Google Body Browser

Google has recently demoed an interesting WebGL application called Body Browser, which lets you explore the human body just like you can explore the world in Google Earth. Now you can try Google Body Browser before it's added to Google Labs, assuming that you have a WebGL-enabled browser:

* WebGL is available, but not enabled by default in Chrome 8 (the latest stable version). Type about:flags in the address bar, click "Enable" next to "WebGL" and then click on "Restart now". Please note that this is an experimental feature in Chrome 8.
* WebGL is enabled by default in Chrome 9 Beta, Chrome 9 Dev Channel, Chrome Canary Build and Firefox 4 beta.






Damon Hernandez was surprised to notice that the application doesn't require a plugin. "Unlike other web based medical applications I have seen, no Flash, Java, or other plugins are needed. This application will run on any WebGL supported browser. Last year I got the opportunity to work on an open standards based web3D medical app for learning the bones of the body. After witnessing how that app really helped students learn the bones, I am sold on using web3D for medical education."

Google's demo:

Reference: http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2010/12/google-body-browser.html

Need a good laugh? Check out these 5 funny English sayings!

Learning the grammar and vocabulary of English can be hard enough, but trying to understand English sayings can be impossible. Some are just hard to figure out and others don’t make any sense at all. Here are five funny English sayings that you can use every day. Just be careful to use them right!
“I’m happy as a clam.” Think of a clam. It doesn’t have to do anything. It just sits on a beach or on the bottom of the ocean all day every day doing nothing. It never has to work. That sure sounds like happiness, doesn’t it? If someone asks, “How are you today?” you can tell them this to let them know what a great mood you’re in.
“I wouldn’t touch that (or him/her) with a ten-foot pole.” Don’t like something? Maybe it’s something gross like garbage or rotting food. Or maybe there’s a person who you don’t want to be friends with or even talk to? Well, this saying means that you dislike them so much that you don’t want to touch them or go near them – even within ten feet!
“I think I went overboard.” If you ever to do something that is excessive or irresponsible, this is a handy expression to use. “Going overboard” literally means falling off a ship, but, as an English saying, it’s a way of admitting that you’ve done something you shouldn’t have. There are many synonyms for this such as “I’ve stepped over a line” and “I’ve gone too far.” You can also use it to say that someone else has made a mistake.
“You don’t have a leg to stand on.” No, this doesn’t mean that the person you’re talking to has no legs. It means that their argument is incorrect. They don’t have a leg to stand on because they have no facts to support what they’re saying. This saying is a good way to tell a person that you think they’re wrong.
“Break a leg!” This actually means the opposite of what it sounds like. If you tell this to a person, you’re wishing them good luck! The saying comes from a superstition that whatever you say aloud, the opposite will come true. Because it originated in the theater, this saying is usually used only for wishing someone good luck in some type of performance. So it’s nice thing to tell someone who is preparing to make a business presentation or attend an interview where they need to make a good impression.

Article from http://msnarabia.englishtown.com/sp/article.aspx?articleName=178-Funny

List of Educational Websites

Resources for Teachers
These are sites that provide useful links to educational websites and/or tips regarding curriculum design, integration of technology into the classroom, etc.:

free reading
"Free-Reading is an ongoing, collaborative, teacher-based, curriculum-sharing project. We're looking to provide a reliable forum where teachers can openly and freely share their successful and effective methods for teaching reading in grades K-1 and for at-risk students in later grades." A comprehensive reading program that is collaboratively produced using a wiki.

http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning.

http://www.teachers.net
"The Ultimate Teacher Resource"--Teachers.net offers a variety of teacher collaboration tools including chat, discussion boards, lesson plans, articles, links, photo sharing, and job searching.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/index.html
Blue Web'n is an online library of 1700+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). You can search by grade level (Refined Search), broad subject area (Content Areas), or specific sub-categories (Subject Area).

http://www.lightspan.com/portal/corporate/product_tour/tln.asp
The Lightspan Network® is a suite of online tools for teachers. Besides standards-based learning activities for students and families, it includes a wealth of technology-based professional development resources. Teachers can create lesson plans, search the Web for educator-reviewed content, and connect with other educators—and everything aligns to your state standards.

http://teachnet.com
Teachnet.Com was started in August 1995 by the husband/wife team of Lee Shiney. It offers various resources for teachers and students from free lesson plans to graphics, media kit, etc.

'Best' education blogs:
http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs and http://incsub.org/awards/2006/the-edublog-awards-2006-winners/
Education blog award sites for 2006. A starting point for teachers interested in reading blogs about education. Since most of the sites contain a blogroll linking to other blogs, you will quickly find links to thousands of blogs.

http://www.forum-network.org
Forum Network is an audio and video streaming website providing citizens the ability to watch and listen to lectures given by some of the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policy makers and community leaders. These lecture events are hosted by world-class cultural and educational organizations across the country.
Web Quests

Web quests were designed to help students learn to navigate the Web and locate information in a meaningful way.

http://www.thirteen.org/wnetschool/concept2class/month8/index.html
CONCEPT TO CLASSROOM is a collaboration between Thirteen Ed Online and Disney Learning Partnership. This URL featuresCONCEPT TO CLASSROOM's take on webquest.

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html
This site is designed to serve as a resource to those who are using the WebQuest model to teach with the web. By pointing to excellent examples and collecting materials developed to communicate the idea, all of us experimenting with WebQuests will be able to learn from each other. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The model was developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge with Tom March.

http://quest.classroom.com/archive/galapagosquest1999/pg02930.htm
The Quest Channel of Classroom Connect brings adventure reading into the curriculum. The Galapagos Quest featured here is an adventure about ocean ecosystems, the origins of the diverse indigenous species, and the extinction threats to plant and animal species in this volcanic archipelago. Investigate the impact of humans on the environment and determine how to help preserve the natural beauty of our planet.
Content-Based Teaching Sites

http://funbrain.com
In addition to the Quiz Lab, FunBrain.com has educational games designed for learners of all ages. This guide should help teachers find the games that are most useful to their class. They are grouped by title, subject, and grade level.

http://www.exploratorium.edu
Housed within the walls of San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium is a collage of over 650 science, art, and human perception exhibits. The Exploratorium is a leader in the movement to promote museums as educational centers.

http://www.tryscience.com
TryScience.org is your gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide. TryScience is brought to you through a partnership between IBM Corporation, the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS), the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), and science centers worldwide.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge
The NOVA program chronicles the building of the state-of-the-art Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River. On this Web site, you can test your engineering skills by trying to match the right bridge to the right location.

http://www.forum-network.org
Forum Network is an audio and video streaming website providing citizens the ability to watch and listen to lectures given by some of the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policy makers and community leaders. These speaking events are hosted by world-class cultural and educational organizations across the country.