Tech Tutor Mark

Now that my favorite photo editing web site, Picnik , is shutting down on April 19th (thanks to Google), here are some alternative and recommended photo editing sites to replace it: Aviary.com (requires a login, but also includes a music creator, audio editor, screen capture, effects editor and even a vector editor). Sumo Paint  (this is a lot like Photoshop, but may be too complex and powerful for most quick-use situations) PicMonkey.com (good, basic photo editor. A nice replacement for Picnik) Pixer (as simple as you can get.  Just upload, re-size or crop, and then save and re-name back to your computer). Creative Kit in Google+ (Picnik recommends this, although I haven't tried it yet myself).  If none of these excite you, there are even more online photo and graphics tools in this article from Brad Andersohn 's blog ( bradsdomain.com ).  Replacing Picnik will take a little getting used to, but I'm sure we will all manage and discover s...

Watch Product Reviews.com did a review on the new LG Blu-Ray player which I just bought.  The review includes a nice CNet video review at the bottom, so that you can see this great player in action.  With the ability to play movies, music and pictures from a USB flash drive or external hard drive, as well as streaming services like MLB.TV, Pandora, Netflix, YouTube, HuluPlus, Vudu and Picasa Web Albums and more all over wireless or wired network connections, this should be exactly what you're looking for in your next Blu-Ray player. 

Two of my current favorite topics are media streaming and remote control/VPN solutions.  In this article , Lifehacker did a great job of combining both topics into a Best Of.  Anywhere from DJ-ing your iTunes from any room to watching recorded TV (without SlingBox) to giving remote tech support.  And pay close attention to #9 on the list: Installing Wake-on-LAN for remote power-ups.  This Top 10 is absolutely indispensable . 

If you want to stream media from your own collection, here are five great solutions for streaming your own personal media over your home network, or even over the Internet outside your own house. Thanks to Lifehacker for providing this impressive list of great tools .  

For the film buffs out there like me, I have found an alternative to Netflix.  True, Netflix has abandoned their latest stupid idea: to create a separate site for DVD rentals apart from their streaming site.  Quikster won't happen, thank heaven.  But, what if you're just having trouble finding what you're looking for on Netflix?  For instance, I am still a big DVD collector and I am particular about which edition of each movie I watch.  Netflix just doesn't always have what I'm looking for: 2-Disc sets, some Criterion editions, out-of-print titles, etc.  So, I did a search one night to find an alternative that I could subscribe to (maybe 1-2 titles out at a time).  I found exactly what I was looking for in GreenCine.com.  This review does an excellent job of describing GreenCine .  The site/service has been around for at least seven years and counting, and is enough like Netflix that a new user won't have too much to learn, and it fills needs...

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.   

The newly-revised " Best Free Tools & Tips for Busy Educators " is now available for free download in PDF format.  The links work in Adobe Reader, too.  These are my favorite sites, Web tools, tips, tricks, free software, and a getting-started introduction for each.  Let me know what you think. 

In case Scribd is blocked in your school, office, or if you just don't like its restrictions, there are alternatives.  This great list was posted on JPIRES.org .  It is the lengthiest list of its kind that I have found so far, and many of these services I had never even heard of.  As always, let me know what you think, and which ones you like best.

The Best File Storage and Backup Services In case you were looking for a really helpful list of the various online storage, backup and sharing services available today, this is one of the best I've found.  Courtesy of BornTechie.com, the list is organized into two categories: free and pay services.  

Sending text messages (SMS) through email is extremely easy.  If you can be reminded through email, you can now be reminded through text messaging (SMS). People have email reminders sent to them for all kinds of things.  If you know the correct email address, you can also send these messages to your cellular phone.  Here are the email addresses for the six most popular cellular phone carriers: T-Mobile: phonenumber @ tmomail.net Virgin Mobile: phonenumber @ vmobl.com Cingular: phonenumber @ cingularme.com Sprint: phonenumber @ messaging.sprintpcs.com Verizon: phonenumber @ vtext.com Nextel: phonenumber @ messaging.nextel.com *where phonenumber = your recipient's 10-digit phone number For those carriers whom we forgot, you can also send SMS through email for US Cellular, SunCom, Powertel, AT&T, Metro PCS and Alltel .

Inspired by Gina Trapani's excellent April article in MaximumPC magazine entitled The Power User's Guide to Google Apps , I did a Google Apps demo in May for the Computer Operators of Marysville and Port Huron ( C.O.M.P. ), a computer user group in Port Huron, MI.   Picking out the tips that mainly pertain to Google Maps, GMail and Google Docs, this best-of-the-best tips demo provides a nice focus on the features that are not readily apparent to the typical Google user. 

Featuring many of my favorite Web tips, sites and Web services, here is the handout I used for the Internet Tips, Tricks, Great Web Sites & Web Services class.  It was a pretty big hit: 1. TinyURL : Allows you to turn a long Web site URL into a much shorter one. 2. Delicious.com : Social Bookmarking service allows you to save all of your bookmarks online and access them anywhere that you have an Internet connection. Xmarks Free Bookmark Sync is a free add-on for all popular Web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Google Chrome. Install it from www.xmarks.com and your bookmarks will be backed up and synchronized from any Web browser you have this installed on. 3. Foxbright : (The PHASD CMS system for building a free classroom, department or school Web site). Check out our How-To’s page for tips and tutorials on using Foxbright, or attend one of our many training workshops to learn how to use it. 4. The WayBack Machine : http://www.archiv...

After attending this year's MACUL Technology Conference, one presentation tool stood out.  Prezi is a Web-based alternative to PowerPoint.  Yesterday I got a chance to create my first Prezi. As we all know, PowerPoint has been used in education for many years, but education was not its inteded use.  It was created to be used in business presentations.  Prezi has a format that is more user-friendly and (better yet) educational friendly.  You can easily create "Frames" which allow you to group like objects (text blocks as well as images) and when you're done, you can: Share the Prezi with someone else, allowing them to edit it or just watch it, Include a public Web link that can reside on your classroom Web site or blog, Embed the Prezi on your classroom Web site or blog (like I did below), Download the Prezi and show it without an Internet connection.  It can be stored on a DVD or USB Flash drive, for instance. Here is the public link to the Prezi below...

Multimedia Workshop: Favorite Free Multimedia Tools None of the software on this list will cost you a penny: Audio Editing Audacity (sound/audio editor & audio converter) ( http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ ) Video Editing Windows Movie Maker (Microsoft Windows’ video editor) ( http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx ) Vivia (video editor) ( http://vi.en.softonic.com/ ) Photo Editing IrfanView (photo viewer & image editor) ( http://www.irfanview.com/ ) Paint.Net (Photoshop-like photo editing alternative) ( http://www.getpaint.net/ ) The GIMP (advanced photo editor) ( http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ ) Picasa (Google’s photo organizer) ( http://picasa.google.com/ ) Photoshop Express (Photoshop’s free online storage/editing site) ( https://www.photoshop.com/express ) Photo Slideshow Makers (Done in a video format) PhotoStory 3 (Microsoft’s free slideshow maker) ( www.microsoft.com/photostory ) Animoto (Create a video slide-show in minutes and bring your...

Did you know that you can create photo slideshows for a Web site in more than 11 different applications? I am trying to find the very best tool to create a photo slide show of my own, and also the best tool to teach others to use. It really is amazing at how many there are to choose from. I have come up with 11 different tools...so far: 1. Microsoft Photo Story (free) . 2. Animoto (Web site/service) 3. Windows Movie Maker (free) 4. Adobe Photoshop Elements (any version) 5. Adobe Flash Professional CS3 or CS4 6. Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS4 7. Adobe Fireworks CS3 or CS4 8. Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 or CS4 9. Adobe Acrobat Professional 10. Picasa - Google's free software and Web album creator 11. Microsoft PowerPoint (save as a PowerPoint Show or HTML) Sure, there are many more slide-show-making tools, but these are the ones I have tried so far. I'm just trying to generate some comments. Which do you like best and/or which do you find the easiest to train others to use? My own persona...

The Classroom Web Site Services & Tools The Freebies: Protopage.com : Free. Drag and drop widgets. Here is an example I set up for myself: http://protopage.com/markrepp PageFlakes.com : Free. Drag and drop widgets. Here is an example of one used by a PHASD teacher: http://www.pageflakes.com/kgreene2/ Weebly.com : Free. Drag and drop personal widgets available. It also has over 35 site designs to choose from. Hover your cursor over a design to automatically change your page. There is also the option to download a complete ZIP file ready to upload to your server. Here is an example of a Weebly site: http://beginwithme.weebly.com/ MOODLE : Free in our District. Allows you to create entire courses online. Everyone who visits the site needs a login and/or enrollment key (course password). Here is an example of a moodle site I created: http://moodle.phasd.us/course/view.php?id=23 You can log in as a Guest. Google Sites : ( http://sites.google.com/ ) Free with a Gmail account. Here is on...

There are many technology obstacles for adults over 50 trying to keep up with their kids and grand-kids who were raised with computers from their very birth. Here is a collection of resources that will help adults catch up with their kids and bridge the gap a bit better with regard to technology (in both skills and knowledge): 1) Understanding computers and Internet basics, spreadsheets, word processing, operating systems, etc. Training is free from the St. Clair County Library. For an updated schedule of classes, just download the latest issue of their newsletter. It is available at www.sccl.lib.mi.us/libnews.html -click on the latest issue of the newsletter. The Computer Training Schedule is in the Winter 2008-2009 issue on page 6. 2) Understanding the latest educational technology tools, such as interactive whiteboards, student responders (clickers), computer tips and shortcuts, building Web sites cheaply, using PowerPoint, and finding the best Web Sites for every occasion. Training...

Internet4Classrooms.com : A Web portal for anyone who wants to find high-quality, free Internet resources to use in their classroom instruction. There are Links for K-12 Teachers, Assessment Assistance, Online Practice Modules SendUIt.com and YouSendIt.com : Send very large files up to 100 mb. Most E-mail services such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Comcast, GMail all have limitations on attachment file size. This way you can send huge bundles of pictures, even videos to your friends, relatives and co-workers. Ask about creating .Zip files, so that you can compress an entire folder and send it off to others. TinyURL.com and SnipURL.com : Free Web site URL shortening services. These sites allow you to copy the longest Web site addresses you come across and convert them to smaller, more compact addresses which you can easily pass on to your colleagues. Officetutorials.com : A great way to quickly learn any of the major Microsoft software. There are full-color picture-laden tutorials that take you ...

All About Google Notebook In my April 1st post about the best advanced Google search features, I mentioned Google Notebook . But today I would like to emphasize the importance of this underrated tool. In the words of the Internet giant themselves, here are all of the things it can do: Clip useful information . You can add clippings of text, images and links from web pages to your Google Notebook without ever leaving your browser window. Organize your notes . You can create multiple notebooks, divide them into sections, and drag-and-drop your notes to stay organized. Get access from anywhere . You can access your Google Notebooks from any computer by using your Google Accounts login. Publish your notebook . You can share your Google Notebook with the world by making it public. Now you can also get access from your phone . You can now access Google Notebook from your mobile phone by going to http://www.google.com/notebook/m . For a Google Notebook Tour , take a look at this: http://www....

Wayport Prepaid High-Speed Internet Cards Today's tip is just a heads-up. People are surprised to find out that many McDonalds are now Wireless HotSpots, providing high-speed Internet access while you are enjoying your fast food fix. However, what those people don't know is that most of the McDonalds require you to PAY for that high-speed access. In fact, they provide Wayport service, so you need to become a Wayport member or, more easily, buy a prepaid Wayport card, just in case. It might be worth the money if you happen to be at a hotel, McDonalds, Hertz, airport or other retailer that uses Wayport wi-fi service. Here are the prepaid card options and prices: http://www.wayport.net/prepaid.aspx . Here are the Wayport locations , and there are many. In my state (Michigan), McDonalds is the biggest user of Wayport access, although more airports and hotels have jumped on board in other states. A $25 card buys you 3 connections of up to 2 hours at a time, or from purchase time...