Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Using Evernote for Conferences and Conventions

Summer frequently brings professional development opportunities through attendance at conferences and conventions. As many conference organizers go paperless with distribution of agendas and materials, new strategies for saving and organizing electronically have emerged. Personally, I have enjoyed using Evernote as my tool for recording, organizing, and distributing my conference notes and observations. As a cloud-based, mobile technology I have found the flexibility and accessibility from any device to be invaluable. The convenience of using either my laptop or tablet to record notes during sessions as well as view them from my smartphone is ideal. Sharing any relevant notes or folders with colleagues is much more efficient and effective than emailing attachments.

I encourage you to review this blog post "Going Paperless: Conferences and conventions" for additional valuable and creative strategies for using Evernote at your conventions this summer!

Carleen

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Colleges and the Technology Industry

Like the discussion in this recent article about the relationship between Stanford and the Silicon Valley, one must ask him/herself if the relationship between colleges and the technology industry are closer than they appear. Even the recent public offering of Facebook was due entirely to the development by college students and its fruition. Moreover technology driven companies are using education as fodder for investment, while the old thoughts and notions of traditional education are resisting these changes. In the face of big money versus student debt, there seems no end to the reciprocal nature of the relationship between colleges and technology.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Dropbox, Google Drive, or SkyDrive

As previously noted in CGU Tech Buzz, Google recently announced its long-awaited cloud storage device, Google Drive. As a result you now have several options for storing, sharing and backing up your files: Dropbox, Drive and SkyDrive. Cloud-based storage has become increasingly popular as users have found the ease and convenience of easy access to all file types from mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) a 'must have'. Sharing files with family, friends and work colleagues has never been easier. Doing so minimizes email inbox clutter and allows for larger file types such as photos and videos to be easily distributed. New features are rapidly being added to these web-based tools making them necessities for our daily technology use.

However, you may be perplexed as to which tool fits your needs and technology requirements. A recent USA Today Review may assist you with that decision. "Which cloud storage site is right for you?" provides an informative comparison of the three tools based on storage, sharing, search, and software. Analyzing your options will provide some clarity - at least for now - and until the 'next best' comes along!

Carleen

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Malware Alert / DNS Changer

For all OS: DNS Changer is a form of malware that has been infecting Windows and Mac OS X computer’s since 2007. At its height, around 4 Million computer’s were infected throughout the world, including individuals, business’s, and even government agencies. Find out if you have been violated and infected with DNS Changer. No software will be downloaded to perform the check. http://www.dns-ok.us

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

TED-Ed and Flipped Lessons

It's been a year since I wrote about the virtues of TED, a rich resource for videos to support teaching and learning. If you have not explored their website, I encourage you to do so.


Last month, The Chronicle of Higher Education included an article ("New TED-Ed Site Turns YouTube Videos Into Flipped Lessons") that focused upon TED's new website, TED-Ed. According to the author, this new resource will help to transform a video into "an interactive part of a lesson". This strategy, frequently referred to as the 'flipped classroom', has become a popular methodology for creating engaging content that can be reviewed by students outside the classroom. As a result, more time is provided inside the classroom for relevant activities, discussions, and interactions among students and between teachers and students. 


To find out more about TED-Ed take the tour!