Technology Times » Miscellaneous

Keeping “IT” Secure

tekkieteacher — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:23:55 +0000

I was reminded in a meeting today just how important it is that we keep our workstations secure. This applies to everyone – teachers, administrators, secretaries – yes, even YOU. Never walk away from a computer without logging out or locking up. If you are only going to be away a few minutes and don’t want to log completely out, that’s fine. Just press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Delete] at the same time and then click the appropriate button to lock your workstation.

Now some of you might be thinking, “But it locks up automatically after 10 minutes. Why do I need to worry about this?”. Because that’s 10 whole minutes! C’mon, we work with teenagers. You already KNOW how much mischief they can get in to in much less time.

Why do you want to do this? Well, it’s because horrible things can happen to our network and to the files on our network if someone with malicious intent sits down at the computer where you are logged in and decides to start “exploring”. For example, most staff members have access to the drive where ALL our gradebooks reside. With just a few clicks, ALL of them could be deleted*. If this happens at a computer where you are logged in, you are responsible.

So, log out or lock it up!

*Don’t panic. I keep backups. But, it’s still bad if it happens.

BeFunky.com

tekkieteacher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:36:10 +0000

There’s just one more week to go and I’ve been struggling to figure out what websites would be the most useful to teachers at this time of year. Like our students, it’s hard not to “check out” mentally a little early. It’s so hard, in fact, that I’ve given up trying. This week’s featured website is just for fun. BeFunky.com is a cool online program that enables you ”turn your photos into incredible artwork with one click.”

Here’s an example of what you can do:

There are some very good educational uses of this application–in our art classes and with any of your students presentations–but mostly it’s just fun!

Study Tools On Delicious

tekkieteacher — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:08:31 +0000

With final exams fast approaching, here is a link to Hylton’s collection of bookmarked study tools.

http://delicious.com/hyltonhs/study_tools

There are links for educational games, practice tests, and test-taking strategies. Take a gander, and if any seem appropriate, please share with your students.

Abandoned Schools

tekkieteacher — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:56:06 +0000

Sad, powerful, poignant….too many words, too many emotions.

Click here for more pictures.

Fairy Tale by Emoticon

tekkieteacher — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:43:39 +0000

Found this on TED. It HAS to count as some kind of poetry!

Election 2008

tekkieteacher — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:59:58 +0000

No matter what side of the political aisle you may sit, the historical significance of yesterday’s election is indisputable. From the record voter turn out, to the election of the first ever African American to the highest position in the land, to the post election New Year’s Eve-like celebrations, it was all very exciting at at times very moving. There are certain moments in one’s life that are never forgotten. For me, this was one of them.

Here is a great interview with Colin Powell on Obama’s victory:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/politics/2008/11/05/colin.powell.reaction.cnn.html

Welcome Back!

tekkieteacher — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:50:43 +0000

Can you believe summer is over!?!?!

Welcome back to school!

welcome-back-20081

Remembering Our Heroes

tekkieteacher — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:45:57 +0000

In honor of Memorial Day:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080525/ap_on_re_us/memorial_day__miracle__marine

Mini-Byte: Backing Up Your Data

tekkieteacher — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:19:16 +0000

I know all of you are just as despondent as I am to know that the end of the year is rapidly approaching and that we are faced with seemingly endless summer weeks without our daily dose of classroom wondrousness.

With that in mind, it’s highly advisable to back up your data on a regular basis. At this point in the year, you probably have gigabytes of worksheets, notes, tests, etc., that you have worked long and hard on. If you haven’t been doing it on a regular basis already, now is the time to back everything up to a thumb drive! There are many different ways you can backup your data, but here’s one way for you:

Go to Start/My Document (Note: if you have your files stored somewhere else on your C Drive other your My Documents folder, then use these steps to copy those, too)
In the My Documents window, highlight all your documents and folders.
On the left pane, click Copy the selected items. The Copy Items window displays.
On the Copy Items window, select your Thumb Drive (this is usually your E: drive). Click Copy.

And that’s it!

Teacher Dropout Rates

tekkieteacher — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:48:52 +0000

Would it surprise you to know that the dropout rate among new teachers is higher than the average dropout rate of students over the same four-year period? And the biggest reason why is NOT poor salaries. Check out Pete O’Reilly’s post from The Pulse.