Tuesday Teacher Tips: Websites and return of the podcasts!

In December, Mr. Erickson, Mrs. Neill, and I, were able to attend a workshop in Sioux Falls hosted by TIE which went over a number of devices and mobile apps that can be used on them.

While there...one of the instructors gave us a link to a google doc page where she had listed over 200 websites (and/or apps) that can be used on mobile devices.

The Link to that spreadsheet is HERE.  My advice would be to look through the list when you are thinking of trying to do something new.  There are many sites on there...some I have discussed here before, and many others that I haven't even heard of.

Secondly, I plan to begin recording some more podcasts in the coming weeks.  The main reason that I stopped, is that the phone that I was using to record the interviews had died (it would no longer charge), and I had a replacement phone that did not have a voice recording option on it.  I recently acquired a different phone that has a voice recorder...so we can pick up where we left off.

So, if you know someone with a coming event, or you have a team or organization that you would like to discuss on the podcast, please let me know.  They are very simple to do, and it does not take a large amount of time.

If you want to listen to any of the previous episodes from this past fall, they are located on the "Podcast Central" page.

Thanks for reading, and check out that spreadsheet...there are alot of good resources on there!

Changing Wireless Access Points

I am changing the wireless access points for the school today.

Formerly the wireless network had been named "elktonschool" and all wireless devices should connect to that automatically.

The "NEW" Wireless network is called "GoBigBlue", and will have a new and different wireless access code.

THIS WILL REQUIRE ALL WIRELESS DEVICES TO CONNECT WITH THE NEW ACCESS CODE.

So, Monday the 6th, I will need to enter the NEW access code into all student and teacher machines that haven't gotten it, yet.
(I WILL DO THIS FOR ALL MACHINES IN THE BUILDING TODAY)

So, I will need to see all students on Monday to enter the code.  Luckily, this will not take long...only about a minute to enter the new access code under "GoBigBlue".  I may even go around and visit classrooms at the beginning of the day.

We are asking that only SCHOOL OWNED devices connect to the school's wireless.  I know there are several staff members who connect their cell phones and ipads and other personal devices to the wireless networks currently.  We will NOT connect personal devices to the school wireless from this point on.

One of the bandwidth issues we faced during the Standardized testing this fall, was that our wireless network was strained by the amount of machines accessing it.  By limiting these 10, 20, 30? extraneous devices...we will lessen the load on our wireless system.  (Also, there is a chance that some students had access on their phones, or ipads).

If it is a school owned iPad, or something like that...there is no problem.

Thank you for your patience and help!

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!