The Very Skills She Needs She Doesn't Have

My cousin's daughter, now a sophomore at PITT is a nursing student. Her schedule is grueling, to say the least. How grueling? Last week she called her father at 5:30 AM, while riding the bus to the hospital for her clinicals, to ask him to look something up on the computer for her. No, she doesn't have a smart phone and yes, she needs one. But, a data plan is simply out of the question, at this point.I asked if she was in some sort of study group. No, she's not. I asked if there was any sort of online forum where the nursing students could post questions and share their learning and the articles they find, etc. No, there's not. And no, nobody knows what a PLC or PLN is, let alone how to even begin to form one. The very skills that she needs to be successful in the "real world" are the very...

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Moodle free tutorials! Learn from 55 easy Moodle tutorials! Screencast tutorials for Moodle tags: moodle tutorials Google Moderator I keep forgetting about this tool for getting audience input. * Let your audience decide Get to know your audience by letting them decide which questions, suggestions or ideas interest them most. * Everyone's voice is heard The voting box at the top of page focuses attention on submissions recently added and on the rise, making it simple and easy to participate. * Be creative Include people in your preparation for lectures, interviews and hard decisions...

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Tips for searching using Google

The Google search engine syntax offers a number of options for getting better results. You can search for a specific phrase, search only on a particular site, or exclude pages with certain words. You can use the advanced search page to make use of these or you can use these simple rules of syntax in the normal search field or on Google Toolbar.To search for a specific phraseSimply put the words in quotation marks. For example, "Lady Gaga"To search on a particular siteType in the keywords that you wish to sort with 'site:' followed by the address of the web pages that you wish to search. For example, if you wished to search this blog for the word...

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Posted in: Websites

Amazon Upgrades Kindle to System 3.1

For educators who are using the Kindle's in the classroom you will be glad to learn that Amazon has just upgraded the System Software to Version 3.1. With this upgrade you will get the most asked for feature, true page numbering that matches the printed version. This is a god send and one that I know academicians will enjoy as well when they need to create a citation. There is a lot more in this upgrade but having true page numbering that matches the printed text is really great. To get started with the the Upgrade click on this link which will take you to the Amazon page. Please note that if you prefer you can also upgrade your Kindle over the...

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Posted in: amazon,Kindle

Turning 10th Graders Into Readers

This email came through on our listserv today and I wanted to share it. I asked Kathy Fiedler, the author of this post, if I could share it with you. She's my first guest blogger! She's the Instructional Technology Specialist at Northwestern Lehigh School District in PA.I'll let this speak for itself. Personally, I think it's pretty darned cool!----I have been thinking a lot about an experience I had this past week with one HS librarian, a 10th grade English teacher, and some run-of-the-mill 10th grade students.For the most part, they are not very motivated readers.  The librarian was trying to convince the teacher that bringing the students to the library on a regular basis would be a good experience for her students.  While the teacher agreed in principle, she was worried that...

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Wireless Printing Takes to New Heights with the HP Photosmart D110

Today I went out to Staples during their Presidents' Sale and purchased a HP PhotoSmart D110 printer for $59.98- not bad considering that when I went to buy replacement ink cartridges for a much older HP PhotoSmart printer that I had, the new printer cost less! In any case, I decided to buy the new HP printer to  accomplish a couple of goals; one to be able to print from my laptop wirelessly, two, be able to print from my iPad, and three to be able to print from the web. When I purchased the HP PhotoSmart D110 printer, I accomplished all of my goals in one fell swoop. Not bad for a rather inexpensive printer! Within minutes I had configured...

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Posted in: Apple iPad,eprinting,hp,HP Photosmart D110,iPad,staples

I'm asking the wrong question about Prezi

I STILL can't tolerate a Prezi presentation. Recently, I had to endure two of them. I've already mentioned why I don't like Prezi, but perhaps I'm going about it all wrong. Perhaps I should be asking a different question. So here it is:"Why do you like Prezi?""If you mentioned that you liked the animations, then I'll ask this: How do those animations enhance the point you're trying to make?""How are those animations different from the typical animations in PowerPoint?" (No, I don't mean that these twist and zoom, I mean, a gratuitous animation in Prezi is no better than a gratuitous animation in PowerPoint, yes? Or am I wrong. Just because you can animate something doesn't mean that it SHOULD be animated, right? Or am I wrong?I don't mean to beat this dead horse, (ok, maybe I do) but I HAVE...

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Arab Democracy Reference and Live Feeds - Home / Map Correction - THIS is what Steve Hargadon sent out tags: democracy YouTube - citizentube's Channel Videos of the revolutions happening in the world. Preview (always) before showing to students tags: youtube citizentube Google Public Data Explorer Shared on Twitter: Students, journalists, policy makers and everyone else can play with the tool to create visualizations of public data, link to them, or embed them in their own webpages. Embedded charts and...

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It's not that they don't want to do the work, necessarily

During my session at PETE&C this year, we were talking about Forums and how great they are as a tool for teachers. I told of how students respond to forums. I mentioned that teachers often find that students are posting to the forum discussions in the wee hours of the morning. When you ask them why they were up at 3:00 in the morning, they will often say something like, "Someone texted me." WHA..??? Why are THEY up at 3:00 in the AM? But, the point is that I really believe that for many students it's not that they don't want to do your work. It's that they don't want to do your work when YOU want them to. Not all, certainly, but for some I believe that to be the case. They must get done with their own social life which is a much higher priority, isn't it? At 14 you're still exploring your...

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Building a safe, caring, fun School

At this week's PETE&C conference we were treated with Mr Bill Strickland as the keynote speaker on our last day. If you don't know who he is, check out this video (start at about the 5 minute mark) of his talk. It's pretty darned close to what he said to us, as well.One point, among many, that he made was that when you build (schools that look like) prisons the students will act like prisoners. I hadn't thought about that much in those terms, but someone at lunch pointed out that a local tech school must have heard that phrase and kept it to heart when they built their tech school. It's open, modern, and comfortable, and I really see that the students appreciate that.But thats not the reason I write this. I just read this post by Karl Fisch in which he embedded a youtube video...

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CS Odessa Announces ConceptDraw MindWave Integrates With SAP® StreamWork™

CS Odessa Announces ConceptDraw MindWave Integrates With SAP® StreamWork™Through Integration, ConceptDraw MindWave 3.0 Allows Teams to VisualizeThe Process of Collaborative Decision MakingSAN JOSE, Calif., February 16, 2011 – CS Odessa today announced that its popular ConceptDraw MindWave, a cloud-based mind-mapping application, is available within the SAP® StreamWork™ application. ConceptDraw MindWave version 3.0 is the newest release of CS Odessa’s proven web-based mind-mapping tool, which has been adopted by individuals and organizations around the world. ConceptDraw MindWave can use both cloud- and desktop-based information to generate mind...

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Posted in: collaboration,ConceptDraw MindMap,ConceptDraw Mindwave,CS Odessa,SAP Streamwork

Link to Bloody Computer!

Even though I redesigned this blog some time ago, I still only offered my old link image rather than use the nice new one that my brother designed for me. I have decided that I should make available some new code for anyone who wished to link to this blog.Simply paste the following code onto your blog or other website. If you need any help, or advice with this then please leave a comment.<a href="http://bloodycomputer.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh148/stepterix/bcsign.png" border="0" /></a>The link will look like this:If you wish to use the old 'ransom note' style image click he...

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Posted in: Blogging,Websites

MindView 4 from Matchware- Quick Thoughts About the Upgrade

Over the past couple of weeks I have had a chance to review a number of software applications that have recently been released. All of the applications have represented a major commitment from the developers to release these upgraded products to give the user a better experience when using their product. If there is a trend that I see in the world of software, it is that rather than the developers adding a host of new features they really have spent the time on refinements in the user interface and the ease of use. Many of the companies are spending their efforts to really understand their user base and to  include only features that make...

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Posted in: Adobe,collaboration PDF,Matchware,mind mapping,MindView 3,mindview 4,project managment

I Want that list!!

I just talked to a district administrator who had just gone through a tech audit. They passed, but one site "on their list" wasn't blocked. The tech person blocked it and life went on. I said, "What else was on that list?""Oh, she wouldn't let us see it."THAT'S when you heard me scream!I've asked this before, but seriously, WHY IS THAT LIST A SECRET??? Think about how many sites are blocked now that might not have to be if we only knew what was on that list!Businesses, I've read, will create an offshoot company whose sole purpose is to, as it was described, "Sink the mother ship." Tell us where our weaknesses are. Where are we vulnerable? What are we doing that is keeping us from being the best we can be? If we did that in education they would have NO shortage of areas to point to as things...

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YouTube - MLK Encourages Egyptian Protesters " MLK Encourages Egyptian Protesters " This is POWERFUL!tags: mlk egypt YouTube - Egyptian Revolution 2011 COMPLETE. World MUST MUST watch this. Freedom for All! A POWERFUL video montage of the revolution in Egypt. "Fear has been conquered. There is no turning back." I DO hope your social studies teachers know how to follow this in real time.tags: youtube revolution Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are he...

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Using the Typewriter Tool in Adobe Acrobat X

For a long time now I have been using Adobe Acrobat as an access tool for students that need to access their worksheets on the computer. Using a scanner teachers can scan worksheets into the computer and using either the Forms Tool or Typewriter Tool students can type their answers right on the screen. One of the really handy tools in Adobe Acrobat X is the Typewriter tool but with the advent of the new version Adobe has moved the tool and so in this video you will see how you can find it and add it to the Toolbar for quick acce...

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Posted in: Adobe Acrobat,Adobe Acrobat X

Adobe Acrobat X & Adobe SendNow Perfect Together

One of the really nice features of Adobe Acrobat X is the integration of Adobe SendNow service. Adobe SendNow is a subscription based service that can right within Adobe Acrobat X send your PDF files as a link for your recipients to pick up and download. Adobe SendNow subscription services starts at $9.99 a month and there is a free trial period for you to try it out. If you tend to create large PDF files this is the perfect service for you. Now you can be rest assured that your recipients will receive your documents without the worry of  maxing out their email inbox.Just today I received a call from a school that I will be providing some...

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Posted in: Adobe,Adobe Acrobat,Adobe SendNow,brian s. friedlander

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assertTrue( ): Google uses more electricity than most countries on earth Could these numbers be accurate for Google's electricity use? Kinda makes me feel guilty doing a search.This is a good science lesson and even a math lesson, don't you think? DocsTeach Turn your students into historians with primary-source based activities that develop historical thinking skills. Activities are ready to use in your classroom. Or alter an existing activity to fit your unique needs. Exchange primary source documents and modify activity instructions. Log in to borrow from an even larger selection from fellow educators. tags: history primary...

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