Hey, it’s the Vampire Slaying Cricket From Zambobway and I recently found a new tool called GIMP. GIMP lets you create templates for websites, blogs, and forums! It also lets you create desktop wallpapers, which is what I took advantage of!
Below are some of the wallpapers I made. I also have some posted on my blog under “Modern Typewriter Downloads” at themoderntypewriter.com. I made my own design “company” called Modern Typewriter Designs. So that will be the reason why at the bottom in the corner of every design it says Modern Typewriter Designs. Just click on the picture to enlarge it, and then right-click, and set as your desktop background!
To get GIMP, go to it’s website: www.gimp.org. To get the program, you will have to download it.
Anyway, once you’ve done that, GET “GIMPING”!
It is so much fun and easy to use. I started making wallpapers within an hour! So try it! You’ve got nothing to lose!
This is a persuasive problem solution essay I wrote about endangered Lemurs in Madagascar. There is also a partner animoto to go with it.
MUST PROTECT LEMURS
A family of lemurs runs away from the harsh sounds of deforestation and poaching, with the mother leading the way for her young. Because of this, the lemur’s population is decreasing and they are becoming rare all over Madagascar. Right now poachers and logging companies are slaughtering lemurs just so they can make a living. These people are killing innocent animals for their own personal gain. Is not that the kind of selfishness we try to protect our children from everyday? With your gracious help and my solutions, the lemur population could be pulled out of the smeltering pot of endangerment. For my plan to work, deforestation must be stopped, the Malagasy protocol must be enforced, and educational classes must be given.
The lemur population, which is hurt by deforestation every year, is snowballing down the slope of extinction. To stop this from happening, first the government needs to set aside some land for farming and commercial logging. Then, they need to put into action policies saying that for every one tree you cut down, three new trees need to be planted. Finally, these policies need to be strictly enforced. When this gets put into place, many lives will be saved. They will because the logging companies and farmers won’t be on the lemur’s land; they will be in their designated areas. Furthermore, destroying the habitats of lemurs is just like destroying the homes of humans. It needs to be unacceptable to destroy habitats, just as it is to destroy houses. By stopping this destruction of habitats, the lemurs will have a place to live and reproduce. Therefore the population will rise, establishing the long life of the lemur population. Though this solves some of the equation, we will need to do more and enforce the Malagasy protocol.
The Malagasy protocol needs to be enforced to ensure the long life of the lemur population. First, the public needs to be informed on what the Malagasy protocol states. Then, the Malagasy authorities need to be on the look out for any wrong doings. Finally, there needs to be strict and direct punishment to all poachers. The Malagasy authorities have already cracked down on all airports, making sure no animals get exported. This is assured by increased searches of baggage and travelers. This is a giant leap in the monumental staircase that is righteousness. By cracking down, many poachers will be arrested and others will be too fearful of the government to continue in the business. This will slow down and eventually stop poaching. Although the majority of the work is done, there is still one more final step that will make all the pieces fall into place.
Educational classes, which are being given by the World Wildlife Fund, need to be continued to persuade people in the right direction. First, the mass population needs to be told when and where the classes will take place. Then, the public needs to be persuaded on why they should come to the classes. Finally, while in the classes, you should hit the key points of why the people of Madagascar should not poach and cut down trees. As a result, the population of Madagascar will have a newfound kindness towards lemurs. This new attitude could ring the bell of existence for the lemur population. If told the benefits, surely people will stop poaching and cutting down trees. This will influence the population of Madagascar to help the lemur’s fight for survival.
Therefore, we should stop deforestation, enforce the Malagasy protocol, and provide educational classes. The lemur population is in dire need of your help. In a way, their hand is slipping off of the branch of life. If you do not help, their hand will slip and the lemur population will fall into the never ending hole of extinction. By giving educational classes, we could stop this from happening and ring the bell of life. If we ring the bell, the lemur population could be reborn. If we ring the bell, lemurs could be brought back from the cold hard sleep that is death. If we ring the bell, people could become aware of the delicate balance of live and death. If we ring the bell!
This Animoto is called "One Husky's Day". I made this Animoto because I love Siberian Huskies and they usually are sled dogs. The most famous sled dog race is the Iditarod, held in Alaska. I also want to be a musher when I grow up. A musher is a leader of a team of sled dogs that race in races usually in very cold places, like Alaska. I hope you enjoy my Animoto!
One of our favorite final products has to be the interesting—and simple—tutorials being created by the Commoncraft folks called Papercraft tutorials. Done with nothing more than a whiteboard and paper, these tutorials are just plain interesting to watch!
While papercraft tutorials would be appropriate for a wide range of topics, they may be particularly interesting as a final product for the NASA Project that we’re beginning to tackle. They certainly would be different from anything else submitted for the competition.
Either way, here’s a template that you can use to draft a papercraft tutorial.
Remember that half of the challenge of a papercraft tutorial is creating the paper figures to go with your presentation. The other half of the challenge is coming up with a script that’s interesting!
Alright, Plug Me In-ers, here’s a project that’s right up our alley:
SCIENCE: MULTIMEDIA COMPETITION http://www.explorationpodcast.com/
Middle grades students who enter the 21st Century Explorer Podcast
Competition will produce a 60-second audio or video podcast that
answers the question: “What do you think is NASA’s greatest
exploration achievement in the past 50 years and why?” There will be
prizes — and we’re pretty sure, based on the promotional material at
this website, that PIZZAZZ counts! Click on “About the Competition”
to get the complete details. The content, sponsored by the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, hopes to “encourage
today’s students to become tomorrow’s explorers.” Deadline for
submission is January 4, 2008.
Let’s see if we can win this thing! After all, we’ve got podcasting and digital movie making down pat and we’ve got more than a passing interest in the lunacy that NASA is involved in!
Here’s a template that you can use to plan a vodcast—or video podcast—that we’ll eventually post here in Plug Me In and on The Blurb:
You’ll need to use Moviemaker or Garage Band to do your actual recording. If you’re not sure how to use Moviemaker, be sure to get the templates that Bam Bam has in class. They’re step-by-step directions, so you’re sure to be able to follow them.
You’ll also need some royalty free music to include in your presentation. Music always makes presentations more interesting. Here are a bunch of royalty free songs that we can use. The tracks are all one minute long—which is the length that videos for the competition are allowed to be:
Just remember to include the credit tagline at the end of your production, though. While these tracks are royalty free, you do need to give credit to the creators.
