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It's all about edUInsights, foresights and hindsights from the world of Microsoft (and other) technology in education.http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/atom.aspxTelligent Community 18.104.22.168162 (Build: 188.8.131.52162)2008-05-13T01:14:53ZTools for Schoolshttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2011/12/06/tools-for-schools.aspx2011-12-06T17:02:46Z2011-12-06T17:02:46Z
One of the inherent issues in the age of Cloud is one of Discoverability – knowing how to search for and find all the great services and resources that exist.  When it comes to Educationally relevant resources, Microsoft offers over 100 FREE tools, eBooks, applications and websites, many of which you've likely never seen or explored.

Our Partners in Learning team has compiled an exhaustive list of these tools using a convenient Azure application called TeachTec Tools for Schools with filtering options for school subject areas and audience, as well as capability to bookmark, copy and share links for easy socialization.

A couple of my favorites:

12 free eBooks labeled as "Educator Guides" – how to use technology in the classroom and in your curriculum

PhotoSynth – a free digital photo tool that allows you to "stitch" your panoramic pictures into 3D space and even geolocate in Bing Maps

Worldwide Telescope – a free web or Windows client to explore the solar system, night sky or planetary objects in amazing detail

Take a few minutes and surprise yourself with the breadth and depth of Microsoft's resources for classroom creativity and exploration.  Enjoy!

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxDid you know about Office Web Apps (for Free) and how they can be used in the classroom?http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2011/06/29/did-you-know-about-office-web-apps-for-free-and-how-they-can-be-used-in-the-classroom.aspx2011-06-29T14:38:39Z2011-06-29T14:38:39Z
I've been attending the annual ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in Philadelphia this week, spending a majority of my time in the Microsoft booth.  Far and away the most frequent question I get – either directly or as a follow on to my introduction to the topic is, "What is/are the Office Web Apps?" After a brief explanation and demonstration, the follow on question is "Why are they Free?"

To me, both these questions are potentially transformational to our education customers – let me explain why.

First, to be sure we're all on the same page, Office Web Apps are explained in detail on this Microsoft site.  To summarize, access to the web apps, and the associated 25 GB of free SkyDrive storage associated with the tools can be easily accessed by signing in to http://office.live.com with your LiveID – either the one that you've acquired individually by signing up for any number of Microsoft's useful Live services (Live Messenger, Hotmail, etc.) or by being a student, teacher or faculty member associated with an organization that has signed up for Live@edu.  In either case, you have an identity moniker we call LiveID and can take advantage of Office Web Apps.

To be perfectly clear, Office Web Apps do not have the full functionality of the Office 2010 version that you install on your PC.  But the browser versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote that come in the Web Apps suite look, feel and act much like their 32 or 64-bit counter parts and can be used for all viewing and many editing functions in any of your favorite browser platforms (IE, Firefox, Safari).  Most importantly, the ability to maintain document formatting and rich fidelity is maintained as you transfer documents between the Skydrive cloud storage and your PC.

So now what?  Microsoft publishes a number of teacher guides that provide smart, educator-centric insights on Microsoft tools, including this one for Office Web Apps.  It explains how the combination of Office Web Applications and Skydrive can be skillfully utilized to not only increase collaboration in the classroom and beyond.  Think about the potential of providing students access to their projects, homework and your notes, syllabi, and homework assignments from any PC and any browser just by signing in with a LiveID.  And because Office Web Apps are free and always run the latest version, installing, maintaining and upgrading the full Office version on a PC that they may use or have access to (home, Library, friend or parent) is no longer a roadblock to getting work and collaboration done.

Which brings us to – why free?

When I speak at conferences and Microsoft events, I frequently refer to a concept I call "monetization motivation" – I question that *every* web user needs to ask themselves when they come across a free offering – not only for PC security purposes, but also to understand what the "catch" might be.  I encourage everyone to do this for ALL vendors, including Microsoft, especially for students and teachers who might be more drawn to free solutions because of budget constraints.  For all software, free or otherwise, you could argue that there is always a hard or soft payment in one or more of the following forms:

currency (traditional pay for package or service)

your identity, email or profile data (shopping, consumer or customer-service oriented angles)

your eyeballs or loyalty as a consumer (ads, clicks, page views, brand)

the unknowing, unwilling sacrifice of your computer as a bot or malware host for any number of nefarious purposes, from spreading malware to sending spam to capturing PII

Luckily most free software falls into the second and third categories, including Office Web Apps, but to be sure, it is always a good idea to read the privacy statement associated with what you are signing up for.  (Microsoft's Online Privacy information can be found here.)  As a company that makes 95%+ of its revenue and profits on software, our ultimate goal is to sell individuals, institutes and companies more software.  If we can entice and provide value to students and teachers with a free version of our software, we're hopeful that you will think of us when you are ready to buy the full version.

So get your LiveID today and check out Skydrive and Office Web Apps.  At ISTE this week a number of teachers and IT admins have departed the Microsoft booth with words that are music to my ears, "you've just made my entire trip worthwhile."

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashx"Campus to Cloud"http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2011/04/08/campus-to-cloud.aspx2011-04-08T21:22:53Z2011-04-08T21:22:53Z
This week I had the opportunity to participate in an innovative workshop sponsored by Center for Digital Education and Brocade.  The sponsors invited CIOs from a variety of higher education campuses across the country of varying sizes and affiliations, as well as education and industry experts from key vendors including EMC, McAfee, Google and Microsoft.

With the design premise of "building strategies for higher education network evolution for campus networks," the day-long workshop goal was to discuss, share and contemplate current challenges in the HED marketplace and propose solutions for overcoming those challenges and advancing campus IT to the ideal state.  The most interesting aspect of the day for me was that during all the discussions – most of which were centered primarily around core IT issues, the group always came back around re-centered on a handful of key priorities:

Student achievement is the ultimate goal and driver for any IT investment

Campus IT must consistently re-evaluate services and direction, outsourcing commodity or non-essential functions and investing in areas that drive the #1 priority above

Standards, openness and mobility (as it relates to IT, vendors and networking) will increasingly drive their ability to be successful in the cloud era

The challenges identified are likely ones IT leaders in this industry are well aware of.  They ranged from grappling with accommodation and support of the increasing array of devices and browsers bombarding their networks to accommodating increasingly complex and demanding LMS and SIS systems and processes.  Brocade took time to provide detailed insight on networking advances and futures that help the modernization and optimization of virtual machine management and transportability while the Center for Digital Education provided some statistical insight on higher education computing trends, referencing statistics from Casey Green's long-running Campus Computing Project and associated survey data.

When we got to the later part of the day to discuss solutions and ideals, the attendees clearly identified attributes of a future state that not only took into account the natural progression to cloud computing, but more importantly, the ideals of true education-oriented and mission critical IT: adaptive, agile, results-driven, effective delivery of relevant services to support and enhance student outcomes.  While that mission sounds great, the need to share and develop prescriptive guidance on how to evolve IT process and operations, even if strategically oriented, is still required.  If higher education IT leadership collectives like this one can capture, assimilate and share nuggets of learning as we march down the path towards that mission, we stand a good chance of helping everyone along the way.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxStudents, SharePoint and raw business drive – a winning combinationhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2011/03/31/students-sharepoint-and-raw-business-drive-a-winning-combination.aspx2011-03-31T08:02:00Z2011-03-31T08:02:00Z
Based on the 13 years I've spent working with education customers and technology solutions, I think I can fairly say that innovation runs rampant on college campuses – both in IT shops that are challenged with fewer dollars to deliver more services as well with students experimenting with high potential technology and business ideas.  This week I had the opportunity to witness student innovation first hand as a judge for a student business collaboration and simulation contest.

Kiefer Consulting, a Sacramento-based SharePoint and Application Development Gold Certified Microsoft partner, conceived the idea of an extra-curricular 4-week project management-oriented business consulting simulation centered around SharePoint to introduce MIS and Business faculty, students and curriculum to the potential of SharePoint.  The program kicked off with the fall semester at the Sacramento and Chico campuses of the California State University (press release here).  With growing interest and momentum, Kiefer ran the program again in the spring semester, where participation doubled to 8 teams of students competing from each university.

As a judge, I participated in the final presentation day of competition for each campus.  Presentation day concluded 4 weeks of the program which included orientation, site development, project deliverables, checkpoints, and presentation preparation.  Each of the student teams chosen as finalists (based on their project score) had 15 minutes to present their response to a Request For Offer, showcasing their solution and offering using SharePoint.  Judges served in the role of executive staff of the organization that had originated the RFO, assigned to evaluate oral presentations of solutions.  Teams also had to withstand 10 minutes of judging panel questions that ranged from site design criteria to business process and team collaboration inquires.  While the program is not designed to overly burden students already handling a full course load, feedback from students confirmed that the real-life scenario relating to response time, preparation and presentation delivery was a great experience.

Student participation in the program is completely voluntary – motivation for completion stemmed primarily from the opportunity to gain valuable project collaboration and business simulation experience for their resume, or for potential job offers or references provided by the executives in attendance as judges.  And while team site designs, team dynamics, solutions and presentation styles all differed, the common denominator all the judges experienced was clear: the potential for great collaboration, solutions and business delivery on SharePoint is impressive, especially considering almost all students were new to SharePoint walking into this program.

Kiefer is evaluating the feasibility of expanding to other universities within California, and potentially nationally, to continue the momentum of learning and excitement that surrounds this program.  If this program sounds intriguing to you for your campus, I'd encourage you to connect directly with Kiefer (firstname.lastname@example.com) or send me an email registering your interest.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxS+S = SaaS + PaaS + IaaS + DaaS!http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2011/01/22/s-s-saas-paas-iaas-daas.aspx2011-01-22T02:22:27Z2011-01-22T02:22:27Z
One of my first blog posts over a year and half ago was entitled S+S=SaaS? which delved into the Microsoft definition of Software Plus Services and how that related to the broader industry concept of Software as a Service.  Today, that state of cloud understanding seems long outdated – both in terms of what we as a software provider know to be true, and in terms of the broader industry and academic constructs of current expectations and delivery of cloud services.

If we look at what has transpired since then in the Microsoft vernacular, we first announced last spring that we were "All in" (PressPass story here), and followed that up this past fall with position of "Cloud Power" (PressPass story here).

I'd like to point out some interesting subtleties about these announcements:

The "all in" announcement last March was made on campus at the University of Washington, recognizing the growing significance and influence that students and educators have in selecting and utilizing online services.

The "all in" statement was a reflection of our redirection of developer resources to on-premises AND in-cloud solutions, as well as a total commitment to sales and marketing solutions thinking about cloud services.  (My extended pre-sales engineering team invested several hundred hours ramping, digesting, creating training and messaging for, and eventually training field sales staff on the solutions and ecosystem – in fact we're still investing heavily here).

"All in" quickly became outmoded as our customers already expected as much – not that they were ubiquitously moving to the cloud, but that they wanted that *option* if the economics and security/privacy proved out.

The "Cloud Power" announcement in November builds on "All in" by stating that not only do we do cloud, but we do it well, in fact we're the leading provider in most consumer and enterprise cloud services categories.  As we focus on simplifying and integrating our solutions and messaging, Microsoft is gaining comfort with re-establishing niche leadership.

How does this relate back to S+S and all the "X as a Service" acronyms I list in the title, you ask?  And how is that simplifying the message?  As a computer scientist by training and a systems engineer by trade, I'll always be fast to point out the differences between marketing and marketecture; and as holds true with evaluating and understanding software solutions, we need to break down options into manageable pieces.  How do we do that for the cloud?  Relate it to what we're familiar with in the X-1 generation of computing.

Therefore the Infrastructure, Platform, Software and Desktop ideas that we're all familiar with as it relates to on-premises services are rapidly building out in cloud-form.  The key for our customers in the tie-back is that you will want to ensure integration and tie-back, both for continuity, migration and portability of software solutions.  So the more Microsoft provides both the integration and the flexibility for on-premises, cloud or hybrid deployment, the easier your adoption and lower your costs will be – thus the beauty of Software Plus Services.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxConnecting Beyond Kinecthttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2010/09/29/connecting-beyond-kinect.aspx2010-09-29T18:24:00Z2010-09-29T18:24:00Z
In November Microsoft will launch a ground breaking motion-sensing technology for our Xbox 360 gaming console system called Kinect. You can read about it and explore features here.

If you research some of the history and technology in this device, you'll find an interesting mix of old and new technology. It uses a webcam, depth sensor, motorized pivot and multi-array microphone to enable voice recognition, motion capture and facial recognition allowing a whole new generation of gaming, dancing, health & fitness controller-free interaction. As a casual gamer, I'm intrigued and interested in the revolution, but as a technologist, I'm almost more curious about what the "commodization" of this type of device might mean for computing in general.

Microsoft's Office Labs team has posted a "Future of Productivity" video that envisions a not-so-distant future of full wall displays, multiple touch and highly social/interactive interfaces - it's a great video to imagine the possibilities - see it here - many of which have rather salient potential in education, classroom and broader teaching and learning. As you watch the video, however, you might think to yourself - "no way... not possible - at least not in 5 or 10 years." When you return to the present, however, and see the Kinect device in action, many of the scenarios displayed have relatively easy extrapolations from this device. It may be difficult to imagine until you experience Kinect in person, but once you do, the light bulb goes off.

Mainstream computing has been largely wed to some form of tactile input device - mouse, keyboard, gaming controller, even more recently touch-screens. Computing interfaces have largely grown dependent on these devices, but hands free, full-body, motion sensing devices open many possibilities for computing in general, not to mention niche-specific areas like social computing, health and fitness training, vocational or job training, virtual conferencing and even health and medical consultations. As Kinect also demonstrates, we don't have to necessarily open our home/office/room and body/face up for viewing, we can use an avatar and a virtual environment to both protect identity or a bad hair day and to optimize bandwidth (i.e. eliminating the need to transmit full color HD 30-fps images).

My kids are excited about Kinect and what it will mean to their gaming enjoyment; I'm excited about what it means for their activity level during their ever-increasing "screen time"; but I'm thrilled about what future technologies and social experiences - in educaiton and beyond - this technology will bring to our rapidly morphing world of consumer electronics.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxEarth Day Reflections – Art and Sciencehttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2010/04/23/earth-day-reflections-art-and-science.aspx2010-04-23T04:20:46Z2010-04-23T04:20:46Z
There are two Microsoft-relevant highlights on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, 2010, that I'd like to share – one art-related, and one science-related.

Art: BING Student Photo Contest

For the last several weeks Microsoft has encouraged amateur student photographers of all ages to submit their best snapshots to win a chance at some great prize packages and, more importantly, to get the opportunity to provide the photographic backdrop on the BING homepage.  After close to 17,000 submissions voted on by over 200,000 voters, the finalists were announced earlier this week and the winner featured today.  Along the way 8,240 classrooms around the world incorporated the contest into a class project, generating almost 1 million page views and $62,000 was raised as a result of the charitable donation process associated with voting.

If you get a chance, check out the media and buzz created by this contest that paid ultimate tribute to the natural beauty of our planet.

Science: Electronic Software Distribution (ESD)

On March 1st, Microsoft starting offering software electronically for students and teachers who have access to our Student Option, Student Select and Work at Home rights programs.  ESD helps our distributors and customers get prompt and efficient access to the software and updates that used to be processed in the traditional "package and ship" method.  Not only can we claim faster access to bits, but we are proud to say that we're also doing our part to help the environment.  Consider the following statistics about CD and DVD media consumption:

Every month, some 100,000 pounds of CDs become outdated, useless, or unwanted in the United States

Every year, more than 5.5 million software packages go to landfills and incinerators

CDs and DVDs aren't just plastic, they are made up of petroleum-based lacquer and paints, aluminum, and other metals

Studies estimate that the creation, packaging, and delivery of a single CD contributes 1kg of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

(Source: http://earth2tech.com/2007/08/16/how-the-physical-distribution-of-digital-goods-impacts-the-environment/)

To show we mean business, Microsoft is partnering with Asus to mark the occasion of Earth Day by giving away five Asus Netbooks loaded with Office 2007 Ultimate and Windows 7 Professional.

Our goal?  Raise awareness of the green benefits by purchasing and downloading Microsoft Software – including Office Ultimate 2007 and Windows 7 Professional.  Click here for more information.

While these data reflect more than just Microsoft media, it is encouraging to know Microsoft is partnering with its education customers to make a positive impact on the health of our planet.  Make it a great earth day.
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxBING Earth Day Photo Contents… For Students!http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2010/03/08/bing-earth-day-photo-contents-for-students.aspx2010-03-08T04:51:54Z2010-03-08T04:51:54Z
Bing Is Next Gen
Bing Is Now Gellin'
Big Investment, New Game

Whatever your interpretation of the name, Microsoft's Decision Engine is making search fun again with features like visual search, image and video search, and cash back search for shopping.  More importantly, I like promoting the features that are relevant to education, like Bing Maps for geography-based search and Reference Articles filters.

As internet usage and the search function becomes more visual, and as visualization and media invade the classroom as a learning and communication tool, one of the big draws of BING has always been the home page, where we feature a new, high resolution photograph every day of the year.  What a great way to start of the day or classroom session by exploring the wonders of our environment with hot-spot pop-ups that challenge us or our students with intriguing questions related to the picture, its content, history, background and facts.

So when I learned that Microsoft is sponsoring an Earth Day Photo contest for students with great prizes and the opportunity to have the winning photo displayed, I knew I had to blog about it.

Check out http://www.earthdayphotocontest.com, which went live on Friday (03/05/2010) to see details on the contest, prizes and how you (teachers) can enhance the contest with classroom projects.  Good stuff!
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxImagine Cup – Olympics for Student Technologists and Artistshttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2010/01/14/imagine-cup-olympics-for-student-technologists-and-artists.aspx2010-01-14T02:32:22Z2010-01-14T02:32:22Z
For my first post of the new year, I thought I'd focus on our future – more specifically the future bright minds of the technology and computer industry that currently take the shape of ambitious and passionate students in the market that my team and I serve.

For many years now, Microsoft has been promoting and holding Imagine Cup – a competition for students, age 16 and older, to design "software, games and web sites that help make a difference on global issues."  Registration for the US spring competition closes February 1st for finals in late April.  Encourage your students to register at http://www.imaginecup.us – they can win $10,000 just for registering!

More than the prizes and glory of qualifying and winning in such a competition is the sense of purpose that it provides students in computer and technology field.  I toiled and hacked as a computer science undergrad for 4 years, spending countless hours in front of a workstation writing C code to solve what seemed like meaningless problems and functions.  What I would have given to inject some purpose into my studies that revolved around pure competition, if not also the spirit of addressing pressing global issues.  Not to date myself too much, but those days in the computer lab were right on the cusp of the modern GUI, OOP and coding toolkits that make coding life much more intriguing for today's students.  Nevertheless, the Imagine Cup neatly squares up a cool contest with a great competitive and enriching collaborative experience for those students who have the mettle and solution to further their technology aspirations.

US finalists have the opportunity to travel to Warsaw to compete internationally for some great cash prizes and recognition – a pretty darn cool experience if you can beat out 299,999 other registrants to win the top Imagine Cup honors!
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxThinking about the Learning Continuum with disrupters like H1N1http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2009/09/16/thinking-about-the-learning-continuum-with-disrupters-like-h1n1.aspx2009-09-17T01:41:01Z2009-09-17T01:41:01Z
Snow days, carpool conflicts, broken bones, learning disabilities, the flu, excessive heat, hurricanes, weapon threats, cyber-bullying, failed levies, family vacation…  Any of these factors, and many others, could mean unintended missed school days and a disruption in the learning continuum, at a minimum.  More importantly, it could mean stunted flow of federal dollars for attendance and instruction.

With the on-going threat of the pandemic-like H1N1 virus, schools are regularly grappling with attempting to keep some semblance of order and learning while minimizing learning downtime caused by recommendations to isolate potentially sick students.

Meanwhile, Web 2.0 advances have allowed schools to explore the potential of anywhere, anytime learning tools to enhance the learning environment well beyond the physical bounds of the school property and beyond the time bounds of school sessions.  Communication, collaboration, alerts and content is becoming increasingly digital and ubiquitously accessible as 1-1 computing and home computer access spreads.

Microsoft is right there in the mix with solutions for schools.  Most customers probably traditionally associate us with on-premise, central-IT sponsored projects involving SharePoint, Office Communications Server and Office – clearly our legacy and area of expertise.  What many customers don't realize is that we're also in the business of Web 2.0-style immediacy – with free web tools directly relevant to educational needs.

Office Live Workspace fits the LEARNING CONTINUUM bill

Forget the branding, for a second and just think of this as a Classroom workspace – an accessible from any browser tool to store, share and collaborate on homework, handouts, presentations and projects.  No – they don't have to be Office documents – they can be of ANY file time; and no – you don't have to be a Live@edu customer.  Any teacher, student or administrator can setup and invite other peers, students or parents to participate and – POW – instant learning continuum tool!  Check out the details here: http://www.microsoft.com/education/classworkspace/default.aspx

Don't overlook our myriad other tools

More free web tools abound – all with high relevance for your classrooms.

1. Need to record a lecture or lesson for students who miss it?  Check out Community Clips.

2. Need great multi-media software for assembling projects?  Check out the new Windows Live Movie Maker.

3. Want to share documents and screen views with peers or students?  Check out Shared View.

Who knew Microsoft is your quick and simple source for relevant classroom tools?  Enjoy!
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxEducation Innovation – Microsoft Education Labshttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2009/09/04/education-innovation-microsoft-education-labs.aspx2009-09-04T07:26:02Z2009-09-04T07:26:02Z

Have you followed the trend of Microsoft's innovation in Education?  It's been an interesting path, for sure – especially if you trace the roots far enough back.  You could almost put it into a 3-phased approach…

Phase 1 – Software
Surely you remember not-so-long bygone products like Encarta and perhaps even Class Server that focused on classroom enrichment and management.  More recently we've dug in deeper to optimizing the learning experience with products like Learning Essentials – the Office add-on specifically designed for helping students and teachers work smarter; Math – everything you need to tackle math and science on your computer; and Semblio – a forthcoming set of tools for publishers and end-users for enriching content used in the classroom.

Phase 2 – Software+Services
In recognition of the power of the web, we've also started to play heavily in the cloud space – first by leveraging our consumer-oriented Live and OfficeLab or LiveLab tools for education enrichment (Community Clips, SharedView, MovieMaker) and then by formalizing email and collaboration tools into a centrally managed Live@edu offering for schools.

Phase 3 -
Released in July, Microsoft's Education Labs is a new web community designed to share the company's latest innovations for the education community. Educationlabs features a growing collection of free, easy-to-deploy solutions specifically for teaching and learning, and serves as a forum for exchanging ideas that will inform Microsoft's ongoing research and technology development for education.

A number of new innovations on Education Labs are slated for launch this fall. One launched and is available for download today (9/3) - Math Worksheet Generator; two others, Microsoft Folder-based Sites and Flashcards, will become available later this fall.  Here's a little detail about these cool little classroom apps.

Math Worksheet Generator – an application for educators to quickly create personalized math worksheets for an entire class or individual students.

Eliminates the need to photocopy old worksheets or textbooks to find math problems

Worksheets can be used for in-class or take-home assignments, tests, quizzes or materials for tutors

Created in Word, which makes it easy to reformat, save and print

Integrates with Microsoft Math 3.0

Microsoft Folder-Based Sites – helps educators create a Web site which automatically converts files such as Word documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoint decks into HTML files, allowing educators to easily store, organize and share their materials with their students online.

Easy folder creation to organize and categorize documents via "drag-and-drop"

Browser-viewable - no special applications are needed on students' computers

Ability to upload many files at once – a feature not typically supported by existing LMS offerings

Flashcards – an interactive application for educators and students to create flashcard decks or choose from a catalogue of digital flashcards featuring audio, text or pictures.

Personalizes the studying experience for the student

Uses a special algorithm to track how many times a student visits a card to help them know how they are progressing on a study subject

Oh yeah – did I mention all of these are FREE?  Start enhancing your classroom environment today with innovative EducationLabs downloads and forums – http://www.educationlabs.com
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxExciting news in the world of (classroom) movie making! http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2009/08/20/exciting-news-in-the-world-of-movie-making.aspx2009-08-20T22:51:00Z2009-08-20T22:51:00Z
We're entering an exciting launch year – not the least of which is Windows 7 – a smooth, snappy operating system I've been enjoying on several business and personal computers for several months. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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Quick sidebar: I made the mistake of loading Win7 on only one of my three children's computers – which happened to be the oldest machine as well, a 5+ year old Dell tower. The other two children are constantly clamoring for me to upgrade their machines now as well, having felt slighted at me overlooking their "advanced" computing needs…<o:p></o:p>

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Back to the topic at hand. In the hoopla of Windows 7 launch, it's important for our Education customers to keep their eye on some of the other announcements we're making in the world of "Live". I'd like to share a prime example with yesterday's announcement of the global availability of the new Windows Live Movie Maker. With the new Windows Live Movie Maker, it's easier than ever to turn videos and photos into great-looking movies and slideshows, using many popular camera types and file formats on the market today.  With the proliferation of media and visualization use in the classroom, Movie Maker is more than just an effective tool for teachers to bring the benefits of multimedia to the classroom - it can help engage students and increase retention. <o:p></o:p>

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When we think about how students and teachers interact, one of the key enhancements that stands out is the sharing capability. Once a movie is complete, the collaboration and interaction can begin immediately and seamlessly – with other teachers, students or even friends and family across TV, PC or mobile device or by uploading them to video-sharing sites. <o:p></o:p>

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Teachers and students – anyone for that matter – can download the new Windows Live Movie Maker for free by going to download.live.com. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p>

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxExpanding your LiveMeeting Investmenthttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2009/03/25/expanding-your-livemeeting-investment.aspx2009-03-26T01:37:27Z2009-03-26T01:37:27Z
Whether your school has made an investment in the Live Meeting service hosted by Microsoft, or if you utilize the Web Conferencing capabilities of Live Meeting on premise, you are probably realizing great cost-savings and efficiency benefits from the business and classroom application of this product.

As you start to explore extended applications of conferencing media, you know that having access to on-demand recordings is useful for those who can't attend meetings live.  Recordings, however, require a wired connection and also require a relatively linear viewing experience.  If you want to parse, mash up or splice these recordings for any number of reasons, including posting for podcasts to mobile phones or portable media players, then you need to check out the following tools to add to your media toolkit:

Recording Converter for Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007
Download: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HA103550661033.aspx
Info: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101215971033.aspx

Expression Encoder 2
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/Overview.aspx?key=encoder

The first tool, which is a free download (which includes a command line and a GUI option) effectively give you a way to extract the HFP (High Fidelity Presentation) format of Live Meeting recordings and dump them to a more traditional video file format.  Once in this mode, you can utilize any media encoder or manipulation tool, including Expression Encoder, to further whittle down, combine or tweak you media for additional productions venues.

Although Encoder is not a free tool, it has a number of useful features for the aspiring video-to-web publisher, including Silverlight compatibility as well as scripting and batch processing for high volume shops.

Check out these Live Meeting "add-ons" to see if you can get more value out of your web-conferencing investment today.
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxWindows Hied Conference – 2009 Editionhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2009/03/16/windows-hied-conference-2009-edition.aspx2009-03-17T00:17:26Z2009-03-17T00:17:26Z
For the 3rd time in about 4 years, the US Education vertical is hosting around 100 IT Pros from universities all around the country (and the world) in Redmond for a three day conference.  This is organized by a committee from the Windows HIED listsrv hosted by Stanford University and has a focus on NOT being a sales event, rather a chance for administrators in higher education to interface directly with product teams in Redmond and listen in on technical presentations regarding infrastructure focused solutions.

Even if you are not a subscriber of the listsrv but you are a technical resource from a college or university, you are welcome to join us!  If you are curious about the technical focus, see the agenda posted to the HIED wiki.  You must be willing to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement form as some of the content is "next version" planning information.  The official invite details are below.  Hope to see you there!

Technorati Tags: Higher Education,conference,IT administrators

Background

Working in conjunction with Windows-Hied listsrv representatives, Microsoft Education is pleased to host the 5th Windows Hied Conference at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA, March 30th – April 1st,  2009.

Conference Goals

As has always been the case for this event, it is NOT a sales or marketing event.  Attendees generally have deep technical background in both Microsoft as well as UNIX/Linux operating systems.  Presentation responsibilities are being split by Microsoft and customer attendees and focus the following primary goals:

Provide highly relevant product and solution discussion as well as tips and tricks for better evaluating, deploying, integrating, administering, supporting and simplifying Microsoft solutions in the higher education environment

Illicit product input and feedback to ensure product teams understand the needs of the HED customer base

Learn of unique challenges and successes of Microsoft product deployment from customer presentation sessions

Provide an informal venue to discuss additional issues and topics

Increase the trust and confidence of customer attendees in deploying and supporting Microsoft solutions

Provide Microsoft product teams an opportunity to talk to a focused and strategic group of knowledgeable HED customers

Event Logistics

Dates: March 30th – April 1st, 2009

Location: Microsoft Campus, Building 37

Presentations: Mix of Microsoft and customer presentations: 300-400 level technical drill down (~60-90 min each)

Customer Attendees: ~100

Conference Hotels:

Residence Inn - http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/SEARD?groupCode=mwhmwha&app=resvlink&fromDate=3/29/09&toDate=4/1/09

Marriott Redmond Town Center - http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/seamc?groupCode=mihmiha&app=resvlink&fromDate=3/29/09&toDate=4/2/09

Cost 150$

Agenda located Here

Registration Page located Here

NOTE - This event is limited to administrators from education.  To ensure adequate capacity, please do not register unless you are an administrator from a school/university.  We cannot guarantee refunds for those who register from other industries.
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxS+S=SaaS?http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2008/09/24/s-s-saas.aspx2008-09-24T21:22:59Z2008-09-24T21:22:59Z

Microsoft's vision of cloud computing is called, and being marketed as Software + Services.  The original, more broadly accepted term, as you are likely aware, is Software as a Service.  What's the difference, if any?  Should you care?  Or is Microsoft just trying to re-invent or re-define the genre for our purposes – marketing, awareness or otherwise?  Not only is this a key question in general, but it is almost more important for us as educators, administrators, students and those of us in the IT vendor world that serve those constituents.  My goal of this blog post is to start opening the door on understanding – I can't ask or expect much more given how the definition of this space is changing weekly, if not daily.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is defined quite well on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_Service.  Note the keys here are "hosted" and "no local installation" which has clear and distinct benefits from a desktop management perspective – not only from a versioning and update perspective, but from a cross-platform support perspective as well (assuming web standards are utilized/optimized).  You could go on and argue that costs are more manageable and predictable – a pay as you consume concept – and that much of the overhead of internal IT services, including helpdesk and support, can be alleviated.  The risks, as also stated in the article, relate primarily to sustainability and redundancy, but also data protection and general security.

To be sure, Microsoft understands and embraces the concept of SaaS, as evidenced by our foray into all of our "Live" branded products – both for the consumer (http://get.live.com/) as well as for business (http://www.microsoft.com/softwareplusservices/).  Where we augment the basic definition is around those areas above that are known or hypothesized weaknesses of SaaS.  It may or may not surprise you that S+S is actually defined quite well on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%2BS – but to summarize in my own words: Software + Services takes the concept and power of cloud computing (Services) and magnifies its effect with the smart use of client side computing (Software).

Let's take some examples:

1. Unified Communications: in the SaaS world, this could imply email, web conferencing, instant messaging and perhaps IP telephony all of which can be done via browser-based applications and consistent connectivity.  When you add S+S to the UC workload, however, you start to add programs like Outlook, Office Communicator, Live Meeting and Windows Mobile, all of which are medium-to-heavy client applications that add (in my opinion) significant value to my daily routine, including the ability to work offline, work quickly with local data; operate, sort, filter, view and process email, media and documents on my mobile phone when I have a poor (or no) cell signal.  Schools and campuses are approaching or already have 100% wireless and cellular coverage, which negates at least some of the basic advantages of the "Software" side of this equation, so then we need to look one step further at both the richness and flexibility of client-side software, for example the ability to manage calls, conferences and messages in an integrated fashion between my email and communicator client.

2. Classroom or Administrative Productivity: this category includes those applications that we think of as core – word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and perhaps note taking and graphics/desktop publishing/drawing.  Open Office, Google and others have free or inexpensive options available in the SaaS world.  Depending on needs, such options may be sufficient, especially if the ad-funded model of software development and support works for you.  OneNote is a great example of very-education-relevant software that takes advantage of web interaction (synchronizing notebooks across the web) that has no match as a cloud-based service.

3. Companion Applications: where the Microsoft S+S message really starts to gel is the area of what I will call companion applications – all of which are free, btw.  Some of these you may have heard of, some you may not have, but they start to connect the dots between our new and traditional worlds, specifically around Productivity Applications, but largely applicable to all areas.

Office Live Workspaces (http://workspace.office.live.com/): share, store, track and comment on documents online

Shared View (https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=94&wa=wsignin1.0): instant screen and application collaboration over the internet

Community Clips (http://communityclips.officelabs.com/): record and share screen activity, presentations, audio and webcam video

Our cloud computing will continue to evolve – no doubt – as we push the envelope on S+S, both with traditional, for-fee software, as well as new-model free ad-funded or low cost companion or utility computing applications.  Either way, you can trust that our experience in both enterprise computing as well as end-user application innovation will yield some pretty cool, pretty useful applications for education.  Stay tuned to the PDC in late October 2008 for some exciting new announcements in this area!
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxSoftware + Services for Academia?http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2008/08/07/software-services-for-academia.aspx2008-08-07T07:33:00Z2008-08-07T07:33:00Z
So much hullabalu is afoot in the press these days regarding Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing and Web 2.0 that our own internal news service had to create a new RSS feed category just to optimally classify and keep tabs on the trends, stories and technologies claiming to be a part of the push. No doubt, many education organizations and companies are starting to evaluate the merits of hosted services, especially those considered "commodity", to offload the burden of management, maintenance, support and upgrades required by on-premise software. To go one step further, some customers have already ventured down that path, having deployed student email using Live@edu, utilizing Office Live Workspaces for project or team collaboration or Live Skydrive for sharing presentations, projects and files.

Perhaps one of the most compelling rationale for investigting and migrating certain "life and work functions" to the cloud is that in many cases they are free - including all the Live technologies cited above, as well as some of the more consumer-oriented social networking sites like Facebook and Live Spaces. "Free" tends to be looked at from different angles, depending on your lens and perspective, however; as an end user, you don't pay for a packaged piece of software or download, but you do have to endure the utilization of your web services as an advertising platform. Most tend to agree this is worth it, given the benefits and value of the experience, and advertisers are all to happy to supplement the large cost of raised floor, fat pipe, massive disk arrays, server management, personnel overhead and energy by providing you with the latest and greates mortgage refinancying deal, for example. While this might be acceptable for consumers, the justification becomes a little muddled when students come in to play, especially minors, and especially when advertising may present a conflict of interest for a university or school district. Further, enterprise services don't have an advertisement-subsidy option, so the subscription cost of cloud services must be weighed against traditional on-premise IT management - not necessarily an easily aligned ROI or TCO equation.

I'll take this thread one step further by posing this question: is it feasible to follow this hype cycle through to completion such that *all* desktop and on-premise functions could eventually and theoretically be hosted (and free?) That may eventually be a possibility, but step back for a moment and think about what you do on your PC everyday - connected or not. Think about the spreadsheets, documents and applications you run locally that could benefit from a more lively interface with cloud services - a Word document session that allows collaboration with a student that just has a browser; an interactive history simulation session running on your PC that allows realtime assessment inputs from student cell phones; a homework folder that simultaneous updates your instructor PC, your browser at home and your cell phone when assignments are posted. These scenarios, and many others like it that are more business and consumer oriented, are what embody the definition of what Microsoft calls Software + Services (link to interative web site explaining the premise in detail). The crux of the idea is that we believe in, and are massively investing in cloud services for both consumer and business alike, and see great value and productivity in a world where those services are optimized with the rich applications we use everyday on our increasingly powerful desktops. Not just a redefinition of SaaS, S+S takes the cloud services vision to completion - read more on the above web site and let me know what you think.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxLearning 2.0 meets Web 2.0http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2008/05/21/learning-2-0-meets-web-2-0.aspx2008-05-21T10:08:00Z2008-05-21T10:08:00Z
My favorite educationally relevant and intellectual article of this calendar year (and arguably for the past 12 months or more) is one that appeared in Educause Magazine in their Jan/Feb 2008 issue entitled Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0: access it directly here.

I recently presented to a customer audience during which I expanded on the many facets of the general concepts there-in and how I think the web and its myriad offerings as a search engine, platform and learning community tool are very relevant to where we (as educators and IT vendors) need to take next generation learning. In this post, I'll touch on a couple key facets of that talk.

The Long Tail

Chris Anderson, the editor in chief for WIRED Magazine, gained notoriety in Oct 2004 for his article, The Long Tail, which eventually became a published and well-respected Web 2.0 business book. The original research and article was designed to address the phenomenon of niche product sales and positioning on the web as compared with Brick & Mortar, but it has been extrapolated and studied extensively since then as a generally sound theory for explaining the rapidly expanding and successful niches - both commerce and social - that are abundant on the web.

This concept applies equally as well to both of the concepts of traditional teacher and traditional school as being limited in being able to address the rapidly growing interest in niche topics or communities that students may be interested in, or, more importantly, unique learning needs (read "individualized learning") that is required as classrooms grow larger and more diverse. "Long Tail" learning implies that students can utilize the power, breadth and depth of the Internet to supplement traditional learning, even discover highly specialized topics and communities that would otherwise not be available at all.

Dissecting Web 2.0 Components

After reading or skimming the EDUCAUSE article, you'll get a sense of the three areas of influence that the Internet has on learning. I attempt to break those areas down graphically below, such that we can start assigning web 2.0-type experiences somewhere in the continuum of interaction. While not exhaustive, this graphic and experiences helps provide educators and IT personnel a framework for what tools might impact specific needs for learning or web interaction.

For example, I place Search square in the center of the Venn, recognizing that traditional and new search (images, people, blogs, etc) provide a basis for any of the functions for which you may be attempting to utilize the Internet. Wikis, blogs and podcasts can be used equally as well for acquiring knowledge as a consumer, posting knowledge as an expert or aspiring learner, or socializing concepts and hypotheses as a virtual learner in a community.

Although not as categorically well-defined as some better-established Web 2.0 functions, the Internet as a Platform concept, in my mind, is one of the most exciting areas for broadening the scope of learning experiences. From terrestrial mapping and visualization experiences, to the exploration of molecules via scanning electron microscopes, to the exploration of the far reaches of space - the Internet is providing experiences once available only through field trips, movies or experts, but now well within reach of anyone with browser navigation skills. Expand this further to the growing popularity of virtual worlds, and you start to collide all three areas of function.

Microsoft Relevance?

But of course! Some of the most innovative experiences and tools available today are from the bitstreams of Microsoft coders - hard at work in Microsoft Research, or in our Office or Live Labs bunkers. If you have an afternoon to kill and want to explore some highly relevant tools that are just downright cool, try exploring the following:

Photosynth: http://labs.live.com/photosynth/
WorldWide Telescope: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/
Tafiti: http://tafiti.mslivelabs.com/
PopFly: http://www.popfly.com

Not only does each tool have education relevance, but more importantly, they're FREE. And when you look further across the spectrum of products - both cloud based and on premise - Microsoft actually does a pretty good job of connecting local software to Internet Service for a cohesive collaboration and learning solution. While I can't say it will be entirely evident to you just by reading this post, I can say that you should challenge your Microsoft sales representative to explain it to you - or just ping me directly... Inevitably I'll be recording the full presentation for broader consumption. Either way, I look forward to your feedback.

rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxCalling All Students...http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2008/05/15/calling-all-students.aspx2008-05-15T06:07:59Z2008-05-15T06:07:59Z
In college, I have to admit, I had a Mac.  A Mac Plus with 2MB of RAM (I put the second 1 MB SIMM in myself) and a 40 MB (yes, megabyte) external hard drive that cost me an obscene amount of money - all I knew is I never again had to swap disks when playing Lode Runner or loading Word...

I digress.  College was a great time - socially, musically, athletically, and most importantly, technically.  It defined my passions and interest in the career I have now.  I was fortunate to have a part time job in the UCSB Microcomputer lab (thanks Bill K) in which to explore, feed and enrich that interest.

Now all college students have an opportunity to experience that enrichment... talk about a cool job!  If you're not a student in college, but know one (or have one), feel free to pass along the information, link and deadline!

About the Microsoft® Student Partners (MSP) Program

The Microsoft® Student Partners (MSP) Program recognizes top young minds from around the world who are passionate about technology and marketing. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop real world skills to help students succeed in their future career, to help others learn about technology and to connect with other like-minded students, all while having a ton of fun along the way!

MSPs are encouraged to share their passion and knowledge and to undertake a number of fun activities on campus such as hosting Xbox gaming tournaments, planning & marketing events, demoing new technologies, hosting Tech Talks with student developers, and blogging about their experiences & passions.  In return MSPs get access to numerous benefits including Microsoft software, reference materials, and training, as well as privileged information about future opportunities. If you are passionate about technology or marketing, we want to hear from you!

To apply, US students should visit http://us.student-partners.com and submit an application by the 5/31/08 Deadline.
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashxGode101http://blogs.technet.com/b/rgode/archive/2008/05/13/gode101.aspx2008-05-13T03:14:53Z2008-05-13T03:14:53Z
I've finally caught up with the trend and am today officially posting my first weblog.  All I can say is "It's about time..."  which sounds faintly reminiscent of what my mother-in-law said when I proposed to her daughter.  There may be some interesting analogies between the blogging trend and marriage that I reserve the right to exploit later in this post.

First, the Formalities

The focus of this blog will inherit from my role and mission here at Microsoft, leading a team of technical and solution specialists who focus on the Education vertical: "Empower people to realize their social and economic potential by enabling access to quality education experiences for all through technology."  As lofty as a goal as that may seem, I'm going to assume, at least for the time being, that every little point of light will help the cause.

We call this team of specialists that I manage, by the way, the Education Specialist Team Unit, or STU for short.  Every sales district and subsidiary at Microsoft has one, both in the US and internationally, and the specialists therein typically focus on or have unique training and expertise in one of Microsoft's many product areas - groupings we call "workloads".  Our team goal, then, is to provide pre-sales engineering support to the account teams that directly manage our customer relationships, in their pursuit of IT solutions.  Sometimes that support is virtual, via phone, email, blogging, podcasting and Live Meeting, but you'll frequently see us navigating the concourses, rail terminals and highways across the US to support customer opportunities in person.

Personally, I've been managing such resources at Microsoft, for US Education, for 5 years; and prior to that I was a Systems Engineer supporting Education and State & Local Government customers in the northern California area for 5 years.  Beyond some early coding, training and project management work in my career, the bulk of my adult life has been spent in some pre-sales engineering or consulting capacity which most people recognize as an interesting skills mix of technology expertise and value translation.

Next, the Realities

Having worked in several verticals over the 20 years of my professional career (chemical manufacturing, high tech, public sector, defense contracting), Education customers provide an interesting mix of challenge and reward.  While you could argue that education customers are technology laggards (especially when it comes to some of the desktop machines that are still in use), the opposite could just as easily be proved by observing the trends in mobility, wireless, social networking and high performance computing, for example.  Regardless of your take, I personally enjoy both the challenges and rewards of daily interaction with education customers, attempting to address and solve their technology and process issues.  Microsoft is a company with extensive resources and innovation to address many, but not all, of the said issues, and we usually have the wisdom to admit when we don't.

We are all ultimately products of our upbringing and education (genes and pre-dispositions notwithstanding) and with 3 school-age children of my own, I thrive on the opportunity to apply my work to life, and my life to work - it's not every job that allows you that luxury.  As most Education Team members will tell you, however, it is getting increasing difficult to disconnect one from the other in this age of always on and connected.  Will that make the future of teaching, learning, technology (and living) different than it is today?  I have a premise and some ideas, but you'll have to tune in next time to read what they are.  Until then - it's all about edU.
rgodehttp://blogs.technet.com/rgode/ProfileUrlRedirect.ashx


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PURE. UNPLANNED. PERFECT. Those were Nick's summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parents' divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs. All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he's neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn't mind in the least. But Nick's world shifts… (más)
Editor: Random House Books for Young Readers (23 de septiembre de 2008)
Format: EPUB
Número de páginas: 256 páginas
Tamaño del archivo: 293 KB
Protección: DRM
Idioma: Inglés

subset: commoncrawl


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Animal rights group: Don't find new jaguar
Updated: December 31, 2004, 9:36 AM ETAssociated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. -- An animal rights group wants Southern University to refrain from replacing the jaguar mascot that died Sunday from symptoms related to old age.
But Southern's chancellor said the university is likely to get a new cat and raise money for a habitat much larger than the previous mascot's 418-square-foot cage on the Baton Rouge campus.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a Norfolk, Va.,
group critical of schools that keep big cats as mascots, says
Southern ...
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- Great Napkins and easy return!Review by Justin
My fiancé and I ordered 300 of these for our wedding in June. We ended up changing our mine and returned most of them, but we liked them so much we kept some for special dinners and occasions at our home. The price for these was unbeatable. I haven't found any other websites that have them for less. Returning them was very easy too. Thanks for a great transaction!(Posted on 1/15/13)
- great napkinsReview by tammi
size wise these napkins are great, price is even better.very pleased with my purchase.(Posted on 12/10/12)
- Price is rightReview by Lili
I am been using over and over again in my home. I would recommend to everyone. Great price(Posted on 11/11/12)
- brideReview by Raquel
At these prices I have turned my wedding from a budget event to a elegant event for the same money. I am super happy!(Posted on 10/10/12)
- Awesome deal!!!Review by Kathy
These are a nice quality fabric napkin that can be used for multiple occasions at a fantastic price!(Posted on 10/3/12)


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Summer Camps
Children's Kodály Choir Camp 2015
presented by the Kodály Institute of Houston
The Preparatory and Continuing Studies Department of the University of Houston Moores School of Music will host the Children's Kodály Choir Camp, August 3 – August 7, 2015 from 8:30am-3:30pm on the UH main campus. The camp is open to interested students who have completed 4th through 6th grades and have unchanged singing voices. Young singers will have the opportunity to improve their vocal and musicianship skills and learn quality choral music using Kodály choral techniques. They will also go behind the scenes at the Moores Opera House, the Organ Recital Hall, KUHA-FM Radio, and much more! The week will culminate in a final concert in Dudley Recital Hall.
Cost of the camp is $325, which includes tuition, music, T-shirt, daily lunch and snacks. Singers will study with Phyllis King, conductor and artistic director as well as advanced teachers from the Kodály Institute of Houston.
Ms. King is currently a retired music specialist/administrator, having served 31 years in Education. You might have seen her most recently as the Texas Choral Directors Association Elementary Vice-President. Maybe you've even seen her in the past as a TMEA, TCDA, OAKE or AOSA invited clinician. She has worked mainly in Conroe, Killeen and Plano and has been a presenter for numerous district professional learning opportunities. She has also been part of the faculty of many Kodály training programs at the district and college level.
For additional information or to register, contact the PCS Office at 713-743-3398 or via e-mail at email@example.com.
Based on the extensive research and philosophy of the late Hungarian composer, Zoltán Kodály, the Kodály approach is based on singing skills, which move the students, experientially, to music appreciation and literacy. The Kodály approach relies on the timeless beauty of folk music and classic art music to facilitate music reading, music appreciation, and music performance.


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The Children's Museum of Bozeman features hands-on exhibits and creative programs for kids and families. Kids learn through play in exhibits and open-ended activities featuring physical science, building, dress-up, arts, culture and more. Everyone welcome!
Earth's Treasures features natural wonders and Montana Fossils, without an admission fee. Crystals, Dino Poop, Framed Leaves, Rock Tumblers, Metal Detectors, Gold Pans, Books, Butterfly Wing Jewelry & Minerals for the serious collector as well as small children. Don't miss the Bug Wall. Come as a customer, leave as a friend. Open year-round Mon. through Sat.
Step back in time and learn about Gallatin County's heritage. Visit the Gallatin History Museum in Bozeman, which offers a unique glimpse into the area's past. In addition to jail cells and a hanging gallows, the museum maintains displays illustrating the unique histories of a variety of people who have called Southwest Montana home. The Gallatin Historical Society has a full research center on sight as well as a bookstore with hard to find local and regional history books.
The Gallatin History Museum preserves and promotes the history of Gallatin County & southwest Montana, and...has more than 18,000 historical photographs
The Museum of the Rockies, home to the world?s largest collection of dinosaur fossils, is Montana?s premier natural and cultural history museum. The museum houses permanent exhibits on dinosaurs, geology and Montana history - including, Native American cultures - as well as a planetarium, a living history farm, Explore Yellowstone Children?s Discovery Center and world-class changing exhibits.


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Man accused of leaving scene after crashing into guardrailNovember 20,2013MANCHESTER — An Arlington man was arraigned Monday after police said he crashed into a guardrail in Manchester in September and caused significant damage but left the scene without reporting the crash to police.
Alexander Richardson, 19, of Arlington, pleaded innocent in Bennington criminal court Monday to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
In an affidavit, Officer Daniel Steere of the Manchester Police Department said he was dispatched Sept. 18 to the scene of a crash on Barnumville Road at a bridge just west of the Route 7 overpass around 5:30 a.m. Steere said police had information that the crash happened about four hours earlier, but it hadn't been reported.
Steere said he found debris from a vehicle in the road and "significant damage" to the guardrail on the bridge. From the vehicle, he found a headlight assembly and the vehicle's license plate and frame.
Steere said the eastern end support pole for the guard rail was bent 80 to 90 degrees. Many of the support poles had been broken off, and Steere said the damage to those poles was significant along all 102 feet of the guardrail.
According to Steere, the other headlight assembly was found in the river.
Following a trail of antifreeze, Steere tracked the car along Winter Road to a jeep trail. About a mile from the crash site, Steer found two men sleeping around a fire pit.
Steere said there were beer cans and small wine bottles around the fire pit as well.
According to the affidavit, Steere woke one of the men, later identified as Richardson. Steere said Richardson admitted that he had been driving and had crashed into the guardrail, but said he didn't think there had been any damage to the guardrail.
The car belonged to Richardson's mother.MORE IN This Just InBARRE The Raiders built a 13-1 halftime lead before shifting into cruise control Thursday... Full StoryPOULTNEY Dylan Manning made the most of his last-minute addition to the Poultney lineup. Full StoryThe Plainfield Area Business Alliance will hold the first of a series of meetings for local... Full Story
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JB's Sarnie Shoppe's owners, Gareth and Bruce, helm a bustling kitchen where fresh bread, baked in-house twice daily, embraces a cavalcade of hearty sandwich fillings. Guests can build their own sandwiches, referred to as sarnies, with wholesome ingredients, such as Boar's Head meats, thick slices of cheese, and housemade roasted-red-pepper spread. The menu ventures beyond the breaded with cobb salads and creamsicle smoothies, and names items using slang from overseas: "sarnie" (sandwich), "crisps" (chips), "biscuits" (cookies), and "cookies" (biscuits). Outside of the shop, it caters any event that has at least five people capable of chewing.
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Kind of a noob about setting that stuff up....what should I be seeing? Do I have to add it manually? Haven't had to do that before Here are the settings I used to get data on my phone APN: rogers-core-appl1.apn Proxy: Port: Use...
Rules are meant to be broken.... Or something like that. Merry Christmas to all! Thanks to all the devs who put in hours and hours of work all so that we can better our phones, and hit the thank you button. Keep up the amazing work. :-) Sen...
Given Rogers track record on timing of products whether they be for software updates or product releases, I wouldn't trust any source reliable or not. Sometimes its just best to say... 'you'll get it when it's available' I've realized that a '...


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Business Week: Live Nation and Ticketmaster are one step closer to the alter.
Pitchfork: The new Dirty Projectors single, "Ascending Melody," is available for free.
NME: MIA's new album could arrive as earl as this spring. ""It's my third album and I have to kind of confront whether I am a musician or not," she told NME.
Billboard: Ringo's new record, Y Not, comes out tomorrow. It includes guest spots from Ben Harper, Paul McCartney, and Joss Stone, among others.


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How bad is it to shingle over wet tar paper. The paper has dew in the morning so ive been wiping it down with towels or old shirts and then waiting until it dries completely. The only problem is that the house has trees on the east side so its like 9 o'clock until i can shingle and even longer until the west facing side gets sun and dries. Would it hurt the shingles or decking to shingle over the dew? What about if it is sprinkling? Raining or just rained? Just curious if anyone has any opinions or better yet, facts from previous experiences? How many people have shingled over wet paper and did it cause premature shingle or deck failure? Also, does it matter if the paper is wrinkled? Will it lay flat after shingles are installed. ThanksMitch
I sually cover with tarp if its gonna be dewy....i hate when it wrinkles,#30 felt i would wait till it smoothes out #15 not as concerned...
Mitchy, Facts not opinions can be found @ Gaf.com.On left side find underlayment and leak barrier specs.Click on it,and it will give the facts and observations data.I already know the answer.No to felt flattening and drying after it is covered,and yes the shingles will prematurely fail...Not opinion,but fact.If it is easier for you,P.M. me,and give e-mail and I can send you pdf. I have already downloaded from Gaf. It sucks to wait for felt to dry,but it is worth the wait....The best thing to do is cover felted roof with tarp at night to avoid this situation... Hope this helps.
If you only shingle over dry felt you would only get about half or a little less work done in a year in the Pacific Northwest.
Know what ya mean...you could also slice where its wrinkled then patch it with dry stuff...
Tarp it or shingle it........Never leave just felt overnight when possible
Just stating facts,not saying you can't do it.I however don't.Yes it makes it difficult to make $$$,but it is the right thing to do....I have also tarped houses like a tent to work through a rainy week...Another full re-sheet...I'm guessing from house build in winter,and the last roofer covered wet felt... I ripped of a cover over once that was soaked between layers,with no sign of leaking.The new layer was flawless,but when the h.o. went to clean out gutters,he stepped through the roof,called me,and it ended up being 2 layers off,and full re-sheet...The last roof was only 5 yrs old,and h.o. said they had to shovel snow off to shingle it. From this I experienced 1st hand the effects of shingling over wet,IT NEVER DRIES! :shock: lol
ok I have a question. If you have ice dams and water gets under the shingles, you're telling me that water never gets out?
I was just gonna post the same question.
Any ice damming issues I have dealt with,was remedied with full tear off...and I replaced wet sheets,install I&W shield,and new roof...so I don't know...I only know what I've observed, and what I have read...I would imagine that the bulk of the water runs out,but the felt,and sheets will not dry out.... I have replaced so many sheets in the past few years,that it is not even funny.I am always asking history of the home.I am sure that most of the homes I've had to do full re-sheet were caused by framed and sheets were soaked before roofer got there,shingled in the rain,roofed in the winter, shoveled off by roofer,and lack of vent.... I've seen roofers shovel off a new house roof,and paper right over the frosty crusty sheets...Draw your own conclusion...Oh yeah,I'm starting 1 as soon as the rain lets up,and guess what?Full re-sheet...go figure...
It has to dry with that kind of heat pumping in the house
the trick is to use a leaf blower and it will dry and flatten quickly.
Maybe climates make a difference too.Almost all of our work comes from word of mouth, but it doesn't matter how good a reference they got if I doubled my labor prices the closing rate would be pretty small.
Thanks everyone for the help. Your responses were what I figured which is why I haven't been shingling over the wet paper. Just trying to get more done during the day. I get annoyed when im standing around for an hour or so bc all the paper is wet and everything is set up for the day. Maybe ill have to invest in a leaf blower and use it after I wipe down with towels.ThanksMitch
Mitchy --
Try synthetic undies. They don't wrinkle and aren't much more than felt. Most need to be applied with cap nails or they can leak.
That is also why I am stuck on Shingle Mate,It does not wrinkle like reg. felt,and in 15 min. on partly sunny day it dries out,and is flat as new...I have been caught in passing t-storm,and couldn't get covered with a tarp quick enough. I usually strip from top down,and dry in as I go,replacing sheets along the way.If it is an ugly day,I also have the tarp ready to drape over it.Leaf blower does work well...
Problem with felt getting wet and drying is when it dries it shrinks and tears away from fasteners. Whats the point of using an underlayment if it has holes?
Shingle Mate doesn't have that problem.
Its code.


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Video: Local Children Show Their 'Pink'
[bitsontherun WWdKM0PE]
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCB) – The First Assembly Child Care Center in Columbus showed their pink Friday (10/26) in honor of breast cancer awareness.
The children released, recited prayers and shouted chants for the occasion.
They also celebrated with pink cupcakes.
Church members hope to instill in children at an early age the importance of getting involved in a good cause.


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Universal Services Of America Named One Of Orange County Register's Top Workplaces
SANTA ANA, Calif., Dec. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Services of America, one of the largest providers of security services in the U.S., recently received two awards from the Orange County Register. The first, the Top Workplaces 2012 award, recognizes leading workplaces in Orange County and is given based on surveys from the company's staff. Hundreds of local companies were asked to participate in the event, but only 85 of those companies made the final list. Universal Services of America placed fourth in the "Large Company" category. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100316/LA71355LOGO)The Orange County Register also acknowledged companies with special awards for excellent work in a particular field. Universal was given the Medallion Award in Training for their extensive training programs that provide their employees with opportunities for job growth and advancement. "I am very fortunate to be part of such an exceptional company and to work with such exceptional people every day," said Scott Naso, Senior Regional Vice President and employee for over 25 years at Universal Services of America. "While the growth of the company has been very remarkable, I feel that even more astounding is Universal's continued commitment and ability to be a better company for both the employees and our clients year after year. There is something truly special about being part of this team; it is something that is not commonly found in most organizations." Employees were asked to rate their companies based on categories such as fairness, flexibility, benefits and values. Companies with excellent communication and respect for their employees topped the list. Universal knows employees are the cornerstone to their continued success and views them as their most valuable assets. Universal's benefits, training programs, contests and profit-sharing plans are all part of the packages their employees receive. The Orange County Register's Top Workplaces of 2012 award is an honor that Universal Services of America is proud to accept.
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Best Selling
Romance (6)
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In a world of polite manners and forbidden pleasures, proper appearances rule the ton, but secret desires rule the heart. . .
A Wicked Proposal
Sir Benedict Wayborn needs to find a proper young lady to become...
In polite society, the rules forbid young ladies to pursue their own passions and pleasures. But some rules are made to be broken. . .
To escape an unwanted marriage, Lady Viola Gambol...
Refinement is everything in the drawing rooms of the ton. But behind closed doors, a world of scandalous passion awaits. . .
A Gentleman Without Scruples
Patience Waverly has no time for uppity English aristocrats—and...
All The World's A Stage
Celia St. Lys has risen above the secrets of her past and transformed herself into the most beautiful and gifted actress on the London stage. Her glamorous career is the love of her life,...
Nothing Tastes Sweeter . . .
To escape gossip in London due to a broken engagement and a stolen diamond, heiress Abigail Ritchie changes her name to Miss Smith, and leases a house in the country. Along with...
Nicholas St. Austell's Christmas Wish List
--An invitation to a holiday house party
--A shiny gold pocket watch
--An introduction to Emma, the Duchess of Warwick
--Roasted chestnuts
--A dance with Emma


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A teenager was struck and killed Friday evening by a train in Hartwell.
Police said it happened on the railroad tracks near Sheehan Avenue.
The name of the victim has not been released, but police said he was 13 years old.
Family members said he was about to celebrate his 14th birthday.
Investigators said the boy was walking along the tracks with a young girl just before he was struck.
The girl was not hurt. Cincinnati police continue to investigate.
The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.blog comments powered by Disqus


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Drink of the week: St. Paul Grill's single malt scotch selection
Single malt scotch selection St. Paul Grill 350 Market St., St. Paul 651.224.7455 website
photos by Steve Neuharth
There are some places where the atmosphere of the room provides the guide to selecting your drink. While I stumbled into the St. Paul Grill to peruse their cocktail menu, this was clearly a place where scotch is meant to be drunk.
By letting our bartender Al chose, we ended up with the perfect selection-- Laphroaig 15 year, a barrel-aged beauty. This scotch was smokey, like a campfire, rich with oak and just a hint of fruit. The ultra-smooth finish had absolutely no burn; it is enlightening (and addictive) to know that amber fluids can be this nice. This scotch made me crave a snowstorm just so I could sit at this bar in this most charming part of Downtown St. Paul, swirling my snifter, talking to friends and just taking it all in.
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Monday, May 21, 2007
9 Comments | Copyright: India-Forums.com
With all the channels participating in the never ending race of churning out better shows, the production houses are now placing their money on new shows to catch the attention of the viewers. Zee's considerably new show, Parivaar – Kartavya ki Pariksha, has recently started and has managed to build up a loyal fan base in a small period of time.
Amidst all the drama, emotions and twists, Telly Buzz brings you an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming episodes of this show. So read on to get a heads up on the major twists and turns in the episodes that will be aired this following week!
Amidst all the drama, emotions and twists, Telly Buzz brings you an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming episodes of this show. So read on to get a heads up on the major twists and turns in the episodes that will be aired this following week!
Zee's 'Parivaar - Kartavya Ki Pariksha' is indeed giving the main protagonist, Radha, a big pariksha. Just when Radha thinks her hopes and aspirations are about to come true, her dreams shatter and her heart breaks. Mohit's garage - on which they were hoping to build their new life - has now been completely destroyed.
The new week brings new problems into Radha's life. The family, to whom Radha has dedicated her entire life, has now put her own love at stake. At a juncture in life where she needs love and consolation, Radha is put on a crossroad - she must choose between her family or the love of her life when Dadi threatens to throw Radha out of the house!
This and many other secrets are revealed this week as Radha tries to deal with the new crisis in her life. Keep watching the show for answers to all these questions and don't forget to stay tuned as we bring you exclusive first hand information on your favourite serials!
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Plecos and Plants
I've been reading up on these guys, I would like to have one in the 120g planted tank I'm planning.
A lot of people seam conflicted on this issue. Some say they eat plants, others don't. It would appear that through everything I've read, they CAN eat plants, but generally won't if you provide them with better alternatives (like fresh vegetables).
I know these guys get large (1-2 feet) which could be the other problem ... when they swim through the plants can they destroy them/uproot?
Anyone have one of these guys (an adult pleco) with plants? Does he cause you problems making it more work than its worth to maintain?
Well there are many different kinds of plecos, common plecos are the ones I assume you are talking about. I am pretty sure they are likely to eat plants but only if they are hungry. But this is only an assumption. There are smaller plecos, like the bristlenose who only get around 4-5 inches who don't really eat plants all that much. Though they must have driftwood. Another thing about having a gigantic pleco is that they are messy. They poop like no tomorrow and it is a constant problem in my opinion, I only had a 6 inch pleco and she was terrible XD. I much prefer my little bristlenose.
I have kept plecos in planted tanks for a few years and I have never experienced a problem this them eating plants. If I were you I would go with a bristlenose pleco over the common (Trinidad) pleco. Commons get very big and can wreck havoc on aquarium decorations.
Plecos do poop more than other fish but I have never considered it a problem. In a heavily planted tank you wont even notice it.
Yeah, this would be for a 120g which is 48x24x24 which should be large enough for the common. I'm not so much worried about them eating plants, as I would make sure they have plenty of other foods, but since they do get so large I would be worried about them just tearing through the plants when they swim around/through them.
That definitely could happen they are strong enough at that size to do that.
I would just get a couple bristlenose or other smaller variety. I wouldn't want a giant pleco dominating my tank as I don't find them very attractive at that size. They lose all cuteness when they're that big, but that's only my opinion. I feel like it would detract from the other fish, or any center peice fish you might have.
haha, I actually saw a full grown one daily for awhile, it was my girlfriend's (now wife) way back in high school.
It was 15 or so years old, and awesome. I don't know why, but I like them ^_^
But, yes, I may have to relent and get the smaller variety just so I have the peace of mind that a few years down the road I won't have a monster tearing up the fields ;)
I'm glad someone likes them. Full grown they look like they could suck down my arm. I prefer small fish though so I guess I'm baised.
I really like large plecos, If I were to have a tank over 100 gallons I would defiantly keep one of the larger species. I had a large common pleco in with my Oscar a number of years ago. He was over 12" when I sold him. At the time he was only about 3 years old.
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3rd Chem Brigade welcomes new top noncommissioned officer
July 12, 2012
By Amy Newcomb (Fort Leonard Wood)
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Command Sgt. Maj. John Hawley relinquished responsibility of the 3rd Chemical Brigade to Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Aldenberg during a change-of-responsibility ceremony at Shea Gym July 2.
Col. Jim Bonner, 3rd Chem. Bde. commander, welcomed everyone to the ceremony and praised Hawley as a talented leader who was instrumental as the 3rd Chem. Bde. command sergeant major.
"I doubt many people know it … but we both started our careers in the 1st Ranger Battalion -- an organization that always challenges you to constantly be prepared, remain vigilant, and maintain the standard," Bonner said. "Command Sgt. Maj. Hawley was all those."
"Every so often, a unit needs a leader to remind them of the Corps values. Command Sgt. Maj. Hawley has done that by emphasizing Warrior Ethos, focusing on physical fitness, discipline, and basic skills like combatives," Bonner added.
Bonner said he and wife, Deborah, and the 3rd Chem. Bde. were grateful to both Hawley and his wife, Claudia, for their leadership and teamwork.
Bonner also welcomed the Aldenberg family back to Fort Leonard Wood.
"We together will continue to build upon this proud unit" he said.
Aldenberg thanked everyone for attending the ceremony and said it was good to see old friends within the audience.
"It's hard to believe that we left over eight years ago, but we are glad to be back," Aldenberg said. "It is evident that this brigade is comprised of professional, dedicated officers, NCOs, Soldiers and civilians."
"Being selected as the command sergeant major for the 3rd Chemical Brigade is an extreme honor and I am proud to serve," he added. "I look forward to working with officers, NCOs and civilians of the brigade … to show that we will continue to provide world-class training in support of our Basic Combat Training, CBRN and transportation warriors."
Aldenberg joined the Army in 1991. He served in the 11th Chemical Company at Fort McClellen, Ala.; the 25th Chemical Company in Budingen, Germany; the 7th Transportation Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C.; the 71st Chemical Company at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; the Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Leonard Wood; the 95th Chemical Company at Fort Richardson, Alaska; the United States Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas; the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. and 22nd Chemical Battalion (Technical Escort) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. He has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Aldenberg and his wife, Carolyn, have two children, Trevor and Paige.


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fairy by dielectric-mWatch
©2010-2016 dielectric-m
sleepy fairy
it is a tutorial drawing.
this was fun to follow and draw in 10 step.
tutorial of how to draw this fairy belong to Fleming
it is a tutorial drawing.
this was fun to follow and draw in 10 step.
tutorial of how to draw this fairy belong to Fleming
I like it i have the Book too ^^ its great and the tips are awesome ^^ (sorry for my bad english )
I have that art book, how to draw fantasy females!
So nice....I love it
She's beautiful.
stunning truly stunning!
she's so beautiful!^^
sorry for my English xD
sorry for my English xD
If I werent afraid to get a tattoo, this would be what I want....love it
nicely wings
Wow ! Another beauty !
wow, what lovely detailed drawing of a fairy
i love these wings!
I featured your drawing! Have a look!
truely lovely work as allways thanks for the favs
What a cool pose, love the wings as well
This looks so delicate!
This looks so delicate!
I really like the realism of your art, it is beautiful :')
you are welcome, it looks like alot of time was put into it too
just beautiful!
aaaaaaaaaagh the wings are so beautiful!!
whoa... looks so cool)
I'd have to say the skin is very very well done.... It looks simply amazing.
It looks so smooth.
It looks so smooth.


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Obama's background revealed in Washington Examiner tabloid
The Washington Examiner's "The Man Behind the Image" (Supplement, Sept. 23) was revealing. I hope those who are uninformed will read it. Barack Obama didn't come from an underprivileged background. He didn't struggle in his youth. In Illinois, as a community organizer and state senator, he never worked for the benefit of the poor, especially the black community. Because of him and his associates, hundreds of them lost their homes. Those same associates, including Valerie Jarrett, Obama's current economic adviser, made millions at the expense of poor people and taxpayers. He funneled millions of dollars to his supporters who gave back donations to his political campaigns. Do we need more proof that this man isn't fit to serve as president?
Robert Bostick, Altus


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