Another New Thing - Thing #17

As you can see if you scroll down a bit and look on the right, I've discovered Photo Booth and now there's no turning back. Let me apologize in advance for all of the silly pictures you will see posted throughout this year. Learning how to use Mac applications is a big challenge for me because I'm not patient. I did, however, finally figure out how to get the pic from Photo Booth to the blog. I put it in iPhoto and then exported it to my desktop. There's probably a way to get it directly from iPhoto to the blog, or from Photo Booth directly to the blog, but I'll find out about that later. While exploring, I attempted to e-mail the picture to myself just to see if it would work. Evidently you need a Mac e-mail address which I tried to set up with no success. The photo in the top left corner is a daylily from my garden taken last summer. I plan to look at it in three months to remind me that summer isn't far away.

Another New Thing - Thing #17

I can see access to the internet any hour of the day or night may be a curse. Now I can't even eat without the laptop in front of me...
I just tried to create a comic page with the Comic Life software. I found the Windows clipart file and put a bunch of pics in a file on my desktop. I'm going to see if I can somehow get the comic I created onto this page. It didn't work. I'm not sure how to make the whole comic a jpg, not just the picture but the balloon with text too. Another picture will have to do for now.

More About Google - Thing #11

I wanted to take a stab at Thing #6, the teacher portion of the calculator, but no page came up. So, I'll talk about what wonderful things I've learned about Google. First of all, last year I learned how helpful the "Domain" section of the Advanced Search page was. To be able to limit hits to .edu or .gov cut down on so much wading through junk. At the MEMO conference I learned about iGoogle and Google Docs. I LOVE both of these features. I've customized my Google homepage (iGoogle) so that it has a link to my Gmail, to the weather in St. Paul (and Chicago, where my daughter is going to college), a to-do list, a U tube link, a big clock with the time, a GREAT calendar where I can put my appts., etc., and consoldiate my personal and school calendars, a dictionary, a tab that leads to a whole page of librarian stuff.....I could go on and on. It's great.
Then, I used Google Docs to gather opinions of SPPS LMSs on how Destiny, our new library program, can be improved. So far 3 have responded. A glitch occurred when the original e-mail introducing the Google Doc project went into most people's spamjam. Marcia also created a Google Doc and is gathering info on another topic, and I contributed to it. Soooo exciting to be able to collaborate from a distance and create one document together. OK, the weather is too nice. I'm done blogging for today....
The pic is a shot of Chicago I took from the top of the Sears Tower.

One New Thing - Thing #17

This morning I spent 2 hrs. on the phone with a tech person from Linksys who walked me through setting up a wireless router in my house so I can use the laptop at home. I bought the WRT546 model for $50 at Best Buy which can be used with either Windows or Macs. My first obstacle occurred when I inserted the installation CD. The folder showed up on the desktop with several files and I didn't know which one to use. Each one had several possibilities, and I had no idea which one to choose. So I called up the tech helpline. Long story short, if you can afford the extra $100 to buy Airport, Mac's wireless router, go for it. I think it will take you five minutes instead of 2 hours and numerous extra gray hairs. Or, if you are wireless savvy or know someone who is, then stick with the less expensive router. Linksys doesn't support Macs, so I had to download the software to my wired PC which did not go well because of all the anti-virus software I have on that computer. When the software was finally on my desktop, the techie signed off. I clicked the icon and it said my router wasn't supported. I called back again, got someone else who had me go out on the internet to locate the site I needed to finish the process. She instructed me to call someone else from Apple to finish the process. I called Best Buy's Geek Squad instead, since I had purchased the router at Best Buy. Plus, in the Apple book it said I needed date of purchase and some other info I wasn't sure I had. That call took 1 minute and now I'm good to go. Whew. What a process.
On another subject, sitemeter isn't picking up my ROR hits. I'm wondering if there's a firewall up somewhere. I'll have to investigate.

Urban Planet Webpage - Thing #5

Creating a webpage has been one of the best ways I've found to help students and staff. Any handouts I provide during staff presentations are posted here. It's easy for students to get to the Reliable Online Resources page I've customized for easy use because there's a shortcut: comosr.spps.org/ror. They can also find reliable sites to help them with career and college research: comosr.spps.org/cc. There are smart searching tips, good books to read, our plagiarism policy, and more. The "Research Process" webpage helps students through the research process, and the MLA guideline sheets for help in citing can be found at the shortcut comosr.spps.org/mla. The "Websites for Classes" webpage has teachers' names and links I've found or they have found to help students research for specific projects. Also, the "Teacher Tools" webpage has lots of links to help them in a pinch (i.e. printing graph paper, puzzles, rubric templates, etc.) There are also links to help them research academic databases for college courses they may be taking. The webpage has made it easier for students and teachers to access the information they need at home and at school AND it's cut down on the number of handouts distributed.

Thing #4 - Libraries

I had never used the MELSA map before -- very cool. Unfortunately, the link to my library in Washington County was not active. I've used Ask a Librarian many times, once to help me remember the name of a disco bar in Minneapolis that existed in the 70s, and most recently when I suddenly stopped receiving e-mail messages telling me when a book or CD I'd requested was in. Both questions were answered. Incidentally, while I love browsing my public library's shelves (the beautiful Stafford Library in Woodbury), I love even more the ability to order what I want online, get an e-mail when it's in, and dash over to the library to pick it up. It's so convenient.
On another note, I finally figured out how to resize pics from previous blogs. All you have to do is click on the pick and drag the corner. Duh..... Sometimes the answer is so simple and I waste too much time looking for all the hidden icons, tabs, etc.

Finished Things 1-3

I just realized I haven't been posting according to directions, so this post will take care of reporting that I've done the first three things. I also have enrolled at sitemeter so that I can see how many hits my library webpage receives and how many Como's Reliable Online Resources webpage receives. I think the e-mail with my username/password confirmation went into spamjam, however, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it worked.

MEMO Conference

Eight SPPS LMSs, as well as Ann from Metronet, attended the MEMO conference (MN Educational Media Organization) at Cragun's in Brainerd this weekend. Info. Lit. Project members Marcia, Marilyn, Leslie Y., Ann and I attended some eye-opening sessions. I learned about podcasting, Second Life (3-D virtual world on the internet populated by avatars), using SMART Notebook instead of SMART Board as a much less expensive way to accomplish the same thing, iGoogle, Google Docs and more. I'm planning on using Google Docs right away to request some changes in our new library online program by having the LMSs list the changes they'd like on the same doc via the internet. It'll be like sitting around a table writing on the same sheet of paper, except we'll be doing it virtually. The pic above on the right shows Marcia and I discussing internet security with one of the guest speakers.:)
I decided to try 2 pics in this blog and putting them in different locations. I had to edit because some of the type ran into one of the pics and couldn't be easily read. So I moved the text way down. Also, I can't figure out how to go in and make my previous pics smaller. I'll work on that....

Carts & Locks for New Laptops & LCDs

Someone asked me to post this info, so here are the links for the locks and carts Como is ordering for the laptops & LCD projectors:
(Note that the lock is a double-headed model so you only need one lock to secure both the projector & the laptop.)
Kensington Locks
Carts