This week’s article will be taking a look at one of the most useful free websites: the Internet Archive.  The Internet Archive (IA) project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is building an online digital archive of websites and other cultural artifacts.  Access to all of this is being provided free of charge to anyone who wants it.

IA is probably best known for the Wayback Machine, a searchable index of 150 billion web pages collected since the very beginnings of the World Wide Web.  The Wayback Machine is an excellent tool to locate information from defunct websites.  The index often includes many versions of a given site, gathered over a period of time.  I’ve used it both to recover data from lost sites and to find information that was once on a previous version of a website.  There are a few drawbacks to the Wayback Machine, however.  The most significant is that websites that make heavy use of dynamically generated content (php, Flash, Java, etc.) may not function as expected.  This is because, while the Wayback Machine might contain a site’s various pages, it may not contain the content from the site’s database that belongs on those pages.

The IA isn’t just the Wayback Machine, though.  It also contains a significant collection of video, music, audio, texts, and software.  Usage rights to the artifacts vary, but most are nearly unrestricted, allowing content to be shared, printed, and used in most non-commercial settings.  Artifacts are divided into various collections and contain things like Project Gutenberg, the Universal Library Project, live music concerts from hundreds of artists, radio programs, including Old Time Radio programs from the early 1900s, open source, freeware, and shareware software archives, classic television programming, full length feature films, and more.  Content is hosted in a variety of formats and many artifacts are offered in several versions.

The Archive is an amazing collection of often otherwise difficult to locate culturally significant artifacts that cover a variety of eras.  Content is offered in a multitude of formats, require a variety of helper applications.  A modern web browser, broadband Internet access, Adobe Reader, the free DjVu Browser Plug-in (used for reading some text files), and an media player application (like iTunes, Windows Media Player, and/or VLC) will be needed depending on the type of content you are trying to access.

The Internet Archive can be of use in almost any classroom setting.  History classes can benefit from audio, video, and text files from a wide variety of time periods, exposing students to primary source documents and expending their understanding of life in those time periods.  English/Literature classes can likewise benefit from access to the IA’s literature collection.  Teachers and students in other content areas will be able to locate artifacts related to their specific areas of interest.  Additionally, much of IA’s content can be re-used (mashed-up) to create new content by students and teachers alike.  This makes the IA a significant source of content for students doing art, video, or other projects that can benefit from multimedia.

This week’s Web 2.0 Weekly looks at one such resource, Heavens-Above.  Heavens-Above is a free (advertising supported) website that provides observation data for numerous satellites, the ISS, amateur radio satellites, comets, and more.  Users have the option to enter their location using an extensive database of places or manually, using latitude and longitude.  Once a location is entered, Heavens-Above will customize all reports for that location, allowing the user to locate visible objects and their relative positions in the sky.  The user can then create a detailed report, including a star chart with the desired object and its path marked on it.

The above image is the star chart for the ISS from my location for tomorrow.  An object report will also include a whole sky chart to help the user to orient themselves when looking for an object.

Registered users can also enter observation reports for a given object as well as viewing others’ reports.

In addition, Heavens-Above provides orbit predictions for amateur radio satellites, comets, and minor planets.  The site also offers basic sky charts, constellation details, daily Sun and Moon data, and accurate time information.  One of the most interesting features is the page tracking spacecraft that are escaping the Solar System.  Currently, that list contains only Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and New Horizons.  The tracking data is updated dynamically, so it is always current.

The one minor difficultly in using the Heavens-Above site to track satellites is that the user needs to know the US Space Command ID, International Launch Designator, or the name of the satellite. The user can always obtain information for the brightest objects visible from their location, however.

Heavens-Above is free to use with no registration required.  If the user chooses, they can create a free user account (email not required) that will allow them to define up to 5 observation locations and easily switch between them.  Using Heavens-Above requires an internet connected computer with a modern web browser.  Any connection speed will suffice, including dial-up.

This site would be of interest for any science teacher who wants to expose their students to astronomy and space exploration.  Because satellites are only visible when lit by the sun, with the observer in darkness, the best times to view tend to be a few hours after sunset or before sunrise.  During the winter months, prime observation times are not too far removed from the normal school day to allow the possibility of direct observation by a class.  Arranging such an observation will require careful planning to locate a visible pass that is lengthy enough for students to easily observe, but should be very doable.

David Warlick created Son of Citation Machine (SoCM) to provide students and teachers with an easy to use tool to automate the citation process a bit.  SoCM allows you to easily create citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats by filling out information about a work in a simple web form.  After entering the information, SoCM provides a Works Cited or Reference entry in addition to showing the proper in-text citation format for the given work.  The end result is making a process that can be difficult and stressful essentially painless.  SoCM even allows the user to enter ISBN numbers for a work and automatically fills out most (or all) of the bibliographic information for you.

SoCM is in active development with new features and updates being added as needed.  It is free to use (unlike some other online citation services) and requires an internet connected computer with a modern web browser.  It’s also probably a good idea to verify the created bibliographic references and citations for accuracy, but any needed alterations are likely to be minor and easily dealt with during proofreading, and it’s easy to edit an entry as opposed to creating one from scratch.

Computer security is a big issue for any organization, but especially for a school because of the larger number of users and computers, and the need to protect students online.  Maintaining a high level of security means having a solid plan in place to make sure all computers are receiving the latest operating system and application updates in a timely fashion, which can be a never-ending chore (or seem like it).

I’ve actually lost track of the number of Adobe vulnerabilities that have have been uncovered this year, but it has been quite a few.  And Adobe has been taking a while to patch these issues, too.  Now, I’m not making any claims against Adobe, but, it has gotten to the point where I’m uncomfortable opening PDF files using Adobe Reader.  Which brings us to the subject of this article: alternatives to Adobe Reader.

The first question you might ask yourself is, “Why do I need any PDF reader on my computer?”  If you’re like me, you can easily answer this because you find yourself downloading and opening numerous PDFs throughout the day as you read articles, journals, lesson plans, and other documents.  Because the PDF format  creates document files that can be protected from alteration and displayed identically on almost any platform, it has become one of the de facto Web standard formats for exchanging documents, particularly those intend for print.

If you’re using an Apple OS X computer, you already have a great alternative to Adobe Reader/Acrobat on your computer.  Apple’s “Preview” application is located in the “Applications” folder and has a host of features beyond simply reading a PDF file.  It can open many common image files and provides useful tools to annotate PDFs as well.  I’ve found this especially helpful as I read documents for my graduate classes.  I can highlight text and make margin notes right in the PDF document.  Some of these features are limited based on how the PDF document was created and how (or if) it is protected.

On the Windows side of things, Foxit Software makes its Foxit Reader program freely available for use.  There are numerous free (and paid) add-ons to Foxit Reader that extend its functionality.  I’ve started using Foxit Reader on my Windows computers (and in virtual machines on my Macs) because it has a much smaller resource footprint than Adobe Reader, is faster to launch, and has, in my opinion, better security.

Foxit Reader can make annotations to a PDF file, similarly to Apple’s Preview.  It also allows you to fill out and save PDF-format forms electronically.  Foxit Reader runs on 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (and the corresponding server versions) and needs a 1.3 GHz or faster processor, 128 MB of memory, and 52 MB of available hard drive space.  By way of comparison, the latest version of Adobe Reader for Windows requires a similar processor, but recommends 256 MB of memory and 335 MB of available hard drive space.

Foxit Reader is also available for desktop Linux computers.

Another way that the LoC has embraced new technology is by launching pilot projects on services like Flickr.  Currently, the LoC has two collections on its Flickr photostream, one for historic newspapers and the other for historic photographs.  The newspaper collection contains over 450 images, while the historic photograph one contains 13 sets with thousands of images.  Sets cover topics such as “News in the 1910s”, “Baseball Americana”, “1930s-1940s in Color”, and “Gottlieb Jazz Photos”.

Most, if not all, of the images have no known publication or usage restrictions, which means that you should be free to use these images for any purpose in your classes.  Here are some sample images from the collections (note: these images are not the original sizes).

The LoC is actively developing this pilot project by adding new images.

What’s really exciting about the LoC’s use of Flickr is that, now, visitors to the collection can link comments to specific portions of an image (useful for helping the LoC itself to identify “mystery” images in their extensive offline collections) in addition to leaving comments just like you can on this blog.

History, English, and Art teachers should be especially excited about these images, because they provide an outstanding way to put visual primary sources into your students’ hands.

The LoC’s Flickr collection is free to use and access, with no account required.  You will need an internet-connected computer with a modern web browser.

Online safety has been the focus of much discussion for several years now. The excellent PBS Frontline report on “Growing Up Online” really brought some of these issues to the forefront of the American consciousness. As an educator or parent, it really is hard to know sometimes what steps to take to help protect our students and children from the legitimate dangers they may encounter in the digital world.

Google recently offered its own insight on the situation by releasing the Google Family Safety Center (GFSC).  The GFSC provides educators and parents with specific information about making several of Google’s many Web 2.0 services into a safer environment for children.  It also includes several short video interviews with Google employees who are parents, and the steps they themselves take to keep their own children safe online.  Links to and advice from various Google partners are included also.

A handy feature of the GFSC is the ability to choose from one of five locations (US, UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand).  You will see different partners and Google parent videos based on this selection.

Google also included links to online safety activities and curricula (again, location based).

All in all, I see the GFSC as a very useful resource and I hope that Google continues to expand upon it in the future.

From an educator’s standpoint, it is very convenient to have safety information for the major Google services consolidated in one handy location.  It’s also very nice to see Google working with experts in the field of online safety to provide tips and learning materials for both parents and schools.

The GFSC is free and you’ll need a computer with a broadband internet connection, a modern Web browser, and the Flash player to access it.

As the years have gone by, my PLN has been constantly evolving.  At first, it consisted mostly of a handful of blogs, but now, it includes blogs, podcasts, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers.  Keeping track of all of this can be something of a chore, which is why I rely on a collection of software programs to help automate the management of my PLN.  Blog updates are tracked with Google Reader, while I organize my podcasts with Apple’s iTunes.  Facebook and Twitter, though, presented me with quite the challenge until I made some changes to the way I interact with them.

The first change was using the official Facebook and Twitter clients on my Blackberry smartphone to receive immediate notifications of any messages coming to me via these services.  This allows me to immediately reply to those communications no matter where I might be, but it’s less than ideal for keeping caught up on the continuous flood of normal updates and tweets that come in from my friends and followers (i.e., the main reason for including Facebook and Twitter in my PLN).

For several months, I was accessing my Twitter accounts (more on that in a bit) from the web interface.  This was workable, but I lost a good deal of the power of Twitter because I was only getting updates when I was looking at the Twitter webpage and I always had to keep a tab open in my browser for Twitter.  Then, I discovered the subject of this week’s article, TweetDeck.

TweetDeck is an Adobe AIR-based application that allows a user to receive and make Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Google Buzz updates from one integrated client.  Using TweetDeck, I can instantly receive new tweets, status updates, mentions, and direct messages, and easily reply or retweet as needed.  The major feature that TweetDeck has over any other Twitter client is the ability to manage multiple accounts.  I currently have two Twitter accounts, one for my personal use and one for the Guild.  TweetDeck lets me see and use both accounts simultaneously.  TweetDeck also offers other useful features such as automatic URL shortening with numerous providers, short URL previewing to avoid accidentally opening malicious links, scheduled tweets, and many, many more.

I haven’t explored the Facebook integration, yet, but I have been very pleased with the Twitter options.  My only complaint, really, about TweetDeck is how much screen real estate it occupies.

As you can see, the TweetDeck interface is very clean, but there isn’t a way to control how much space each of the columns uses.  There also isn’t a way to display the columns in a grid-like fashion, which would allow you to display more information at the expense of vertical scrolling within each “cell”.

The desktop version of TweetDeck is free and available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.  Any computer that can run Adobe’s AIR 2 framework can run TweetDeck.  Unfortunately for Mac users, this means that TweetDeck cannot run on a PowerPC Mac.  The low PC and Linux requirements means that the vast majority of classroom PCs should be able to use the program.  It might also be a good use for an older, “retired” computer.  My solution to the above mentioned screen real estate problem was to setup a dedicated TweetDeck computer using an old PC laptop I salvaged.  I also use that same laptop to access my Google Reader account, so it’s really helped me to streamline how I access my PLN.

TweetDeck is also available for free for iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, and Android users.

Google Earth can be downloaded for Windows 2000 and up, Mac OS X 10.4 and up (PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel), and Linux with kernel 2.4 or later (only Ubuntu and Red Hat are officially supported).  What all of this means is that most computers made in the last 10 years or so that you’re likely to encounter at home or school are capable or running Google Earth to some degree.  Google Earth also requires an active connection to the Internet and this is definitely a case where a faster connection is better.

Performance in Google Earth can vary based on the number of overlays, layers, and other features you have enabled.  It is also highly dependent on the speed of your Internet connection, because Google Earth downloads much of what it displays as it is needed.  This is especially noticeable when zooming in on an area especially if you have many layers or the 3D features enabled.

If you want to use Google Earth in your classroom, I highly recommend using a digital projector or another large display that can be seen by everyone in the room.  Google Earth also works exceptionally well with interactive whiteboards.

So, what can you use Google Earth for?  Google Earth is a great way to expose students to geography and historic locations.  For example, below is a screenshot I took of the Giza complex in Egypt (click the image to see the full size).

In the above image, you can see several Google Earth features, most noticeably, the 3D pyramids and Great Sphinx.  These are part of the 3D buildings option.  You can also clearly see the topography of the area, due to the “elevation exaggeration” feature.  Basically, Google Earth can be set to overemphasize elevation changes to highlight topography.  You might also notice the little yellow boxes in the image.  Clicking on those in the Google Earth program will open up a comment window that contains basic information about a feature in the current view.  This can be images from one of several communities, web links, etc.  Google Earth also includes a basic “mini-browser” that will allow you to follow links without leaving Google Earth.

Another great Google Earth activity is asking students to take a look at their communities.  Here’s what Rockford, Illinois looks like from 17 miles up.

In this image, I have just enough information displayed to provide some basic landmarks without cluttering the image too much.  The green outlines are area parks and nature preserves.  Students will likely find it interesting to discover just how much of what humans have built can be seen from a great height.  It’s also interesting to be able to see how spread out their community might be.  In the case of this image, I increased the apparent altitude until I could see all of the city and its suburbs.

The above examples are likely best suited for history or social studies classes, but what about other courses?  An friend of mine who teaches English suggested the following idea.  Pick a location in Google Earth like the Eiffel Tower (the Eiffel Tower area actually has some of the highest resolution images in Google Earth) and then ask students to describe what they see around it.  This is best done as a thought exercise, asking students to imagine themselves in the given location.  This can be an excellent way to practice reading and storytelling skills by working on describing setting and atmosphere.

A handy feature for the science or math class is the ruler.  In Google Earth, you can measure both a distance and heading from one location to another.  You can also use the ruler to measure the distance of a path.

Google Earth also allows the user to explore things besides the planet Earth.  Clicking one button takes you to a view of the sky above your current map location.

And just as with the Google Earth view, there are numerous overlays and layers available in the Sky view.

You can similarly visit both the Moon and Mars from Google Earth.  The program even contains a basic flight simulator.

So far, we’ve just barely scratched the surface of what Google Earth can do.  I highly recommend that if you are interested in using it in your class, you block out a few hours to experiment with all of the features of this amazing program.  I also think that we’ll be taking a look at some of the other features of Google Earth in an upcoming Web 2.0 Weekly.

One of the best things about Google Earth is the communities that have grown up around it.  The Keyhole.com site is just one of many such communities that is devoted to locating and analyzing interesting places in Google Earth.

But, let’s say you want to really impress your students with a massive, detailed overview of the weather in the United States.  Take a look at the full-resolution version of the National Mosaic Enhanced Radar Image for the United States.  This is a 3400 x 1700 pixel, animated loop of the weather radars covering the entire country.  This image would look great on a SMARTBoard or other interactive whiteboard (note: it’s probably still too high a resolution to fit entirely on the board).  Another nice feature is that clicking on a portion of the image will take you to an image for just that region.

The bad news is that it’s somewhat difficult to capture any of these weather radar images for later display.  The easiest way is using a screen capture program, like Jing, OS X’s built-in Grab, or even the old Control+Print Screen to capture to the clipboard of a Windows PC.

All of this information is free to use with no registration.  You’ll just need a computer with a broadband internet connection and a modern web browser.