iPhone Pictures That Will Blow You Away

Alaska, 2006. Digital camera

In 2006 I was lucky enough to earn a grant to Alaska in order to create a unit for my 4th grade class the next fall. I remember borrowing my wife's new digital camera, which was top of the line, small, and lightweight. I was amazed at the crispness and quality of the pictures. My father, who joined me on the trip, used a disposable camera, which he thought was the pinnacle of technological advancement at the time: "This is great! I just take it to Rite Aid, hand it over, and pick up my pictures. It can't get any easier."

Well....6 months later the iPhone was introduced. Today, smartphones take incredibly detailed photographs and put my wife's digital camera from 2006 to shame. Which brings me to my point.

While reading through my Twitter feed, I came across a post on the iPPA (iPhone Photography Awards) from the blog SLR Lounge and had to share it. It brings to mind, once again, how far the technology has come in such a short time. Here is one to whet your appetite:

Interactive Books

The fully interactive book is here...or it was for a brief moment. Mike Matas, a former software designer at Apple created a platform on which a book could be completely interactive through video, pictures and infographics. They had even published their first book, Our Choice by Al Gore. Then Facebook bought the company and the technology - too bad. Here is Mike's 4:30 minute TED Talk from 2011.

Hackschooling

I found this video of a 13 year old named Logan LaPlante which outlines his approach to his own education. He bases his approach to schooling on his pursuit of happiness, which, as he outlines, needs to fill eight buckets*:

1. Recreation
2. Time in Nature
3. Religion/Spiritual
4. Diet & Nutrition
5. Exercise
6. Stress Management & Relaxation
7. Service & Contribution
8. Relationships

The best part of this talk is that without knowing it, Logan has made the case simultaneously for The Big Shift and the way Canterbury provides a whole child education. Check it out:

*"Lifestyle and Mental Health" by Dr. Roger Walsh

Not Fair!

I found this video this morning on the blog 2¢ Worth and couldn't resist the comparison to middle school students. Plus it's really funny.

Fairness, or at least the perception of fairness, becomes a driving force in the lives of adolescents and nowhere does it come to the surface most than in middle school. One of the greatest tensions for middle school students is balancing this incredible urge to be an individual and treated uniquely, and demanding that everybody be treated the same. The black and white approach becomes grey over the four years they spend with us, and that in and of itself may be one of the greatest accomplishments a middle level educator can claim.

 

The Brain: Why Practice Makes Perfect

http://timeopinions.files.wordpress.com/

I read this article this weekend and thought it was a nice summary of the neurological benefits of "practice makes perfect" and why creative, authentic, multi-faceted approaches to teaching, learning, and producing make such a difference in our students' educational experiences.

Check out the blog post here.

Parent Help: The Internet Cheat Sheet

I found this inforgraphic from Jen Gordon, a mom who is trying to help other moms and dads watch out for their kids on the Internet. It does a nice job of outlining some simple steps to take to keep your kids safe as it relates to Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, Google, and Apple products. Check it out: