Comments for David Beck's Blog http://beckda21.wordpress.com Blogging about History and the Digital Age Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:04:00 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Fall of Rome Mock Up by jdwood84 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/fall-of-rome-mock-up/#comment-31 jdwood84 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:04:00 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/fall-of-rome-mock-up/#comment-31 David, Looks real good. I'm especially liking the Interactive Timeline and the United States-Rome comparison question. A good way to get the kids to think. David,

Looks real good. I’m especially liking the Interactive Timeline and the United States-Rome comparison question. A good way to get the kids to think.

]]> Comment on Google Page Rank by danieljcohen http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/11/19/google-page-rank/#comment-26 danieljcohen Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:18:29 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/11/19/google-page-rank/#comment-26 "Do I have to ask other sites to link with my site? Does it matter which sites link with mine?" Yes and yes. The question is which sites to ask, and how. This gets to the question of who you would like to associate yourself with, and how that network says something to your audience (e.g., is this a commercial or non-commercial site?). “Do I have to ask other sites to link with my site? Does it matter which sites link with mine?” Yes and yes. The question is which sites to ask, and how. This gets to the question of who you would like to associate yourself with, and how that network says something to your audience (e.g., is this a commercial or non-commercial site?).

]]> Comment on Copyright Law by dabernethy http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/copyright-law/#comment-13 dabernethy Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:47:10 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/copyright-law/#comment-13 I'm surprised that you're not a fan of Discovery Education streaming . I honestly enjoy the videos from Discovery streaming, especially the ones that you can download and edit. With these, you can delete the sound, rearrange the video, add photos, add your own narration and background music, and completely make it your own story. This might be something worth looking into. Check out the digital storytelling information on their website for more information. Not many other companies have videos that you are free to be creative with. Safari doesn't even let you download! Teacher's Domain does, but you have to check each video's rights and most of their videos deal with science and civil rights. I’m surprised that you’re not a fan of Discovery Education streaming . I honestly enjoy the videos from Discovery streaming, especially the ones that you can download and edit. With these, you can delete the sound, rearrange the video, add photos, add your own narration and background music, and completely make it your own story. This might be something worth looking into. Check out the digital storytelling information on their website for more information. Not many other companies have videos that you are free to be creative with. Safari doesn’t even let you download! Teacher’s Domain does, but you have to check each video’s rights and most of their videos deal with science and civil rights.

]]> Comment on The Decline of Rome Website by nails63 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/the-decline-of-rome-website/#comment-9 nails63 Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:18:31 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/the-decline-of-rome-website/#comment-9 Great site. Can't find a flaw. Looks like it would work all the way to 12th graders or even His 101. I guess that is the question, can it or should it be made for several levels. Great site. Great site. Can’t find a flaw. Looks like it would work all the way to 12th graders or even His 101. I guess that is the question, can it or should it be made for several levels. Great site.

]]> Comment on The Decline of Rome Website by blditmore http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/the-decline-of-rome-website/#comment-8 blditmore Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:22:45 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/the-decline-of-rome-website/#comment-8 I thought what you said in class about the K-12 audience was extremely valid. I have a 12-year-old (7th grade) brother and he has a somewhat difficult time with Wikipedia and other more general search engines...they usually end up being far too broad for what he is searching and he is not familiar enough with researching through various search terms to be able to narrow things down. Having a site that narrows the topic down for the student whether it be the decline of Rome or anything else, is extremely helpful especially from that K-12 perspective. I thought what you said in class about the K-12 audience was extremely valid. I have a 12-year-old (7th grade) brother and he has a somewhat difficult time with Wikipedia and other more general search engines…they usually end up being far too broad for what he is searching and he is not familiar enough with researching through various search terms to be able to narrow things down. Having a site that narrows the topic down for the student whether it be the decline of Rome or anything else, is extremely helpful especially from that K-12 perspective.

]]> Comment on My Target Audience for The Greatest Historical Website About Rome Ever! (Once I decide exactly what I’m doing) by nails63 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/my-target-audience-for-the-greatest-historical-website-about-rome-ever-once-i-decide-exactly-what-im-doing/#comment-6 nails63 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:15:33 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/my-target-audience-for-the-greatest-historical-website-about-rome-ever-once-i-decide-exactly-what-im-doing/#comment-6 Now that's thinking and adjusting on the fly. Well done. It's not easy to switch a little after having an idea that sounded good and you wanted to do. I love the idea but it is also daunting, a very complex issue, the early Christian Church and its relation with the Empire and the Empire's fall. I think it's a great idea for a website with a built-in audience and I agree, I think it's an area many teachers might struggle a bit with and a website there would be of great value. I'd like to give some advice but it is a big subject. Now that’s thinking and adjusting on the fly. Well done. It’s not easy to switch a little after having an idea that sounded good and you wanted to do. I love the idea but it is also daunting, a very complex issue, the early Christian Church and its relation with the Empire and the Empire’s fall. I think it’s a great idea for a website with a built-in audience and I agree, I think it’s an area many teachers might struggle a bit with and a website there would be of great value. I’d like to give some advice but it is a big subject.

]]> Comment on Citizendium v. Wikipedia by citizendiumorg http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/citizendium-v-wikipedia/#comment-5 citizendiumorg Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:18:20 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/citizendium-v-wikipedia/#comment-5 Sure we need as many contributors as possible - but we're still in the beta stage, so don't be surprised if you don't find articles on X or Y just yet. The same was true for Wikipedia for many years. Given time, chances are you'll find better articles. And the process of developing them will have been largely vandal-free. Sure we need as many contributors as possible – but we’re still in the beta stage, so don’t be surprised if you don’t find articles on X or Y just yet. The same was true for Wikipedia for many years.

Given time, chances are you’ll find better articles. And the process of developing them will have been largely vandal-free.

]]> Comment on Project/Podcasts/Wikipedia by Emily http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/projectpodcastswikipedia/#comment-4 Emily Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:58:02 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/projectpodcastswikipedia/#comment-4 You need to gather up your confidence and just dive into Wikipedia. Start with the school website. The fact checkers are out there, but for a good reason. They're not out to destroy your ego but really to protect the integrity of the site and attempt to monitor the 'truth'. What's interesting about history in wikipedia is that much of history is truly subjective or presented from a very particular perspective. How could that be addressed in something like Wikipedia? Have you ever looked at wikibooks? I worked on one in a class I was in last spring. That was pretty wild. Our job was to edit a previously written wiki-book that was way way way too long. We had a tough time with it, but it was a great practice in evaluation of information. Cool blog! You need to gather up your confidence and just dive into Wikipedia. Start with the school website. The fact checkers are out there, but for a good reason. They’re not out to destroy your ego but really to protect the integrity of the site and attempt to monitor the ‘truth’. What’s interesting about history in wikipedia is that much of history is truly subjective or presented from a very particular perspective. How could that be addressed in something like Wikipedia? Have you ever looked at wikibooks? I worked on one in a class I was in last spring. That was pretty wild. Our job was to edit a previously written wiki-book that was way way way too long. We had a tough time with it, but it was a great practice in evaluation of information.
Cool blog!

]]> Comment on Eyewitness to History Review by chuck crum http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/eyewitness-to-history-review/#comment-3 chuck crum Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:09:03 +0000 http://beckda21.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/eyewitness-to-history-review/#comment-3 Good call. I agree that these sites do very well for their intended audience. Good call. I agree that these sites do very well for their intended audience.

]]>