for:

• Desktop: Windows, Mac and Web
• iOS: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
• Other Mobile: Android, BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, Windows Mobile

How to get started

1)     Create an Evernote account. Check out their intro video.

2)     Download the desktop version for your Mac/PC.

3)     Download the Google Chrome extension or the Web Clipper tool if you use another web browser.
Evernote syncs to your online account. They offer a free (40mb per month of upload and limits uploads to audio, images, ink, and PDF) or a paid account (runs $5/month or $45/year and no sync restrictions, and allows 500mb per month upload).

Ways to use Evernote:

• For research, meetings,  conference,  andworkshop notes
• To save interesting webpages for later access, even offline
• To capture ideas and design inspiration
• To easily find notes made on your phone
• To search through photos
• To help you stay organized
• To search through your handwritten notes
• Import folders – create a “synced with Evernote” folder on your hard drive for any files you’d like to have synced up with Evernote automatically. Set up a folder in Evernote as an Import folder (Tools > Import Folders…), chose your preferences (sync subfolders or what notebook to send the info to, keep/delete hard drive folder once its exported, etc.)
• Stack your notebooks by creating headings (ie. MATH – algebra, place value, famous mathematicians or DIVERSE LEARNERS – research, technology, learner profiles).
• Protect your sensitive information by using text encryption. Highlight the portion of text/info that is to be encrypted, right-click and choose “Encrypt Selected Text”.
• Search your Evernote notes when you search Google. If you use Google Chrome as your browser of choice you can have it search your Evernote notebooks at the same time. Right click on your Evernote icon/bookmarklet in the Chrome toolbar, select Options and check off “use simultaneous search”.

Overall, Evernote allows your information to be centralized and organized which hopefully has you spending less time searching for it! With over 10,000,000 users and recent Facebook and Twitter sharing capabilities added, it’s no wonder people rave about it!

 

Birds n Bees Story remixed

OK, so I do receive various joke/humorous emails from time to time that really make my day. This was one of them which I couldn’t pass up to share with the masses! The “Birds and Bees” story is always a delight for children to see and hear their parents awkwardly share, but the 21st century version is such a ‘hoot’!

Here’s how a father could answer the question,

“Daddy, how was I born?”

“Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via email with your mom and we met at a cyber-café. We sneaked into a secluded room and googled each other. There your mom agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little pop-up appeared that said:

‘You’ve got male!’”

Now I am certainly not suggesting that parents change up the original Bird and Bees story. Today’s blog is just meant to put a smile to your face and a little chuckle in your day.