Blogging Tech

Interesting Tech Stuff

2009-07-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

In my daily tech travels, I visit a handful of websites for tips, tricks and information. One of my favorites is:

http://www.makeuseof.com/

This website has tricks for just about anything from promoting your blog and website to getting free stuff.

It's a great website with "Cool Websites and Tools" that is posted each day. You can even get updates from them on Twitter.

James

Automated Answering Services....

2009-05-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

Most people I speak with absolutely hate getting "the machine" instead of a real person when they call a 800 phone number. Someone got annoyed enough to create a website dedicated to help people get around those systems. Gethuman.com is a site that has most major companies listed and the best way to beat the phone system so you can talk to a real person.

James

Ah how times flies....

2009-05-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since my last post, so I figure that this one better be good. If you are like me, you have been very skeptical about Microsoft Vista. As a matter of fact, I only started using Vista on my main computer at work a couple of months ago. I wasn't overly impressed with Vista, seemed slow and for the most part, it really didn't add any value to my daily activities.

Microsoft has seemed to admit that Vista hasn't gone well for them. So much so that Microsoft is busy developing it's new operation system (Windows 7) to replace Vista. Rumors are that Windows 7 will be out before the end of the year.

If you want to get an early look at Windows 7, you can download and install the "Release Candidate (RC)." The Windows 7 RC is a unpolished, FREE, download that you can install on your own computer and begin using. There are some considerations though. The RC is not a finished product and issues/problems are likely to pop up. Not a lot of software or hardware manufacturers have gotten their products up to speed with Windows 7 RC either (though that is changing quickly). Also in June 2010, Windows 7 RC will expire and you will have to buy the full version to continue using it on your computer.

I went ahead and grabbed the RC and installed it on the work computer and I must say that it does run better than Vista (that computer seems faster for the most part). The install was easy. I have run into some issues with my video card and the RC but I'm working through those. At this point, I can say that I'm looking forward to Windows 7 once it is released commercially.

James

Lisbon High School SADD PSAs

2009-03-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

The Lisbon High School chapter of SADD has produced some great Public Service Announcements that are currently being shown on tv. You can view the videos at:

http://www.youtube.com/lisbonschools

James

Google Voice

2009-03-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Google recently announced a new service, Google Voice, that Google feels will help make your life more manageable. How many different phone #'s do have, how about voicemail boxes?

"Google Voice is a service that gives you one number for all your phones, voicemail that is easy as email, and many enhanced calling features like call blocking and screening, voicemail transcripts, call conferencing, international calls, and more." - Google.com

So you get one phone # to manage your office #, home #, cell phone and voicemail. Interesting.

James

More online tools

2009-03-06T04:29:00.000-08:00

My last post introduced you to Skydrive (a free online tool for storing and sharing) files, pictures, etc. To continue with this theme, I want to look at some more online tools. These days, more and more tasks can be accomplished via web tools/services. It is becoming easier to create, store, and share information via the web. The major advantage of this is that the computer is becoming less ... necessary. As long as you can get on the internet, you can do a lot of what you need regardless of what computer you are using.

Today, I want to look at Google docs. Like Skydrive, you can store docs at google docs, but unlike Skydrive, you can create new docs/spreadsheets/presentations or edit existing ones. Google docs also allows you to share the files so people can view them or even help edit them. Again, this reduces the need to work at the same computer to create files or even to carry your documents with you. Even if you use Google docs for some personal tasks, it is worth taking the time to look at it and try it out.

James

Reach for the sky......

2009-03-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

Pcworld.com has an article today about 5 great web services that Microsoft make available to you (but you may not know about). I read the article and decided to try out Skydrive. Let me tell you that it is pretty good at first glance. You have 25 Gigabytes of space to work with (and trust me that's a lot by web standards). You can store docs, files, favorites, photos and choose to make them public or private. Best of all, it's free to use.

It's definitely worth a look. SkyDrive

James

Online Safety

2009-02-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Wired.com is running an article on how the Internet is being used to lure children into prostitution. An interesting discussion is touched upon in the article. A recent Harvard study found the the dangers to children on the Internet has been over blown. I would encourage you to read the Wired article and Executive Summary from the Harvard study so you can draw your own conclusions.

James

Netbooks (continued)

2009-02-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of energy around the arrival of netbooks and they are selling like hotcakes. I wanted to post this article (from PCWorld.com) that contains more info and reviews on netbooks.

Netbooks

James

PS. Just this morning Wired.com has an article about Netbooks.

Netbook

2009-02-24T06:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a while (a LONG while) since I last blogged but it's time for me to catch back up. I have been busy demo-ing a ACER Aspire One Netbook. The basic concept of a Netbook is a tiny, no frills laptop that is very inexpensive. I will tell you that I'm very impressed with this netbook. The Netbook is best suited for document creation (MS Office or OpenOffice), Internet Research, Email, and a presentation platform. You wouldn't want a netbook if you were going to do things like high end gaming or video production. Other that that type of computer/resource intensive work, these netbooks are great. The average around $300 to $400. To take a closer look, go to:

http://www.acer.com/aspireone/

James "Computer G33k" Churchill

Build your own Vocab Quiz

2008-03-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is get a person to study. For some, staring at a book or notes just won't work. Flashcards can be helpful, but what if you could create a vocab quiz online and share it amongst students and staff? Well, you can.

http://quizlet.com/

On this site, all you have to do is create a user (takes about 30 seconds), create a set (adding as much info as you want) and then take the quiz and see how you do.

This is another example of how technology can be used to reach the students that don't necessarily excel in the traditional methods of learning.

James

Be your own tv station

2008-03-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was told about a website where you can save videos and create a tv station of your own.
Visit http://www.worldtv.com to see it in action. To see some of the videos that I'm using go to:

http://worldtv.com/blogging_tech/

I will be adding videos as I go. For now, it will start with Did You Know v. 2.0 (http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html). You can click the "next" or "previous" buttons to flip through the three videos that I have loaded so far.

One of the huge advantages of this is that a person (student, teacher, parent, etc.) can add dozens of videos to their "station," order the videos as they see fit and them have them to present as needed (or to be viewed at one's leisure). This is a truly innovative way to store and share videos. Check it out.

http://www.worldtv.com

James

Storing data online

2008-02-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

One of the innovative set of tools to arrive in the last couple of years is online data storage and online applications. One of the major players in this movement is Google. Google started as a simple search engine (only a few years ago) and now has a enormous presence on the web. Google now offers a variety of online applications that can be accessed from anywhere with nearly any device that is connected to the web. For instance, you can go to Google, setup a user and get a Gmail account (email), and use Google docs to created and edit documents, spreadsheets and digital presentations. Also Google also offers a online calendar, Google reader and the ability to personalize the Google.com page to your wishes. Google has other offerings on top of those for the web surfer.

Google
http://www.google.com

To try iGoogle
http://www.google.com/ig?hl=en&source=iglk

The bigger picture with all of this is that many different groups, companies and websites are beginning to offer services in this manner. The idea is simple, if your data and applications to access that data is online, then it doesn't matter where you are or what device that you use to access it. With the Internet becoming ever more ubiquitous the ability to access data from everywhere is going to come to the forefront.

When you tie this into the proliferation of cell phones, the possibilities to have your office with you where ever you go is very achievable.

James

University of New Hampshire Study on Online Predators

2008-02-25T06:06:00.000-08:00

The University of New Hampshire release a study that calls into question many of the perceptions of how online predators behave while using sites like MySpace or FaceBook.

The study can be found at:

http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp632111.pdf

A couple of notes from the study are:

Internet offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes studied by researchers.
Nearly 75 percent of victims who met offenders face-to-face did so more than once.
Online sex offenders are seldom violent, and cases involving stalking or abduction are very rare.

The study does not dismiss the concerns that we all have about these types of sites, but works to help us better understand the risks.

James

NSBA on Social Networking Sites

2008-02-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

The National School Board Association recently released a study that calls into question how dangerous that social networking sites really are.

http://www.nsba.org/SecondaryMenu/TLN/CreatingandConnecting.aspx

The study found that there are only a very few reported incidents of cyberstalking or cyberbullying. Furthermore, the NSBA goes on to encourage school districts to use Social Network sites as another tool in for teaching a learning.

James

New Language -- TEXTING

2008-02-12T04:44:00.000-08:00

We are constantly bombarded by commercials for cell phones that offer nearly free and unlimited texting. Many commercials show kids and young adults busy punching the keys on their phones to communicate.....I can remember when you used a phone to just talk to someone....I guess I'm just getting obsolete. :)

What exactly are those kids in the commercials doing anyway... They are "texting" their friends, family, etc. To understand what texting is, you need to first know that texting is a new language in and of itself and our kids are fluent in this language.

Texting simply is a method to communicate where common phrases and words are replaced with a ever complex and growing list of acronyms and abbreviations. Now that I have you COMPLETELY lost, here's an example:

Instead of writing something like "That was funny," the text language might be LOL (short for Laughing Out Loud). Another common one is IMHO or "In My Humble Opinion."

Generally, this developed as a way to send a quick note and now is a robust language that most kids and young adults are VERY adept at using. To see some of the common phrases in texting, visit:

Webopedia
Texting Quick Reference Guide

As a side note, in texting:

POS means Parents Over Shoulder
P911 means Parents Coming into Room alert
PAW means Parents Are Watching

Regardless of its use, texting is here to stay for now. It's a good idea to become familiar with it and gain a basic understanding of some of the language.

James

Web 2.0

2008-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

One of the new terms in the Internet world is Web 2.0. So what is Web 2.o? The easiest way to think of Web 2.0 is to look at it as the next step in the Internet's/Websites' evolution. In the past, websites were fairly one dimensional in the sense that the content was controlled by the person in charge of the site. With Web 2.o, websites are much more interactive and collaborative. The idea being that the owner can post information to webpage and others can come in and contribute to it.

As examples of Web 2.o sites/applications, one only has to look at this site itself. A blog is considered a Web 2.0 site. Wikispaces, mashups, blogs, etc. are all considered a Web 2.0 application/site because Internet users can contribute to it and help add value to the site. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, Youtube, and Linkedin are all major players as Web 2.o sites.

To read more about Web 2.o (including some of the really geeky stuff), try the following links:

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2

O'Reilly
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

James

Setting up a wireless network

2008-02-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

One of the common questions that I get is how can someone install a wireless network at their home and keep it secure. The concept of securing a home wireless network is an excellent one. It is common for someone to purchase a Wireless Access Point (WAP) or wireless router and plug it in, place it on a shelf and never think about it again. The problem is that the access point (typically) comes with NO security enabled. This makes it easy to install and access....for anyone who can pick up the signal.

The problem is not only can someone potentially monkey around with your network and computers (by accessing your unsecured wireless network), they can also use your network to commit less than legal acts (downloading and uploading copyrighted materials, hacking, etc.). The solution is to secure your network.

If you go to any search engine (like www.google.com), you can run a search for "Secure a Home Wireless Network" and you will get a lot of great articles about how to do this in a general sense. You will also need to consult the manual that came with your wireless router or WAP, each unit is a little different and needs to be configured differently (but, I find that they are fairly easy to configure).

The general tips that I have are:

1. Change the default admin password used to access and configure the WAP (your documentation will tell you what the password is). If you don't do this, anyone can access your WAP and change whatever settings they want and potentially lock you out of your own network.

2. Change the SSID (broadcast name)

3. Enable WPA (or at least WEP, but WPA is much better), this will add a password (that you will set) to your network so people won't be able to access the network without it.

4. Change the channel that WAP will use (if possible). A larger number of WAPs will use channel 6 by default. I usually try to change this to 1 or 11 depending on the number of access points around me (this is more of a geeky thing).

Should you run into a problem where you secure your WAP and down the road forget the password or you can't access it, your documentation will have instructions on how to reset it to the original configuration when you first got it. From there you can reconfigure it, plus most companies that manufacture these have a tech help line that you can call to get help setting a WAP up.

James

MySpace, Facebook and Social Network sites

2008-01-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Barely a week goes by without hearing some story about kids getting into trouble while using sites like FaceBook, MySpace, Youtube, or other social networking sites. Keeping our kids safe online is a huge undertaking and it takes constant vigilance. To help, I am compiling a list of sites dedicated to helping keep your children safe while that are online. One of the major challenges, many parents face is to understand the sites and tools that their children use. I would encourage to view the links below to begin to understand what MySpace, FaceBook and other site offer.

What is social networking websites?
http://onguardonline.gov/socialnetworking.html

Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec13.shtm

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
http://www.netsmartz.org/

Working to Halt Online Abuse
http://www.jahitchcock.com/

As I find more resources, I will post them.

"Growing Up Online"

2008-01-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

Frontline (PBS) just did a fantastic program on kids nowadays and how using the Internet is a very integral part of their lives. It is worth viewing. If you click on the link below and then on the "Watch The Full Program Online" link, you can view the program on your computer.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

This program really just begins to scratch at the surface of how kids use the Internet in their daily lives. As importantly, it also raise some interesting discussion points about how our jobs/activities change in relation to the kids use of technology.

James

Welcome

2008-01-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

With any luck, I will be able to update this often. I will be using this blog to share important information about technololgy in education. I would encourage you to view the "Did You Know" videos on the www.union30.org/technology page. I believe these are great places to start as we work to address the challenges that face education.

James