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On the Lighter Side Introducing MyInboxBlog

MrYardley — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:43:39 +0000

This is just a quick note to let readers know about MyInboxBlog.com

MyInboxBlog is simply a collection of the best and most interesting things that find there way into my inbox. From funny videos to inspirational thoughts, it’s sure to have something you will enjoy.

ZOHO Writer for the Classroom

MrYardley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:14:00 +0000

ZOHO Writer Website

ZOHO Writer is a word processing application in the cloud. There is no software to install, and documents are all saved in the cloud making it easy for students to work on projects from home, the classroom or the lab without the need to transfer files with a USB Drive or disk. Of the online Word Processors on the internet ZOHO Writer seems to be the most feature rich. In addition to everything you would expect in a word processing application. It has great collaboration tools that are perfect for group projects. It also has a great equation editor for High school Math and science Projects.

ZOHO Writer tightly integrates with Microsoft Office. It has a plug-in available for Office that allows you to open, edit and save ZOHO docs. With tight integration, robust features, and and a great price (free) ZOHO Office is the best online word processor I have found yet.

Trying out Windows Live writer

MrYardley — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:57:09 +0000

Windows Live Writer is a part of the Windows live tools available at http://download.live.com/ . The download also includes a variety of other applications for managing photos, making movies, email application, and IM. As a side note if you are using outlook express, you should immediately download the new Live mail app. it is a huge step up.

The live writer application is a blogging application that lets you blog right from your desktop. It was very easy to set up. I simply typed in the name of my blog, the user name, and password, and waited a few seconds as it configured everything.

View Full Album

Adding Photos seems to work good, and is far easier than adding them from the web interface. It ads the picture to your windows live photo albums and links up so you are not using space on your server.

Adding Tables	Which is a great way to organize.
Is also easy!	Unless trying to write sentences in them.

I think that the real value in this application is that it makes it very easy for both teachers and students to blog. Because the interface is clean and far easier to understand than many of the web interfaces, it eliminates the barriers of entry into the blogging world. Windows Live Writer is definitely worth a look and for the price of free why not?

iLife ‘09 is out but is it time to buy? Why waiting could be best.

MrYardley — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:51:30 +0000

iLife ‘09 is out and has some amazing new features. iPhoto particularly has some great enhancements including face recognition and improved editing abilities. iMovie has also added significant editing capabilities. It is now possible to edit audio length seperate from the video length. The interface is also far more usable, and capability is a huge leap from prvious versions. With all of these great features it makes you want to upgrade quickly. So should we all go out and make the leap to ‘09. If iLife 09 is the only thing you wan’t to purchase then go right ahead, but if you are considering iWork ‘09 also there may be reason to wait. Apple is bundling OS X Leapord, iLife, and iWork in what is called the Mac Boxed Set for $169. This is a great deal, but it will be an even better deal when the new Version of OS X is released later this year. We are only a few months away from an upgrade and the new opperating system will likely be included in this Bundle. If you are patient enough to wait for the new operating system this will be a great deal.

Don’t let tech get in the way of good teaching.

MrYardley — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:42:59 +0000

Often we who love technology spend a great deal of time and effort implementing technology in our classrooms. In most cases it is a bennificial endevor, but there are times when we get to focused on the tech that learning suffers. The biggest trap is time. Often we will spend inordinate ammounts of time on a project with limited learning potential in order to implement a technology aspect to it. Other traps we fall into is testing a technology with the class and finding we need to use time to trouble shoot instead of teach. Upgrading to the most rexoent versions of software can also present problems. One example of this is that I have upgraded to the most recient version of office on my teacher computer but the student lab is still on the previous version. When I show students how to do something it does not match what they will see when they try it. Technology can be a great enhancement to our teaching but we must be aware of it’s use to make surebit does not get in the way.

Apple updates iLife

MrYardley — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:52:31 +0000

Apple announced an update to it’s iLife suite of software at MacWorld Expo today. This update was expected, but iLife 09 has some significant enhancements. The biggest enhancements are in iPhoto, but there were also some good size bumps in the iMovie, and Garage Band applications. Unfortunately, iWeb only received minor upgrades. iWeb had a lot of potential to be a great app for the classroom, but I do not believe that it stepped up to the plate like it could have. I will be downloading the trials and provide further reviews to determine whether it will be worth the upgrade for teachers.

A Cricut for Christmas!

MrYardley — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:10:45 +0000

The first thing many of you teachers are thinking is that I misspelled Cricket, and some are thinking what would I do with a noisy insect. But for those familiar with the Cricut Machine from Provo Craft you will understand why I am suggesting this machine a a gift. The Cricut Machine is simply a giant leap up from you old diacut machines. The Cricut works much like a printer, or more like a plotter with a blade. You choose from a wide selection of cartridges that range from $40 to $60 that either cuts out shapes or letters. This would be the equivalent of buying a dai set for your old diacut machines. The difference is that the cricut can cut in a variety of sizes, from tiny letters up to 24″ tall letters if you get the larger Cricut Expression Machine. This is perfect for bulletin boards, class activities, and hands on instruction. Although the Cricut was originally designed for scrapbookers, they have released several cartridges that are specifically for teachers.

The best place I’ve found for Cricut Machines is CricutDirect.com . There Prices are great, and the service is fantastic. Go take a look to learn more about these amazing machines, and the wide variety of cartridges availible.

Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Review

MrYardley — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:01:32 +0000

K-12 can be a rough place for computers, so Lenovo has an idea designed with students (and budgets) in mind: the durable Lenovo® ThinkPad® T400 notebook featuring Intel® Centrino® 2 with vPro™ technology. It is tough enough to stand up to everyday notebook accidents to help your school avoid replacement costs.

Roll Cage: The Lenovo ThinkPad T400 notebook can take a tumble with its durable carbon-reinforced roll cage. The material is lightweight so you can keep your ideas portable and protected.

Spill-Proof Keyboard: One spill can do a lot of damage. Protect your hard work with this special keyboard. It is sealed and contained in a tray with drain holes.

Active Protection System™: Like an airbag’s sensor, Active Protection System can detect sudden changes in motion and temporarily stop the hard drive to help protect your valuable data from some crashes that could occur due to everyday notebook accidents.

Stainless Steel Hinges: Designed to withstand frequent opening and closing of the notebook.

One-touch Rescue and Recovery: This one-button rescue solution includes a set of self-recovery tools to help you recover from a virus or other software crash, even if the primary operating system will not boot. With one touch of a button, you can get back to work fast.All of these features make the notebook tough enough to last in the K-12 environment.

Windows 7

MrYardley — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:19:24 +0000

I have been waiting to upgrade my windows machines to Vista for a variety of reasons. First XP works well. I just did not see compelling reasons or features that made it a must have. Second were the early compatibility issues, many of which are no longer an issue. Third is a few of my key apps did not support Vista untill reciently. Most of these reasons are no longer an issue, but a recient announcement made it clear that it is still not time to upgrade. Windows 7 is comming this year and it seems based on the early reviews it is worth the wait. Asside from the increased stability, it’s best feature is that it requires less system resources. Yes,Microsoft released a version that actualy runs more efficiently than it’s predicessor. This is critical for schools that run older and less powerfull hardware. I could be happy in running XP but there is a danger of becoming obsolete. I have downloaded the Beta and will be telling you how it goes when I give it a try.

Activote with Activboard from Promethean Changed the Way I teach!

MrYardley — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:18:07 +0000

I have been using the Activboard with the Activate from Promethean for about 1 month now, and it has had a significant impact on the way I teach. I assume that the use of any electronic whiteboard technology would have a similar impact but I have been very happy with the Promethean products. Promethean focuses only on the education market so their products and software work great for schools. They have a rich database of ready made activities so preparation is minimal. Even if I do need to create activities from scratch, the software is easy to learn and easy to use so I can create lessons fast.

The best part of the combination is the instant feedback I recieve when using the activote system. The Activote is a remote where studetns can submit a multiple choice answer with up to 6 options, and the results are instantly recorded and with a tap of the board are displayed. I often will do a poll on the fly just by writing the question with a marker so that I can instantly know whether or not the students understand a concept. I am converting my multiple choice tests to the Activote system because I can create the test for Activote in about half the time it takes to grade the test by hand.

The Activboard has many features beyond the typical writing on the board that make it very powerful. The layers feature makes it possible to do many cool and fun activities. The multimedia tools work well. The orginization of the file system is it’s one caveat. It is a little difficult to figure out how they organize things, but over all it is great.