Thursday, August 13, 2015

MTI 562 Week 2 E-Book Review

For MTI562 I read 98 Tech Tips from the Classroom. This e-book has some really useful tips and tricks .Although some of the solutions are no longer relevant now that we have Windows 8 & Office 2013 (some of the Alt & Ctrl options don’t work, and some things you don’t need anymore – e.g. you can hide your desktop just by clicking on the Windows key), there were some really useful things in here that I didn’t already know. I will be sure to be teaching my students in the fall – for example that you can just print the highlighted text off a web page using Ctrl+P and the ‘Selection’ option. We have been copying & pasting in word which seems daft now I know better. 

Some of the links need updating I was really excited to see the easy way to make charts but the link was broken - http://smaatechk-3.wikispaces.com/This+Week+in+Tech--Third+Grade. I always tell my students that Microsoft gives you at least 3 ways of doing everything, there isn’t a right or a wrong answer – just find the one that works for you, and if in doubt Right Click, so I was pleased to see that in there! Another useful hint is to truncate the URL if a link is broken to see if you can find what you are looking for on the site. I will be using some of these to make a laminated survival guide as we transition to the teachers bringing their students to the lab without being dependent on me.

3 comments:

  1. I did update the link to this: http://k-3tech.wikispaces.com/. You'll also need a join code: RKFXMJN. It does concentrate on the Structured Learning K-3 technology curriculum.

    I like PCs for that reason--there are always multiple ways to do something. I always feel limited on Macs. Chromebook, too, has many native shortcuts that only work there, though they have incorporated enough common ones that I always try that first.

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  2. I also found the 98 tech tips helpful. I always used Grab to take a screen shot. I love to use command, shift, 4.

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  3. I think making a "survival guide" is a great idea! Teaching the students how to solve tech problems is such an important skill!

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