The Internet as Gift Economy: Exemplar 2

OpenOffice with full MS Office compatibility for free

http://download.openoffice.org/

OR

MS Office Suite 2010 for $279

The following is an article on why you might want to consider using OpenOffice 3.3.0 for free instead of paying $279 for MS Office:

http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/5-myths-about-openofficeorg-libreoffice

Pass it on.

The Internet as Gift Economy: Exemplar 1

Rosetta Stone Language Study – one language for $599

The Gift of Language Study

Choose either:

Rosetta Stone Language Study – one language for $599

http://www.rosettastone.com/holqb3?pc=sehol10&cid=se-gg&gclid=CM6JnNf_6aUCFcQH3wod7FG00g

versus

BBC Languages for free

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

or

LiveMocha Languages for free

http://www.livemocha.com/

Here is an article on why the free LiveMocha is better than the $600 Rosetta Stone:

http://www.livemocha.com/better-than-rosetta-stone

Pass it on.

Where to Acquire a Library of over 3,000,000 University-Level Books on the Internet:

The University of California at Berkeley Doe Library

University of California's copies of mass-digitized books and serials have been loaded into the HathiTrust, and are discoverable there. In addition, our digitization partners (Google and Internet Archive) also host copies of the UC books they have digitized. In all cases, copyright status determines whether books can be viewed in full. There are many access points where Google and Internet Archive books are surfaced. The following are details of access points for UC items in particular. Over 3,000,000 books have been digitized and are eligible for free downloading. Click on the hyperlinks below to search for and acquire them..

HathiTrust

University of California Libraries books and serials in the public domain in HathiTrust are open to all researchers whoever and wherever they may be. Content in HathiTrust is discoverable through both bibliographic and full-text search with no authentication, login, or password required. As it becomes possible to expand access to the materials through permissions or other agreements, other materials will be made available.

Google Book Search

UC Libraries books and serials in the public domain are generally fully viewable and downloadable. UC Libraries volumes made available through Google Book Search that are in copyright are subject to limited views. Google indexes the full text, but does not serve or display the full-sized digital image or make available for printing and/or download unless Google has permission or a license from the copyright owner to do so

Internet Archive

UC Libraries books and serials in the public domain are generally fully viewable and downloadable. Internet Archive offers a variety of viewing options, including the Flip Book reader which recreates the experience of reading a printed book.

Another Holiday Present -- Mark Twain's Autobiography vol. 1

One of the biggest events in academic publishing this year is the release of volume 1 of Mark Twain's Autobiography by the University of California Press. The hardcover edition is currently out of stock at Amazon.com and discounted at $19.22. The Kindle ebook version is available for wireless downloading at $9.95.

But the best news is that the entire electronic book, along with scholarly editions of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians" is available free of charge at the following University of California Library website:

Mark Twain Project online .

This is my additional holiday present for my blog followers.

Have a Happy Christmas!

John Freed

The Media Distraction Factor in Education

Every prospective teacher or parent of middle to high school-aged children should watch the following video:

The Media Distraction Factor in Education

from The New York Times:

"Fast Times at Woodside High" (Nov. 20, 2010)

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/20/technology/1248069313108/fast-times-at-woodside-high.html

Tour of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel

Click here for a 360 degree tour of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Patrick Stewart in "Macbeth" and Ian McKellen in "King Lear"

Macbeth on PBS

Click on the following URL for the complete PBS performance of “Macbeth” starring Patrick Stewart.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/macbeth/watch-the-full-program/1030/

Click on the following hyperlink to watch the full episode.

Watch PBS's "Hamlet"

Watch PBS's Great Performances 2010 Production of "Hamlet"

Patrick Stewart as King Claudius in "Hamlet"

Here is the link to the performance: Great Performances -- Hamlet

Also Watch "The Making of PBS's Hamlet":

Watch the full episode. See more Great Performances.

A Reading by Jamaica Kincaid at MIT

Jamaica Kincaid

A Reading by Seamus Heaney at MIT

Seamus Heaney

You Need This -- Open Access Navigation to Media on the Web

This link will get you started to over 400,000 internet accessed videos:
Connect to Clicker.

This link from PC World explains what it is and why you need it" Clicker Hands-On: Web Potatoes, You Need This

Open Access Educational Resourcing from Columbia University

For an in-depth explanation of the issues and best practices for using open content media for educational purposes, link to the following URL:

http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/opencontent/index.html.

It's the entire 2007 conference on video.

JF