Tech Tutor Mark

One of the educational tech resources I now use is SimpleK12's EdTech Unconference, and part of that resource is their ILoveEdTech Blog.  A recent post by Elizabeth on "How to Use Jing in Your Classroom" is helpful at showing the various uses for Jing.  It shows what you can and cannot do with this great, free TechSmith tool.  Best of all, it includes important things to remember before you jump in and start using Jing. 

Those of you who know me know that more than anything else, I am a serious movie buff.  And, I love Netflix.  One night, I decided to do some research on Netflix and found two very interesting things online about them.  First, I found the "Hacking Netflix" blog .  Then, I found within that blog a wonderful piece from the archives of ABC's "Nightline" called "Inside Netflix" which actually aired back in 2009.  This was the first time I'd seen it, and for those of you who haven't, the segment is quite fascinating.  I mean how many of you have wondered what it looks like inside one of the over 50 different distribution centers where Netflix DVD envelopes are ripped apart, examined and re-sorted?  It makes for very interesting viewing, in which many previously unknown statistics are exposed.   

I presented "Everywhere with Evernote" at the Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning Conference ( MACUL ) at Cobo Center in Detroit on Friday, March 18th.  I created a Google site with the presentation handout in OpenOffice, PowerPoint and PDF formats.  Here is the link . Please comment here if you attended the session. Mark at MACUL    

In preparing for my Evernote demo at this year's MACUL, I came across three excellent tutorial screencasts on YouTube.  The first one talks about the new features of Evernote for the Web .  It is 4:39 in length. The second is a lengthy conversation with the CEO of Evernote .  This one runs 28:05 in length and is not to be missed. The third is actually my favorite .  Clocking in at 9:33 in length, this is a very well presented demo that provides an excellent overview. After watching these three videos, you will no doubt be excited and motivated to try Evernote on all of your devices and use it daily. 

Free, high-quality software tutorials are easier to find than they once were, but the quality varies greatly from site to site, from pretty good to downright horrible.  That said, TechTutor.TV is not messing around.  Their tutorials are downright excellent, and very much free to everyone.  I found the site purely by accident when looking for a particular Photoshop CS3 tutorial .  Currently, video tutorials on TechTutor.TV include such highly-useful topics as Word, Excel and Publisher 2007, all of the Adobe CS3 applications, OpenOffice Impress and Calc, Paint.Net, as well as Firefox and Internet Explorer.  Although they are about one version behind in each software application, the tips and tutorials are first-rate, showing a wide variety of excellent skills.  You just can't beat the price, considering how much you can get without having to subscribe to an online service or buy a training DVD.  Check out TechTutor.TV and bask in its wonderful content. 

If you're interested in using Pandora Music Radio , this is an excellent article from the folks at MakeUseOf.com, one of my very favorite tech Web sites.  It makes a great guide to read before you jump in: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-pandora-music-radio/ #

This is just an example of the many great tips found on SimpleHelp.net Rebecca Bollwitt from Miss604.com created this screencast which shows how to use Omnidazzle .  This is a tool that lets you do some very cool and flashy things with your mouse cursor while delivering a screencast.  This is available for Mac.  Of course if you have a Windows PC, you already have such great tools as Camtasia Studio, the free CamStudio and Jing available.  I really like this screencast.  Take a look.  And check out SimpleHelp's other great tips as well. 

I am posting this because I keep forgetting how to do it.  I don't always use a Mac.  In fact, up until now, I preferred to use Windows.  However, I find that I'm using the MacBook more and more often.  So, when it comes to doing a screenshot, I'm looking around for the PrtScn button like I have on a typical Windows keyboard, and it's nowhere to be found.  When looking for this Apple keyboard combination, I ran across TechieCorner.com and this extended tip on how to do a Print Screen on a Mac .  I would like to add that when using Command, SHIFT+4 and then the Space Bar, the resulting screenshot will include a drop shadow .  This is a nice touch.  I hope the tip helps you as much as it does me. 

TeachingDegree.org posted this excellent article on their site. 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom .