770.79 A Burst of Photographic Fireworks

Happy 4th to all!

I played with this particular image generator Tag Galaxy awhile back (months, years?) but just came across it again. It uses photos from our friend Flickr...who doesn't?

If you are in a playful, messin' around mood just go and throw out a keyword or two and see what happens. You will have to pull yourself away!

No, I don't have any ideas how to use it in an educationally settings...not sure how you would pull pictures off (except thru screen print) and even less how you would credit them.  Sometimes, things are just fun ...and should be enjoyed just for the fun! 

It is as simple as this:

909.08 Iconic Photos: Another Collection Worthy of Your Time

Spent some time this weekend catching up with the thoughts of some of my favorite bloggers and David Warlick at 2 Cents pointed me to this photo collection found at WebDesigner Depot.

It is another group of 100 historically significant portraits/photographic portraits of individuals who have impacted our world for many reasons over the last several hundred years. Yes, most of them are from the last 100 years or so, simply because of their photographic format, but there are classic portraits of much older, and no less significant, historical characters.

I am not here to debate the whys and wherefores of some people being included and others being left out of the collection. Just look at it for who is there and the shear beauty of many of the visuals themselves. As for uses in the classroom and library-related projects...please, there are SO many!

Now, the nagging question is, can these be used for educational purposes? I think you will agree with me that many of them are available from other copyright friendly locations (some are in the LC collection and some are found in the recently uploaded Life/Google collection) so I am assuming this one is as well.

What is the significance of the 4 photos I have chosen to included here, you ask?

Anne Frank -- I have been haunted by her eyes ever since I read the book at about the age of 12 (and many times since then). I have NEVER been able to put myself in any situation, real or imaginary that I assume she encountered. I C-A-N-N-O-T imagine, pretend, or even dream...

Migrant Mother -- this picture simply represents what the Dust Bowl/Depression looks like to me....and after becoming a mother almost 30 years ago, I have learned to "see" other things in her face as well.

Afghan girl -- I remember when she came out on the cover of the National Geographic magazine back in the mid-80s. I remember holding onto that copy for a long time and returning to look at it many times...not knowing that the true significance of the photo was not her green eyes (which really was the focus of the story), but the fact that she represented so much in a region of the world that captured our attention so completely a few years later. I followed the story also when the photographer/reporter went back to find her and see what fate had dealt her. I can't help it...as trite as it sounds...she is hauntingly beautiful on many levels.

And the final photo--Buzz Aldrin on the moon reflecting back a smaller image of his partner (and photographer) Neil Armstrong...a pinpoint of time frozen in my mind...the Apollo 11 moon shot is a HUGE marker on my personal timeline....I can close my eyes and remember vividly historical details of those few scary, and yet, exciting days...both inside and outside my own house!

Ok, enough nostalgia for now...go hunt up some of your own.

004.165 MacBook Pro: Grab That Screen Shot

Slowly, but surely, I am getting more comfortable with MY fabulous MacBook Pro...I have spent one session at the Genius Bar (needless to say I was NOT the genius in the conversation) and got to spend two days with a Mac trainer trying to absorb as much as possible and remember as much as I could on how the Mac acts differently from the PC.

I have trouble with the smallest, most insignificant things with technology quite often and I continue to be flummoxed by the smallest details of  the Mac as well. Thought I would go out of my mind trying to easily copy URLs...duh, 1, 2, 3 clicks, command-copy!

Ok, now to the main purpose of this post. You know HOW much I love to use screen shots and how fun I think it is that on a Mac, you actually get to hear the camera "click!" In case you are missing the screen shot key from the PC keyboard, on the Mac it is command-control-3.

BUT if you really intend to use the screen shot, that is a whole 

other story! After piling up a bunch of junk on my pretty, clean desktop that were totally useless (on several occasions), I FINALLY clicked Help tonight and read about GRAB...an application that allows you to select the portion of the screen you want before clicking and allows you to save your shot in the format of your choice in iPhoto.

So ridiculously E-A-S-Y! Why do I insist on making things difficult? Help is on a computer for a reason!

GRAB is now is now a permanent resident of my Dock.

741.6 WriteOnIt: Another Image Generator

Librarian Philospher passed this site on to me! Write On It.

Played around a little.

Add it to your image generator collection.
Caution: some of the frames may not be appropriate for young kids!

P.S. That's my Copper in the middle and the azaleas outside my front door in the bottom one! Springtime IS here!

973.092 Presidential Facts: Trivial Fun for an Important Historical Day

With these simple, few words

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

a major cornerstone of the process we in this country hold dear took place for the 44th time today as the 43th man to do so took the oath of office and became President of the United States.

Despite all the campaigning, the talking, the debating, the wheeling and dealing, the compromising, the organizing, the planning, it really comes down to those few words that brings about the transition...the change...in the power of our government.

It is amazing in its simplicity.

***************

Now for the traditional first facts portion of my thoughts.

It was reported recently that Barack Obama official photograph is the first to be taken with a digital camera...no film to fade or get scratchy, disintegrate, or fall apart!

President John Quincy Adams was the earliest person who served as president to be photographed by the Bishop & Gray Gallery although his picture was not taken until 1843, some 14 years after his 1825-1829 term ended.

There seems to be some controversy over who was the first sitting president to be photographed, but general consensus gives the honor to James K. Polk, the 11th President who served from 1845-1849. The reason for the confusion is that Matthew Brady and his team of photographers and other photographers of the time were busy taking pictures of lots of famous people and dates were not always carefully noted. Some important photos include only ranges of years as the time marker!


The missing piece of my historical puzzle is which president is the first to be photographed in color? The best guess I could determine in the small amount of time I allowed myself to research this trivia is that there exists a piece of colored film of President William Henry Taft made in 1912 that was put through a process to created a colored single frame or "picture" of the 27th president.

Why does this photographic history pf presidents interest me? I take digital pictures...love the ease of them, but worry like a old person of the 20th century that I have nothing to "hold on to" for 99% of the pictures I have taken for about the last 5-6 years except for a computer file "somewhere" on some computer, old or new, while at least 2 dozen years of personal history taken on film are neatly filed away in boxes..to become faded, scratchy, disintegrated relics of times gone by!

O, yeah, and a simple little picture that I personally own that was created by the Brady team that contains the likenesses of 6 participants of the Civil War...among them, a gruff-looking, old codger with whom I share a family tie (and unfortunately, a familiar look)...and one of his staff members who later became the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison!

Will I share this photograph? You bet...just as soon as I find the digital copy I carefully put away...somewhere!



P.S. This post also contains my favorite piece of presidential trivia no matter who is president. I love to ask "how many people have served as president?" and have them give me the number of presidents we have had. Why do these 2 numbers not match? The same person served as both the 22nd and 24th Presidents. Now it's your turn to figure out who! :-)

"Artwork" of the oath created using Wordle.
Photographs from Library of Congress files.

363.12 The Hudson Miracle

I have been watching the news on the Hudson River air crash the last few days and have truly been amazed at the stories that have come out of the event.

The Captain and his strength, ability and level-headedness at landing the plane so carefully is of course, a wonderful part of the miracle that occurred. But the individual challenges of all aboard are really something. Everyone helped each other, pitched in where it was needed, gave a hand out or an encouraging word...and turned the praise they received back towards the others.

And the images...gives new meaning to the old saying "on a wing and a prayer."

006.6 Dumpr: TOO Much Fun!

I have records open on my desktop that I SHOULD be cataloging, but I am taking a few minutes of virtual hookey time to show you Dumpr. Maybe it is not new to you and maybe you are not hooked on image generators as I am, but this one is pretty cool, ridiculously simple, very fast...and mostly FREE...the best kind!

I pulled up an old picture of a friend...those of you who have been in some of our department's staff development will recognize him! Look at all the things I can do to him.

Some of the things on the site do cost $$, but are marked pro so it is easy to tell. They can be saved, printed, uploaded to Flickr, or embedded almost anywhere in the 2.0 world you can think of!

Ok, ok, ok...I gotta get back to my cataloging. Go have fun!

P.S. The squishy one is really fun...you do the squishing. You HAVE to do that one at least!

006.7 EdubloggerCon08: Mission Accomplished!!

In the excitement of who I was around and what I was learning, I completely forgot to tell you, I accomplished my one and only pre-set (i.e. before I got here) objective...

I got it!!!

didn't have to run...didn't have to tackle anyone...didn't have to wait in line...didn't even have to resort to bribery or out-bid the highest bidder!!

I AM a part of the Revolution...and I wear it proudly!

371.3 Educational Technology: A Summer Adventure

Technically, this the last day of my 33rd year in this adventure called public school education...from the teacher's side of the desk. Then there is that traditional 13-year run that I did as a student. So 46 years. And of course, I spent a good part of the remaining 10 years of my life on this earth preparing to make the transition from one side of the desk to the other.

I was barely started WAY back when that little historical event called Sputnik plunged us into an educational revolution of sorts. "New math" was the biggest trauma I remember from those days. There were very pleasant experiences as well, but I only remember the effects "new math" in 7th grade had on me...and more importantly, on my poor dad who tried to help.

More recently, I have been immersed in a different kind of educational revolution. It's not new. It actually has been bubbling up since about 1980...at least in my little corner of the world. For me, I think this summer marks, not the pinnacle because it's not stopping, but at least a very significant stop on this exciting journey.

My district made an important decision this last semester...laptops for all campus certified personnel. But more importantly, I see it as the keys to a vehicle that will take us collectively as an organization, a system, a group, a team on a very exciting ride thru this thing called Web 2.0, Learning 2.0, Library 2.0. Yes, we are all on different levels, but at least now, we are riding in the same bus!

The web and all it implies has also finally been accepted as a legitimate means to learning success...NOT the ONLY means, but a very important tool in the toolboxes of our students and teachers. Many of us have known this for a long time and have worked hard, very hard some days, to use it in spite of roadblocks on many levels. For me, it all seems to have come together at this point in time...a "perfect storm" effect so to speak, but a positive storm!

Personally, I have had some great experiences this past semester working with various groups in discovering new tools and ways to use them. I have been charged up, jazzed up, or whatever you want to call it by the enthusiasm surrounding me. Summer promises even more opportunities to continue my rejuvenation.

Now to the graphic....

I am attending NECC this summer...mostly because it's so close, but more IMPORTANTLY, I finally am treating myself to an education technology experience on a national level. I want to see it (and all the exciting people that go with it), taste it, smell it, hear it, touch it...just because I can. I can't wait...it couldn't have come at a better time for me. And I promise it will be fodder for some posts! (yes, I heard those groans from some of you.)

The graphic represents the winning button that will symbolize the experience...it's going to given away in limited quantities from what I understand and I plan on getting one. (BL--you might say I am obsessive about getting one..finally I am obsessive about something!)

More about it. The Creator (who has given CC license to the design so I can post it!)

363.7 Space Junk: Outta This World Pollution

Saw this on Posey Galore, a new visitor to my blog.

Part of me is totally fascinated by the picture. Part of me is sad because of what it shows.

On one hand, I feel better about the state of my work area, and even my dining room table. On the other hand, I feel guilty that I am as much of a slob in my world as we all appear to be in our world.

x

What is it? All the junk we (as in anyone who travels in space, sends things to space) have dumped in space! For the last 50+ years...since Sputnik. The photo originally came from the site European Space Agency (ESA). Please go to the site...there are several groups of photos that break down the "junk."

Some statistics from the explanation:

Since the launch of Sputnik on 4 October 1957, more than 4,600 launches
have placed some 6000 satellites into orbit. Currently about 800 satellites are
used operationally for science and other applications. Space debris comprise
the ever-increasing amount of inactive space hardware in orbit around the
Earth as well as fragments of spacecraft that have broken up, exploded or
otherwise become abandoned. The debris field comprises burnt-out launch
vehicle upper stages, dead or inactive spacecraft and other objects ranging
in size from as big as an automobile to microscopic dust.

Some books I found on the subject of space debris in our collection

Junk in space. Maurer, Richard. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, c1989
Pollution in space. Asimov, Isaac. G. Stevens Pub, 1995.
Space garbage. Asimov, Isaac. Dell, 1991, c1989.
Space junk. Asimov, Isaac. Gareth Stevens Pub, c2006.
Space junk : pollution beyond the earth. Donnelly, Judy. Morrow Junior Books, c1990.

Some more online info
Space Junk
ABC Science & Society Space Junk presentation including an animation (large file!)
BBC Science & Nature Space Junk See full animation (106K)
National Geographic Space Junk Cleanup Needed
Podcast: Space Junk

Ok, now to find the box of trash bags and the file boxes I have bought over the last several months!

770.79 Photography Exhibition 2. 0 Version

I have neglected some of my fun spots I like to visit every once and awhile and so I did some catching up and came across a photography competition over at jokaydia.com. Ok, I hear you...no big deal...contests are all over the place...

This one was (it's already over--I told you I was behind!) run by Jo Kay of Wollongong, Australia, the creator of Jokaydia Island in Second Life. You could choose your shot....but it had to be made ON Jokaydia Island. Yup, you had to go into the virtual world and shoot a favorite scene.

Jokaydia Sunrise
Uploaded to flickr on March 25, 2008by teachandlearn

Of the photos with Creative Commons rights, this is one of the several that I like. There are some other photos, but their rights are reserved so I could not post them here.

The photos are on display at a new Gallery that is open on Jokaydia Island. Did I see them there? Well, no, for couple of reasons...I couldn't remember or at the moment find my sign on info...and since I really have not been in Second Life since about November, I wasn't sure I'd be able to maneuver around well enough to find the gallery this evening. (Remember, I walk under buildings and have to practice sitting)

So I did the next best thing and went to Flickr where participants were encouraged to post their photos and tag them with jokaydiaphotocomp08. so you can enjoy their creative results there. Which will be your only alternative anyway if you are looking at this in district.

Anyway, if you want to visit the virtual world, you can go to Second Life, join and then transport to Jokaydia Island and visit the gallery. I will, too...one of these days!