Testing Google Form

Form Responses:

The Importance of Teaching Your Kids to Google

With one week left in the previous Quarter of the school year, it comes to my attention that my child has zero points on her reading quizzes. I am really confused. She reads all the time at home, at least 30 minutes a day. She has a room full of books and we go to the library often.  Plus, she likes reading. How is it possible for her to have zero points on her reading quizzes?

The reading quizzes are taken on the computer. This is a popular program with schools called Accelerated Reader. The next step is key: the student must search online for the book. Students can search by Book Title or by Author. I watched my daughter slowly hunt and peck the letters of an entire book title. She clicks “Search” and no results are found. “Did you know you can search by author?” I ask and tell her to type only the first 3 letters of the author’s name. This time, she gets results. In three days, she has earned 16.9 points of the 20 she needed for the Quarter.

Searching for a book to take a reading quiz requires the same skill set as searching Google or any other search engine. I am told her school does teach the National Educational Technology Standards, even though the district does not require it.

Top 5 Favorite Online Tools (Which also Happen to be Free)

Life is complicated enough. Technology can make it more convenient, though it always helps to have a guide help navigate unfamiliar territory. It is very much like traveling to another country.

At the end of a 10 day whirlwind tour of Europe, with two small children in tow, we checked into a hotel which the travel agent indicated was directly across from the airport. Well, it was the wrong airport! Did you know there are 4 airports in London? After taking a bus and a train, we did make it to the Heathrow International airport just as the gate had closed. We missed our flight because I was not familiar with the surroundings and the absence of a guide. None of the following links will help keep you from missing a flight, though I hope they make browsing the Internet a bit more valuable. It will be sort of like showing you my favorite café in Venice.

1. Pixlr     http://pixlr.com/editor/
   Online photo editor. Brighten up those dark photos, add Photoshop-like layers, change the background of an image, etc.
2. Chasms     http://www.chasms.com/
   Clickable screenshots of various operating systems for a variety of devices. Do you want to get a feel for what Windows 8, Outlook 2013, Chromebook or the iPhone 5  screens look like? This resource is super helpful for IT staff assisting someone over the phone with a different operating system, especially when unable to connect remotely to the other person’s screen which will is a nice segue to the next site.
3. ShowMyPC     http://showmypc.com/
   Send a link via email to someone in order to take control of their screen and show them how to do something on their computer, fix a problem or implement something to make their computing life easier. I might be changing this site for TeamViewer http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx. Look for a future blog where I test these out with my 82 year-old grandfather who lives 12 hours away.
   
4. Lifehacker     http://lifehacker.com/
   Again, life is complicated enough, so… hack it! Find ways to DIY for less from household cleaning to getting things done in easier ways with technology.
5. Top 100 Websites of the Year by PCMag.com  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413080,00.asp
   It wasn’t until writing this post that this link came to mind. In the early 2000’s, when technology was becoming prolifically integrated in schools, this list and Kathy Schrock served as my guides to online resources. Try a Google search for top 100 websites and check out the results to find your own top 5 sites. I would LOVE to see these in the comments!

Keyboard Conundrums

A list of common keyboard conundrums:

1. F Lock – This key toggles the F-keys on the top row of a keyboard. If F Lock is off, then pressing the key will not invoke F2 or F(#) but instead will run the other function listed on the key. I have had 2 calls in 2 days on this issue. Like many things, the fix is simple once you know it.
2. Jumping Cursor – Depending on how you type, the palms of your hands may tap the touchpad of a laptop/netbook. Look for a way to turn it off. Sometimes there is an on/off button above the touchpad. Sometimes there is an F key which turns it on/off. (Make sure F Lock is on!) Sometimes, this is caused by which fingers you use on a touchpad. Try using 1 finger instead of 2, because a laptop’s touchpad does not work like your Android phone screen. You can also disable or change the way the touchpad works in the Control Panel (Start > Control Panel).
3. Alt + PrtScn – Use this key combination to grab the active window. This is especially helpful when using multiple monitors and great for getting a cropped window of an error message. Plus, when you email the error message the image will be readable by your IT staff.
4. Windows 7 Snipping Tool* – This tool is an excellent way to capture a variety of screenshots with some extra features for drawing attention to a certain area of the image. It provides the option of capturing full-screen, active window or a specific area of the screen. Then you can highlight portions or draw circles around the areas you wish to stand out. For more information, see Microsoft’s resource: http://tinyurl.com/yza8q8u For quick access to the Snipping tool, make sure to assign a hotkey to this tool or drag it to the bottom of your screen and add it to the ribbon. Read the next tip to find out how to assign hotkeys or keyboard shortcuts to any program.
5. Hotkeys – Open programs and shortcuts to folders quickly via a key combination, better known as a hotkey or keyboard shortcut. (If you are into shortcuts, “hotkey” is faster to say.) To assign a hotkey, click the Windows button in the lower left corner to open the Start menu. Type the program name, such as snipping, in the search box. Right click Snipping Tool and select Properties. Click in the Shortcut Key box and type the key combination to be associated with the program or folder shortcut.
6. Ctrl Key is Stuck – Have you ever been typing away and suddenly something seems wonky with the keyboard? Make sure your Ctrl (or other) key is not stuck. There could be a long lost crumb under that key. To un-stick the key, press it quickly about 5 times to dislodge it.

 

*If you do not have Windows 7, Jing is a free alternative to the Snipping Tool. It also allows you to add formatted text boxes, arrows and circles to screenshots. Additionally, you can record video of your screen for up to 5 minutes and share it via a link or save to create your own video tips library.

When JAVA Freezes Over

Or maybe it should be compared to Swiss cheese, securely speaking. The best case scenario is that you only use websites which do not require Java or the domain is available in an HTML5 flavor. Some experts estimate a period of 2 years before the Java security issues will be fixed. In “technology years” this means certain death. In this economy, there are enough Java programmers who want to keep their jobs and fix those 86 security holes sooner rather than later. This could mean more Java updates than usual.

Even if a company does not use Java, if it works with vendors who do…then at least load the most secure versions. Find out the latest version that works with a vendor site. Currently these would be 6 build 38 and 7 build 11.

If Java is not needed for work or school, it can be disabled in the browser or uninstalled completely. One question remains – could more thorough testing have increased the program’s quality?

Solid State Hard Drives are Where It’s At

You do not need to know what a solid state hard drive is exactly; what you need to know is that they are FAST. Make sure your next computer has one. I have a 10 year-old Dell Inspiron 1100 with a bad hard drive which will soon be replaced with a solid state drive (SSD). I should upgrade the RAM too. The results of this experiment will be posted in the future. For inquiring minds, here is the why-to:

• Did I mention SSDs are fast? Macs do not come standard with SSDs, though you can upgrade for a couple hundred. If you have the funds to buy a Mac, then you have the funds to get the premium drive.
• A 15 minute software update on a PC with dual core processors takes 5 minutes on a computer with an SSD drive. Calculate the ROI on that!
• No moving parts means less likely to fail (and quieter).
• Prices have been very reasonable, around $100 http://www.tigerdirect.com or http://www.newegg.com
• Hybrid drives are problematic (based on the grapevine I am listening to), so SSD is better.

A few more tid-bits to aid in understanding. USB flash drives are solid state drives.

Graduating from a Flip Phone to a Smart Phone or New Smart Phone? Make it User-Friendly

After years of training people to use smart phones, I’ve come to realize the “Golden Rules” of smart phone configurations. These settings have been tested, without fail, with attorneys, health care workers, executives and new smart phone users.

• Backlight timeout – Increase to at least 2 minutes. A 30 second timeout is not long enough. Some phones have a 10 minute timeout which is worth trying – just make sure to monitor the phone’s battery life.
• Sound/Alerts – Make the phone silent. Check multiple places under Settings to make sure you have covered all the bases.
• Answering the phone – If upgrading, smart phones can be answered with a tap or swipe (touching an “Answer” icon and moving it across the screen). Some phones even distinguish between a short tap and a long tap (hold your finger in the same place for at least 2 seconds).

Of course, there are many other configurations I would recommend, but these will keep a person from throwing the phone out the window.

Unfolding the Mystery of Craig’s List E-mail…

A friend of mine, Jackie, is looking for a job on Craig’s List. She finds one and wishes to email her résumé to the company. The only problem is that when she clicks the email link, something unexpected happens. In Jackie’s case, another Internet window opens. Computers with email programs installed will pop up blank email window, addressed with the email address that was clicked. Many people do not use the email software that comes with their computer since webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.) is available. What’s a girl to do?

Copy the email address and paste into the address field of the email program she actually uses. Right click the link and select “Copy shortcut” (instructions based on the Internet Explorer web browser, commands would be comparible in Safari or FireFox). Open up the email program normally used. Compose a new message. Right click in the To: field and select Paste. Extra information which is not necessary will need to be deleted:

• mailto: needs to be deleted
• Everything after the .com/.org/.edu/.biz needs to be deleted

Pay attention to the words between “subject” and “body” because this is what the Subject line of the email message should be. Pick out the words that make sense and delete the rest. Those %20 are equal to a space, so delete those and enter a space.

Purpose

Technology is complicated, however there is no need to be frustrated. Answers can be found with patience and resourcefulness. Feel free to email your questions to me. I will do the research and post the answers in this blog.

Interested in tips? Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SmartChristy

Email: christy@smartchristy.com