Virtual
Teacher Newsletter No. 103 19th February 2005 MEGAPIXEL RACE
THE
FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1.
Welcome
2.
Mind Candy
3.
WWWinfo CHOICE MAGAZINE CONSUMER TESTS
4.
New Printables FREE STOCK PHOTOS FOR SCHOOLS
5.
Technical Stuff MEGAPIXELS AND DPI
6.
Web Site Focus 6 THINKING HATS
7.
YOU OUGHT BE IN PIXELS
8.
Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10
Next Issue
11.
Code of 'Netizens'
12.
Tips
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1.
WELCOME EVERYONE. Lots of info about Megapixels, DPI,
and
digital images this issue and a start into some DeBono
adventures. Also, take a look at Libbyıs new
website and let
me
know what you think. Great to see
an Australian author taking
advantage
of multimedia delivery, should excite a lot of kids.
Have
a great fornight.
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2.
MIND CANDY
³If
you never change you mind , why have one? If you never
changed
your mind you could just have a sign saying: Same
thinking
a last month, same ideas too!²
Edward
DeBono, How to have a Beautiful Mind, pp166, 2004
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This
is mad, do it properly, no cheating
Count
the number of 'F's in the following text
FINISHED
FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY
COMBINED
WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS
Managed
it? Scroll down only after you have counted them!
OK?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
How
many? Three?
Wrong,
there are six - no joke!
Read
again! The reasoning is further down.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
The
brain cannot process "OF". Incredible or what? Anyone
who
counts all six 'F' on the first go is a genius, three is
normal.
Comedy
On Tap
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Learning is not compulsory. Neither is
survival.
--
W.Edwards Deming
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: In theory, there is no
difference between theory and
practice,
but in practice there is a great deal of difference.
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3.
WWWinfo CHOICE MAGAZINE CONSUMER TESTS
Check
out the tests for over 60 digital cameras here
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=103416&catId=100282&tid=100008&p=1
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4.
NEW PRINTABLES
Free
Stock Photos for Schools
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001489.shtml
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5.
TECHNICAL STUFF
WHATıS
A MEGAPIXEL?
A megapixel is
simply one million pixels. What's a pixel? A pixel is
the single,
square "picture element".
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DPI
dots per inch
300
dpi good for photographic quality reproduction
1(when you put in the memory stick and set
the resolution the
camera will tell
you how many shots will fit on that stick)
150 DPI Low
resolutions doesnıt stand up to close scrutiny,
you start to get
Jaggy
pictures AVOID THESE
http://www.pixagogo.com/tutorials/digitalphotography/Tutorials.aspx?p=MegaPixelsResolution
72
DPI is the resolution for the Web
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6.
WEBSITE FOCUS 6 THINKING HATS
Well
have purchased six thinking hats from
http://www.carnivalandtoy.com/
There
website isnıt quite running yet, but their store is a great treat.
so I
have the hats and will be working on parallel thinking this term.
I
tried them out on the family last night, and they werenıt doing a
lot
of thinking as they were to busy laughing at my choices.
So
far a lot of fun.
www.worldcentrefornewthinking.org
http://www.debono.org/main.html
Lesson
Plans for Schools
http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/manage/sixhats120800.html
Let
me know what you are doing with this thnking tool.
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7.
You oughta be in Pixelsı was a title of an Article from
Edutopia
November /December 2004
A lot
of folk as about this and we are currently seeing the great
megapixel
camera marketing race, as usual VT gets to the heart of
it here,
with some great mathematics too.
HOW
MANY MEGAPIXELS?
Manufacturers
are in a great pixel race at the moment.
With MORE,
being
better. Basically
1
megapixel is for the novice (web and 150dpi low res pictures)
2
megapixel is just fine for standard sized postcard images.
intermediate
3.
megapixels is great for 5 x 7 printable images intermediate
4
megapixels is really for your amateur enthusiast. Good 10 x 8
pictures
5
megapixels and above youıll find files will be slow to load and
youıll
need serious computer hardware to process your files
All
cameras can be set to take images of various resolutions of
jpeg
and the higher end cameras can shoot Tiffs and RAW files.
The
pros use RAW files, the information id direct from the sensor
with
no additional processing, they give the best quality for photo
manipulation
purposes.
WHATıS
A GOOD CAMERA?
A
good camera is one that will take the sort of photos you want.
If
you just want postcard sized images then a 3 megapixel camera
is
just fine. If you just want web images to send via email and small
pictures
for students to use, then a 1-2 megapixel camera is fine.
Make
sure you like the way it feels in your hands. Some of the
smaller
cameras are awkward, particularly for children to use.
You
need to be able to hold it well, with places for fingers that arenıt
in
front of the lens. I like bigger
cameras like the Mavica for younger
children.
1. I
have used a 2 megapixel mavica with primary school children,
just
great. Itıs is a good size, and the images are great. The floppy
disk
drive allows each child to take their pictures and then their disk
and
load up their computer, without tying up the camera. Of course
the
floppy drive has a life of about 2 years, but after that you can use
a
memory stick.
2. I
use a 4 megapixel Sony Cybershot
for school photos, this
camera
gives great results for A3 size images, and the image quality
is
excellent.
Cybershot,
(approx $350, Mavica from $800)
http://www.sony.com.au/dis/catalog/category.jsp?id=22011
3.
For Pro cameraıs the Canon 10D (upgraded now to the 20D)) is
a
knock out giving great images that can be enlarged on wide format
printers
http://www.canon.com.au/products/cameras/digital_slr.html
WHAT
PROGRAMS ARE BEST FOR PHOTO-MANIPULATION?
1. I
use Photoshop, it is the industry standard for photo manipulation.
Great
for graphic designers and Year 11 & 12 Graphic arts students and
photo
enthusiasts.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html
2.
Photoshop Elements is a cheaper cut down version, it is great.
Suitable
from middle primary through to adult.
Easy to use and
some
spectacular features, at fantastic price.
with a similar
interface
to photoshop itself, this program allows easy migration
to
the more advanced version.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac/main.html
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/main.html
3.
Donıt have any money ,just use Microsoft word. Go to view
menu,
go to toolbars, go to picture, click on the image and
away
you go.
4. DPI dots per inch
For a
300 DPI print (super sharp photo intended for viewing up close)
Print
Size Resolution
needed for 300 DPI print
4x6 about
2 MP
5x7 about
3 MP
8x10 about
6 MP
11x14 about
14 MP
13x20 about
23 MP
For a 150
DPI print (photo quality when viewed at "arms length")
Print
Size Resolution
needed for 150 DPI print
4x6
about 0.5 MP
5x7 about 1 MP
8x10 about
2 MP
11x14 about
3.4 MP
13x20 about
6 MP
5.
THE MATHEMATICS
Image File Sizes
As you can see, the more pixels you have per inch on your photo,
the larger the file size will be. If you need to calculate the size of your
files beforehand, you will need the following information:
1. How many
pixels the image has
2. How many color channels your image has (ie: Greyscale has one,
RGB (red, green, blue) has three and CMYK (a print format) has four.
If you plan to publish your picture on the internet, your format would be
RGB. If you plan to have your pictures printed, you would then select CMYK.
For our example, we will use an image that is 640 x 480 pixels, using
RGB as our color channel.
You will need to
multiply 640 by 480.
640 times 480 =
307,200
Now, take 307,
200 and multiply it by 3 for your color channel.
307,200 times 3 =
921,600 = .9 MB
This amount tells
you how many bytes of information you have in your image.
This is for any
lossless file format like tiff.
Saving files as jpegs reduces
file size considerably.
Image Arithmetic
http://209.196.177.41/01/01-09.htm
Memory Costs of
Images
http://www.scantips.com/basics1d.html
6.
WHAT SIZE MEMORY STICK?
In
schools I like to use only one memory stick, they seem to walk.
For
private use it is handy to have several so that when one is full
you
have a spare and continue to take photos like additional rolls
of
film.
Buy a
memory stick for school to suit the maximum number of
photos
you will use in any session or on an excursion. If you take
a
photo of everyone in the class at a postcard size resolution say
30 x
2 x 2MP then a 128MP memory stick should be just fine.
You
can then download this onto your computer and erase the
memory
stick for future use. (when
you put in the memory stick
and set the
resolution the camera will tell you how many shots
will fit on that
stick)
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8.
GREAT SITES
HOT
SITES
Libby
Hathorn you know great Australian
Childrenıs author
has a
new online resource full of games, stories, and integrated
activities. I have just taken delivery of the CD
material as well so
will
be trialing it over the next few weeks.
Look forward to updates
so
far it looks great. Take a look
and tell me what you think. If
anyone
has used this material please write in with your comments.
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WASH
YOUR HANDS
Infection
Detection Protection
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infection/infectionindex.html
"Microbes
are the oldest form of life on Earth. Some types have
existed
for billions of years. These single-cell organisms are invisible
to
the eye, but they can be seen with microscopes. Microbes live in
the
water you drink, the food you eat, and the air you breathe. Right
now,
billions of microbes are swimming in your belly and crawling on
your
skin. Don't worry, over 95% of microbes are harmless." This
entire
exhibit (from the American Museum of Natural History) is
fabulous,
but the best clicks are the Shockwave games with names
like
Bacteria in the Cafeteria and Infection!
Microbe.org
Developed
by the American Society for Microbiology, Microbe.org
introduces
middle school students to microbiology with colorful
images
and friendly text. They even have a special section on
hand
washing, where I learned that although 94% of Americans
say
they wash their hands after using the bathroom, only 68%
really
do. Ughh! Other excellent clicks are the science experiments
for
home or classroom, and the career section.
Microbe
Zoo
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/
Using
a zoo metaphor, Microbe Zoo explores microbe ecology,
the
study of microbes in their environment. Created for upper-elementary
and
middle school students, the site is divided into five environments:
Animal
Pavilion (with instructions on building a dung chamber in
Poo Corner) , DirtLand (Who knows what evil lurks in that dirt pile?
Microbiologists do.), Snack Bar (hmm . . . yummy yogurt), Space
Adventure
(microbes on Mars?) and Waterworld.
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9.
READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Hi
Cathy, At Heatley Secondary College in Townsville(NQ) we're
experimenting
with Moodle on our school network and it's fantastic.
It
can be used by the novice teacher or as a great training
ground
for future BlackBoard course creators (BlackBoard is
EdQLD's
superb site for students and teachers).
It's
taken me, a keen English teacher but slow ICT user, a few
months
to get my head around. The kids
love Moodle and that's
the
main thing. Of course the price is
brilliant too. '
Gotta
love Open Source. Cheers, Andrew
Jones.
------------------------------------------
I
asked Andrew to describe a few of the things he was doing with Moodle:
------------------------------------------
Using
Moodle for the first time....Nothing too brilliant
1. Journal writing to a topic. Students who previously hated writing
enjoyed
writing to a topic and reading the multiple responses to what was
said
on the discussion thread. I've
never seen them write so much. I
remember
this last year because I couldn't stop one student writing - he was
4
years below his reading age and usually a non-writer.
2. Evaluation of lessons and unit. A private yet public paradox of
analysing
aspects of learning and my teaching. Again the discussion thread
seemed
to become a more personal and honest response to a review of what was
completed
in class. Hard copy paper
responses never achieved the same
detail
from the whole class.
3. I have linked handouts and resources
which lead students to the
completion
of tasks as word documents and are in turn stored digitally (on
hard
drives). This saves paper and
allows students to work at own pace.
4. Other teachers have uploaded music and
sound effects onto the server
(remember
only 2MB uploads allowed as yet).
Students accessed these files
and
used a multitrack and free sound editor - Audacity also on server due to
file
size) to create radio commercials.
There
are many other features I'm still learning but they look impressive
such
as the multiple choice tests and the ability to submit assessment. I
think
there's a Moodle conference in Adelaide again this year. I'd love to
go
and see what others are doing.
Cheers,
Andrew
Thanks
a lot for sharing this. If you
have any great new things
you
are doing, even if you think they are not so ıbrilliantı as
Andrew
says, send them along. And by the way Andrew it is brilliant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What
are the meanings for the maths
terms-
A
barn
and a
Circular
Mil
thanks
Lauren
Kiernan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any
takers for this one what do you think.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Cathy, a fellow teacher recommended that I subscribe to virtual
teacher
and so I am contacting you, hoping you can help.
My
edumail address is tattersall.michael.a@edumail.vic.gov.au
I am
a teacher at Wonthaggi SC and I am at present investigating
options
in setting up an intranet that is also accessible from the
internet,
with appropriate security features in place. I have made
some
attempts at investigating commercial solutions such as
Blackboard,
Uniservity and the MyInternet products, as well as
being
aware that Glen Waverley SC (Victoria) have developed
their own solution. I am also interested
in following up on the
way
schools use Moodle and any other approaches that have
been successfully used along with costs etc. Do you have any
contacts/information articles from Virtual teacher that might be
relevant
or that might further my quest?
Cheers,
Mike.
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I
have put Mikeıs email address in the newsletter perhaps
some
of you may want to contact him direct. Please cc me
on
any correspondence.
==============================================
10. NEXT ISSUE Next Issue more about
DeBono and
hopefully
Moodle. Please take the time to share your great
computer
adventures with VT. Donıt forget the
CODE
of the NETIZENS
ciao
Cathy
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11.
Code of the 'Netizens'
This
Newsletter is not free, despite the misleading advertising
above.
The Fee is now due. Each week you must help one
colleague
on the Internet who has less knowledge than you.
Help
that person even if you have to visit their classroom or
do a
little research and get back to them. Trust me, this will
help
a lot of people get their computer classrooms running better.
OK
I'm trusting you!!!
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12.
TIPS
1.
Double click on highlighted URLS to open in browser.
2.
Send in your Questions, Questions will be published with
Answers,
send in your Answers, if you have expertise to share.
3.
Nominate a brilliant site for review and inclusion in this
newsletter.
4.
Nominate a fantastic school site for review and inclusion in
this
newsletter.
5.
Make contact with other schools using fantastic programs.
6.
Prepare and innovative article for this newsletter.
7.
Tell 2 colleagues about this newsletter.
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The
opinions expressed here are purely those of the editor,
Cathy
Brown. All other small print clauses apply. Such as:
Use
at your own risk. Nothing in life is guaranteed. If it doesn't
work
for you send me an email.
Editor:
cathy brown mailto:cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
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