10-Rep Learning ~ Teague's Tech Treks

Learning Technology & Tech Observations by Dr. Helen Teague

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Weekend Ed. Quote~December 28

“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.” ~Benjamin Franklin

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Weekend Ed. Quote~December 21~Nature of Media

“Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which humans communicate than by the content of the communication.”

Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage (1967)

 

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Apple Santa

apple holiday album giveawayStrapping on Santa’s toy bag, Apple is giving away a free Holiday Playlist album via the Apple Store app for iPhone. This is the first time the company is giving away an album. The album is available until December 31.

Holiday Playlist features eight tracks of contemporary and classic holiday tunes from these artists– Nick Lowe, Mary J. Blige, Marvin Sapp, Kelly Clarkson and more. To get the album, open the Apple Store app on your iPhone, scroll down to where it says “Holiday Cheer” and then tap the “Download now for free button.” You’ll jingle all the way to the iTunes Store app, where a download code will be generated in the Redeem field. Tap “Redeem” and the songs begin downloading.

The free Holiday Playlist album offer is only available via the Apple Store app for iPhone.

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Weekend Ed. Quote~December 14

“You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”

~Albert Schweitzer

 

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I Will Be Your Left Side~A Caregiving Story

I Will Be Your Left Side

peony flower picture courtesy of Garrett EastmanUpcoming holidays often include plans to return home. Since I live close to my parent’s home I have this option frequently. Sometimes when I return home I regressed to my youngest child birth order. With the regression brings a return to the typical youngest child behavior of eavesdropping.

I learn a lot from eavesdropping. I hope you do too. Occasionally, conversations are mundane and routine. But, then there is the mother lode of juicy pieces of information, not yet ready for full broadcast. These conversations are more fun than a midnight sale at Nordstrom.

Recently I overheard a conversation between my dad and his caregiver, Sonny.

My dad is on year 13 of his stroke rehabilitation. When recovery years go to the double digits they earn the distinction of being written with numerals only. His series of strokes left his left-side in a sleepy, limited-functioning state. This requires him to submit to help with moving, transitioning, dressing, bathing, anything that you or I would do with our left side, he must rely on a caregiver to help him do. One day was particularly difficult. Arms and legs were not acting in concert but as free agents. It was during this day, that I overheard Sonny, tell Dad something indeed worth eavesdropping to hear.

Sonny said, “Don’t worry, Bill, I will be your left side today.”

I do not know what else followed in their conversation. I was lost in thoughts of gratitude for Sonny and his expression of care.

“Don’t worry; I will be your left side today.”

Sonny didn’t say, “Help me out, you can do more.” He knew Dad was doing all he could do. Sonny didn’t give up in frustration. He persevered. He did not say, “Lean on me and I will do it all.” He preserved Dad’s dignity and worth. Sonny saw what needed to be done and did it, assuring Dad that he was there as support.

Have you offered anyone your left side? I mean, really offered with the intent to follow-through? This is tough for me because I am the spokesperson for the club with the title, “If I Can Do Anything, Just Let Me Know.” I reached this position after years of membership in the “Happy to Help in Anyway I Can” association. To turn intention into action is the balance I seek.

Sonny turned intention into action. He was acutely aware of another’s needs. He served that day and continues today to serve as a left-side. What a goal and a gift! This holiday season, I wish for you to find ways to be another’s “left-side,” for a minute, an hour, or a lifetime. And, I wish that you will experience the best of the season from all sides!

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A little change of pace today. Kind of a brief respite from “Tech Tricks” for a repost of a story I wrote a few years ago.

My dad, Dr. William J. Teague lives in Abilene, Texas. Although this was written ten years ago, Sonny is still one of Dad’s caregivers.

Peony flower photo courtesy of Garrett Eastman

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Finals Week Tips

It’s Finals Week: Do you know where your Scan-Trons Are?

As the end of the semester begins to wind down and our streets begin to thaw after the big freeze, you just have one more hurdle: Finals.

Finals week is full of suspense, sleepless nights, junk food, cars that won’t start, little dramas, and bad hair days.

Here are a few tips to keep Finals Week stress at a minimum. You may have your own list, but give our list a scan. At least it is more comprehensive than “A healthy breakfast is always a great start to any day!” advocated by the Sacramento State Food & Nutrition Club.

Avoid Sleepless in the Saddle syndrome. In 2009, Time magazine did a study on how sleep habits affect grades. Students who pulled all-nighters received lower grades than those who went to bed at a decent hour and woke up well-rested and alert. If a full 8 hours is out of the question, revisit The Nap. Even a 30 minute nap will give you more energy than a cup of Starbucks and it’s far less expensive too.

Review in groups. You may prefer to study alone, but check-in via Skype, Hangout, or F2F with a group at least once to review.  Classmates bring different information and perspectives that they remember from class discussions that will help you when it comes to the final exam.

Post It: Post your finals week schedule in the Big 3 Locations: your computer screen, your windshield and your refrigerator. Set an alarm on your phone for one prior to each exam.

Avoid distractions. Hovering over your online course gradebook isn’t wise. Social networks such as Twitter and Instagram can be your worst gremlin enemy during finals week.  “During finals, I have a friend change my password on all my FB account to prevent them from being a distraction to me,” a student wrote on her Facebook wall. Ironic.

Back up Your Work~Save Your Files on a Zip Drive~Keep a paper copy of important assignments. If you email a professor, cc yourself.

Laugh. At something. At Anything. The physical benefits of 15 minutes of laughing linger for 45 minutes of better circulation and relaxation. So stop right now and chuckle. Watch this video to get started.

dog in trash

Keep a Kingdom Perspective. “Aren’t you glad we’re not in charge?” Coach Jerry Wilson said the other day. And his wise words certainly apply to finals. God is not finished with you yet.

Keep a Calendar Perspective.  It all begins again in January

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The Future of Technology in the next 50 years

In our new media class, we’ve been talking about singularity. No longer a sci-fi vocabulary word, singularity is almost here.

The Future Of Technology Infographic shows highlights in computing, mobile technology, apps, wearable computing, social media, and advertising.
the next fifty years in technology
Anything surprise you? Anything missing?
Want to see the next 40 years? Click on this link
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Picture snipped from this link

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Happy Birthday Grace Hopper

From Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac:

Happy Birthday Grace Hopper

December 9th is the birthday of one of the people who helped invent the modern computer: Grace Hopper, born in New York City (1906). She began tinkering around with machines when she was seven years old, dismantling several alarm clocks around the house to see how they worked.

She studied math and physics in college, and eventually earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale. When World War II broke out, and Hopper wanted to serve her country. Her father had been an admiral in the Navy, so she applied to a division of the Navy called WAVES, which stood for Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service. She was assigned to work on a machine that might help calculate the trajectory of bombs and rockets.

She learned how to program that early computing machine, and wrote the first instruction manual for its use. She went on to work on several more versions of the same machine. In 1952, Hopper noticed that most computer errors were the result of humans making mistakes in writing programs. So she attempted to solve that problem by writing a new computer language that used ordinary words instead of just numbers. It was one of the first computer languages, and the first designed to help ordinary people write computer programs, and she went on to help develop it into the computer language known as COBOL, or “Common Business-Oriented Language.”

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Weekend Ed. Quote~December 7

Nelson Mandela quote on education

 

And also, today is the Day of the attack on Pearl Harbor…

President Franklin Roosevelt Pearl Harbor speech

New York account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, click here

 

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Nelson Mandela Quote Source

President Roosevelt Quote Source

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My Favorite Pin~Ways to Say the word Went

Another pin from Liz Rigby’s Research board

100 Ways to say the word “Went” (Click the picture to see the full list)

ways to say went

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