Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Google Labs In Quotes

In quotes was recently released in Google labs.

From the About "In Quotes" page:

What is 'In Quotes'?
The "In Quotes" feature allows you to find quotes from stories linked to from Google News. These quotations are a valuable resource for understanding where people in the news stand on various issues. Much of the published reporting about people is based on the interpretation of a journalist. Direct quotes, on the other hand, are concrete units of information that describe how newsmakers represent themselves. Google News compiles these quotations from online news stories and sorts them into browsable groups based on who is being quoted.


Similar to article selection and placement on Google News, quotes and their speakers are determined automatically by a computer program and we don't guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information you may see. The dates you see represent when the article in which the quote appears was added to Google News. The views expressed in the quotes do not necessarily reflect the views of Google Inc. or its employees.

What is this feature used for?
Compare Quotes allows you to compare quotes from different people in the News about a particular topic. The feature currently allows you to choose and compare quotes from political candidates and other political figures.

How do I choose a different set of people to compare their quotes?
To choose a new person or set of people to compare quotes with, you will need to choose from the pulldown menu displayed next to "Quotes by" on each side of your page.

What does the Spin button do?
When you click the Spin button, the quotes will rotate and the system will display two new quotes for you to compare. This way you will be able to compare multiple quotes about a specific topic from the two speakers you've chosen.

How do I search for quotes by speakers in other countries?
To change the country edition you're working with, please select a different edition from the upper right pull down menu.

What do the arrows next to each quote do?
These arrows enable you to view different quotes from the speaker you've selected.

How can I choose a new topic?
There are two ways to add a new topic of comparison on your page. You can either type in the topic of your choice into the search box, or click on any of the topics displayed at the top middle section of your page.

How were the people selected for each edition?
The people shown are those with the most quotes in the 'Nation' section of Google News for the country edition you've chosen.

How were the suggested queries selected for each edition?
The suggested queries were automatically selected as topics that the selected speakers frequently talk about.

How do I report an incorrect quote, date or picture source?
Please fill out the
Google News Feedback form.

Cool tool with resource link available. Gotta love those Google tools and labs.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Do Something Now Challenge

Put the texters to work for Do Something.
Powering offline action. Using the power of online to get teens to do good stuff offline...The Challenge:

We want you to power offline action in your community. Register your school, club, or town for the Do Something Now Challenge. From Sept 1 - Oct 15, recruit at least 50 friends and classmates to sign up for volunteer text messages and win.

We'll create a short code just for you:
For Example, if you go to Glen View High School your short code might be GlenViewHigh. You and your team recruit students to text GlenViewHigh to 30644 and sign up for Do Something Now.

Be creative! Make posters and flyers, shout out DS Now over the PA system, plan a DS Now concert.
The more people you sign up the bigger and better the prizes!

Prize Levels
50 Recruits: 20 SWAG Sets with Do Something pens, folders and notebooks.

100 Recruits: 20 SWAG Sets and 20 Do Something reusable ecobags.

250 Recruits: 20 SWAG Sets, 20 ecobags, 20 t-shirts, and a $100 pizza party.

1000 Recruits: 20 SWAG Sets, 20 ecobags, 20 t-shirts, a $100 pizza party,
AND 2 plane tickets to New York City for a Do Something Boot Camp!

http://www.dosomething.org/challenge

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Catching up

After completing my most recent class and hoping my instructor survived hurricane Ike, I took a break from blogging to catch up on reading blogs, tweets, and F2F issues. Attending the GA PTA State Advocacy Conference was on my F2F agenda. Quite a bit of history in the gold domed building.

I am enjoying the break from school as I continue to gather links to blogs, websites, and Second Life classrooms. As an Ed Techie in my professional and personal life...sometimes it is nice to shut down and disconnect.

With the passing of hurricane Ike, a discussion arose about what do online instructors and their students do in a state of emergency. Some of us have teachers and classmates that evacuated Houston, but our online courses continue, assignments need to be graded, and completed classes need to be closed out. I remember having this discussion after 9/11 when we lost online educators and students. While residential schools have policies governing substitutes, resignations, and emergencies, these policies are not always readily available in our online courses.

As an online student, I have always found some way to connect. After many hurricane evacuations from Florida, we just decided to move. With our military background, moving every couple of years is anticipated, so packing up and returning to an area where we pay property taxes for many years was not a problem.

For those involved with online schools, formal or informal, what are some of your policies that cover cases of emergency, acts of God, or times of war?