Free access to ebooks and audiobooks @ your public library

While the market and logistic realities of  ebooks and audiobooks are still leaving something to be desired for schools,  you already have  free access to a state-wide, rapidly developing collection via your local Public Library. 
All you need to do is ask for your Overdrive number at your local library (issued on the spot) and then download the appropriate app to your personal device (tablet, smart phone, ipod...) or PC . Once you open your app, choose the  NH Downloadable Books Consortium and check out  as many as three books at a time. The lending period is 15 days. You may create wish lists and put a hold on books already checked out. 

Enjoy anywhere, anytime!

Jude 

A simple way to protect your computer when not at your desk

Logging out of your computer and then logging back on is a waste of time, as the process causes all your documents and apps to close.

There is a simple solution: Press the Win and L key together. This will lock your computer. When coming back to your desk, log on as usual. Your desktop will reappear exactly as you left it. If an application was running, say for example a download or a defragmentation, it kept running while you were away, saving you precious time.

Isn't it cool?

Oh, btw, Here is the Win key:

Explore our online catalog and databases

Server Error Message in Google Docs /Drive

If you see this while opening a Google doc:

Then do that in Chrome: 

1. 

2. Once the temporary window opens, choose SETTINGS. 

3. In settings, click on ADVANCE SETTINGS (at the very bottom of the new window)

4. In advance settings, scroll down to the very bottom and  click on RESET BROWSER SETTINGS

You are done.

Jude

Camtasia training - day 1 for Mac

When using Camtasia 2 for Mac, uploading with the built-in Youtube share function does not yield great results. Just like for Camtasia 8 for Windows, it is better to first save an MP4 file and then upload it:
- In Share, choose Advanced Export. 
- Then choose Export to MP4 and click on Options.
- In options, choose the following settings:

Note: the image size is standard to most school desktops, however, you may want to play with this setting.









Jude

Camtasia Training - Day 1

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The first issue was to determine the optimal settings for uploading a video to YouTube. It appears that the automatic sharing to YouTube  gives very mediocre results. Although you always seem to loose some of the definition, You can get a much better video quality by using these settings:

- Editing dimensions: 1280x1024
- In Produce and Share: Choose "Custom Production Settings" > MP4 Flash/Html5 Player>next>video settings: frame rate: 30 and slide from "smaller file" to "higher quality">next>next>finish.

Create a folder in your computer, as this last command will generate a number of files. However, the good news is that you will find among these files an MP4 file. Once you located it, just upload it to YouTube.

One more thing: it will take a few minutes for your youtube video to offer the highest definition option (HD720p) to viewer . As the default definition is of lower quality, you need to inform your viewers to select this option for optimal picture (see picture below).

See for instance this test. Never mind my voice comments, just look at the quality of the picture and compare with other formats, if you have the patience for that :)

Jude

Flipped classroom: no need to reinvent the wheel

Among the teachers communities where you can download screencasts for your curriculum,  one of the most important and organized is the Khan Academy.

I recommend listening to the TEDtalk by its founder,  and then go the the Khan Academy website.

Jude.

A low key way to start recording your screen for flipping your classroom

If you don't feel ready for a new software like Camtasia, why not giving a try, first, to a simple screen recorder already installed with your Smartboard software?
Not a lot of bells and whistles, but it will make you feel what it is like to create a screencast.
The screen recorder tool is on your floating toolbar. If it is not, just add it by clicking on the settings icon at the bottom of the toolbar. More questions? Don't hesitate to ask!

Jude

Experimenting with the flipped classroom

This summer at Profile,  five teachers and your dedicated librarian/tech integrator will explore what is currently the best tool for the flipped classroom, Camtasia Studio.  Following up on this previous post, take a look at these short introduction tutorials about Camtasia Studio. You will see and learn how to capture your screen and edit its content to tailor it to the needs of your students.
You may download the full version of Camtasia Studio here (Windows and Mac versions) and use it for an entire month. Should you be interested in useing it after that,  there are a few extra permanent  licences still availalble. Just contact me.

Jude

Computer Maintenance 101 Part 3: Windows Updates

For optimum image quality, start up the video, then set the picture to HD 720

Best Chrome Web Apps and Extensions for Education

As the majority of teachers at Profile has moved to Chrome, this blog, Web Apps Reviews,  is written by two Google certified trainers and teachers who will help you get the most of its power, i.e., cloud-based software.

"Web App Reviews is a site dedicated to reviewing the best Chrome Web Apps and Extensions for Education.  As schools are moving more and more towards cloud-based services, it is important to find high quality resources for the classroom.

Each review includes a written blog post and a short video covering what the web app or extension does as well as practical ideas for use in schools."

A permanent link is on the right side of this page, under Best Ed Tech Blogs. 

Enjoy

Jude

How to post a Book Review on Alexandria's online catalog

English, History, Social Studies and other teachers:

Here is a nice, high tech assignment project for your classes: 

It is really easy to post book reviews on our school online library catalog. Look at the 3 min tutorial here.

Student just need to ask anybody from the Media Center staff for their patron number, and use their last name as their password. As you'll see, it is pretty self-explanatory. Teachers may post their own reviews and ratings as well.

Jude

Computer Maintenance 101 part 2: installing Malwarebytes

For optimal image quality, start the video and change the quality to 720 HD

Jude

Teaching with ipad

For teachers using Ipad in the classroom:

Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts. Teachers can embed quizzes, blogs, polls in the text. Great feature allows teachers to grab articles off the web and put on group shelf.

See the features and download here.

Jude

Computer Maintenance 101- Setting up AVG

This is the first screencasting of Computer Maintenance 101 by the Profile Tech Patrol. For higher picture quality, start up the video and change the settings to 720p HD. For crystal clear image, download the video from this page. Stay tune for more.

Jude

Planning Common Core Lessons?: Free, Web-based applications can help align your plans with the new standards

Planning Common Core Lessons?: Free, Web-based applications can help align your plans with the new standards

This article takes a serious look at what is available to help teachers create and manage Common Core lesson plans. I could not recommend enough taking a look at the first two tools, Common Curriculum,  and Mastery Connect.


Jude

Infotopia: a wealth of information supporting the Common Core

Besides a layout deceivingly amateurish, this is a portal to a wealth of solid information directly supporting the Common Core: http://www.infotopia.info/. May be used by teachers as well as students.

Jude

Create Engaging Presentations with Free iPad Apps | Edutopia

Create Engaging Presentations with Free iPad Apps | Edutopia

Ten Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading in Students | Edutopia

Ten Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading in Students | Edutopia

Organizing Google Drive files from your students with gClassFolders

Credits go to Richard Byrne.

Trial access to Gale Virtual Reference Library

NCES and Gale Publishing Company have been working on putting together for the North Country area a  consortium for the purchase of  Gale Virtual Reference Library. I was positively impressed by the presentation and several schools are already on board.
Please use this link for the free trial.
I suggest to start with the video basics in the help area and then invite teachers and students  to use it and get their feedback. Pricing is not finalized yet but it sounded very accessible. My impression is that this has the potential for completely replacing the print reference collection of the typical Elem, MS and HS library. Please note that this trial will end on Feb 26 and will be replaced by a longer one at this point. Also, it includes more than just the GVRL collection. Focus on this one only! Don;t hesitate to contact me if you have any question.
Jude

Showing and hiding the content of your monitor on SMARTBOARD

- If you are using a laptop, keep in mind the magic Fn/F8 combination.

There are three settings that you can navigate by holding the Fn key and the F8 key at the same time:
1. Showing your content on both your laptop screen and SMARTBOARD
2. Showing your content only on SMARTBOARD
3. Showing your content only on your laptop screen.

- If you are using a desktop, use the SMARTBOARD remote: press "hide" to hide the content of your screen, and press it again to show it. This is faster than turning your smartboard on and off and waiting for the projector to cool off before restarting.

Of course, you can also use the remote with a laptop.

Jude

Powerteacher: Problems with Gradebook

Powerteacher users (that is to say, all Profile teachers),

You need to get all your Windows recent critical updates to get your gradebook app running. If you cannot run Gradebook anymore, go to Windows update, install the updates, restart your PC and you should be all set.
It is also a good idea to set up your PC for automatic updates. If you are not  sure how to do this,  use Atomic Learning tutorials. The logon and password are in the Google Drive shared folder "Profile E-Subscriptions passwords."

If you still have difficulties with Gradebook, contact me.

Jude

Computer seems like it is not booting up

If it looks like your computer is not starting up, or that it  starts up only after 5-10 minutes, it's just because of a recent Microsoft update. 

If your computer was not closed properly ( for instance, if you are using a laptop and closed it by just closing the lid, or did a hard shutdown on your desktop), things get even slower. 

So, next time you shut it down, gently let it do so on its own sweet time, and when it starts up, be ready to wait (one last time) for a few minutes and have a nice cup of coffee :)  

It'll behave normally after that.

Jude

Many JSTOR Journal Archives Now Free to Public

From Katie G.

The archives of more than 1,200 journals are now available for limited free reading by the public, JSTOR announced on January 9, 2013. Anyone can sign up for a JSTOR account and read up to three articles for free every two weeks. This is a major expansion of the Register & Read program, following a 10-month test, during which more than 150,000 people registered for access to an initial set of 76 journals. The new additions bring more than 4.5 million articles from nearly 800 scholarly societies, university presses, and academic publishers into the Register & Read offerings.Teachers and K-12 student may register.

                                                                                  

Shortcut to Gradebook

Profile teachers,

Here is an easy access to the grade program within Power School. 

Go to your downloads folder and copy launchgradebook.jnlp and paste it to the desktop. 

After it is pasted, double click the icon and enter your username and password to use the program.  This will skip the steps of launching a browser and logging into Power School. 

                                                                                    Jacci 

Four videos to introduce you to the flipped classroom

These short videos provide a good intro to the flipped classroom and also include common Q&A:

Why I flipped my classroom
What if students don't watch videos?
What about students with no internet access?
A flipped lesson on the flipped classroom

My next posting will address the simple screen casting tools  to use for recording a lesson.

Jude