Transferring Large Files

A resource we wanted to share with you is wetransfer.  This is a site where you can quickly transfer up to 2 GB of data just using email addresses.  They hold on to your files for about a week and then the transfer link is no longer active.  This is a site for transferring only, not for hosting files.  We have been using it successfully for the last few years to avoid having to carry around memory sticks large enough to handle big files.  Many school districts have a policy on email attachments and this is a good work around.  One thing we must mention is that the person on the receiving end must download the files as soon as possible because the link will expire after a few days.   Have fun!…

Tracking Trends Through Keywords and Ngram Viewer.

Google's Ngram Viewer allows students to  search keywords in millions of books and find trends over time. The Ngram Viewer has advanced options, such as searching for particular keywords as specific parts of speech or combining keywords. Just in case they ever wondered how popular detectives were in Victorian times, now they can. In the example below, a search for democracy yields results from the 1700's to almost present day.  For examples of how this is used in classroom setting read this quick blog post about the cultural evolution of words: NGram Viewer and five million books reveal hidden evolution of words.