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ICT and popular culture news

Tis the season for lists!

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013

Always interesting to see the results of the survey by Jane Hart’s Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies (C4LPT) – as voted by 500+ learning professionals from 48 countries. 1. Twitter 2. Google Drive/Docs 3. YouTube 4. Google Search 5. PowerPoint 6. Evernote 7. Dropbox 8. WordPress 9. Facebook 10. Google + Twitter retained #1 for the 5th year running. Pinterest jumped 14 places to #22. Coursera (MOOC platform) was a new addition at #38. http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/ Analysis: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/analysis-2013/

Yahoo Year in Review 2013

Interesting videos and images from around the world: http://news.yahoo.com/year-in-review/

Top US searches: Miley Cyrus #1; computer game Minecraft was #4 (high also in Aust). Part exploratory adventure, part creative building tool, highly valued by gamers, teachers, architecture students…watch the YouTube documentary (1 hr 40m) about its development, founder Markus “Notch” Persson and its unorthodox success.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySRgVo1X_18

Facebook trends 2013

Most talked about topics worldwide: 1. Pope Francis 2. Election 3. Royal baby 4. Typhoon 5. Margaret Thatcher 6. Harlem Shake 7. Miley Cyrus 8. Boston Marathon 9. Tour de France 10. Nelson Mandela Short video: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/09/here-are-facebooks-most-talked-about-topics-for-2013/

For Australia – 9 million daily users: 1. Vote 2. Princess Kate 3. Cricket 4. Kevin Rudd 5. Grand Final 6. Election 7. GST  8. Lions 9. Tony Abbott 10. Big Brother. The most checked in location was the MCG. http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/528860/20131210/facebook-trends-2013-australia-topics.htm

Top Bing searches in Aust. 2013

Various categories – from quinoa to Miranda Kerr to royal baby to Sydney Swans… http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/2013/12/02/18/46/kerr-tops-most-binged-2013-list

Top 10 ads viewed on YouTube in Aust. http://www.adnews.com.au/adnews/australia-s-most-popular-youtube-ads-in-2013

One minute on the internet today compared to 2012

The interwebs just keeps on getting bigger….75% increase in Google searches; 42% increase in Amazon revenue; 233% growth in YouTube video hours; 250% increase in Twitter tweets.

http://qz.com/150861/a-snapshot-of-one-minute-on-the-internet-today-and-in-2012/#150861/a-snapshot-of-one-minute-on-the-internet-today-and-in-2012/

National Geographic shares maps via Google Maps Engine

Google Maps Engine is a public data program that lets organisations distribute maps to consumers via Google. National Geographic is now sharing 500 of their maps via the program for free. They will overlay the maps with interactive features such as articles and photos about environmental issues, expeditions and historic events.

http://google-latlong.blogspot.ca/2013/12/national-geographic-shares-rich-map_6.html

Drones

Look – up in the sky! It’s your unmanned pizza delivery! The coming drone invasion will deliver everything from pizzas to Amazon products. In the US, Amazon aims for their drones to deliver within a 10 mile range and 30 minute time frame whilst the DomiCopter will deliver 2 Domino’s pizzas. The widespread use of drones has been approved by Congress, starting in 2015. There are of course, many associated privacy and surveillance issues. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-whitehead/amazon-dominos-and-big-br_b_4373867.html?ir=Technology

In Australia, a drone was (illegally) used during the NSW bushfires in October but may be used legally in the future. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/drones-ready-to-fight-fires-if-allowed/story-e6frgakx-1226748464574

A textbook rental company will make deliveries by drone to customers in Sydney CBD, starting March 2014 – the first commercial use of drones in the world. The textbooks will be lowered on a cable to the customer. Short video: http://www.cnet.com.au/australian-textbook-delivery-care-of-drones-339345677.htm

“OK Google” voice search on Chrome web browser (desktop)

No need to type your search query. No need for a microphone either (currently needed in Chrome). Download the Google Voice Search Hotword plugin and say “OK Google, what is an ocelot?”. It will read out most answers. It can be used for searches, translations, reminders, setting calendar events and getting directions. The service is in beta and currently works only with google.com (not .au), but can still be downloaded in Australia. http://www.cnet.com.au/google-introduces-ok-google-voice-search-on-chrome-for-desktop-339346074.htm

Google barges

The 3 mystery barges being built in San Francisco by Google may be “interactive spaces where people learn about new technology”….or they might just be floating retail stores. They will eventually be docked in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York and will be “curious and visually stunning” exhibition centres with fish fin sails. Gotta beat those cool Apple stores somehow… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/google-barge/

TED Books

TED Books are interesting short non fiction electronic books, produced once a month by TED Conferences. The books are less than 20 000 words – “long enough to unleash a powerful narrative, but short enough to be read in a single sitting.” Most can be read in less than an hour and are available for Kindle, Nook, iBooks. Price: $1.99 each. The TED Books app is free for the iPad and has audio, video and social features embedded into each book. For a yearly subscription of $14.99, you have access to the entire TED Books archive. http://www.ted.com/pages/tedbooks

 

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ICT news and the online world

Some ICT news…useful for sociology, media studies, popular culture, business studies, psychology and BYOD schools….

 Australian Online Landscape Review Sept 2013

This Nielsen report found 16.4 million Australians were actively online in Sept 2013.

Top 10 brands in order: Google; Facebook; Mi9; YouTube; Microsoft; Yahoo!7; eBay; Wikipedia; Apple; ABC Online. More hours are devoted to Facebook per person than any other site and people spend longer on eBay than Wikipedia.

Online video streaming – top 10 brands in order: YouTube; Facebook; Mi9; VEVO (music videos); CollegeHumor Network; Yahoo!7; ABC Online; smh.com.au; news.com.au; Vube (video sharing contests). Men streamed 30.1% more videos than women and most streaming was done by 18-24 year olds.

41% of daily browsers came from a mobile device or tablet and 58% from a computer.

http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/au/en/reports/2013/Nielsen-Australian-Online-Landscape-Review-September-2013.pdf

http://www.nielsen.com/au/en.html

 Australian Multi Screen Report (Q2 2013)

This Nielsen report found 92% of all video viewing is on the TV set; 80% of homes have the internet; 33% of homes have tablets; 22% of homes have internet-connected TVs; 65% aged 16+ own a smartphone.

http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/au/en/press/2013/australian-multi-Screen-report-media-release-october-2013.pdf

Australian tablet sales poised to eclipse desktop computers and laptops

Telsyte predicts tablet sales & use will eclipse PCs, Macs & laptops within 2 years. In the first half of 2013, Australians bought 2.3 million tablets – more than for the whole of 2012. Smartphone sales continue to rise, with 14 million users in Aust. By 2014 in Aust., more people will access the internet on smartphones than computers. Tablets will follow.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/aussie-tablet-computer-sales-poised-to-eclipse-those-of-traditional-desktop-computers-and-laptops/story-fni0cx12-1226710882032

Most popular websites on the internet for 8 Nov 2013

Top 12 in order: Google; Facebook; YouTube; Yahoo; Baidu; Wikipedia; Qq; Linkedin; Windows Live; Twitter; Amazon; Blogger. Click on the entries for interesting info about the companies – website review, news, traffic graph, website worth.

http://mostpopularwebsites.net/

Alexa top 500 sites on the web

Similar top 10 to above. Alexa ranks Bing at 19; eBay at 20; Pinterest at 26; Instagram at 40; imdb at 47.  http://www.alexa.com/topsites –

Top 500 sites in Australia: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/AU. Linkedin is 8; Gumtree is 12; realestate.com.au is 18; Seek is 26; Pirate Bay is 33.

Search top sites by country: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries

9 ways video games can actually be good for you

Mothers of gamers – stop stressing! Play games, increase your brain size & stop aging!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/video-games-good-for-us_n_4164723.html?ir=Technology&utm_campaign=110713&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-technology&utm_content=FullStory

Video games represent the most powerful (and potentially dangerous) era in storytelling

Video games are expressive &  formative and, relative to other forms of storytelling, allow for choice.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-runge/video-game-violence_b_4067069.html

 

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films Google news TV

The secret river and other good films and TV

David Gulpilil wins award
Last week Gulpilil, the acclaimed indigenous actor, dancer, singer & artist, won the Red Ochre Award for his contribution to Aboriginal arts at the Australia Council’s National Indigenous Arts Awards. His next film is Satellite boy, directed by indigenous filmmaker Catriona McKenzie, where he plays the grandfather of a boy whose home in an outdoor cinema is threatened with destruction by a mining company. “A beautiful & uplifting adventure. An inspiring, spirited portrait of cross-generational bonding and the intersection of ancient and modern Aboriginal culture.” (Toronto Int. Film Festival).
http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/satellite-boy

He will also star in the Rolf de Heer film Charlie’s country, which “explores how an Aboriginal person in the Top End, who comes from a traditional background, can live a good life, a proper life, in what is now Australia – the intervention and those things included. It’s the biggest role he has ever had and I think it’s his most extraordinary performance.” – Rolf de Heer.
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/actor-david-gulpilil-puts-50000-award-towards-a-new-life-in-the-bush/story-e6frfmq9-1226651597852

Vale Yunupingu of Yothu Yindi
A great and inspiring indigenous Australian – musician, educator and leader.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-03/former-yothu-yindi-frontman-m-yunupingu-dies/4728518

The secret river
The ABC is developing a mini-series of the acclaimed novel by Kate Grenville that dramatizes the lives of a convict family who come to NSW and become involved in the escalating conflict between white settlers and indigenous inhabitants. Screenwriter – Jan Sardi (Shine). The Sydney Theatre Company’s stage adaptation was highly acclaimed in January.
http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/abc-to-adapt-award-winning-novel-the-secret-river/
 
ANZAC girls
6 part mini-series based on the true stories of ANZAC nurses. Based on the book The other ANZACs by Peter Rees and sourced from letters, diaries and personal stories, the series will probably screen at the time of the centenary of Gallipoli in April 2014. Acclaimed screenwriter Felicity Packard (an ex student of our college) is co-writer. Should be excellent and informative!
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2012/10/anzac-girls-miniseries-for-abc1.html

The feed
A new, interesting and useful resource aimed at 16–39 year olds (SBS2 7.30pm M-F). A 15 minute news, culture & technology show with edgy, adventurous and fun items aimed at younger people. Would appeal to high school students in various classes – social sciences, global relations, geography, media, popular culture, sociology… Various segments also appear online and can be shared in various ways. The feed will also present 60 second news breaks on SBS2 and in social media. Recent segments include: Review of Google Glass; How PNG handles the death penalty; Where’s my hoverboard? The new-look SBS2, launched in April, is targeting “thinking 20 and 30 somethings”.
http://www.sbs.com.au/thefeed/
http://www.bandt.com.au/news/media/sbs2-targets-16-39-year-olds-with-news-show
 
The truth is?
This new 3 part program (Ch. 10 Mon 8.30pm) follows award-winning young journalist Hamish Macdonald on interesting foreign assignments where he aims to show the real human experiences of a foreign correspondent researching big issues of our time. Would definitely appeal to high school social science, global relations, geography, media and journalism classes. This week presented stories about families living illegally near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor and PTSD in returned American soldiers. Hopefully more episodes will be made.
 http://ten.com.au/tvshows/thetruthis-about.htm

Much ado about nothing
A black & white contemporary adaptation of the play by Shakespeare directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy; The Avengers).
The biting romantic comedy retains the 16th century language and was filmed in 12 days at his house! Opens 11 July.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-ca-much-ado-house-20130602,0,6525775.story

Elysium
Written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (who created the awesome District 9). Stars Matt Damon and Jodi Foster. In 2154, the very wealthy live in a luxurious space habitat named Elysium that orbits Earth. The rest live on an over-populated, ruined Earth. They are desperate to escape crime and poverty and need the health care of Elysium, but those in Elysium enforce anti-immigration laws and try to preserve their luxurious lifestyles. An ordinary man (Damon) goes on a dangerous mission that could bring about equality and finds himself up against the ruthless Elysium  leader and her forces (Foster). Themes: immigration, human rights, equity, class. Sounds great for sci fi, sociology, human rights…Opens 15 August.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535108/

The internship
Comedy. Tagline: Hiring them was a brilliant mistake. Stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as 40 year olds who land summer internships at Google. Even Larry Page has lauded the film. Some say it is really just an ad for Google – the perfect place to work and a company that does wonders for the world. Hehe the Google Help Line.
http://readwrite.com/2013/06/01/why-i-wish-the-new-google-internship-movie-was-actually-true?utm_source=ReadWrite+Newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fb61405165-RWWDailyNewsletter&utm_term=0_9fbeb5d667-fb61405165-201316605
 
Matt Smith is leaving Dr Who!
Despite denying it – yes – after the 50th Anniversary show in Nov and then regenerating in the Xmas Special.
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2013/06/matt-smith-to-leave-doctor-who.html
 
Maxwell’s Collection closed
Sad to see that Maxwell’s Collection, the education video supplier in Sydney, has closed after 25 years. It was a good source for programs for many years. Perhaps competition from online sources and JB Hi Fi was too strong.

Just for fun: The 10 most liked and disliked Aust. celebrities
From Encore Magazine. And why wouldn’t Hugh Jackman win? 
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2012/06/hugh-jackman-our-favourite-celeb-kyle-most-disliked.html

Can’t wait to see Gatsby this weekend – it had the biggest opening weekend of any Aust. film. Sorry to have missed the recent Aust. drama production of A clockwork orange. Our Year 11 & 12 psychology students saw it and said it was amazing.
http://www.clockworkorange.com.au/about.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/the-great-gatsby-secures-nations-biggest-opening-weekend-for-an-aussie-film/story-e6frg6n6-1226656570160

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media news newspapers websites

Quality journalism

The Conversation online Australian news source is a valuable resource for many curriculum areas, with high quality articles in many fields – science, tech, politics, society, environment, health, business..…

 

The Conversation turns 2 on 24 March and is now the largest Aust. independent news and commentary website. It has a “commitment to high-quality, intelligent, and independent analysis, comment and research, penned by academics with real expertise”. Founding partners include several Aust. universities and CSIRO. It is viewed by 669,000 readers each month. Editors work with more than 4,600 registered academics and researchers from 280 institutions.

http://theconversation.edu.au/

 

Michelle Grattan joins The Conversation (and the Uni of Canberra): http://is.gd/an4I3o

 

 

Interesting article from The Conversation re the acidic island in the film Life of Pi. And what an amazing film it is – a wonderful adaptation of the book.

Life of Pi’s acidic island a warning for our warming world – Thomas Faunce: http://is.gd/eDvCxD

Interesting comments on quality journalism from Andrew Jaspan (co-founder of The Conversation). 2013 will be another transformative year for Australian media. http://is.gd/LRW4OF

 

·         The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will go tabloid and merge, though with some regional differences.

·         They will offer more mid-market fare – fast news, sport, showbiz, gossip.

·         The Guardian will launch a new Aust. digital edition – and this may help “fill the niche for high quality content vacated by Fairfax & News Limited.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-16/guardian-launching-australian-online-edition/4466636

·         The Conversation is “committed to publishing everything under Creative Commons licence, so it is free for anyone to read and republish, unlike the rest of the media who retain copyright.” Many websites every day republish material from The Conversation. A “Republish” button accompanies every article. Their Creative Commons licence: http://is.gd/5Wohtn

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books ed tech human rights news popular culture sociology TV websites

Human rights, sociology and top tech news

Human Rights Day was 10 December and the Australian Human Rights Commission presented its awards in 10 categories, including those below. Great to see Ian Thorpe recognised, and also the excellent online news & issues resource The conversation and TV’s informative The project.

 

Human Rights Medal Winner 2012

Ian Thorpe

“Fighting for better services for Indigenous children in remote communities across Australia has delivered the prestigious Human Rights Medal for 2012 to Ian Thorpe OAM. For over a decade, Ian has worked as a passionate advocate for Indigenous people with his Fountain for Youth charity, which works with twenty-one remote communities in the Northern Territory.” He began this charity in 2000 when he was only 18 years old. He is also Co-Patron of Close the Gap campaign.

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/media/news/2012/131_12.html

Thorpe’s recent autobiography This is me: the autobiography reveals how he has coped with depression and would be a valuable addition to high school collections.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/12/ian-thorpe-swimming-depression

Print and Online Media Award
Professor Sharon Pickering and The Conversation Academic Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers series – Series of 14 articles published in The Conversation between June and August 2012 (details below).

Saving lives at sea: The Conversation’s asylum seeker expert panel makes its findings and states what it believes to be a fair, humane and workable policy approach. Includes links to the award-winning articles – good authoritative resources for social science & “issues” courses: http://theconversation.edu.au/saving-lives-at-sea-the-asylum-seeker-expert-panel-reports-8601

Includes:

Asylum seekers & Aust: http://theconversation.edu.au/asylum-seekers-and-australia-the-evidence-8173

Infographic displaying global populations of refugees from 1975-2010. Using UNHCR data, every population the UNHCR has counted over 35 years is charted on this spinning globe, highlighting where refugees settled, and where they came from:  http://theconversation.edu.au/infographic-global-refugee-populations-1975-2010-8443

Global refugee facts: http://theconversation.edu.au/refugee-populations-across-the-globe-the-facts-7557

All asylum seeker links: http://theconversation.edu.au/pages/asylum-seekers

Literature (non-fiction) Award
The people smuggler by Robin de Crespigny – Penguin Australia, May 2012.

“The story of one man’s epic struggle to find a safe place in the world. When Ali Al Jenabi flees Saddam Hussein’s torture chambers, he is forced to leave his family behind in Iraq. What follows is an incredible international odyssey through the shadow world of fake passports, crowded camps and illegal border crossings, living every day with excruciating uncertainty about what the next will bring….Eventually he must confront what he has been forced to become.”  http://www.thepeoplesmuggler.com/

Television Award
Age of Uncertainty – The Project – Network Ten – Produced by Hamish MacDonald and Sam Clark – Screened over April and May 2012.

The Human Rights Day Oration was delivered by James Spigelman, Chairman of the ABC and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW: ‘Where do we draw the line between hate speech and free speech?’ (audio & transcript):   http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/media/news/2012/132_12.html

Some more resources ….useful for sociology, geography, popular culture…

Australia Street

If Australia was a street of 100 households, what would it look like and who would live there? What about employment, religion, education, births, deaths and marriages? All these stats and more are included in this animation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzAtaZg6ljo&feature=youtu.be

Aust. St explained: http://blog.mccrindle.com.au/_blog/The_McCrindle_Blog/post/Mark_McCrindle_explains_Australia_Street_VIDEO

Julia and the “mummy” bloggers

It was another morning tea this week for Julia Gillard and 25 the country’s most influential female bloggers, whose sites reach 2.5 million people (similar sites were important in the Obama campaign).

“Sites represented included:

Eden Riley (Sydney Writers’ Centre award Best Aust. Blog 2012); Mrs Woog (Woogsworld); Nicole Avery (tips for organising the chaos of family life); the writer of My Mummy Daze (juggling motherhood and a family business); the mother of four boys, one with special needs, who writes allconsuming .com.au; Fairfax’s EssentialBaby (largest online parenting site in Aust.); iVillage (Mia Freedman –Mamamia -has the local licence); Women’s Agenda (created by Crikey journalist Angela Priestley); Kidspot (News Ltd site that aims to simplify parenting and offer mothers a place to talk to each other); and the Fairfax site Daily Life.”

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/pm-cosies-up-to-mummy-bloggers-20121209-2b3gm.html

Eden Riley was crowned Australia’s Best Blogger at the 2012 Sydney Writers Centre Blog Awards. Her blog is called Edenland. She writes of spirit, redemption, addiction, and truth. Eden has been blogging for five years and has been named as a Voice of the Year at America’s largest social media conference for women, BlogHer. http://www.edenriley.com/

CNET: the 100 biggest tech stories of 2012

Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask….iPad mini, Windows 8, Apple maps, MakerBot, Instagram, Google Glass, Zuckerberg, Assange..…

http://www.cnet.com/cnet100/

CNET: the 10 best & most influential tech products of 2012

Galaxy S3 (best device); iPhone 5; Google Nexus 7; iPad Mini; Motorola Razr; Windows 8; Microsoft Surface; the MakerBot 3D Replicator (3D printer that prints whatever you design – toys, jewellery, models etc).

http://www.cnet.com/8301-33506_1-57557848-306/galaxy-s3-beats-iphone-5-for-best-device-of-2012/

Categories
ed tech films Games and gaming Google news popular culture websites YouTube

Best of 2012

Lots of end-of-year roundups & lists appearing…

 

Yahoo Australia Year in Review 2012

Viral videos, most clicked stories, entertainment, sport etc

http://au.news.yahoo.com/year-in-review-2012/

Includes Top Searches of 2012:

1. London Olympics 2. Kim Kardashian 3. Apple 4. Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson 5. Earthquakes 6. US presidential election 7. Hurricane Sandy 8. Israel & Palestine 9. Brownlow Medal 10. End of the world.

Most searched M & F celebrities: Kim Kardashian and Brad Pitt.

Most searched countries: Aust, then Iran, China, Thailand…

Most searched movies: Avengers, Hunger Games, Twilight Saga…

Full list: http://au.news.yahoo.com/year-in-review-2012/a/-/15479230/top-searches-of-2012/

 

The most asked questions in Australia in 2012 according to Google search suggestions

Includes: Why is my internet so slow? and What is Gangnam style?

http://blog.mccrindle.com.au/_blog/The_McCrindle_Blog/post/most_asked_questions_Australia_Google_search_suggestions/

 

The top 12 trends in Australia 2012

Book: Umm…50 shades of grey; Ingredient: quinoa; Pop group: One Direction; Technology: from digital to real world; Word/Symbol: # …..

http://blog.mccrindle.com.au/_blog/The_McCrindle_Blog/post/Top_12_trends_of_2012/

Discussion: http://blog.mccrindle.com.au/_blog/The_McCrindle_Blog/post/One_Direction_quinoa_Gangnam_Style_Instagram_hashtag/

 

Gangnam Style: the most viewed YouTube video ever

900,073,389 + viewers can’t be wrong; now outranks Justin Bieber’s Baby. http://www.youtube.com/user/officialpsy

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/gangnam-style-most-viewed-youtube-video-time-134533498.html

Top 25 YouTube videos ever: Not surprisingly, they are all popular songs – except for Charlie bit my finger : – )http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/10/02/top-25-youtube-videos#top-youtube-videos-of-all-time

 

Time magazine’s top 10 everything 2012

For the true list-lover…..55 wide-ranging lists – arts & entertainment, pop culture, social media, health, science etc. US focus but hey.

http://www.time.com/time/top-10-lists-of-2012/?iid=tl-article-moreontime

 

Time magazine’s 50 best websites 2012

Not really mainstream sites; some  are interesting, others are rather obscure.

http://techland.time.com/2012/09/18/50-best-websites-2012/

Full list: http://techland.time.com/2012/09/18/50-best-websites-2012/#slide/all/?&_suid=135468712654908706382297811523

 

50 best websites includes:

Learnist

http://learni.st/

Like Pinterest for education. Users collect web resources and share their knowledge by creating Learnist boards — which can include text, videos, essays, games and audio clips that answer questions and expound on topics. A good tool for the flipped classroom. iOS app available.

http://www.educationnews.org/technology/learnist-what-if-wikipedia-and-pinterest-had-a-baby/

Examples of education-focused Learnist boards: http://www.educationdive.com/news/8-ways-to-use-learnist-a-pinterest-like-education-site/36179/

A BBC Learnist board: http://learni.st/users/34/boards/1862-the-bbc-learning-experience

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/learnist-in-the-classroom-hauna-zaich

 

Persuasive Games

http://www.persuasivegames.com/games/

Founded by game theorist Ian Bogost. “Games communicate differently than other media; they not only deliver messages, but also simulate experiences”. The website has free “advergames” – games specifically built for “persuasion, instruction and activism”. Includes Killer flu (how the flu virus spreads), Fatworld (obesity’s relationship to socioeconomics), Windfall (building wind farms).

 

Codecademy (Chrome, Firefox)

http://www.codecademy.com/

The interactive, social and easy way to learn how to code.

 

Vocabulary.com

http://www.vocabulary.com/

Learn new words and play games to improve your vocabulary.

 

Devour

Presents the top 15 trending YouTube clips and lots of other good videos. Comment-free with a focus on HD. Yes, very easy to fill in time here J

Science fiction – supercut of over 100 sci fi films: http://devour.com/video/science-fiction/

Quirky – A history of western music in 16 genres: http://devour.com/video/a-history-of-western-music-in-16-genres/

More than falling dominoes – This too shall pass by OK Go: http://devour.com/video/this-too-shall-pass-by-ok-go/

Further up yonder: a message from the International Space Station: http://devour.com/video/further-up-yonder/

 

Categories
ed tech media news newspapers websites

Interesting news sites

Here are some interesting sites that present or aggregate news – useful for senior students, global relations & journalism classes and for news items in many curriculum areas.

 

News360

Informative multisource news in a user friendly format. Different news sources and different media are provided for news items – select and compare them. Read news in categories – science, politics etc; add your own categories; save items to read later; share stories; choose local news. A good resource to compare world perspectives on a particular news item.

News items are ranked for credibility & personalised (with accounts). Mobile apps available. http://news360app.com/technology.html

http://news360.com/

 

Hubii

Discover what’s happening around the world. Displays headlines on one side and a Google Map on the other which shows various news publishers of that headline. Zoom in and see who is publishing or search a location and see what’s happening there. Use the Mapfilter to search for specific kinds of news eg. tech news. Use the Search Cloud to see what the world is reading & writing about. Add your own sources. Includes a language filter.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/search-browse-international-news-based-location-hubii/

www.hubii.com

 

BBC Live World Map

Worldwide – most popular stories now. Use left-hand menu to read news from world regions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/live_stats/html/map.stm

 

Newsy

Multisource video news from around the world. 2 to 3 minute video clips of news items are read, amalgamating information from various global sources. The source of the information is credited as the item is read. Sources include Xinhua, Al Jazeera, New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, Human Rights Watch….Mobile apps available.

http://www.newsy.com/

 

Newseum

Museum of news and journalism in Washington, DC. Choose a location and read the headlines of selected newspapers from that country or region.

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default.asp

 

Longform

Collects outstanding new and classic non fiction articles of substantial length – proving that internet users do have the patience & attention spans to read in-depth materials. The site can also be browsed by categories eg. science, war, politics, arts & culture, editor’s picks etc Search the archive for topics, authors, time periods, publishers, tags. iPad app available.

http://longform.org/

 

Longreads: “the best long-form stories on the web”

Explore topics; new articles posted daily.

http://longreads.com/

 

100 articles that every journalist should read about journalism

A useful resource for those interested in journalism; a 2011 project by students of La Trobe Uni. with global contributions.

http://www.upstart.net.au/2011/10/13/100-articles/

 

Summly app for iPhones

Provides summaries of news stories & other text; swipe to see full article. 17 year old British developer Nick D’Aloisio: “We can really become the de-facto format for news on mobile. People are not scrolling through 1,000-word articles – they want snack-sized information.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20181537

 

ABC News

Great resources on Aust’s own portal.

Easy to select news stories – choose a tab for text, video, audio or photos.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

News in 90 seconds – video: http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/news-in-90-seconds/

Top stories of the day – audio: http://www.abc.net.au/news/audio/

ABC NewsRadio – listen live: http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/audio/streaming.htm?layout=popup

Links to other ABC news programs – Big Ideas, 7.30, Foreign Correspondent, Four Corners etc

Links to other parts of the ABC website – Environment, Science, Health, Technology…

 

Australia Network

Part of ABC International, broadcasting to 46 countries across Asia & the Pacific.

Aust. Network News: National and global.   http://www.abc.net.au/news/australianetworknews/

Includes Newsline, Australia Network’s flagship current affairs program – videos of news items range from 4 mins to 10 mins. http://www.abc.net.au/news/australianetworknews/newsline/

Also available: Learning English video programs for a range of levels – includes Passport to English, English Bites, Living English…   http://australianetwork.com/learningenglish/

 

ABC Radio Australia

Radio programs from the ABC broadcast locally and to Asia/Pacific; news items; videos.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/

ABC Radio Australia: Learn English online

Learn topical Aust. English in context. Courses are offered with narration in Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer; download audio and text lessons for free.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/learn-english