My new tool (smartphone)

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I just got a new phone and like a lot of educators, a smartphone is a great tool to use in one’s professional setting. I wish I was so cool that I could just head over to Amazon, pick a phone in 30 seconds and give no further thought to what I carry around in my pocket.

I, unfortunately, am not that cool.

I did quite a bit of research and landed on the Pixel 4a. I don’t research as much as my good friend Omar, but a few weeks, I feel, is a lot. To understand how I got here I want you to understand how I use my phone. My laptop is my primary go-to device throughout the day, but I still use my smartphone a lot! Continue reading “My new tool (smartphone)” →

Google Drive vs YouTube – Which to use in distance learning

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A number of teachers have been making their own tutorial videos for distance learning. A common question I get is whether or not to store it in Google Drive or to put it on YouTube?

I say YouTube.

The reason why I suggest YouTube over Google Drive is simply the processing times. On YouTube, it will process videos very quickly. With Google Drive can also process videos quickly . . . when it wants to. Sometimes it can take hours to process the same video Google Drive. While it seems like they are both doing the same thing, the YouTube service has way more resources dedicated to this singular process and so it typically goes faster. Continue reading “Google Drive vs YouTube – Which to use in distance learning” →

Episode 185 – Rants!

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It’s been a while but we are back! As always check us out on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app.

  1. Patrick’s new phone (coming soon)
  2. Distance yourself from tech and social media for your own health
  3. WordPress.com block editor
    1. Rant
  4. Chromebook camera failures
    1. Chrome OS update
    2. Doesn’t affect all Chromebooks
    3. Alt + V Zoom work around
  5. Record All Online Meetings with Apple OSX by Tony DePrato
    1. https://itbabble.com/2020/11/11/record-all-online-meetings-with-apple-os-x/ 
  6. Witeboard.com 
    1. Stay away
    2. Review by Patrick Cauley
    3. Tony is incapable of drawing a triangle
  7. Big Sur issues
  8. Chromebook loophole
    1. Dell Chromebooks
    2. Enterprise Chromebooks as an option

You can download the episode here

https://itbabble.podomatic.com/enclosure/2020-11-21T15_05_27-08_00.mp3″

 

pisgnage.com – Digital signage on the cheap

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Schools are looking for ways to better communicate with their community inside the school as well as outside. One way to do this is with digital signage. This can helpful for a bunch of reasons:

  • Sharing the menu for lunch
  • Birthday greetings
  • Local sports news
  • Reminding students of deadlines
  • Reminding students of school activities
  • General news (weather, local, state, national/international news)
  • The joke of the day
  • And much, much more!

The set up isn’t too crazy. You need a screen to display the information on and you need a player to directly connect to the screen that acts as the brains of the operation, but I only wish it was that easy.

Continue reading “pisgnage.com – Digital signage on the cheap” →

Witeboard.com – A review

Patrick Cauley1 Comment

Hello readers, today I am reviewing another online whiteboard website. What makes this site different is how basic and minimalist this service is. There aren’t a ton of features and there is a very low learning curve but is it enough to be a good to be considered when there are already strong contenders in this space.

Signing up & the tools

You don’t have to! When you go to https://witeboard.com/ you are immediately dropped into a whiteboard and can start working. No need to sign up, sign in or anything else. If you want to sign up, you can do with either an email or with your Google account – so pretty simple.

 

Continue reading “Witeboard.com – A review” →

Covid 19 – Never going back

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

Covid-19 has changed a lot.

A number of schools have had to think quick, move just as fast and definitely have had to be pretty creative figuring out how to deliver quality education, how to provide support for families and much more.

As we continue to navigate this pandemic people keep longing for the days when we return to normal. I have a sneaky suspicion that when those days do come, normal will not look like a school pre-Covid. Here are some areas that have been changed by Covid and will probably not go back to the way they were.

Continue reading “Covid 19 – Never going back” →