THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELL PHONE COULD DO

El Prof. José Antonio  Giovannetti Román comparte con nosotros:

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELL PHONE COULD DO.
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.
Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST: Emergency
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.
Try it out.

SECOND: Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday.  Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"

THIRD: Hidden Battery Power
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH: How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # . A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....

FIFTH: Free 411
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to.  Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem.  When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.
This is the kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it on to your family and friends

Prof. José Antonio  Giovannetti Román

... el Caminante

diez cosas a hacer para ayudar a parar el Calentamiento Global

La Dra. sandra Cruz-Pol (SandraCruzPol@ieee.org) comparte con nosotros algunos consejos para ayudar a parar el calentamiento global y ahorrar dinero:

http://ece.uprm.edu/%7Epol/pdf/MasCosasHacer.pdf

Nos dice Sanda:

"Acabo de recibir mi cuenta de AEE, solía pagar unos $250-$300 al mes (~2000 kW) y hoy pagué $74 (400kW de consumo)!!
Asi que si quieren ahorrar dinero y frenar el calentamiento global, pueden bajar esta hoja de "25 cosas que hacer" de la página web ...
Por favor imprímanla en una sóla hoja de papel por ambos lados."

Servicio para compartir archivos

Finally, set your files free

http://www.divshare.com

• Upload as many files as you want,
  up to 200 MB at a time.
• We'll track your uploads and add them to your account if you sign up or log in.
• To create a gallery, upload the first images here, then add as many as you want on the next screen.
• You can upload any safe file type, and we'll create thumbnails for your JPG, GIF and PNG images.
• Your files stay online forever — there's no expiration date, no matter what.

Free software!

What is Ubuntu?

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Ubuntu is and always will be completely free software. You don't incur any costly licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

$100 laptops coming soon!

The Universal Learning Machine
By Ken Messersmith

We are speeding toward the day when students will bring an electronic learning device with them to school. The MIT $100 laptops are about to ship, and I believe it is inevitable that similar devices will soon be available for American students. This future brings up the question of what would happen if teachers were allowed to design these things. Let me start with a list of features and then see what the Spiral Notebook community thinks.

The device should be small but not too small. It is important that the display be large enough to clearly show the contents of a Web page. Something between a portable game player and a laptop in size should work. A good bright color display will be essential.

The memory, for durability and to conserve power, should be based on flash memory. Some type of wireless battery-charging system would be ideal. Solar power would be best, but we might have to settle for one of those wireless pads for charging the battery during lunch or recess. Wireless capability must be included, and a couple USB ports would add flexibility.

If we could make it durable enough, I would like to see a touch screen, which eliminates the necessity of using a separate mouse. The touch screen might be able to double as a keyboard, or we could include a fold-away keyboard that could be stowed out of the way when we are using the touch screen.

What about software? Necessities would include a browser, a word processor, and photo-editing, video-editing, and multimedia-presentation tools. I would also include a spreadsheet with graphing capabilities for math and some type of graphic-organizer building tool for abstracting and note taking. Some of these tools might be Web based, making it unnecessary to maintain them on the machine.

This device needs to be in the $100-$300 range to make it affordable for families to buy or for school districts to provide. What have I missed, or what have I included that should be modified or eliminated? Please let me know.

Publicado en: http://www.edutopia.org/community/spiralnotebook/?p=235

effective practices for teaching

Un artículo muy interesante:

http://everyonelearns.blogspot.com/2007/01/why-we-need-schools-we-need.html

... But, teaching these students are extraordinary circumstances requiring extraordinary efforts. Teachers need to not just try or work hard; they need to try the right things and work hard at effective practices. Teachers need to be using “high payoff” motivators, such as

• project-based learning,
• connecting with students,
• connecting learning to the community and the students’ lives,
• focusing on higher order thinking activities,
• learning by doing,
• making learning interesting, and
• involving students in designing their learning.

But moving teachers in this direction is a big effort. Teachers need more than informational workshops. They need good models, both the kind they can observe (videos or classroom observations), and the kind they can try out (model units/lessons). They need coaching and support. They need access to the right resources. And they need strong leadership that clearly expects this work and backs it up with how they supervise and evaluate teachers.

Yauco comple 251 años...

El Prof. José Antonio Giovaneti y Román nos comunica desde el Pueblo del Café:

En la próxima semana, Yauco… pueblo del café, buen pan de huevo, Capital Taína—según algunos--- Capital Corsa de América---según otros---cumplirá 251 años de haber sido fundado por Don Fernando Pacheco de Matos el 29 de febrero de 1756. Es un Pueblo-Ciudad bisiesto. Cuna de grandes poetas y mujeres hermosas. Fué aquí donde en el 1903 llegó el primer carro, traído por don Alejandro Chaly Franceschi, donde por primera vez se celebra el Primer Día de las Madres en mayo de 1915 y donde se originó el Primer Círculo Cultural de Puerto Rico. La Primera Junta Local de la Asociación de Maestros se reunió en éste Pueblo con forma de trompo o Y griega.

Acá nacieron el Prof. don Amaury Veray Torregrosa, autor del Villancico Yuacano, Don Carmelo Filardy, el gran caricaturista y Moisés Rodríguez el guitarrista de música clásica. Fue por estos lares donde una famaceútica creo la pomada Ruizol y un farmaceútico creó Angelor. Don Arturo Medina fabricaba la brillantina Sonia mientras en la calle Dr. don Manuel Pasarell se hacía el Chocolate Perla cerca de la fábrica de Galletas Borinquen Biscuit.

Hace más de medio siglo se cantó por primera vez el Villancico Yaucano en el Templo de la Iglesia Católica por María Amelia Lugo de Lucca. El Artista del pincel y del grabado, don Carlos Marichal gustaba visitor nuestro Pueblo y algunos de sus trabajos artísticos tuvieron su inspiración en esta Ciudad bicentenaria donde la tertulia todavía tiene su espacio y el Abuelo Juancho narra los datos con humor y picardía-

Algunos desconocen que el Dr. don Manuel Zeno Gandía vino acá con una encomienda médica y se enamoró de una yaucana con la que contrajo nupcias y tuvo tiempo para escribir parte de su Novela, La Charca, mientras residía en el pueblo con aroma del café y buen pan de huevo…. Donde en antaño se escuchaban los pregones yaucanos con los ofrecimientos de viandas, dulces y servicios… y se canta La Plena a Yauco con alegría.

En el Libro Memorias del Abuelo, presentado en el mes de octubre, se recogen los nombres de 77 gemelos de Yauco, 5 trillizos y 25 comadronas. En esa publicación está la receta del pan de huevo y de un rico postre de los años 40, Chipolata. Se menciona además alrededor de 160 apódos, casi todos con los nombres naturales de esas personas, Algunos se repetían, como Tiriguilly y Guaro. Prof. José Antonio Giovanneti- Yauco

Se puede comunicar con el profesor Giovanneti a: abuelojuancho@hotmail.com

Understanding 'Math Anxiety'

  Les recomiendo este arículo que apareció en Teacher Magazine:

Stellar athletes, successful entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers like to say that pressure makes diamonds. The higher the stakes and the harder the circumstances, the thinking goes, the more likely we are to overcome our fears and doubts and produce results.

If only it were that simple in mathematics.

In recent years, researchers and educators have delved further into the topic of “math anxiety,” or the ways in which students’ lack of confidence in that subject undermines their academic performance. Today, the issue is receiving renewed attention from academic scholars and others, who believe that developing a better understanding of the causes and implications of math anxiety is a key to improving achievement for many students...

Artículo completo en:

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2007/02/21/ew_math.html

The Heart of Teacher Leadership

The Heart of Teacher Leadership

By Jim Brooks

One of the things most difficult about leadership is that we often must make decisions on the spot. Given enough time to weigh options and seek input, we might arrive at very different solutions than we do when circumstances demand immediate attention. Each decision we make informs the next situation in which we must take timely action. A clear vision coupled with a strong conviction for what we want to accomplish informs the leadership instinct we sometimes must rely upon.

Full article at:

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2007/02/14/16tln_brooks.html

Do More: Online To Do Lists Compared

Time is our most valuable commodity. Productivity pays. Procrastination costs us time and money, and leaves us stressed, exhausted and unreliable in the eyes of others.

For many, the classic “To Do” list is the remedy. But for heavy web users, there are a number of recently launched to-do list products to choose from, with convenient sharing and other features, and easy to use interfaces.

We’ve taken a look at five of the best.

Web 2.0 To Do Lists

• Bla Bla List
• Ta-da List
• Tudu List
• Remember The Milk
• Voo2Do

Personally I selected Tudu List. To read the complete article follow the link:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/05/08/do-more-online-to-do-lists-compared/

Get CNN Student News via Video Podcast

 Get CNN Student News via Video Podcast

By Craig Nansen on January 21, 2007 in Classroom Life. Discuss it below

CNN Student News is a great resource for teachers to cover current events. It is a 10 minute, commercial free newscast covering the major news stories from the previous day. This newscast is geared for students. It is broadcast each day, Monday through Friday, at 3:12 am on the CNN Headline News channel.

We have been promoting the use of CNN Student News in our district for years, with limited success. A small percentage of teachers have been dedicated enough to set their VCRs to record the newcasts on a daily basis. We even set up a VHS recording and duplication system in our district tech office to handle those times when there was a high interest story and teachers who didn't get it recorded wanted copies.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/eti/2007/01/001595.php

Or visit: http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/

Teach with passion

Tough Love

Bill Cosby talks about what teachers need to do better.

By Denise Kersten Wills

Bill Cosby made headlines in October when he urged teachers to do a better job of explaining to students the importance of the subjects they teach.

—Erinn

The comedian, best known as the beloved Dr. Huxtable from TV’s long-running hit The Cosby Show, has been outspoken in recent years about what the black community needs to do to close the racial achievement gap.

The Cos isn’t a classroom veteran, but neither is he a stranger to education—he holds master’s and doctorate degrees in the field.

We followed up with Cosby and asked him to explain his remarks.

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2007/01/01/04cosby.h18.html

Education to change the world

Change arrives at FETC 2007
Speakers at Florida's venerable ed-tech event urged attendees to 'change the world,' adapt to changing technologies, and respond to the need for students to master new skills
From eSchool News staff reports

For the teachers, administrators, and educational technology experts who attended this year's Florida Educational Technology Conference, change was a common theme that resonated throughout the three-day event: changing the world, changing technologies, and changing expectations for today's students.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6858

Augmented reality helps kids learn

 'Augmented reality' helps kids learn Research project uses handheld computers to teach kids math and literacy skills
By Laura Devaney, Associate Editor, eSchool News

Researchers at Harvard, MIT, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison have developed a project that uses "augmented reality" to teach students math and literacy skills. The project involves teams of students gathering data on handheld computers to explain why aliens have landed, and in the process students "interview" virtual characters they encounter at certain GPS hot spots. The researchers say the project holds great potential for engaging students and teaching high-level skills.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6817

La cultura como industria de Ángel Collado Schwarz

La cultura como industria

Ángel Collado Schwarz

Fundación Voz del Centro

El Nuevo Día, 30 Noviembre-2006, Pág. 86.

La cultura representa uno de los renglones más importantes en las economías de los 25 países que componen la Unión Europea (UE). En el 2003 experimentó tasas de crecimiento mayores que el promedio de los otros sectores económicos. Tales son algunos de los datos que emanan de un estudio realizado recientemente por la Comisión Europea, con el objetivo de analizar por primera vez la aportación del sector cultural a la economía de la UE y demostrar que es uno de los factores que más contribuyen al crecimiento económico y a generar nuevos empleos. La UE tiene el PIB (producto interior bruto o “gross domestic product”) más alto del mundo y los beneficios sociales más extendidos. El estudio prueba que las asignaciones presupuestarias a la cultura son una buena inversión.

El sector cultural incluye las artes visuales y las escénicas, los bienes patrimoniales como museos, bibliotecas y archivos, así como la industria audiovisual y la creativa, en las que convergen la arquitectura, el diseño y la publicidad. La cultura representa el 2.5% del PIB de la UE, un porcentaje que supera los de la industria química, el caucho y el plástico. La cultura emplea a 3.1% de la población europea (5.8 millones de europeos), equivalente a la población empleada de Grecia e Irlanda juntos.

Mientras el total de empleos en la UE disminuyó entre el 2002 y el 2004, los empleos en el sector cultural aumentaron por un 1.85% durante el mismo periodo. Entre 1999 y 2003 el sector cultural creció un 12.3% más que la economía europea. En el caso de España, la cultura es el segundo sector de importancia en la economía, sólo detrás del inmobiliario.

La cultura es una herramienta poderosa para comunicar valores y promover objetivos de interés público, los cuales son más abarcadores incluso que la gestión económica. La cultura contribuye en múltiples funciones sociales. Es una embajadora para proyectar a una sociedad. En el caso europeo vemos cómo desde la antigüedad hasta el presente la cultura ha proyectado sus valores sociales. Desde Sófocles hasta Brecht y Becket, el teatro europeo comunicaba una posición en torno a la democracia y a la libre expresión. Las caricaturas de Goya o el Guernica de Picasso transmitían un poderoso mensaje político y social. En el cine, las películas de directores como Pedro Almodóvar, Lars Van Trier o Roman Polanski comunican mensajes sociales y constituyen expresiones de la creatividad europea.

En Puerto Rico, nuestra asociación con el ícono populista de “West Side Story” ha evolucionado hacia el de Ricky Martin y Benicio del Toro. La imagen cultural de Puerto Rico en el ámbito popular ha experimentado una marcada mejoría en su proyección: de puertorriqueños emigrantes involucrados en pandillas neoyorquinas, a puertorriqueños que conquistan el mundo del espectáculo y del cine en el plano internacional.

El mundo globalizado y de alta tecnología hace posible cambios de percepción en un corto plazo.

La cultura en Europa es parcialmente responsable de que el continente sea el más visitado en el mundo. Los festivales musicales, las exhibiciones y otras actividades generan turismo cultural, como en una ocasión generaba el Festival Casals en Puerto Rico. Un ejemplo del impacto dramático de la cultura es el Museo Guggenheim en Bilbao, el cual con su impactante arquitectura logró reintroducir el País Vasco a la modernidad y continúa generando un impresionante turismo cultural en la zona.

Tradicionalmente los sectores culturales europeos habían sido rezagados a un enfoque no económico. El resultado de las asignaciones culturales se veía como contribuciones artísticas en lugar de como “bienes y servicios culturales”. A la luz de este estudio recientemente publicado, la visión oficial europea sobre el tratamiento presupuestario a los aspectos culturales será reenfocado.

En Puerto Rico, la cultura ha sido tradicionalmente un renglón misceláneo del presupuesto gubernamental, tratado como un gasto. En ocasiones se han camuflado fondos del barril de tocino de la Legislatura como contribuciones culturales. En momentos cuando nuestro modelo económico se derrumba, el nuevo enfoque de la Unión Europea representa un interesante modelo para Puerto Rico. Después de todo, nuestro principal activo es el recurso humano y tenemos una dinámica y efectiva actividad cultural. La cultura debe verse como una industria que genera actividad económica y empleos, motiva la creatividad, crea impacto social y sirve de embajadora para proyectar una imagen a nivel internacional.

Apertura nuevo programa en Casa Pueblo

I'm not the person of the year

Al igual que el Dr. Mario Núñez,  (http://www.vidadigital.net/blog/2006/12/18/no-acepto-ser-person-of-the-year/), y otros tantos, yo tampoco acepto la designación de la Revista Time (www.time.com) en la que me seleccionaron como 'la persona del año".

Mi nominado para este año era el pingüinito de la película 'Happy feet": www.happyfeetmovie.com

El Dr. Edwin Vázquez en Cargas y Descargas fue más específico: http://edwinvazquez.blogspot.com/2006/12/la-persona-del-ao-segn-time.html

Documentos del taller inducción 9 de diciembre de 2006

El pasado 9 de diciembre de 2006 se llevó a cabo el taller en el que pudimos 'romper' una actividad para incorporar las modificaciones o adaptaciones para niños con PEA (Problemas Específicos de Aprendizaje).  Acontinuación se incluyen los archivos con los documentos que se incluyeron en la carpeta que se les entregó.

Agenda Taller PCI 9 diciembre 06.doc

Haciendo Olas Hoja del Maestro.doc

Haciendo Ondas hoja del estudiante traduccion.doc

Hojade preguntas modificada.doc

Instrucciones para hacer librito en cardstok.doc

Mapa conceptual ondas.ppt

PARA COPIAR apuntes claves.doc

PARA COPIAR Bosquejo Lectura.doc

Plantilla curriculo español ACT HACIENDO ONDAS.doc

Plantilla En Blanco.doc

PREGUNTAS.ppt

Traduccion 2 nivel 5 y 6.doc

Traduccion 2 nivel 5 y 6 CON HIGHLIGHT.doc

Traduccion 2 nivel K al 4.doc

Traduccion 2 nivel K al 4 con highlight.doc

Un día después de Navidad en el 2004.ppt

Top 10 reasons to support the Arecibo Observatory

  Dr. Héctor Jiménez, Head of the Department of Physics at UPR-Mayagüez, share with us the Top 10 reasons to keep the Arecibo Observatory. Please share this list, and our support for the Observatory, with your colleagues and friends.

Top Ten Reasons why Arecibo is Important to UPR

10. By increasing the general public's awareness of science, Arecibo has a positive influence in the development of Puerto Rico.
9. Arecibo puts Puerto Rico, and by association UPR, in the scientific map.
8. Arecibo makes big science visible to Puerto Rican school children. Thousands of them visit every year.
7. Arecibo provides research opportunities to our university students. Examples: summer interns in ionospheric research, Ph.D. Thesis in Civil Engineering about observatory's structural stability during an
earthquake.
6. We do science at the Observatory; Prof. Novakowski, of Physics, studies pulsars at Arecibo, Prof. Mario Ierkic, of EE, wants to study atmospheric gravity waves at the Observatory.
5. We want to do more science at Arecibo. The Physics Department has been actively searching for a radioastronomer to fill a faculty position (see Physics Today classifieds).
4. Our Physics Department has been working on a Ph.D. program proposal where astrophysics and radioastronomy play a big part.
3. Arecibo is one of the biggest motivators for young Puerto
Rican students to choose a career in physics. One such student, Emily Alicea, is finishing her Ph.D. in astronomy at Penn. State.
2. We want to significantly increase the ties between Arecibo,
Cornell, and UPRM. Cornell Ph.D., José Rosado of EE, is actively working towards that goal in collaboration with many of us.
1. As scientists and citizens we are awed and inspired by the
science that comes from the Observatory. It would be a sad day and a great loss to all, if Arecibo ever closed.

Para futuros estudiantes del sistema UPR

El sistema de la UPR ya cuenta con el nuevo portal dirigido a atraer nuevos estudiantes. El portal es muy atractivo y el estudiante puede calcular su IGS y explorar los programas académicos de las once unidades de la UPR. También provee información para orientadores y consejeros (o maestros) y para los padres.

Esta es una herramienta muy importante para todos los maestros, estudiantes, directores de escuela y el público en general.

El portal está disponible en:

http://estudiantes.upr.edu/