Watershed http://blog.larkin.net.au Thoughts on teaching, technology, learning and life in an era of change. Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:59:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Teachtechhttp://feedburner.google.com Apple iTunes app store disappoints http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/03/07/apple-itunes-app-store-disappoints/ http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/03/07/apple-itunes-app-store-disappoints/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:59:56 +0000 John Larkin http://blog.larkin.net.au/?p=1059 The Apple iTunes Store disappoints. In particular the app store. As many are aware the quality of many of the apps leaves a lot to be desired. For a company that prides itself on design and the application of sound human computer interface design principles one wonders how some of the apps pass the approval test in the first place.

Click on image to view larger image.

Yet, the thing that gets my gripe today is the current crop of top free apps. As of today the top free app in the Australian iTunes Store is Knife Dancing. I will not provide a link to their site. Given the frequent occurrence of knife related crime in our country, including our schools, I find the approval of this app disturbing. It is rated 9+ for violence in the app store. It is suitable for users over the age of 9. That is reassuring (sarcasm).

Sitting at #9 is a sex positions app. Sitting at #7 is a Lie Detector Test for “sexy fun dating”. Sitting at #4 is an Imbecile Test. Further along at #16 is another sex positions app. This is all so pathetic. Lowest common denominator entertainment/infotainment. Call it what you will. Is the general public that ignorant or stupid? What hope can one have for the human race?

Given that students are increasingly being issued with or receiving iPod Touches and iPhones for educational use is this what society really wants them to see when they initially explore the app store?

I feel that the proliferation of girlie apps, fart apps and the like in the iTunes app store is rather puerile. Lift your game Apple.

Of course education and sensible parenting has a role to play here. The Internet and now the app store on iTunes are like a “newsagency” store that sells all types of publications, newspapers and magazines. Once in the store we head for the stands with the magazines and publications that interest us and steer clear of those that either do not interest us or perhaps even offend. A similar approach can be applied to the Internet and app store. Ignore the content that is of no use to you. This is learnt through the application of practical common sense and wisdom.

I hope Apple gains some common sense and looks harder at the quality and the integrity of the apps that are approved for release.

]]> http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/03/07/apple-itunes-app-store-disappoints/feed/ 0 Neat Safari browser tip http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/neat-safari-browser-tip/ http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/neat-safari-browser-tip/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:25:47 +0000 John Larkin http://blog.larkin.net.au/?p=1056 Every now and then you are working on your computer. You type this and that. You right click here. Your right click there. Anyway, whilst composing my previous post regarding aerial archaeology I discovered a neat little Safari browser trick quite by accident.

I control clicked on the title bar of the Safari browser and it listed the parent directories for the currently viewed web page. This can be useful when thoroughly exploring sites and saves one from deleting sub-directories one by one in the browser address bar. I tried the same trick using Firefox yet the same result was not achieved.

]]> http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/neat-safari-browser-tip/feed/ 3 Aerial archaeology http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/aerial-archaeology/ http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/aerial-archaeology/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:50:23 +0000 John Larkin http://blog.larkin.net.au/?p=1050 One of the topics covered during the Preliminary Ancient History course in Year 11 is the work of the archaeologist. A subset of that is aerial archaeology. The combination of flight and photography has provided archaeologists and historians with a valuable tool. How valuable?

Aerial photography allows the archaeologist to view entire sites and also to recognise features that may not be clearly visible at ground level. Soil marks, crop marks and shadow marks are visible via the technique. Buried structures and slight, yet regular, undulations in the land can be revealed. As a result structures that have been ‘lost’ or forgotten over time reveal themselves to the researcher.

Aerial archaeology
Remote Sensing and Archaeology Project
Aerial photo analysis and survey – GIS and Remote Sensing for Archaeology: Burgundy, France
UK Aerial Archaeology
Classics and Ancient History – Aerial archaeology in Jordan Project - Archive Page – Flickr Sets
Aerial Archaeology Flickr Group
WIkipedia – Aerial Archaeology
Wikimedia Commons – Aerial Archaeology Photography Category

Soil marks
Learning Archaeology: Pre-Ex: Aerial Photography: Parch Marks and Soil Marks

Crop Marks
Learning Archaeology: Pre-Ex: Aerial Photography: Crop Marks

Photograph acknowledgement. The picture above is ©Copyright Civertan Grafikai Stúdió (Civertan Bt.), 1997-2006.; http://www.civertan.hu/. It is released under a Creative Commons license (Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 and older).

Additional archaeology links can be found on this page on my main site.

]]> http://blog.larkin.net.au/2010/02/28/aerial-archaeology/feed/ 1 Links for 2009-11-19 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-11-19Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PSThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-11-19<ul> <li><a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/">Information Is Beautiful | Ideas, issues, concepts, subjects - visualized!</a><br/> AN incredible site with rich examples of data visualisation.</li> <li><a href="http://www.cats-pyjamas.net/2008/08/7-habits-of-highly-effective-online-discussion-participants/">7 Habits of Highly Effective Online Discussion Participants - Cat's Pyjamas</a><br/> Excellent article by Joyce Seitzinger on the effective use of Discussion Forums.</li> </ul>Links for 2009-10-06 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-10-06Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-10-06<ul> <li><a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/06/04/the-best-ways-to-make-comic-strips-online/">The Best Ways To Make Comic Strips Online | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...</a><br/> An excellent set of resources and links relating to the educational use of Comics in teaching and learning.</li> <li><a href="http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/">Clipart ETC Homepage</a><br/> An excellent collection of clip art available for use by educators. Nicely categorised.</li> <li><a href="http://www.pics4learning.com/">Pics4Learning | Free photos for education</a><br/> An excellent collection of photographs available for use by educators. Nicely categorised.</li> <li><a href="http://tell.fll.purdue.edu/JapanProj//FLClipart/">Clip Art Collection for FL instruction</a><br/> An excellent collection of clip art available for use by educators. Nicely categorised. The clip art includes black and white illustrations that convey concepts relating to verbs and adjectives. Excellent for teachers of a second language.</li> <li><a href="http://hcmc.uvic.ca/clipart/">UVic's Language Teaching Clipart Library</a><br/> This library consists of about 3000 images which the creators hope will be useful in the teaching of basic vocabulary in a variety of languages. The characters and objects depicted are as culturally neutral as they could make them.</li> <li><a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/10/11/the-best-online-sources-for-images/">The Best Online Sources For Images | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...</a><br/> Larry has yet again compiled a brilliant set of resources for teachers.</li> <li><a href="http://plasq.com/comiclife">plasq.com - Comic Life - Version 1.5</a><br/> Comic Life is one of the most exciting software applications released in recent years. It allows anyone to express themselves in a manner that is simply fun and memorable. People, animals and inanimate objects can be given their own words and thoughts. Great for storytelling for people of all ages.</li> <li><a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/student_material.asp?id=21">ReadWriteThink: Student Materials: Comic Creator</a><br/> A collection of ReadWriteThink lessons that use Comic Creator. The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts. The organizers focus on the key elements of comic strips by allowing students to choose backgrounds, characters, and props, as well as to compose related dialogue.</li> <li><a href="http://comicsintheclassroom.net/">COMICS IN THE CLASSROOM: a comic site for teachers, parents and librarians</a><br/> A comic site for teachers, parents and librarians. Lessons, resources and ideas.</li> <li><a href="http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/631">Comics in the classroom</a><br/> A recent explosion of academic interest in comic books and graphic novels has stirred the creation of comics curricula nationwide. Several colleges and universities are now offering courses in comics literature, and high school teachers are exploring graphic novels as a new way to stimulate young readers’ interest in literature.</li> </ul>Links for 2009-05-26 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-05-26Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 PDThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2009-05-26<ul> <li><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_381812.html">Ancient Sloth Fossil</a><br/> Interesting news report regrading sloth fossil</li> <li><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_381778.html">Online mags reach for future</a><br/> Interesting article about online</li> </ul>Links for 2008-12-09 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-12-09Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PSThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-12-09<ul> <li><a href="http://beyond-school.org/2008/04/24/on-the-uses-and-abuses-of-twitter-or-digital-gymnastics/">On the Uses and 'Abuses' of Twitter | Beyond School</a><br/> Clay writes on the use of Twitter. Informative and useful.</li> <li><a href="http://www.deontee.com/47-top-twitter-sites-services-software-and-tips/">47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deont&eacute;e.com</a><br/> A great list of Twitter related tools.</li> </ul>Links for 2008-11-02 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-11-02Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:00:00 PSThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-11-02<ul> <li><a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2008/10/29/creative-in-box">Being creative inside the box&hellip;</a><br/> Alan Levine generates some creativity within the square. Why think outside the box when you can think just as well within?</li> <li><a href="http://eduspaces.net/daviddmuir/weblog/492603.html">David Muir :: Blog :: Fun on Friday #7: Maths, Grammar and YouTube</a><br/> David Muir shares an interesting piece of mathematical reasoning and the importance of the comma via a little cinematic history.</li> <li><a href="http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog//2008/10/what-to-say-the-next-time-someone-asks-why-blogging-is-important.html">The Bamboo Project Blog: What to Say the Next Time Someone Asks Why They Should Blog</a><br/> Michele Martin blogs an excellent item on why we should blog with links to useful material from Seth Godin</li> <li><a href="http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog//2008/10/what-im-learning-about-commenting-and-participation-from-the-work-literacy-course.html?cid=137355349">The Bamboo Project Blog: Negative Online Behavior is a Product of Culture, Not Your Social Media Tools: What I'm Learning from the Work Literacy Course</a><br/> Michele illustrated the quality of the discussions within the edublogosphere and that inappropriate remarks are a rare entity indeed. Michele points out how social media has seemingly brought out the best in educators.</li> <li><a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/mourning-old-media-mourning-old-media-teachers">Weblogg-ed &raquo; Mourning Old Media, Mourning Old Media Teachers</a><br/> Will Richardson has written a nostalgic piece on print media, journalism and the relentless march of new media. He sees that educators have a role to play in preparing students for the world of new media.</li> <li><a href="http://adifference.blogspot.com/2008/10/when-social-bookmarking-any-tool-goes.html">A Difference: When Social Bookmarking (Any Tool) Goes Bad ...</a><br/> Darren discusses the idea that students rarely act inappropriately when working with social media tools online in an education setting.</li> <li><a href="http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/skills/thinkmaps.html">Skills Continuum ~ Graphic Organisers</a><br/> A chart that sets out appropriate visual tools for a variety of thinking skills.</li> </ul>Links for 2008-11-01 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-11-01Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 PDThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-11-01<ul> <li><a href="http://mguhlin.blogspot.com/2008/10/diigo-web-for-education-from.html">Diigo the Web for Education - From TeleGatherer to TelePlanter with Diigo</a><br/> An excellent and most informative post about Diigo. This is a great starting point for any educator starting out with social bookmarking and Diigo.</li> </ul>Links for 2008-10-26 [del.icio.us]http://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-10-26Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDThttp://del.icio.us/John_Larkin#2008-10-26<ul> <li><a href="http://otterman.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/ipod-for-keynote-pdf-and-text">iPod for Keynote, pdf and text &laquo; Otterman speaks&hellip;</a><br/> Siva sets out some solutions for reviewing text and pdf files on an iPod</li> <li><a href="http://otterman.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/what-undergraduates-are-really-asking">What undergraduates are REALLY asking &laquo; Otterman speaks&hellip;</a><br/> A witty take on the world of undergraduates and their lecturers.</li> <li><a href="http://dakinane.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/ulearn08-reflections">Ulearn08 - reflections &laquo; Turning the Supertanker</a><br/> David reflects on Ulearn08 and illustrates that participants were all members of the same congregation ~ all were converts. he concludes that next year none should attend and that administrators and those that need their eyes opened should attend.</li> <li><a href="http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2008/10/twitter-as-community-of-practice-for.html">The Open Classroom: Twitter as a community of practice for educators ~ microblogging explored</a><br/> Jo McLeay has composed an excellent treatise on the value of microblogging for educators. The comments are valuable as well.</li> <li><a href="http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2008/10/list-of-twitter-resources-uncovered.html">The Open Classroom: List of twitter resources uncovered during recent bout with research</a><br/> Jo McLeay has compiled an informed list of Twitter articles and resources for teachers.</li> </ul>