Presentations on the Web

I was thinking about all of the options we have today to put up slide presentations on the web that were just not possible a couple of months ago and thought it would be helpful to do post on them. One of the really exciting areas with Web 2.0 is being able to share and post our ideas on the web. There are lots of options and I wanted to highlight some of them. One of the sites which I have used is Slideshare. Slideshare lets you upload PowerPoint (.ppt) and PDF (.pdf) and OpenOffice (.opd) files which you then share with others. Slideshare makes it easy to post or embed your slideshow to a blog. Slideshare is very easy to use and registration...

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Posted in: Google,Google Docs,presentations,Slideshare,sPresent,Web 2.0

Universal Design for Learning

I just completed the 3rd day of a conference on Universal Design for Learning and am really excited to be able to part of the State's initiative on helping New Jersey's Public Schools apply and put into practice Universal Design for Learning. Universal Design for Learning makes you look at the curriculum through another lens so that we can remove barriers to learning. Using the techniques and strategies consistent with Universal Design for Learning will benefit all learners in the classroom. Look for some exciting programs being offered through the Educational Training Technology Centers on Universal Design for Learni...

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Posted in: CAST,ETTC,Universal Design for Learning

[TIPS] edubloggercon at PETE&C

There are many Education bloggers in Pennsylvania. For me to name a few would be to risk insulting those who I don’t name, but if you read blogs then you probably already know many of them. I’ve learned MUCH from these folks, as have you, I’m certain. They tackle some of the toughest issues facing Education today, and they share SO MUCH of what they have learned with the rest of us. Some blog for themselves. Others blog with students. Some do both. Some write excellent blogs that are not visible in their own school districts because their filtering policy blocks them, and they fight the same battle that many of us fight. But, the bottom line is that Pennsylvania is blessed to have MANY talented and generous teacher/bloggers in our ranks. If you’re planning to attend the state technology conference...

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Tips Channel #1

Gabcast! Tips Channel...

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[TIPS] This I Believe - a new group of students

http://smithenglish90708.blogspot.com/2007/10/adam.html Yes, it's Anne Smith's kids again with their "This I Believe" essays. I wasn't able (yet) to listen to them but I did read a couple of them and I'm very anxious to listen to them. Once again she used Odeo's player to group the audio files into one neat little player. From her post: "These students had to not only write their essay for our class publication, but were required to publish it for the world by submitting their essays to NPR as well with parent permission. Like last year, I found their essays to be pretty good, but to hear them read their essay aloud makes an incredible difference. They truly express their voice and passion for a variety of subjects such as t-shirts, friends, community service, and even family vacations....

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I can see clearly now...

Eye strain is a hazard to anyone who uses their computers for any extended period. So anything that eases the pressure on the eyes is a bonus. To this end, Microsoft have developed a tool for making text more legible called ClearType Tuner.The ClearType Tuner only works on Windows Vista and XP, and is available as a web-based tool here. You will be required to choose which is the clearer text from a variety of options a couple of times, and then - hopefully - text should be clearer on your screen. Windows XP users can also download a Control Panel version from the Microsoft XP Power Toys page.If you are a Vista user and wish to switch off ClearType...

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Posted in: Windows GUI,Word Processing

[TIPS] anti-bullying video

I was catching up on my professional development this evening (yes, my blogroll) and I skimmed over a lengthy blog post by Wes Fryer (http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007/10/29/how-to-create-bully-free-classrooms-and-schools/) who was live-blogging a presentation at a conference somewhere. He must type 200 wpm and be able to parallel process the art of listening and typing. The blog post was HUGE! But, he repeated some statistics about the effects of bullying in our schools and then mentioned that htey were watching a video that was done to the tune of  "Don't Laugh At Me." I looked on YouTube and there it was. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3oO3lbBGJQ Show this to your students and then have them write in their journal about a time when someone said something that hurt their feelings,...

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Mimio Interactive Lessons

For those of you that are using the Mimio Interactive you should visit the Mimio website and check out the Mimio Interactive lesson plans. These are free lesson plans that you can download on-line an use with your Mimio Interactive. Here you will find a core of easy-to-use, instructionally sound activities to support your classroom curriculum. You can customize each of these to meet your individual students needs. There are science, math, and English lessons on-li...

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Posted in: mimio,mimioStudio

Availability of ConceptDraw Business Suite for Mac OS X 10.5

Odessa, Ukraine, October 29, 2007 – CS Odessa today announces availability of ConceptDraw Business Suite for Mac OS X 10.5 operating system. An integrated business software package that consists of diagramming application ConceptDraw 7, project management tool ConceptDraw Project 4, mind mapping and personal productivity software ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5 will support the recently released operating system for the Macintosh.Oleg Bocharnikov, Head of Product Management Department for CS Odessa notes, “Mac OS X 10.5 has highest upgrade rate than any other operating system ever and many our customers will be interested to buy Leopard by the end of the...

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Posted in: 10.5,ConceptDraw Business Suite,Leopard,OS X

Reflecting on Universal Design for Learning

I just got back from attending day 1 of a three day training presented by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) on the theory and practice of Universal Design for Learning in today's classrooms. I have always been a big fan of CAST, and in fact I spent a week there about 15 years ago when they were running an assistive technology institute. While CAST initially was servicing the needs of individual students with disabilities through their Assistive Technology Clinic, it became more apparent to them that they could have more of an impact if they focused on making the curriculum more accessible instead of working with one student at a time.Looking at the basic tenets of Universal Design for Learning it is clear to me that if they are applied- we would reach many more students and...

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Posted in: CAST,UDL,Universal Design for Learning

IT Audits: Taking Care of Licensing Tasks

When you are conducting IT audits, you will come across software licensing issues about which you have to talk to customers and prospects. You can approach this situation tactfully by telling them you found software that was questionably licensed and wonder if they have documentation to prove ownership. Any responsible small business owner will understand why they need to have the license agreements, invoices, end-user license agreements and original CDs to prove they own their products. IT Audits: Never Negotiate LicensesIf your customers and prospects can’t provide you with software licenses during IT audits, you have to tell them they need to decide on a remediation plan immediately to avoid future problems. You can advise them on how to approach this.Give small businesses a couple...

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Posted in: IT audits

The Windows Taskbar explained

The Windows Taskbar is usually to be found at the bottom of the screen, although it can be moved to any edge. It includes the 'Start menu' button, toolbars, a button for each application you are running, icons for other programs that are running at the time.I will gloss over the 'Start menu' button - because all it does is open the start menu - and move straight on to the toolbars. Most versions of Windows will display the 'Quick Launch' toolbar by default. This toolbar will look something like this.To add a new button to this toolbar for a different application, simply drag and drop the application's shortcut to the toolbar. You can drag and...

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Posted in: Windows Explained,Windows GUI

[TIPS] extreme closeup of Last Supper

Many thanks to Laurie Vitale for sharing this one. http://www.haltadefinizione.com/en/cenacolo/index.aspI don’t think I’ll ever get the opportunity to see da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” IRL (in real life), so this is the next best thing. This 16 million pixel image is zoomable to show the finest details. There are three ‘tabs’ above the image. “The Subject”, “Look”, and “Understand.” Make sure that after you “Look” around and zoom in that you view the “Understand” area. It offers some excellent tips for viewing and ‘discovering’ the photo.If you’ve read, “The da Vinci Code” it will be interesting to see if your viewing of this painting is different somehow. Maybe in the same way that “The William Tell Overture” is forever different for those of us over …40. JNow, send this to your favorite...

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"Bloody Computer!" Author Wins Award

Last week, Colin at Free PC Security gave me the Community Blogger Award. This prize was recently created by Cellobella at Red Sultana, to celebrate those that reach out to the wider community.I am honoured to receive this award, because it comes from fellow bloggers, and because the ethos of the award is for winners to pass on the award to worthy recipients. As such, I am also honoured to present the award to the following three bloggers:Etienne Teo - for good advice for bloggers wishing to monetise and develop their sites.Mark R. Stoneman - for efforts in promoting the historian blogger community.Shirley Gibson - for the variety of blogs she...

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Posted in: Blogging

[TIPS] mind mapping tools

In response to my last post, the owner of this site: http://www.mind-mapping.org/, posted a comment to alert me to this site. It's page after page of mind-mapping tools. If you can't find one here then you're not looking for a mind-mapping tool. &nb...

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[TIPS] web based mind-mapping tool

http://www.mindomo.com/ I heard of this one from a forum post at moodle.org. This looks very nice. Looks like Inspiration but on the web. You can collapse the levels, too. I THING there's even a sound feature, although with this slow connection (at the cabin :-)  ) I can't tell for sure. &nb...

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Selling Virtual IT to Small Businesses with Joshua Feinberg

For years, the concept of “virtual IT” has been growing into an important part of the small business world. As technology vendors focus more on relationships with small businesses and not just selling products, they have started to create programs that offer the opportunity to handle total business solutions that integrate IT resources completely into the growth and development of companies.At the Computer Consulting Kit, we have been presenting the concept of virtual IT as crucial for years. An article appeared in a recent edition of Tech News World about the unmistakable trend to provide total solutions for small businesses quoting Joshua Feinberg on the growing importance of consulting firms – small business computer consulting firms and consulting firms for larger businesses – that stress...

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Posted in: virtual IT

Mac users with Disabilities Speak out

As many of you know I am a big Macintosh fan and it is really heart warming to watch individuals with disabilities use the Macintosh with the software application that were created and developed by David Niemeijer of AssistiveWare. If you have a chance take a look at the videos and listen to the podcasts to see what is possible.Press release: Mac users with disabilities speak outAmsterdam - 24 October 2007 - AssistiveWare today announced "Users inControl: A Fresh Perspective on Accessibility". This new audio andPDF podcast series offers an insightful look at how people withdisabilities are empowered through Mac OS X, while shatteringpreconceptions on disability and assistive technology (AT). Here theusers of AT are in the driver's seat! Created by Mac users withphysical, speech, or vision...

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Posted in: assistive technology,AssistiveWare,David Niemeijer,Macintosh

[TIPS] Peak Oil revisited

Anyone remember this post: http://tipline.blogspot.com/2007/05/tips-writing-prompt-for-your-economics.html In it I suggested that a good writing prompt for your economics students might be to tell them that they opened the paper today and read two words in the large headlines: Peak Oil! I asked them to predict what would happen if that should ever be announced. What would happen to the price of a barrel of oil? Well, today in the Ted Blog I read about THIS article in News.com: http://blog.ted.com/2007/10/peak_oil_chevro.php. Peak Oil! Point your students to this article and have them speculate. Then see if this manages to make the news. And what does it say if it DOESN"T make more news? Check out this quote: "Chevron's Paul estimated that we will have consumed half of all the oil that ever...

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Skype, Yuuguu and InspireData

What better way is there to get my graduate students excited about technology than by modeling for them what is possible with today's Web 2.0 tools. Using programs like Skype and Yuuguu has enabled me to make my graduate classes so much more dynamic and has allowed me to bring in guests into my classroom which was just not possible years ago. Just yesterday, I had Laura from Inspiration give a demonstration of InspireData to my students who had never seen it. Using Skype, and the video conferencing capabilities Laura was able to introduce herself and my students were able to see her which really personalizes the experience. Once she had introduced...

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Posted in: InspireDate_1.5,Skype,Yuuguu

Mindjet Productivity Pack for MS Office

Mindjet, Inc. just recently released the Mindjet Productivity Pack for MS Office which is a straightforward set of handy MindManager 7 mind maps demonstrating step by step how to get the most out of MindManager 7 and Microsoft Office. The Mindjet Productivity Pack for MS Office takes you step by step through each of the Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio) and provides you with tips and ideas and how to integrate the two applications into your work flow. Mindjet, Inc. is running a promotion and if you purchase or upgrade to MindManager Pro 7 by October 31 you can get the Microsoft Office Productivity...

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Posted in: mind mapping,MindManager Pro 7,oriductivity

Innovate using MindManager Pro 7 both in and out of the Classroom

I had a chance today to do a run through of my webinar, Innovate using MindManager Pro 7 both in and out of the Classroom-which will be hosted by Mindjet, Inc., on Thursday, Novemeber 8, 2007, Time: 10:00 am PST / 1:00 PM EST. I hope you can join me as I share how I am using MindManager Pro 7 to create lectures, proposals, and organize the information that helps me be more productive in the work that I do. It was very exciting doing the run through and I am really looking forward to doing the webinar. So please join me. To register just click on this link. Hope to see you there- it should be fun and informative. Thank you- Gaelen and Kymberly...

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Posted in: brian friedlander,mind mapping,MindManager Pro 7

[TIPS] Another "In Plain English" video

http://www.commoncraft.com/zombiesMany thanks to Sue Sheffer for sharing this one. You’re familiar with the “RSS in Plain English”, and “Wikis in Plain English” videos, right? Well, now comes this very timely video from those same folks. “Zombies in Plain English.” It shows how to identify and “eliminate” zombies. JSome may find it…er… in need of refinement or editing. But, remember, it’s just for fun. Whatever happened to Halloween-clipart.com? That used to be THE best!...

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[TIPS] How's this for parent-teacher conferences - 21st Century Style

http://learningandlaptops.blogspot.com/2007/10/parent-teacher-conferences-reflection.html OK, the 21st Century Style bit was a bit...hokey. But, read this post from Anne Smith about how she restructured her parent-teacher conference night and see if you don't agree that it truly was a fresh way of approaching them. Here's a teaser: "I asked my students to reflect on their learning based on the following questions: Assess your learning in class so far this semester. Look at your participation, growth in writing, comprehension, etc.. Where, in terms of your learning, do you want to be at the end of the semester? How are you going to get there? What can I do to help? Write a message to your parents." Now read the article to see what some of the students said and how the evening went....

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Keyboard shortcut of the week: screen capture

If you wish to capture what you have on your screen as an image you can do so by pressing the Print Screen key (sometimes abbreviated to Prt Scr or similar) - on most keyboards this key will be found next to the F12 key, above the Insert key.This will put an image of the screen into the 'Clipboard', which is the name for the "holding area" where windows keeps things that you have copied. You can then paste this image into any program that accepts pasted images, such as image editors or word processors.Windows includes an image editor, called Paint, which is found in the 'Accessories' folder on the Start Menu program list. This application enables you to edit the screen image, should you wish to copy a section of it, or change its size, and save it as an image file.Most word processors also...

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut,Word Processing

IT Marketing and Testimonials

Testimonials are a critical part of your IT marketing campaign and can help you sell your business when used to their fullest. Credibility is Essential to IT MarketingIf you want to have strong testimonials that lend to your credibility, they have to be real. This means they need to have a first name, last name, job title, company name and a city and state (at minimum).Having real testimonials help you be more believable. People are going to believe third parties with no vested interest in your company more than they will believe your self-created IT marketing materials. What Should Be Included in Testimonials?Testimonials need to stress benefits to clients and be on clients’ letterhead. They should talk about how your company has helped them and give specific examples that include commentary...

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Posted in: IT marketing,testimonials

[TIPS] gabcast - just too cool!

As you MAY be aware, I was a co-presenter on the k12onlineconference again this year. (http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=171) While the video on my particular part (part 2) had some issues (all my own fault) it's now up and running. But that's not what this is about. This is about the way that Wes Fryer  (http://www.speedofcreativity.org/) provided his personal feedback on the presentations. He used a blog and the site called gabcast ((http://www.gabcast.com/index.php)) He PHONED his feedback in to gabcast which then went to his blog that he set up for this. Check it out here: http://wesleypd.blogspot.com/ How does this sound to you? The kids have just turned in their splashcast or slideshare projects on your class wiki. You want to provide feedback. You grab the phone and call in...

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Five tips for buying a new PC

1) Buy a good monitorThe monitor is the peripheral that you will interact with the most. For the sake of your eyesight and to prevent headaches from extended use, make sure that you purchase a quality monitor. Make sure that the monitor is the right size for you, don't be pressured into buying a larger monitor than you need. For most purposes a 17" screen will serve well. Also, read users reviews for the monitors even if you don't read reviews for anything else.2) Hard-drive capacityThe more the merrier. Hard drive space is like cupboard space: you can never have enough of it, especially in these days of multimedia computing. The capacity of the hard-drive is more important than its speed. 100 gigabytes should be enough for most purposes, but if you know you are going to install many games,...

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Posted in: Purchases

[TIPS] Want your class to be involved in the Flat World Project?

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/10/does-your-class-want-to-be-sounding.html Don't get TOO excited, but do check into this post from Vicki Davis. She's looking for classes who might be interested in being Sounding boards (http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/Sounding+Board ) for the teams in the projects. What a great way to get your feet wet with something like this. Interested? Go to that first post and reply to her to let her know. &nb...

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[TIPS] chinesepod - wow!

http://chinesepod.com/ OK, so I'll admit that this isn't high on my radar so you may laready know about it. but, if you're looking to learn Chinese then this is a great place to start. Free podcasts to learn Chinese. Another cool thing is how I learned about it. I am just trying to close down my computer for the night when someone who I met in one of my grad classes at Bloomsburg skyped me (text chat version) to ask about something else. He's sitting in a session at a conference - yes, at 10:30 PM Easter time! - and someone was talking about that site. In looking around on other sites he told me (https://masielearning.pbwiki.com/ about I found this question, "What do YOU believe about learning?" I can tell you that what I believe about it - with my blogs and learning network - is SIGNIFICANTLY...

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[TIPS] Flat Classroom Project

http://123elearning.blogspot.com/2007/10/flat-classroom-project-2007.html Over 100 students from seven classrooms around the world are using sites like ning, and wikispaces, and others to begin work on a large wiki. I want you to stop what you're doing and check this out. Make sure you watch the videos on this page: http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/Idea+Gallery Then make sure you take a look at the calendar page and the topics page: http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/Topics Now, compare this to the fact that in some schools that I KNOW of in Pennsylvania, there exists a policy to block all blogs (where I learned of this project) and all wikis (where this project is being built) and all collaborative sites (like Skype and ning where the students are communicating with...

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[TIPS] MY BLOG as professional development?

I can't let this go. Within my IU the overwhelming majority of districts block my blog from both students and teachers. They block ALL blogs, so I don't take it personally. This, as I've reported, is in SPITE of the fact that the technology exists to give the teachers a different policy. But regardless.... So how's THIS for .... irony?... no, that's not the word... well.. how's this for contrast? I just heard from a teacher in the western part of the state who gets credit for Professional Development time (they have to get so many hours of PD time per their contract) for reading my blog and reporting on the things she is learning from it. I guess it's because I'm from more than 50 miles away from there, thus making me an expert. :-) !!! What am I smiling about? This is very sad, not funny....

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[TIPS] Tips for teachers wanting to use web 2.0 tools

I LOVE my blogroll. I learn SO much from them. Just now, in this post: http://www.infinitethinking.org/2007/10/more-tips-for-new-classroom-20-teachers.html I was taken to several other sites that are chuck full of great tips and tutorials. I'm telling you, there are SO MANY very creative people in this world who are eager to share what they know with others. Make sure you read the last paragraph and follow the  link to that tutorial about student email accounts through gmail. Very interesting. Oh, and make sure you also read his previous post: http://www.infinitethinking.org/2007/10/tips-for-new-classroom-20-teachers.html This guy is another one that I wish I had talked to at the edubloggercon. But, he had a camera in hand and was looking for people willing to be taped. Stick a camera...

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[TIPS] Nominate a Leader in Learning

Vicki Davis pointed to this a while ago (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/10/nominate-leaders.html) and I had forgotten about it until I started looking back through posts that I had saved in bloglines. (LOVE that feature!) http://www.leadersinlearningawards.org/ "Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards recognizes outstanding educators, administrators, policymakers and other community leaders at the forefront of innovation in education. This prestigious awards program, in its 4th year of operation, is administered by the cable industry and its national education foundation, Cable in the Classroom. The application window for the 2008 Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards opened on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 and will close on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12pm (noon) Pacific Standard...

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Bookshare.org News

Here is some important news from Bookshare for students with a print disability. Effective October 1, 2007 Bookshare will be offering their service free of charge now making it possible for students to have access to their books in an accessible format. Here is the news from Bookshare. Bookshare expects to add over 100,000 new educational titles in high quality DAISY and Braille formats over the next five years, getting students the terrific quality textbooks they need for academic success!Major Great News about Bookshare.org We're happy to share incredible news, which will transform Bookshare.org. On Friday, the Office of Special Education...

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Posted in: Bookshare,Bookshare.org,etext,print disability

Locating Computer Consulting Sweet Spot Clients for Your Business

If you want to get computer consulting clients that will spend $1,000 or $2,000 monthly on services, you need to evaluate each prospect and client.Ask yourself the following computer consulting qualifying questions:1. Is the prospect/client big enough for a real server, firewall, backup solution and offsite or online backup?2. Does the computer consulting prospect/client need a focus on security, power protection and virus protection?3. Does the prospect/client need an on-going, real professional for IT needs and network support?Your best computer consulting clients will not be able to have simply volunteers or even a moonlighter. Small businesses that are sweet spot computer consulting clients will get larger, have more PCs and have a lot more revenue to worry about if systems...

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Posted in: computer consulting

Reflecting on the Web 2.0 Workshop

By all accounts the Web 2.0 workshop was a real success! I had a small group of teachers for whom this was an eye opening experience. Having a chance to work with some of the major Web 2.0 technologies helped them to grasp the power of the technology and gave them a lot of food for thought on how they could use the technology in their classrooms. During the workshop I had the opportunity to connect with Philip from OoVoo which demonstrated the power of video conferencing and its implications for instruction in the classroom. Reflecting on the workshop I can say wow there really is a lot going on with regards to educational technology that has...

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Posted in: Middlesex ETTC,OoVoo,Web 2.0,workshop

[TIPS] check out THIS class

Once again, Darren Draper shows us a GREAT class he taught with folks from around the world. It was an OPEN professional development class with a bunch of folks who were able to contribute and participate using some of the outstanding tools on the web. Watch this video: http://ustream.tv/channel/social-software-in-the-classroom (You may have to click the first icon in the list below the live viewer to see the recorded session) Read his 'take' on the event here: http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/2007/10/social-software-07-rocked-house.html Now... THINK about this! What do we need to do to make this happen for us in the regular classrooms? Who do we need to convince of the power of this technology? What sort of professional development can we create to get our teachers going on it? (Hint:...

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[TIPS] help wanted for k12online conference

The k12online conference is in need of some help for the "When Night Falls" concluding event next week. They need some folks who would be willing to help moderate the live discussions. Don't stop reading! It doesn't matter if you don't have any experience with that sort of thing They will have two training events to help you with your duties. "For those interested, we have set up two training sessions, one Saturday, October 20 at 14:00 GMT (10:00 am EDT) and Sunday, October 21 at 19:00 GMT (3:00 p.m. EDT)." It's a live session in Elluminate and your job would be to watch the conversations and help manage the discussion. If you feel brave enough to want to help out, plan to tune in to one of those sessions.  You may also want to send an email to vvrotny at gmail.com to let him know...

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Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with this picture

I work for an Intermediate Unit in Central PA. The CAIU #15, to be exact. I'm a very lucky man.I just received an email from a person in another IU (of which there are 29) in the state and this person asked me if I had any contact information for Will Richardson since he spoke at last year's PETE&C conference and I'm this year's Conference Committee President.No, I didn't have any special address, but I did go to his blog and copy the url of his "Contact Me" page and sent it off to her saying that it was the only way I had to reach him. She wrote back saying that his site was BLOCKED at her IU so she'd have to check it from home later on. AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!There is SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG with a filter system - or POLICY - that will block the sites of the very people you...

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[TIPS] email accounts for students?

Thanks to Kurt's post (http://weblog.techruminations.org/2007/10/multiple-email-account-solution.html) which pointed me here: http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2007/10/18/sign-me-up-the-elementary-email-solution-linked-gmail-accounts/   I wasn't familiar with Kim's blog but I WILL be. Here she does a great job explaining her solution to the issue of student email accounts. You know how so many sites require email accounts to get set up. How can you do that with students? Read Kim's post to find out. &nb...

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Speed up your PC: streamlined visuals

Over the years the Windows interface has become increasingly visually appealing, however, these graphic effects can have an impact on performance.The effects of effectsWindows 2000 and XP users can switch off some of these effects in order to get better performance from their PC. To do this, right-click on the desktop - away from any icons and select 'Properties'. This will open the 'Display Properties' dialog box. On this box select the 'Appearance tab'.Click on the 'Effects...' button, and the following dialog box will open. To increase performance make sure that 'Show shadows under menus' and 'Show windows contents while dragging' are not...

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Posted in: Faster Windows

Web 2.0 Workshop Tomorrow

I am just collecting myself tonight and doing some minor tweaks for my Web 2.0 Workshop to be held at the Middlesex ETTC, East Brunswick, New Jersey. I am really excited to be doing this presentation and have a lot of ground to cover. I understand that there will be a small group of teachers attending which will give me the opportunity to cover a lot of ground. During the workshop we will be covering RSS feeds, Social Bookmarking, Blogs, Wikis, and Web 2.0 applications. It should be really exciting wit lots of time to play in the Web 2.0 sandbox. I will let you know how it goes. One of my goals is to do the entire workshop using nothing but...

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Posted in: Middlesex ETTC,Web 2.0

Keyboard shortcut of the week: the great escape

The escape key (marked 'Esc' on most keyboards) has a number of functions, but probably it's most useful function is for closing dialog boxes (those small windows that open within a program, such as the 'Save as...' box) where it is the equivalent of pressing the 'Cancel' button or the close button in the top right hand corner - the equivalent of pressing the 'OK' button is the return key.Pressing the escape key also close menus, including the start menu, which can be opened using the windows key (the one with the Windows logo o...

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut

[TIPS] THIS is what you (might have) missed on Ted

http://blog.ted.com/2007/10/keeping_track_o.php   I've pointed to many different videos on Ted over the past year or so, but there have been many more available. I want you to take a look at the list on that page. Are you blown away by this collection of videos? Think what you'd have to pay to see them. The Ted conference - just for one conference - is over $6000, and that doesn't include rooms, etc. (I tried to verify that, but I couldn't find it on their site this AM)   The point is, share this wonderful resource with your friends. Have them subscribe to the blog. This is an excellent source for personal or profesional growth, IMHO.   ANd the Ted blog pointed me to this video: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224765.html?series=37 That shows how a...

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InspireData and Authentic Data

What better way to get students engaged in a project then by having them use authentic data. I was reading today's New Jersey Star Ledger and there were several articles about the crime statistics for the tri-county area where I live complete with tables of all the crimes reported by the New Jersey State Police for 2006. I found the data set to be very interesting and as I was looking at the data tables, it dawned on me that this would be great data to have students look at in InspireData. Students could create the data tables and spend some time looking at the trends to get a better handle on what types of crimes are occurring in each of the...

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Posted in: data analysis,inspiredata

[TIPS] learning networks

So, you think that schools and blogs don't mix? (NIMSD - Not In MY School District) Well, check out this page and THEN try to say it: http://www.arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/LEARNINGNETWORK/tabid/959/Default.aspxA couple things to think about. Notice the heading, their Learning Network. Right from the start you know that they 'get it.' Have you ever heard me say that my blogs are MY professional development? MY learning network? And check out the heading in the center section, "Join the Conversation." That's what it about - getting folks to engage in the conversation. Those with whom they converse become their learning network.Do you recall an earlier post I made about how a twitter post led me to a skypecast which led me to a uStream.tv broadcast? That's what a learning network does...

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[TIPS] eduism - 3d environment for whiteboards

http://www.edusim3d.com/ "The Edusim is a free & open source educational 3D interactive virtual environment built on open source Croquet (using Wisconsin Worlds) with resource packs being developed for the K-12 classroom by the Greenbush Education Service Center. The goal of the Edusim project is to provide a safe 3D interactive environment for classroom activities (interactive white boards, modeling, machinima, and MORE). " Watch the video. Looks pretty interesting. Thanks to Durff for sharing this with me via the for:jgates513 tag on delicious....

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Kurzweil 3000™ USB for Windows

Kurzweil Educational Systems announced today the release of Kurzweil 3000™ USB for Windows. With this release students can access all of the features of Kurzweil 3000 on any Windows computer by virtue of plugging in the device into a USB port. Kurzweil 3000™ USB for Windows is available in both the Professional and LearnStation versions. The Professional version also for the scanning of text while the LearnStation version provides all the features less the scanning capabilities. Here is a list of the features as noted on the Kurzweil 3000 website:Key Benefits of Kurzweil 3000 USB for Windows For Struggling Students Easily use Kurzweil...

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Posted in: assistive technology,kurzweil 3000,kurzweil 3000 USB,USB

[TIPS] hotchalk - NBC video footage and more

I don't know if this has gone around or not, but I first learned about it from Stephanie M, from IU9. Hotchalk (http://www.hotchalk.com) is a lot of things. But, I think the part that will attract the most attention is the access to thousands of NBC news footage files dating back decades. First, here's what the site says about itself: "At HotChalk, our mission is to improve the lives of teachers. Our community software makes it possible for teachers to work together, making lesson planning, assignment distribution, collection and grading easier than ever before. HotChalk puts students in charge of their grades by giving them the information they need to manage their academic responsibilities. HotChalk makes communicating with parents easy, turning teachers, students, and parents into high-performance...

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[TIPS] Google Earth Lessons

Many thanks to Anthony O'Neal for sharing this one with me. http://gelessons.com/ "GELessons.com - A Free Public Resource - Providing Teachers with the tools needed to enhance their instruction using Google Earth®, the free program that brings the world to the classroom! A Website By and For Teachers." This looks like one you're going to want to bookmark. Go to the Blog page (if you can see that when you're in school.. ::sigh::) and subscribe to that page to get the latest lessons delivered to your aggregator. ...

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[TIPS] k12onlineconference

Have you been tuning into the k12onlineconference.org site this week? I've sen several VERY good presentations so far. Here's the agenda: http://k12onlineconference.org/docs/k12online2007schedule.html I DO hope you'll bookmark that agenda and go back a couple times a week to check out the presentations. I've learned a LOT already from just the first two days. ...

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Toolbars gone AWOL

There is a bug in Windows XP that causes the toolbars in Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer (the thing that opens when you double-click on My Computer etc) to disappear.Doug Knox has written an excellent little program to fix this problem. Download it from his website he...

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Posted in: Freeware,Internet Explorer

XMIND 2008 for Macintosh Promotion

Mango Software for 1 day is having a special promotion on XMIND 2008 for Macintosh. XMIND 2008 is a full featured mind mapping application complete with templates to jump start the process. XMIND 2008 allows you to attach notes, files, hyperlinks, and audio files to your mindmaps. When you are finished with your mind map you can export it to Word,PowerPoint or as a PDF. Check it o...

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Posted in: Mango Software,mind mapping,XMIND_2008

Link to Bloody Computer!

If you wish to link to Bloody Computer!, copy the following code and paste it into your website's html file or add it to your blog. Please leave a comment if you need any help doing this.<a href="http://bloodycomputer.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh148/stepterix/bcsmall.jpg" border="0" /></a>The link will look like th...

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Posted in: Blogging