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Welcome
Good
day everyone and thank you for visiting my web site. For those of you
who do not know me, I work at the Peter Sammartino School of Education
at Fairleigh Dickinson University. I serve as the Field-Based
Internship Coordinator for the School of Education, Educational
Leadership Program. This is a dynamic program that is designed for
those who are seeking to become school administrators. As part of the
program, each student must accrue 120 hours of internship under the
tutelage of a principal/mentor who works with the program. I coordinate
this internship experience for the students enrolled in the Masters for
Educational Leadership.
Visit the Educational Leadership Web Site at: http://edweb.fdu.edu/soe/edleadership/
As
you may also note, I have a strong interest in the effective use of
educational technology. I believe that technology has the potential to
transform the educational process by enabling the differentiation of
instruction to suit the needs of all learners.
Feel free to explore the site and send any related comments you may have to jbross@fdu.edu
Quick Links
11/9/05 - Publish Yourself -
It seems that the web has reached an explosive peak where everyone has
an opportunity to become a content provider. If you are an avid
hobbyist, writer, artist, etc. this may be your opportunity. Even the
cost has been eliminated or significantly reduced to enable nearly
anyone to post information on the web.
When I speak of information, I am not just speaking of the written
word. Audio and video are being produced and hosted on the web for free
or little-cost. In a recent article for CNET Tom Meritt, Executive
editor, CNET.com, in his Nov. 4th online column
explains how to accomplish this feat using Ourmedia.org to host the
content and FeedBurner to set up RSS feeds and perhaps help with
marketing (for a fee).
If this has an interest for you, read the entire article and get the scoop at:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-6377236-1.html?tag=nl.e501
10/31/05 - XM Experience - Note: This is an opinion piece so if you don't agree that is quite acceptable. This is just MY opinion.
Well, I finally had it with purchasing CDs that contain one or two
laudable tracks and the rest not worthy of a second listening. It is
rare nowadays to purchase a CD where ten of twelve tracks are good and
four or five are very good. Many CDs I have purchased contain only one
good song, i.e. the one I heard on the radio.
I have tried it all. I have gone to websites and listened to the first
30 seconds of each song. Unfortunately, the instrumental intros to many
of those recordings take up all of the 30 seconds the retailers are
posting. One cannot get a very good sense of the overall quality of the
song without hearing at least half of it and preferably all of it.
I≠ve tried to support artists who have done their best to issue quality
CDs by providing numerous worthy tracks on each album. George Winston,
piano tune weaver extraordinaire, is one such artist - http://www.georgewinston.com/montanabio.html.
There are others to be sure, but there are far more who provide only a
small sampling of quality and the rest is musically banal.
I have been tempted by satellite radio mainly because of the staggering
selection of genres. I have been watching Sirius˙ and XM˙ radio for
quite some time. When a friend leased a car with XM radio and we had an
opportunity to try it, I was, more or less, sold. What sealed the deal
was a tremendous sale Circuit City had on an Audiovox XM˙ Plug-and-Play Satellite Receiver and Car Kit Package (XCS9)
which normally sold for $149.99. On the day I found it, it was selling
for $19.99 after all discounts and rebates were considered. For less
than $25, I was able to land a complete automobile system minus the
subscription fee of course. I think that Audiovox and Delphi are
changing models and they are discounting their current XM
radio/receiver models. If you hurry, you might find a similar bargain!
Naturally, I wanted to listen to XM via my home-bound stereo system. I
was able to find a home docking station, complete with antenna, etc. at
Best Buy for another very good
price that was under $30. This unit normally sells for around $50. To
summarize, I was able to gather $200 worth of XM equipment for
approximately $50. Now that≠s a deal.
All I needed to complete the set up was the subscription. I opted for
the monthly $12.99 fee, at least until I assessed the quality and
quantity of music. I have had the system in place for about two weeks
and I am very satisfied. There are dozens of channels that carry music
of interest across many genres. The greatest benefit is hearing many
songs that are not the most popular, but are still very good. Standard
FM radio generally plays only those selections that are ≥hits.≈ Of
course that is a very subjective thing. I like to find my own hits!
I didn≠t have any idea of the numerous special programs with
interviews, songs and artist-favorites that are broadcast on satellite
radio. On the Village Channel (Folk), for example, they had an
interview with the group Sweet Honey in the Rock, an African-American a
capella group (specializing in jazz, blues, and black church music - http://www.sweethoney.com/).
As they spoke of their songs and sang them, they also gave samples of
different artists from which they derived inspiration. It was a very
good hour of listening; if you like that kind of music. It is doubtful
that such an offering would be heard anywhere else. Even college
stations play only samples of such groups.
Computers make the XM experience complete. The Audiovox radio mentioned
above has six lines of text which can display every song being played
on any of the XM stations at a given time. One just has to page through
them. If the listener prefers, they can see the artists currently on
each of the stations. While I haven≠t used this feature yet, the radio
also enables one to select thirty artists/songs to have the receiver
≥remember≈ and inform them when that music is on any XM station so they
can listen to it. I find that amazing!
One final note about XM. I find their website a bit needy and they
don≠t do half as much as they could to make their service great rather
than just good to very good. What they do right, they do well. All
radio subscribers have access to XM Online which provides many stations
for online listening pleasure. I can now enjoy XM anywhere I have a DSL
or better internet connection. It isn≠t something I would like to
experience on a modem, but if you are on a network or have cable
Internet service, this is a very nice option. XM claims to offer a
free, three-day trial to their online offering which will provide some
insight into the XM experience. Remember, however, that the online
offerings are not as extensive as XM Radio. Ironically, XM claims that
there are some channels offered online that are not available via
radio; go figure! One other note is that a subscription can be had jus
to XM Online.
If you are interested, here are some links you can visit for further information.
XM Radio website - http://www.xmradio.com/
This Week on XM (Special Shows, etc. There are actually more than are listed here) - http://www.xmradio.com/programming/programming_main.jsp
See a PDF listing of all their stations - http://www.xmradio.com/programming/full_channel_listing.jsp?sort=number
xmfan.com (An XM radio community of people who are interested in XM radio) - http://www.xmfan.com/
I don≠t know if I will purchase many more CDs in the future, but for now, I am musically satisfied.
09/13/05 - On the Flip Side, Rubber Erasers - http://www.onthehouse.com/tips/20050913
Considering
how important the pencil is and has been to the educational process,
these facts about pencils and erasers are interesting and might be
shared with students.
"Years before the lead pencil was invented, Joseph Priestly found
rubber could remove marks. For more than 200 years, man has found
countless uses for these handy rubber erasers. They rub light rust
away, remove spots and smudges on paint and wallpaper and take black
heel marks off shiny, clean floors. Erasers can clean small electrical
contacts, too, like those on doorbells or on the base and handsets of
cordless phones. Think about it, and you will find lots of uses for the
mild abrasive in erasers.
For what it's worth, the average pencil can draw a line 35 miles long,
much farther than the mile or two its rubber eraser can erase. Another
note, while erasers were invented in 1770 and lead pencils in 1795, it
was nearly 100 years before the two were put together. The first pencil
with an attached eraser was patented in 1858. And that's the On The
House tip for today."
07/26/05- Learn from Mistakes: On the Woopidoo site [ http://www.woopidoo.com/ ], Ryan Allis
provides a unique insight into the world of mistakes. Reading the article, On
Failure and Learning from Mistakes, one can glean an entirely new perspective. Mr. Allis also provides some inspiring examples. I particularly like the quote from
Theodore Roosevelt that begins the piece.
"'It is not the critic who counts, not
the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives
valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at
the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the
worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place
shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor
defeat.'" Theodore Roosevelt
Mr. Allis does caution about taking "educated" chances to minimize errors. To gain more insights, I recommend
that you read the article at http://www.woopidoo.com/articles/allis/mistakes-article.htm and begin to learn from mistakes.
07/26/05- Virtual Street Reality: I
am constantly amazed at what one can find on the Internet. Every day I
spend an hour or so checking out interesting websites (links) to see
what is out there. Here is an example of the interesting things that
can be found on the Net.
3-D paintings on sidewalks: I had no idea that this was an art form.
Even after reviewing the site, I am still amazed that this can be done.
Apparently it is a matter of perspective as demonstrated by the picture
of the lady in the swimming pool (scroll to the bottom of the page).
How did they get that Coke bottle to look so 3-Dish? I am just amazed
and I hope you enjoy this site too.
http://www.rense.com/general67/street.htm
04/12/05 -
Last week millions witnessed the passing of an acknowledged world
leader. How did this man who had very humble beginnings, beat the odds
at almost every turn? How did the leader of the Catholic church become
so well respected by people of many faiths? There are lessons to be
learned by examining the leadership qualities of Pope John Paul II.
My sincere thanks go to Mr. Sharif Khan who has written the article Leadership Lessons from Pope John Paul II
and has granted permission for me to post it on the Educational
Leadership web site. Take a few minutes to read and learn about the essential
leadership qualities that guided Pople John Paul II's life and endeared
him to so many.
03/31/05 - With
the death of Terri Schiavo and the public spectacle of her families
trying to impose their particular understanding of what she might have
wanted, the importance of making careful final arrangements for one's
end-of-life is highlighted.
There is a document called Five Wishes which is accepted as a legal
document in numerous states and it guides the user through the process of expressing
their final wishes. While there are probably numerous sites that refer
to this document or provide it for a small fee or donation, the
Supportive Care of Dying site will send you one for the small donation
of $1.00.
Supportive Care of the Dying - http://www.careofdying.org/
If you would like to view a copy that cannot be printed, you may find one at Aging With Dignity site which also sells it for a small fee.
http://www.agingwithdignity.org/5wishes.html
Click the preview button on the right. While this is a topic that may make us uneasy, the time to act is now.
03/24/05
- Because You Can
In
an effort to set websites apart, webmasters are looking for new items
to add to their site to make them interesting. Douwe Osinga has used a Google hack (apparently) to provide this resource.
HTML code is provided for a site manager to add a map of all the states
they have visited on their website. The states visited are seen in red
while the non-visited states appear in grey.
Interestingly, had someone asked me how many states I had visited, I
would not have thought I had visited as many as I did. Of course, I had
to make a philosophical choice of what the word "visited" meant. I
determined that if I spent a significant portion of one day in a state
and/or saw significant sites in that state, it counted as a visit.
If you want to see a sample of how this looks, you can visit my sample page here:
http://home.comcast.net/~j.ross787/samples.html
If you want to do this yourself, visit:
http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates
and follow the directions. I
thought this was a neat idea. you can do the same with foreign
countries as well. See other interesting links on the site as well. A
word of caution. Don't make more than one major change to your site
without waiting a few days. If something goes wrong, it will be easier
to track! Good luck! - [ Jeff ]
02/22/05
- A Flickr for Photos - http://flickr.com/
Flickr is a web site that, among other things, hosts pictures
posted by its members. There is a free option and a pay option. The
free option has some limitations, but offers a good way to become
familiar with the site and concept for those who have an interest in
such a service. Pictures can be grouped into sets. Sets can be thematic
or anything else the user desires to make them. The member is allowed
to decide whether each picture should be public or private when they
are posted. Public pictures are available to anyone. Private pictures
are viewable only to those people you select.
I object to inviting my friends to view my photographs
because their email address had to be provided to Flickr.
They have added the new option of creating groups with each
group having its own web page designation or URL although people who
want to join groups are required to register and give their email
addresses; ugh!. The group then becomes a "community" with people
adding pictures and comments. The directions are a bit obtuse so play around a bit to figure
out this option. .
You might wonder why this type of site is worthwhile. For one thing, it
saves sending large files through the mail. At the time of this
writing, the free accounts are limited to 10 MB of files per month and
100 pictures total, it is an interesting option. I recently wanted some
friends to see new furniture I purchased. It was easy to put them on
the web site and refer everyone there rather than send files as email
attachments.
If you make your photos public, you can share them with the world as
many do. Just visit the site to see what others have made public. This
has become a repository for some interesting images. With Cristo' s
Gates in Central Park, NYC, pictures were uploaded shortly after the
exhibit opened. To view pictures of this phenomenon, simply go the
Flickr site and enter a key phrase such as Gates or Cristo and view the
results. Select to see them as a slide show and sit back!
01/19/05
- Another
thought that comes to mind as a result of the Tsunami and the idea that
a tragedy may take any of us at any time is how do we keep in touch
with all of our friends and family. I suggest that you never leave your
home for more than a day without telling someone in your close circle
where you will be traveling. I strongly recommend that you involve your
family and friends in establishing an emergency contact list with all
the people who are close to all of you and whom you would like to
notify in the event of a tragedy. Keep this list safe in a number of
places. Once the list is established, update it for address and contact
information revisions at least once a year.
If such a list is available and
others need to be notified in the event of emergency, the information
will be easily at hand. You may extend this for as many branches of
friends that you like. I have such a list for my best friends and my
family. I want to be prepared "just in case!"
01/08/05
- The
recent disaster in Indoneisa, Sri Lanka, India and other nearby
countries encourages one to pause to consider how they can help. To
which charities should I think of donating money? This can be a
difficult question. I have hope that the largest percentage of the
money I donate will go directly to aid the victims. Assessing a charity
can be difficult so it does take some research. I chose to send my
donation to the Christian Children's Fund (CCF),
http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/
Keep in mind
that the CCF does not promote a religious or political agenda as far as
I can tell. I also don't suggest that you donate to them. This is
directly from their website:
"Christian
Children's Fund is one of the world's most respected international
child development organizations. Regardless of race, origin or creed,
we serve more than 7.6 million of the world's neediest children and
families in 30 countries around the world. Over its 65 year history,
CCF has spent more than $2.2 billion in services to children.
CCF provides educational
opportunities, nutritional assistance, health benefits, access to safe
water and waste disposal, as well as other essential services. We
strengthen families by helping parents become self-sufficient and
enabling communities to build for the future." (available 1/8/04 from
the FAQs - #19) http://snipurl.com/bv4y
What I can
tell you is that this organization does some very good work. They find
people across the world who will financially support a child for a year
or more. The fee is very reasonable and the child develops a
relationship with the donor. You can review the site for more details.
Currently the cost for supporting a child for one year is $288. I know
of someone who has supported several children through the CCF and who
has been very happy with the results. Save the children is another
charity that may be worthy of your consideration
http://www.savethechildren.org/ I am just not as familiar with them.
For those of us who have so much to be thankful for, it is important to
remember those who struggle to live every day.
Is SPYWARE on your computer?
10/27/04
- Spyware is the latest buzz word in the compute circles these days. It
refers to small programs companies place on your computer that you may
not even know about. These small programs including cookies track
your moves and send information about you to the companies using the
spyware. Not all cookies are bad. Some just store information about you
in the event you visit the site again, it "knows" who you are. Other
cookies, however may track more personal information.
If this topic is new to you and/or
you want to learn how to protect yourself from this nasty software, you
owe it to yourself to visit the following stories from Steve Bass's
column on PC World's website.
"Spyware Primer"
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/261376/21274738/756277/0/
"More on Fighting Spyware"
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/261376/21274738/756278/0/
"More Spyware Prevention and Removal"
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/261376/21274738/756279/0/
More Spyware Prevention and Removal
How to deal with the toughest cases, plus a site for statistics fans.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,118060,00.asp
As quoted on the bottom of Steve's recent newsletter:
"Steve Bass writes the 'Home Office'
column in PC World's print edition and is the author of "PC
Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your
Personal Computer," available from O'Reilly:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/261376/21274738/755301/0/
Good luck!
10/19/04 - While many people use Microsoft Office,
perhaps only a small percentage make use of the resources provided on
Microsoft's website. Many of these resources are offered to assist in
maximizing the use of Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as some other Microsoft programs.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx
The home page contains a highlighted template as well as a couple of
new additions. Also notice the"clip of the day" which provides clip
art to be used with Microsoft programs. More artwork can be found at:
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us
Examining the template download page, will yield items in the following
categories: Calendars and Planners, Holidays and Occasions, Finance and
Accounting, Orders and Inventory, Education, Healthcare and Wellness,
Home and Community and Legal. One must be careful, however, not to rely
too heavily on these categories. As an educator, I can find a couple of
uses for some of the calendars and planners:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT061993171033.aspx
While some of these are provided as PowerPoint presentations, printing
them will create a handy desk or wall calendar. One could even keep a
digital calendar if they desired.
In the stationery category, the four-message "While You Were Out" reminders might be useful:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010184431033.aspx?CategoryID=CT011217991033
There are also a variety of labels designed to work with Avery-sized labels available in most stationery stores:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT011218291033.aspx
One of the ancillary benefits of reviewing the templates are the eureka
moments when you may find yourself saying: "I didn't know you could do
that", or
"That's a great way to use Excel!"
Visiting and returning the Microsoft's resources will most likely prove a worthy detour from your daily/weekly routine.
Visit the archives for more interesting sites and information!
GO TO THE ARCHIVES - http://edfolio.fdu.edu/RossJ/ql_archives
Regards, Jeff
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