NetHappenings Newsletter

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NHN: 1/11/05 NETHAPPENINGS NEWSLETTER #10

NEW THIS WEEK for
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NetHappenings.html
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Dear Readers,

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2005 !!

Welcome to the Net Happenings Newsletter, launched by the Educational CyberPlayGround, this newsletter features a new format with the emphasis on both news and resources. Karen Ellis* Founder of the Educational
CyberPlayGround invites others to help sponsor the Net Happenings Newsletter which is published to all members of the NetHappenings Mailing List. Written by Classroom Teacher Alan Haskvitz

1997 National Teacher's Hall of Fame
All USA Today First Team Teacher
1994 National Middle Level Teacher of the Year (NCSS)
[w] https://edu-cyberpg.com/Ringleaders/al.html
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IN THIS ISSUE
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Factoids

What's New

Science Sites

Sites you never knew existed

In the News

Free software sites

Interesting Sites


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FACTOIDS
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"59 percent of internet users in the United States use IM--and 29 percent reportedly send more instant messages than eMail."
"80-90% of IT investments fail to meet their performance objectives"
"Almost two-thirds of new teachers are younger than 27-years-old and 42 percent have just finished college and have never taught. "

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WHAT'S NEW FOR EDUCATORS
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Currently under development for special-needs students is a free online tool to help find and compare appropriate reading software programs.
<http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5390>

You gotta see this:
This site you're checks the readability of a website for special needs
students. It is very complicated, but if you teach special education
students it could provide a very worthwhile look at ways to improve Internet assignments. Don't think this is a quick look, it requires reading. In other words, this site is not for the weak of will.
http://wave.webaim.org

Readability Tools and Resources
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Literacy/readability.asp

Educational Weblogs
http://anvil.gsu.edu/NECC2004/stories/storyReader$16

C-Span summer internship, sort of.
"Are you a middle or high school teacher or media specialist? Do you teach with C-SPAN in your classroom? If the answers are "yes," then you are eligible for C-SPAN's summer teacher fellowship in which you live in Washington, DC for 4-weeks (includes $2,000 for housing costs) receive a $3,500 stipend, receive $500 worth of videotapes from the C-SPAN Archive, and work behind-the-scenes with the C-SPAN in the Classroom team.The applications must be received by Tuesday, March 15, 2004
http://www.c-span.org/classroom/fellowship2005.asp.
Download application:
<http://www.c-span.org/classroom/fellowship04/brochure.pdf>

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SCIENCE SITES
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Marine Science
The Cousteau Society and Carnival Corporation have reached an agreement in principle to restore the Calypso, the legendary research and expedition vessel of Captain Jacques Yves Cousteau. Once restored, Calypso will become an exhibit and a center for science and the environment.
<http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=5603>

Science Activities
Activities-To-Go is a place for all science teachers to share innovative,
successful teaching strategies and activities to help students learn the
concepts and processes of the life sciences. You may UPLOAD an activity, or do a search by Keyword, Grade Level, Subject and Special Categories, or National Science Education Standards (NSES). This is just getting started, but keep it in mind as it grows.
<http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/ATG>

Videos, quizzes, and untold activities on and about science. Worth a gander.
<http://www.firstscience.com/site/home.asp>

Careers in Science
Designed for middle schoolers, but useful at other levels, this site has a wide variety of exceptionally useful data from career finders to true
stories, to salaries for the health and medical profession.
<http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm>

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SITES YOU NEVER NEW EXISTED
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A site that produces a summary of CPAN
<http://search.cpan.org/~tgrose/HTML-Summary-0.017/>

A site that has the ability to identify key conceptual units within a
document, such as the names of people, places, companies, etc.
<http://www.alias-i.com/lingpipe/index.html>

A site that enables you to detect and track different themes in a news feed.
<http://www.nist.gov/speech/tests/tdt/> for further detail)

A site that works on disambiguation: the ability to differentiate the
particular senses. This takes a while to get a grasp of, but is fun for
those who enjoy language. Type in a word and watch this site do its stuff.
<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Word+sense+disambiguation>

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IN THE NEWS 2005
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Microsoft offers free virus-removal tools
http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/06/micro010605.html
Microsoft said Jan. 6 that consumers can download the new security program from the company's web site, and that updated versions will be offered automatically and free of charge each month. The program will be available starting Jan. 11. The virus-removal program will not prevent computer infections and was never intended to replace the need for traditional antivirus software. Microsoft said it might charge consumers for future versions of the technology.The free version of Microsoft's new spyware-removal software will expire July 31, and pricing for future versions is still undecided. Rival anti-spyware tools, such as Lavasoft Inc.'s popular Ad-Aware product, offer similar functions to Microsoft's, and many are free.
Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Beta Download
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http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=321CD7A2-6A57-4C57-A8BD-DBF62EDA9671&displaylang=en
The President asked for permission to have the Chairmen of the
Appropriations Committee and his/her assistants to be able to check the tax
records of anyone it chooses in the proposed new budget he sent to Congress. Fortunately, smart people actually read the huge budget and are trying to stop this ploy.The $388 billion 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act is filled with pork, but technology education suffers. Contact your elected federal official and voice your opinion.
http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=5610
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

IE flaw threat hits the roof
<http://news.com.com/IE+flaw+threat+hits+the+roof/2100-1002_3-5517457.html>
Three unpatched flaws in Internet Explorer now pose a higher danger, a
security company warned, after code to exploit one of the issues was
published to the Internet.

George Wackenhut Dies; Security Pioneer
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54899-2005Jan6.html>
George R. Wackenhut, the founder of a global security company that has
guarded U.S. embassies, nuclear power plants and the trans-Alaska oil
pipeline as well as neighborhood malls and countless private homes,
died Dec. 31 of a heart ailment in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 85.

Broader Broadband
<http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/jan05/0105nbro.html>
Yet another flavor of Wi-Fi is coming, and it will be the fastest one yet.
The planned 802.11n standard aims to have a top speed of 540 Mb/s. That's faster than even the new USB 2.0 wired standard.

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YEA, FREE SOFTWARE
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A free do everything site for teachers.

LINUX FAQ
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/LINUX.html

This free program allows educators to post grades, homework assignments, send messages to students and parents, generate progress reports, and more from Grade Connect for free. It's completely free to use with ads. Schools can probably ask to have a version without the ads.
<http://www.gradeconnect.com/current/>
<http://www.gradeconnect.com/documentation/manual.pdf.>

A listing of free software sites
http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/software.html

Free software sites and more
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Internet/INTERESTINGSITES/Interesting_Web_Sites.html#free

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INTERESTING SITES
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Need a Computer?
http://www.technologyforhumanity.org/computer.html

and Donating Computer Stuff
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/Computers_for_Learning_pro.html

What is a Robots Txt File?
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/robotstxt.shtml

A tutorial site that covers a variety of software topics.
4,410 Free Tutorials in 410 categories and online discussions, and so much more. If you are interested in going beyond the mouse this is a great place to get help.
http://www.tutorialized.com/

Applications and Tutorials
ORIENTATION, PROGRAMMING, Mac, ASP, COLD FUSION, (D)HTML & CCS, JAVASCRIPT,
PERL, CGI, PHP, SQL, VB, XML
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/apps.html

What's happening by day and month around the world.
This site has so much it is nearly impossible to find anything specific in a hurry. However, if you are a teacher looking for some culturally tie-ins for lessons or excuses to take a day off this is the place.
http://www.datedex.com/results.asp

Free Clip Art, Fonts and Sounds Galore
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Arts/earlsande.html

Free Music Clip Art, Sheet Music
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Music/m_sites.html

Free Virus, Hoax, and Legends Info
https://edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/securityvirus.html



Thanks for reading,

Al
< https://edu-cyberpg.com/Ringleaders/al.html >

TO SUBSCRIBE TO NETHAPPENINGS
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