Saturday, December 31, 2011

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 01/01/2012

Posted by ultralitemp3

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Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 12/31/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

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Edu app news: apps, ebooks, and sites for your classroom #mlearning 12/31/2011

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Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/31/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

  • 11 Tools for the 21st Century Learner

    This is a course for Spring Branch ISD which uses a blog as the framework. I also love how 9 hours of professional development is being given for the educators in this course. We need more embedded PD that gives teachers an opportunity to embed their learning in their daily activity. Embedded PD is the key to transformational learning. While there is a time and place for getting away, we have traditionally only used that "away" method when we also need to use the "learn right here" method of delivery as well.

    Take a look at what Karen is doing here as you evaluate your pd delivery methods. I also have to admit that Spring Woods High school is one that has been an outstanding contributor to Flat Classroom in the past, so I personally know they are walking the walk here.

    tags: education news elearning professional_development ird bestpractices

  • Wikis in Writing Education Research - WolfWikis

    Although not updated for some time, this wiki has been helpful in my wiki research. This shows the advantage of moving the master's thesis research online. It becomes a useful part of scholarly research. This wiki is dedicated to wikis in writing education research.

    The one thing I'd love to see is eventually that such projects would become legacies where another student could build on what has already been created either through a template or handing it off like a baton, but so much of how academia is set up screams opposition to this. But why should a great wiki like this die when the creator graduates? 

    tags: education wiki learning research

  • Lessons learned from using Khan Academy content in a blended learning pilot

    Very interesting study on the effectiveness of Khan Academy on the scores of low performing students. The study thoerizes that the success is not the videos at all but the problems and rewards system that accompanies the videos which have a gaming feel. Like many, we assumed the videos would be the predominant learning mechanism for students tackling new material. In fact, the students rarely watched the videos. This result is consistent with some of the observations in the Los Altos pilot. The students greatly preferred working through the problem sets to watching the videos."

    tags: education research learning

  • New Learning Environments for the 21st Century

    John Seely Brown's PDF on the new learning environments for the 21st century based upon a 2005 presentation he did at the Forum of Higher Education's 2005 Aspen symposium.

    The quote I like best:

    "As the pace of change in the 21st century continues to increase, the world is becoming more interconnected and complex, and the knowledge economy is craving more intellectual property. In this environment, it is critical that we shift our focus from education to life-long learning."

    This is a great lead from a thought leader in this area.

    If you wonder why I'm digging into the research, it is as I work on my second book on collaborative writing. It is amazing to me that I can find so many more things online than I ever could in the Georgia Tech library when I was a research assistant for the then president of the national Economics Association, Dr. Danny Boston.

    I may not be in an institution of higher learning but I can institute higher learning in my daily practice. I want everything I write for publication to be well grounded. I hope that is why those of you who gift me with your presence on this blog will feel free to let me know in the comments if you have concerns or pointers to other work.

    tags: education learning edreform

  • ScienceDirect - Computers and Composition : The impact of e-feedback on the revisions of L2 writers in an academic writing course

    This 2004 study on second-language writers determined that although students prefer oral feedback that e-feedback has a greater impact on the revisions process. Online feedback is a valuable tool in the revisions process.

    tags: education research learning literature composition

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/31/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

  • Curriculum changes could spark supply crisis - news - TES

    The US is not the only country in government educational induced turmoil. Here is an overview of what is happening in England right now.

    "Make teachers redundant or have them teach subjects they are not trained in - that is the stark choice cash-strapped secondaries will face if national curriculum changes proposed this week are introduced, ministers are being warned.

    The bleak scenario is predicted by heads’ leaders and teacher recruitment experts if the Government follows the recommendation of its national curriculum review expert panel to make history, geography and modern foreign languages compulsory for all 11 to 16-year-olds from 2014."

    tags: news education edreform uk ukedchat edu_trends

  • Presidential Proclamation -- National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2012 | The White House

    January is national slavery and human trafficking prevention month. I don't care if this is an unsavory topic to many, there are more human slaves in our world this moment than in the history of this big globe in the sky. Don't criticize the slave owners and people in early US history if you're not willing to speak out now. There are age appropriate ways to broach this topic. Think about how the people of pre civil war times felt when you toss this topic over in your mind.

    January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking prevention month. Celebrate it well and plan ahead. Yes, there are slaves in this country and you can educate students on how to protect themselves as well as bring awareness to what is happening in other places.

    tags: education news abolition slavery all_teachers edu_news

  • Content Filtration: A little dirt for your health?

    I was rereading this old post for some writing I'm doing about filtering and it struck me that although this post was written in 2008 it reads like it was written this morning. I think there are some very valid arguments to share as you discuss content filtering in your school.

    When asked about how to help kids with allergies, researchers have made the bold statement , "Let them eat dirt! " As I read these articles, I was struck with the parallel to the content filtration debate that rages in education today.

    tags: education news filtering firewalls techintegrator

  • Submissions | Apps for Science

    A science app competition with a hodge podge of "winners." This isn't what you think. It is more higher level science websites that provide functions. One of the first mentioned is altmetric which measures the impact of research studies in social media. (Not sure if this is hugely important, but I guess it could be useful to those wanting to respond to the tweets, etc. of an article. I certainly hope scientists would also have offline conversations about these as well.)

    tags: education news science

  • Anis Bawarshi and Steven Corbett — Learning & Scholarly Technologies

    Overview of the use of efolios in the Expository Writing course at the University of Washington. along with some sample portfolios. Currently the electronic portfolios are optional although having a portfolio is not.

    "The six TAs who chose to teach with electronic portfolios discovered many advantages to introducing this technology. They found that students learned to write for a wider audience and were able to better connect to the course outcomes by showing a greater variety of examples such as graphics and links to relevant Web pages. The electronic portfolios also simplified some logistics, allowing the instructors to easily show examples of online portfolios and students to review each other's work. "

    tags: education research news efolio

  • Daily Kos: Internet giants seriously considering 'nuclear option' to stop SOPA

    If Amazon, Google, Facebook and other Internet allies turn their home screens black to bring attention to the censorship of SOPA don't be surprised. Right now, SOPA is still favored to pass. time to call congress or email them. This website tells you how.

    tags: education news SOPA copyright

  • Researchers Build Terminator Contact Lens

    Small projectors, contact lenses with displays built in. Here is where we're going. These things make the "ban cell phone" movement even more preposterous. It is about behavior not banning or blocking as limiting behavior is only going to become harder.

    tags: education news technology

  • 8 Amazing Emerging Technologies From 2011

    Transmitting data via LED lightbulbs tops this list of 8 technologies from mashable.

    By the way, the beginnings of display contacts is here - although it can only put one pixel on the screen (created by your contact) it is the beginning.

    Again, we must get at behavior of our students. Because we will move from cell phones to glasses and contacts. We have to focus on helping people learn how to focus on the task at hand and hold them accountable for the work they do instead of playing the role of jailkeeper. Focus may indeed be the most important 21st century skill.

    tags: education news technology edu_trends

  • ADHD: Your Brain On Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (VIDEO)

    ADHD, medicine abuse, and a video to show you what it "feels like" to have ADHD. This post from Huffington is a great one to share with those who don't understand this disorder. There are still so many questions to ask, especially that of if we've somehow become so desk bound that our physical bodies are crying out for more running and moving, but that is for another post.

    tags: adhd news education

  • So Here’s What I’d Do : 2¢ Worth

    It started with Tim Holt asking "edtech gurus" how to actually do it. How to stimulate change.

    This is a wonderful post from David Warlick on what he'd actually do. Many of these are great. The tough thing this brings to bear is that unless you can actually do it - it is hard to speak to it. This is why there is room for great practioners who are doing it to share how it works and what the results are. The tough thing is that in the real world, it is rarely simple and interpersonal dynamics often get in the way. The book I'd recommend is Kerry Patterson's the Influencer on this topic.

    tags: education news

  • 10 Bad Trends in Ed Tech 2011 #6: Ed Tech Gurus - Holt Think: Ed, Creativity, Tech, Adminstration

    Lots of conversation on this guru's post. Funny how the easiest way to get edubloggers to talk is to talk about edubloggers. ;-) 

    tags: education news innovation

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 12/31/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 12/30/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Edu app news: apps, ebooks, and sites for your classroom #mlearning 12/30/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/30/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

  • Humble People More Likely to Lend a Hand | Psych Central News

    Some people look down on the humble. Don't. They may be the one to help you when you most need it. For me, I like to follow people I see helping others on Twitter or Facebook because it tells me about who they are (i.e. the #endslavery tweeting some of us have been doing.) 

    On a note, does this mean that nonprofits who spend all their time sidling up to the arrogant are wasting their time? I don’t know and certainly “judging” people as to whether they are arrogant or humble is risky business. Sometimes I’ve thought a person was arrogant only to later find that they were really an introvert or nervous around large crowds of people.

    “The only other personality trait that has shown any effect is agreeableness, but we found that humility predicted helping over and above that.”

    In most cases, a person’s decision to help someone in need is influenced by temporary factors, such as time pressure, number of bystanders, momentary feelings of empathy, or a person’s own distress, added Wade Rowatt, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, who led the study and co-authored the article.

    “The research indicates that humility is a positive quality with potential benefits,” he said. “While several factors influence whether people will volunteer to help a fellow human in need, it appears that humble people, on average, are more helpful than individuals who are egotistical or conceited.”

    tags: education research learning

  • Psych Central - RSS Feeds, Gadgets and Widgets

    IF you follow news such as this, here are the RSS feeds from this robust site. I find my RSS reader is an important tool in my PLN and have spent some time cleaning up and adding blogs to my RSS reader.

    tags: education research learning

  • The Trouble with Small Psychological Studies | Psych Central News

    This powerful article is one every research should read. Because researchers care more about being popular and hitting the media (which rightfully unleashes research dollars) they are producing shorter papers on studies with a much smaller sample size. This review at Psych Central of a new research paper studying the study-ers has profound implications. The fact is that researchers need more citations so they are giving people what they want to hear.

    We need to evolve so that scholarly research has a place but that excellence in research is upheld. We also need researcher-leaders like Stephen Downes to help us see when certain things don't measure up.

    "They define “bite-size science” as research papers based on one or a few studies and small samples.

    “We’re not against [being concise or short and to the point],” says Bertamini. “But there are real risks in this trend toward shorter papers. The main risk is the increased rates of false alarms that are likely to be associated with papers based on less data.”

    tags: education research learning

  • Tightly Wound DNA in Brain Tied to Schizophrenia | Psych Central News

    "New research has discovered that people with schizophrenia have certain brain cells where their DNA stays too tightly wound. When DNA is too tightly wound, it can stop other genes from expressing themselves in their normal pattern."

    tags: learning psychology schizophrenia

  • La. seniors show exercising is not an age thing - CBS News

    Want to keep your brain young, exercise your body! This is a great story of a basketball team of older grandmothers who don't know how to lose. The women love it and they don't look like grandmothers. Why do we just have athletic leagues for the young? Perhaps athletic leagues are the fountain of youth...and the liquid of longer life is sweat.

    "But when Wright studied very active seniors, she found exercise seemed to be protective.' These MRI images show how fat can infiltrate the muscles of a sedentary senior. Compare that a MRI from a 74-year-old tri-athelete, which looks very similar to one from a 40-year-old.

    "We are not destined to go from lean flank steak in our 40s," said Wright. "if you think visually of what our muscles look like, to flabby rump roast. We do not have to become that way if we interject exercise throughout a lifetime.

    It's an important 'if.' Regular, consistent and challenging exercise is key. The Tigerettes work out strenuously, four to five times a week.

    tags: education learning

  • New Clues to Memory Loss

    Understanding memory loss. Mini, small strokes may be the "silent" link. The test used MRI's on dementia free adults.

    "Strokes so tiny they are termed ''silent'' may be linked to memory loss in older adults.

    Previously, experts thought that memory loss among older adults was caused by deterioration in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory and other functions. Although that is still true, study researcher Adam Brickman, PhD, says his new research adds another possible cause to the list.

    "What our study suggests is, even when we account for the decline in memory attributed to hippocampal shrinkage or degeneration, that strokes ... play an additional role in the memory decline," Brickman says."

    tags: education learning

  • Why great people never stop learning? « BESIDE

    Why great people never stop learning. This short, thought provoking post points out why we must keep learning. I particularly like the first three paragraphs. One note that I put in comments (awaiting moderation) is that we can learn from the people we meet on Twitter and through blogs. 

    tags: education learning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/30/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

  • PediaPress – Catalog

    This is the catalog of books from Pedia press. While some editors are wikipedians, it is interesting to me how one of the top books is American Warplanes of WWII that has one editor. It looks like you can take it and pull from wikipedia and then edit. This is very interesting. While it is not new news about pediapress, when it first came out we didn't have such examples to review.

    tags: education news

  • Application for Flat Classroom® Project 2011-2012

    Current application dates for Flat Classroom projects.
    I'll be running NetGenEd and co-planning Eracism with Julie as well as work with the book club starting in February.

    Flat Classroom Project - application deadline January 23, 2012 for FCP12-1
    Digiteen - application deadline February 1, 2012 for Digiteen 12-1
    'A Week in the Life...' - application deadline February 15, 2012 for AWL12-1
    Eracism - application deadline February 30, 2012 for Eracism 2012
    NetGenEd - application deadline February 1, 2012 for NetGenEd 2012


    APPLY NOW! to become a Flat Classroom® Certified Teacher. Courses will run starting in September and November 2011, as well as March 2012.
    Global Education Conference 2011

    tags: flatclass education globaled edu_news

  • Skitch for iPad! - Evernote User Forum

    Skitch for the Ipad is here. This whiteboard drawing, mind mapping ipad tool saves to evernote. If you love evernote, this is a must download tool.

    tags: eduapp education evernote skitch app edu_news

  • Dabbleboard - Online whiteboard for drawing & team collaboration - Interactive whiteboard software

    An online collaboration whiteboard. You can use it for free. Try using this for mindmapping and brainstorming between teams.

    tags: eduapp education collaboration edu_news

  • 10 predictions for 2012 | Daniel Pink

    Dan Pink's predictions for 2012, bound to have some people talking.

    tags: education news 2012 prediction edu_news

  • Lytro

    Dan Pink predicted that next year's hot technology item is going to be the Lytro camera. It captures everything and lets you focus afterwards. It looks very cool but it is one of those things I need to see to understand. Anyone using one yet?

    tags: education technology edtech news photography

  • Recipients of 2011 Global Forum Educator Awards Announced: Evening event hosted by Microsoft Partners in Learning recognizes 18 educators around the world for their innovative uses of technology in the classroom.

    Great announcement about the winners of Microsoft's Global Educator Awards program. As a judge for the US competition, the coding guide is an amazing piece of research-based evaluation of teaching methods that should be shared. Unfortunately, this awards announcement has NO hyperlinks. It always makes me upset when teachers are recognized without Twitter handles, links to their efolios. If we want to disseminate best practice, it should be done using the web. Static press releases, especially for something like this, are a waste of space. now, I have to search for all of these things.

    tags: education news teachers

  • American Teacher | Microsoft Partners in Learning

    A new movie "the American teacher" is coming out and Microsoft is coordinating the community screening of this film based upon the New York Times Best Seller "Teachers Have it Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers" produced by Vanessa Roth and narrated by Matt Damon. This website lets you order the DVD or volunteer to host a screening. I cannot find a release date on the site.

    I hope it is balanced. Teachers aren't perfect but it is not ok how teachers are being treated. Unfortunately, very few people are talking about just teachers -- it seems to be focused on union vs. anti union at this point in politics with teachers caught in between.

    tags: education news teachers microsoft videos edu_news

  • So.cl

    This is the Microsoft Research so.cl website (pronounced social) that is being tested in a few universities. I find it incredibly interesting that students sign in using Facebook instead of Windows Live ID, the preferred sign in for other services.

    tags: education news socialmedia microsoft edu_news

  • Will the Google-FTC Buzz Settlement Butt Into Larry Page's Social Mission? - Forbes

    For those comparing the FTC's stand against Facebook with Google Buzz, here is the Forbes article on the April 2011 Google Buzz settlement. We will have our Digiteen students looking at this material as they discuss privacy.

    tags: education news privacy digital_responsibilities digital_literacy

  • Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg: 'We've Made A Bunch Of Mistakes' - Forbes

    Facebook faces 20 years of privacy audits by the Federal Trade Commission. Similar to an agreement with Google Buzz,this shows the FTC's commitment to project consumer privacy. (Any wonder Google Buzz is going bye- bye.)

    tags: education facebook news privacy digital_safety digital_responsibilities

  • Google's Opt-In Facial Recognition Avoids Facebook's Missteps - Security - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

    New Google+ service Find My Face lets you opt in to photo tagging. For information on this service and how Google is trying not to repeat some of the "mistakes" of Facebook. However, some would argue that mistakes of Facebook have also been what made it wildly popular.

    tags: education. socialmedia google news digital_communications

  • Gaffe prompts official to resign - World News - MSN News UK

    It seems harmless but sometimes just commenting on Facebook in the normal course of business causes problems. Now that every person on Facebook literally has a fan page (people can follow you without you having a fanpage) you are going to see this happen more often. If you really want to share with your friends, this certainly gives rise to websites like Path that only let you friend up to 150 people and keep things very private. Public officials may be left with no other option. Show me a person who doesn't say something politically incorrect and I'll show you someone in the graveyard. We all mess up.

    tags: education news socialmedia digital_responsibilities digital_communications

  • Google Apps Education Training Center

    Free Google Apps training center. This will take you through the tools that are part of Google apps for education. Share this with your teachers and students.

    tags: education google eduapp traning edu_news

  • Age requirements on Google Accounts - Google+ Help

    "The following age requirements apply for owners of a Google Account (with the exception of accounts in Apps for Education domains):

    Spain: 14 or older
    South Korea: 14 or older
    Netherlands: 16 or older
    All other countries (including the US): 13 or older

    Keep in mind that specific products may have additional age requirements. For instance, Google+ requires users to be 18 or older."

    tags: education news google

  • Frequently Asked Questions about Google Account and Age Requirements - Accounts Help

    I'm seeing more information about children activating G+ accounts and putting in an age that is "too young" to have an account (under 18.) Here are the instructions for reactivating an account (which involve a credit card charge that is then removed.) As more kids move to G+ this will be a problem. I told my students to stay away from G+. Of course, having them on Google apps for domains helps you on this as the terms of service are between the school and Google and with parent permission, you are accepting the terms of behalf of the students.

    tags: education news google edu_news

  • Why researchers want to overhaul the Gregorian calendar | MNN - Mother Nature Network

    Give up accuracy and go for convenience? Wish your birthday or Christmas was on the same way every year? Researchers at Johns Hopkins think we need a new calendar. What do you think?

    tags: education calendar news

  • iPads and the Embarrassment Factor - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education

    Fascinating read from a professor about the response of his graduate students when they all received ipads. Some felt that by carrying them they came across as elitist. Perhaps it is because so many people want them and they are still very expensive. Very interesting read.

    tags: education news ipad

  • Times Higher Education - BIS research to study private providers

    British government is studying how effectively private and alternative suppliers provide higher education services. As educators prime for the upheaval to learning that is already upon us, institutions of higher education are being eyed as places for potential cost savings and to determine if education can be delivered more effectively in other ways. They also looked at some US studies as they prepare this study.

    tags: education edreform edu_news

  • Microsoft Working On Social Network For Students

    Microsoft not going for social networking but for educational networking. Before you roll your eyes, the fact is that overlaying educational networks on top of social networks is rife with problems. This is being tested at University of Washington, Syracuse University and New York University. There are many benefits to keeping work and personal separate and educational networks may be a great asset if done right, to the education space.

    tags: flatclass globaled elearning education edu_news

  • Email blackout: Victory for workers or last gasp for trade unions? | ExtremeTech

    Volkskwagen agrees to turn of blackberries after hours as part of a union agreement. While I don't know a lot of teachers connected via blackberries,I do personally know the complexities of global collaboration in schools. We must learn to balance work and home and know when to disconnect but then again, a work environment can become so fast paced that everyone seems to expect the others that they should work 24/7. Yet another reason to advocate checking email 2-3 times a day - let everyone know when you will be available and stick to the schedule.

    tags: balance productivity news edu_news

  • Connect anything to the cloud with Twine | ExtremeTech

    New project started by 2 MIT students.Twine seeks to help you easily access your home remotely. The small bar-of-soap looking object monitors the temperature and movement of the device usinga simple app called spool. Increasingly computing is about intertwining with our lives.

    I'm going to draw another conclusion here that may bother some of you. As we increasingly use our smart phones to control our homes, let people in the door, monitor things,are we causing danger and/or damage by denying students the right to access their phone, say, for example, if the house says it is on fire and mom and dad are out of town.

    I think we're going to have to coexist with cellular and smart phone technologies. It is inevitable but it is also about behavior. A child wouldn't have 1,000 emergencies in a day ( a text message isn't an emergency) but may have one that becomes a big deal and a big liability.

    tags: education news technology

  • Gladwell vs. Shirky: A Year Later, Scoring the Debate Over Social-Media Revolutions | Threat Level | Wired.com

    If you like controversies between leading thinkers, you'll want to read wired.com's overview of the verbal jousting between Clay Shirky and Malcom Gladwell over the importance of social media in social uprisings.  I think this author has a very neutral perspective that is valuable for evaluating this discussion between two very influential people.

    The thing I find odd is that Gladwell in his book Outliers talks about the importance of "mavens" and their influence. Surely, mavens online can have more influence than ever before. I'm not sure how he can forget his own work in Outliers as he puts down the importance of social media in politics.

    tags: education socialmedia news

  • Transistors made from cotton yarn, t-shirt computers incoming | ExtremeTech

    T-shirt transistors. Wearable computing is very close. I doubt it will look like it does on the fantastic model in this post, but there are uses we cannot imagine as of yet. It would be fun to have students read this and invent the future of wearable computing. Or you could do this as a writing assignment and have them write about it.

    tags: education news technology

  • Why Hasn't Google Responded to Death Threats on Google+?

    Big controversy running through Google plus. Because controversial photographer Brandon Campeaux had over a quarter of a million followers, they are connected to just about everyone. He left Google+ in a huff and deleted his account when he says Google refused to respond to death threats against him. Word is,some of the people he asked to help him "are on vacation." 

    On another note, once a Google+ post is reshared, you can no longer delete it. This is perhaps a very interesting case study for whether Google+ is ready to grow. By the way, Myspace still has more active users than Google+.

    tags: education news socialmedia digitalcitizenship

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 12/30/2011

Posted by ultralitemp3

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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