The Great Art Explained YouTube channel

Over the weekend, based on recent web searches I suppose, YouTube suggested a video about Vincent van Gogh from the Great Art Explained channel.

Image source: https://www.youtube.com/c/GreatArtExplained

​Another video that I noticed in the channel, after viewing the one suggested, was about Hokusai's Great Wave:

• The Great Wave [of Kanagawa] by Hokusai (2021.05.17, 17:00)

​That particular woodblock print had been a student's choice of favorite artwork for a short in-class presentation last week.

The clear, deliberate explanations in videos on the Great Art Explained channel, with closed captions available, would make excellent resource choices​ for extensive out-of-class listening, reading-along, and shadowing practice.

[102 words]

Alternative webpage readability extensions for Google Chrome

Searching for a replacement for Clearly, which has disappeared from Chrome extensions, I found a pointer to the following GitHub page in a comment on an Apps User Group post: 

• Alternatives for the Clearly readability extension (Eric Curts, 2016.01.21).

• GitHub - ZachSaucier/Just-Read: A customizable read mode extension for Chrome

(Zach Saucier, 2016.10.28)

A few alternatives mentioned either in Curts' blog post and embedded YouTube video about alternatives (Control Alt Achieve, 2016.01.20), or in comments on it, included:

• BeeLine Reader (http://www.beelinereader.com/)
• Featured in Curts' blog post and YouTube video
• https://youtu.be/Q0sLceZAPDY (2016.01.20)
• 3.9 star rating by 150 (Chrome Web Store, 2017.09.06)
• Just Read: 
• Maintained (Unknown, 2016.10.27)
• Mercury Reader (https://mercury.postlight.com/reader/)
• 3.9 star rating by 1426  (Chrome Web Store, 2017.09.06)
• Readability:
• Obsolete (Michael, 2017.03.21)
• Reportedly replaced by Mercury Reader (Anonymous, 2017.05.21)
• The Readability site said, "[C]heck out Mercury Reader" (c. 2016).

At present, Easy Reader:

• 4.7 stars by 472 of 30,587 users (Chrome Web Store, 2017.09.06) 

seems to be right up there with Just Read:

• 4.7 stars by 376 of 72, 480 users (Chrome Web Store, 2017.09.06).

If you favor either Easy Reader or Just Read, please share your rationale(s) in comments on this post.

[205 words]

Google Search for "online teaching"

A Google Search this morning (online teaching), turned up a couple of interesting hits. That is, they were interesting enough for me to review and then tag them in Diigo, a social bookmarking system that I use for micro-blogging instead of Twitter. I've replicated the two tagged entries below.

The first, Starter.co.nz, I thought may be of interest to teachers of young learners, who can browse previews of available resources, and decide whether such a subscription service would be of value to them or their schools. So I posted it to the Classroom 2.0 group, as I was adding it to my list of Educational Technology items.

Home | starters.co.nz

A follow-on to the no longer active http://www.teachingonline.org/ site, "starters.co.nz is a web-based subscription resource for schools featuring over 1600 quality pdf, ready-to-use lesson plans including digital resources such as videos and websites that enhance and add depth to the lessons. / Our lessons are based on and cover all areas of the New Zealand Curriculum and are grouped for Yrs 1–4 and Yrs 4–9+. / starters is particularly useful for printing out easy-to-follow quality lessons for relieving teachers" (deck, 2013.02.03).

more from www.starters.co.nz 

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education lessons New Zealand resources schools starters&strategies subscriptions teachers teaching videos websites

in group: Classroom 2.0

in list: Educational Technology

The second, from the Designing for Learning website, has an intended audience of university faculty members new to online teaching, or interested in imporving their online teaching practices. So I decided to post it to the Moodle4Teachers group, as well as two others to which I belong, and cross-listed in both my Educational Technology and my Faculty Development lists.

Designing for Learning: Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online: Quick Guide for New Online Faculty

On this page, Boettcher explains, "ten best practices for anyone just getting started in the online environment. Research and experience suggest that these practices contribute to an effective, efficient and satisfying teaching and learning experience for both faculty and students" (para. 2, retrieved 2012.02.03 ["Minor revisions May 2011"]).

more from www.designingforlearning.info 

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activities communities discussions education feedback faculty groups hints learning online personalization practicessocial presence support teachers teaching universities

in group: LearningwithComputers, Moodle4Teachers, Classroom 2.0

in list: Faculty Development, Educational Technology

When I returned again to the Google Search page, I noticed Google also had spotted "49 [other] items in ... [my] Diigo Library." Please feel free to check them out, too, and if you have any favorites or hot picks of your own, please share them in return.

[1 of] 7 Ways to Avoid Inbox Overload When Collecting Assignments

Richard Byrne made DROPitTOme sound like a winner:

"DROPitTOme works by synchronizing with your Drop Box account. After connecting the two services DROPitTOme provides a url that you can give to others to upload files to your Drop Box account." (Byrne, 2011.09.06, 7 Ways..., DROPitTOme, ¶2).

Free Technology for Teachers: 

7 Ways to Avoid Inbox Overload 

When Collecting Assignments 

(via Blog this)

This two-minute, silent video shows how to get started:

YouTube video: Uploaded by DROPitTOme on Oct 8, 2010

My Startup Labels

books, brainstorms, drafts, essay prep., essays, free-writing, graphics, links, media, movies, outlines, quickposts, reviews, revisions, typing, websites

BR 2-19: Wuthering Heights

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer ac nisl magna. Mauris vestibulum viverra nisl id mollis. Proin convallis placerat tortor ut blandit. Donec et orci nulla, eu ultricies felis. Suspendisse potenti. Curabitur diam sapien, suscipit sed blandit eu, iaculis at eros. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Nulla lorem sapien, pretium a varius eu, sollicitudin in nibh. Curabitur gravida tincidunt arcu id ornare.

Cras in metus mi. Sed aliquet, ante nec eleifend sollicitudin, mauris diam tincidunt neque, in tristique velit eros consectetur metus. Vestibulum nec nulla ipsum. Sed eget neque facilisis elit interdum consectetur. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Sed aliquet sollicitudin nibh vitae bibendum. Morbi congue, diam id mollis eleifend, nisl metus luctus nibh, id vehicula metus elit a magna. Fusce sollicitudin tellus nec lorem ornare in rhoncus nulla laoreet. Nullam leo turpis, cursus sit amet egestas vel, dignissim id nulla. Ut erat nibh, venenatis id rhoncus nec, gravida at erat. Morbi tristique sapien eu mi accumsan non venenatis eros dictum.

Integer justo massa, rutrum vel auctor eu, luctus sed sem. Donec egestas, ante sed convallis fermentum, arcu erat volutpat purus, eget ornare nisi neque sit amet lacus. Praesent pellentesque pharetra nisl, sed facilisis nisl ultricies vitae. Curabitur vitae elit quis massa sollicitudin interdum non eu orci. Nullam commodo tellus vitae nisl malesuada cursus. Sed tristique vehicula sapien in egestas. Vestibulum dignissim varius placerat. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Sed laoreet tincidunt massa sed molestie. Mauris sollicitudin, orci ut molestie sollicitudin, eros risus laoreet ligula, quis rutrum enim magna dignissim augue. Nunc lobortis porttitor velit quis ornare. Duis gravida, erat vitae pretium sagittis, nulla mi pharetra libero, sed vehicula dolor ligula eget lorem.

The most impressive passage for me was when Heathcliff ...[said], "I have to remind myself to breathe – almost to remind my heart to beat" (Bronte, 1989, p. 65). That made me realize how much our thoughts and emotions influence our lives.

Reference

Bronte, Emily. (1989). Wuthering Heights [Longman Classics series]. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

BR 2-18: Wild America

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer ac nisl magna. Mauris vestibulum viverra nisl id mollis. Proin convallis placerat tortor ut blandit. Donec et orci nulla, eu ultricies felis. Suspendisse potenti. Curabitur diam sapien, suscipit sed blandit eu, iaculis at eros. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Nulla lorem sapien, pretium a varius eu, sollicitudin in nibh. Curabitur gravida tincidunt arcu id ornare. Cras in metus mi. Sed aliquet, ante nec eleifend sollicitudin, mauris diam tincidunt neque, in tristique velit eros consectetur metus. Vestibulum nec nulla ipsum. Sed eget neque facilisis elit interdum consectetur. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Sed aliquet sollicitudin nibh vitae bibendum. Morbi congue, diam id mollis eleifend, nisl metus luctus nibh, id vehicula metus elit a magna. Fusce sollicitudin tellus nec lorem ornare in rhoncus nulla laoreet. Nullam leo turpis, cursus sit amet egestas vel, dignissim id nulla. Ut erat nibh, venenatis id rhoncus nec, gravida at erat. Morbi tristique sapien eu mi accumsan non venenatis eros dictum.

Integer justo massa, rutrum vel auctor eu, luctus sed sem. Donec egestas, ante sed convallis fermentum, arcu erat volutpat purus, eget ornare nisi neque sit amet lacus. Praesent pellentesque pharetra nisl, sed facilisis nisl ultricies vitae. Curabitur vitae elit quis massa sollicitudin interdum non eu orci. Nullam commodo tellus vitae nisl malesuada cursus. Sed tristique vehicula sapien in egestas. Vestibulum dignissim varius placerat. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Sed laoreet tincidunt massa sed molestie. Mauris sollicitudin, orci ut molestie sollicitudin, eros risus laoreet ligula, quis rutrum enim magna dignissim augue. Nunc lobortis porttitor velit quis ornare. Duis gravida, erat vitae pretium sagittis, nulla mi pharetra libero, sed vehicula dolor ligula eget lorem.

This book is full of surprises. I was most surprised to learn, "There are more than three hundred national parks, ... seashores, ... forests, and recreation areas" in the U.S. (Cox, 1990, p. 4). I have visited some of them already. Reading this book makes me want to visit some more.

Reference

Cox, Teresa. (1990). Wild America. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

BR 2-17: Wild America by Teresa Cox

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec auctor purus et leo lobortis non mattis ipsum semper. Nunc non porttitor erat. Proin viverra pellentesque risus sed aliquam. Pellentesque ac erat augue. Donec eu neque tortor. Aenean et leo vitae justo placerat rutrum. Phasellus justo turpis, aliquet ut cursus sagittis, tempus sed turpis. Donec eget lorem ligula. Donec malesuada vehicula nibh vitae tincidunt

Morbi tristique, sapien malesuada cursus pulvinar, magna erat lobortis nunc, ut consectetur dolor risus quis tortor. Nunc fermentum, augue sit amet euismod egestas, felis urna aliquam massa, non eleifend urna ante et urna. Cras tellus ante, sollicitudin quis consequat in, imperdiet vitae turpis. Vivamus felis ante, feugiat at rhoncus sed, eleifend at est. Aenean condimentum ipsum vel quam luctus sit amet laoreet purus rutrum. Nulla facilisi. Donec tincidunt augue sit amet odio fringilla gravida.

Praesent nec dolor quis purus facilisis venenatis ut non dolor. Etiam eget augue non mauris ornare pretium. Nullam eleifend lorem libero. Proin a pellentesque elit. Sed lectus massa, ullamcorper a laoreet et, viverra eget nisl. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Phasellus consectetur varius urna. Maecenas rutrum fermentum viverra. Aliquam molestie, turpis ut tempus mattis, odio quam pretium nisl, nec pulvinar lacus arcu sed nulla.

In this book there were lots of surprises. The most surprising bit of information about the U.S. was that there are literally hundreds of "national parks, national seashores, national forests, and [national] recreation areas" (Cox, 1990, p. 4). I've seen some of them already. I really want to go and see more of them soon!

References

Cox, Teresa. (1990). Wild America. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

BR 2-16: Emile Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec auctor purus et leo lobortis non mattis ipsum semper. Nunc non porttitor erat. Proin viverra pellentesque risus sed aliquam. Pellentesque ac erat augue. Donec eu neque tortor. Aenean et leo vitae justo placerat rutrum. Phasellus justo turpis, aliquet ut cursus sagittis, tempus sed turpis. Donec eget lorem ligula. Donec malesuada vehicula nibh vitae tincidunt. Morbi tristique, sapien malesuada cursus pulvinar, magna erat lobortis nunc, ut consectetur dolor risus quis tortor. Nunc fermentum, augue sit amet euismod egestas, felis urna aliquam massa, non eleifend urna ante et urna. Cras tellus ante, sollicitudin quis consequat in, imperdiet vitae turpis. Vivamus felis ante, feugiat at rhoncus sed, eleifend at est. Aenean condimentum ipsum vel quam luctus sit amet laoreet purus rutrum. Nulla facilisi. Donec tincidunt augue sit amet odio fringilla gravida.

Praesent nec dolor quis purus facilisis venenatis ut non dolor. Etiam eget augue non mauris ornare pretium. Nullam eleifend lorem libero. Proin a pellentesque elit. Sed lectus massa, ullamcorper a laoreet et, viverra eget nisl. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Phasellus consectetur varius urna. Maecenas rutrum fermentum viverra. Aliquam molestie, turpis ut tempus mattis, odio quam pretium nisl, nec pulvinar lacus arcu sed nulla.

My favorite line in the book is when Heathcliff says, "I have to remind myself to breathe – almost remind my heart to beat!" (Bronte, 1989, p. 65). It reminds me how strongly our thoughts can influence our bodies.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse dui lacus, commodo quis consectetur at, pretium eget eros. Aliquam pretium egestas est. Vivamus eu ante at mi rhoncus semper. Fusce mattis aliquet mauris, vitae commodo odio congue non. Phasellus adipiscing scelerisque sem, at laoreet magna fringilla id. Etiam risus lorem, suscipit quis malesuada a, imperdiet pretium turpis. Fusce mattis leo quis turpis condimentum euismod. Vivamus feugiat arcu at tellus porta auctor. Donec a nisi mi.

Maecenas lobortis sollicitudin sem, a fermentum urna dignissim sed. Ut erat arcu, pulvinar vitae laoreet at, scelerisque et quam. Donec sed quam diam. Fusce felis lacus, luctus id ullamcorper vitae, hendrerit vitae nibh. Sed eget lacus at dui commodo mattis. Aliquam erat volutpat. Curabitur tincidunt, lacus ut semper pharetra, quam diam blandit leo, ut aliquet dui ipsum at nisl. Nam luctus sodales facilisis. Donec et nulla vitae erat commodo feugiat eu sed odio. Aliquam velit enim, rhoncus at euismod in, pulvinar eu erat. Integer facilisis accumsan odio ac luctus. Aliquam volutpat vehicula lacus et rutrum.

Reference

Bronte, Emily. (1989). Wuthering Heights [Longman Classics series]. Harlow: Longman Group UK.