Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The Adventures of Building a Facebook App: Day 2

I am learning in leaps and bounds today.

The first thing I realized this morning was that I don't have a SSL certificate for my domain, so I ordered that and it will take about 48 hours they say and the site has to be rebooted.  Ok.  No worries there, as there is plenty of time for me to fiddle around with PHP.

I also updated the Facebook page that goes along with the App.  That came out great...so now I just need to get the app coded and up there!!!!


Monday, March 5, 2012

The Adventures of Building a Facebook App: Day 1

O. M. G.

So, it is officially SPRING BREAK here in the great Mouth of Wilson, but that sensation hasn't quite kicked in because it just felt like a weekend.

I have a pretty robust to-do list for break (mostly laundry and cleaning, a little geocaching, and some movie watching), but I wanted to take on something new in celebration of Lent.  I wanted to build something or create something that others could use.

So, I decided to create a Facebook App all on my own without BuildChatter or any other site (BuildChatter, btw, never did end up working for me...and no one ever followed up, so scratch them off my holiday card list).

Now, I can create simple Fb apps (hello my name is Wally.  Go to this site and learn about what I do/sell/eat).  Usually, I program in Java.  I am also a fan of Python.  In the last year and half, I have learned to program in like 6 new languages (really, once you learn one, they all start to make sense).  But, for whatever dumb reason, I decided to do this Fb app in php.  Ugg.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Anywho...the process for actually creating the physical space for a Fb app is a cinch.  You just go to Facebook's Developer Site and get busy.  But, for some dumb reason (not the same one as before), I decided first to go with their cloud service hosting.  After an hour of trying to figure that out and wanting to light matches and burn my eyes out...I realized something...duh...I have my own server.  My server supports php.  Bah.

So, I went and set up the server to meet with Facebook's open source stuff (easy peasy), and now I am at the brink of writing the code.  But, it is like coding in French after years of coding in Latin.  If I were a wimp, I COULD switch over to Java and reset everything that way and write in a program I know much better....but, nah, where is the adventure in that???

The App

The App, at its initial stage, will be for students.  They will read something and then respond with YES, I am ready to take a quiz!  or No, I have some questions about the reading.  If they choose Yes, they go to a visual quiz using ThingLink or, if I want to be more academic, they will take a real quiz, self grading, in Google Forms with automatic grading and data distribution. If they say no, they open up a chat box to post questions (which will be posted for everyone to respond to and verify, but will also be sent to my email).

This app isn't really for my current students, as they aren't allowed to use Fb.  But, I can see using it with college students.  But, once it is complete, I am hoping to share it with other communities.  Imagine if doctors could have patients read up on stuff while they are in the waiting room?  Imagine if teachers could get professional development credits for taking and passing PD tests?  There are infinite possibilities.  And...since this my Lenten project...all of the source code will be open source and free and tweakable by one and all.

But, alas, it is nearly 3am, and my eyes are burning.  Not from matches...not yet.

Oh, and the picture here was sent to me by my good friend, Earl Kinsley.  Well, he WAS my good friend...until he sent me that match. ;p


Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tools for Teaching Programming

Robert Diana wrote a great post about 36 resources to help teach programming.  It is a great article, so head on over there to read the whole thing. Even though it is long, it has every detail you can possibly imagine about what is out there for teachers!

I especially love his brutal honesty about what works and what generally doesn't when it comes to teaching kids how to program.  Unlike some sites, he doesn't lay praise just because a tool or resource is hot.  Refreshing.

I have heard of most of the programs he listed and use many of them (Alice, Scratch, Terrarium, BlueJ, and Greenfoot).  He provided some background and other resources, though, for those tools that will be useful.  I also want to check out some other resources he mentioned: Waterbear, LiveWires, and RailsBridge).  He has included a list of materials for further reading, too.

Overall, his article is the bomb!  Go read it!

Image Source



Top 10 Places to Find Free EduTech Tools

Colleagues always ask where I find about all these free and wicked sweet tech tools.  The answer?  My amazing Personal Learning Network (PLN).

In the "industry," it is important to credit the work of others.  Well, as a HUMAN, praising the work of others should be constant, but, sometimes, circumstances prevent us from being able to give praise where it is due.  Twitter, for example, only allows so many lines, and sometimes it is hard to fit in a longer post and the @InsertNameHere.  So, the credit gets chopped off to save the precious retweet.

There are instances, too, when time is slim, and I might just be browsing through my many sites and will simply bookmark something to get back to it later.  Then I forget where I got the link from in the first place.

So, this post is all about giving praise where it is due...this is my PLN, and I recommend you follow these folks, subscribe to their ditties, and love them as dearly as I do!

General PLN Stuff

I get most of my info from four sources: Diigo, Google Reader, Twitter, and Facebook.  I also get swarms of email from various mailing lists devoted to educational technology and teaching.

The A List


If I am pinched for time, I will sometimes skim Twitter or do a pointed Facebook search for my A List posters.  These are the sites I follow religiously because the content is soooo good, and I am able to use so much of what is posted!  They aren't in any particular order here, as they are all #1 in my book:

1.  Larry Ferlazzo - Larry's amazing lists and lists of links are fantabulous.  Since he is an ESL teacher, I can find a lot of English related stuff here for my own students.  But, he has lists for all disciplines.  I love that he is honest, too, about what he finds or if he hasn't had time to truly explore a site.  I totally trust his judgment.

2.  Cybraryman - Cybraryman has EVERYTHING.  I can't even begin to praise his work because I wouldn't do him half the justice he deserves.  If I need something, I go to him or Larry.  One of them has what I need.

3.  Edudemic - This is a more general site, but they have a lot of great content, and I can learn more about bigger tools (like Pinterest).  They feature "how to" articles that have bailed me out more than a few times.

4.  Jane's Pick of the Day - Jane maintains a top tools list each year, and I love using that as a rubric to make sure I have heard of everything worth hearing about.  She has a new blog, so this one doesn't get the kind of attention it used to get, but I still find useful information here.

5.  Edsitement - I am always a little nervous about anything produced by our government, but this site is really worth its weight in gold.  For a humanities teacher, it is a one stop shopping place for everything and anything you could need to teach English or history.

6.  MakeUseOf - While this site isn't necessarily for educators, a lot of the tools they post can be used by educators.  Everything is free, too.  They have awesome guides on how to use programs like Photoshop, and they have great lists of freebies for your operating system.

7.  Mashable - Again, this site isn't just for educators, but they have great content, and I can use a lot of what I find there in the classroom.  I also enjoy following them on Facebook.

8.  Smashing Magazine -  - Despite my lack of coordination with real life clothing, I am a bit of a design hag when it comes to digital spaces.  Smashing has everything I need to be a great designer.  They have lists of places where I can get free fonts and whatnot, and I love their monthly desktop calendar posts.

9.  ICTMagic - This is another site like Larry Ferlazzo and Cybraryman. Martin has everything here, and sometimes it is a little hard to find things, but it is always well worth the hunt.  I have much of his work to supplement classroom reading.

10.  Free Tech for Teachers - Richard Byrne has amazing tools, too.  He also has a lot of great info on Google and mobile apps.

This is where I collect most of the goodies that I then share here on this blog or post on Twitter or Facebook.  They are all worth a look!

Image Source

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Cube Creators

A very cool tool has emerged from Read Write Think!

CubeCreators helps a teacher create awesome study cubes that ask questions and provide answers.  What a cool way to study! I made one for Dante's Inferno, but you could use it for any discipline.

The only thing I wish for, though, is that it could be made available as an embed on the web.  It would be cool to be able to post this on Twitter or Facebook.


ThingLink: A Sweet Tool for Photo Based Quizzes

Let's face it...most quizzes are boring.  But, what if you could ask the same questions but attach them to a photo?  ThingLink lets you do that AND you can post it on Facebook or Twitter (or send it by email).  I love it!  I made this little sample Dante quiz on Circle 7: Violence.


Musings of a Madwoman? No More!

I have been struggling for the past 24 hours to come up with something amazing to write about.  Truth be told...I got nuthin.

Well, actually, I got LOTS of stuff to talk about, but none of it can be put on the web...being all protective of my online presence and always aware that nothing ever goes away once it hits cyberspace and all...

So, I decided to get inspired by my RSS feed.  Holy Toledo - that was in a mad state of chaos.  It took 24 hours (well, I slept, took 2 naps, and read 2 books, oh, and ate, played games with the kids, played games on Facebook, and watched some Monty Python...but, in the spare spaces...), but I finally got it sorted.  I deleted a tramillion (at least) subscriptions...people who haven't posted in a few months, etc.  And then I realized something...I really don't like to read blogs all that much.

I am a tool hag.

I love to learn about new technology tools or classroom tools or freebies.  I love to learn about the successes of my various friends and/or their students...but, seriously, I take care of all of that on Twitter.  I don't want to read a dissertation about any of it; just gimme the link.

So, in the layer of hypocrites I sit with my trusty MacBook Pro...

I hate blogs that blabber on and on, and, omg, this blog blabbers on and on.

So...next post?  It won't be about Gerard Butler (who isn't and wasn't addicted to Cocaine...media hype to make a boring story more tasty...) or award show fashion.  Going back to what I know.

FREE TECH TOOLS!