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There's An App For That

Posted by Unknown Kamis, 28 Februari 2013 0 komentar

New Milford High School’s digital journalism class, which operates The Lance, the school’s online news source, is proud to announce the release of their very own free application. The application is available for Apple and Android operating systems.

The Lance reports on news in and around New Milford’s community on a weekly basis. The students of digital journalism partnered with Crescerance to develop an app that is easily accessible and touches on the features of the news site that students and residents of the community use the most. The application is an easy way for New Milford residents to keep up-to-date on the mumblings of the heart of the community -- it’s students.

Once users download this free app to a smart device, they can peruse the different features easily, with one-touch access to news, photos, the school calendar, The Lance’s blog and the complete athletics schedule. Users can also take a picture with their device that is watermarked with the news source’s logo, which can then be sent to The Lance for publication on the site with credits to the photographer.

Additionally, there is easy access to weekly polls, staff biographies, and users can even contact the staff with leads and comments. Perhaps the best feature of the app is the ability for users to add sports events to their calendars from the app, as well as receive push notifications about updates to the site or meeting/event cancellations.

This is a revolution in high school news reporting. With readers from as far away as Australia, the staff of The Lance is finding that the application brings them that much closer to their readers and followers, bringing 21st century news reporting to their doorsteps at the touch of a finger.

Please feel free to download our app and let us know what you think so that I can share your thoughts with our students.

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Block friends (and frenemies) from posting on your timeline

Posted by Unknown Senin, 25 Februari 2013 0 komentar

Don’t like the idea that any and all of your Facebook friends can post updates, links, photos, or just about anything else they want to your timeline?

Once you change the right setting, neither friends nor frenemies will see the “Write something…” window on your timeline anymore.
The downside, of course, is that you won’t get any more friendly greetings posted to your timeline—and yes, that means no more “happy birthday!” posts.
So, ready to slam the door on random timeline posts from your Facebook friends?

Facebook timeline who can post settings 300x111 Facebook tip: Block friends (and frenemies) from posting on your timeline

You can block friends from posting to your Facebook timeline by changing a key account setting.

Let’s get started…

Click the little gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, then select Account Settings.
Click “Timeline & Tagging in the left column, find the “Who can add things to my timeline” heading, then click the “Edit” link next to the “Who can post on your timeline?” setting.
Change the selector from “Friends” to “Only Me.”
Click the “Close” link. You’re done!

from http://heresthethingblog.com
Block friends (and frenemies) from posting on your timeline

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Improve Your Smartphone's Photo Quality With This Chip

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 24 Februari 2013 0 komentar

Smartphone cameras are great — except, usually, for zooming in, lighting and producing high-quality photos.
Researchers at MIT, however, have developed a processor chip that they say can instantly convert mobile device snapshots into professional-looking pictures.
The chip, pictured here, integrates into any mobile device or digital camera, and can be used to improve lighting, apply effects and kill low-light background noise. Plus, researchers say, it uses significantly less power than full computer processors or video cards.
One of the chip's tasks enhances low light photos. "Typically when taking pictures in a low-light situation, if we don’t use flash on the camera we get images that are pretty dark and noisy," Rahul Rithe, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, says in a press release. "And if we do use the flash we get bright images but with harsh lighting, and the ambience created by the natural lighting in the room is lost."

SEE ALSO: 5 Simple Tips to Digitize and Organize Old Photos

So, to avoid photos turning out like this, the chip takes two images — one using flash, one without it — and combines only the most desirable parts of both photos into a composite image.

It's unclear when the processor will come to market. The group presented their findings at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, which wrapped up today.
Does this sound like something you'd use?
Watch the video above to learn more, and read the official release here.
Improve Your Smartphone's Photo Quality With This Chip

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E-learning and Canned Instruction: A Contradiction in Terms?

Posted by Unknown Sabtu, 23 Februari 2013 0 komentar

The following is a guest post by Laura DeSena.

Not all online education programs are the same. Currently, most conversations on the topic on online education are oversimplified. Complexities must be addressed on this topic for a true critical assessment of online education to actually happen.

Image credit: http://teamblearningmodalities.blogspot.com/

The first significant distinction that must be considered for the conversation about online learning to be valid is that between synchronous and asynchronous instruction. In synchronous or live online instruction, students and teachers log on together in the virtual classroom. This is pure -- unfiltered by reflection -- interaction and in this live setting the social element of learning is not compromised.  The exceptional moment occurs in meaningful inspiration and encouragement in the timber and inflection of a voice, in the subtleties of harmony of thought process in synchronous time and the authentic epiphany.

The teacher cannot be factored out of the equation of learning. Teaching in the moment is quite different from the packaged/canned asynchronous learning environment -- particularly in terms of critical discourse. Canned/pre-packaged curriculum with asynchronous online education does not embrace reflection in the way that Web 2.0 tools – like collaborative sites such as discussion boards and online presentation tools – do and curation sites -- like Pinterest -- do. Synchronous fosters expression and non- pre-packaged asynchronous encourages reflection – both elements of the learning process are necessary ones. . Oversimplification of the definition of online learning is not helpful to anyone and it seems that online learning has a negative connotation that it does not deserve.

Laura DeSena is a Teacher of English at West Milford High School (NJ). She is also the Founder of Innovations in Online Education, Inc. You can check out her blog HERE.

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How to unlock your Android phone with your face

Posted by Unknown Jumat, 22 Februari 2013 0 komentar

Can’t be bothered to tap in a passcode to unlock your sleeping smartphone? Well, the latest Android phones have another way to verify that you’re you: by scanning your face.
The idea behind Face Unlock (a feature that requires Android version 4.0 or better, by the way) is simple: the phone’s camera scans your face for a few seconds, then compares it to one or more previously saved head shots.
If it gets a match, then presto! You’ll arrive at your phone’s home page, no PIN required.

Android Face Unlock setup 168x300 Android tip: How to unlock your Android phone with your face

You can unlock your phone with a glance once Face Unlock scans your face.

It’s a nifty trick, but it’s not quite foolproof.
Before setting up the feature on your own Android phone, you’ll be warned that Face Unlock isn’t nearly as secure as using a numeric passcode.
Indeed, there’s always the possibility of a false match if someone who looks “similar” to you sneaks a peek at your handset.
In other words, think twice before protecting your phone with Face Unlock if you’ve stored military secrets on it, or if your online banking password is saved in your Android browser.
So, ready to use your face to unlock your Android phone?
Here’s how…

Go to the Settings menu and tap Security, Screen Lock.*
Tap the Face Unlock option to see the litany of notes and caveats about the feature (including the assurance that your stored profile picture will be “kept private” on your handset). Ready to continue? Tap “Set it up.”
Next, you should see … well, yourself. Hold the phone until your face fits in the dotted outline; once the camera thinks it has a good shot of your face, it’ll snap a photo automatically. (For the best results, Google advises taking a Face Unlock photo indoors, where it’s not “too bright or too dim.”) Once you’ve made it to the “Face Captured” page, tap “Continue.”
You’ll also need a backup PIN or a security “pattern” to trace on the phone’s touchscreen, which you’ll be asked to set up once you’re done snapping photos of your face. The backup passcode will come in handy if Face Unlock can’t quite recognize you (which, as I’ve learned, happens on a fairly regular basis).
Now, time to test. Lock your phone, then press the “sleep/wake” button and hold the handset right in front of your face; the phone should unlock itself within seconds of “seeing” you.

*Note: These steps may vary depending on the make and model of your Android phone. I tested this tip on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running on Android version 4.2.2.

Bonus tip

Want to make Face Unlock a bit more secure? Here’s how…

Take multiple Face Unlock photos of yourself in different conditions—say, with your glasses on and off, or both outdoors and indoors—to give the phone a better chance of identifying you correctly. Just go back to the Settings menu, tap Security, then select “Improve face matching.”
Worried someone might try to unlock your phone with a still photo of you? You can set Face Unlock to unlock your phone only if it sees you blink. Just tap Settings, Security, then enable the “Liveness check” option.

http://heresthethingblog.com
How to unlock your Android phone with your face

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How to split the iPad keyboard in two

Posted by Unknown Kamis, 21 Februari 2013 0 komentar

How to split the iPad keyboard iPad tip: How to split the keyboard in two

Ever tried typing on your iPad’s keyboard with your thumbs while holding the iPad in your hands? Talk about awkward.
Well, there’s an easy way to make the iPad’s keyboard a lot more thumb-friendly: by splitting it in two.
A simple gesture is all it takes, provided you’ve got a key (no pun intended) setting enabled.
Here’s how…

Tap Settings, then tap General, scroll down the page a bit, and then tap Keyboard. Scroll down to the “Split Keyboard” setting and make sure it’s set to “On.”
Press the Home key, then pull up the iPad keyboard in any app you wish (such as, say, Safari).
Now, tap and hold the keyboard with two fingers—one on each side of the keyboard—and spread your fingertips apart. As you do, the keyboard will split in half.
Want to make the keyboard whole again? Just tap and hold each half of the keyboard with two fingers and push them back together.

Originally here

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With Students Lagging Globally in Science, the U.S. Looks to Inspire an Untapped Resource

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 20 Februari 2013 0 komentar

The following is a guest post by Westfield Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Paul Pineiro.

Underlying the lagging performance of U.S. students in global assessments in math and science is another troubling statistic: According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, fifteen-year-old girls in 65 countries generally outperformed boys worldwide, but in the United States, boys outperformed girls in quantitative studies. We are left scratching our heads and wondering why it’s only our female students that “can’t do science.”

Image credit: http://www.psmag.com/news/a-new-view-of-why-women-shun-science-careers-19392/

The fact is they can, but culturally, we may be dissuading them from doing so. Consider that even for those female students who do pursue college studies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) they are more likely to change majors than their male counterparts, despite relative success. "Women drop out of engineering programs with higher average grades than the men who stay in engineering programs," reported CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, Betty Shanahan, at last summer at U.S. News STEM Summit 2012. And of the women who do earn STEM degrees, the U.S Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration shows their typical career paths diverge substantially from men. “About 40 percent of men with STEM college degrees work in STEM jobs, whereas only 26 percent of women with STEM degrees work in STEM jobs” (August 2011).

While girls in most other nations thrive in science-related studies, there is a disconnect for them in the U.S. This drop-off of interest in STEM subjects among young female students is typically attributed to how our culture views women who demonstrate an interest or ability in the STEM fields. In subtle but impactful ways, our culture pushes away young women from STEM fields by often painting aspiring engineers as geeks with thick glasses and curious sense of fashion (see Amy in “The Big Bang Theory”). “One of the things that we can do to help disband that stereotype,” says executive director of technical research at AT&T Labs, Alicia Abella, in an interview with U.S. News and World Report, “is to really expose these young girls and young women to role models who are in the field to make them recognize that, in fact, you don't have to fit that stereotype.”

For this reason there is an all-call out to U.S. industry and educators at all levels to undo the stereotypes that could be costing the country some of its best and brightest future innovators. Young STEM-inclined females need role models, and to this end, “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” was established in 2009 to promote their connection with accomplished women in the STEM fields.

This year, “Introduce a girl to Engineering Day 2013” is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Sally Ride, physicist and first American woman in space. Here is a list that includes links to the accomplishments of Sally Ride and eleven other women and organizations with whom we should want young, STEM-inclined female students to be introduced. Introduce a Girl to these STEM Role Models:

Sally Ride, first American woman to fly in space
The Girl Scouts of America
Gigliola Staffilani, MIT Professor of Mathematics
Molly Hoppe, Aviation Engineer
Cora B. Marrett, deputy director of the National Science Foundation
Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider, Co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, 2009 "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
NASA
Smith College Engineering Students
The Women Researchers of AT&T Labs
Anna Park, Executive Director and Board Member at Great Minds in STEM
The Connect a Million Minds Initiative