SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #141 Date of Publication: August 27, 2013 Welcome to SchoolCounselor.com, an electronic newsletter designed to advance counselors' level of technological literacy, application, and integration. You will find practical solutions and answers to technology related problems, especially as they apply to your job as counselor. If you would like to share a tip or trick, or if you would like to ask a question, e-mail Russ Sabella at news@schoolcounselor.com ____________________________________________
Please take a moment to visit our Sponsors:
New videos have been added since the last issue:
_____________________________________________
http://schoolcounselor.com/newsletter/newsletter140.htm SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #139 http://schoolcounselor.com/newsletter/newsletter139.htm SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #138 http://schoolcounselor.com/newsletter/newsletter138.htm SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #137 http://www.schoolcounselor.com/NEWSLETTER/newsletter137.htm SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #136 http://www.schoolcounselor.com/NEWSLETTER/newsletter136.htm
Google Alerts
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your queries. http://www.google.com/alerts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Stop Google from Keeping a Record of Every Search
You Make
Do you use Gmail, the Chrome browser, or other Google
service? Then Google may be keeping a record of every
search query you make. That’s right; if you have a
Google account, Google may know everything you ever
looked for on the web. That is, unless you turn off
Google’s collecting of all your searches and clean out
the web history they’ve kept.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-stop-google-keeping-record-every-search-you-make.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Microsoft Office Training Manuals (Free)
Source:
Gizmo’s Freeware
There are course materials online for Office 2003, 2007
and 2010 at the moment, all downloadable as PDF files
with no registration required. The 2010 documents on
offer are shown below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EZANALYZE and Microsoft Excel Comparison
EZANALYZE,
developed by Dr. Tim Poynton, is an amazing Microsoft
Excel addin that makes using Excel much simpler,
essentially eliminating the need to use formulas.
However, EZANALYZE sometimes does not work on the
Macintosh platform. In this case, I would recommend that
you either (a) do the data portion of your work on a
Windows PC or (b) make your Macintosh dual boot and have
a Excel for Windows operating. If you must move ahead
without the use of EZANALYZE, then this table will help
you to find the corresponding functions.
This handout is available online at
http://bit.ly/ezanalyze2excel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Time Elapsed
Analysis & Reporting System (T.E.A.R.S.) is a
Microsoft Excel add-in that automatically calculates the
total amount of time that you have spent in different
aspects of your work. After exporting your calendar data
from Microsoft Outlook to Excel, this add-in extracts
elapsed time, sums up the number of hours in each
category, and then produces both a table and a chart. If
you ever wondered where your time goes, you will want to
use T.E.A.R.S. to learn more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Google Image Ripper
improves on the existing Google image search tool
by allowing you to safely and easily search through the
results as thumbnails and also as a gallery of full-size
images without having to surf to each website. You have
the option to show the link to the website where the
image is hosted but don't have to risk visiting a
malicious site just to see it. This site is NOT
associated with Google in any way, this is simply a tool
for use in conjunction with the existing service.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven Free Add-ins and Apps to Supercharge Microsoft
Office
Microsoft Office is already a robust, feature-filled
office suite. If you want to make it even easier and
boost your productivity, here are seven awesome, free
add-ins and apps for your downloading pleasure.
Also check out my ongoing list here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The newest version of
Google Keep reminds you of important tasks and
errands at just the right time with notifications in
Chrome or on your Chromebook. To get started, select the
“Remind me” button from the bottom of any note, and add
a reminder for a specific date and time or a more
general time of day, like tomorrow morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coursera
Take the world's best courses, online, for free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free Technology for Teachers: Upload Your Own PDFs and
EPUBs to Google Play Books
Google announced a great update to Google Play Books.
You can now upload your own PDFs and EPUB files to
Google Play Books. Upload your files and you can read
them on your iPad or Android device with the Google Play
Books app.
____________________________________________
Maildrop.cc
MailDrop is a free throwaway e-mail address. It's
temporary. It's transient. It's disposable. It's meant
for those times when you don't want to give out your
real address. Just give someone any e-mail address in
the maildrop.cc domain, come back here, put in the
e-mail address, and you can see that inbox. Make sure to
read more
here
before you start to use this service. you should have no
expectation of privacy when sending messages to your
MailDrop inbox.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
25 TED Talks Perfect For Classrooms
TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) represents
the best things about the Internet … and sometimes the
world, for that matter. With the click of a button you
can be inspired, educated, encouraged, wowed, or
entertained by speakers from all walks of life. Whether
you’re looking to inspire or entertain your students,
the following TED talks have terrific lessons embedded
in fascinating talks. While not every single talk may
float your boat, there are likely a few that you should
think about showing to students this year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Groopic lets you
take one picture of the group, then switch photographers
and take another. The app then blends the two images
into a seamless group photo without ever having to ask a
stranger to take a group shot of your friends. Available
for iOs and coming soon for Android.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathe New Life Into Your PowerPoint Slides With Dozens
Of Exciting Free Tools & Resources
This page offers links to a number of ideas and free
resources that can help you add fun and pizzazz to your
PowerPoint slide presentations by incorporating engaging
visual and audio elements.
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/10/bring-new-life-to-powerpoint-slides-with-dozens-of-exciting-free-tools-resources/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fotor
Using Fotor photo editor, you can resize your photos,
crop them, adjust the lighting curve, rotate them,
adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness,
adjust the tone and colors, or just straighten a crooked
shot! But wait! That's just in the basic edits module.
You can also add a photo effect, photo frame, clip art,
text, or use our unique color splash, mosaic, and tilt
shift tools! And the program is free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AM-DeadLink
detects dead links and duplicates in browser bookmarks
and text files. If a bookmark has become unavailable you
can verify and delete it permanently. Additionally you
can download FavIcons for all your Favorites and
Bookmarks. This program is free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10 Great New Tab Page Extensions For Google Chrome
For anyone who uses the Chrome Browser and wants more
tab features, there exists a large choice of extensions
that change the new tab page.
See other extensions here:
http://bit.ly/top-addins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tokkers (sounds
like "talkers") are talking QR codes and mobile landing
pages that let you add an audio message to almost
anything. Anyone with a smart phone can instantly hear
your message.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find your lost Android device with Android Device
Manager
Find your lost or stolen Android device and remotely
wipe your personal data with Google's new Android Device
Manager.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Google Doc Templates
Before you spend time creating a spreadsheet, form,
document, or presentation, check out the available
templates on Google Docs. You can also download these
and convert to Microsoft Office format.
and check out the section for students and educators
here.
Related:
Microsoft Office Templates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mailinator is
fundamentally quite different from other services. Other
services let you "own" email addresses. Not here - at
Mailinator all email addresses are owned by everyone and
anyone. All email is public. Mailinator is "receive-only".You
cannot send email from Mailinator. Any email that gets
sent to Mailinator is deleted from the system after a
few hours This site is great if you need a quick and
disposable email address and you’re not worried at the
content (e.g., inputting a valid email address before
gaining access to a download).
____________________________________________
Amazon.com Funny Reviews
Helpful product reviews written by Amazon customers are
the heart of Amazon.com, and we treasure the customers
who work hard to write them. But occasionally customer
creativity goes off the charts in the best possible way.
Enjoy this collection of some of the funniest, top-voted
reviews written by your fellow customers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get Rid Of Those Zits & Marks From Your Selfies With
Blemish Remover
The free Windows application lets you zap those zits and
nasty black marks in no time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take Me to Another Useless Website
____________________________________________
SchoolCounselor.com does not knowingly send unsolicited
e-mail. This Newsletter is for subscribers only. If you
received it and did not subscribe, please let us know
using the link on our home page. We will remove your
name immediately.
TO SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter, simply go to the signup
page at
www.SchoolCounselor.com/newsletter
and enter your e-mail address. You will receive an
e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription. We will
add your e-mail address to the list when you reply to
the confirmation e-mail.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE from this newsletter, simply visit the
signup page at
http://www.schoolcounselor.com/unsub.htm
and click the unsubscribe button after entering your
e-mail address. Important: You will then be asked to
click on a link called “click here” to complete the
process. Or, you depending on the database you signed up
with originally, you may have an unsubscribe link at the
bottom of this email...
TO CHANGE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS: If your old address will
become inactive, PLEASE
UNSUBSCRIBE with your old address and SUBSCRIBE with
your new one.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS
send a note.
Please allow a week or two for changes to take effect.
____________________________________________
PRIVACY POLICY
____________________________________________
Want to advertise in this newsletter? Visit
http://www.schoolcounselor.com/advertising.htm
____________________________________________
The SchoolCounselor.com newsletter may contain links
to sites on the Internet owned and operated by third
parties. SchoolCounselor.com is not responsible for the
availability of, or the content located on or through,
any such third-party site. Information in this document
is provided "as is," without warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, including but not limited
to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness
for a particular purpose and freedom from infringement.
The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and
the use of this document. SchoolCounselor.com will not
be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the
use of this information, including, but not limited to
direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and
consequential damages.
Sabella & Associates, LLC, 4922 SW 26th PL,
Cape Coral, FL 33914
|
||||||||
The SchoolCounselor.com e-Newsletter is an electronic publication designed to advance counselors' level of technological literacy, application, and integration. You will find practical solutions and answers to technology related problems, especially as they apply to your job as counselor. If you would like to share a tip or trick, or if you would like to ask a question, e-mail Russ Sabella at newsletter@schoolcounselor.com
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
SchoolCounselor.com eNewsletter #141
Monday, August 19, 2013
Data Boot Camp 2.0: Anything missing?
The Data Boot Camp for School Counselors and Administrators, first published in 2006, was designed to help you become more proficient in using Microsoft Excel™ to make data an important part of your comprehensive school counseling program. From data-driven decision making, to monitoring progress, to reporting the positive impact you're having on kids -- the CD demystifies how it's done.
Now I am 80% finished with a major update to the program, Data Boot Camp for School Counselors and Administrators 2.0. Before version 2.0 is complete and goes into production this December, I want check with you about a couple of things:
1. What are your data related questions or competencies that you would like to see and that are not included in version 1.0 (see here)?
2. What are your favorite consumption methods (e.g., install the program on your desktop, go to a website online, watch from your iPad or other tablet, kick back and watch an ongoing DVD on your TV or monitor)?
Please comment below (or here if you received this via email) or email me directly at sabella@schoolcounselor.com
Thanks!
Russ Sabella, Ph.D.
www.schoolcounselor.com
Friday, August 9, 2013
Relevant Professional Development for School Counselors and Educators
http://bit.ly/sabella-training or here.
Also ...
Webinars from SchoolCounselor.com
Each webinar is customized for either 60 or 90 minutes.
Other options available upon request.
Creating Compelling Charts: A Picture is Worth a Thousand WordsOther options available upon request.
School Counselors, Administrators, and other Educators are compelled to make data driven decisions, monitor student achievement, and communicate results. Initiatives such as the ASCA National Model™ and RtI include these as critical components of an overall school counseling program. This workshop will help counselors understand the differences among various charts and their appropriate uses. This "nuts and bolts" training will also show participants how these charts are created and customized using Microsoft Excel and other productivity tools.
Demonstration
- Overview what data looks like in Excel
- F11 for creating charts
- Disaggregation Charts
- Creating a Picture Chart using PowerPoint
- Creating a Waffle Chart using PowerPoint
- Adding a goal line (RtI)
- Change chart format (colors, font, etc.)
- Save new format as template for future charts.
- Animate chart bars or arrows (e.g., percent change).
Solution Focused Scaling with Students, Parents, and Stake Holders
The solution focused counseling model encourages others to think about times when their problems did not exist, how these times contributed to the absence of the problem, and how to recreate such circumstances in their present situations. Focus is on the students/parents strengths and abilities rather than their weaknesses. Solutions are derived by the students/parents themselves and therefore not only are they more involved in their success, but the solutions fit their unique lifestyles. Finally, because they find their own solutions that work, often self-esteem is increased. With this emphasis of counseling on solutions rather than problems, counseling becomes brief. This webinar covers the popular solution focused scaling approach with lots of handouts and resources. Teachers who want to conduct solution focused conferences with parents should also attend.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, with the intention of harming others. The technology used includes e-mail, message boards, blogs, instant messaging, cell phone, text messaging, defamatory personal Web sites and/or online personal polling Web sites. Frequently, media such as sounds, text, video, altered graphics, and photos are incorporated into the piece to add to the attacks. This webinar endeavors to help you understand the nature of cyberbullying and provides helpful tips for prevention and intervention among both bullies and victims.
Developing Multimedia Results Reports
This webinar will help participants to develop self-advancing, narrated, multimedia results reports. In essence, counselors will create a digital story that demonstrates the positive impact they have on students and other stake holders.
Guarding Kids from Harmful Online Content
The Internet is replete with pornography and websites that support eating disorders, self-injury, suicide, hate, and racism. This webinar overviews both human and technological solutions for blocking, filtering, monitoring, and setting up conditions and consequences for accessing online content.
Solution Focused Leadership and Organizational Development
Dr. Russ Sabella has held various leadership positions including Past President of the American School Counselor Association and President Elect of the Florida School Counselor Association. He has been a featured trainer at various Leadership Development Institutes and has helped many counseling organizations over the last 20 years to "get to the next level." In this presentation, he shares various solution focused principles that will help leaders to stay focused on what matters, to move from admiring problems to embracing solutions, and develop a "slow and go" attitude to building sustainability.
School Counseling 2.0: Communication/Collaboration Technologies to Reach and Teach Each Our Stake Holders
Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have great potential for helping school counselors disseminate important information and interact with students and stake holders. This comprehensive training incorporates focuses on free or almost free services that counselors can use to enhance their school counseling programs.
How to Use Google Docs to Collect and Analyze Data
Although student information systems house insane amounts of data, school counselors sometimes need data not collected (e.g., social, personal, career data). This webinar will demonstrate how to do this most effectively and efficiently using technology. Specifically, counselors will learn how to use Google Docs (free with a registered account) to do just this. Google Docs allows for free and unlimited data collection and can even provide a quick summary of your results! From homework completion rates, to event RSVP’s, to cyberbullying surveys, this webinar will show you how to do it.
Contact Dr. Sabella about a webinar for your School or Organization:
Russell A. Sabella, Ph.D.
Sabella@SchoolCounselor.com
Monday, August 5, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Blog Archive
Produced by Sabella & Associates, LLC
Copyright, 2009. All Rights Reserved. Contact Dr. Russell Sabella at news@schoolcounselor.com.