Brainblast Boot Camp - Prezi

Computers 101 on Prezi

Google Docs - Brainblast Boot Camp

Picasa - free photo editing software from google

Bling Your Blog - BrainBlast Boot Camp

Make a screencast video

Here is one method of how to make a screen capture video, like most of the tutorials I have here on my blog.

Here, I am showing Camstudio.org. The reason I like Camstudio is because it records to .AVI format which can easily be further edited in Windows Movie Maker, or most other video editing software.

Jing is also a good program. It's VERY easy to record. My problem with Jing though is it records to .SWF (flash format) which makes it a little more difficult to edit and share. (in the free version)

Then after you've made your video, upload it to Webertube.com and share with others.

Here's the tutorial:

Show Current Semester MyGrades Classes

Here's a quick fix in the meantime. I've heard that there will be a permanent option for this, possibly a checkbox to "Show current semester classes only", but here's what you can do right now.

EDIT: This issue has been FIXED :)

This is a 1 minute video:

(NEW) Posting grades in MyGrades

Here's an updated version of my video with the new look.

It's under 2 minutes long:

Create a New Gradebook in MyGrades

This is how to create a new gradebook in MyGrades. You will do this every new semester to get your new class lists.

Here's a 90 second video.

SMART Response Teacher Tools

Some features of the SMART Response Teacher Tools program

New Student Status on gradebook

Due to the teachers' requests, the new students added to your class will automatically show up at the bottom of your roster.  :)

You'll notice their cell is green, for highlighting purposes.  To remove this "new" status and let them sort alphabetically in your list, just Right Click on the cell, and "Remove New Status".

This is your choice.  You can keep it how it is, or sort it how you like.

Here's a 45 second video if you need assistance.

Thanks.

Add Smart Response Content to Notebook File

If you have a Smart Notebook file, you can easily convert it to have "Smart Response Content".

 

You can download Smart Notebook files that match up with your Curriculum Standards and Objectives.  Here's the link:

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Standards+Search+US.htm

Smart Response without a Projector

Did you know your students can use Smart Response devices without the projector?  You can print out your assessments and your students can enter their answers into their devices, right from the paper.

 

When you think about it, the projector is only a method of showing your students the assessment questions.  It actually has nothing to do with receiving the signal from the Smart Response devices. 

 

One downside about using the projector is you can only display one question at a time from Smart Response.  This "printed" method lets the students complete the assessment/quiz/test on their own schedule.

 

Here's a 2 minute video:

Export Student Assessment Scores from Smart Response to Excel

This is how you can export your students' assessment results from Smart Response (formerly known as Senteo) into a CSV or Excel spreadsheet.

 

NOTE:  You must export before you close the assessment file if you want to retain the question data.

New Wordpress 2.8 layout

Here's a quick comparison in under 2 minutes between the new 2.8 Dashboard and the old 2.6.

We invite you to try this out before we go LIVE, here:
http://sandbox.weber.k12.ut.us/ ***Enter your Novell Username at the end***

WARNING: This "Sandbox" will be DELETED once we go LIVE. All of your posts & uploaded items will be GONE. This is just a test area.

Check your Mailbox size in GroupWise

This is how you can check your mailbox size in GroupWise.

 

For directions on how to set up your archiving, and auto archiving, see this video:

http://blog.weber.k12.ut.us/jumcfarland/2008/10/24/how-to-archive-your-groupwise-email/

 

Here's a short video on checking your email size and deleting old items.

Change Webertube Video Embed Size

Do you find that the WeberTube video is too small when you embed it to a website or blog?

Here's how you can change that; I've also displayed different examples of sizes of the same video here.

You'll notice the "Lights" go off when you start playing this video. Don't panic, you can turn them back on with the "Light Bulb" icon. This feature just helps set a little more focus to the video.

This video is sized at 640 X 480







This is the SAME video in the original size, just to show comparison.

Introduction to Twitter

What's this craze about Twitter? You might see a lot of websites having a twitter icon nowadays. A lot of skeptics thought it would soon die out a few months after launching, but Twitter and Facebook are the largest social sites on the internet, known for "Micro Blogging".

Here's a 2-1/2 minute video to get you started.

How to open a Groupwise Email Attachment

I've had a few questions on this. Some of you are Double Clicking on attachments and having a hard time seeing them. Go ahead and Right Click on it instead, and Open.

Blog Posts, Pages, Links, and Categories

Hi Teachers, a common question I hear is "What's the difference between a Post, Page, Link, or Category?" I'm hoping this 3 minute video will help explain the answer.

 

I'll summarize just in case you don't have time to watch the video:

 

Posts are your most common task in a Blog. A post is your journal, or log, such as what the assignments were this week in class. A student or parent could access this at home and keep up, or prepare for next week's agenda.

 

Pages are more of a long term item, such as displaying your Class Disclosure, Class Fees, what to expect from your classes, etc…. You can also create a separate page to display your latest posts if you do not want them on your Home Page. This is called a "Static Home Page". Info on that here: http://blog.weber.k12.ut.us/jumcfarland/2008/09/19/set-a-static-page-for-your-blog/

 

Links are useful resources for your students that are elsewhere on the internet, such as your Online Classroom, other websites relating to your class material, their student webaccess mail…

 

Categories are chosen each time you write a post, so you can "categorize" and group your posts together, perhaps for each of your different classes. With this, your "English III" students will visit your blog, click on the English III category, and filter all of the posts addressing their class.

Compatibility View with GroupWise WebAccess IE8

If you're having trouble viewing your Novell GroupWise WebAccess email with Internet Explorer 8, try the Compatibility View button up top.

Here's how: