Calvary Schools Tech Bits

CSH Online Resources is Back

2010-01-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

The CSH Online Resources web site, www.cshk12.org, is back.

Warning: Fake Email From Facebook Team

2009-11-02T12:38:00.002-05:00

A new email message (like the one to the right) has been making the rounds. It claims to be from the Facebook Team, and wants you to click the Update button to update your Facebook account.

Do not do that!

The email message is a fake.

In my case, Gmail automatically flagged the email as a fake and added that scary warning in red across the top.

If you receive an email like this, and your email service did not flag it as "spam", be wary.

One way to determine that an email might be fake is to hover (without clicking) the mouse pointer over links in an email message. Such as in the example, the link at "Click here"... it did not point to Facebook's web site. Plus, in my case, I received that email message through an email address I do not use with Facebook (clue #2).

Here's a link to an article providing more details about this fake email message.
Fake Facebook e-mail contains Trojan
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10384028-2.html

On a related topic, here's a link to an article about avoiding malware on Facebook and Twitter.
How to Avoid Malware on Facebook and Twitter: 8 Best Practices
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_to_avoid_malware_on_facebook_and_twitter_8_best_practices.php

Learn more about Malware:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Learn more about Trojans:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_%28computing%29

How to Log in to RenWeb for Students

2009-09-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

Students, here are some instructions on how to login to RenWeb's web site.

If you start from the CSH Online Resources web site, just click on the RenWeb for Students link in the "Student Web Links" section.

Or go there directly by clicking here. (The link goes to http://www.renweb.com/login.htm)

If asked to enter a district code or school id, enter CSH-MI.

After loading for a few minutes, you should next see the ParentsWeb Login screen.

Click the tab for Students. (By default, this page will usually first be on the Parents tab.)

Now enter you email address & password. You should probably use your school @cshonline.org email address. The password is your RenWeb password. Then click the Student Login button.

If you don't have a password, instead click on the First-time Users tab, enter your school @cshonline.org email address, and click the New Student Login button. Your RenWeb password will be sent to the email address you provided.

If you followed the "first-time users" process and still cannot login, please contact the school office.

Do You Know What a Browser Is? (video)

2009-06-17T20:21:00.001-04:00

What is a browser? What is a search engine? Is there a difference?

Watch this video, created by Scott Suiter, to see how 50 random people answer those questions.

According toWikipedia, "a web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web." Examples include Windows Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

Also according to Wikipedia, a "search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web." Examples include Google and Yahoo.

In other words, a browser is not a search engine. A browser is software that you'd use to view web sites, whereas a search engine is a kind of web site. For many people their browser by default starts by showing a search engine web page.

This post was inspired by another blog post entitled "A Browser Is a Search Engine" by Alex Chitu. (http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/06/browser-is-search-engine.html)

Inbox Zero (video)

2009-05-23T13:12:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel overwhelmed about the amount of email you receive? Or by how many email messages in your inbox are still marked as "unread"?

If you do, the following video may help.

Abstract (from Google Video): "Merlin Mann, a well known productivity guru and creator of the popular 43 folders website will talk about Getting Things Done, the importance of getting your inbox to zero, and strategies for dealing with high volume email."

New Google Calendar Feature: Tasks

2009-05-13T12:13:00.000-04:00

Google has added a new task management feature, Tasks, to Calendar.

I've included a partial screenshot of the part of Calendar where you should immediately see some changes.

A new Tasks link in the upper left corner (circled).
A new Tasks calendar (also circled) in your My calendars list.

When you click on the Tasks link, a sidebar will appear to the right of your calendar. In there, you can enter tasks you want to keep track of. Tasks having a due date will appear on the Tasks calendar.

For more information, please click on the following links:

"Google Calendar Adds Tasks" (includes lots of screenshots)
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-calendar-adds-tasks.html

""Tasks in Calendar" article in Google's Help
http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=144246

Malware Presentation

2009-05-04T06:09:00.000-04:00

Here's the malware presentation I did during 12th Grade Computer Class on May 1st, 2009.

12th Grade Computer Class - 5/01/09

2009-04-30T14:53:00.001-04:00

Friday, 5/01/09, I will be teaching 12th Grade Computer Class. I'm planning to do it mainly as a presentation, though for some parts I would want some audience participation.

Here are my planned topics:

Internet safety

avoiding viruses and other malware
what to do if your computer gets a virus on it
phishing

email
fun with Google

My presentation and other class material will be available on the Internet.

Also, I will have a special prize for the first 12th Grade student who tells me, at the beginning of class, that he or she read this post. Well, the prize won't really be that special. But it will be something!

Drawing in Google Docs

2009-03-27T11:34:00.000-04:00

You can now create your own drawings inside Google Docs, and insert them into documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Be sure to check it out! All you need to do is go to the Insert menu and select Drawing.

Read more about this new feature in Google's official announcement at their Google Docs blog by clicking here.

Here's a drawing example from their announcement:

image from http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/03/drawing-on-your-creativity-in-docs.html

Spring Forward This Weekend - Daylight Savings Time Begins

2009-03-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

Daylight saving time officially begins early Sunday morning. So be sure to set your clocks and watches ahead one hour before Sunday, or you might end up arriving late to activities.

USB Drives for Sale on 3/2

2009-02-27T12:55:00.003-05:00

Beginning on Monday, secondary students will be able to buy USB flash drives from the Laketown campus office for $9. Please make payment out to the school.

These are 2 GB drives that are preloaded with portable Windows software you can use on your home computer, and still have plenty of space to transport files between home and school.

For more information about these drives and the portable software, visit the Media & Technology page in the Extra Curricular section of the school's web site at http://calvaryschoolsholland.org/287411.ihtml.

You might be wondering, "What is portable software and why should I care"?

Portable software is software designed to run off a USB flash drive. In other words, you do not need to install it. The advantage, of course, is that you then have the software you're used to, with you everywhere you go.

These flash drives are being preloaded with Windows software that either matches what's used at the school (e.g. OpenOffice suite and Firefox), or is just really useful (e.g. SpeedCrunch). Also on these flash drives is a conventient menu for easily starting the portable software.

Task Lists for Gmail

2009-01-10T20:45:00.002-05:00

A tasks list, or "to do" list, is a really handy way to, well, list tasks you have to do.

The fine people at Google have recently added a tasks lists feature to Gmail. When enabled, you can display and edit your tasks list without having to leave Gmail. And, of course, you'd be able to access that tasks list any time and anywhere you log in to Gmail.

Full instructions for enabling and using this feature are available at the Official Gmail Blog post "New in Labs: Tasks".

From that post, here are quick instructions on enabling the tasks feature in Gmail:

To enable Tasks, go to Settings, click the Labs tab (or just click here if you're signed in). Select "Enable" next to "Tasks" and then click "Save Changes" at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the "Contacts" link, you'll see a "Tasks" link. Just click it to get started.

You can also find more information about this feature at Google's online help article, "Tasks Frequently Asked Questions".

Google Maps Street View

2008-12-09T21:27:00.002-05:00

You undoubtedly already know that Google has a maps and directions web site called Google Maps.

Have you heard of Street View? It's a feature of Google Maps that shows a street-level camera picture of an address.

Google has just added Street View for many more cities. Yes, including Holland! Check it out below:

View Larger Map

Learn more at the announcement at Google's official blog or at the related post on the Maps and Google Earth blog.

Student Computers in Modulars - Update

2008-12-09T21:20:00.000-05:00

I will not be attempting to get the student computers in Mrs. DeJong's and Mrs. Barber's classrooms working. Mainly due to how close both the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks were to when the server running those computers had crashed.

I should have said this much sooner than now. Sorry!

Student Computers Unavailable in Modulars

2008-11-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

Last week, the server that runs the student computers in Mrs. DeJong's and Mrs. Barber's classrooms experienced a severe hardware failure.

Until I can repair or replace that server, student computers in those classrooms will be unusable. I'm hoping those student computers will be available again on Monday, 11/17/08.

The good news, though, is that no one lost any of their files, as those are all stored on the school's file server. If you log in to any of the main building's computers (such as in the Computer Lab), you will still have access to your computer desktop and your files.

If you have any questions, please contact me at david.whitmer@cshk12.org.

Firefox Friday: URL Fixer

2008-11-07T13:09:00.001-05:00

Have you ever entered a web site address (URL) in a web browser only to realize after seeing a rather unhelpful error message page that you misspelled that site's address?

If so, URL Fixer can help. According to the Firefox Add-ons web site:

URL Fixer corrects typos in URLs that you enter in the address bar. For example, if you type google.con, it will correct it to google.com (asking first, if you enable confirmation).

Interested in trying it out? Just click here then follow the instructions for installing it into Firefox.

How to Log Out of School Linux Computers

2008-11-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

I've recently learned that some students have been logging out of the school's Linux thin client computers by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace (pressing those keys simultaneously). Please do not log out that way.

This post provides a brief tutorial on the proper method for logging out of these computers.

How would you know that you're using one of the Linux thin client computers? If the login screen for the computer you are using looks like the following image, then you are using one of the Linux thin client computers:

Now, the steps for logging out.

First, move your mouse to the System menu, single-clicking the word System to display that menu. For most of you, the System menu is up in the upper left area of the computer desktop. The System menu will look like this:

Second, move your mouse down to where it says "Log Out":

Third, click on Log Out. You should now see a confirmation window:

Fourth, click on the Log Out button, and the computer will then log you out of the computer, and display the login screen.

You might be wondering why you should not log out by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. The reason is that while pressing those keys does return you to the login screen, it doesn't really log you out of the computer. If you would like to learn more about what exactly that keyboard shortcut actually does... well... the Internet is a treasure trove of information. :)

New Spreadsheets Editor in Google Docs

2008-10-06T09:56:00.002-04:00

The spreadsheets editor in Google Docs has a new look now. It now has a menu bar and tool bar similar to those in the documents and presentations editors.

Read more about the changes here.

Update

CNET Network's Webware has a good overview in their article, "Google Spreadsheets gets software-inpired face lift". Below is a screenshot of the new look:

image from CNET Networks

Software Upgraded

2008-09-29T07:14:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, I upgraded software installed on the school's Linux thin client computers. This affects the following classrooms:

Computer Lab
Science Lab
Mrs. Barber's classroom
Mrs. DeJong's classroom

Probably the main noticeable change you might notice is a new version of OpenOffice.

Beware Antivirus 2009

2008-09-28T08:19:00.000-04:00

Antivirus 2009, and its predecessor Antivirus XP 2008, is rogue software. That is, it claims to be antivirus software, but is in fact malicious software (malware) that will, if installed, cause a great deal of harm to a Windows computer.

The software displays a fake Windows system alert to try to trick you into downloading and installing it. Or it may install automatically with a fake video codec.

One installed, it will claim to find many different viruses, spyware and other malware on your computer, and will tell you you need to buy the full version of the software to remove these. Do not... it is all part of the scam.

If you have Antivirus 2009 or Antivirus XP 2008 on your computer, get rid of it immediately. Seek assistance if necessary.

Read more about it here.

Do you need anitvirus software? Get Avast. It is free for home use, and works very well. I've personally witnessed it preventing Antivirus 2009 from installing. I highly recommend it.

Start Page Calendar Options for CSHOnline

2008-09-13T14:47:00.005-04:00

Since launching CSHOnline for the school's students, I've discovered a small glitch with the settings for the calendar on the Start Page. This probably affects every student.

Please follow the steps below to correct the calendar's settings. To see a larger version of each screenshot, just click on the image.

Go to your Start Page and sign in. Scroll down until you can see the entire Google Calendar gadget. Then click on the "options" link.

You might now see something like the following screensheet which lists two different calendars, mine and yours, with mine as the only one checked. (The example below uses Abraham Lincoln's account.)

If yours looks like that, then click the check box next to your school email address and also the check box next to mine. The following screenshot shows how it should look once you've done that. Then click "back".

Your Start Page should now show your calendar events, if you have any.

And that's it!

Welcome to the Re-launch of CSH Tech Bits

2008-09-13T14:32:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the students of CSH now seeing this blog on their Start Page!

I have been writing at this blog for a while, but mainly about education technology, computers, Internet, and other related topics for a general audience.

Today I am changing this blog's focus to be more specific to the computer technology environment we have at Calvary Schools of Holland, and thereby to hopefully have this blog be more useful and relevant for the school's teachers and students.

Fake CNN Email Spreading Malware

2008-08-10T23:23:00.001-04:00

Have you seen the recent email messages claiming to be some sort of alert from CNN? (A common subject line was "CNN.com Daily Top 10".) If your email service has good spam filtering, those email messages probably went straight to your spam filter. Which is good, as these email messages are fake.

This email message try to trick you into clicking on a link in the email and then downloading some file. If you did that, and you are using a Windows computer, your computer is likely now infected and you should immediately scan your computer for viruses and other malware.

Read more about this in PC World's article Fake CNN Alert Still Spreading Malware.

Making Kids Think

2008-07-27T14:41:00.000-04:00

Recently, I came across a blog post by a teacher named James Gill on his blog, Gone "Digital" Native. His blog post is called "You Can Lead a Horse to Water". In his post, James Gill discusses the challanges faced by teachers (including himself) who are trying to teach their students how to think, when those students want to get away with "I don't know" as their answers to questions.

Some of his ideas included:

not having students raise their hands in class, but rather expecting them each to be ready when called on
be willing to wait as long as 60 seconds for a student to begin his answer
when a student answers with "I don't know", ask him what kind of help he would like... a fun type of help might be offering the student a limited number "lifelines", such as "ask a friend", "peek at the book", or "change the question"

Be sure to read his entire post at:
http://gone-digital-native.blogspot.com/2008/07/you-can-lead-horse-to-water.html

Review: Asus Eee PC 701 4G

2008-07-26T11:46:00.002-04:00

Several months ago I purchased an Asus Eee PC 701 4G mini-laptop (or netbook). It cost about $400 (normal retail price).

Asus is marketing this laptop as a second laptop for people already owning a larger full-featured laptop, but may not want to have to carry the big laptop everywhere. They are also marketing it as being a good laptop for children.

Features

* 7" widescreen format (16:9) screen 800x480 pixels (note: 9" models are now available)

* ports: 3 USB 2.0, MMC/SD memory card, monitor, LAN (RJ-45), microphone, headphone

* 4 GB solid-state drive, of which about 1.6 GB is actually available for storing documents, pictures, etc. (some of the 2.2 GB is dedicated to providing a recovery partition)

* 512 MB memory

* built-in webcam

* built-in WiFi wireless networking (802.11b/g) supporting WEP and WPA encryption

* customized Linux (based on Xandros)

* support disc containing recovery data and Windows XP hardware drivers

* pre-installed software includes: Firefox web browser, OpenOffice office software suite, games for kids and adults, some educational software, music and video file player, picture organizer, and more

* note: there is no optical drive, nor is there a PC Card slot

Things I Liked

* small - takes up very little space (about the size of a small book)

* very light-weight - only 2 lbs!

* having a recovery partition greatly simplifies restoring the laptop's factory defaults

* very hackable :)

* nice mix of pre-installed software

* runs very quiet, and does not get too warm

* graphical interface is easy to navigate (large icons for software, organized into tabs by function)

* fast start-up time (about 20 seconds)

* music & video files all play okay, including online videos

* the solid-state drive is less susceptible to mechanical shocks (such as accidental drops) than a standard hard drive, and it generates no sound

* easy support for external USB keyboards and mice

Things I Did Not Like

* keyboard can be difficult to use and get used to due to its small size and some odd key placements, though people having smaller hands may experience fewer problems with it

* due to the screen size, viewing some web pages may be challenging

* battery power lasts fewer than 3 hours

* managing wireless network settings is not obvious

* existence of recovery partition causes the data partition to fill up quickly, especially when updating/installing software

* included software is older than what is available now in mid-2008 (especially noticeable with Firefox and OpenOffice)

* not easy (though it is possible) for non-technical people to install new software (note: this is an intentional feature)

Conclusion

The Asus Eee PC 701 4G laptop is a great choice for anyone wanting a physically small lightweight laptop to primarily provide mobile Internet access at a good price. And it contains enough additional software to meet many people's needs for light work, especially when away from home.

This laptop would also be a good choice for those who are technically inclined, and would enjoy spending their free time "hacking" (in a good way) to try to get this laptop to do all kinds of crazy things it was never designed to do. See Eee User wiki for ideas.

However, this laptop would NOT be a good choice if you expect this laptop to be able to do everything that a full-size laptop can do (e.g. play DVD movies, edit video files, play audio CDs, anything requiring lots of processor power or heavy-duty 3D graphics), or if you need a large laptop display.

Bottom line

Though I would prefer a slightly larger screen and keyboard, I nonetheless really liked using this laptop, and would readily recommend it to others.

Links

Asus Eee PC official web site

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/

EeeUser.com news site

http://www.eeeuser.com/

Wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC

System Administrator Appreciation Day - July 25, 2008

2008-07-22T08:27:00.000-04:00

Each year, the final Friday of July is System Administrator Appreciation Day. This year, that day is July 25th, 2008.

What is a "system administrator"? In short, he is the person in charge of maintaining all the computers, computer networks, and related equipment, running smoothly at a business, school or other organization. He is typcially a member of an organization's information technology services department, though at small organizations he may be that department.

Learn more about the day at the official System Administrator Appreciation Day web site: http://www.sysadminday.com/ .

Firefox Friday: Live Bookmarks

2008-07-18T12:42:00.002-04:00

You undoubtedly already know about bookmarks in Firefox. But do you know what a Live Bookmark is?

A Live Bookmark is a bookmark whose submenu is made up of headlines from articles on a news site, or any other site that publishes articles/content using web feeds. (This blog is an example of a site that publishes articles using RSS.) Firefox will automatically maintain the list of article headlines in the submenu as that site publishes new articles.

When Firefox can automatically detect whether the current web site supports feeds, Firefox will display a small orange web feed icon next to the current web address in the location bar (see image below).

To subscribe to feeds from the web site, just click that orange icon, select the feed you want (if there is more than one), then on the next page select "Live Bookmarks". The "Add Live Bookmark" window should now appear; here you select where you want the Live Bookmark to be placed (e.g. Bookmarks Menu, Bookmarks Toolbar, etc).

Now you can just click the Live Bookmark you just made to see the latest article headlines from the web site you subscribed to.

For more detailed instructions (which include lots of screenshots), check out Mozilla's Live Bookmark help page.

A prior post on this blog, Firefox Friday: Bookmarks, discussed Firefox bookmarks in general. You may also be interested in checking out RSS in Plain English, a separate prior post explaining RSS and web feeds.

Subscribing to RSS feeds is a convenient way of keeping up-to-date on the latest articles from web site. Live Bookmarks provides a convenient way of subscribing to feeds with your web browser.

Physical Exercises For Improving Mental Clarity in the Classroom

2008-06-29T18:14:00.000-04:00

This short video from Edutopia demonstrates four simple physical exercises, that can all be done in the classroom, for improving students' mental clarity.

source: http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-exercise-video

Are You Good At Multitasking?

2008-06-22T22:35:00.002-04:00

Brain researchers say you're not.

Check out the guy in this video from a web site and book called Brain Rules by molecular biologist Dr. John Medina

Powerset: Searching Wikipedia

2008-05-20T23:57:00.011-04:00

Powerset is a new search site. But rather than trying to search all web sites, it only searches Wikipedia and Freebase (an online database).

Rather than just returning traditional search results, Powerset reformats data and pages it retrieves from Wikipedia and Freebase based on your search query.

When you click on "Read complete Wikipedia article", Powerset displays the article through their site, with a floating article outline with links to points within the article. This feature can be especially helpful with longer articles.

Another interesting feature of Powerset is that it allows you to search on what you want to know, rather than having to think of relevant keywords.

For example, you want to know George Washington's birthday.

With a typical search site, you'd probably search on "george washington" or "george washington birthday" and hope for the best.

With Powerset, instead enter "when was george washington born" and Powerset returns George Washington's birthdate.

Powerset's main page contains several example search queries to help you get started. Be sure to click on "more" to see a larger set of examples.

Powerset provides a new way to search for information on the Internet. While it certainly will not replace traditional search sites, it can nonetheless be a valuable tool.

Firefox Friday: Opening PDF Files

2008-05-09T11:27:00.006-04:00

When the Adobe Reader software is installed on a computer, that software will typically configure Firefox to allow Firefox to open PDF files found on web pages inside the Firefox browser window, using Adobe Reader as a browser plug-in.

Some people really like this feature. And it is typically the default behavior.

However, if you are like me, you find this feature really annoying. :) I personally do not like to view PDF files in a Firefox window, as I prefer to view PDF files externally in Adobe Reader.

If you feel the same way, here's how to change Firefox's settings so that, when you click on a link to a PDF file, Firefox will load that file externally in Adobe Reader rather than in a Firefox window.

In Firefox, go to the Tools menu (Linux users go to the Edit menu) and click on Options.

Click on Preferences.

Click on the Content icon.

Next to File Types click Manage. The Download Actions window should appear.

Click on the PDF extension on the list. Then click Change Action to view the handling options.

Click "Open them with the default application".

Now click OK to close the Change Action window, Close to close Download Actions, and then OK to close Options.

Now when you click on a link to a PDF file, that file should load externally in Adobe Reader.

Adapted from "Opening PDF files within Firefox" at http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Opening+PDF+files+within+Firefox .

Check Weather Forecast in Google

2008-05-03T18:10:00.003-04:00

You can use Google to check current weather conditions, and get a four-day forecast.

Just enter "weather" followed by the location. For well-known cities, like London, you can just enter the name of that city. For others, you'd need to include the state (assuming a USA city). For USA cities, you can also just use the ZIP code.

Here's an example of obtaining weather information by ZIP code.

Click here for more details on using Google for weather information.

Look Up Current Time in Google

2008-05-03T17:24:00.009-04:00

You can use Google's search page to get current time information.

Just type in "time" followed by the name of a place. If that place name is for a state, country or well-known city, Google will often show as its first result current time information for that location.

For example, enter "time michigan" to see the current time in the state of Michigan (specifically Lansing).

Enter "time Denver" to see the current time in Denver. Notice that the main result is for Denver, Colorado, but some other cities named Denver are also listed.

Enter "time London" to see the current time in London. As with Denver, other cities named London are returned along with the well-known London.

Did you notice the color of the clock in the three results? For the two results in daytime, the clock is yellow... for the result in nighttime, the clock is blue.

Here's the result when requesting the time for "USA". Notice that it lists the time for a major city in each timezone.

Email Folders in Gmail

2008-04-22T23:49:00.004-04:00

A common question seen around the Internet about Google's Gmail service can be summed up as, "Where are the folders?"

Most of the email interfaces most people have ever dealt with, whether web-based services like Hotmail or Yahoo Mail, or installed software like Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook, expect you to organize your email messages into folders.

Once you've read a particular email message in your Inbox, you might move it into a folder... maybe folder "brother" if it came from your brother Jim, or folder "parents" if it came from your mom, or folder "Christmas" for Christmas gift-giving ideas.

What if that email came from your mom, and was about what she thought you should buy your brother Jim for Christmas? Which folder would you put it in?

With Gmail, Google took the following approach... Why have to choose?

Attempting to avoid confusion by using the name "folder" but giving it a different meaning, Gmail uses "labels". You can assign an email to one or many labels, as many as you think apply to that email message.

Going back to my example, you could assign labels "parents", "brother" and "Christmas" to that email message. When you check to see all email messages labeled "parents", this message would be there. And it would be listed with all messages labeled "brother", and all messages labeled "Christmas".

If you use Internet Explorer 7 or Mozilla Firefox (v2 or higher), Gmail will allow you to assign colors to individual labels. Assigning different colors to some labels helps them stand out, especially if you use filtering rules to automatically assign labels to incoming email. Filters will be covered in a future post.

You can read more about labels in the Gmail Help Center.

Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

2008-04-01T20:04:00.004-04:00

Food origins is probably a frequent discussion between a teacher and his or her students, especially in the elementary grades. Many students do not realize that spaghetti grows on trees, much like fruits. The following video is a report from the BBC of an especially good spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland in 1957. The video is especially helpful in showing the actual harvesting technique used in that part of Europe.

For more information about the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest, click here.

Google Sky

2008-03-14T09:15:00.003-04:00

Google recently made available a new web-based tool that's based on their Google Maps technology. Google Sky, which is a web-based version of Sky in Google Earth, allows you to view the cosmos, turning your web browser into a virtual telescope.

From Google's official announcement, here are some of the ways you can use Google Sky:

Search by names of planets, stars and other celestial objects.
Galleries featuring images taken by Hubble and other telescopes.
View current locations of constellations or planets within our solar system.
Infrared, microwave, ultraviolet, x-ray, and standard optical views.
Earth & Sky podcasts.

Here's a video Google created to introduce Google Sky.

Check the About Google Sky page for a fuller explanation of Google Sky and how to use it.

Quick links to Google's space-related web sites:
Google Sky - view the cosmos
Google Mars - view Mars
Google Moon - view the moon

Gender Differences in Language Abilities in Children Have a Biological Basis

2008-03-05T12:19:00.006-05:00

A recent article on the ScienceDaily web site reports on a recent study attempting to determine whether there is a biological basis for differences in boys' and girls' language abilities.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers measured brain activity in 31 boys and in 31 girls aged 9 to 15 as they performed spelling and writing language tasks.

The scans showed statistically significant differences between how boys brains and girls brains processed various language-related tasks.

The results of the scans, especially of the boys, surprised the researchers.

If that pattern [of how boys brains handle language tasks] extends to language processing that occurs in the classroom, it could inform teaching and testing methods.

Click here to read the full article, Boys And Girls Brains Are Different: Gender Differences In Language Appear Biological.

What Time Is It?

2008-02-29T10:24:00.006-05:00

Do you know what time it is right now?

How about in London? Or Mexico City? Or at GPS coordinates 51.50 by -0.126236?

World Time Engine is a new web site that shows you current time and related information for any location in the world. You can search by country, city name, ZIP code, or GPS longitude & latitude coordinates.

The web site will then display a map (from Google Maps) of that location, current local date & live time, timezone, daylight savings time information, offset from GMT/UTC time, longitude/latitude coordinates, and other information.

If you ever want to look up time information for different cities around the world, or for your own location to just set your watch, check out World Time Engine.

Google Dictionary

2008-02-22T07:14:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wanted to quickly look up a word definition, but didn't want to get up and reach for a dictionary?

Just use Google!

Enter the special "define:" operator followed by whatever word you want defined, and press the Enter key or click the Search button. Google will then return definitions for the word or phrase from various online resources.

For example, searching on "define:coffee" will tell you that coffee is "a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans".

If you're using the Firefox web browser, you can enter your search terms in the search box in the upper right corner of the web browser's window.

Firefox Friday: Full Screen View

2008-02-15T13:49:00.002-05:00

Pressing the F11 key will toggle Firefox's full screen view on & off.

So... What's full screen view?

When Firefox's full screen view is activated, the Firefox window will expand to completely fill your display. This view mode can be useful if the web page you're viewing has a lot of information.

Pressing F11 again will return Firefox to its regular view mode.

Note: This feature works in Internet Explorer, too.

Firefox Friday: Bookmarks

2008-01-25T10:22:00.001-05:00

Most web browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox, allow you to create & manage bookmarks.

So what's a bookmark? A bookmark just the web address (URL) to a web page stored by your web browser, to make it easier for you to return to that web page.

Firefox contains several keyboard shortcuts related to bookmarks.

Want to bookmark the current web page? Just press ctrl+d.

A small window will appear asking you to confirm creating a bookmark, and asking you to pick a location for the bookmark ("Create in"). At this point, if you just press the Enter key without changing anything, Firefox will add a bookmark for the current web page to your Bookmarks menu (at the top of the Firefox window).

Select "Organize Bookmarks..." from the Bookmarks menu to open a window in which you can manage your bookmarks:

delete bookmarks you no longer want
rename bookmarks
create folders to organize your bookmarks, and then move bookmarks into those folders
export your bookmarks as an html file

Would you like to see all your bookmarks in a sidebar? Just press ctrl+b (or select "Sidebar" then "Bookmarks" from the View menu). A sidebar will open on the left side containing all your bookmarks.

To learn more about using bookmarks with Firefox, just press F1 to make the Help window appear, and search on "bookmark".

Kids Learn More When Mom Is Listening

2008-01-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

A recent article on ScienceDaily's web site reports on the results of a recent study of whether 4 and 5 year old children learn (and retain) better when they explain a problem solution to someone else. The conclusion, according to those conducting the study, is "yes".

The study's author, Bethany Rittle-Johnson of Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, believes that the study's findings will help parents better assist their children with their schoolwork.

"The basic idea is that it is really effective to try to get kids to explain things themselves instead of just telling them the answer," she said. "Explaining their reasoning, to a parent or perhaps to other people they know, will help them understand the problem and apply what they have learned to other situations."

Click here to read the full article, Kids Learn More When Mom Is Listening.

Firefox Friday: Weatherbug

2008-01-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

I really like being able to quickly check current weather conditions, as well as having quick access to weather forecasts.

There are several extensions* that add various weather capabilities to Firefox. One that I use is the Weatherbug extension. Features I like about this particular extension are that it shows current weather conditions at the bottom of Firefox's main window, and provides quick access to more detailed information.

If you would like to try the Weatherbug extension, just follow these steps:

start Firefox
click on this link to go to the Firefox Weatherbug extension web page
click on that page's Install Now button
a window will appear asking you to confirm installing that extension... click Save
once the extension is installed, Firefox will likely ask you to click a Restart Now button... do that... Firefox will now completely close itself and then start up again
at some point you will be asked to supply information about your location... typically, you'd just need to supply your ZIP code, and then you may need to select a specific reporting location for that ZIP code (typical locations are airports and schools)

And that's it!

Most extensions will indicate on their web page which versions of Firefox they work with, and whether they work with only certain operating systems. Most extensions, though, work with the current version of Firefox (version 2 at this time) on the three main PC operating systems Firefox itself supports: Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux.

You can learn more about Weatherbug at Wikipedia.

* What's an extension? It's a small add-on that adds new functionality to Firefox. That new functionality can be something as simple as showing additional information, or as complex as adding a research and note-taking application (like Zotero).

Bad Email Habits

2007-12-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

I recently came across two online articles, each listing 5 email bad habits that tend to either waste people's time or cause various problems. The 10 email habits are listed below, followed by links to the full articles.

vague or nonexistent subject line
changing the topic without changing the subject
including multiple subjects in one note
sending before thinking
inadvertent replying to all
omitting the context of a reply
shooting the messenger
misaddressed recipient
displaying addresses of recipients who are strangers to each other
replying vs. forwarding

In case you're wondering, I'm often guilty of #3.

Read both of the articles linked below for the author's explanations, reasons and examples of each of the above 10 email bad habits. Both articles are by the same author, Calvin Sun.

Sources

5 e-mail habits that waste time and cause problems, by Calvin Sun at TechRepublic.com
5 MORE e-mail habits that waste time and cause problems, by Calvin Sun at TechRepublic.com

Firefox Friday: Keyboard Shortcuts

2007-12-20T20:00:00.000-05:00

Keyboard shortcuts are key combinations meant to help you save time when using a computer:

they can reduce the number of keys you need to press, or
they can eliminate the need to move a hand from the keyboard to your mouse.

One set of well-known keyboard shortcuts are those used to copy (Ctrl+C) or cut (Ctrl+X) selected text, and then paste (Ctrl+V) that text somewhere else. Keyboard shortcuts are typically written as a series of keyboard key names connected by plus ("+") sign. The plus sign indicates that those keys should be pressed, and held (not released), in sequence.

Like many other software applications, Firefox recognizes many different keyboard shortcuts. Below is a partial list. See a larger list by pressing the shortcut key for Help, F1.

Navigation
Back	Alt+Left Arrow
Forward	Alt+Right Arrow
Home	Alt+Home
Reload	F5

Search
Find	Ctrl+F

Windows & Tabs
Close Tab	Ctrl+W
Close Window	Alt+F4
New Tab	Ctrl+T
New Window	Ctrl+N
Next Tab	Ctrl+Page Down
Open Address in New Tab	Alt+Enter
Previous Tab	Ctrl+Page Up
Restore Recently Closed Tab	Ctrl+Shift+T

Miscellaneous
Complete .com Address	Ctrl+Enter
Complete .net Address	Shift+Enter
Complete .org Address	Ctrl+Shift+Enter
Full Screen	F11
Select Location Bar	Alt+D
Select or Manage Search Engines (when Search Bar is focused)	Alt+Up Arrow Alt+Down Arrow

Math Playground

2007-12-18T07:37:00.000-05:00

Math Playground is a web site of fun math and logic skills games for elementary and middle school students. The site is organized into various sections (quoted from the site):

Math Games - Practice your math skills with these fun and challenging games. There are action games, puzzles, and other learning activities. Concepts include basic math operations, algebra, percent, geometry, and money.
Word Problems - Learn how to solve multistep word problems with the challenging activities on this page. Many activities contain videos that explain the problem solving process step by step. There are word problems for students in grades 2 to 8.
Logic Puzzles - The games on this page will help students sharpen their critical thinking and problem solving skills. These skills are an essential part of mathematics and an important part of learning, in general.
Math Videos - Online videos illustrating and explaining various math concepts, such as fractions, geometry, and word problems.
and more!

The site does have some advertising on it. But it's primarily text-only and seems fairly unobstrusive.

If you work with math with elementary or middle school students, check out Math Playground. Its various math resources may help your students understand math better.

Make Newsletters That Look Nice

2007-12-12T12:46:00.000-05:00

Letterpop is a web-based service at which you can create a really nice looking newsletter using one of their templates. You can then customize it by adding your own text and uploading pictures. They then send a link to your completed newsletter, which is hosted on their system, to your recipients (so your recipients will just receive a nice web link in an email, rather than a huge embedded HTML file).

Their free plan allows you to create up to 10 different newsletters a year, that can be sent to up to 25 people each through their service. The free version also includes some advertising. Paid versions of their service remove the ads, change limitations, and add other features, depending on how much money you're willing to pay. They are planning to introduce educational pricing early next year.

The screenshot in this blog post is of their Examples page. Click the image for a larger version of the screenshot.

Interested? Then try them out! The free plan is free of cost, and give you access to enough features to help you decide whether you would want to give them some of your money.

Firefox Friday: Zotero

2007-12-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

Zotero, according to its web site, is "a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work - in the web browser itself."

It has many features to aid in web-based research. Again, from their web site:

Automatic capture of citation information from web pages.
Storage of PDFs, files, images, links, and whole web pages.
Flexible notetaking with autosave.
Fast, as-you-type search through your materials.
Playlist-like library organization, including saved searches (smart collections) and tags.
Platform for new forms of digital research that can be extended with other web tools and services.
Runs right in your web browser.
Formatted citation export (style list to grow rapidly).
Integration with Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.

This Firefox extension may be helpful for anyone doing any sort of web-based research.

Zotero was created by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. It works with Firefox version 2.0 and newer in any operating system supported by Firefox (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux). You can download & install the Zotero extension directly from their web site.

Pre-School Program Shown to Improve Key Cognitive Functions

2007-11-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

I came across an interesting article today on the ScienceDaily news web site. The article, Pre-school Program Shown To Improve Key Cognitive Functions, Self-control, is about "an innovative curriculum for pre-schoolers [that] may improve academic performance, reduce diagnoses of attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and close the achievement gap between children from poor families and those from wealthier homes".

Below is a quote taken from the end of the article:

“Preschool teachers are under pressure to limit play and spend more time on instruction but social pretend play may be more critical to academic success,” says Adele Diamond, University of British Columbia Psychiatry Professor, who led the first evaluation of this curriculum.

Read the full article by clicking here.

Social Networking from a Teen's Perspective

2007-11-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

A social network, in the context I'm using here, is an online web-based service that creates a community of people having similar interests, want to communicate with (or find new) friends, talk about themselves, or partake in other social activities. Well-known examples are MySpace and Facebook.

Recently, I read a very interesting article called "Social Networking from a Teen's Perspective", written by Terry Freedman, an education technology consultant in the UK. The article is based on a survey he did of teens regarding their use of the Internet in general, and social networks in particular. It was very interesting!

Short version: Teens are smarter than we often give them credit for when they're online (re: protecting their privacy, etc), yet they also often aren't as smart as they think they are, or as we'd like them to be.

Quizlet - The End of Flashcards

2007-11-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

Have you ever used flashcards to help you learn new words? Or have you ever encouraged your students to use flashcards?

If your answer to either question would be "yes", then you should check out Quizlet.

Quizlet is a free web site where you or your students can create sets of flashcards. You enter a list, such as of vocabulary words, historical dates, etc., and then the site creates web-based flashcards for you, randomly generates tests, and offers collaboration tools for students studying together.

Here is a list of the site's features (copied from the Quizlet web site):

Quizlet keeps track of the words you know and only retests you on the ones you don't.
You can share your vocabulary sets with classmates and get email notification when others make sets for you.
You can import words from a file without having to retype them into Quizlet.
Quizlet has accent buttons for typing letters in foreign languages.
You can discuss sets with classmates via instant discussion boxes.
Quizlet works in any language. If you can type it into your keyboard, you can study it on Quizlet.

One really neat aspect of Quizlet is that it was created two years ago by a then 15-year-old guy who wanted an easier way to memorize a list of French animal names. He used, among things, PHP (web programming language), MySQL (database system) and Apache (web server), which are all available for free.

Change Your Clocks This Weekend

2007-10-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend. Be sure to set you clocks and watches back one hour before Sunday, 11/04.

Communication Failure

2007-10-18T12:19:00.000-04:00

It's surprising how often we can be absolutely certain that we have clearly communicated something, only to discover that someone has misunderstood what was said.

I found The Ten Worst Presentation Moments from a page on Microsoft's UK site. Below is moment #4:

In the late 1990s I was asked to give a presentation to a group of people from a Government Agency. I didn’t want to carry all of my presentation equipment, so I asked for a projector and PowerPoint to be provided.

I then turned up ready to give the presentation with my presentation on a floppy disk. In the meeting room was a 35mm slide projector. The meeting organiser pointed to the corner and said in a somewhat insulted tone,“There is the power point; we do have electricity here – we are not that backward.”

Google Calculator

2007-09-27T00:08:00.000-04:00

Google can do a lot of things beyond just searching web sites for specific words and phrases. For example, Google provides a calculator. To use this calculator, all you need to do is type in the calculation you want Google to solve for you, and click the Google Search button.

For example, let's say you want to multiply two numbers together, such as 5 and 27. Enter 5*27 into the search entry box on Google's web site and click the search button. (screenshot to the right)

Google's calculator can also:

convert between units of measure (half a cup in teaspoons),
understand different number systems (2007 in roman numerals),
solve trigonometry functions (sine(30 degrees)),
find the area of a circle (pi*5^2),
and many other functions.

RSS in Plain English

2007-09-18T12:08:00.000-04:00

Occassionally I've tried to explain RSS to people. Perhaps I should say that I unsuccessfully tried to explain RSS. RSS seems to be one of those technologies that are difficult to clearly explain unless you can show it.

Then I discovered a little video called RSS in Plain English. This video contains the best explanantion I've ever discovered for RSS and feed readers. Even better is that it demonstrates RSS using my favorite feed reader, Google Reader.

Google Docs in Plain English

2007-09-18T09:57:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a simple and short video can better explain a topic than lots of written words.

Google Docs is an online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation application. That means you can do all those functions through most any web browser, rather than needing to first install software on your computer. It also means that those files are stored on the Internet, rather than on the computer you're using, so you can easily access those files from anywhere.

Here is a video demonstrating how to use Google Docs, and why you might want to use it. It's called Google Docs in Plain English.

KartOO Metasearch

2007-09-13T07:05:00.000-04:00

KartOO describes itself as "a free metasearch engine, which presents its results in the form of an interactive map, exactly like a roadmap on which the cities are replaced by Websites and the roads by thematics."

So what does that mean? As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Below are some screenshots of KartOO, along with some brief descriptions.

Initial page when you first go to http://www.kartoo.com/. (click the image to see a larger version of the screenshot)

Result of searching on "firefox". (click the image to see a larger version of the screenshot)

Hovering mouse pointer over one of the results. Notice the lines connecting from the highlighted site to different search terms. (click the image to see a larger version of the screenshot)

What time is it?

2007-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

This probably only happens to me.

I'm sitting at a computer
have a web browser already open
want to know the current time
don't want to turn my arm to see my watch (too lazy)
don't want look at the corner of the computer screen to see the time there (same problem)
don't really trust either of those times anyway

What do? Go to a search web site, of course!

Some search web sites allow you to learn the current time. One of the many non-Google web sites, Ask.com, has a neat feature related to this. Go to their web site and do a search on the phrase"time in Holland, MI". Not only do you get the current local time, you also get a map and weather conditions. Neat, huh?

Cramming Does Not Work in the Long Term

2007-09-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

A recent article on the Science Daily web site discusses research done by psychologists at the University of South Florida and the University of California, San Diego, into whether students retain any long term knowledge from cramming for tests. The result? Students who really want to retain for the long term what they learn, that both cramming and overlearning are wastes of their time. The psychologists believe their research results also questions the usefulness of how most textbooks, especially mentioned was mathematics, organize and present their material... students retain better when concepts are spread across larger periods of time with reviews.

Check out the full article: Back to School: Cramming Doesn't Work in the Long Term

Changing the Subject of an Email Message Response

2007-08-29T15:57:00.000-04:00

Has the following ever happened to you?

Sometimes I'll receive an email message from someone, we'll call him "Larry", and receiving a message from Larry reminds me that I wanted to tell or ask Larry something. But that "something" is unrelated to the email message he sent me.

from: Larry to: David
subject: I'm giving away kittens - want one?

David,

My family has a litter (or is that "liter"?)
of kittens ready for new homes. They're really
cute! Would you and your family like one?
They're free. Let me know!

Larry

Seeing this email from Larry reminds me that I wanted to ask him to look at my car. Before I forget that thought, I click "Reply":

from: David to: Larry
subject: re: I'm giving away kittens - want one?

Larry,

My car's been making funny noises for a while,
it sounds like an iPhone being ground up in a
blender. Can you take a look at it this weekend?

David

Larry wrote:
> David,
>
> My family has a litter (or is that "liter"?)
> of kittens ready for new homes. They're really
> cute! Would you and your family like one?
> They're free. Let me know!
>
> Larry

Larry receives a reply from me, but my email is really about something else. This can especially cause confusion with email services like Gmail that automatically organize related email messages together.

It's definitely easier to just click "Reply" than to start a new message, especially if you're concerned you might lose your train of thought.

Gmail has a neat feature that allows you to change the subject of a message you're replying to. After you click "Reply", next click on "Edit Subject" underneath the "To:" box, and change the subject to whatever you want. While doing this will likely cause Gmail to put that reply, and the reply's reply, in a new conversation thread, that probably would be a good outcome anyway. Especially when you're later scanning conversation subjects.

Adapted from Google's online Email help topic: How do I change the subject of a message I'm replying to?

Techniques for Better Learning

2007-08-24T09:01:00.000-04:00

Science Daily has an article posted today called Techniques for Better Learning Illuminated. The article is itself an adaptation of another article about reseach being done on trying to discover what techniques best help people learn, especially when trying to comprehend written texts. Such as when students are studying for an exam. One technique involves summarizing what you've read as a method of evaluating how well you understand that text.

Here again is the link to the full article: Techniques for Better Learning Illuminated

e-card security threat

2007-08-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

If you've received an e-mail with an attached e-card, think twice before opening that attachment. That e-card attachment, sometimes called postcard.exe, could contain a trojan horse or some other security threat to your computer.

For more information, read the following article, Dangerous e-cards pose major threat, posted on WZZM's web site. (That article is basically a reposting of one from USA Today).

Welcome to CSH Tech Bits

2007-08-14T12:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome to CSH Tech Bits, an education technology blog maintained by David Whitmer, the Director of Media & Technology at Calvary Schools of Holland.

This blog is focused on providing our school's staff & faculty:

ideas on how to integrate technology & media resources in a K-12 classroom,
online (Internet) resources they may find interesting or useful,
general advice on ways to use computers to either save time, work more efficiently, or complete a task,
anything else related to computers and media I think might be interesting.

Not associated with our school? Maybe never even heard of us? This blog is open to the public, so feel free to read through the posts. Comment posting is turned off, though please e-mail me any comments you might have.