The World Of Work

Ever wonder what it will take to get a certain job? The folks who brought us the ACT have also provided a The World of Work Map. As students explore their desired career options, the wheel provides them with the current opportunities for that occupation, potential income and the type of skills and studies required.
Besides its obvious use by the guidance office, teachers can find explanation or application of their classes to a variety of fields. For example, why would a surgical technician need my programming class? The answer is that someone in the OR needs to understand the robot performing the surgery.

Where Do You Know?

Mapping Wikipedia is a Google Maps mash up that identifies the location of Wikipedia entries based on the geo-location data found on the wiki entry.
As a former geography teacher, I can think of several ways to explore our world with this kind of data mining. But as a web technology teacher, I find that the site shows just how polarized web content can be. Clearly the majority of wiki entries in English are about places in Europe and the United States. Language still divides us as it has ever since the Tower of Babel.

It's Nice To Be Appreciated

Half way through teacher appreciation week I received my first tokens of gratitude. As a high school teacher, these items seldom appear on my desk. But my elementary students always amaze me with their affection and comments.
Today I received candy, cookies and a couple Dr. Peppers with several big "thank you's". But the one that made me smile the biggest was a handwritten card. In classic fourth grade penmanship, the note read:

Dear Mr. Biddle,

Thank you for all the time and commitment you have put in to teach us kids about advertising, and computers. Thanks for letting A. and I use the big screen! :) It was fun. I look forward to Wednesdays because of computer.

Sincerley,

A.

Storm The Castle Again

Twenty years ago I entered the castle for the first time. Despite an amber screen, the 3D graphics were cutting edge. I was surprised my parents let me have a first-person shooting game. No longer was it a pixel character popping off shots; it was me, the player.
Now you can relive the excitement, turn by turn through Castle Wolfenstein with a free, web browser version released by Bethesda Software over at http://wolfenstein.bethsoft.com/

Only In My Dreams

Still not sure about androids and electric sheep but I caught a PBS show last night called Electric Dreams. The premise was to take a typical British family through the technological innovations of the 70's, 80's and 90's.

Part of it was nostalgic as the crew searched for functioning devices. Other parts were laughable as the family dressed and "lived" the role from each decade. Of course Mom and Dad remembered those decades but the kids were experiencing them for the first time.

The episodes were filmed in Britain so some of the cultural elements may seem foreign to American audiences. Come to think of it, most of the show will seem foreign to anyone born after the turn of the century.

Teachers may want to reference the episodes for Sociology, Computer History, or even just recent history.

Free Tour of Jerusalem

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Have you ever wanted to visit Jerusalem? Do you ever wonder about places mentioned in the Bible? Then check out Google Maps new street views of this ancient Holy City, such as the Church of the Holy Sepluchre or the Via Dolorosa.

Radar Gun Build

This week in Programming class we built a radar gun from Lego Mindstorms. Input used the ultrasound sensor. Used some basic math (distance over time) for the calculation. And the LCD display gave the output.

There are lots of variations that could be added to the project. I found that meters per second was easier to compute than miles per hour. We have an older educational kit that includes an LED and transparent bricks, so it could also light up if a speed limit was exceeded.
Download the build instructions and code here.