Motherboards

I learned something new thanks to one of the best technicians I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I really think he would make a fantastic teacher. He demonstrated replacing the motherboard in our laptops. Then I got to fly solo. (Ok he sat next to me in the event I needed help.)Here’s what we did.

Pinterest as Professional Development

Pinterest. I could talk for three days on the wonders of Pinterest. I absolutely love it. I actually now use it as a search engine – totally not what it was intended to be. I use it to plan meals for my family. I pick out new treats for various ministry projects. I look for instructional resources to share with teachers during professional development trainings. I even use Pinterest to find tutorials for things I want to learn. There are many in my house that would love to discuss the evils of Pinterest as it occupies a lot of my attention and creates more work for them. Let’s talk about how to use Pinterest for Professional Development.

Think about strolling through a Teacher Store and being able to look at every single book in the store. Then imagine being able to get a copy of the pages you like or maybe even purchasing single pages from those books. That’s what Pinterest is. Imagine enjoying a relaxing beverage while visiting with a master teacher. That’s what Pinterest is. You can “visit” with mentors and master teachers by viewing what they pin on their virtual pinboards on Pinterest. Many of these pins will lead you to blogs to inspire you to try new things.

So, here are some Educational Technology Pinterest boards for you to check out.

Free Technology for Educators

Educational Infographics

Great Books for Teachers

Free iPad Apps for Teachers

40 Educational Tweeters

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/12/40-educational-tweeters-every-teacher.html

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!! Yes, I know that greeting is a few weeks late but technically aren’t you supposed to say that the first time you see someone you haven’t seen since the previous year? Isn’t that a required regulation mandated by the federal government for the entire month of January? By the time February rolls around the year is a month old and the countdown to summer vacation has started. So, since it is still January and I haven’t “seen” you since last year – Happy New Year!!!!!

Let’s talk about Social Media. Social Media isn’t just about keeping up with friends and family or stalking ex-high school sweethearts. Social Media is great for Professional Development and Life Long Learning. The three main Social Media platforms we will focus on in this series of installments are: Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Last night was the Grammy’s and my Twitter Feed was well, all a-twitter with live Grammy updates and quite frankly it was more interesting than the Grammy’s themselves. Twitter does provide for quick access to all things trivial, entertaining and viral; however, it can be a great source of useful professional information, as well. First, let’s look at the anatomy of a Tweet. Click here.

Tomorrow we will talk about Twitter Feeds you should follow in the name of Professional Development.

Screen Shot

Pardon my absence - I have been repairing computers. Take a look at my work......

 

Santa came early and brought me a box of laptop screens and bubble wrap. :)

 

 

Here is one broken screen. I have heard it all from "It was broken when I resisted arrest." to "I just opened it up and it was like that."

 

Remove the bezel. Unscrew the four tiny screws that hold the screen in place.

 

Ruin your manicure by peeling up the blue sticker that holds the pin plug in place.

 

 

New screen with protective screen plastic. Now we work backwards, unwrap, plug in pin plug, re-stick the blue sticker and replace the four tiny screws.

 

One of the tiny screws.

 

 

Power it up and make sure it works. If it doesn't work, remove the screws and check the plug.

 

Replace bezel. Ta Da!!!!

Charge!!!

Well, approximately 800 laptops have been issued to students. Of course, one of the first questions asked was “Where and how are we going to charge all of these laptops?” Teachers were issued two multi-plug surge-protected power strip extension cords. This would allow half of the class to charge for half of the class period and the other half to charge their laptops the second half of the class period. In addition to that we added charging stations in the cafeteria. Now, these are not fancy stations like you would find in an airport. These charging stations were created with the same power strip extension cords that teachers were issued, two long tables, and a plethora of zip-ties.

One Blessing Counted Multiple Times!!!

My editor, who is a very dear friend of mine, will tell you that one of my quirks is that I have a sequencing problem as well as an aversion to commas. I have a difficult time doing things in the right order. The comma thing keeps her employed - and this job doesn't pay. So thank you Editor for your endless work in making me appear and sound literate, coherent and educated. (To my audience, I wanted this to be a surprise so it hasn’t been proofed by Editor – this is what I really sound/write like.)

--- IT Girl