C14 General use of ICT.
Initial knowledge/skills rating *
September 2011
I have a few ICT skills, I can send emails, surf the net, type a little in word and even dabble with Photoshop and 2D design but on the whole I find computers intimidating. I feel like they are like little pieces of alien technology that were beamed down into the room while I was out. What is worse I feel everyone around me can use them with ease but I somehow missed that day at school and can not catch up.
I hate it when someone shows me how to do something on a computer. Then when I am trying to do it that way in front of somebody else they say ‘Why are you doing it like that? This way is much easier/quicker’. Which is all very well but learning lots of different methods all at once is so confusing.There is no time to consolidate before your temporary tutor has walked off again leaving you more baffled than you were in the first place.
Now starting this course we have to keep a journal! Yes, I could take the easy option and make a hard copy but where would be the challenge or satisfaction in that? This is my time out from my working life and I am here to learn, to make the most of my opportunities. No I am going to get this IT thing cracked even if it kills me…… or those around me…….
September 2011
I have a few ICT skills, I can send emails, surf the net, type a little in word and even dabble with Photoshop and 2D design but on the whole I find computers intimidating. I feel like they are like little pieces of alien technology that were beamed down into the room while I was out. What is worse I feel everyone around me can use them with ease but I somehow missed that day at school and can not catch up.
I hate it when someone shows me how to do something on a computer. Then when I am trying to do it that way in front of somebody else they say ‘Why are you doing it like that? This way is much easier/quicker’. Which is all very well but learning lots of different methods all at once is so confusing.There is no time to consolidate before your temporary tutor has walked off again leaving you more baffled than you were in the first place.
Now starting this course we have to keep a journal! Yes, I could take the easy option and make a hard copy but where would be the challenge or satisfaction in that? This is my time out from my working life and I am here to learn, to make the most of my opportunities. No I am going to get this IT thing cracked even if it kills me…… or those around me…….
My audit begins
Todays ICT skills are simply to use a short cut to edit and paste the headings from a word document onto each page of my journal.By the time I finish I am not likely to forget ctrl C and ctrl V in a hurry, which goes to show repetition reinforces learning.
I have always felt intimidated by computers as often carrying out simple commands does not seem to work consistently for me. What I have learnt over the past few days is that one sequence of button hitting leads to messages like 'site not found' but when the same sequence is repeated (especially if someone is looking over your shoulder, the web site or page loads. Conclusion I am not responsible for the problems....they just happen! I need to learn to take ICT problems in my stride.
Todays ICT skills are simply to use a short cut to edit and paste the headings from a word document onto each page of my journal.By the time I finish I am not likely to forget ctrl C and ctrl V in a hurry, which goes to show repetition reinforces learning.
I have always felt intimidated by computers as often carrying out simple commands does not seem to work consistently for me. What I have learnt over the past few days is that one sequence of button hitting leads to messages like 'site not found' but when the same sequence is repeated (especially if someone is looking over your shoulder, the web site or page loads. Conclusion I am not responsible for the problems....they just happen! I need to learn to take ICT problems in my stride.
Setting up a knowledge/skills rating scale
30th October 2011
I initially set out wanting to make a knowledge/skills rating scale using fish (no pun intended). I wanted something symbolic, something to conjure up an image of what gaining knowledge can feel like. For me it can feel difficult, sometimes like you are swimming against a tide but with practise and exposure it becomes easier until one day something you once struggled with feels easy. Being able to swim for me is one of the best feelings in the world!
However, trying to set up this scale was a lot harder and more time consuming then I had expected.
I initially set out wanting to make a knowledge/skills rating scale using fish (no pun intended). I wanted something symbolic, something to conjure up an image of what gaining knowledge can feel like. For me it can feel difficult, sometimes like you are swimming against a tide but with practise and exposure it becomes easier until one day something you once struggled with feels easy. Being able to swim for me is one of the best feelings in the world!
However, trying to set up this scale was a lot harder and more time consuming then I had expected.
My daughter had offered to help, for her the easiest way would have been to write me a basic website. However I wanted to do things for myself and didn’t want to take up her time. I wanted to use one of the websites I had heard of during class. Wordpress or Weebly.
We looked at Wordpress and Weebly together and she checked out some write ups about each (something I would not have thought of) before opting for Weebly as it looked easier to get started. The only way my daughter could help me was to firstly learn herself. However I was soon asking more questions then she could answer and I felt uncomfortable asking.
I soon found I could ask Ben for help. I had been able to help him in the workshop and he was happy to help me with the computer. I showed him how to set up pages on Weebly and he was happy to work together showing me the simple things like turning the brightness down on a computer.
We looked at Wordpress and Weebly together and she checked out some write ups about each (something I would not have thought of) before opting for Weebly as it looked easier to get started. The only way my daughter could help me was to firstly learn herself. However I was soon asking more questions then she could answer and I felt uncomfortable asking.
I soon found I could ask Ben for help. I had been able to help him in the workshop and he was happy to help me with the computer. I showed him how to set up pages on Weebly and he was happy to work together showing me the simple things like turning the brightness down on a computer.
Tagging on Facebook
Ben also taught me how to tag photos in Facebook, Another use of IT that only my daughters use in our house but I have just become a member so that I can communicate with my uni colleagues.
First Crit session for audit
31st October 2011
Today is our first crit session on our audits. I am apprehensive because: I know mine is not totally up to date, it is a mixture of computer based and hard copy and I am expecting my audit to look the most basic because IT is one of my weakest areas whereas everyone else has had a lot more experience and exposure to IT. I am trying to develop my skills but there is so much to learn and I feel progress is slow and often frustrating.
I managed to stop myself stressing and staying up half the night, because even if I did manage to catch up by depriving myself of sleep, I would be in no fit state for the next day’s tuition. I think it is better to accept my short comings, be prepared for feedback and accept it as advice rather than criticism; to use it as a stepping stone for improvement. I can already see I need to be addressing this audit on a regular basis and the sooner it is all being done on the computer the better.
Crit session over!!!!!!!
On reflection I am delighted and even a little impressed. I had managed to achieve a similar computing level to my peers! I was so surprised that my audit did not look out of place. I was even able to pass on some IT knowledge…..shocked or what?
I am someone who hates to show of her work. I nearly always feel ashamed of what I achieve because I think I should have done better or done it quicker. A better and more positive approach might be to accept where you are and look for ways to improve next time, to view the whole of life as one big learning experience. Don’t be hard on yourself for not knowing things before you started out. Hey I am one mixed up kid but then who isn’t really.
I received positive feedback from Dean, my audit ticked the criteria required. I am thrilled to pieces that my writing style was approved of. Yippee……. I was worried my approach was too personal but apparently not. I am very happy. I really enjoyed the session as I was able to pick up some good ideas from things other people had done that I may like to incorporate in my journal. I have made a note of who knows how to do what and have already asked Chris if he will teach me how to do a hyper link on Weebly.
Installing uni anti-virus software
I have just tried installing the university anti-virus software to my home computer. Normally I would let someone else do these things thinking anyone else can do this better than me. I was following the step by step procedures and started to install when a message popped up on my computer.
Why is this computer telling me it may not have installed the software properly? I mean if it doesn’t know how am I meant to know?
I looked at the blank faces around me and they didn’t know any more than I did. I will go to the computer pool later this week and see if the support people can help.
I looked at the blank faces around me and they didn’t know any more than I did. I will go to the computer pool later this week and see if the support people can help.
1st November 2011
I mentioned to Lance that I had not managed to install the university anti-virus software. He was going to bring a disc in as he thinks I will be better able to install it from that. If he brings a disc in before I make it to the computer pool I will give it a go.
******
Grrr computers! I went to use the computers in the computer pool. The first computer froze so I switched computers. I then had to watch the Prezi presentation on mute because I was in a shared area, silly me. I tried to sign up to Prezi as a student but you can only do that if the uni has an account. Eventually I managed to sign up to Prezi as a member of the public. They offer slightly less than to student but it will do for now.
I managed to name the new presentation but it offered me nothing else so I couldn’t work on it. There had been a pop saying upgrade to Adobe 10 but it is not my computer. I didn’t know if I had missed something so I Facebooked Lance for advice. There should have been presentation styles to choose from but there was nothing. Gave up and went home.
I got home and started up Prezi again. This time everything started first time!
They had a really ingenious little interactive presentation of how to use the site. It was so funny. It wouldn’t progress until you had done what it wanted. I rather liked the little line drawings clapping when I had completed and learned what to do.
I worked on my presentation on Louis Comfort Tiffany using Prezi. I am really slow working out why the program responds the way it does. For example why the writing goes bigger or changes font and I don’t think I have done anything to cause it but then again I must have. Hmm.
I struggled to put images onto Prezi too. I had scanned images from a book but couldn’t think how to crop them quickly. Somehow I managed to get one image on Prezi but I couldn’t work out what I had done to repeat the process. I really needed to get some sleep.
I mentioned to Lance that I had not managed to install the university anti-virus software. He was going to bring a disc in as he thinks I will be better able to install it from that. If he brings a disc in before I make it to the computer pool I will give it a go.
******
Grrr computers! I went to use the computers in the computer pool. The first computer froze so I switched computers. I then had to watch the Prezi presentation on mute because I was in a shared area, silly me. I tried to sign up to Prezi as a student but you can only do that if the uni has an account. Eventually I managed to sign up to Prezi as a member of the public. They offer slightly less than to student but it will do for now.
I managed to name the new presentation but it offered me nothing else so I couldn’t work on it. There had been a pop saying upgrade to Adobe 10 but it is not my computer. I didn’t know if I had missed something so I Facebooked Lance for advice. There should have been presentation styles to choose from but there was nothing. Gave up and went home.
I got home and started up Prezi again. This time everything started first time!
They had a really ingenious little interactive presentation of how to use the site. It was so funny. It wouldn’t progress until you had done what it wanted. I rather liked the little line drawings clapping when I had completed and learned what to do.
I worked on my presentation on Louis Comfort Tiffany using Prezi. I am really slow working out why the program responds the way it does. For example why the writing goes bigger or changes font and I don’t think I have done anything to cause it but then again I must have. Hmm.
I struggled to put images onto Prezi too. I had scanned images from a book but couldn’t think how to crop them quickly. Somehow I managed to get one image on Prezi but I couldn’t work out what I had done to repeat the process. I really needed to get some sleep.
2nd October 2011
Well it is amazing what sleep does for me.
I managed to crop images in Photoshop and get them onto Prezi. Not a route I had ever used before and I don’t really know how I worked it out but I guess I am beginning to experiment.
I kept a series of screen prints so that I could work out what I had done later.
Having successfully copied images from a book to Prezi I was now experiencing difficulty copying images from Google to Prezi. WHY? I had made the images into a word document and placed them in the same folder as the previous pictures but when I went to retrieve an image from my computer I was not being offered a full list of my documents. I don’t get it. I will ask my daughter when we have a chance. I really must revisit this procedure.
2nd November 2011
Lance appeared with the university anti-virus disc today. Have still not managed to go to the computer pool so may as well give it a go and try installing it myself.
Grrrrr, computer is still saying it may not have installed properly. I have no idea if I am blocking up my computer with half failed attempts. Definitely a trip to the computer pool required.
Lance appeared with the university anti-virus disc today. Have still not managed to go to the computer pool so may as well give it a go and try installing it myself.
Grrrrr, computer is still saying it may not have installed properly. I have no idea if I am blocking up my computer with half failed attempts. Definitely a trip to the computer pool required.
3rd November 2011
I made it to the university computer pool room. Nice man installed university anti-virus software. He had needed to un-install the program related to my expired anti-virus software. His first method of installing, which he tried at least twice, was unsuccessful. I mention this because I am really learning it is not just for me that things do not go smoothly the first time.
I deduced there were no half attempts of anti-virus software blocking up my computer as the first thing the IT technician had said was it had not installed because there were no anti-virus software icons. So that’s how one knows if the installation is successful of not!
Added bonuses of visiting IT technicians/experts in their field:
University wireless connection set up.
I learnt how to find and un-install programs on my computer.
I learnt computers should be sent to sleep for carrying purposes and he showed me how to do it.
I am well pleased with myself !
4th November 2011
I have just been writing up my tutorial on a visual examination of a PCB board. I wanted to add some diagrams that I found on Google to help explain a good soldered joint and a bad soldered joint. As these came from two sources I wanted to change the texts to match. I did this via paint. Watching my daughter I noticed that by simply clicking on a piece of text even if it has been down loaded from Google, the computer identified it and named the text accordingly. Amazing!.
I played with colour and heading sizes .Now although this was a development for me I was disappointed with the overall appearance of my work. But I hadn’t really got a clue how to make it look better. I asked Jenny how she thought I could improve my work. That was when she introduced me to the styles box on word and the pre -selected colour schemes. Oh Wow.
I turned my work from this
I have just been writing up my tutorial on a visual examination of a PCB board. I wanted to add some diagrams that I found on Google to help explain a good soldered joint and a bad soldered joint. As these came from two sources I wanted to change the texts to match. I did this via paint. Watching my daughter I noticed that by simply clicking on a piece of text even if it has been down loaded from Google, the computer identified it and named the text accordingly. Amazing!.
I played with colour and heading sizes .Now although this was a development for me I was disappointed with the overall appearance of my work. But I hadn’t really got a clue how to make it look better. I asked Jenny how she thought I could improve my work. That was when she introduced me to the styles box on word and the pre -selected colour schemes. Oh Wow.
I turned my work from this
to this
Looking better!
Saturday 5th November.
Just experimented and managed to put a link to a website on Facebook.
Just experimented and managed to put a link to a website on Facebook.
Picture a flower that opens when facing the sunlight. In work that mimics that sensitivity to light, an MIT engineer and German colleagues have created the first plastics that can be deformed and temporarily fixed in a second, new shape by illumination with light having certain wavelengths. These pr...
I was so going to write such a positive entry here, notice the past tense.
I had been happily working on my audit and realised what progress I had made; how confidently I had grouped images in publisher and saved them as a jpg and transferred them to their web page without certain knowledge that what I was doing would work but I experimented and it did.
I had taken screen prints from you tube, I didn’t expect it to work as I and not stopped the video but either way that worked to.
So why the change of heart?
Well the website I was working on kept developing problems on my page. I didn’t give up or run away waving my arms in the air but just kept pressing refresh and waiting. The waiting between success was getting longer and longer but you can’t offer that as an excuse to your tutors…sorry the web page was playing up. After all deadlines are deadlines. So I continued doing my best until after one refresh I no longer had a website and no nothing brilliantly backed up either.
Why? Why? Well because I have not had the time to back it up, I don’t have the knowledge to back it up and I have been ill and put it off. So my priorities were wrong maybe.
Eventually my website reappeared with a new identity or rather page layout. When I worked out which one it had been I was able to change it back. But my home page was blank and when I looked through my word documents I couldn’t find a copy.
Next I hit the help button, and the internet to search for a solution. I emailed the website support team and started to download what there was to word documents.
Via Facebook I discovered I was not the only one having problems but mine appeared to be the most spectacular. Micki dropped me instructions to back up my site as a zipped folder to my computer but guess what my site was having none of it.
I carried on downloading as word documents when I realised a whole section was missing. No Resistant materials! Suddenly they all reappeared with my homepage information now attached to an RM page. WHY! Four and a half hours of stress.
What worries me is no longer that it is my fault but why are we relying so heavily on something that is so unreliable. I mean how many people would say buy a car or a lathe that didn’t work without going back to the supplier and going hang on I need to get from A to B every day not just most days. I mean how would that go down with your employer or sorry I was going to come in but my car doesn’t work but don’t worry I’ll try it again in a few hours. Or yes well I would have used my indicators but they don’t work right now. Why do we accept such a sham
It seems to me we are so smitten with the possibilities and in love with the conveniences when it does work we seem to put up with appalling unreliability!
I realise my analogy to cars may not be the best one because they do develop intermittent undetectable faults but everyone seem s so blasa about IT faults a nd I find them infuriating. Hell I am such a tolerant person but IT drives me nuts
I had been happily working on my audit and realised what progress I had made; how confidently I had grouped images in publisher and saved them as a jpg and transferred them to their web page without certain knowledge that what I was doing would work but I experimented and it did.
I had taken screen prints from you tube, I didn’t expect it to work as I and not stopped the video but either way that worked to.
So why the change of heart?
Well the website I was working on kept developing problems on my page. I didn’t give up or run away waving my arms in the air but just kept pressing refresh and waiting. The waiting between success was getting longer and longer but you can’t offer that as an excuse to your tutors…sorry the web page was playing up. After all deadlines are deadlines. So I continued doing my best until after one refresh I no longer had a website and no nothing brilliantly backed up either.
Why? Why? Well because I have not had the time to back it up, I don’t have the knowledge to back it up and I have been ill and put it off. So my priorities were wrong maybe.
Eventually my website reappeared with a new identity or rather page layout. When I worked out which one it had been I was able to change it back. But my home page was blank and when I looked through my word documents I couldn’t find a copy.
Next I hit the help button, and the internet to search for a solution. I emailed the website support team and started to download what there was to word documents.
Via Facebook I discovered I was not the only one having problems but mine appeared to be the most spectacular. Micki dropped me instructions to back up my site as a zipped folder to my computer but guess what my site was having none of it.
I carried on downloading as word documents when I realised a whole section was missing. No Resistant materials! Suddenly they all reappeared with my homepage information now attached to an RM page. WHY! Four and a half hours of stress.
What worries me is no longer that it is my fault but why are we relying so heavily on something that is so unreliable. I mean how many people would say buy a car or a lathe that didn’t work without going back to the supplier and going hang on I need to get from A to B every day not just most days. I mean how would that go down with your employer or sorry I was going to come in but my car doesn’t work but don’t worry I’ll try it again in a few hours. Or yes well I would have used my indicators but they don’t work right now. Why do we accept such a sham
It seems to me we are so smitten with the possibilities and in love with the conveniences when it does work we seem to put up with appalling unreliability!
I realise my analogy to cars may not be the best one because they do develop intermittent undetectable faults but everyone seem s so blasa about IT faults a nd I find them infuriating. Hell I am such a tolerant person but IT drives me nuts
My first hard drive
We had a crit session today for materials and processes. I stood up to do mine only to find I had not loaded my work onto my memory stick. Not good. Dean asked if I was managing to capture my work digitally. That was me two months ago but not now. No I had been distracted unloading my first hard drive from its packaging and attempting to back up my work. My daughter took over from me and I don’t know if my work got backed up successfully and neither of us know how to check. I felt so frustrated; I wanted to do this myself.
I plan to visit IT support as they said they were happy to give me a quick tutorial if I got stuck. I had talked to them when I was looking for a second opinion on backing up my work as Deans method of backing up in America sounds daunting to me…….at the moment.
I plan to visit IT support as they said they were happy to give me a quick tutorial if I got stuck. I had talked to them when I was looking for a second opinion on backing up my work as Deans method of backing up in America sounds daunting to me…….at the moment.
Prodesk top crashes and Solidworks will not load
Having been unsuccessful with Prodesk top that I downloaded from the uni website; it crashes every time I try to use the extrude tool. Dean bought in student copies of Solid Works. Tried loading mine but I am fairly sure my computer requires a 64 bit program and this disc is for a 32 bit program. Needless to say I did not manage to download it. I felt mildly annoyed as I have work to do and now there is no chance of having a working program before Friday. There is other work I can get on with so all so not lost. But note to self, when someone hands you a disc and you have your computer to hand, DO NOT ASSUME IT WILL LOAD WITHOUT HICCUPS. Instead load it immediately to expose any problems as soon as possible.
Graphics tablets
30th November 2011
Ha get me I am sitting on a train typing up my audit! Think I might be sick but hey ho.
I have spent the last couple of days researching graphics tablet via the internet and new to me for research, You Tube. I used a Bamboo graphics tablet back in the summer and actually did quite well with it. I thought about buying one but never got any further than that. That’s me ,the old me, kind to scared to do anything with IT me.
Anyway this morning I looked on the Wacom website and found this most amazing product called the INKLING. It looks brilliant! You have a biro with ink to draw on any piece of paper and a little device that clips onto your paper. You are able to capture images, work in layers and then digitally download to your pc and alter your images. I WANT ONE! And my eldest daughter would love one too I bet.
Having read the reviews, the product was meant to be released mid -September but has not made it out of the factory yet. Seems Wacom have had some problems. However I have placed my request for an email as soon as it becomes available and then I shall place my order.
Oh my goodness, look at me! I could be one of the first people to experience a new piece of IT rather than the last. Oh I do hope they get their problems sorted soon. I can’t wait to play!
Ha get me I am sitting on a train typing up my audit! Think I might be sick but hey ho.
I have spent the last couple of days researching graphics tablet via the internet and new to me for research, You Tube. I used a Bamboo graphics tablet back in the summer and actually did quite well with it. I thought about buying one but never got any further than that. That’s me ,the old me, kind to scared to do anything with IT me.
Anyway this morning I looked on the Wacom website and found this most amazing product called the INKLING. It looks brilliant! You have a biro with ink to draw on any piece of paper and a little device that clips onto your paper. You are able to capture images, work in layers and then digitally download to your pc and alter your images. I WANT ONE! And my eldest daughter would love one too I bet.
Having read the reviews, the product was meant to be released mid -September but has not made it out of the factory yet. Seems Wacom have had some problems. However I have placed my request for an email as soon as it becomes available and then I shall place my order.
Oh my goodness, look at me! I could be one of the first people to experience a new piece of IT rather than the last. Oh I do hope they get their problems sorted soon. I can’t wait to play!
6/12/2011
It
Frustrations at drawing a line in Solidworks
I have been having some difficulties working with Solid works, really basic stuff. I am having difficulty ending a line and I cannot work out what I am doing differently between successful outcomes and failures Frustrated I asked my daughter to try, convinced the whole process would be as natural to her as using a pencil to me. And to some degree I was right she showed me one method that was successful, to click, draw, release. However I am convinced there must be an easy way of achieving this if I start from click release draw….end but how do I end?
I found myself a Solidworks tutorial on You Tube. And the method I was searching for is click, release, draw ESC.
It
Frustrations at drawing a line in Solidworks
I have been having some difficulties working with Solid works, really basic stuff. I am having difficulty ending a line and I cannot work out what I am doing differently between successful outcomes and failures Frustrated I asked my daughter to try, convinced the whole process would be as natural to her as using a pencil to me. And to some degree I was right she showed me one method that was successful, to click, draw, release. However I am convinced there must be an easy way of achieving this if I start from click release draw….end but how do I end?
I found myself a Solidworks tutorial on You Tube. And the method I was searching for is click, release, draw ESC.
1st experience of using Power Point
I also went onto Power Point for the first time in my life today. Something I have heard of and never tried because I assumed it would be something else for me to struggle and feel humiliated by. Instead I looked at it and started to work. I discovered there are common concepts between programs and this one is very like Publisher.
I also went onto Power Point for the first time in my life today. Something I have heard of and never tried because I assumed it would be something else for me to struggle and feel humiliated by. Instead I looked at it and started to work. I discovered there are common concepts between programs and this one is very like Publisher.
Thurs 15th December
Solidworks making test holes
Yet again I experienced tears of pure frustration at IT not doing what I want it to do. I followed exactly the same procedure as last time only this time with slightly different design and yet the 3D printer would not build from my drawing. Why? I just do not understand it! This is all so frustrating and disappointing to say the very least.
The IT technician could not resolve my problem and it took Dean and several different attempts. Only after the dimension lines were removed from the document would the 3D printer build a program. Dean is not convinced removing these lines was responsible for the sudden success but it is certainly true with them it didn’t work.
Solidworks making test holes
Yet again I experienced tears of pure frustration at IT not doing what I want it to do. I followed exactly the same procedure as last time only this time with slightly different design and yet the 3D printer would not build from my drawing. Why? I just do not understand it! This is all so frustrating and disappointing to say the very least.
The IT technician could not resolve my problem and it took Dean and several different attempts. Only after the dimension lines were removed from the document would the 3D printer build a program. Dean is not convinced removing these lines was responsible for the sudden success but it is certainly true with them it didn’t work.
Tears, tantrums and semi success. 9/12/2011 IT for journal
Yesterday pure frustration at not being able to get the computer program to do what I wanted it to do led me to tears. Not as many as I would have liked but enough to let the valve off. After words of reassurance from Dean I was off again.
I had learnt just because I cannot get a computer program to do what I want it to do does not mean that it is down to my failing but could actually be down to the limitations of the software.
Having set up again this time at home I successfully, eventually made a shape similar to a pepper grinder. With the intension of then using the freeform tool I discovered my shape was too complex for the software.
I topped up my brilliance with IT by accidently deleting everything I had done on Solidworks that evening. On later reflection I had misunderstood that by saving within the Solidworks program was not the same as saving to a file on my computer. Arrg. It could have been worse.
Wonderful tools but if I look at what shapes the tutorials are offering they tend to be engineering drawings rather than organic arty forms. Perhaps that should be a lesson to me. Work out who the software is being aimed at or used by.
Yesterday pure frustration at not being able to get the computer program to do what I wanted it to do led me to tears. Not as many as I would have liked but enough to let the valve off. After words of reassurance from Dean I was off again.
I had learnt just because I cannot get a computer program to do what I want it to do does not mean that it is down to my failing but could actually be down to the limitations of the software.
Having set up again this time at home I successfully, eventually made a shape similar to a pepper grinder. With the intension of then using the freeform tool I discovered my shape was too complex for the software.
I topped up my brilliance with IT by accidently deleting everything I had done on Solidworks that evening. On later reflection I had misunderstood that by saving within the Solidworks program was not the same as saving to a file on my computer. Arrg. It could have been worse.
Wonderful tools but if I look at what shapes the tutorials are offering they tend to be engineering drawings rather than organic arty forms. Perhaps that should be a lesson to me. Work out who the software is being aimed at or used by.
Bubbl.us
3rd January2012
Well look at me fly……I am feeling a little pleased with myself.
It wasn’t very many weeks ago that I could not understand how to make a new bubble reliably appear and yet last night when I sat down, to about my forth mini mind map, I found myself confidently working and teaching myself. No longer afraid to experiment I learnt how to: repeat my actions reliably, discovered changing the colour of the boxes and the text. Labelling links, creating arrowed links and in the end I have created a large colour coded, very useful mind map.
I didn’t even panic when trying to save my work to my computer it kept sending error messages. I experimented with a series of different ways and in the end discovered if I had the document open on my computer first and then saved as a zip file, it downloads in seconds. I have no idea why this works, I could hazard a guess but I do not know for sure. But it worked anyway.
16th February 2012
Little things!
There are now times when I know more then the other students I am talking to, yesterday I shared my knowledge of how to send documents via Facebook with some trainee teachers in maths and chemistry. Also I am no longer the last to locate documents so I can help people on my course. Dean had shown us how to get to PDP on student central and I had remembered how. Yesterday I even remembered the UTL for the James Dyson foundation and I had only read it once. These are all little steps but they just were not mine to claim three months ago.
Three months ago I was so scared and flustered in the presence of a computer and the information I was being given was so overwhelming I was the last to be able to do anything. My brain didn’t have the capacity to remember UTLs and I was so impressed by the way Biff seemed to soak up this relevant information.
Little things!
There are now times when I know more then the other students I am talking to, yesterday I shared my knowledge of how to send documents via Facebook with some trainee teachers in maths and chemistry. Also I am no longer the last to locate documents so I can help people on my course. Dean had shown us how to get to PDP on student central and I had remembered how. Yesterday I even remembered the UTL for the James Dyson foundation and I had only read it once. These are all little steps but they just were not mine to claim three months ago.
Three months ago I was so scared and flustered in the presence of a computer and the information I was being given was so overwhelming I was the last to be able to do anything. My brain didn’t have the capacity to remember UTLs and I was so impressed by the way Biff seemed to soak up this relevant information.
Scribd, Weebly and Facebook
Chris has just talked me through uploading documents to Scribd and embedding them on Weebly via Facebook. I admit I needed help to do this but I was efficient in receiving that information. I was working with two screens open so I could talk to Chris via Facebook whist working on Scribd and Weebly in the other window. I knew where to find my relevant documents on my computer something my filing system didn’t allow efficiently last time I talked to Chris, just before Christmas. Not many weeks ago I was struggling to find documents as my filing system was at best a mess at worst non-existent. Dean helped me get started on my organisation as everything was just piling into one big mess of badly headed documents.
Chris has just talked me through uploading documents to Scribd and embedding them on Weebly via Facebook. I admit I needed help to do this but I was efficient in receiving that information. I was working with two screens open so I could talk to Chris via Facebook whist working on Scribd and Weebly in the other window. I knew where to find my relevant documents on my computer something my filing system didn’t allow efficiently last time I talked to Chris, just before Christmas. Not many weeks ago I was struggling to find documents as my filing system was at best a mess at worst non-existent. Dean helped me get started on my organisation as everything was just piling into one big mess of badly headed documents.
Learning in a digital age
Yesterday, Pete cited my use of Solidworks as an example of how as an older person using technology, once overcoming my fear, had actually progressed in an area most people on our course had not ventured. He stated he was proud of me. Although this was somewhat embarrassing I really appreciated the acknowledgement. I have to admit I totally surprise myself at home when I know something my daughter does not.
Knowing how to add a word to the dictionary in spell check was beyond my capabilities at the beginning of this course. Now I know about using synonyms to help me write better essays. I used to panic trying desperately to remember how to save to my memory stick to such an extent I reached overload and would shut down on the tuition going on in the background. Now I have every confidence of saving material in many applications. Some I have learnt the hard way such as when I was using Solidworks but on the whole my efficiency is improving but as I managed not to save a screenshot of a useful website a couple of days ago I still have some progress to make in this area.
Skills Rating ***
So do I feel able to share my ICT knowledge as limited as it is? Yes because I do, only in a small way but it is happening. I have been educating my mother and the odd little share here and there at uni with Solidworks. The area of ICT is so vast I am unlikely to ever become an expert. I wish to continue just as I have been because I feel I am making real progress. I feel happy and quietly comforted by my achievements though it is about now I take a trip to the university computer pool drop in and burst my own bubble when I see a tip of the ice burg of what I do not know.
I plan to continue to explore new programs as much as possible. I want to try some other mind mapping programs to see if, like Bhav suggested, skills are transferable.
Yesterday, Pete cited my use of Solidworks as an example of how as an older person using technology, once overcoming my fear, had actually progressed in an area most people on our course had not ventured. He stated he was proud of me. Although this was somewhat embarrassing I really appreciated the acknowledgement. I have to admit I totally surprise myself at home when I know something my daughter does not.
Knowing how to add a word to the dictionary in spell check was beyond my capabilities at the beginning of this course. Now I know about using synonyms to help me write better essays. I used to panic trying desperately to remember how to save to my memory stick to such an extent I reached overload and would shut down on the tuition going on in the background. Now I have every confidence of saving material in many applications. Some I have learnt the hard way such as when I was using Solidworks but on the whole my efficiency is improving but as I managed not to save a screenshot of a useful website a couple of days ago I still have some progress to make in this area.
Skills Rating ***
So do I feel able to share my ICT knowledge as limited as it is? Yes because I do, only in a small way but it is happening. I have been educating my mother and the odd little share here and there at uni with Solidworks. The area of ICT is so vast I am unlikely to ever become an expert. I wish to continue just as I have been because I feel I am making real progress. I feel happy and quietly comforted by my achievements though it is about now I take a trip to the university computer pool drop in and burst my own bubble when I see a tip of the ice burg of what I do not know.
I plan to continue to explore new programs as much as possible. I want to try some other mind mapping programs to see if, like Bhav suggested, skills are transferable.
18th February 2012
Voice Recognition software in Window 7
I tried using the voice recognition built into Windows 7 a few weeks ago. At first it didn’t work very well as I was using the microphone built into the computer. So I went out and bought myself the recommended headset and worked my way through the tutorial teaching my computer to understand me. The tutorial went very well but afterwards when I was dictating freely the results less satisfactory. When I had been working through the tutorial I had noticed on one occasion that the computer typed in word I had not said yet. I was suspicious as to how well the computer training had worked feeling perhaps that the dictation would have worked regardless of how I spoke or if I spoke at all. I gave up feeling tired. I planned to try and teach my computer to understand me a little bit each day. Needless to say I never got around to it I was so busy doing other things.
Voice Recognition software in Window 7
I tried using the voice recognition built into Windows 7 a few weeks ago. At first it didn’t work very well as I was using the microphone built into the computer. So I went out and bought myself the recommended headset and worked my way through the tutorial teaching my computer to understand me. The tutorial went very well but afterwards when I was dictating freely the results less satisfactory. When I had been working through the tutorial I had noticed on one occasion that the computer typed in word I had not said yet. I was suspicious as to how well the computer training had worked feeling perhaps that the dictation would have worked regardless of how I spoke or if I spoke at all. I gave up feeling tired. I planned to try and teach my computer to understand me a little bit each day. Needless to say I never got around to it I was so busy doing other things.
Today I thought I would give it another go. It would be so useful if I could get my computer to take dictation. I feel the results today have been much better. I cannot remember all of the commands because I left it for such a long time before using it again. It will take patience to teach the computer to recognise my pronunciation but I believe it would be beneficial in the long run. I am also finding it hard to dictate to the computer. It is difficult getting used to the way you should speak for example using full sentences rather than stopping part of the way through. When I need to correct something it is difficult to remember what I had tried to dictate especially if the correction takes more than one attempt. I guess with practice both I and the computer will get used to each other.
I have been onto YouTube and tried to follow the tutorial for setting up Narrator, unfortunately I don’t seem to be able to get it to work. However I have managed to set up my computer to have a better screen for dyslexics. I think it has reduced the tone of the colour by 40 per cent. I am certainly looking at blue text that I am finding much easier to read than black. I am now wondering what this is going to do to all of the work that I’ve already done and put on Weebly and what I can do to improve my ability to read my Website.
I copied my blue text on a white background into Weebly the colour automatically changed back to black. If I want to change the colour in Weebly I would probably have to change my page design. This may be an option because I find it hard to read over my work due to Dyslexia and visual stress. Another option is to get colour screen overlays but until I know for sure what colour is best for me I do not want to purchase any. It would be nice to wait for the DSA to pay for this but I have a lot of work to do before that happens. I will look into the package at least.
So what do I think of voice recognition now?
But what I think of my voice recognition software now that I've spent a day working with it. I am very pleased with it. I know it is already being trained to my voice because way my daughter tried it in did not recognise work she was saying compared to when I speak. I believe the more I use it the more accurate it will be. I also believe I will find it easier to work in this way the more I practice I have at. It is a very different way of working but I believe it may be a much better way of working as a dyslexic. I did not encounter the same level of fatigue as I would from typing. I am able to concentrate more on the composing and contents of a sentence. It is early days but it does give me home as I can circumnavigate dyslexia to achieve my full potential. That sentence alone is about to reduce me to tears that is very hard to dictate when you're about to cry. Big time out, are I think computers have become a friend. It is almost like it has a sense of humour because I dictated time out but it wrote “Big time out”.
Twitter
21st February 2012
Dean made the comment that I was coming over to the Dark Side today. I have got news for him I think I have arrived! I signed up to Twitter all by myself too without any help from anyone. So what does it feel like? Well I feel like I have just walked into one of those really bright rooms that they use to depict arriving in heaven but it’s not heaven because there is all this writing on the clean walls. I have never been here before. Amongst the white are things for me to read: Gems about websites with topics offering temptations of 3D printing and nano technology all about to unfold before me. I will never have the chance to read it all even if I were to live my live a hundred times over. I feel dazed.
Dean made the comment that I was coming over to the Dark Side today. I have got news for him I think I have arrived! I signed up to Twitter all by myself too without any help from anyone. So what does it feel like? Well I feel like I have just walked into one of those really bright rooms that they use to depict arriving in heaven but it’s not heaven because there is all this writing on the clean walls. I have never been here before. Amongst the white are things for me to read: Gems about websites with topics offering temptations of 3D printing and nano technology all about to unfold before me. I will never have the chance to read it all even if I were to live my live a hundred times over. I feel dazed.
Still making mistakes when it comes to saving work
I am still make mistakes when it comes to saving work. I have been placing images in Publisher and saving them as JPEG images in my picture libraries. Then rather than saving the Publisher document as well I have been deleting them. However I have now realized that if I want to add a picture or retrieve a picture I am unable to make alterations to my JPEG image. So from now on I will be saving my work in both formats. This easy to see that I have made an error of judgement but sometimes it is not so easy to see what went wrong. A few days ago I access to a website that I really want to go back to, I took a screen shot placed it in a Publisher document but when I recalled the document only one screen shot had been saved. I thought if you accidentally closed the document without saving first it text dialogue opened asking you if you wanted to save it. So I am not really sure what went wrong.
PowerPoint Presentation
Free software downloads
I down loaded a free software trial to make a time-line. I have never done that before. I found it easy to use as I now have many transferable skills. What I did not realise was that after my trial ran out I would no longer be able to access anything I had done as my computer does not open that type of file! Whoops I feel like I have wasted a whole batch of time again. On the one hand I have. I will not be able to have a growing time-line to show for my efforts. I can not add additional details as all I have are screen shots.On the other hand I am becoming more and more familiar with IT.
Spell check at last!
16th March 2012
Ah seven months after starting to use Weebly a member of my class said it was possible to have spell check depending on your internet provider, your computer setting and where you are. What! one has ever said that was possible before they have always agreed it is a nuesence. I tried to find these settings for myself but without any luck. The opportunity arose to ask one of the uni it technicians who thought it sounded odd but set about trying to find how to get spell check set up for me. This was when i learned you can get add ons from your internet supplier and now that I have spell check set up I can type directly into Weebly. This is saving me a whole load of steps. How fantastic. what also pleases me, not in a nasty way, is that twice I spotted the solutions as the technician closed the page. So we had to load Spell check and when that didn't work we added a dictionary. Team work was acknowledge by both of us. I know it is just a little thing but it does not seem that many weeks ago that I knew next to nothing and got lost and overwhelmed by the actions being performed in front of me. Now I am keenly trying to follow and even help.
So what does this tell me, apart from the fact that I am still making progress in the computing direction. If at first a solution does not seem evident do not give up on trying to find a solution because one day someone may have an answer. I guess IT is so vast and being developed so quickly no one knows everything. It is true that the more you use them the easier it become to transfer skills and make educated guesses.
The other thing I learned today was that after you have been using a program for a while it is worth looking at the icons again to reinvestigate the ones you do not use. When ever I have started using a program I have naturally stuck to a few icons that do the job I want do. The remaining icons seem overwhelming. As time passes I have even forgotten they are there even though they appear on the page every time I use the program. By having a quick flick through them today I found how to download my web page a s a zip file and some other icons that may be of use. Now that I have embedded the knowledge the was so difficult in the beginning it is easy to go back and add to my repertoire.
My next step from here is to keep on learning, Take ever opportunity to experiment and learn from others. It would be nice to be more comfortable with dialogue boxes though. I can still be afraid that I will do harm if I experiment with them or be unable to undo some unwanted action.
Ah seven months after starting to use Weebly a member of my class said it was possible to have spell check depending on your internet provider, your computer setting and where you are. What! one has ever said that was possible before they have always agreed it is a nuesence. I tried to find these settings for myself but without any luck. The opportunity arose to ask one of the uni it technicians who thought it sounded odd but set about trying to find how to get spell check set up for me. This was when i learned you can get add ons from your internet supplier and now that I have spell check set up I can type directly into Weebly. This is saving me a whole load of steps. How fantastic. what also pleases me, not in a nasty way, is that twice I spotted the solutions as the technician closed the page. So we had to load Spell check and when that didn't work we added a dictionary. Team work was acknowledge by both of us. I know it is just a little thing but it does not seem that many weeks ago that I knew next to nothing and got lost and overwhelmed by the actions being performed in front of me. Now I am keenly trying to follow and even help.
So what does this tell me, apart from the fact that I am still making progress in the computing direction. If at first a solution does not seem evident do not give up on trying to find a solution because one day someone may have an answer. I guess IT is so vast and being developed so quickly no one knows everything. It is true that the more you use them the easier it become to transfer skills and make educated guesses.
The other thing I learned today was that after you have been using a program for a while it is worth looking at the icons again to reinvestigate the ones you do not use. When ever I have started using a program I have naturally stuck to a few icons that do the job I want do. The remaining icons seem overwhelming. As time passes I have even forgotten they are there even though they appear on the page every time I use the program. By having a quick flick through them today I found how to download my web page a s a zip file and some other icons that may be of use. Now that I have embedded the knowledge the was so difficult in the beginning it is easy to go back and add to my repertoire.
My next step from here is to keep on learning, Take ever opportunity to experiment and learn from others. It would be nice to be more comfortable with dialogue boxes though. I can still be afraid that I will do harm if I experiment with them or be unable to undo some unwanted action.
15th May 2012
Whilst making additions to this mind map using Xmind I LOST the little icon for changing the colour of my text. I searched all over, working my way backwards and forwards across the tool bar and every drop down menu and sub-menu but I could not find it. I tried opening and closing the program. I tried refreshing the page. As my daughter walked through the door, I asked her to help. She tried some of the things I had already tried and then announced she was sorry she had never used this program.
I felt mildly anxious. How was I going to continue with my work without having to start all over again? I wouldn’t even be able to do it using the same program as somehow I had managed to relocate the text change tool. I could delete the program and download it again. But all of these options seemed drastic as It MUST be here somewhere. I doubted very much anyone at uni was using the same program and unless they had experienced the same problem it would be very hard for anyone to help me. So what to do? The help bar didn’t help.
YouTube , there are so many people out there that just love to show you what to do. So I found myself a tutorial on Xmind basics. I mean what is more basic then changing the colour of your text. I didn’t actually hold out much hope for something so fundamental and I was correct not to. The first video I found was set to music and the various boxes were appearing as if by magic on screen. Then suddenly in one of the clips to the right of the screen was part of a command box. There it was in the properties box. Ok back to my program. I located properties in the drop down menu. I clicked on properties and for a moment it appeared on my screen but then reverted back to the version without a text colour change. I tried again and again and again. Eventually there were some other little icons at the top of the properties box. I opened these until I found what I was looking for.
I have no idea why my properties box disappeared in the first place but I reckon it took me an hour to find it again. How stupid and annoying is that! But I suppose I did find the solution…on my own!
I felt mildly anxious. How was I going to continue with my work without having to start all over again? I wouldn’t even be able to do it using the same program as somehow I had managed to relocate the text change tool. I could delete the program and download it again. But all of these options seemed drastic as It MUST be here somewhere. I doubted very much anyone at uni was using the same program and unless they had experienced the same problem it would be very hard for anyone to help me. So what to do? The help bar didn’t help.
YouTube , there are so many people out there that just love to show you what to do. So I found myself a tutorial on Xmind basics. I mean what is more basic then changing the colour of your text. I didn’t actually hold out much hope for something so fundamental and I was correct not to. The first video I found was set to music and the various boxes were appearing as if by magic on screen. Then suddenly in one of the clips to the right of the screen was part of a command box. There it was in the properties box. Ok back to my program. I located properties in the drop down menu. I clicked on properties and for a moment it appeared on my screen but then reverted back to the version without a text colour change. I tried again and again and again. Eventually there were some other little icons at the top of the properties box. I opened these until I found what I was looking for.
I have no idea why my properties box disappeared in the first place but I reckon it took me an hour to find it again. How stupid and annoying is that! But I suppose I did find the solution…on my own!
YAY!
It has only taken me ten months to get to this point! Today I learned how to load a video to YouTube and add it to my website.
A week has passed since I did this and now I am worried I have forgotten what I was doing.When it come to learning new IT skills it is really important I reinforce that learning with practise otherwise I am in danger of forgetting what I did.
A week has passed since I did this and now I am worried I have forgotten what I was doing.When it come to learning new IT skills it is really important I reinforce that learning with practise otherwise I am in danger of forgetting what I did.
Dual Screens and Ipads.
I am continuing to investigate the possibilities of IT. I have several criteria in mind:
I have already discovered for myself that because of the short term memory problems I experience It is difficult for me to access information on the internet whist trying to record my research. I like to access several sources of information at the same time to compare results and fill in any missing gaps in the information so that I fully understand what I am researching and to consider the value/accuracy of the content. This normally results in me having around five windows open at any one time. Even if I am happy with one source I find it difficult to retain information whilst I write it in my own words. For this reason I have found it helpful to have two computers operating at the same time.
In my research to set up a dual screen I learning the benefit of running those windows from a single computer. I did my research and bought myself a ........cable. All I need to do next is sort out what monitor to buy. The type of minitor I buy is dependent on what I want to use it for. Hmmm I have not decided yet.
My other consideration is whether to load boot camp onto my Mac or run it in parallel. Bootcamp will allow my computer to use all of its processor but will limit me to using either the Mac files or the PC files whereas running parallels will share the processor between the mac and the pC which may result in slower running speeds but will allow me to access all my files at the same time. Parallels sound interesting. I am glad I have talked to people working in the IT department of the school I worked in as this has given me insight into to possibilities that people on my course are not aware of or at leats they have not told me about.
I have been researching Ipads. I asked for one for my birthday but when my daughters were against it I dropped the matter. They are expensive and I didn't want something just for the sack of having it. However my IT trainer was showing me the benefits of using an Ipad to organise my life using one. I decided to do my own research. Looking through the apps I have found an app to use my Ipad as a second screen. No need for a monitor or the cable after all. Though I suspect it is only suitable for use with a Mac and not the PC.
I have looked into the memory use of apps, photos and videos. 16GB will hold about 11 full lenghth films. Which is not a lot. Not that i parttcularily want to store films but it is a noce small number that helps me to understand the comparisons. Apps use much smaller memory but I think the drawing packages may be more memory hungry. Talking my chioce over with my daughter I was really supprised she is actually encouraging me to buy IPad with cellular even though it is more expensive and I will have to pay a monthly fee to use it. She pointed out how much she uses her phone to connect to the internet. (I do not because my horrible phone that came with a cheep package never works). That as I do not know what I will be doing or where I will be over the next couple of years having a cellular connection would allow me to access what I want whenever I want it. She pointed out to me if i use drop boxes I can do what ever I want without the limitations of a school network. So why am I writing what my daughter thinks here? Well because I am rather proud that she has faith in me to continue to develop. I was the one explaining to her this morning burning her photos to disc was not her safest option and she had never heard of clouds before. So when it came to buying an Ipad that she had been against a few weeks ago she has now realised I have learnt more then her about the possibilities beyond using it like an Ipod.
- To continue to develop my IT literacy.
- To improve my organisational skills.
- To improve the organisational of my work and resources on my computer.
- To enhance my ability to record information using the digital aids that are there to help me overcome the difficulties I experience as a dyslexic.
I have already discovered for myself that because of the short term memory problems I experience It is difficult for me to access information on the internet whist trying to record my research. I like to access several sources of information at the same time to compare results and fill in any missing gaps in the information so that I fully understand what I am researching and to consider the value/accuracy of the content. This normally results in me having around five windows open at any one time. Even if I am happy with one source I find it difficult to retain information whilst I write it in my own words. For this reason I have found it helpful to have two computers operating at the same time.
In my research to set up a dual screen I learning the benefit of running those windows from a single computer. I did my research and bought myself a ........cable. All I need to do next is sort out what monitor to buy. The type of minitor I buy is dependent on what I want to use it for. Hmmm I have not decided yet.
My other consideration is whether to load boot camp onto my Mac or run it in parallel. Bootcamp will allow my computer to use all of its processor but will limit me to using either the Mac files or the PC files whereas running parallels will share the processor between the mac and the pC which may result in slower running speeds but will allow me to access all my files at the same time. Parallels sound interesting. I am glad I have talked to people working in the IT department of the school I worked in as this has given me insight into to possibilities that people on my course are not aware of or at leats they have not told me about.
I have been researching Ipads. I asked for one for my birthday but when my daughters were against it I dropped the matter. They are expensive and I didn't want something just for the sack of having it. However my IT trainer was showing me the benefits of using an Ipad to organise my life using one. I decided to do my own research. Looking through the apps I have found an app to use my Ipad as a second screen. No need for a monitor or the cable after all. Though I suspect it is only suitable for use with a Mac and not the PC.
I have looked into the memory use of apps, photos and videos. 16GB will hold about 11 full lenghth films. Which is not a lot. Not that i parttcularily want to store films but it is a noce small number that helps me to understand the comparisons. Apps use much smaller memory but I think the drawing packages may be more memory hungry. Talking my chioce over with my daughter I was really supprised she is actually encouraging me to buy IPad with cellular even though it is more expensive and I will have to pay a monthly fee to use it. She pointed out how much she uses her phone to connect to the internet. (I do not because my horrible phone that came with a cheep package never works). That as I do not know what I will be doing or where I will be over the next couple of years having a cellular connection would allow me to access what I want whenever I want it. She pointed out to me if i use drop boxes I can do what ever I want without the limitations of a school network. So why am I writing what my daughter thinks here? Well because I am rather proud that she has faith in me to continue to develop. I was the one explaining to her this morning burning her photos to disc was not her safest option and she had never heard of clouds before. So when it came to buying an Ipad that she had been against a few weeks ago she has now realised I have learnt more then her about the possibilities beyond using it like an Ipod.
Setting up a dual screen
Yesterday I bought myself a monitor. Today I have dual screen set up to work as an extended screen. Smug!
Having done my research into into what I needed to do via an old colleague that works in the IT department of a school.
Used the Internet to work out what type of screen I needed to buy which basically resulted in me considering what I would be using it for and therefore what quality I would want to buy. Having taken the advise to look at the physical appliance. I choose a really cheap screen from a make I know to be good. Now all I needed to do was get it set up.
YouTube :) I am a big fan of YouTube or should I say visual learning? It took me a while to find a tutorial that went beyond the physical set up but about six clips later I got there or at least I thought I had. This tutorial was for Vister not windows 7. I followed the steps to get to personalise your computer but could not find a way to display my settings.I tried typing in the search bar. Then just clicking around. I recognised my control panel and typed monitor in my search bar. There it was, the top option 'set up computer to use multiple monitors.I was given four options but by choosing to extend the display I now have the equivalent of two screens that can work independently from each other.
I am finding this a little odd. At the moment I am using my track pad to go from my laptop screen to my monitor screen but sometimes when I want ot take the cursor back to the laptop screen it is as though my cursor is trapped by the edges of the monitor. I am going to find my mouse and see if this makes life easier. I also have a Mac so now I want to see if I can make the same setup.
Having done my research into into what I needed to do via an old colleague that works in the IT department of a school.
Used the Internet to work out what type of screen I needed to buy which basically resulted in me considering what I would be using it for and therefore what quality I would want to buy. Having taken the advise to look at the physical appliance. I choose a really cheap screen from a make I know to be good. Now all I needed to do was get it set up.
YouTube :) I am a big fan of YouTube or should I say visual learning? It took me a while to find a tutorial that went beyond the physical set up but about six clips later I got there or at least I thought I had. This tutorial was for Vister not windows 7. I followed the steps to get to personalise your computer but could not find a way to display my settings.I tried typing in the search bar. Then just clicking around. I recognised my control panel and typed monitor in my search bar. There it was, the top option 'set up computer to use multiple monitors.I was given four options but by choosing to extend the display I now have the equivalent of two screens that can work independently from each other.
I am finding this a little odd. At the moment I am using my track pad to go from my laptop screen to my monitor screen but sometimes when I want ot take the cursor back to the laptop screen it is as though my cursor is trapped by the edges of the monitor. I am going to find my mouse and see if this makes life easier. I also have a Mac so now I want to see if I can make the same setup.
26th September 2012
IPad
I have just bought Keynote and Pages for my Ipad. Keynote is like Power point and Pages is like Word. I have just found out that I can make presentations on my Ipad and via a cable use these on the interactive whiteboard. How cool is that. The only draw back is that the presentation cannot be interactive but it can all be controlled with hand movements on the touch screen. It has got to be worth a try at some point.
I love my new Ipad. The first thing I did was buy myself a Moodboard app. it is very simple so it did not take me long to be able to do everything on it. It is brilliant for evidencing work. I can take a photograph transfer it to a moodboard and then annotate it and add notes. I find it brilliant for photographing worksheets and work and then being able to look back at them all together. No more lost notes.
I love my new Ipad. The first thing I did was buy myself a Moodboard app. it is very simple so it did not take me long to be able to do everything on it. It is brilliant for evidencing work. I can take a photograph transfer it to a moodboard and then annotate it and add notes. I find it brilliant for photographing worksheets and work and then being able to look back at them all together. No more lost notes.
14th October 2012
IPad
Well I LOVE my IPad. it is my preferred device with the addition of a few apps like Pages and Mood-board. I take photos and annotate them. I write documents and add photos. Everything is in one place! I love it but can you hear a but coming. iCloud and Apple support what a disappointment.
I purchased my IPad with every form of cover going but of course I had forgotten you can only purchase One to One with a Mac. I could attend a training session for iCloud but these only run when I am in university. So I have been finding out the hard way by trial and error and support forums. I have managed to get both my Mac and my iPad connected and backed up to iCloud. Yipee. I have pages backed up from my IPad. i have watched my calendar be updated on one device and watched the updates appear on the other.My apple product are synched! Cool. My disappointment came when i could not see my IPad pages on my Mac. I thought i needed to buy the Pages app for my Mac so I did. I still could not see my documents. Turns out these do not synch the way other apps do. First disappointment. Venturing into another support forum I learned you have to log into iCloud and then drag them onto your Mac. Changes will only occur if you back Pages in the cloud. My next disappointment came when i discovered that you cannot organise your pages into files on the Mac. I am going to have to scroll through lists of documents to find the one I want. Yes I did check that with the experts and I have to agree with them this is horrible. What a waste of £13.99. i could just have easily carried on emailing myself a pages document in a Word format ready to upload to PebblePad. True any updates I do on my Mac I cannot export back to pages but as this is not how I am using my device I could have saved a load of money.
My other disappointment are ibooks. I thought I would be able to purchase loads of academic books but I was wrong. what is more the books are more expensive than paper and Kindle.looks like i have bought into the name of Apple. Yes i know I can get a kindle app for my IPad but I have heard it does not work that well. I guess like all computer stuff it is still in its infancy and an amazing infant it is showing lots of potential but it can be a little disappointing at times.
I purchased my IPad with every form of cover going but of course I had forgotten you can only purchase One to One with a Mac. I could attend a training session for iCloud but these only run when I am in university. So I have been finding out the hard way by trial and error and support forums. I have managed to get both my Mac and my iPad connected and backed up to iCloud. Yipee. I have pages backed up from my IPad. i have watched my calendar be updated on one device and watched the updates appear on the other.My apple product are synched! Cool. My disappointment came when i could not see my IPad pages on my Mac. I thought i needed to buy the Pages app for my Mac so I did. I still could not see my documents. Turns out these do not synch the way other apps do. First disappointment. Venturing into another support forum I learned you have to log into iCloud and then drag them onto your Mac. Changes will only occur if you back Pages in the cloud. My next disappointment came when i discovered that you cannot organise your pages into files on the Mac. I am going to have to scroll through lists of documents to find the one I want. Yes I did check that with the experts and I have to agree with them this is horrible. What a waste of £13.99. i could just have easily carried on emailing myself a pages document in a Word format ready to upload to PebblePad. True any updates I do on my Mac I cannot export back to pages but as this is not how I am using my device I could have saved a load of money.
My other disappointment are ibooks. I thought I would be able to purchase loads of academic books but I was wrong. what is more the books are more expensive than paper and Kindle.looks like i have bought into the name of Apple. Yes i know I can get a kindle app for my IPad but I have heard it does not work that well. I guess like all computer stuff it is still in its infancy and an amazing infant it is showing lots of potential but it can be a little disappointing at times.