Any web page can speak to you!

In Safari, select the text from the poem below and then click on Safari/Services/Speech and select "Start Speaking Text". Your Mac should start speaking the text you have selected. To change the voice, simply go to System Preferences and click on Speech.

A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

John Keats

Amazing list of 60 Projects using technology!

Here is an amazing list of projects that use Web 2.0 (videos, podcasts, wikis, blogs, twitter, websites, etc...) It is divided up into age groups so you can choose the level you want. Click Here for the PDF...

The Future is Already Here at Some Schools

Schools have already started getting rid of textbooks, notepads, paper and even the schools themselves. A pilot middle school in Boston "offers a glimpse into the future." No textbooks, the students receive an Apple laptop at the start of each day. Students and teachers blog, classwork is done with Google applications, which are free. Much of the lessons are delivered via applications like iMovie, iChat and so on. Parents, students and teachers chat online and exchange files through "electronic drop boxes" provided on the school's website. And to top it off "U.S. enrollment in online classes reached the 1 million mark last year, 22 times the level in 2000." To read more on all of this CHECK THIS OUT

Are Students "Powering Down" When They Enter the Classroom?

Here is a video by enVisionMATH demo-ing one of their interactive math products. They point out that "America's students are growing up in a digital world of iPods, the Internet, instant messaging and computer games, but, until now, they have been 'powering down' when they enter the classroom.

26 Learning Games to Change the World

When I saw the title I was intrigued, but it wasn't until I read the article detailing the games did I stand up and take serious notice. From "Darfur is Dying" to "Whack TB" and "World Without Oil" or "Climate Change" and more I was impressed by the seriousness of the topics covered. Now you can participate in a political adventure, learn to fight TB, donate rice to the United Nations World Food Program, save lives from malaria, role-play what it's like growing up in poverty and even more. Plus they're all free and browser based. Nothing to pay and nothing to install. Check it out HERE

iTunes U

iTunes isn't just for listening to your music. It also contains tons of free podcasts and a section called iTunes U. It's located in the iTunes Store section and contains plenty of resources for just every subject. So open up iTunes and check out the iTunes U...

Computers that can "feel your pain"

I just read an article detailing a program that actually detects users frustrations when they are working on a computer. Using sensors, the program detects students emotions allowing teachers to adjust their teaching methods. Hopefully they will expand the program to include the rest of us and our frustrations! To read the article CLICK HERE