Auto Bird ID

Posted on June 11, 2015 by admin

Machine “intelligence” is becoming quite sophisticated and the freely available demonstrations such as the capabilities of Google Photos make such capabilities available to us all.

I recently became familiar with the bird identification service from the Cornell Ornithology lab from a photography blog. I am familiar with this lab because of their efforts to utilize the contributions of citizen scientists and I blogged about the labs use of technology back in 2005.

The new ID service works like this. Upload an image. Mark a couple of key points on the image (beak, eye, tail) and indicate where you took the picture. The service will attempt to identify the bird.

merlin1

 

merlin2

I tried the service with a few images from my collection (I found them with a Google photo search for “bird” from my collection of images.). The Cornell ID service correctly identified the pileated woodpecker. I am not certain about the hummingbird. I have photographs that clearly show the ruby throat and am guessing my photo shows a female.

I have included another photo if you want to try. Download the pic and then go to the Cornell site.

practicebird

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Auto Bird ID

Pic togo for Flickr

Posted on June 8, 2015 by admin

I am very interested in the new Photos service from Google. Aside from the free price, the magic Google performs to identify and organize what appears in the images (without your help) seems an interesting and useful capability.

I remain a fan of Flickr. I shoot most of  my pictures with high end cameras (Canon 7D) and want to keep the originals (I understand I could pay a reasonable amount for the unlimited Google plan). I also have used Flickr for years and am familiar with the features of the service.

I do want a way to backup my Flickr pictures. Google seems perfect for this. The opportunity to explore is an added benefit.

My immediate challenge was how to get 9000+ images downloaded from Flickr so the images could be uploaded to the new Google service. I found a couple of solutions, but settled on one that allowed me to download the originals. I have tried others that download a reduced size, but my preference is now for the originals.

Pic togo for Flickr costs a few bucks ($3) and worked slowly (there is no real way to make this a quick process as you are limited by your bandwidth). This is the type of use case that will not attract a lot of developers so the pickings are going to be slim. So, having tried three different products, this would be my present recommendation.

pictogo

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Pic togo for Flickr

TWIT evolving, not changing

Posted on May 30, 2015 by admin

Disregard my post on changes to the TWIT podcast network. Leo Laporte now says he overreacted and TWIT will find new ways (evolving) to do what it has been doing rather than abandoning live chat and streaming. Modifications will be implemented to address personal attacks by trolls.

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on TWIT evolving, not changing

FCC proposal to address divide

Posted on May 29, 2015 by admin

According to Pew data from 2013, the most recent year for which numbers are available, 54 percent of those making less than $30,000 a year have broadband, compared with 88 percent of those making more than $75,000. The same survey found that 53 percent of Hispanics and 64 percent of blacks in the United States have high-speed Internet at home, compared with 74 percent of whites.

The FCC will soon propose an effort to address the digital divide. Educators might wonder just how adequate the subsidy would be to provide a reasonable data allowance for educational use

Mr. Wheeler is proposing setting service standards, which could include a specified number of mobile minutes and minimum broadband speed. Debate over just how far a $9.25 credit can go in covering the cost of broadband is sure to arise.

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on FCC proposal to address divide

Coding for kids

Posted on May 22, 2015 by admin

In a recent post, Larry Cuban takes on the topic of “coding for kids“.  He labels it as a new vocational emphasis and raises some of the obvious concerns regard just what subject area it would replace or the issue of whether it would lengthen the school day.

I share Cuban’s perspective that to developing coding as a vocational skill would require a significant commitment of time. To be fair, others see coding a serving other purposes (including Rushkopf who Cuban cites). Rushkopf also argues that understanding coding takes some of the mystery out of technology tools we use and that to use powerful tools in ignorance creates vulnerabilities that are dangerous. Others see coding as a way to develop problem-solving skills (Papert).

I am not certain I follow Cuban’s concern that some are pushing coding for all – perhaps he is arguing present suggestions are a foot in the door. My understanding of present suggestions include more widespread access to AP coding courses and the opportunity to count HS CS courses as either a math or science credit toward graduation requirements.

I guess I support CS as an elective. Recognizing that few are trained to teach CS at the high school level, online courses might be a viable option for districts without the resources to invest in qualified teachers.

CS is certainly a viable career opportunity and more competent coders are needed. However, there is a substantial difference between increasing the number of college CS graduates and universal exposure to coding.

We all would like to see modifications of the K-12 curriculum. My personal recommendation would be the substitution of a course on statistics and research literacy for an existing math course. I see mathematical literacy issues related to statistics and the implications of how data are collected essential to understanding data-based arguments we all experience and frequently can be led to misinterpret. I see such skills more generally essential than pre-calc or programming.

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Coding for kids

Ad blocking is immoral

Posted on May 18, 2015 by admin

I recently read a blog post on the attitudes of those who block ads. The post considered various positions taken by those who employ ad blocking plugins. I tend to agree with the comments (there must be an ad on this post somewhere). While ads may be a nuisance and ads that intervene are obnoxious, the attitude that readers have a “right” to eliminate these ads is pretty self-centered.

Viewing specific sites is a choice readers make and the author(s) have made the site available at no cost with an understanding that ads will be seen. I am a fan of Google ads as the ads are generally not obtrusive, are supposed to be related to content, and can pretty much be ignored if a reader is not interested.

The long-term implications of denying revenue (only potential revenue in the case of Google ads) to content creators and service providers is worth considering. The motivation to spend time to create content and often to purchase the means to offer this content should not be assumed.

What I fear is that ads will become embedded in content if those who are willing to offer content become convinced their potential source of revenue will not be considered. If you think this is unlikely, try the link to the original post on the immorality of blocking ads.

Loading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Ad blocking is immoral