Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Five Tips for Freeing Up PC Hard Disk Space
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Do You Have to Pay for Protection?
We all have to run antivirus software on our computers. It’s a fact of life. To run a computer without an antivirus program is like putting a blind fold on and driving your car on the expressway. You would be speeding full force on the information highway and not seeing what can hurt you. But if you get a virus on your computer, it can “total” it, just like an accident with a car. The antivirus software protects you from getting these nuisances that can obliterate your hard drive.
So the next question is what virus protector is the best? There are so many products on the market. Some are free and some you pay for. What is the difference between them and which one is the best for you?
PC Magazine published an article a few months ago called Free vs. Fee: Free and Paid Antivirus Programs Compared, which can help in answering these questions. PC Magazine came to their conclusions by teaming up with security testing company AV-Test, to find out what you get - or don't get - with free antivirus, and when it makes sense to subscribe annually to a fee-based program.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Summer School Success
This time of year many students contemplate whether or not taking classes in the Summer would be beneficial or not. Summer classes can be a great experience for any student catching up on credit you may need to earn and also to have the ability to move forward in your major. Detailed below are some tips on enrolling in Summer classes:
•Decide which courses you would like to take that are being offered and space out the courses in the Summer so you can earn the credit you need without feeling overloaded.
•Consider taking classes online in the Summer. This format allows for more flexibility with time, and if you haven’t taken an online class before it’s a great way to gain the experience.
•If there is a course you need that fills up easily in the Fall and Spring, check to see if the course is being offered in the Summer. This may offer an ideal opportunity for you to enroll in a popular course.
•Be conscientious of the time a course runs in the Summer. Typically, courses are on a shorter schedule, which is great to complete credit in a faster turnaround time. However, you don’t want to run the risk of falling behind.
•Summer courses can offer students smaller class sizes as classes may not be as filled as the more attended Fall and Spring courses, which can help students who may need more attention regarding the material being learned.
Last but not least, remember to enjoy your Summer, recharge your batteries, and prepare for another great academic year, when you return in the Fall!
•Decide which courses you would like to take that are being offered and space out the courses in the Summer so you can earn the credit you need without feeling overloaded.
•Consider taking classes online in the Summer. This format allows for more flexibility with time, and if you haven’t taken an online class before it’s a great way to gain the experience.
•If there is a course you need that fills up easily in the Fall and Spring, check to see if the course is being offered in the Summer. This may offer an ideal opportunity for you to enroll in a popular course.
•Be conscientious of the time a course runs in the Summer. Typically, courses are on a shorter schedule, which is great to complete credit in a faster turnaround time. However, you don’t want to run the risk of falling behind.
•Summer courses can offer students smaller class sizes as classes may not be as filled as the more attended Fall and Spring courses, which can help students who may need more attention regarding the material being learned.
Last but not least, remember to enjoy your Summer, recharge your batteries, and prepare for another great academic year, when you return in the Fall!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Supporting the New Online Instructor
Teaching online presents a tremendous challenge for most postsecondary faculty, particularly new online instructors. The lack of experience in teaching in this learner-centered teaching environment causes many faculty members to experience discomfort or cognitive dissonance, as teaching in an online learning environment differs significantly from teaching in the face-to-face classroom where lecture formats are used as much as 80 percent of the time. Therefore, the very nature of an online course places increased demands on new online instructors to make several fundamental changes to their teaching practices. One change that new online instructors must make involves assuming the role of an instructional coach. Performing this role helps students provide elaborations for online discussions and encourages students to think deeply about instructional content. The novice online instructor must also perform the role of advisor. This role empowers students to make academic decisions by providing the students multiple decision paths to consider in reference to a given task.
Instructor adaptations to the online learning environment are not limited to instruction; new online instructors must also grapple with the intricacies of course management systems. These systems require instructors to perform tasks that involve creating and collecting assignments, establishing and monitoring discussions, and creating and uploading instructional content. Learning all of the tools to perform these tasks can be somewhat challenging to new online instructors. Therefore, ongoing support is needed to help new online instructors to use the tools of a course management system and perform uncharacteristic pedagogical tasks.
By
The Bard once wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet). The same question could be asked of filenames, and the answer to the question is also "sweet" but not unless certain conditions are met.
Filenames, of course, are necessary. It doesn't matter what software your using, you'll have to create a unique filename for every document you create. You might be able to get away with using the default filename, "untitled," but only once. And, over time, years in fact, you may find that how you constructed that filename, and where you put it, is of utmost importance in being able to find it later.
You have two choices in creating filename: ease and comfort or sheer torture. An example will suffice. I come from the field of journalism so that's where this example applies. Hypothetically, I teach a course, Journalism 101. I create a new Powerpoint file on interviewing techniques. Strapped for a filename and in a hurry to get to my next class, I simply give the new file the name "journ1.pptx" and dump it in the "My Documents" folder. First, though, I'll put it on my jump drive and take it to the classroom computer to present it. Life is good.
A year later when I'm supposed to teach the class again, I've got two dozen Powerpoints, each one titled "journ1, journ2, journ3, journ-n..." Where's my file on "interviewing techniques"? I could do a document search and use keywords, but then wait while the computer churns and churns looking in every folder I've ever created. That's the torturous route.
Here is an easier route to take. Since the subject of the Powerpoint file is "interviewing techniques", how about incorporating that into the filename? I like to use what's called "camelCase" filename creation. For this example, I will use the filename "interviewingTechniques.pptx". It's one word, and the first letter is in lowercase. But the first letter of the second part is in upper case. "camelCase" is easier to read because you can "see the hump" of the camel-- that capital letter. I might even want to precede the Powerpoint filename with the course number if my intention is to gather files, at-a-glance, for a particular course, (e.g., "journ101InterviewingTechniques.pptx") . Tip: Be consistent!
A filename created in this fashion is far easier to identify for its content than otherwise. You can immediately discern something about the content from the filenames, even if the file was created five years ago.
Taking the easy way out actually makes sense when it comes to filenaming conventions. I hope these tips are helpful.
Filenames, of course, are necessary. It doesn't matter what software your using, you'll have to create a unique filename for every document you create. You might be able to get away with using the default filename, "untitled," but only once. And, over time, years in fact, you may find that how you constructed that filename, and where you put it, is of utmost importance in being able to find it later.
You have two choices in creating filename: ease and comfort or sheer torture. An example will suffice. I come from the field of journalism so that's where this example applies. Hypothetically, I teach a course, Journalism 101. I create a new Powerpoint file on interviewing techniques. Strapped for a filename and in a hurry to get to my next class, I simply give the new file the name "journ1.pptx" and dump it in the "My Documents" folder. First, though, I'll put it on my jump drive and take it to the classroom computer to present it. Life is good.
A year later when I'm supposed to teach the class again, I've got two dozen Powerpoints, each one titled "journ1, journ2, journ3, journ-n..." Where's my file on "interviewing techniques"? I could do a document search and use keywords, but then wait while the computer churns and churns looking in every folder I've ever created. That's the torturous route.
Here is an easier route to take. Since the subject of the Powerpoint file is "interviewing techniques", how about incorporating that into the filename? I like to use what's called "camelCase" filename creation. For this example, I will use the filename "interviewingTechniques.pptx". It's one word, and the first letter is in lowercase. But the first letter of the second part is in upper case. "camelCase" is easier to read because you can "see the hump" of the camel-- that capital letter. I might even want to precede the Powerpoint filename with the course number if my intention is to gather files, at-a-glance, for a particular course, (e.g., "journ101InterviewingTechniques.pptx") . Tip: Be consistent!
A filename created in this fashion is far easier to identify for its content than otherwise. You can immediately discern something about the content from the filenames, even if the file was created five years ago.
Taking the easy way out actually makes sense when it comes to filenaming conventions. I hope these tips are helpful.