Weekly Tech Tip - March 18, 2014

What has google been up to? Every year, sometimes twice a year, Google does an update that has some affect on our users. They take services away and integrate them into something else. There are two updates that I would like to tell you about in this weekly tech tip.

1) If you have been using google notifier as a service, you need to know that google no longer has that as a service. If you continue to use google notifier, you may get a message that states the service is no longer running. You will want to delete this service from your computer since it no longer functions. I've captured a screen shot for you to reference.

2) Google maps has had an update to include richer content. Google maps can "take you to landmarks, send you flying above mountains in 3D, and can give you sneak peaks of places you plan to visit." Check out the maps and see what you can find. Below is a short intro video to the new google maps.



Until next week,
Gregg

Weekly Tech Tip - March 5, 2014

One question received this week that is worthy of a tech tip - "How do I download a video from a site like youtube and place it in my powerpoint or keynote? Instead of linking to the youtube video, I want to have it inside of my slide?" So, what this means, is that this particular individual wants to be able to play a youtube video that is not tied to the Internet. The video will be downloaded to his/her machine and then it can be inserted as a movie clip.

 The steps are pretty simple and have even become a little easier since the birth of youtube. You can google that question and you will get many, many answers. There are a lot of sites that will direct you to input the website of the video and then send you an email with a download. I don't particularly like those sites simply because they now have my email address and can start sending me emails I do not wish to receive. Enter the open source community. The open source community is a place where folks develop programs and then they are downloadable for free. For example, the Firefox browser is a program strongly developed by the open source community. There are tons of these programs for people to download and use.

Now, to answer the question. A program that I have found that works well is called ClipGrab. It is a very clean, simple program to use. You simply download ClipGrab, install it, and then copy and paste your youtube video link in the open window. Even on the website, it has these simple steps for you to follow. So, the next time you want to download a youtube video to your desktop, just use this handy little utility.

Enjoy,
Gregg

Weekly Tech Tip - Feb. 24, 2014

This weeks tip comes from MobiTech 3000 LLC. I have had a few requests from folks to be able to electronically sign a document and then resend it without having to print it out. So, here is an app that works very nicely. I found this in the app store last week and have been trying it out. There are many apps that do the same thing that this app does, but it is very easy to use and all it does is signatures.

How does it work? Once you download the signature app, you can tie it to your google account or your dropbox account. Once tied to your account, you can select the document you wish to sign by opening it. Once the document is open, you can sign it with your own handwriting and drag that to the area where the signature needs to be. You can also enter the date and add checkboxes, if needed.

So, visit the app store to get started with this Signature App.

Enjoy,
Gregg

Weekly Tech Tip - Feb. 14, 2014

Internet Safety Contest Winners Announced!

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! There are tons of valentines activities that you can do with kids. Cybraryman's website list a few activities for kids. Here is a link for his Valentine's day activities.

On another note, each year, ESU 4 participates in the State-wide Internet Safety contest. The state winners have yet to be announced, but here are the winners from Johnson Brock Public School. Many thanks to JBPS staff and students for their participation in the Internet Safety Contest. As soon as the state entries are selected, I will update this blog to reflect those entries.

K-4 Winner - Hand drawn poster

5-8 Winner - Hand drawn poster

Happy Valentine's Day to all,

Gregg

Weekly Tech Tip - 1/30/14

One good thing!

Feb. 11, 2014 has been marked as Safer Internet Day - The following link will give you details about this day. In short, Common Sense media has partnered with connectsafely.org to promote safe, effective use of online and media technology.

The theme of this year is to "create a better Internet together." The goal is to grow the amount of good online. Please take some time to click some of the links in the following newsletter.

In light of some of the local news sources, it is imperative that folks of all ages take some time to evaluate their online use.

http://goo.gl/xYvKrH

Be safe out there -
Gregg

Weekly Tech Tip - January 9, 2014

First off, Happy New Year to each and everyone of you! Every year when the weather gets extremely cold, I am reminded of how cautious we all need to be with our electronic devices - personally or school owned.

Please take extra caution in keeping devices out of extreme cold (or heat) during this time of year. I have attached a few articles to help you understand. With the LCD/LED type displays, the crystals can easily freeze and leave you with a cracked display. Always remember, metal shrinks in cold weather situations (expands in heat). When it shrinks (or expands), think about how that may affect your device.

Some tips:

1) Keep phones, ipads, ipods inside your pocket when cold outside. If extremely cold, do not try to use your phone out in the weather (battery will be depleted quicker and can make your screen function incorrectly). Wait until you are in a warmer climate to use your phone, ipad, or ipod. Keep laptops protected in a carrying case until you reach a warmer (or cooler) climate.

2) Please do not leave your device in your vehicle for long periods of time even if you park your car in a garage. 

3) If device is cold, please give it a few minutes to warm up before turning it on. This allows the crystals inside the displays to warm up, which in turn will produce a correct image.

Here are some pages to help:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2101

http://rivernetcomputers.com/cold-weather-tips-for-laptops/

Have an awesome 2014,

Gregg

Merry Christmas Tech Tip

As we look back on 2013 and look forward to 2014, I just wanted to share a few things that came across some of my social networks this week (all relating to Google).

 

1) The year in review from Google - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv-sY_z8MNs

2) New Google Spreadsheets (for all you spreadsheet addicts) - http://googledrive.blogspot.com/2013/12/newsheets.html

3) Working with attachments in Google mail - http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/attachments-in-gmail-now-with-power-of.html

Google is always changing the way many of it's features work, so if you want to read up on some of these, I would encourage you to follow the Google Blog.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

I wish each and everyone one of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Until next year,

Gregg