A great article, I don’t want to look busy, sums up our
preoccupation with being busy perfectly.

Our culture is obsessed with being busy. When’s the last time you
asked someone about their job or life and they didn’t use the word
busy? It’s worn like a badge of honor. To even hint you might not be
busy, conjures up visions of laziness and lack of ambition. As we plan
various activities and events for schools, I’ll often hear, “that’s a
busy time for schools”. Tell me when it’s not a busy time?

Google, at Google For Educators, is now offering educational
resources for using Google products in the classroom:

Google recognizes the central role that teachers play in breaking down
the barriers between people and information, and we support educators
who work each day to empower their students and expand the frontiers
of human knowledge. This website is one of the ways we’re working to
bolster that support and explore how Google and educators can work
together.As a start, we’re inviting you to share your best ideas for
using technology to innovate in the classroom. To your left, you’ll
find a teacher’s guide to 12 Google products, including basic
information about each tool, examples of how educators are using them,
and lesson ideas. You’ll also find lesson plans and videos from our
partners at Discovery Education focusing on two of our most popular
teaching tools: Google Earth and Google SketchUp.

When I first read it I was expecting a more general view of Internet
resources that may be used in the classroom, but limiting it to Google
products still gives teachers and students some very cool software they
can use. Google Earth is talked about a lot, but I think a lot of people
are missing out learning opportunities that can take place with Google
SketchUp.

Are you on a Mac with OS X and would like an easy way to publish a
podcast of presentations? Check out ProfCast.

ProfCast is the ideal tool for recording and publishing your live
Keynote or PowerPoint presentation. All elements of your presentation,
including slide timing and voice narration, are recorded. You can then
publish your complete presentation on the Web as a Podcast, complete
with RSS support.

A very cool article descibing what is possible and what isn’t possible
in Star Trek:

So, what are the features of Star Trek that a person interested in
science can enjoy without guilt, and what features rightly tick off
those persnickety critics? Well, many of the star systems mentioned on
the show, such as Wolf 359, really do exist. Usually, though, the
writers just make them up! There have also been some beautiful special
effects pictures of binary stars and solar flares which were
astronomically accurate and instructive. The best accuracy and worst
stumbles can be found among the features of the show that have becom e
constant through all of the episodes. Here’s a list of the standard
Star Trek features, roughly in order of increasing scientific
incredibility: