A Brief History of Disbelief

URL: A Brief History of Disbelief

This three-part BBC series narrated by Jonathan Miller conveys a survey of atheistic thought. The ties between theism and patriotism brought out in the program are of particular interest. (Thanks to Open Culture for the link.) ___JH

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"Jonathan Miller’s Brief History of Disbelief is a BBC production (2005) that offers television’s first sustained look at the hidden history of atheism. The three-part documentary takes you from unbelievers within Ancient Greece, to the re-emergence of disbelief in 15th and 16th century Europe, through to the French Enlightenment, Revolutionary America and the rise of Darwinian thought. We’ve posted Part 1 below. You can watch Parts 2 and 3 here and here. This video comes our way via onlinedocumentaries4u.com."

Google Flu Trends

URL: Google Flu Trends

What this site does is show how many people are doing searches for flu-related terms on Google--which correlates closely with the incidence of flu symptoms. The display can be viewed for the US overall or state by state. This is a fascinating and useful illustration of straightforward cognitive-behavioral social science. ___JH

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"We've found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems."

Make Your Own Book

URL: Make Your Own Book

There are several excellent sites that assist prospective authors to publish their own books. Jane's E-Learning Picks profiles Blurb; I also recommend Scribd.
___JH

How To How To

URL: How To How To

The New York Times Magazine author Virginia Heffernan reviews online how to sites in this interesting piece. Heffernan writes The Medium, a blog covering online video for the Times. ____JH
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"The best thing about how-to sites like Howcast, eHow, WonderHowTo, Instructables, SuTree, VideoJug and ExpertVillage — huge collections of videos that offer instruction in Chinese dining etiquette and surviving zombie attacks, plating fettuccine Alfredo and linking spins in freestyle kayaking — is that they revive a lost era of two-bit skills, when Cross pens whirled around thumbs, Zippos burst in and out of flames and someone was forever trying to show you how."

101 Bibliophile Resources!

URL: 100 Places to Connect with Bibliophiles

This is a lengthy listing of reading resources at the Online Education Database. ___JH (Thanks to the Contemporary Literature Blog for the reference.)

Snag Films

URL: Snag
Snag is a compelling site for free documentary films and articles about the films. ___JH
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"At SnagFilms.com, you can watch full-length documentary films for free, but we also make it easy for you to take our films with you and put them anywhere on the web. When you embed a widget on your web site, you open a virtual movie theater and become a 'Filmanthropist.' Donate your pixels and support independent film! And click on 'info' on any widget to learn more about that film and a related charity you can also support.

With a library of 225 documentaries, and rapidly growing — browse by topic or go through the alphabet from A-Z — you’re bound to find films that resonate with your interests. There is a widget for EVERY film, so any film you like can be snagged. To learn more about snagging go here. Enjoy your visit, snag a film, and keep checking back because we’re adding great news titles daily."

Graspr--Instructional Videos

URL: Graspr--Instructional Videos

Graspr is an instructional video network containing a worthwhile collection of how-to materials, including Home & Garden, Sports, Food & Drinks, and other categories. Users can use Graspr's toolbox to upload and remix videos for sharing._____JH

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What is Graspr?

Graspr is an online video community that offers high quality instructional content on a wide range of topics. Our mission is to make the world a smarter place by bringing together people who possess different kinds of expertise, and helping them share what they know with others. We want to make knowledge more accessible, and thus empower users to explore new interests, cultivate new skills, and become even more proficient in the subjects they know well.

The Graspr Philosophy: "Sharing the Wealth of Knowledge"

At Graspr, we believe that learning is an inherently social process, so we've made it easy to connect with real people -- hobbyists, professionals, and celebrities -- who have wisdom and experience to share.

We believe that multiple perspectives enrich the learning process, so we provide a range of content on each topic.

Most importantly, we believe that the knowledge gained through experience is a precious resource that should be put to good use. Everyone knows something of value, no matter what their credentials. Our purpose is to help deliver that knowledge to the people who seek it.

Techtorial: Subscribing to RSS Feeds - Lorrie Jackson, Education World

URL: Techtorial: Subscribing to RSS Feeds - Lorrie Jackson, Education World

All teachers and students, including self-directed adult learners, need to know how to subscribe to rich site syndication feeds from sources of information and opinion. This techtorial tells how to do it. (I like the term "techtorial" too.)____JH (From Educational Technology.)

Real Simple

URL: Real Simple: Life Made Easier

Real Simple is an online (and print) magazine about how to do simple things in everyday life, like how to fold a newspaper for easy reading. (This little article caught my attention because I remembered seeing a passenger on a crowded commuter train from NYC to Washington D.C. who had a perfectly folded New York Times.) ___JH

Malware—What It Is and How to Avoid It

URL: Malware—What It Is and How to Avoid It

This article by Daniel James from techLearning is an excellent extended review of the different kinds of malware and how to protect from malware attacks. (From Ray Schroeder's Educational Technology.) ____JH

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"Many people are unaware of these threats and how they can adversely affect your data and ultimately your life. These threats include viruses, spyware, adware, key loggers, botnets, remote administration tools (RATs), and the list goes on. All of these threats fall under the umbrella known as malware. Malware is basically a software program that contains malicious code and is sent or released into the public with the intent to do harm. The damage can come in many forms such as destruction of data and/or theft of data."

Some Free Alternatives to Pricey Software

URL: Some Free Alternatives to Pricey Software

Geek News covers free software packages that do the basics (word processing, photo editing, publishing, etc.). I haven't tried all of the recommended packages but do use Open Office and I'm very pleased with the product. ____JH

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"Most of us don't want to spend $600 for a program to edit pictures (Adobe Photoshop or CS3 Suite) or $400 for a text editor and spreadsheet program. And for those of us that detest Outlook, but like the calendar features, we've felt left out since Thunderbird doesn't offer a calendar in its standard install. And then there's that pesky problem with Adobe Acrobat Professional; unless you are an educational buyer, Adobe Acrobat licenses are a bit on the pricey side."

YouTube’s New Screening Room (Free Indie Films)

URL: YouTube’s New Screening Room (Free Indie Films)

Dan Coleman of OpenCulture reports on the new Screening Room for independent films available from YouTube. Definitely worth checking. ____JH

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"The Screening Room presents high quality, independent films to YouTube users and promises to roll out four new films every two weeks. Given YouTube’s immense reach, these indies will immediately find a vast international audience. Then, to sweeten the deal even further, YouTube will offer filmmakers a major cut of the advertising revenue generated by the viewing of each video. Plus, hard and digital copies of the films can be sold as well. If this new venture gains traction (and you have to think it will), YouTube could suddenly find itself the center of gravity for the indie world, displacing Sundance along the way."

Gristmill's "How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic"

URL: How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic

This is a a well organized, well written, and often updated site about global warming. ___JH

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"Below is a complete listing of the articles in "How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic," a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. There are four separate taxonomies; arguments are divided by:
Stages of Denial,
Scientific Topics,
Types of Argument, and
Levels of Sophistication."

United States National Seismic Hazard Maps

URL: United States National Seismic Hazard Maps

I've lived in earthquake prone areas for many years (in S. California and parts of the Northwest). These seismic hazard maps from the US Geologic Survey office provide useful information. ____JH  (Thanks to Ray Schroeder's Educational Technology.)

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" The 2008 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Maps display earthquake ground motions for various probability levels across this United States and are applied in seismic provisions of building codes, insurance rate structures, risk assesments, and other public policy. This update of the maps incorporates new findings on earthquake ground shaking, faults, sesmicity, and geodesy."