Dual Screens
We utilize dual monitors at home with an old Dell screen hooked up to our iMac. I highly recommend it! Below is a short list of good uses of dual monitors. Visit the link to see some “bad” examples…
Dueling thoughts on dual monitors | practicallyefficient.com
“Good uses of dual screens
These are all instances where you’re using one screen to “lift” the other.
Keep your task list on one screen while you do work on the other. I find it powerfully productive to have a mind map on one screen while I work on the other. It’s especially helpful if I’m doing highly technical work with lots of steps, and I want to record a mixture of completed tasks, future tasks, and thoughts.
Put a remote server display on one; your local desktop on the other. This lets you easily drag and drop files or use one screen as a reference screen while you work on the other.
Make spreadsheets wider, or put two related spreadsheets side by side.
Read PDF on one; write or work on the other."
Digital Bullies
As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up | NYTimes
“It is difficult enough to support one’s child through a siege of schoolyard bullying. But the lawlessness of the Internet, its potential for casual, breathtaking cruelty, and its capacity to cloak a bully’s identity all present slippery new challenges to this transitional generation of analog parents”
Data Protection and Storage
This may be overkill... or maybe not?
Recently I've had some of my family members, as well as friends, lose important files because their only copy somehow managed to become corrupted, misplaced, deleted, or lost. I have recently started to believe that important files need to have 3 copies. Here is where I first learned the “3 copy” concept…
Back Up Overview | dpreview.org
The 3-2-1 Rule
The simplest way to remember how to back up your images safely is to use the 3-2-1 rule.
We recommend keeping 3 copies of any important file (a primary and two backups) We recommend having the files on 2 different media types (such as hard drive and optical media), to protect against different types of hazards.* 1 copy should be stored offsite (or at least offline).
*While 3-2-1 storage is the ideal arrangement, it’s not always possible, particularly for images in the early stages of the lifecycle. A second media type, for instance, is impractical for many people in the ingestion or working file stage. In these cases, many people make do with hard-drive-only copies of their data. Best practices, however, still require 3 copies and some physical separation between the copies.
Personally I keep one local copy, a copy backed-up to an external disc (or 2) that I sync using SuperDuper! or Time Machine, and a copy away from my house via a combination of MobileMe, Dropbox, and SmugMug (for family videos and family/client photos).
NPR- “Study: Not All Kids Are Computer Whizzes”
From NPR...
Something that stuck out...
Most kids don't click past the first page.
The SMART Table: Classroom Desktop Computing
Hmm. Interesting. Reminds me of the Microsoft Surface.
It is hard to form an opinion yet based on an advertisement. I would like to see how this is used within the context of an actual classroom. Also I wonder if the table runs with its own open source operating system, or comes with a proprietary SMART O.S. Most likely I assume the table will function like the SMART Board and can be plugged into a local computer.
What do you think about this?