Avoiding Internet Trolls by Avoiding Twitter

Mike Elgin suggests that Twitter is more open to trolling because of less ability to limit comments.

-DD

iPad, iPhone Security Threat

Jeremy Kirk warns that iPhone and iPad security can be compromised by connecting to an infected computer .

-DD

Educational Technology

Sean Junkins created a video clip of fifty quotes about education and technology .

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SEO Roundtable

Barry Schwartz maintains SEO Roundtable with text and video reports on trends in search engines such as Google and Bing.

-DD

Google Bolsters Browser Security

Zach Miners explains how the Google safe browsing service will scan Chrome, FireFox and Safari downloads for components which will add new programs or otherwise alter your computer as a virus might. Users will get a warning that the download has been blocked from loading by the browser. Users may still open the file in their download folder.

-DD

Websites for Educators

Michael Gorman shares Websites which every educator should bookmark. These include the Open Library with its public domain books, and YourNextRead.com with its guidance for finding books which match a title you suggest. This is fourth in Gorman's continuing series on useful websites; some others in this series can be seen here:

1. Class tools such as Educanon.
2. Administrative tools such as a timer (great for timing speeches) and Remind, software for sending blasts of text messages.
3. Reading resources such as The International Children's Library.
4. Educator resources such as the National Digital Archive Vault and flashcard generators.
5. Educator tools such as PaperRater, which appears to be a Grammarly derivative.

-DD

 

Professional Development Tips

Ellen Ullman shares tips for developing professional development training to educators (and others). She provides valuable dos and don'ts for those creating a quality learning experience.

-DD

Google Tips

Business Insider lists some nifty Google tips and Easter Eggs.

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Copyright Issues Flowchart

Nancy Sims recently evaluated a flowchart used to recommend how to deal with copyright and copyright issues.

-DD

 

Source: Langwitches.org

TCP/IP and RLNC

Patrick Nelson predicts that the Web's underlying TCP/IP protocol shall be replaced by Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) which uses algorithms to correct errors at a message's receiving end. This is supposed to be a much faster technology for distributing video feeds, etc.

-DD

Energy Distribution Using Radio Waves

Grant Gross reports on research into using radio waves to distribute energy for running small devices.

-DD

Responses of an Intelligent Brain

Michael Cooney reports that the U.S. Defense Department is striving to identify biologic markers of extraordinary intelligence . They are looking for means of discerning, using brain waves or some some other observable method, a way of quickly determining ability.

-DD

Manipulated Relationships

Mike Elgan provides background on the manipulation of personal relationships which can occur when social networking companies play mind games with their customers.

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Intellectual Property

John Villasenor makes a plea for Intellectual Property law to be an element of university curricula. If students are going to be taught to develop new innovations, they should also be taught how to benefit from these new technologies and artistic works.

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Bing Gains Improved Natural Language Search

Zach Minors reports that Bing is now able to interpret chatty (natrual language) queries . If a user asks who was the first president of the United States, an image of George Washington and a brief biography appears.

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Study Habits of Online Students

Devon Haynie promotes some tips on how to be an excellent online student .

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Academic Book Publishing

Rachel Toor lists the things you should know before publishing a book .

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Communication Fails

Dianna Booher notes three common communication errors which leaders often make. She provides an example of each type of inconsistent or contradictory message in a short, three minute blog post.

-DD

Vision-Enhancing Computer Displays

Sharon Gaudin notes research currently underway toward creating vision correcting displays which may allow those with eyeglasses to view their computer monitor or cell phone display and view the tiny details without their eyeglasses. If the vision profiles can be easily programmed and the equipment becomes mass produced, then this could be a valuable technology for assisting those with blurred vision.

-DD

 

FingerReader

MIT Media Lab has developed a prototype FingerReader device which reads aloud from the text of printed books. This should be a boon to the visually impaired.

-DD

Critique Of The Film "Ivory Tower"

William Deresiewicz provides a critique of the film Ivory Tower in a lengthy article in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

-DD

Telecommuting Tools

Christopher Null provides a list of ten tools for productive telecommuting .

-DD

Academic Degree Completion

Katherine Mangan explores in a Chronical of Higher Education article how a percentage of students come close to graduation and then drop out. According to a report issued by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, many of these students might be able to complete a degree if targeted effort was applied to help these students.

Comments on Mangan's article indicate that the plight of the "almost graduated" has been known for some time, but the focus of government funding on traditional students has kept the focus away from helping adult learners complete their degree. The school where I am employed has made adult students a priority, and the staff and faculty make every effort to help students complete their degree.

-DD

Data Based Visual Web Sites

Brad Chacos shares ten visually stunning sites derived from data. Often this data is collected in real time.

-DD

Comfort In An Academic Environment

The Chronicle of Higher Education has developed a chart that shows the increasing percentage of college funds directed to student services and creature comforts on campus.

-DD

USB Drives As Threat Vectors

Dan Goodwin warns of the "Bad USB " threat. I predict that the ability to reprogram USB drives shall result in a massive market for hardened USB drives.

-DD

Google Genetic Baseline Study

Sharon Gaudin reports on Google's [health] baseline study , which endeavors to discover the traits of healthy people.

-DD

 

Russian Identity Thieves

Nichole Perlroth and David Gelles report in the New York Times that a Russan gang has stolen over a billion username and password combinations , placing everyone at risk of identity theft. The experts recommend frequently changing passwords to avoid such threats.

-DD

Games In Education

Anastasia Salter shares tools for gaming in education.

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Scammers Want to Wreck your Business and Vacation Travel

Michael Cooney warns that scammers want to wreck your business, vacation travel . Tips for safe computing are provided.

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Creating Syllabi

Natalie Houston shares ideas for creating syllabi .

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US ISPs Are Imposing Data Caps

John Gross quotes the GAO as saying that "Majority of large ISPs now using monthly data caps ."   Glenn Fleishmann in February mused about whether broadband data caps are inevitable, noting that most of the stimulus for caps comes from those who distribute movies over the Internet and who wish to minimize the services of firms such as Netflix.

-DD

Evaluations of MOOCs

Eleni Zazani has abstracted the contents of several reports on MOOCs on her blog.

-DD

Finding a Mentor

leonard Cassuto provides tips on finding a good academic advisor or mentor .

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Indix

Mark Gibbs explores a new commercial database of consumer products . Note that access to this commercial product requires a hefty subscription fee.

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Mozilla Explores New Products

Serdar Yegulalp from InfoWorld reports on new Mozilla projects . Some of these are software tools for improving Mozilla's FireFox Web browser, and others are useful tools for exploring the Web.

-DD

TOXNET

The National Library of Medicine maintains a database relating to the medical hazards of toxic chemical .

-DD