I Forgot My Flash Drive

Whether you call them flash drives, jump drives, thumb drives, or pen drives, you probably own one {or seven}. For years, they've been quite handy when transferring documents from computer to computer, from home to school, from classroom to computer lab, etc. Flash drives are great until you lose it or forget it at home.

Cloud Storage sounds like something to do with weather fronts and storm systems, but it actually refers to saving data to off-site, online storage systems. Rather than save your files on your own personal computer or on a flash drive, you can save them to a remote database that you can access just about anywhere. Many cloud storage services offer free space (everyone likes FREE, right?). Most services will be more than happy to let you BUY additional space, if necessary.

Some of my favorite FREE online storage solutions are:

• SkyDrive - this file hosting service allows users to upload and access files from a computer; EM-S ISD employees have access to SkyDrive with our email accounts. 
• Google Docs - allows you to upload documents, spreadsheets, and presentations; users can edit files and can publish them so that others can access them or even edit them. 
• Dropbox - like SkyDrive and Google Docs, this online file hosting service allows users to upload, manage, and share all sorts of files. Although I shouldn't admit it, it really is my favorite. =)
• Office Web Apps - allows users to upload, create, edit, and share Microsoft Office documents directly within a Web browser or even on a smart device. These documents are stored in SkyDrive.
• YouTube - quite possible the most well-known online video host (Similar sites for teachers: TeacherTube, SchoolTube)
• Picasa Web Albums - Google's tool that allows users to store, manage, and share image files is called Picasa. The actual application runs on your computer and allows you to work with the images saved anywhere on your computer (it has some really cool photo editing tools!) Picasa Web Albums (PWA) is an online storage system for your images. (Similar sites: Photobucket, Flickr)

Other notable online storage sites include Amazon Cloud Drive (to back up music purchases and Kindle tables), Apple iCloud (syncs files, photos, videos, and more across Apple devices), Box (similar to Dropbox), Google Drive (similar to SkyDrive, works seamlessly with Google Docs).

What online storage solutions do you use? 

Technology Academy 2012

EM-S ISD Faculty and Staff are invited to the second annual Technology Academy.
June 5-6 @ Hollenstein Career & Technology Center

• Sign up in Eduphoria today.
• Don't miss Keynote Speakers Darrell Brown and Dr. Jim Chadwell! (Be sure to sign up for the Opening and Closing sessions too.)
• Smart phones and mobile devices are welcome, but not required.
• Door prizes ... really good ones!

See you then ... at the movies!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Outlook 2010

Outlook 2010 is an outstanding email management and calendaring program that gives you so many more options than using the web version at live.com. If you are already using Outlook to access your email, skip down a bit to learn some tips and tricks that can make your life even easier!

EM-S ISD Peeps: If you still access your email in district by opening an internet browser and going to www.live.com (or by going to the district site, clicking Employees, clicking the Live@edu Sign-In link), please follow the simple directions at the EM-S ISD Tech Tips blog to set up Outlook on your computer and begin using this application as your email program. If you need assistance with this, please contact your CTI, IT, or turn in a Technology request in Helpdesk.

Be sure to check out this great Introductory Video about Outlook 2010. I've been using Outlook for more than a year now and I still learned a few new things!

My Favorite Outlook Tips & Tricks

• When entering a contact's name in your email, begin typing the first few letters of the first name. Hit Control + K on your keyboard to see all the possible contacts from the district address book.
• Need help? Hit F1 (a function key at the top of your keyboard) and easily search through Outlook's Help information.
• Did someone send you an email (instead of a meeting request?) with details about a meeting or appointment? Just click and drag the email over to the correct date on your calendar and it will turn into a meeting!
• Easily create an Email Signature! On the Message tab, in the Include Group, click Signature, then click Signatures. Click New and enter your signature information. You can include colors, images, and more. (If you have a blog or webpage, be sure to include that address!)

Even more Outlook help ...

• Outlook 2010 Quick Reference Card - this 2-page PDF file includes basic and advanced mail tips, calendar how-to's, keyboard shortcuts, and more. If you're new to Outlook or looking for new things you can do, be sure to check it out!
• Basic Tasks in Outlook 2010 - this article explains (in very simple terms and screenshots) basics like creating emails, forwarding/replying to emails, working with attachments, email signatures, calendar appointments, contacts, tasks, and more
• Outlook Skills Builder - from using tasks and reminders to customizing your inbox view, get the most out of Outlook with this video training series. 

Office 911: Keyboard Shortcuts

This fun little video is a good reminder that there are lots of keyboard shortcuts available in Office applications (and others!)



I read about this video on The Microsoft Office Blog. I recommend you check it out!

Format Painter: The Most Helpful Tool You've Never Used

The Format Painter may be one of my favorite tools in Microsoft Office applications. Simply stated, it copies the formatting of text or an image, and allows you to paste that formatting onto other text or images.

When working in a document, you should spend the majority of your time working on the content. When the content is complete, go back and decide the font, font size, font color, and any other styles you want apply. If there are headings in your document, you may want them to be a little larger than the rest of the text or you may want to make them bold. Do this on the first heading, but then you can use the Format Painter to copy that style onto the other headings in your document or even into a different document.

This video demonstrates how the Format Painter works.

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Screen Shots/Clippings in Word 2010

There are lots of ways to take a screenshot of your computer screen. There are many third-party programs that you can download to use and there's even a button on your keyboard that will do it! However, Microsoft has added a super easy way to take and insert screen captures into a document.

In Word 2010 (or even PowerPoint or Excel!), click Insert Screenshot from the Insert tab.

You will see a preview of any open windows on your computer. If you want to insert a full screenshot, just click on the one you want. If you'd rather take a smaller "clip" of something, then select Screen Clipping. The document you are working on will immediately minimize, and the computer screen will fade a bit. With the new cursor, draw a box around the part of the screen you want to use. When you release it, that image will be inserted in your document. 

It's really easy ... give it a try!

Microsoft Products for less than Ten Bucks???

Yes ... it's true!

You may have heard about this in a summer inservice or from your CTI, but it's so exciting that I wanted to share it here too! Because of our partnership with Microsoft, EM-S ISD staff will be able to purchase Office 2010 for PC, Office 2011 for Mac and Windows 7 (Operating System) for home use for $9.75 each!

(I know it's almost too good to believe, but I've tried it and it works!)

To take advantage of this fabulous deal, go to ems.onthehub.com. You will need to register with your EM-S ISD email address and your email password. After you verify your account information (via email), you will be ready to buy!