Screencast: How to begin editing your state webspace

Here is a brief (very brief), screencast, on how you can log in to your state provided webspace.



Note:  I don't go into much detail here on web editing here.  Just how to log in, and that type of thing.

When it comes to web editing, I would recommend "playing".  It's ok to experiment and work on new things and ideas.

Another helpful hint, is to look at other staff members pages, and if you see something you like....ask them how they did that?

And of course you can always ask me specific questions on "how to" do this, or that.

There is so many things that could be covered in a vast subject like this a 5 minute screenr video, won't even come close to scratching the surface.
(Note:  My son Cameron, just took a Semester Long online course on Web Editing...So he worked on building a web page for an entire semester.)
Here is what his page looks like:  http://ch3661.k12.sd.us/default.htm

I hope this short video at least helps a few of you "get started" and be able to start doing some basic work.

Some Interesting Reading - Malcolm Gladwell

Didn't get a Tuesday Technology Tips post out yesterday.

So heading into the Christmas break, I thought I'd recommend some reading material.

One thing you may or may not know about me, is that I am a very avid reader.

One of my favorite (nonfiction) authors is Malcolm Gladwell.

He has a new book that just came out a few weeks ago, called "David and Goliath:  Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants".

I haven't read it yet, but it is downloaded on my Kindle.

He's written some of my favorite non-fiction books, such as:

• Outliers: The Story of Success
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

If the thought of reading a whole book of someone you haven't read is intimidating... you can find samples of some of his work on his website.  Go to the "Articles" section...and check his archives.  Many of these articles are actually included in the books.

Have a great holiday season, and hope you read some Gladwell and expand your mind!

2013: The Year of Google?

According to Mashable.com it is.

Here is the Link to the article.

Tuesday Teacher Tip: LastPass

How many websites do you have to remember passwords for?

As a teacher, I would assume most of you would have:
State e-mail
Infinite Campus
SD STARS

at the very minimum.

Of course then you have(possibly):

•  your personal e-mail accounts (google, yahoo, microsoft....etc, etc) 
•  online banking account information 
• Social Networking accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)
• Paypal account
• Youtube
• Photosharing sites
• Shopping sites (amazon, ebay, etc...)
• Fantasy Football or baseball 

Well, then you need to have a password for each of those accounts.  AND, although most people do it...you should NOT have duplicate passwords (using the same password for everything).

You should have an original and creative password for every account you have.

But who can remember 10-20 separate, original, unique passwords?

This is where LastPass comes in.

LastPass is an online Password Manager that basically stores all your passwords for all your websites.

For more information how it works:  Read this LINK

I think a key point to remember here, is that LastPass uses encryption technology on your local computer, so that even they won't know what your password is.  It's encrypted before it's sent out to them.

If you are wondering if a program like this is right for you... consider this information I "snipped" from their webpage.

The frightening part there for me, is that it only takes about 3 minutes to crack the average password.  

-However, don't get too worried about that...remember that MOST people have simple and easy passwords to hack, like: their last name, their maiden name, their kids name, the word "password"....by simply using capital letters, and adding a number...you strengthen your password greatly.

What a site like LastPass can do is actually pretty impressive.

1. It remembers your passwords, so all you need to remember is ONE Password, to log in to LastPass.
2. It allows you to "strengthen" all your passwords!  No more using the same thing for multiple sites!  You can make ALL your passwords, difficult and strong.
3. LastPass has settings that will allow you to use different accounts for the same site...for Example, Infinite Campus.  Many people have Staff logins for Campus, but also parent logins for Parent Portal.  LastPass
4. LastPass will allow you to "automatically" log in to certain sites...so once you log in to your LastPass account...you click on a link to go somewhere, and it will automatically log you in, if you have chosen to do so.

LastPass is available for free.  Why?  Well, they offer use of a "premium" package, which offers more features, and better protection, and "unlimited" use of their mobile apps.  (Yep, they will protect your phone too, if you are willing to pay).

LastPass looks like an interesting product, and definitely something that the average computer user should look into using.

Hope this is something that can be used, and also, hope this is something that you can spread to other people...who couldn't use a bit more security in their "online presence"?

Today's Music Video:  Though I'd reach back to my college days, and break out a little Social Distortion.

Have a great week everyone!

Technology Tips: Shut down your computer!

Today's Technology Tips comes to you for all users...not just Teachers...but students Too!

One of the common questions people ask with their computers...do I need to shut down?

-Because of hibernate commands and stand by modes... people think they don't need to turn their computer off.

However, please read this:

From a software perspective, an operating system and the programs you run on it tend to accumulate all sorts of cruft over extended periods of use – temporary files, disk caches, page files, open file descriptors, pipes, sockets, zombie processes, memory leaks, etc. etc. etc. All that stuff can slow down the computer, but it all goes away when you shut down or restart the system. So shutting down your computer every once in a while – and I do mean actually shutting down, not just hibernating or putting it to sleep – can give it a “fresh start” of sorts and make it seem nice and zippy again.

However, different computers and OS’s are not all equally affected by this phenomenon. Generally, a computer with a lot of RAM can go for much longer than a computer with only a little RAM. A server, on which you just start up a few programs and then let them work, will be fine for much longer than a desktop computer, where you’re constantly opening and closing different programs and doing different things with them. Plus, server operating systems are optimized for long-term use. It’s also been said that Linux and Mac OS tend to run for longer than Windows systems, although in my experience that mostly depends on what programs you use on them, and not so much on any differences between the kernels of the operating systems themselves.

That came from an article LINKED HERE.

Think of it this way...computers are nothing but machinery.  All machinery breaks down eventually.  If you run something continually, all the time, never shutting it off, you are shortening it's useful lifespan.

In addition, with Windows computers (like our school machines)...Microsoft often releases updates that are installed when the computer shuts down.

Also, for student machines...the large majority of students take their netbooks home every day.  The computer should be shut off during this travel time.  If it is on, the hard drive...which is a physical piece of machinery, is still running.  

This is what a Hard Drive looks like.

I can't tell you how many student machines are brought to me to work on that are not powered off.  Even last summer, when I went to install new programs on all the existing machines... over half of the students machines were not shut off.

So, do yourself a favor, and give your computer a break...it'll appreciate it.  At the end of the day...Shut Down!

Awesome Picture!

Awesome Picture from Google Plus today!

This was originally posted by

Harold little

Whenever I make a blog post, it goes onto Google Plus, so I usually look on there, when I that happens.

This picture is amazing!

Have a great day!

Tuesday Teacher Tips: Thinglink

First of all congratulations to both the Elkton-LB Football and Volleyball teams.

Both had great regular seasons, and enjoyed a post season victory before their seasons ended.  Each team should be proud of the way they played, and the way that they represented our community.

With the end of the fall season sports:  CC, VB, FB...that means we will begin the winter sports season...which means BB.

I have been working with the 5th graders for a few weeks now.  Coach Erickson started some of his open gyms yesterday, and the Girls BB team will have their first open gyms of the year tonight.  Let's hope the determination and success of the fall sports rub off on our basketball teams!

On to today's subject:  Thinglink

What is Thinglink.com?  Well, for the answer to that...let's see what the actual website says about that.

"ThingLink helps you create and discover rich images.

Be creative! Make your images come alive with music, video, text, images, shops and more!

Every image contains a story and ThingLink helps you tell your stories. Follow image channels from your favorite bands, bloggers and friends. Your ThingLink interactive images form a channel that other users can follow.

Share your channel with friends on Facebook and Twitter, and follow your friends. Touch and discover."

So basically, it is a way to make pictures and graphics interactive!

Could be a very interesting way to make assignments/projects "come to life".

For example...here is a photo of the Wright Brothers that was posted on the Thinglink website.

As you can see (if the embed code worked in the blog), this picture has an audio clip attached to it, a video clip, and 3 text information boxes as well.

Much like previous subjects we covered like:  Instagrok, Simple Booklet, and Screenr... Thinglink is a web based application that you can use to "spice up" your assignments/projects and get your students creativity flowing!

As always... Thinglink, as well as the other sites mentioned here, are saved on my "Delicious" Social Bookmark.  You don't need to bookmark all of them (unless you really want to)...just bookmark my Delicious page.  

(An aside...a great way for you to keep all the links handy for all your classes in to create your own "Delicious" page...and then make your students save the link to your page in their favorites...that way they can always find the site you are pointing them to)

ONE LAST ANNOUNCEMENT:

I will be out of the office Thursday and Friday this week.  My wife is attending a training in Rapid City and I will be taking some vacation time (before basketball starts).  So, for Elkton Staff, I will be gone Wednesday to Lake Benton like usual, but will be out of the office for the rest of the week.

Thanks for your attention, and I hope some of you decide to give "Thinglink" a shot!