Links of the week – non-blog edition
For the past three weeks my ‘links of the week’ posts have been focusing on recommending some of the fantastic blogs that I read. Because I’ve been focusing solely on blogs, other links are starting to back up in my recommendation file. So this week I’m taking a blog-recommending break and highlight some of the most interesting non-blog links I’ve come across recently.
1. Kinesis – I’ve written before about how amazing I think Microsoft’s Kinect is. Kinesis is a forum devoted to Kinect hacking community. As of this post, Kinesis is still in Beta, but you can apply for early access. Once you join the Kinesis community you can download open-source software that allows you to practice coding for a Kinect in a simulated environment – a great way for people interested in Kinect coding to get started.
2. The 33 Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have – Lists like this abound on the internet and most of them aren’t very good. This list, however, not only lists important digital skills for teachers, but also provides a number of useful links for developing these skills. The plethora of content in this story sets it aside from similar internet lists.
3. Omeka – Many people reading this probably already know about Omeka. For those that don’t know, Omeka is an open-source web publishing platform for people wanting to create and share collections of data. I’m going to try installing Omeka and seeing how it works. I’ll blog about my experience with it in the coming weeks.
4. Neatline – Neatline is a series of add-on tools for Omeka that allow users to tell stories with maps and timelines. Once I get Omeka up and running, I’ll try my hand at Neatline and blog about it.
5. Researchers of Tomorrow – This report looks at the research behaviour of Generation Y doctoral students. The study finds that Gen Y researchers rely more heavily on secondary sources than their predecessors and are confused by issues surrounding copyrights and open access. The study highlights how important training in digital skills is for doctoral students in contemporary society.
Well that wraps up another weekly link post. This promises to be another busy week here on ivrytwr. I’m busy planning for my elementary school summer camp called “Digital Adventure” that will teach ESL students age 7-12 basic digital literacy skills. I’ll write about my lesson plans and how I hope to teach young students computer skills that many adults have difficulty with.
As always I welcome comments. If you have anything to add, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly. Have a fantastic week.
