Back on January 1 this year I wrote a post “Are You Reading These Blogs?” Well, I have been catching up on the various blogs that I have subscribed to since my wife and I moved back into the home last Friday night. As I read through the week or so of posts I noted down about 70 things I would like to explore further this week.Well, all of those items will have to take a back seat. Once again I ask the question… Are you reading these blogs? Today I discovered two education blogs that I feel will benefit any educator that reads them.

The first is Kate 2.0. This blog is new. Kate Olson is a first year business education teacher in Wisconsin. Kate’s first post was on the 6th January and she has written excellent commentary on blogging, twitter and collaboration. Add Kate 2.0 to your reader.

Kate’s blog pointed me in the direction of  Transitioning To Web 2.0, a blog created by Janette Black. Janette’s blog is also worth checking out. Her post on how to use blogs to promote authentic learning in the classroom is legendary.

One of the topics that I quite enjoy teaching in Year 11 Ancient History is Preserved Human Remains. The Year 11 students have just completed their School Certificate, not unlike the ‘O’ levels in the United Kingdom and they are preparing for their matriculation year, known here in NSW as the Higher School Certificate.

It is during Year 11 that we share with the students the skills of history. They discover how to interpret historical sources, gather together evidence, formulate convincing historical arguments and exhibit an empathy with the past.The Preserved Human Remains topic is an investigation into bog bodies, mummies and famous discoveries such as the Iceman.

During the course of the study students explore the following topics.

• Lindow Man, Grauballe Man, Windeby Girl, Tollund Man – places of discovery, dating of finds
• Events surrounding discovery of the bodies: preservation of the bodies in the peat bogs, possible causes of death, various hypotheses based on forensic evidence and other sources
• Reconstructing the lifestyle of these individuals: physical appearance, clothing, evidence of the environment; possible cause of death; associated rituals
• Comparison with other finds of a similar nature: Ice Man, mummified Scythians, Inuit boy, Peruvian mummies, Egyptian examples
• Religious beliefs and customs associated with burial practices of this nature
• Role of science and written sources in reconstructing the past.

There are a number of web sites that deal specifically with bog bodies and the Iceman. One in particular is quite interesting. The Perfect Corpse. This site was created to support a documentary that was shown on the PBS Network in the USA. This web site includes specific sections that include:

• America’s Bog People
• Bog Bodies of the Iron Age
• Tollund Man
• 10 ways to make a Mummy

There is also a transcript of the documentary and a guide for teachers. Each section features excellent photographs and interactive components.

The site is not designed for students engaging in pre-matriculation studies however it is suited for Year 11 students to gain an insight into a variety of preserved bodies from around the globe and from a range of historical eras. The site is easy to navigate, well written and nicely illustrated. The site is also included among a set of links for my students that are focused on the study of Ancient History.

This morning I read a post by Silvia Tolisano on her Langwitches blog regarding PQ Talking Photo. I had seen this tool not long ago but Silvia pointed out a promotion by the developer, PQ DVD, which allows bloggers to receive a free copy if they promoted it on their blog. The details are here.

I attempted to make my own however both Safari (3.0.4) and Firefox (2.0.0.11) consistently crashed when I clicked on the Free Lite Version link. The full version is a Windows app. I think the lite version is Flash based. I will try it out on Shao Ping’s PC. Here is the PQ Talking Photo demo.

I have been having trouble posting images and links in WordPress. When I switch between the code and viusal editor href links are stripped out and/or duplicated. Why I ask?

Linking to images using the Upload feature is cumbersome.There must be a better way. I will do some research. I just deleted a post that I have been working on for an hour or more. Have you experienced this problem as well?

Part Two: A solution is to simply use the code editor. Send the uploaded images directly to the editor in code mode. I find that sending the uploaded images to the visual editor is not reliable.

I just listened in on the first Educational Ning Cast set up by Steve Hargadon. The TalkShoe interface did not seem to be all that intuitive. ‘Clunky’ is a word that springs to mind. It was an interesting experiment.

Play

I enjoyed hearing the other voices from across the globe as well as reading the comments of the participants. I recorded the audio using WireTap. Click the icon above to listen.