Edu_Rss

Delicious Library
Alec Couros dropped by the other day, and introduced me to an amazing piece of software called Delicious Library. If you need to organize your personal library and keep track of people who are borrowing books or other media from... From Rick's Café Canadien on April 18, 2005 at 10:53 p.m..

Unexpected
I always thought that colorful tulip fields that every tourist coming to the Netherlands sees (alive or on postcards) are there to grow tulips. Not always so. At least some of them are for growing tulip bulbs: once flowers are out, beautiful and strong, their heads are cut out, so all the juices go down, to feed the bulb... From Mathemagenic on April 18, 2005 at 10:51 p.m..

Disney Offers Web Education
Talk about your Mickey Mouse courses. The service is directed toward preschoolers and offers a range of interactive activities featuring Disney characters. "Puzzles, games and other learning activities will be updated each week and can be personalized to guide children on a structured path to kindergarten readiness." Pricing for the service is expected to be about $49 per year, which may make it almost irresistable to parents. It sounds great, and it is: but my question is, can we trust Disney to keep the content free of marketing From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Adobe Systems to buy Macromedia
Animations inside PDF files? DRM inside Flash animations? It's hard to predict just how the very different products offered by these two companies can be aligned, but that's the project now as Adobe is set for fork over $3.4 billion to buy Macromedia. By Emily Church, MarketWatch, April 18, 2005 [Refer][Research][OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Hubble Public Talks
I can't think of a better use of an hour or so (and this includes class time) than to spend it watching Frank Summers display his incredible pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope. This sort of presentation would have been unimaginable when I was in school (though I did get to watch grainy live coverage of the moon landing) and it seems to me that content like this is more likely From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

FAQ: Wi-Fi Alphabet Soup
If the changing jargon in the fast-moving world of wireless internet access has gotten the better of you, this article will bring you back to speed with definitions of such terms as MIMO and WiMax. By Richard Shim , CNet News.com, April 14, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect] From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Polytechs Migrate to Moodle
Short article describing the adoption of Moodle, an open source learning management system, by eight Polytechs in New Zealand. The program is described as "the largest deployment of 'Moodle' software to date globally." Certainly it shows that the open source software is becoming mainstream. "Using Moodle instead of proprietary software will save the Open Polytechnic about $50,000 every year in licence fees alone." By Reuben Schwarz, Stuff: Technology, April 18, 2005 [Refer][OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

To Every Thing, Turn, Turn, Turn, There is a Season....
Jay Cross - with whom I will be sharing a stage at the upcoming CSTD conference in Fredericton - discusses the blend of formal and informal learning. "Novices learn best through formal learning, for it provides the structure, signposts, and scaffolding a newby lacks. Old hands learn best informally, because they already have foundation knowledge, familiarity, and a framework for understanding." Scott Wilson picks up on Cross's d From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Open Source Desktop Television Software
Think about the implications of this for just a moment. "The sourcecode for a ground-breaking project has just been released by the Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF). The software, currently under development and due to be released in June, will enable anyone to broadcast full-screen video to thousands or millions of people at virtually no cost." There has been a lot of buzz about this in the coding and file sharing community; it looks to me like the community has reached the point where, instead of fighting commercial content producers, it h From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Wired Campus Blog
I didn't realize this, but the Chronicle of Higher Education has quietly launched a blog. The first post dates from February but it is only in the last week or so that it has ramped up. Not all items link to Chronicle paid content (though some do, including an article about the random essay generator - a story so well covered one wonders why the Chronicle is charging for its version). Some other items of note so far include one questioning whether campus listservs are out of control (solution: use RSS), another on From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Knowing When to Log Off
Well, this bit (the last line in the story) is true: "You're not being disloyal to progress," he said, "by picking and choosing the kind of technology that best fits your needs." The premise is that campus computing is contributing to information overload, and that the solution is to turn off the computer once in a while. Seasoned internet veterans know that this just makes information overload worse, because the information doesn't stop piling up just because you've logged off. The key (in my mind) is to stop treating information like a thing, stop treating it as though it were From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

A Dog's Breakfast: Roles and Responsibilities for Managers in the Cyber Era
This is the wiki version of the transcript from my talk last September at Sunshine Coast, Australia. In this talk I take my Nine Rules for Good Technology and apply them to managers. I especially like rule number five: good technology should be simple. By Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, April, 2005 [Refer][Resear From OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

BlogMatrix Sparks
I downloaded and installed this piece of podcasting technology, and while it's not yet everything it could be, it's definitely worth passing along. The idea of Sparks is that it allows users to subscribe to both blogs and podcasts - the application will list all new podcasts for easy listening. But it also allows users to create and upload their own podcasts - I created my own podcast (a review of this software) very easily this afternoon. Definitely worth a look. By Various Authors, BlogMatrix, April, 2005 [OLDaily on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 p.m..

Monday, April 18, 2005
There is nothing like starting your week by having to change a flat tire on your car. From RHPT.com on April 18, 2005 at 8:57 p.m..

Adobe + Macromedia: What's It Add Up To?
Stop the presses. For Web developers, the announcement that Adobe is acquiring Macromedia is huge news. Strategically, it makes a lot of sense; together, these companies (with such powerful tools as Acrobat, Photoshop, and Flash) become a powerful force in publishing across platforms.But in Web-development circles, the deal is bound to raise questions about the future of Macromedia's Web-development tools, especially Dreamweaver (which competes with Adobe's GoLive) and Fireworks (used by many W From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 18, 2005 at 8:53 p.m..

Sanger on Wikipedia (Clay Shirky)
Over on slashdot, Larry Sanger has published the first in an N-part series (N>1) on the early history of the Wikipedia (and the failed Nupedia) projects. It has all of the benefits and disadvantages of being written by someone present... From Corante: Social Software on April 18, 2005 at 8:48 p.m..

House of the Rising Sun explained
The Boston Phoenix this week runs an excerpt from Dave Van Ronk's memoir, the Mayor of MacDougal Street. The piece is about how Van Ronk lost control of his arrangement of The House of the Rising Sun, first to Dylan and then toThe Animals. Van Ronk was not on the Lessig side of the copyright battle. Anyway, I bring this up because Van Ronk ends by saying that late in life he discovered that the song isn't about a whore house. It's about the Orleans Parish women's prison. Add it to the annals of busted folksongnomies. [Technorati tags: vanronk risingsun]... From Joho the Blog on April 18, 2005 at 8:48 p.m..

Podcasts: Why I'm Making the Transition to On Demand Podcast Consumption
Summary: I need better rowing material than Angel--love the show, but, hey, "higher self" would rather catch up on famous web developers or philosophers. I row multiple hours per week; scheduling around TV schedules is dysfunctional. On demand listening of relevant growth material lowers dysfunction index on two counts . ipod or rio karmaConnectivity: Spike Hall's RU Weblog on April 18, 2005 at 8:47 p.m..

Audiocasting in K-12 Land
Since it looks like we're about to embark on a pilot with World Language teachers using iPods in their classrooms, I was happy that Alec linked to this new post at edugadget outlining some potential uses. Great stuff. I love the idea of an iPod walking tour of our campus for new staff. We're on 72 acres, and it would be so cool to set them loose with a podcast that gives them a bit of history and color while taking them on a tour From weblogged News on April 18, 2005 at 7:47 p.m..

1,098,000,000 Student Posts a Year
Say what you will about the quality of the 1,055,114,644 pieces of writing that Technorati is tracking on the 8,950,672 Weblogs they are watching, that's a boatload of content. How much of it is really worthwhile? Depends on your standards and interests I guess, and I know a lot of them are simply links. But I think anyone who reads blogs regularly knows that there is a lot of really great original thinking and valuable information being published these days by people who just a couple of years ago never would have been able to enter the discussion From weblogged News on April 18, 2005 at 7:47 p.m..

When the blogger blogs...
There are about 10 million blogs out there, give or take, including one belonging to Niall Kennedy, an employee at Technorati, a small San Francisco-based company that, yes, tracks blogs. Like many employees at many companies, Mr. Kennedy has opinions,... From Teaching and Developing Online. on April 18, 2005 at 6:55 p.m..

Dear Blog: Happy Belated Birthday
My how time flies. Fellow E-Media Tidbits blogger Steve Klein pointed out to me that I missed the fifth anniversary of the launch of this blog, on March 10. Here's the archive of the first post.The history of this blog is that fellow Boulderite Amy Gahran, who continues to contribute, and I started out sharing the writing duties. After a wh From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 18, 2005 at 6:54 p.m..

Restoring Press Credibility: What About Online Media?
An April 12 New York Times op-ed column, "A Slap in the Face," by Nicholas Kristof, bemoaned the continuing decline of mainstream news media's credibility in the eyes of the U.S. public. The column cites some stunning statistics from the recent Pew Research Center report, "Trends 2005": 45 percent of Americans believe little From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 18, 2005 at 6:54 p.m..

Thinking things are different
Wall Street financier Sir John Templeton has some wise words:The four most dangerous words in investment are: "It's different this time"Wonder how much that applies to social software and organisational behaviours?... From Monkeymagic on April 18, 2005 at 6:53 p.m..

Doing what counts
From John Seddon, a business psychologist with a knack of putting things succinctly:"People do what you count, not what counts. Targets always make things worse."... From Monkeymagic on April 18, 2005 at 6:53 p.m..

Book: Innovative Approaches to Literacy Education: Using the Internet to Support New Literacies
Today the Internation Reading Association publishes, Innovative Approaches to Literacy Education: Using the Internet to Support New Literacies. This book is a collection of chapters written by teachers and administrators highlighting the use of the Internet in classrooms. I contributed a chapter dealing with my work at Buckman Elementary as a teacher and my work at Lewis using weblogs as a vehicle for school communication. A sample chapter is available.... From Education/Technology - Tim Lauer on April 18, 2005 at 6:49 p.m..

Million dollar idea and assorted crotchety whines
Carbonize some marshmallows and sell them as "Microwave Campfire Marshmallows." It's a surefire million dollar idea, assuming you figure out the marshmallows-explode-in-the-microwave part. But, you could probably just market your way around that: "Poppin' Fresh Microwave Campire Marshmallows (Caution: Be sure microwave door is securely closed.)" And while I'm not on the subject: Towards the bottom of the Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup, on the outside, it says "Caution: Contents extremely hot." I understand that lawyers made the company put that there, but why are coffee places s From Joho the Blog on April 18, 2005 at 6:48 p.m..

Choosing an XML editor: Thijs van den Broek
http://ahds.ac.uk/creating/information-papers/xml-editors/#desc Een bewerkte versie van het rapport van Thijs van den Broek over XML editors is beschikbaar op de site van de (Engelse) Arts and Humanities Data Service. Het rapport inventariseert een aantal wenselijke kenmerken van XML editors en evalueert een aantal editors op de aanwezigheid van de kenmerken. Daarnaast worden de producten beoordeeld op gebruikersvriendelijkheid en 'support'. Onder support' wordt vooral gekeken naar customiseerbaarheid en gemak van installatie. De winnaars: XMetal, Open Office, Oxygen, Exchange From CHI weblog elektronisch publiceren on April 18, 2005 at 5:59 p.m..

Resurrecting the Online Past
So many dead websites, so much history -- and how much of it has been lost to the historical record? David Kirsch, an assistant professor who teaches management and organization at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, has created an online archive (registration required) that chronicles the rise and fall of Internet-related start-ups from 1996 to 2002. About 60 percent of the companies in his archive either disappeared or never got off the ground, while the rest have survived From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 18, 2005 at 5:55 p.m..

President Bush and E-mail
We all know that President George W. Bush doesn't read the newspaper. Now it turns out that he doesn't e-mail, either. "I don't e-mail," the president told the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference last week during remarks in Washington, D.C.He said that people are "entitled to know how I From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 18, 2005 at 5:55 p.m..

D-Lib Magazine (April 2005)
The April issue of D-Lib contains several valuable articles including two on Social Bookmarking Tools. The tools that are reviewed (de.licio.us, Flickr, Connotea, etc.) have been discussed elsewhere, including in this blog, but the D-Lib presentations do an excellent job comparing features, putting the tools into an historical context, and providing extended discussions of issues related to tagging. ____JH From EduResources--Higher Education Resources Online on April 18, 2005 at 5:47 p.m..

14m Europeans gambling online
Gambling and sweepstake sites were most popular with French and Swedish surfers, but have yet to make a mark in southern Europe, with less than ten per cent of Spanish and Italians logging on to gamble, according to the latest statistics from internet research firm Nielsen Net Ratings. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 4:55 p.m..

BBC Three trials multi-screen application
Via the 'Best of Three' multi-screen application, viewers are to be able to choose which programmes they want to watch on BBC Three, out of a choice of three television programmes. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 4:55 p.m..

Naked communication
On F.X.Enderby and being naked without mechanically mediated communication. From Monkeymagic on April 18, 2005 at 4:53 p.m..

Adobe to buy Macromedia
In a major combination of digital multimedia giants, Adobe will purchase Macromedia for $3.4 billion . From NITLE Tech News on April 18, 2005 at 3:59 p.m..

BBC Radio extends podcasting trials
The success of three podcast trials by the BBC has led the UK public broadcaster to extend the pilot project to a further 20 radio programmes. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 3:56 p.m..

First 3G network launched in Romania
Mobifon has launched commercial 3G services under its 'Connex' brand. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 3:56 p.m..

Trinity Mirror trials full-price local paper digital edition
Trinity Mirror is to charge 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the cost of the print edition. If the trial is successful, other full-price digital editions of local papers in the group's stable will issue their own full-price digital papers. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 3:56 p.m..

Tuesday, in London: Shifting Tech Talk Toward the Feminine
Oh, I wish I could be in London tomorrow! I just found out about an intriguing event happening Tuesday, Apr. 19 at the Dana Centre: a salon discussion called "Venus Rising." This meshes serendipitously with my current exploration of problems and issues associated with the predominance of "argument culture" in many spheres of life and work, including technology. ARE YOU ATTENDING THIS EVENT? If so, I'd appreciate it if you could raise the following question on my behalf... From Contentious Weblog on April 18, 2005 at 3:55 p.m..

CFP: Wikimania 2005 (Clay Shirky)
Wikimania 200, the First International Wikimedia Conference will be held in Frankfurt from August 4-8, 2005 to 8 August 2005. Two key upcoming dates are: - May 10 - Abstract deadline for panels, papers, posters and presentations [Notification: by May... From Corante: Social Software on April 18, 2005 at 3:49 p.m..

The carafe of water
One of the eternal questions that plagues me here in Paris is the question of the carafe of water. Why is it that every time I order une carafe de l'eau I stand a roughly 30% chance of getting it? And why is it that whenever a French person seems to order absolutely anything -- even just a tiny coffee -- they seem to get a liter of water alongside? Why? My food comes. My wine comes. But hardly ever do I get the water without repeating my request several times. I am now practicing how to say, "Monsieur, I am dying of thirst. The carafe, please!" in French. Is this some secret way for the F From megnut on April 18, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

A discussion of the French cheese tragedy
The other day I linked to an article about the decline of French cheesemaking in my post, Speaking of French cheese. Today I followed up on the debate over at eGullet.com in this interesting thread, The Great French Cheese Tragedy, impending? Some interesting points in there. I need to read more eGullet.com. From megnut on April 18, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

Welcome to the Internet
As a long time user and observer of the Internet I have gathered lots of experience with this new medium. This is intended as a guide to those who are new to the Internet and feel insecure about how they should behave when on it. It may also act as checklist for experienced users to see if there are skills they need to improve or if there are aspects of the Internet they may have missed. From kuro5hin.org on April 18, 2005 at 3:45 p.m..

Students on blogging
In an unusual angle on classes and courseware, Will Richardson aggregates student reflections on blogging. The comments are varied, and generally positive. (via Stephen Downes)... From MANE IT Network on April 18, 2005 at 2:58 p.m..

ITS Brain Catches Fire
... but it's a lovely blaze. In fact, it's UMW Instructional Technology Specialist Andy Rush's new Media Blog. The possibilities here are wonderful to contemplate. The Flash AS front end embeds a "player" on the blog site itself, while the audio feeds are available for podcast. (Andy's still working on doing the same [...] From Gardner Writes on April 18, 2005 at 2:02 p.m..

Mecom provides combined satellite-internet news distribution system to Polish news agency
Mecom News Pipe, is to use satellite and internet communication for the distribution of text, pictures, graphics and data to Polish news agency Polska Agencja Prasowa's customers. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 1:56 p.m..

Adobe acquires Macromedia
Desktop publishing software specialists Adobe Systems has acquired online publishing software specialists Macromedia for €2.6bn. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 1:56 p.m..

UK combined physical/download singles chart released
The UK's first ever blended physical and downloaded singles chart has radically rearranged chart positions for a number of tracks. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 1:56 p.m..

German electronics manufacturers to increase support for patent protection legislation
Members of the board of directors of the German Central Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry have warned that without appropriate patent protection for computer-implemented inventions in Europe, investment in research and development will be undermined. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 1:56 p.m..

Make RSS Feeds
This site contains a step by step tutorial detailing how to make an RSS feed. It walks you throught the process of feed creation. Make RSS Feeds From RSS Blog on April 18, 2005 at 12:59 p.m..

French data protection authority allows software developers to monitor P2P networks
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés has permitted the Syndicat des Editeurs de Logiciels de Loisi - the French software developers' trade association - to monitor data traffic over peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. From Digital Media Europe - digital media news from across Europe on April 18, 2005 at 12:55 p.m..

FAQ: Wi-Fi alphabet soup - Richard Shim, CNET News
Fast-paced innovation can be exhilarating, but it can also be a recipe for confusion. Take Wi-Fi, the popular wireless-networking technology that's taken the computer and consumer electronics industries by storm. The term specifically refers to a handful From Techno-News Blog on April 18, 2005 at 12:49 p.m..

U.C. Berkeley to head cybersecurity project - Matt Hines, CNET News
The University of California, Berkeley, will lead a $19 million government-funded project to research how to best protect the nation's computing infrastructure. The announcement, made by the National Science Foundation late Monday, makes U.C. Berkeley one From Techno-News Blog on April 18, 2005 at 12:49 p.m..

Librarians fuming over Intel magazine bounty - Michael Kanellos, CNET News
A day after Intel said it would offer $10,000 for a copy of a magazine in which Moore's Law was first announced, a University of Illinois engineering library noticed that one of its two copies disappeared. There was a glaring space on the shelf where the From Techno-News Blog on April 18, 2005 at 12:49 p.m..

Adobe Consumes Macromedia
Adobe Acquires Macromedia: When you've invested as much time as I have in being a fan of a product or company, the reaction that you have to a change like this can be very personal and emotional. Is it silly to get so wrapped up in a company's product? If it is, there must be some inherent human reason that we do it since it happens all the time. After all, beyond the games... From Brain Frieze on April 18, 2005 at 11:47 a.m..

New Crew Docks at Space Station
A Russian-American replacement crew and a visiting Italian astronaut arrive at the international space station on the Russian Soyuz capsule. The American crew member is part of U.S. plan to return its space shuttle to flight. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

It Was the '60s, Man
'Moore's Law' has been a guide for technologists for four decades. The 1965 article by Gordon Moore that set the pace for the chip industry was buried on page 114 of the 35th anniversary issue of Electronics magazine. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

Time to Buy a New Shirt, Dave
While throwing a bone to privacy advocates, retailers pitch RFID tags that will refill consumers' prescriptions, help them get dressed and -- of course -- encourage them to buy more products. Mark Baard reports from Chicago. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

Flexible Copyrights Hop the Pond
The BBC and other media groups unveil new Creative Commons-inspired licenses that will allow the public to use footage from the archives as raw material for new creative works. By Katie Dean. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

Lego Star Wars: The Game
Get ready for the game based on the toy, based on the movie, based on the idea from George Lucas. By Lore Sjöberg. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

Star Hunting for the Rest of Us
An amateur astronomer confirms the discovery of a supernova with an online telescope. Web-based scopes may be leveling the playing field between amateurs and the big boys. By Amit Asaravala. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

U.S. Military's Elite Hacker Crew
The armed forces assembles a clandestine cadre of hackers capable of launching cyberwar against enemy networks. John Lasker investigates. From Wired News on April 18, 2005 at 10:45 a.m..

Conferencias, premios y regresos
Conferencias Esta semana hablaremos sobre weblogs en Zamudio: Weblogs y sindicación de contenidos. Cómo explotar y lograr un mayor impacto de los contenidos en Internet y en Zaragoza: I Jornada Bitácoras y E-Derecho, y la semana que viene en Elche:... From eCuaderno v.2.0 on April 18, 2005 at 8:51 a.m..

A Group at Princeton Where 'No' Means 'Entirely No'
Yet another alternate sexual lifestyle is being promoted by a group of Princeton undergraduates: one of chastity and abstinence outside of marriage. From New York Times: Education on April 18, 2005 at 8:45 a.m..

In Subway Ads, Teachers Renew Push for Contract
New York City's teachers' union is revving up its publicity machine with demonstrations and a new advertising campaign in the subway system. From New York Times: Education on April 18, 2005 at 8:45 a.m..

At the Front of the Fight Over No Child Left Behind
Betty J. Sternberg has emerged as a national leader in the fight against provisions of the 2001 law pushed by President Bush that requires annual proficiency tests. From New York Times: Education on April 18, 2005 at 8:45 a.m..

How to Succeed as a Contract Educator
Experienced contract teachers, trainers and education consultants offer tips on networking, managing time and finances, and getting the work you want.... From Adult/Continuing Education on April 18, 2005 at 5:51 a.m..

On oldy but a goodie..Bleu Web'n
Blue Web'n is an online library of 1952 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hotlists, resources, tutorials, activities, projects). You can search by grade level (Refined Search), broad subject area (Content Areas), or... From Teaching and Developing Online. on April 18, 2005 at 4:52 a.m..

Senior usability/IA consulting role (Sydney/Canberra, Australia)
Step Two Designs is recognised as a leading usability/IA consulting firm in Australia, with a unique focus on intranet design and management. Our articles and reports are very widely read, and our team participates in conferences and workshops globally. Our... From Column Two on April 18, 2005 at 4:45 a.m..

Reflections on Making Decisions
This is an interesting article on the changing nature of decision-making in the healthcare industry. Not surprisingly, the changes are in the area of interpersonal communications: "Increasingly, a growing body of studies supports the fact that poor physician-nurse communication leads to negative patient outcomes." From elearningpost on April 18, 2005 at 4:45 a.m..

iPods in the Classroom
Since I've purchased my iPod, I've found myself trying to justify it as an educational tool vs. merely a personal music player. While Podcasting is one route, I am still looking for other ideas. Well, Edugadget recently featured an article... From Couros Blog - Frequent Rants from an Ed. Tech'er on April 18, 2005 at 2:46 a.m..