You don't ever hear people say that...Thank God it's Monday! But now you have a reason to actually LIKE that long despised and neglected day of the week by putting a little Google in your Mondays! Here at the IC department we call Mondays Google Mondays because that is when we offer our popular Google courses. You can learn how to better use your Google Calendars and email, build your own Google Site, work with Google Docs and learn how to make Google Forms. Click here to access the IC Training Schedule and sign up today for a Google class. After all now that Google has bought up IBM, Apple and the Chrysler Motor Company...ok I made that part up although it could be just a matter of time... anyway make sure to sign up for a Google class today.
Friday, 30 March 2012
In one of last weeks blogs I mention a wonderful app called Onlive Desktop available from the Apple Store for free. This app actually adds MS Word, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint to your Ipad in a real neat Windows looking setup.
Another app to look into is Dragon Dictation, again free to download. This is a voice recognition program that gives you the ability to speak that term paper instead of type it. The program types it for you! Granted you most likely will have to go back and tweak a word or two but overall it works pretty good! Download Dragon Dictation today from the app store.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
On your toolbar at the bottom of your Mac you will see the following icon.
This is the Self-Service application. You may hear it referred to as Self-Service. You may hear it referred to as Casper. You say tomato ...I say to-mot-toe. It's the same app...SU's Self-Service application which allows you to load iLife, Adobe Reader, Google Chrome, the latest version of MS Office, Skype and many other useful programs onto your Mac laptop without having to make a trip down to the help desk.
Simply click the Self-Service icon, enter your username and password and then it’s just a matter of clicking the install button found in the icon for the program you wish to install.
However please note that software
Need help? There is a very informative presentation found by clicking the Getting Started button on the upper left.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
I just received an email from the online learning company lynda.com that for a limited time they are offering a full course called Photoshop CS6 Beta Preview. 1st go to adobe.com and download the free trial and tyhen head on over to lynda.com and scroll down and click the Photoshop banner at the bottom and you should be ALL set. I have worked with Photoshop for years and years so if you have any question contact me and I'll help you out!
We all know that a Word document is a .doc or .docx and Powerpoint is a .ppt Listed below are some common extensions you probably hear daily but perhaps didn't know what they stood for.
.JPEG (.JPG) stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEGs manage to capture wonderfully detailed images in millions of colors in minimal space thus making them the format of choice for photographic images.
MP3 . We ALL know what these ARE but the extension comes from a video codec MPEG which stands for Motion Picture Experts Group. In short you can think of an MP3 as the 'audio' part of an MP4 video.
WAVEFORM (.wav) This can be a very high quality (thus very large) audio file. (compress one to get a less quality MP3 format)
MIDI (.MID) Musical Instrument Digital Interface .Now we are right up my alley. As a songwriter and composer I have worked with MIDI since it's inception in the early 80's. (man, I'm old) In the simplest form you can think of a MIDI file as one of those old Player Piano rolls except the Midi 'plays' software and hardware synths and sound modules. In the beginning this type of file worked on a "Note On " Note Off" basis. MIDI has improved over the years to include many types of controls.
GIF stands for General Image Format file It is a representation of an image or simple animation. The format was created by Compuserve and is copyrighted. And as mentioned in an earlier blog the CREATOR pronounces it Jif like the peanut butter but these days both Gif and Jif are acceptable pronunciations.
.JPEG (.JPG) stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEGs manage to capture wonderfully detailed images in millions of colors in minimal space thus making them the format of choice for photographic images.
MP3 . We ALL know what these ARE but the extension comes from a video codec MPEG which stands for Motion Picture Experts Group. In short you can think of an MP3 as the 'audio' part of an MP4 video.
WAVEFORM (.wav) This can be a very high quality (thus very large) audio file. (compress one to get a less quality MP3 format)
MIDI (.MID) Musical Instrument Digital Interface .Now we are right up my alley. As a songwriter and composer I have worked with MIDI since it's inception in the early 80's. (man, I'm old) In the simplest form you can think of a MIDI file as one of those old Player Piano rolls except the Midi 'plays' software and hardware synths and sound modules. In the beginning this type of file worked on a "Note On " Note Off" basis. MIDI has improved over the years to include many types of controls.
GIF stands for General Image Format file It is a representation of an image or simple animation. The format was created by Compuserve and is copyrighted. And as mentioned in an earlier blog the CREATOR pronounces it Jif like the peanut butter but these days both Gif and Jif are acceptable pronunciations.
Remember to attend one of the SGA Executive Board Information Sessions for students interested in learning more about the Student Government Association, its executive officer positions, campaigning rules and election schedule. Students should attend one of two sessions – 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. or 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. – in the Borden Student Associations Center (BSC Room 123). Contact sga@su.edu
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Ok today's blog actually comes from my years and years as a multimedia person specializing in graphics and presentations...and the fact that last evening I sat CRINGING during a powerpoint presentation at our local church. Anyway there are a few presentation tips I picked up over the years which I will be sharing with you over the months.
The first concerns fonts. Word and Powerpoint offers you the ability to use hundreds of fonts like Arial, Gothic, Stencil, Tahoma... with several styles of each ...bold, italic etc. Just because they are there for your use...don't try to use ALL of them in your paper or presentation! Actually the rule of thumb (taught to me during a Effective Presentations course while I was at AT&T) is...pick two and keep it at that. And pick two that are easily readable. Not some fancy thin script or wild sci-fi font. Remember that people are sitting through your presentation or reading that paper in order to learn something not to be distracted by your choice or over-use of different fonts. For your titles and headings use a bold sans sarif like Arial or Verdana. So that your heading stands out. (Sans Sarif means "Without adornment" . Here is an example showing both sans serif and serif;
The first concerns fonts. Word and Powerpoint offers you the ability to use hundreds of fonts like Arial, Gothic, Stencil, Tahoma... with several styles of each ...bold, italic etc. Just because they are there for your use...don't try to use ALL of them in your paper or presentation! Actually the rule of thumb (taught to me during a Effective Presentations course while I was at AT&T) is...pick two and keep it at that. And pick two that are easily readable. Not some fancy thin script or wild sci-fi font. Remember that people are sitting through your presentation or reading that paper in order to learn something not to be distracted by your choice or over-use of different fonts. For your titles and headings use a bold sans sarif like Arial or Verdana. So that your heading stands out. (Sans Sarif means "Without adornment" . Here is an example showing both sans serif and serif;
For papers with a lot of words a serif font should be used. Why? The little 'Serifs' or adornments on the fonts actually help make reading easier. A whole page with just arial can make your eyes tired! More tips to come.
Monday, 26 March 2012
I attended another session while at my Roanoke conference which was very interesting. It was named "How to add interesting Content to your Blackboard Course using Free Tools". However THIS tool Wordle can be used to generate graphices for your student papers, websites,facebook, etc. It's free and really neat.
Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. Here is an example of a Wordle.
Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. Here is an example of a Wordle.
So go to www.wordle.net (NOTE IT IS NET NOT COM) and create your own wordle masterpieces. A few quick tips. When you enter your 'words' in the text box remember that the more times you repeat the word the larger the size. Also to enter a sentence put the ~ symbol (key to the left of the 1 key) between each word.
Have fun.
Friday, 23 March 2012
Let your voice be heard and make the Blackboard application better. You can go to Blackboard's Suggestion site anytime you want something chanced. The more times something is suggested the faster it will get added to the product.
The site can be found at http://www.blackboard.com/Contact-Us/Feedback/Suggest-Product-Enhancements/For-Learn.aspx .
Remember it is easy to complain about a product, it is harder to suggest a solution to fix it. Please help us spread the word about this site!
The site can be found at http://www.blackboard.com/Contact-Us/Feedback/Suggest-Product-Enhancements/For-Learn.aspx .
Remember it is easy to complain about a product, it is harder to suggest a solution to fix it. Please help us spread the word about this site!
Thursday, 22 March 2012
I'll admit it...I'm an app addict. I purchased my Ipad about a year ago and since then my wife has barred me from purchasing anything else from the apple store. She got very tired of seeing those countless .99 cent entries on our Discover Bill particularly the second month I had the Ipad and the .99 cent entries for the Month of April added up to...you ready for this? No lie... $106 and some change. That's really when she put her foot down.
So imagine my excitement today at the New Horizons Conference here in Roanoke when I noticed on the session schedule "60 apps in 60 minutes!". I just had to attend. And I am so glad I did. I was shown many very useful apps that I'll be sharing with you as the weeks go by and the good news (for my wife at least) is that they are free.
My greatest excitement came when the presenter got to an app called "Onlive Desktop". You have to check this one out...honest...you will be blown away. When you open it it is a Windows desktop WITH FULL FUNCTION WORKING MS WORD, MS EXCEL, and MS POWERPOINT!! Tired of trying to figure out "Pages" on your Ipad or Ipod? Go back to what you're used to MS Word.
Here's what you need to do...first go to http://desktop.onlive.com and signup. Again it's free and only takes about 10 seconds to sign up. Then simply download the app and run it. You will be amazed. Let me know what you think.
So imagine my excitement today at the New Horizons Conference here in Roanoke when I noticed on the session schedule "60 apps in 60 minutes!". I just had to attend. And I am so glad I did. I was shown many very useful apps that I'll be sharing with you as the weeks go by and the good news (for my wife at least) is that they are free.
My greatest excitement came when the presenter got to an app called "Onlive Desktop". You have to check this one out...honest...you will be blown away. When you open it it is a Windows desktop WITH FULL FUNCTION WORKING MS WORD, MS EXCEL, and MS POWERPOINT!! Tired of trying to figure out "Pages" on your Ipad or Ipod? Go back to what you're used to MS Word.
Here's what you need to do...first go to http://desktop.onlive.com and signup. Again it's free and only takes about 10 seconds to sign up. Then simply download the app and run it. You will be amazed. Let me know what you think.
The Blackboard Product Development team is currently investigating what features are important to you when managing your online identity or making decisions about integrating social media into your online learning experience. Some of you may have already completed a related one, but we encourage you to participate again. Please set aside approximately 30 minutes to tell us about yourself and answer 32 question pairs so we can better understand your motivations.
About the Survey - This is the first of two followups to earlier surveys we conducted on social learning. Questions will be delivered in pairs to ask you how you would feel if a feature WAS included and if the feature WAS NOT included in Blackboard Learn.
To Participate - Share the link with other students, instructors, and instructional designers who may be interested! This survey will be available to you for the next week. To take the survey, click on the following URL or paste it into your browser:
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Hi Gang...I'm here in Roanoke attending the New Horizons Conference. My blog today SHOULD be called "How NOT to pick a motel when you are at a conference in Roanoke". Sorry but I just have to fill you in on this place. My boss Myssi told me months ago to make sure I pick someplace fairly decent. But did I listen? Well let me describe this as best as I can. 1st of all I went through a certain online motel reservation company so no matter what there are no refunds. Keep that in mind as I proceed. I pull into my motel...I won't mention any names but it's a pretty well known chain. ...ANYWAY it's situated between a Checks Cashed Here store on the right and a Get $ for Car Title store on the left. I tried going into the lobby but realized I needed to be buzzed in first. I also noticed a snack area next to the lobby with vending machines. There is a thick glass 'window' with one of those metal 'speaking holes' and a drawer which pushes out much like a bank drive through separating the snack area from the lobby... I assume to keep people who need change for the machines at bay. Anyway this afore mentioned certain online reservation company somehow had cancelled my reservation so I spent the next half hour trying to fix that problem. But I finally did get my room. It was a non-smoking room...only I guess they didn't tell the last occupant that. Oh also the desk where I'm writing this... the lights above the desk don't work although a think they are trying because there's this loud electrical hummmmm coming from the fixture. Lesson to be learned here? LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS. SHE KNOWS BEST!
Seriously, the conference is pretty neat. I attended a three hour hands on workshop on Blackboard Collaborate and I can't wait to bring back some of the many tips I learned. I'll be teaching a Collaborate for Student course next week so I'll keep you posted. Tomorrow I'll be attending several other Bb and tech sessions and will fill you in on what I learned tomorrow evening.
Right now I'm going to lay back and tune into March Madness and...wait a minute...there's no remote. Sweet:)
Seriously, the conference is pretty neat. I attended a three hour hands on workshop on Blackboard Collaborate and I can't wait to bring back some of the many tips I learned. I'll be teaching a Collaborate for Student course next week so I'll keep you posted. Tomorrow I'll be attending several other Bb and tech sessions and will fill you in on what I learned tomorrow evening.
Right now I'm going to lay back and tune into March Madness and...wait a minute...there's no remote. Sweet:)
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Here’s one more chance to let Shenandoah University know what you'd like to see in the SU Mobile App, ShenandoahU. The university is in the process of adding more features, and Institutional Computing (IC) would like your input. Take a short survey to voice your opinion: What Would You Like to See in the SU Mobile App? The survey will be open until Friday, March 23. You don’t have the SU Mobile App? Click here to download it!
More and more employers say that real-world experience is the key to getting a job in today’s increasingly competitive market. According to Blackboard, "Ninety percent of new hires will have had work-related experiences prior to entering the workforce.1 And, that experience is a critical factor in the hiring decision". SU students should take advantage of every opportunity to enhance their skills and marketability in order to ensure a successful entry into the job market. The bad news is the unemployment rate isn't improving as we hoped. The GOOD news is Blackboard has joined forces with Intern- ships.com. Intern-ships.com is the largest marketplace for internships, part-time jobs and entry-level positions serving college students and businesses.
Give yourself that much needed edge and sign up on the internship.com website today!
Monday, 19 March 2012
Obviously from that title I CERTAINLY DO! Grammarly has a really neat and easy to understand Grammar handbook available online by clicking here. You can learn more about grammar, punctuation and sentence style as well as great tips on improving your writing and making your research alot easier. Improve those SU writing grades by visiting the Grammarly handbook site!
Monday, 12 March 2012
Friday, 9 March 2012
The Mac makes it easy to have multiple applications open at the same time. So how do you quickly switch from Safari, let’s say, Word?
Just hold down the Command key and press the Tab key (Command-Tab). Mac OS X immediately displays a mini-Dock with icons for each of your open applications. At the left side of the mini-Dock, you’ll see the icon for your current application. Next to it (and highlighted), you’ll find the icon for the application you last used. Each time you press the Tab key (without releasing the Command key), you can cycle through your open applications.
Allen Dining Hall is open throughout most of spring break for breakfast, lunch and dinner to accommodate the students and employees who remain on campus. The dining hall closes at 1:30 p.m. today, March 9 and will be open for breakfast tomorrow and Sunday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Allen Dining Hall will also be open tomorrow for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.; and dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. Beginning Monday, March 12 through Sunday, March 19, breakfast will be served 8 to 9 a.m.; lunch will be served noon to 1 p.m.; and dinner will be served 5 to 6 p.m. Normal hours resume on Monday, March 19.
The campus bookstore is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday; closed Saturday, March 10 and Saturday, March 17.
The HPB bookstore is closed throughout spring break.
The box office maintains its regular business hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Brandt Student Center closes at 7 p.m. today, March 9. The building is closed Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11, as well as Saturday, March 17. The student center will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, March 12 to 16. As students return to campus next Sunday, the Brandt Student Center will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight March 18. Regular hours of operation resume on Monday, March 19, when the building opens at 7:30 a.m.
BSC Fitness Room is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18. It resumes its regular hours on Monday, March 19.
BSC Food Court and Jazzman’s will close at 5 p.m. today, March 9 and will resume regular hours on Monday, March 19.
BSC Game Room closes at 5 p.m. today. It is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed Saturday, March 17. The game room will be open from 6 to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 18, and resumes its regular hours on March 19.
Residence halls close at 7 p.m. today, March 9, and reopen at noon Sunday, March 18.
Health Sciences Library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18. Regular hours resume Monday, March 19.
Smith Library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed Saturday, March 17. It will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight Sunday, March 18. Regular hours resume Monday, March 19.
The Shenandoah Salvage Co., a swap shop located on the third floor of Cooley Hall, will be closed for spring break, beginning today, March 9. The shop will reopen at 2 p.m. Monday, March 19.
The campus shuttle service ends at 2:30 p.m. today, March 9, and restarts at 7 a.m. Monday, March 19. The van's regular hours are Mondays through Fridays, 7 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.
Wilkins Wellness Center maintains its regular hours throughout break: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Shenandoah University is in the process of adding more features to the SU Mobile App, ShenandoahU. Institutional Computing (IC) would like the input of students, faculty and staff on what they would like to see in the mobile app. Take a short survey, which will be open until Tuesday, March 13, to give IC your opinion: What Would You Like to See in the SU Mobile App?
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
The Kindle from Amazon is a hardware device for reading ebooks. Ebooks are becoming increasingly popular because they are generally inexpensive and can be downloaded in a matter of minutes. But you don’t have to own a Kindle device to read Kindle books. Instead free software for your Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch is all you need.
On your iPad or other iOS device tap the icon for the App Store. In the search field type Kindle and press enter. You can also find the free reader for a variety of systems by clicking the following link. Free Kindle Reading Apps. Install the app on your machine.
Note: in order to download Kindle books you need to open an Amazon account.
After installing the Kindle reader app it asks for your Amazon account email address and password. Enter these.
After entering your Amazon account info the text Register this Kindle will appear on screen. Tap that text to continue.
After registering you may see various notices on screen, such as one informing you how to read other documents on your Kindle.
Now you should see a Home screen which will list any books or book samples you’ve downloaded and suggestions on books you may be interested in.
Also Note that there are MANY MANY free books offered as well.
On your iPad or other iOS device tap the icon for the App Store. In the search field type Kindle and press enter. You can also find the free reader for a variety of systems by clicking the following link. Free Kindle Reading Apps. Install the app on your machine.
Note: in order to download Kindle books you need to open an Amazon account.
After installing the Kindle reader app it asks for your Amazon account email address and password. Enter these.
After entering your Amazon account info the text Register this Kindle will appear on screen. Tap that text to continue.
After registering you may see various notices on screen, such as one informing you how to read other documents on your Kindle.
Now you should see a Home screen which will list any books or book samples you’ve downloaded and suggestions on books you may be interested in.
Also Note that there are MANY MANY free books offered as well.
Monday, 5 March 2012
You're probably heard it pronounced both ways and after all these years of double pronunciations it really doesn't matter but here are a few little tidbits about those .gif files. Gif stands for Graphics Interface Format as they are popular computer graphics due mainly to three reasons...they are small in size ,they allow for a transparent background and they can be animated! The gif file format is owned by Compuserve.
Now for the correct pronunciation ...the Oxford Dictionary says both ways are correct. Steve Wilhite the man who actually invented the format for Compuserve inventory however...JUST LOVES PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES! So for the purist the answer is JIF.
Now for the correct pronunciation ...the Oxford Dictionary says both ways are correct. Steve Wilhite the man who actually invented the format for Compuserve inventory however...JUST LOVES PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES! So for the purist the answer is JIF.
Friday, 2 March 2012
SoftChalk is a great software package designed for Instructors. It is an easy to learn program with all the features an Instructor needs to create interactive content for courses. SoftChalk can be used instead of a textbook, as an assignment introduction, or as an enhancement to traditional teaching. With SoftChalk Instructors (and students) can create professional looking interactive web pages having to know web design. SoftChalk allows for pop-up text annotations, self-assessment quizzes, and fun interactive learning games. Lessons can be saved to a CD format, Internet format, or published directly into Blackboard.
If you want to brush up on how to navigate and use your Instructor's Softchalk lessons click here for the Students Manual.
If you are taking education courses and would like to play around with the Softchalk program you can download a Students can a free 30-day trail by clicking here and completing the requested information. NOTE: If you decide to purchase make sure to request your student discount. Additionally SoftChalk has been loaded on several computer labs at SU.
If you want to brush up on how to navigate and use your Instructor's Softchalk lessons click here for the Students Manual.
If you are taking education courses and would like to play around with the Softchalk program you can download a Students can a free 30-day trail by clicking here and completing the requested information. NOTE: If you decide to purchase make sure to request your student discount. Additionally SoftChalk has been loaded on several computer labs at SU.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
File Exchange is a simple way to exchange files with other members of a group, including the instructor. NOTE: Your instructor makes this tool available or not. If it’s not avaialbe it will not appear in your group tools module.
To use file exchange follow the steps below.
1)Click your group by scrolling down to My Groups.If you click the actual group name the group tools available will drop-down. You can also click the right Chevron to access the Group page
2)Click File Exchange from the dropdown or, if you are on the Group Page, click file exchange in the group tools module.
3)Click Add File icon
4)Enter the required file name
5)Browse the computer for the file you wish to attach
6)Click Submit. The file, filesize, and date submitted will be added to the table on the File Exchange page.
If you wish to delete the file click the right chevron next to the file name and select delete or you can put a checkmark in the box to the left of the name and click Delete
To use file exchange follow the steps below.
1)Click your group by scrolling down to My Groups.If you click the actual group name the group tools available will drop-down. You can also click the right Chevron to access the Group page
2)Click File Exchange from the dropdown or, if you are on the Group Page, click file exchange in the group tools module.
3)Click Add File icon
4)Enter the required file name
5)Browse the computer for the file you wish to attach
6)Click Submit. The file, filesize, and date submitted will be added to the table on the File Exchange page.
If you wish to delete the file click the right chevron next to the file name and select delete or you can put a checkmark in the box to the left of the name and click Delete
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