Here’s a roundup of some of my Google Reader content this morning:

1. The Wow Factor – from NextGenTeachers by Justin Medved – introduces Animoto, an online app that creates presentations that look very cool and apparently easy to produce in a short time. The free version limits you to 30-second presentations. Here’s one of random Japan images.
   . (Check out the YouTube trailer to an upcoming comedy called Balls of Fury).
2. Jimbo’s English Teaching in Japan Blog has an interesting self-reflective entry about a recent frustrating teaching experience that I can certainly relate to and I’m sure many other teachers can, too.
3. And speaking of self-reflective, Ebele, a brassy, sassy British blogger, posts on one of her blogs, Can We Pay U? a link to another blogger taking a hard, honest look at himself and his blog, Robert Scoble: I was reading Darren Rowse’s blog the other day – about a guy called Robert Scoble. Robert wrote a very self-reflective blog questioning whether he was still doing what excited him. Carrying a new-born baby in his arms brought that and other questions to the fore. And it did make me think. So I made a list. Robert Scoble has decided to take a break from his prolific blogging to reconsider how he can best add value, and spend more time with his family (in this case, I don’t think that’s a euphemism)
4. Catherine Austin Fitts blogs a short list of recent financial or related news articles. Catherine’s website www.solari.com is a rich (pun intended) source of information about money and financial matters, including historical background, and includes some fascinating audio seminars (some for free, but most you need to buy). Catherine was a Wall Street banker for many years, then worked in Bush 41’s administation in the Department of Housing, her main aim was to understand how money works. If you read Robert Kiyosaki‘s Rich Dad, Poor Dad or any of that series and are interested in furthering your own financial education, then you might find Solari.com of interest (I’m aware of some of the criticism and controversy surrounding Kiyosaki, and it’s worth bearing in mind). Some of Catherine’s historical background articles are from her own experience, and they are just as gripping as the best whodunit. If you enjoyed Gatto‘s Underground History of American Education, then you might enjoy Catherine’s articles because they take an alternative, insider’s look at how money really works. Catherine’s Solari concept is SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) but turbo-charged.