Java for Mac OS X

If you have upgraded to Yosemite and are getting a message similar to the one below when you are trying to run Groupwise you need to install Java.

Click on the more info radio button and it will take you to the page where you need to download Java.  If  you go to this page and the page is blank you will need to change your browser settings.  If you are using Safari go to preferences and delete apple.com from the list.  Now try going to the page, http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1573, or http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572.  Download and install the update and this should fix your Groupwise problem.

EdTechTeam Kentucky Summit

Louisville Collegiate School

At the KYste 2014 conference we learned about a wonderful upcoming event.  If you are interested in using Google in your classroom this would be great opportunity to learn a lot about the tool.  See below for their information. 

This high intensity two day event focuses on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education and other Google Tools to promote student learning in K-12 and higher education. The program features Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, practicing administrators, solution providers, Google engineers, and representatives from the Google education teams. 

 November 8 & 9, 2014.

 

Register now to send teachers, administrators, tech directors, library media specialists, tech support staff, CTOs, and anyone who is interested in finding out more about leveraging Google Apps for Education to support student learning.

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Sessions include two keynote presentations, a demo slam competition, and a closing capstone session - plus two full days of informative breakouts, cutting-edge demonstrations, and hands-on workshops led by experienced and knowledgeable professional developers.

• Deployment & Management of Google Apps
• Google Apps Scripts
• Google Apps for Education Certification
• Chromebooks in Education
• YouTube for Schools
• Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Calendar, Gmail power tips, and... even more!

All presenters are Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, Google Employees, or teachers with local success stories!  

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Open to attendees from around the globe, this summit offers unique and cost-effective advantages for all participants:

• FREE parking and WiFi
• Early bird registration for only $249
• Continental breakfast and lunch with networking time each day.
• Direct access to Google employees and world-class educational technology leaders.

Google in the classroom

I attended the KYste2014 conference in Lexington yesterday and came back feeling like Google has so much potential in the classroom, we should definitely be using it more!   I plan to have a PD session on Google but in the meantime, I wanted to highlight some of what I learned at the conference.  First, I had heard of Google Classroom, read reviews, and was not impressed when it initially came out three months ago.  However, it seems Google has taken some of the criticism to heart and made it much more robust in the past few months.  The Google representative made a point emphasizing that it is not an LMS.  For our purposes it functions as an LMS and for comparison I think it can be best understand as an LMS.  One of the coolest features of Google Classroom is that it has the ability to digitally copy work you want to submit to your students.  So, once you have a digital classroom set up and you want to distribute an assignment you simply press a button and each student gets a copy of the assignment.  You can imagine how simple it would be to have a paperless classroom!  Here are two other tidbits that have to do with Google drive that I think would be a great addition to any teachers' repertoire of tools.   Would you like to have a rubric on your assignment so the students know what you were looking for?  Goobric is a Chrome extension that allows you to put such a rubric on each assignment you create.  What about student work, Google Take Out allows students who maybe graduating to pack up their files and take them with them!  There are lots of uses for Google and in the next few months I will explore some of these features so I can introduce them in a Tech Tuesday session.   Lastly, I am not quite sure how I feel about this piece of news but the Google representative did say that Google would be increasing drive space to 5TB.  That is HUGE!

KySTE Fall Training Event

Digital Transformation in partnership with the University of Kentucky

October 21, 2014
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Lexington Convention Center – Lexington, KY

Who should attend:

• School Administrators in 1:1 BYOD Districts or Currently Considering
• CIOs/DTCs (KySTE New CIO Workshop is part of the event)
• District/School Technical Support Personnel
• Instructional Technologists Teachers in Districts currently implementing 1:1/BYOD

 Registration Information

• Register online
• Pdf registration form
• Fee and payment information 

• General Information
  
• Join KySTE
• Conference Agenda and Sessions
• Conference location, parking, and hotel Information

Shellshock

Here is a message from our network administrator: A recently discovered bug, "Shellshock", that has the potential to affect Mac operating systems Lion through Mavericks.  According to Apple, the bug should only affect users who have made configuration changes to advanced UNIX services.  Most people, then, are not at high risk.

 

Apple should be releasing a patch via Software Update soon, and that is when I advise you to apply it.  It is currently available from their Support site, if you want to go ahead and install the patch. 

1. For Mavericks users, click here.
2. For Mountain Lion users, click here.
3. For Lion users, click here.

Vulnerbility - Update your browsers

A vulnerability has been discovered in Chrome and Firefox browsers that could allow security certificates to be forged.  This could allow traffic expected to be encrypted to be exposed.  If you use Chrome or Firefox, make sure it is up to date, as well as any plugins, especially Java and Flash Player.

 

Please refer to this link for more info on the vulnerability.  Please refer to these links for more info on updating your browser:  Chrome and Firefox.

 

If you are having problems installing your updates, come see me.

 

Free Adobe on-line class

The Adobe Youth Voices: Create Change online course is designed to prepare educators to lead youth media making for creative skill development and social change.

Cost:  Free
Time expectation: 4 hours per week (32 hours total)
Duration: September 21st- November 30th
Credit:  Certificate upon completion 

Free hands-on Vernier workshops

Hands-on Vernier workshops coming to your area, and seats are still available.

• Data-Collection Workshop in Evansville, IN

  • Monday, October 6, 2014
  • 4:00 - 8:00 PM
  • Courtyard by Marriott
    8105 E Walnut Street
    Evansville, IN 47715
  • Details and registration »

• Data-Collection Workshop in Louisville, KY

  • Wednesday, October 8, 2014
  • 4:00 - 8:00 PM
  • Hilton Garden Inn Louisville Airport
    2735 Crittenden Drive
    Louisville, KY 40209
  • Details and registration »

• Data-Collection Workshop in Lexington, KY

  • Thursday, October 9, 2014
  • 4:00 - 8:00 PM
  • Embassy Suites Lexington
    1801 Newtown Pike
    Lexington, KY 40511
  • Details and registration »

Backing up your Mac hard drive

Every time I send out a laptop for a hardware repair I always back up the data just in case the drive should be wiped, it has happened.  However, it is always a good idea to take it upon yourself to back up your data.  Here is a handy guide from Apple that outlines different back up protocols https://www.apple.com/support/backup/

 

Student Groupwise Accounts

Since we have moved to virtual servers some of you may be experiencing some issues with not being able to log into Groupwise.  The first troubleshooting step is to make sure you have the correct address path.  The path should be sparta.sayreschool.org.  If you are still having issues come see me.

Coursera Teacher PD

Summer is the perfect time for teachers who want to catch up on some Professional Development for which there was no time during a hectic school year.  For those of you not wanting to travel to a conference but yearning for some engagement and interested in some on-line courses, Coursera offers courses on instruction, emerging technologies, and more.  The classes are part of the free Coursera Teacher PD that runs all summer long.  Take a look and see if there is something that suits your needs. 

TI Calculator Emulator

 Next year we will be putting the  TI-84 calculator emulator on the student laptops so that all students can have access to a virtual calculator.  I have installed it on the math teachers but since it has recently become available for Android and Mac users it seems like a perfect time to make it available to the students.  I think it is a fantastic tool!  If you need it installed on your laptop follow the directions below or come see me and I will get you started.  The site WabbitStudio Z80 Software tools is where you can get the downloads.  Once you are on the page simply click on the downloads button.  Once downloaded, click on the executable for set up.  Before set up can begin it will ask you for a ROM image which is required to for the  TI emulator calculator.  At this point you may plug your calculator into the laptop and search for the ROM image, or create a ROM image from using open source software.  You will need to make sure you save the ROM file and do NOT delete the file at a later date.  Now you can launch Wabbit EMU and the emulator should display on your desktop.  Make sure you choose to enable skin under the view menu.  If you are a Macbook Pro user the directions are a little different and you will need a PC to get the ROM image.  Choose from the downloads menu and select the Mac OSX version.  Copy the ROM image from your PC to the desktop of your MacBook Pro and when prompted navigate to the file. 

Screen Cast O Matic

For those students in Dr. Everts class who would prefer to use the web version of Screencast O Matic you may first need to install the java plugin.  If you are using version OSX 10.7 or higher, you will need to download the plugin from the java site, http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.  

For those of you who had trouble downloading the application and need to try again, go to http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ and click on the download and install.  Then click on the green download button, click to save the .dmg.  Once you have downloaded the application you can run the .dmg and place it in the applications folder.  Launch the Screen Cast O Matic from your applications folder. 

Trouble with Google search

If you have been having trouble with your Google search, this may be why, below is an email sent out from our network administrator.

 

An issue has developed with the recent release of Firefox 28.  You may have encountered this already.  Something in the update conflicts with Safe Search, affecting Google especially.  Safe Search is enabled on our web filter, and it removes "inappropriate" content from search results.  This is based on what the search engine deems inappropriate.  You essentially cannot search through Google.

 

I've encountered this on my own Windows desktop, and several users on campus, both Mac and Windows.  In my case, I've rolled back to the previous version, 27.0.1.  First, I backed up my bookmarks, and then completely uninstalled Firefox.  I downloaded an older version from here.

Technology Webinars

 Here is another wonderful resource for some archived educational technology webinars.

DEN Spring Virtual Conference

The DEN Spring Virtual Conference is a free professional development event for educators to learn about the most effective ways to integrate digital media into their instructional practices. It is unique because of its blended environment. The sessions will be broadcast online, and you can attend at one of the nearby locations.

General Info

Date: April 26th
Time: 9am-4pm ET
Cost: FREE
Register

Hosted by:

Video Notes

I attended the KySTE 2014 conference last week and had a look at some great take- a -ways.  One of my favorites was a tool I think could be really helpful for students as we continue along the flipped learning path.  One of the wonderful reasons to flip a classroom is to allow students to move through the material at their own pace.  What about that student who, while watching the video, is trying to take notes. I was shown a tool that will allow you to take notes while watching a video and have the notes be synchronized.  Videonot.es is that tool and I think it has lots of potential for the classroom.

EdTechTeacher webinars

EdTechTeacher offers free, live webinars throughout the school year aimed at helping educators integrate technology effectively in the classroom.

Office 15-Minute Webinars

 
Every Tuesday Microsft is offering free webinars about how to use Office programs. You can watch the Office 15-Minute Webinars live; or view them later by clicking here.

CalendarAgent wants to use the "login" keychain

A student came to see me today with issues after having upgraded to Mavericks.  Ever since she updated to Mavericks she has been getting pop ups that are asking for keychain access passwords for all different access. Every time she enters a password it is rejected.  Hitting cancel makes the prompt come up immediately again.

CalendarAgent wants to use the "login" keychain

Messages Agent wants to use the "login" keychain

I was able to fix the problem by following the instructions below:

1. Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder.
2. From the Keychain Access menu, choose Preferences.
3. Click General, then click Reset My Default Keychain.
4. Authenticate with your account login password.
5. Quit Keychain Access.
6. Restart your computer.

Flipped Learning Resources

It is the time of year when I begin thinking about student laptop models for next years incoming freshman.  Once I have selected the models I make a short video for parents guiding them through the ordering process.  It has really clarified the ordering process for parents so I continue to make the videos year after year.  I got my que from some of the flipped math lessons that are happening here in the Upper School.

When embarking on the Flipped Classroom research several years ago I attended a conference where I was introduced to Screencast-o-matic for video creation.  I have stuck with Screencast-o-matic as it fits all of my needs: it is easy to use, nothing to install, free, and I can post it immediately.  Other very popular choices are Jing and Camtasia.  If however you are looking to work off your iPad you could try: ShowMe, Educreations, Screenchomp, Ask 3, Explain Everything and Stage.

A common misconception about Flipped Learning is that it is really only for math classes, that is certainly the perspective I had initially.  If that is your mindset, but your are open to persuasion, you may be interested in this webinar "Read, Watch, Interact, Flipped Lit!"  For other resources on Flipping take a look at some of these sites: A collection of English Flipped classes, PBS Flipped Learning site, and FlippedLearning.org.

Adobe Know How

I just found this site which has a great series of webinars on Adobe related products

https://www.adobeknowhow.com/

http://edex.adobe.com/search/resources/?q=

Setting up the LAME file for Audacity on your MacBook

Since Lingt language seems to have gone by the waist-side some of you are looking for a substitute.  I have not found anything comparable to Lingt and it is a real shame that they no longer offer support for their product, I thought it was brilliant.  So, in light of that I am recommending that you use Audacity as a substitute if you are needing to record your students pronunciations.  Audacity is installed on all the student laptops so that should not be an issue.  However, if you want students to save their files and send them to you in a more universal format such as MP3 rather than an Audacity file, audacity needs to be set up to access a file named LAME so that it can export the files as an MP3.  Although Audacity has a nice help page,  it didn't clarify for me just where I needed to put the file.

Take a look at these directions:


1. Choose which LAME file to download based on your OSX, http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Lame_Installation


2. Scroll down to  section 3-1 Downloading and Installing

3. Click on the link and choose one of the options as listed below

• OS X 10.4 or later, Intel or PPC Mac:
  Use the current Audacity and Lame Library v3.98.2 for Audacity.dmg.

• OS X 10.0 to 10.3, Intel Mac:
  Use Audacity 1.2.5 and libmp3lame-osx-universal-3.97.zip.

• OS X 10.0 to 10.3, PPC Mac:
  Use Audacity 1.2.6 and LameLib-Carbon-3.91.sit.

4.  Choose to open the file, once it is downloaded run the package, select the Hard Drive icon and press the choose folder button

5.  Make sure to set it up in the Audacity folder

6.  Once you record your sound on Audacity choose to export the file.

7. When prompted navigate to the audacity folder where you have saved the file so it can be linked with your Audacity file.  Once you have linked the folder to the file you will be able to export any Audacity file as an MP3

PD Webinar for Stepping Up the STEM in Your Classroom

 

Untangling the Web: Resources for Stepping Up the STEM in Your Classroom 

Presented by Adam Bellow
Founder and President of eduTeacher and eduClipperTuesday, February 25, 2014 at 7:00pm EST
For Educators

Join Adam Bellow, Founder and President of eduTecher and eduClipper, as he helps untangle the web by sharing tools and strategies to support meaningful STEM experiences for your students.

Click below to register
http://siemensstemacademy.com/index.cfm?event=showResource&resourceId=21fe81db-ee01-a073-4ce7-c68eb6e48da4&utm_source=VFT2WeekReminder&utm_medium=022514&utm_campaign=STEM%20Spring%202014

archived webinars

http://www.siemensstemacademy.com/index.cfm?event=showWebinarArchive
 

ISTE and Microsoft PD

Microsoft in Education and ISTE are proud to sponsor this complimentary webinar series to help bring some of the most exciting innovations in education led by global experts to you.  All webinars are archived and accessible for a limited time after the original live streaming date and can be found on http://www.pil-network.com/pd/VUWebinars.

NOTE: All sessions are offered at two times, 7 am PT and 5 pm PT. Registration is only required for the AM session but will allow you access to either session.You must register 6 hours before the 7am session on the day of the webinar!!!

Office 2008 can not display equations

Two students came to see me today asking for an Office update since they could not see their science equations in their Word document.  Of course, I can't upgrade their Office and I was concerned that an entire class would not be able to see the equations on their Word documents since they had an older version of Office.  It is well documented that Office 2008 does not support the display of equations.  In searching for a solution, I came across a great tool that I had never used and would encourage all Office users to take note of.  So, if you are using 2011 to create equations in your document you will likely need to save them as .doc files and then those with 2008 version can see the equations.  The picture of the image in 2008 is not perfect, but it seems to be an effective work around.  So, the next time you are saving a document use the compatibility tool and it will let you know exactly what in your document may not be compatible with particular versions of Office.  Once you take a look at the report you can choose what version to save your document as so that it is most compatible.

 

Chrome conflicts

I often hear from students about problems they are having with their browsers, this is most frequently experienced by Chrome users.  The students love Chrome and I'd say it is our most popular browser on campus.  When students have problems with Chrome I usually must advise them to use another browser and see if the issue remains, most of the time it is browser specific and the problem is Chrome.  Unfortunately, troubleshooting Chrome issues has not been very fruitful.  However, last week a teacher started having an issue with Chrome and she wants to continue using chrome so while doing a little research I came across a troubleshooting tip for Windows users.  If you type chrome:conflicts into your Chrome URL you will see all the Modules and it will list if there is a conflict.  That would be the first place to start identifying your issues.  I will continue to post resolved issues with Chrome, this is just the start.

Logger Pro 3.8.6.2 for Mavericks

 

Logger Pro 3.8.6.2, released January 6, 2014, the update is free from any version of Logger Pro 3.

New Features of Logger Pro 3.8.6.2

• Windows 8.1 support
• Mac OS 10.9 (Mavericks) support
• PAR Sensor support
• Vernier Emissions Spectrometer support
• Vernier UV-VIS Spectrometer support
• Data Sharing web application version 1.3 upgrade; Internet Explorer 10 support
• Physics with Vernier, 2nd edition experiment files updates
• Blood pressure files fully translated to Greek
• Consistent CSV export/import for localized versions
• Data set order presentation from Data Sharing is more consistent
• Better toolbar appearance in localized versions

 Go to the site to update, http://www.vernier.com/support/updates/logger-pro/

Inspiration 9.2 updater

Users currently running Inspiration 9.0.x or 9.1 can update to version 9.2.1 for ... Supports OS X 10.9 Maverick


Windows
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD, use the CD version
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a download, use the download version

Mac OS X
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD, use the CD version
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a download, use the download version

This free update adds:

• File import from and export to Inspiration Maps for iPad.

Installation notes

• Save all custom libraries, templates and documents out of the Inspiration directory before updating
• Mac users should uninstall their current version of Inspiration 9 before running the new installer

More Professional Development...Microsoft Innovative Educator webinars

Here is a series of webinars that Microsoft is doing for the Microsoft Innovative Educator program.  I have been through the 21st Century Learning Design system and thought it was very thought provoking and well done.  The sessions have been recorded so they are no longer live and you may watch them at anytime, anywhere.

https://www.eventbuilder.com/microsoft/event_desc.asp?z=93d144&eventid=1e17d5y4

PD Webinars

For those of you looking for some Professional Development technology webinars here are a few sites I have used that I think are excellent. Most sites archive old webinars  allowing you to watch them anytime, anywhere.   Take a look perhaps you may find one of interest.


 


KATE  Murray State