iTunes audiobook from mp3

I figured out how to make mp3s show up as audio books in iTunes with Windows.

1. add mp3s to library.
2. select the group of mp3s.
3. right click - get info
4. click options tab
5. change remember position - yes
6. change media kind - Audiobook
7. click OK
8. your iPod needs to be set to sync audiobooks
It worked

Jaycut

I work one day a week as the technology Integration person in a small school with limited resources. The computers only have 256MB RAM. They barely run windows let alone do any video editing. But the teachers have flip cameras they are trying to figure out how to use. One answer I found is the on-line video editor Juycut. It accepts the flipcam files for upload and is a nice, simple video editor. The one thing the teachers need to plan ahead for is the time it takes to upload and download videos.

Moodle

I setup yet another Moodle server. This time from scratch. I bought a domain name and edited the DNS settings. I took an old Dell (1.6CPU 512RAM 40HD) and installed Ubuntu server 9.10 - LAMP server. I installed Moodle from the repository. Easiest setup I've ever had. I tried it with 10.04 - no luck. The only glitch was the fqdn. I corrected that in the config file and everything was happy. Now I'm looking forward to showing the teachers how to use it.

Remote Assistance

I just moved my Mail Server from one ISP to another and I knew some of my teachers would be calling because their email didn't work any more. I was going to do a 30 day trial of goto assist because of its great reviews but didn't want to deal with trying it with the school credit card. I kept looking and found TeamViewer. It's working great. When a teacher calls in asking how to get his/her email working, I can take over their computer and fix it for them.

1. have them Google teamviewer download and go to the page
2. talk them through downloading and running the small program - TeamViewr Quick Support
3. have them give you their id number and password

Linux Domain / File Server

Our Windows 2003 server had major problems last week $$$$. Not good at the end of a school budget. But a perfect opportunity to try Ebox Linux Server. So I put together a Ebox Office server, added the users, copied their files on, and chown -R their directories. So far - working like a champ.

200+ users

Ebox 1.4
I added icewm (windows manager), ivman (hotplug USB), nedit (editor), and nautilus (file manager).

So far - so good I haven't observed it under a heavy load yet but it doesn't look like its going to be a problem.

iPod Touch in the classroom

I just observed a six grade class using iPod Touches for the first time. In very little time they were zipping around exploring the apps I put on and surfing the web. They were easily able to find web pages and resources the teacher asked for. I'm impressed. These are going to be a useful tool for teachers.

Windows 7 voice dictation

I am playing around with voice dictation in windows seven. I am very happy that voice dictation is built into windows. It is one of the few features that I miss when using Linux. So far, I am finding that the accuracy and usability of voice dictation in windows seven is not as good as I have experienced with Microsoft office voice dictation, IBM, or dragon dictate in XP. I am spending a lot more time correcting mistakes than I ever have with previous voice dictation programs. It does however seem to be learning from my corrections. Windows voice dictation does not work with Open Office writer, it does work with Wordpad.

I have used voice dictation with students in the past but only with limited success. Voice dictation does not work as well with immature voices and can be a frustrating experience for students.

Here is a link to an article about getting started with speech recognition in Windows 7.

Frist Class and Linux

I find the First Class email client for Linux to not work as well as I would like. The better solution is to install the Windows client using wine. The best solution is to switch to Google Apps for Education (working on that). The only drawback I find is that web links don't work seamlessly, I have to copy/paste the URL.

Backup

We all know how important it is to have a backup. But here is one I have been hit with twice now - OK I get it.

The power went out on us yesterday and the battery backup on the wireing closet died sooner than we thought it would. When the power came back on, our main router had lost/scrambled its settings. Luckily, we had an old router we could throw in to keep the school running while we rebuild the main router.

Backup is not just software. Have a backup plan for minimal networking also: mode, router, switch, etc.

When do you tech software and when do you tech skills?

When is it appropriate to teach a software package because it is the industry standard vs. challenging students to figure out multiple software packages? I will typicaly install Gimp and Open Office on computers and sometimes hear "shouldn't we be using the standard programs"?

Here are some thoughts on that:

• It's more important students learn how to figure out software than learn a given package.
• The software will change and evolve by the time the students get in the workplace anyway.
• I want my students to be comfortable using these tools for the long term. I don't want them feeling that they have to use the expensive commercial program if there is a valid open source alternative available such as Gimp vs. Photoshop.
• The only time I could justify the cost of the commercial software is at the high school level.
  

Teaching Information Literacy

The great thing about the Internet is that anybody can publish their thoughts and ideas. The problem with the Internet is that anybody can publish their thoughts and ideas.

How do you know that what you are finding is accurate and without bias?

We need to teach our students to watch to see of they are getting their information from authoritative sources. It is not good enough to say I found it on goggle. (although Goggle does design their search method to give legitimate, referenced sites higher ratings.).

I like what I have heard from journalist about guidelines for non authoritative sources. Do other sources reference the source? Do other sources confirm the information?

Fun with Google Docs

I learned how to use Google Docs forms to create a survey for our Supervisory Union. I can see where this is a useful tool for teachers. Students don't have to have a Google Docs account to use. Good for surveys, quizzes, etc. Be aware there is no authentication of identity.

Digital Natives

Students may be digital natives but this doesn't mean we can assume they are always competent. They still need opportunities to explore and master 21st century skills.

Clonezilla

I'm using Clonzilla to backup, restore, re-image Windows and Linux computers. I haven't needed it often enough to dedicate a server to it. I'm using it with an external hard drive. It works very well. It takes about 30 minutes to create an image and 15 to restore a computer.

The hidden cost of MS Office

We use MS Office 2008 on our Macintosh network. I have 5-10 cases a week helping students and teachers with Office errors. Read only/in use errors, locked up, clearing preferences and user info so Office will work again. I am not happy with this program.

Improving an old router

We were using Linksys routers as wireless access points. One or more of them was losing its IP address causing IP conflicts. I replaced the firmware with DD-WRT. WOW, what an upgrade. More reliable, more controls, I can even set then signal strength higher.