Monday, October 28, 2013

Welcome Back

Well I just wanted to say welcome back, not to you, but rather to me. Its been five months since I last posted and I am hoping to get back into a routine with posting more often.  I have a couple of new websites to use, but I just wanted to give a shout out to all those who are supporting The Tech Ninja Blog.  We know that we will not get famous blogging about education, but we are just trying to get information that we feel is important out there.  That is one of the hardest things in todays age. Like Jay mention in his post there is so much more information out there and it gets more and more visually appealing, yet, so much gets missed.  So maybe we post to facebook too much, or on twitter, but we are just trying to help you.  If we are being annoying let us know.

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Friday, September 13, 2013

Just an Observation

I noticed that the way I view information has been evolving right before my eyes.  We all know that when the internet first started out that it changed the way we viewed information.  I remember as a kid looking through the volumes of Encyclopedias that Mom and Dad purchased from the Encyclopedia salesman.  I thought it was awesome to see the amount of information in those books.  When websites first appeared it seemed to be pretty much the same information that was in the books only difference was it had a digital format and could be searched for more efficiently.  Later websites got more visually attractive with interesting animations and cool graphics.  Today information seems almost alive.  Some sites are interactive, linked, and constantly changing.  For example if you wanted to learn about tornados a search might lead you to a site that offers a vast range of information that would include text, sound, video, interactive activities, and opportunities to collaborate with Scientist, Storm chasers, and Meteorologist.  My encyclopedia could never do this.  I am still amazed by the evolution of information and the impact that it has had on society.  I hope that every Teacher, Student, Administrator, or anyone who wants to learn understands how powerful this new form of information is.  I never dreamed that I would be able to write an article that could be read around the world...yet here it is.  Just an observation:)



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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Technology For Technology's Sake

Having a new shiny sword does not make you a Ninja


Hello fellow Ninjas, in this post I would like to briefly discuss some points about using technology in the classroom.  Technology should be first and foremost in the hands of the students.  It should also be used as part of daily instruction.  Technology should not be used solely as a reward or for "free time" without any ties to curriculum or instruction.  The best way to use technology in the classroom is to relate it to a project, let students use combinations of applications to CREATE a product or artifact that will demonstrate their understanding of a concept.

I was talking with a colleague the other day and she brought up a very good point about using Technology for Technology's sake. We agreed that this was one of the least effective practices that can go on in a classroom. Ultimately if the activities you plan for your students do not engage them to explore, evaluate, problem solve, collaborate, and CREATE you are probably just using Technology for Technology's sake.  Just sayin.


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                                        Pic from http://c4kca.org/getcomputer.html

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Math Chimp Ninja Style


            
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Image from openclipart.org
Drawn by mediobit

           The website Math Chimp  http://www.mathchimp.com/ is different from other math websites.  It does not have its own content, but rather it is a directory of high quality resources and others sites.  Some sites that it includes in KhanAcademy.org, CoolMathGames.com and MatheBook.net.  It’s set up where it lets you search by grade level and then subject area.  This is a great website to use for math review at the end of the year.   It also lets you tell your students what area you want them to focus on. 
Don’t forget that besides from just following the blog you can like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thetechninjablog/111528315703424, follow us on Twitter @Tech_Ninja_Blog  and now subscribe to our YouTube channel  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYzFJ-VbCBBNKqu5sWH8KDg

FOT Explania.com


        Have you ever wondered how the heart works? Well explainia.com can help you figure it out.  http://www.explania.com/en is a collection of animated video explanations. A Belgium based company, a majority of the videos are aimed towards adults.  They have many channels focused on a variety of topics.  One note, while most of the videos are academic in nature, have they have been moving to having channels from companies about their products.
Don’t forget that besides from just following the blog you can like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thetechninjablog/111528315703424, follow us on Twitter @Tech_Ninja_Blog  and now subscribe to our YouTube channel  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYzFJ-VbCBBNKqu5sWH8KDg

Monday, May 6, 2013

Google Fun for Google Ninjas


Image by Simon
www.flickr.com


            We have spend a lot of time helping you get ready to become a Google Ninja, you are now ready and its time to really have some fun and impress your less Ninjaish friends.  Now with many of these you have to Google the phrase and then click I’m Feeling Lucky Button (or just click the first link, it does the same thing)


Google “do a barrel roll” and go back to those days playing Starfox

Google “Zerg Rush” –Now  I was never a big Starcraft fan, but still fun.

Google “gravity” and click I’m feeling Lucky-  I just hope you don’t break Google.

Google “tilt” and click I’m feeling Lucky-  is my chair lopsided?

Google “the Loneliest Number” and the calculator indicates that the result is 1. Ok, slightly corny.

Google “Elmer Fudd” and click I’m feeling. Also works with Klingon and Pig Latin.
 Google “elgoog” and click I’m feeling.

I know the biggest worry of you day has to do with the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon.  To make your day less stressful just Google the name of the celebrity you are interested followed by “bacon number”

Go to Google translate at http://translate.google.com/ and copy and paste in pv zk bschk zk kkkkkkk  (you can paste it in as many times as you want).  The live your dreams of rocking the beatbox.

pv zk bschk zk kkkkkkk  beatbox

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

This Weeks Tech Rumors- Ninja Style April 28th- May 4th


Image by Hector Gomez
openclipart.org


The UK’s New Copyright law

           The Enterprise Regulatory and Reform Act was enacted on May 2, 2013 which allows photos that are published to the Internet can be used by anyone if the owner of the photo cannot be found after a “diligent” search or explicitly stated in the photo’s metadata.  Why is this important for a Tech Ninja, first it looses copyright laws in that will allow more works to be used in projects for schools and education, second it harms artists and photographers who post their work to the internet.  I believe the real test will be the definition of what a diligent search is.


Xbox TV or Xbox Mini

This article is just what the author thinks Microsoft might do with the Xbox going forward.  It makes logical sense with his points, but I don’t think that Microsoft wants to cannibalize themselves.   Why is this important to a Tech Ninja, because with increased completion for turning living rooms smart will lead to better products and options.

Facebook Loses Millions of Users

             I am over Facebook as a social network (but not a social news site) and it turns out I am not the only one.  In the last 6 months 9 million Facebook users in the US and
2 million Facebook users in UK left.  Why is this important for Tech Ninja?  Its important because it shows how fickle consumers can be with technology and how companies have to be careful with how they monetize their product.  When I log onto Facebook all I see is pictures of random with funny sayings.  I get very few updates of what friends and family are doing anymore and that’s why I signed up in the first place, not to see recipes or what game you are playing. 

Google Fiber Increase Completion

            In Kansas City very few people have signed up for Google Fiber’s offering one-gigabit Internet connections—nearly 100 times faster than the U.S. average—for $70 per month, or $120 with television service, a Nexus 7 tablet remote, two terabytes of DVR storage, plus another a terabyte of cloud storage.  Yet their overall Internet speed increased because the companies already established increased their offerings to consumers.  Why is this important to a Tech Ninja?  Increased completion brings more choices as I stated earlier.  The US is far behind in internet speed compared to other developed countries with no real reason why we are so slow compared to other parts of the world.



            I will be the first to say that I do not do much with Google Voice, I mainly just give out that number if I don’t want to give out my main number when signing up for services.  I also cut the cord on my home phone about two years ago, but haven’t found an option that I want to use to replace it, with this I just might.  Why is this important for a Tech Ninja?  With Obihai ($40) and a Google Voice you have free home phone.  Only caveat if Google decides to charge for Google Voice, they haven’t yet, but always could.

Force Electric Feedback – Getting shocked while playing games, the next big thing?


What’s going to be the next new thing with gaming?  First it was playing at home, then playing on the go, then moving while playing.  Next getting shock?  I don’t know how appealing that sounds, but it will bring a new intensity to games.  They are developing 4DX movies that use smells and water vapor to immerse you into the movie, why not physical feedback.  Why is this important for a tech ninja?  This is important because this is just showing another way for you interact with your tech.
Don’t forget that besides from just following the blog you can like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thetechninjablog/111528315703424, follow us on Twitter @Tech_Ninja_Blog  and now subscribe to our YouTube channel  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYzFJ-VbCBBNKqu5sWH8KDg