Sunday, November 21, 2010

Atomic Learning – PC Maintenance and Security

Cost effective ways to keep your internet connected PC running smoothly.

Tutorial Introduction
One thing I learned that I will definitely be sharing with others:
·         Malware is a “catch all” phrase that includes viruses, adware, spyware, Trojan horses, and worms – software designed to disrupt and damage computer systems. 
Information that surprised me:
·         Instant messaging often includes spyware.

Tutorial Clean Up and Speed Up Your PC
One thing I learned that I will definitely be sharing with others:
·         You can use MS Config to customize which programs “start-up” on your Windows start-up.  My husband has been complaining that Skype starts up every time he turns his computer on.  I’m happy to be able to tell him how to solve this problem!
Information that surprised me:
·         After I followed the directions from the first tip, “remove unwanted programs,” my computer was considerably faster.

Tutorial Organizing Your Computer
One thing I learned that I will definitely be sharing with others:
·         You can organize “my documents” in a list view instead of using the default tile view.
Information that surprised me:
·         If you right click inside any folder and go to arrange files by type, your files will all be sorted into groups.

Tutorial Wireless Network Security
One thing I learned that I will definitely be sharing with others:
·         If you use a router in your home to set up a wireless network and don’t secure it, neighbors may be using your internet connection.
Information that surprised me:
·         People drive around neighborhoods looking for open networks and then from their cars, use the wireless network they find.  This is called “war driving.”

Monday, November 15, 2010

Social Networking

Social networking has fit into my workflow personally for a number of years.  Five years ago, when my oldest son left for college, I saw Facebook as a way to keep in touch with him. It worked well for that, but I was also pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to reconnect with friends from high school and college, some of whom I had not been in touch with in over 30 years.  I also found that Facebook was a good way to communicate with people I currently work with or have worked with in the recent past. Even though they are “work friends,” the information shared is personal and therefore the social networking site has added a new dimension to these relationships.

Since enrolling in Teaching for Understanding with Technology, I’ve learned that social networks can make a major contribution to my Professional Learning Network (PLN). In addition to Facebook , I’m now also an active user of Twitter and MACUL Space and was able to set up links between the three accounts. I use hashtags on Twitter to enable me to follow specific topics, and even though MACUL Space is already a “specialty” social network, I’ve taken that a step further by becoming a member of the MSU EduTech and Multimedia (MM) special interest groups on the site. These sites are all contributing to a customized professional development plan for me.

My students frequently talk about using the Facebook and MySpace social networking sites. They use these sites mainly for communicating and sharing pictures with friends and family.  I plan to share with them how I’m using social networking to support my own personal learning goals and to collaborate with colleagues so they too can see the possibilities these sites extend to them for creating their very own personal learning networks.