The most common question I am asked when I speak at a local or national conference is “How do you stay up to date with all of this stuff?” While it would be nice to be able to say that I travel the world going from classroom to classroom and lab to lab to find …
Category Archive: Tips & Tricks
Jan
31
Jan
10
Learning Styles
Are you a visual learner? If not, maybe you are more auditory or kinesthetic? If you are not sure, don’t worry because there is no shortage of websites or preference assessments you can purchase that will help you determine what type of learner you are. I bring this up because learning style preference assessments are …
May
27
How Computer Viruses Spread
In general, this blog is about instructional and assistive technology. However, I have been dealing with an increasingly large number of general technology issues, so I have decided to add a new category to the blog for this type of stuff. Today I want to briefly explain how viruses and malware work, in hopes of …
Aug
20
Helpful iPad Post
Ran across this post on an AT blog from the Virginia Department of Education about iPad orientation locking. iPads are becoming more and more popular in the classroom setting. However, I see some students struggle when it comes to holding them. If tilted just a little too much in one direction or the other, the …
Jun
02
Media Converters
We all know that it’s a good idea to use multiple means of representation when we present content. There are several ways to do this including lecture, images, PowerPoint, audio, video, etc… Many times video poses a problem however. First, it is not always easy to find sites that schools allow us to access. Then …
Nov
13
Text to Speech just got easier
Most of us are probably familiar with products that turn digital text into speech. Programs like Read&Write Gold and Kurzweil are feature packed applications that will not only read almost any digital text to you, but also provide numerous other supports such as advanced spell check, word prediction and more. Other programs, like ReadPlease are …
Nov
06
Converting Videos to and iPod Format
Finding a solid free application to convert videos to an iPod format isn’t easy. I’ve tried several out and have came to the conclusion that WinFF is about the best available at the time of this writing. WinFF is about as simple to use as it can get. Simply click “Add” (see screenshot below) to …
Oct
15
Podcasting 101
I’ve held off on doing a post on podcasting because every school, district or organization I help get started have things in place that make them unique. For example, I typically recommend using a blog to run your podcast through, but many places do not have or even allow the use of blogs. Others may …
Oct
15
Removing Shortcut Arrows
OK, so this post doesn’t really have much to do with educational technology, but it solves an annoying problem. In Vista, if you have a shortcut icon on your desktop there is a huge arrow that attaches itself to the icon to show that it is a shortcut to another location. One way to fix …
Mar
02
Developing a System for Engaging your Students
Today’s post goes along with the third principle of Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Means of Engagement. It is critical to keep students engaged in your lessons if your goal is for them to retain the information you provide. To do this you must engage them. Engagement must be often and relevant. Relevant simply means …