Recently my local library has added a CML Catalog Search plugin “powertool” that allows one to add a search of the library catalog to the search box. In Firefox this installs automatically via a script on the Power Tools page. (It is presently termed a “beta,” and does a basic search, seeming mostly on words in the title.)

Should you want to use this in Konqueror:

Right-click on the icon at left of Konqueror search bar, choose “Select Search Engines,” and add a new search engine. Call it “Columbus Metropolitan Library” (or “CML Catalog” or whatever you’d like), with the following parameters:

• Search URI: http://catalog.columbuslibrary.org/?q=\{@}

• URI shortcut: cml … OR whatever you’d like

Be sure to check the boxes to left of your new item and “Enable Web Shortcuts” at top left.

You should now find a choice to search the Columbus Metropolitan Library Catalog in your search box.

You can also search by entering cml:search_term in the address box.

Another gem from the Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast. The football version of what is going on in education right now.

For all educators in and out of the education system:

1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time, even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren’t interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don’t like football.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th game. This will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.

I found this in the Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast

“Not on the Test” satirizes the American education system’s renewed focus on rote teaching.

Tom Chapin, a Grammy Award-winning musician perhaps best known for children’s music, has released a new song titled “Not on the Test.” The song satirizes the American education system’s renewed focus on rote teaching, in which tests have become the sole reason to teach and learn. Music, art, drama and sports were what kept Chapin engaged in school. In addition, these subjects make the teacher’s (and the student’s) job easier and infinitely more rewarding. Unfortunately, they are also what have been cut from curriculums across the country as Chapin explains lightheartedly in song.

Chapin’s web site for “Not on the Test” has helpful links and information, including audio, video, lyrics, and art. Tom Chapin’s Official Web Site also features “Not on the Test.”

As one concerned that budget cuts will eviscerate a good education, I resonate and recommend.

I am testing the Subscribe2 plugin for WordPress … more info

ver. 4.1 corrects the problems below! The re-publishing trick still applies, though. Pages or Posts that are simply re-edited and saved will not generate a notifier email. To have an email sent, one must save as draft, and then re-publish.

Regarding PAGES

Presently it seems that ver 4.0 of the plugin (in WP 2.3.1) sends a message with blanks for the TITLE and POST content when a page is edited. Subscribe2 works fine when publishing a new page, or when re-publishing an existing page.

• The trick then for editing a page is to save it as “draft,” then re-publish when all edits are completed!
• Unresolved issue: When creating or editing any page, it will generate an extra email with blanks - but at least a proper one will be sent in addition for a new or re-published page!

Regarding POSTS

These fields also work fine when dealing with a new post. … Edits of existing posts, however, generate no email (even when timestamp is changed)!

BUT! … As with pages, one can employ the same trick: save the post as draft, then republish, and a notifier email will be sent!

N.B. For wordPress in general: “Private” Pages are equivalent to Drafts. “Private” Posts can be seen only by registered users who are logged in.

Ixquick metasearch is a European-based search aggregator that does not keep your data for 18 months (?!) as does Google … info here. I recommend you consider using Ixquick. (Automatic installation for Firefox is available at the home page.)

To use Ixquick metasearch with Konqueror:

Right-click on the icon at left of Konqueror search bar, choose “Select Search Engines,” and add a new search engine “Ixquick” with the following parameters:

• Search URI: http://us.ixquick.com/do/metasearch.pl/?query=\{@}

• URI shortcut: ixq … OR whatever you like

Be sure to check the boxes to left of Ixquick and “Enable Web Shortcuts” at top left.

You should now find the blue star for Ixquick available in your search box.

You can also search by entering ixq:search_term in the address box.

Currently for those who have paid the big bucks for MS Word/ MS Office, there are two ODF converter projects. You need the ODF converter to be able to read and write the ISO standard document formats. Despite Microsoft’s efforts to force their competing OOXML “standard” upon the world, ODF is preferred. Think of a world where one could use the word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation application of your choice, and seamlessly exchange data with anyone!

Since I do not run MS Word, I cannot personally vouch for how these ODF converters compare. There are some reviews out there: some like Sun’s plugin, others the Sourceforge effort. (Let me know what you think!)

These projects may be found:

Sourceforge OpenXML/ODF Translator Add-in for Office
http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net/index.html
(N.B. This one requires some rigamarole where you have to save newly opened ODF as DOCX before you can resave it as ODF! Must be because MS is involved! This might be a reason to try the Sun plugin first?)

Sun ODF Plugin 1.x for Microsoft Office
look for “Spotlight — Sun ODF Plugin 1.1 for Microsoft Office Available Now as a Free Download” under
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp
download link (must set up Sun account) is on that page

I encourage all Microsoft Word users to install one of these plugins, and use the ODF format for sharing files with other users. … Of course, if you don’t want to hassle with MS Office, just use OpenOffice.org, or another option!

Did you know that you can use RSS to read the “headlines” of posts in this or any other Blog?

If you are using the Firefox web browser, look for the icon . You can usually find it in the address bar above, as well as in the side bar under Subscribe. (It may be a different color, but the design is usually quite similar.) Click on the icon, and it will give you the option to “Add Live Bookmark!”

I like to add my “live bookmarks” to the a folder in the main “Bookmarks Toolbar Folder.” Then I can just click on that folder and slide my pointer down over the desired feed (”live bookmark”). The feed will then expand to show all the lastest posts on that blog or RSS-enabled site. I can click on any “headline” and go right to the posting!

There are other special programs that can collect your RSS feeds, but I like the convenience of reading them right from my Firefox browser.

Linux News: Distros: Stretching the Education Dollar With Linux

Though by no means an exhaustive list of distro possibilites, this article mentions a few distributions and how they might help educational organizations save.

Steve Hargadon, of the National Educational Computing Conference is quoted at the conclusion: “Ultimately, open source will win, because it provides a more compelling model for how we share information — and it will have a huge impact on education.

Links of particular interest:

• K12LTSP - K12 Linux Terminal Server Project: http://www.k12ltsp.org/ … see also general LTSP
• Edubuntu (Linux for Young Human Beings): http://www.edubuntu.org/
• OpenSuse Educator, in openSUSE for Schools: http://en.opensuse.org/Education#openSUSE_for_Schools