Okay…this is it
I went out and bought my own domain and hosting.
It is http://stephenrahn.com
My new blog will be at:
http://stephenrahn.com/blog (feed available)
I will also be putting all of my photos at:
http://stephenrahn.com/photos
I have also added a Wiki at:
http://stephenrahn.com/wiki
Finally, I created a PhP bulleting board at:
http://stephenrahn.com/forum
Please help me with your feedback on these new projects!
Thanks,
Stephen
Cisco Reboots Gulf Coast Schools
Outstanding news for our unfortunate teachers and students.
On October 25, Chambers announced Cisco’s 21st Century School Education Initiative, or the 21S Initiative, a $40 million program that will help build state-of-the-art schools in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The company and its top executives committed $20 million in cash. Cisco is contributing another $20 million in goods and services. The first $20 million will go to phase one, the Mississippi Education Initiative; the second half will be allocated to schools in other parts of the Gulf Coast region later.
Cisco’s initiative will work on multiple fronts. The company will give $500,000 to seven school districts that already have some digital education efforts, to use as they see fit. It also will completely equip three storm-damaged schools so students can take advantage of the Internet. For instance, the company will install wireless broadband, with Internet voice, video, and data capabilities. Cisco will help develop online curricula for several classes (some will be taught entirely online). And it will create networks to link together students, teachers, parents, and administrators. The first school that will be wired is the Rowan Elementary School in Hattiesburg, Miss.
San Francisco about to request WiFi proposals
This will be well worth following!
San Francisco officials on Tuesday said they will issue a formal request for proposals for a citywide Wi-Fi network, forgoing the chance to enter into direct negotiations with any of the 26 companies that have expressed interest in building the wireless system.
San Francisco is bidding to become one of the leaders in affordable municipal Wi-Fi, with its proposed citywide deployment. Mayor Gavin Newsom made the initiative a priority in August, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Philadelphia, which is expected to create the first big-city municipal wireless system next year.
While most observers expected the city to issue a proposal request, city officials had held out the possibility that the city could enter into direct negotiations with any of the vendors, including Google and MetroFi, which both offered to construct a network for free.
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21st Century Collaborative Blog
Here is an outstanding blog written by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, who is a doctoral student and adjunct instructor of educational technology at the College of William and Mary.
This blog will be used to explore, exchange, and create ideas around 21st century collaborative learning and virtual learning communities and how these communities can be used to help teachers prepare their students for success in the 21st century.
Convert WMA files to MP3s
A lot of people have asked me about this, so I thought I’d share this site.
WiMax is getting closer!
This is going to change the way we do wireless.
WiMax wireless broadband technology is gaining momentum worldwide with the announcement by Intel that carriers across the globe are deploying, or will soon be rolling out, fixed WiMax networks using the company’s technology.
WiMax, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, creates hotspots that stretch dozens of miles, reaching much farther than typical Wi-Fi networks, and allow users to surf the Web wirelessly at speeds faster than today’s connections via a DSL or cable modem.
Firefox gains on IE
Good news!!
More than one out of 10 surfers use Firefox as a browser, according to a study by web analytics firm OneStat.com. Although Mozilla-based browsers have a total global usage share of 11.51 percent – an increase of 2.82 per cent since April 2005 – Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still dominates the global browser market with a global share of 85.45 per cent. Its share has slipped 1.18 per cent from the end of April.
Teacher gleans federal kudos for bookless classroom
This is outstanding!! From Utah:
Jerry Mangus’ textbook-less teaching has dazzled the U.S. Department of Education.Mangus, who teaches fifth- and sixth-grade math at Plymouth Elementary, uses only computers to teach fractions and other numerical concepts to kids. He’s built computer labs in his school, each of his students has his or her own machine, and their test scores have leaped.
For his efforts, the federal education department on Wednesday bestowed Mangus with its No Child Left Behind Act American Star of Teaching Award. The award, for which the department received some 2,000 applicants, goes to one teacher in every state and Washington, D.C.
“He’s someone who has gone far and above,” said Carolyn Snowbarger, director of the department’s Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, who presented the award.
Running Excel from a Server
Here’s a preview of a new feature of Excel 12.
Excel Services is brand new server technology that will ship with Office 12. Excel Services supports loading, calculating, and rendering Excel spreadsheets on servers. There are two primary interfaces: a web-based UI that lets you view spreadsheets in the browser, and a web services interface for programmatic access.
Cool Cosmos!
Science teachers should love this one!
Communicating the world of infrared astronomy to the public is the main topic of the “Cool Cosmosâ€? portal but certainly not its only goal. In the past few years the “Cool Cosmosâ€? team has created a wide variety of educational products that explain the infrared as well as the multi-wavelength universe. We’ve produced a suite of award-winning websites (coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu) that speak to audiences as varied as kindergarteners to amateur astronomers. We’ve also filmed short videos about astronomy and infrared light and created posters and brochures that have become favorites with NASA education specialists as well as classroom teachers.
The “Cool Cosmos� portal is involving students in science with multi-disciplinary educational materials produced with the goal of engaging the young minds of future generations of scientists. The continuous positive response of the public has been an absolute motivation to create new and innovative methods to reach them. The “Cool Cosmos� team is a dynamic group that has made its vocation to revive the interest, excite the dreams and hopefully answer some of the questions to satiate the public thirst for knowledge of Space.
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Another Blogging Service to try
Okay, I’ve used TypePad and Blogger, and now I’m up to WordPress. I’m very excited about this one, so we’ll see how it goes.
Stay tuned for more!
