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Currently, no ebook reader appears to completely solve my needs. Some come close in some areas, while still making things unnecessarily complicated in the final steps of the solution.
Some ebook readers, such as the Kobo, quickly fail to solve my needs. The standalone Kobo ereader provides no means for text entry, having only a D-pad toggle. My first need for an ereader is to highlight and take notes on the text.
While there appears to be some support for these annotation features on the iPad Kobo app, they don't appear to sync across the cloud. Their desktop app, for example, provides no annotation features at all.
The Amazon Kindle has more strict Digital Rights Management (DRM), which restricts some forms of access to the text, such as in 2009 when Amazon deleted George Orwell novels, including 1984, from all Kindle devices. This is a level of control I'm uncomfortable with a large corporation to have. The opportunities for abuse are evident, as Amazon has shown in January of 2010, by pulling all books published by subsidiaries of Macmillan, including SF publisher Tor, from the Amazon store. This was done as part of a power play on digital rights sales, such as Kindle books, but it involved pulling all print editions as well.
Amazon's Kindle has a multi-platform triple-threat. In addition to their portable ereader devices, they provide a desktop reading solution, as well as other mobile devices such as the Apple iPad. While Kindle is available for BlackBerry, like many other things Amazon has to offer, this isn't available in Canada.
While I haven't used the Kindle ereader hardware, I have used both their desktop reader, and the iPad version. Both of these offer highlighting and text annotations, which sync wirelessly with each other. They also maintain your reading position between the two applications. This is unfortunately only the first part of the solution.
The important part is where Amazon fails. Once you have selected portions of the text, and made annotations on the go, students need to access this text. Amazon sometimes allows these "clippings" -- as they refer to the selections -- to be exported via their web interface. Note the qualifying word of sometimes. Each book in their system apparently has some undefined, undocumented limit as to how much of the text can be exported in this manner. Some books have a hard limit of no exported text. While I can understand the publisher's desire to stop people from copying the book, this is not helpful for students in the least.
Sadly, copyright tends to actually be more restrictive for academics in Canada. Concordia University has a helpful comparison between fair dealing (in Canada) versus fair use (in the United States). The restrictions in clipping length may be analogous to the lack of definition of the term "substantial" in the Copyright Act (s.3). As this term is undefined in the Act, publishers may decide on a more restrictive definition than commonly accepted.
The web interface that Amazon uses is also difficult to use. In an ideal world, I would be able to select my highlighted sections from the desktop app, and have them copied in proper citation format, including an entry for my works cited list.
Another problem when dealing with the Kindle is directly related to citations. Amazon has standardized on a "location" number to reference text in a book, rather than the term "page". The thought on their part is that at different zoom levels, pagination will change, making page references unstable.
Amazon has lately started to remedy this problem, by including page numbers which presumably link back to a print edition of a book. While I see this change on the iPad, my desktop application only provides Location information. In either case, I still have to manually type the quoted text into my essay. How is this more convenient than just using a print book again?
What's the solution? It's been tempting to run screenshots through OCR software, except that I'd still have to proofread the text for corrections. I guess what really bothers me is that this is something that would likely be easier than what Amazon is doing now, and not just for students.


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It's a real shame that many schools no longer see the value of recess. To expect young children or even teens to sit quietly for eight hours a day is unrealistic. I challenge even the most focused adults to do the same and remain productive without some sort of break. It's been shown that a child's brain retains information better when the lesson is coupled with some sort of movement (hence the common recommendation by most experts to limit screen viewing and encourage children to participate in their learning and play). However it's increasingly common for schools to favor desk time over arts and recreation.
A NY Times article "The 3 R's? A Fourth is Crucial Too: Recess" discusses the importance of recess in a child's education. According to the article:
"New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child's academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades."
In a study reported by the journal Pediatrics, children with as little as 15 minutes of recess a day behaved better in class than their "no-play" counterparts. I remember from my elementary school years of having at least 30 minutes of outdoor play, in addition to gym class, every single day. Now kids are lucky to have enough time to move from one class to the other. Even more disturbing to me — some teachers use the loss of recess privileges as punishment for those who misbehave in class. Ever think their misbehavior is due to their inability to move from behind their desk for eight hours? I'd be cranky too!
And it's important to note that recess involving nature is shown to be most effective in giving the brain a break, and this can be especially true for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
"A small study of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder last year found that walks outdoors appeared to improve scores on tests of attention and concentration. Notably, children who took walks in natural settings did better than those who walked in urban areas, according to the report, published online in August in The Journal of Attention Disorders. The researchers found that a dose of nature worked as well as a dose of medication to improve concentration, or even better."
The positive impact of nature play on behavior holds true for all children and is something for parents to keep in mind at home. If your child is misbehaving, consider taking going for a nature walk or a bike ride. You'll be amazed at how quickly your little one will rebound from a bad mood. Hopefully schools will begin to realize the importance of play on academic performance and give our kids a well-deserved (and effective) break.
How much recess does your child receive during a typical school day? Please respond with the child's age/grade and recess time. And, of course, your opinion on the topic is always welcome.
This story was written by Tela Kayne and originally appeared on babyminding.com.
It is reprinted here with permission.
Related school stories on MNN:
- 10 questions to ask kids about school
- The importance of green schools (Infographic)
- Fewer junk foods in school could lead to thinner students

subset: commoncrawl


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SUPER World Premiere/
SUPER World Premiere Clip from Ted Hope on Vimeo.
A clip from the forthcoming extreme superhero film, SUPER, written and directed by James Gunn, starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion, Linda Cardellini, and Michael Rooker. Miranda Bailey was my producing partner. It will be distributed in the U.S. by IFC Films.


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eMuleTV provides the opportunity to have all the world's TV on your computer with excellent quality of TV picture and sound.
eMuleTV with more than 2,000 channels from around the world.
Plays broadcasts from more than120 countries.
The possibility of including your own channels.
Cataloguing according to category.
Creation of 'favourites' lists.
Automatic updating of the index of channels and new versions.
Available in 17 languages.
Now, with eMuleTV you can enjoy watching any sport event in the world, watch your favourite films and TV series, and discover new TV channels, as well as being brought continually up to date with the latest news from around the globe.


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Represents the division of Idaho to several distinct geographic and climatic regions.
- All-weather vinyl sticker
- Die cut to state shape
- Size: Approximately 2.5X3 inches
- Sticky back for outside placement
- High quality vinyl, UV protection, and waterproof
Clean a smooth, flat surface, dry, apply sticker from the center and smooth outward.
On occasion, air bubbles can appear during application, simply pop any bubbles with a pin and press air out. Repeat as necessary.
Place on any smooth surface: water bottle, car, bicycle, phone, laptop, etc.


text:
Here are new discovery tools to navigate and curate your week.
Reminder: Seminars & Workshops have limited seating. Arrive early to ensure entry. You must have proper credentials required for admittance into BAFTA. Save time by printing your delegate badge or session ticket before you arrive.
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If you want to build trust with small businesses, it's important that you have a professional email address that uses your domain name. Scams are becoming increasingly more troublesome, which is why...
America Unlimited vs NexVortex
Compare America Unlimited vs NexVortex. Find out whether America Unlimited or NexVortex is better for your VoIP business or home needs. The experts at VoipReview have analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of America Unlimited and NexVortex and detailed analysis of the comparison can be found below.
User Ratings & Reviews
- 11 Reviews
nexVortex is a cloud communication services provider that specializes in SIP trunking, hosted voice, and hosted contact center solutions. Founded in 2002, the telecommunications company delivers VoIP solutions to business customers seeking local...
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- Founder Year: 2004
- Website: nexvortex.com
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- Founder Year: 2009
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Everything is OK while it works. The service was down 5 times this year. The last time it was out two business days in a row. Support does not exists during outages - nobody replies to email, pickup phone, etc. It is not a business solution. Would work as non-critical home office solution. This is not a serious player.
We switched over from Etherspeak in May of 2012. We are a Cisco re-seller that deals with everything but VOIP. I checked into fully managed VOIP and SIP setup with Charter, AT&T, etc. They all wanted big bucks for not alot of function. We did not always have the best experience with our previous SIP provider, and decided to give SIP one last try before going back to old PBX/POTS. We have had a very good experience with NexVortex so far. I can only speak regarding the features we use. Our shop is all Cisco Unified IP phones, with a Cisco UC540 phone system. I have NV setup as a SIP trunk directly into our Cisco UC540, over a dedicated SIP/voice T1. Since we are are a small company, we only use around 12 lines at a given time. We also have 2-3 remote users at a given time tunneled back to the main office, all using the same SIP phone system. I can tell you it all works perfectly without issue. Our biggest concern in switching to NexVortex was uptime/reliability. We did not have the best experience in the past with other SIP providers. I can tell you that is completely different with NexVortex. They are not perfect, and did go down one time in July. Fortunately that outage was only for 30 minutes, and we have not had a single other issue. This is far greater reliability than we have experienced with any other SIP provider. I love the online interface, and specifically the disaster recovery feature. It has saved us a couple times when our T1 went down, as it automatically sent calls to the old POTS lines. Their billing is accurate, and the rates are reasonable. The call quality is good, even using g729 codec which is what we use. It's one of the few VOIP companies we have found that actually delivers what they promise, at the rate they promised.


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"Ace of Cakes" Bakes the Obama Inauguration Cake
Baltimore celebrity baker Duff Goldman says the cake he's baking for President Barack Obama's inaugural ball is going to be more elegant than crazy, full of stars and stripes and a whole lot of glitter. Read more »
Miss America Crown Goes to Brooklyn Woman
A woman who grew up in Alabama and moved to New York City is the new Miss America, winning the title after tap... Read more »
Actor Thomas Gibson Arrested, Suspected of DUI
Police in Los Angeles have arrested "Dharma and Greg" actor Thomas Gibson on suspicion of driving under the... Read more »
Anderson Cooper Named Gay "Man of the Year"
CNN's Silver Fox tops list of 10 boldfaced names Read more »
Charlie Sheen Apologizes for Uttering Homophobic Slur
Star offers a mea culpa after unleashing an anti-gay insult while emceeing a bash in Cabo San Lucas Read more »
'Office' Star John Krasinski Heads for the 'Promised Land' With Matt...
As the film's actor, writer and producer, the young star plans his next career phase. Watch »
"The Voice" Crowns Cassadee Pope
Cassadee Pope was named the Season 3 champion of "The Voice," after surviving more than three months of weekly... Read more »
Miss Universe Contestants
The 89 Miss Universe 2012 contestants showed off their dresses in the evening gown competition. View »
"The Voice" Recap: Candlelit Newtown Tribute
This is it! Tonight, the contestants performed for the last time before crowning this season's winner tomorrow... Read more »
School Shooting Compels Entertainment Changes
Hollywood responds to Newtown tragedy by switching schedules, canceling a film premiere and presenting somber lineup... Read more »
Jenni Rivera Memorial Date Set
Private service to be held Wednesday, Dec. 19 in Los Angeles. Read more »
Zooey Deschanel Reacts To Her 2013 Golden Globe Nomination For...
Zooey Deschanel chats with Access on the set of "New Girl" about her 2013 Golden Globe nomination. Watch »
Jenna Von Oy Writes Tribute to Her Newtown, Conn., Hometown
Actress said her "heart hurts" for the families affected by the shooting tragedy, which took place in the town where... Read more »
"The Voice" Soars
The singing competition heads toward a dramatic finale powered by strong talent. Read more »
SNL Pays Tribute to Newtown School Shooting
"Saturday Night Live" made a rare departure from its comedic opening to pay tribute to the children and adults... Read more »
Stephen Colbert Debuts "Downton Abbey Breaking Bad"
Funnyman creates his own mashup of the two hit series after swiping at Michelle Obama for scoring an advance copy of... Read more »
2013 Golden Globes: Katharine McPhee Reacts to "Smash"...
Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty chat about their Golden Globe nomination, while on the set of NBC's "Smash." Find... Watch »
Jenni Rivera's Remains Returned to California
Three brothers of Rivera, a Southern California native, accompanied her remains on a Thursday night flight from... Read more »
L.A. Reid Leaving "X Factor" Next Year
Record exec tells Access Hollywood he's going back to his day job after a "nice break" Read more »
"Homeland" Heads For A "Heartbreaking" Finale
Series star Morena Baccarin teases the season's final episode. Read more »


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Nondairy Cheddar Cheese Bread
This bread tastes rich without saturated fat because it's made with nondairy cheese instead of traditional cheddar cheese. Serve a chunk of this dairy-free bread with a bowl of chili or soup, or toast a couple of slices for sandwiches filled with fresh veggies and splash of vinaigrette.
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus rising time of at least 1 hour
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices per loaf)
6 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1-3/4 cups lukewarm water
3/4 cup cheddar-style nondairy cheese
1 tablespoon black pepper
Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the yeast and water in a small cup and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix thoroughly in an electric stand mixer with a dough hook, in a food processor, or with your hands.
Remove the dough from the bowl, turn onto a floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes by hand or with a machine. If the dough is too dry, drizzle up to1/3 cup additional water to make the dough stick together.
Rub a large bowl with olive oil. Place the dough ball in the bowl, and then turn it over once so that you lightly coat the top of the dough ball with oil. Cover the dough with a towel or waxed paper, and let it rise in a warm place (under a sunny window or on top of a warm stove, for example) until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
On a floured surface (or in the bowl of a mixer or food processor), combine the cheese and black pepper and then knead the dough into the cheese mixture. Continue kneading for 6 or 7 minutes, or until the cheese and pepper are well incorporated into the dough.
Add 2 teaspoons chopped dill or another favorite herb, if desired.
Divide the dough into 2 balls. Place each ball into an oiled 9-x-5-x-3-inch loaf pan. Cover the loaf pans and let the dough rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until it reaches to just above the top of the loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the loaves for 60 minutes, or until the bread is browned on top and sounds hollow when thumped with your knuckles. Remove from the oven, let cool, and serve.
Per serving: Calories 130 (11 from Fat); Fat 1g (Saturated 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 188mg; Carbohydrate 25g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 4g.