There are many reasons your technology may not be working. If you’ve cleared your web browser’s cache and rebooted, and your technology is still not working, sacrificing a digital goat to the tech gods may help. It certainly can’t hurt. As a service to the readers of this blog, I have provided a digital goat suitable for sacrifice. Visit this page and bookmark it. Sacrifice as often as needed.Read More →
This is a mishmash of stuff that I’ve been collecting. Enjoy! Be kind to your eyes: 20-20-20. We are all spending way more time in front of our computers than we did, say, in February 2020. I’ve heard from colleagues who have been struggling with eye strain, so I know I’m not alone. Be kind to your eyes and follow the ophthalmologist-recommended 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look at something 20+ feet away for 20+ seconds. The trick is in remembering to look away every 20 minutes. I use the “Tomato Clock” browser extension (Chrome/Firefox). Barring that, you know how to set an alarm onRead More →
When someone knocks on your office door, you may have a sensitive email or student work on your screen. Rather than figuring out if what is on your screen can be safely seen, use a keyboard shortcut to minimize everything so only your desktop shows. Windows Windows key + D (“D” is for desktop). When your visitor leaves, that same key combination will bring back everything where it was. Mac Command + F3 (“F3” is for F3). When your visitor leaves, that same key combination or just F3 will bring back everything where it was. Read More →
Windows 10* has a built-in emoji menu. Go into any program where you can type, like Word or a new email message. Press Windows key + semicolon. Choose an emoji from the menu. The first page (clock icon) shows your most recently used emoji. The magnifying glass is for search. Type what you’re looking for, like “smile.” You’ll see all of the emoji tagged with that word. Click on the other icons to browse emoji by categories. To close the menu, click the X in the top right corner, press the ESC key, or click anywhere that is not the menu. Choose a skin toneRead More →
Select the entire web address Mouse fans: single click on the web address Keyboard shortcut fans: CTRL-L Click and drag into your Windows folder Double-click on the bookmark in your folder to launch the page in your web browser “Can I rename the link?” Yes. The default name for the link is whatever that website’s webmaster called the page. Just as you can rename a file in your folder, you can rename your bookmarks. In your folder, right-click on the link, select “Rename,” and, well, rename it. “I use Dropbox/Google Drive/OneDrive. Will my bookmark links synchronize across my devices?” Yes. “That means that when IRead More →
Do you know the most common way I learn about new technology? Something starts bugging me, and I go looking for a solution. Today’s problem? If I want to keep my existing Chrome tabs open, to open a bookmark in a new tab, I have to open a new tab and then click on the bookmark. I know. In the greater scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal. But I’ve done it a lot today. I mean, a lot. So, it’s time to learn something new. A pretty quick search gave me the answer. The solution(s) Hold down CTRL and left-click on the bookmarkRead More →
Here’s a set of quick tech tips for searching Google that found their way to Cheezburger.com. Print out the image and tape it to your wall.Read More →
A year ago, I wrote about how the ability to tell time on an analog clock was going the way of the slide rule. Watches, digital and analog, have largely disappeared. Why wear one when you have a cell phone to tell you the time? While watches do seem to be making a comeback as a fashion accessory, that particular trend hasn’t hit my campus yet judging by my students’ bare wrists. For a student who doesn’t have a watch and can’t tell time using the analog clock in the back of my classroom, pacing oneself during a test in my classroom is a trickyRead More →
Quick Tech Tip for Gmail users. Want to quote just part of an email message in your reply instead of the entire message? Highlight the text you want, and then click the reply button or tap the ‘r’ key on the keyboard. Only the highlighted text will be quoted in your reply.Read More →
Quick Tech Tip. Did you know that you can draw on PowerPoint slides during your presentation? You can use your mouse if you don’t have a touchscreen. When you run your PowerPoint slides, in the bottom left corner of the screen are four hard-to-see transparent icons: Left arrow, pen, menu, right arrow. When you mouse over one of them, you can see it. In the image below is the pen. Clicking the pen icon calls up this menu. Click the pen to draw; click the highlighter to highlight. Change the ink color if you’d like. When you want to go back to the arrow, forRead More →