Technology changes rapidly and it seems like something you just bought last week is already outdated and replaced by something new. Some people and companies are always buying the latest and greatest technology, but schools, and most people, can't afford to do that. So, what can we do?One thing is to reuse old technology for new purposes. I use an old Palm PDA as my backup alarm clock. I can set repeating alarms for each day and when it goes off,...
Monday, 31 December 2012
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Gooru - the Search Engine for Learning
Posted on 09:00 by Unknown

Gooru is a site I wrote about a while back when it was in Alpha status. It is now in Beta status and open for everyone to use.Gooru describes itself as a "Search Engine for Learning". It is a study tool that allows students to explore resources and study guides that are aligned to standards. The materials are in math, social studeis and science and are from 5th grade up to high school. Resources include digital textbooks, videos, animations,...
Technology I'm using daily as a School District CIO
Posted on 08:04 by Unknown

This past November I started a new chapter in my career and became the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the district I was a teacher in for 10 years. It combines my experience as a teacher and educational technology specialist, as well as my 10 years as an engineer and project manager, into one very exciting, busy, crazy, rewarding job. I am responsible for the IT department, as well as coordinating with the data teams and all technology issues...
Monday, 24 December 2012
Happy Holidays - Most Read Posts of 2012
Posted on 10:39 by Unknown

image from Google.com homepage Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Connecticut. I'm finishing up my day at work today with a quick post of the Most Read Posts of 2012. It's been an interesting year for me, as I started a new job as the Chief Information Officer for our district. It's a rewarding and challenging job that I love.Tonight we head to friends' for Christmas Eve and then off to my cousins' tomorrow with the whole family.I want...
Friday, 21 December 2012
Google Play books reads aloud - great for struggling readers
Posted on 07:30 by Unknown
I just wrote about Evernote Clearly having text-to-speech and I just found out that Google Play Books does too. It has a read aloud function that will read books to you. It has to have an internet access at the time, but it is another resource for students who struggle to re...
Adobe Photoshop Touch Updated for 7 Inch Devices
Posted on 07:00 by Unknown
Adobe Photoshop Touch is a great app for tablets and smartphones that I wrote about before. It has just been updated for 7 inch devices like the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire and iPad mini.This is a great app for students and educators to use for photo editing and effects and now it is available for the smaller tablets. I happen to love my Nexus 7 and the 7 inch table size, so I'm very happy. The app is $9.99.Take a look at more information about Adobe Photoshop...
Evernote Skitch meeets Windows to create a great, easy to use screen capture and image editing service.
Posted on 06:00 by Unknown
Evernote, the app I talk about way too much, has some other great apps that work with it. Skitch is one of them. Skitch is a free image editing and screen capture app that has been on mobile devices for a while and is now, finally, on Windows.It is easy to use, has enough features for most users, and is free. Hard to beat that. You can use it to take screen captures, annotate images, and it integrates with Evernote.Teachers can use it to capture...
Posted in Evernote, evernote schools, image editing, photo editing, screen capture, skitch
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Thursday, 20 December 2012
Evernote Clearly gets Text-to-Speech - premium only
Posted on 13:00 by Unknown
Evernote is one of my most used apps, ever. I'll be sharing the apps I use, and how I use them, in my new job as CIO shortly.Evernote has a very cool product called Clearly. Evernote Clearly is a browser extension for Google Chrome (other browsers will be added soon) that allows you to read online with less distractions. You simply click the extension and it hides all the distractions from blogs and articles, allowing you to read with less distractions...
Monday, 17 December 2012
Newtown - Sandy Hook Elementary
Posted on 12:37 by Unknown

Friday was a shocking day. I was at one of our elementary schools working with a principal on some technology ideas when we started to get the news about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, just 15 miles north of us. We were shocked and saddened even without knowing any details. Staff members live in that town and were trying to get more information about their own children.As the day and weekend progressed and more information was released, things...
Monday, 10 December 2012
Mimio Teach Interactive System - great IWB system with great features
Posted on 04:36 by Unknown
Many teachers use interactive white boards in their classrooms. They can be used for interesting lessons, engaging students at the board, recording what is done on the board, and controlling the computer from the board. There are a variety of brands and devices out there, and one that I like is the MimioTeach system. This turns any white board into an interactive white board. It can capture handwritten notes, annotations, operate the computer and...
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Do I own too many gadgets? Nah!
Posted on 08:57 by Unknown
I was looking at all of my gadgets and I was wondering if I have too many. Here's a list of what I personally own and how I use them.1. Android Smartphone - I use it every day for everything from email, to web browsing, Evernote, calendar, phone calls, Netflix, Kindle, accessing files, and much more.2. Nexus 7 Tablet - email, web browsing, Evernote, Netflix, music, Kindle and more. Use it for travle and conferences. Love the 7" form factor - bigger...
Monday, 3 December 2012
Edublog Awards 2012 - I was nominated for Best EdTech Blog
Posted on 05:11 by Unknown
I started writing this blog as a way to organize and share edtech resources I found and it's grown into much more than that.I just found out that I was nominated for, and am a finalist for, the Edublog Awards 2012, Best EdTech Blog. Thanks!!You can read more about the Edublog Awards here and vote for Educational Technology Guy here (under EdTech Blo...
Monday, 26 November 2012
Learn where menu and toolbar commands are in Office 2010 and related products
Posted on 10:49 by Unknown
I just recently posted an article with Free Computer Training Resources and another one with a Collection of free training resources for Windows, Office, Google Apps, and more as I've been collecting resources for our staff, faculty, and students.I just found another great resource on Microsoft Office. We are transitioning from Office 2003 to Office 2010 and, as many of you know, there are major menu changes in terms of where commands are...
Free computer training resources and courses
Posted on 09:55 by Unknown
As technology changes and schools upgrade software, add new apps, change hardware or operating systems, and more, faculty, staff and students need training and support. GCFLearnFree is a program of Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC and provides quality online learning courses for free. They have a large amount of free computer training resources that are well designed, easy to use and understand, and great for sharing with faculty, staff,...
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Another great feature of Evernote - integrated in Outlook
Posted on 11:54 by Unknown
I love Evernote. It's no surprise. I use it for everything and even more now in my new job as Chief Information Officer of the district. It allows me to keep everything - notes, files, and more all accessible anywhere on any device. I use the web clipper, Livescribe SkyPen, Android App, web app, and Windows Desktop App.As a teacher, we all used the web version of Outlook. Administration and office staff use the desktop version of Outlook...
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Collection of free training resources for Windows, Office, Google Apps, and more
Posted on 14:04 by Unknown
I was putting together a list of free training resources and decided to share it with everyone. If you have some good ones, please share them in the comments.Free Training ResourcesWindows and Officehttp://etc.usf.edu/techease/win/ - great help with Windows and Windows applicationshttp://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training-FX101782702.aspx - free help and training from Microsoft on their products. Scroll to bottom for older versions. http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/guides/Pages/index.aspx -...
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen - very handy in my new job
Posted on 18:28 by Unknown

Two weeks ago I started a new job. I'm the Chief Information Officer for my district. In this capacity, I oversee the IT department and coordinate technology issues with all other departments, as well as advise on educational technology issues, products, and pedagogy.This job entails a lot of meetings, issues, and challenges. One way I have been able to keep up with things is through my Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen. With this smartpen, I'm able to...
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
InstallFree Nexus & Rndr shutting down - any know of alternatives?
Posted on 10:34 by Unknown
InstallFree Nexus and Rndr were two free applications that I found very useful. Unfortunately, they are shutting down on November 15th (tomorrow). InstallFree Nexus allowed you to use Microsoft Office or LibreOffice on an iPad, Android Tablet or Chromebook and access your files from a variety of cloud services to edit. Rndr enabled any browser to render plugins like Java that may not be compatible with the device. This is very useful for...
Online Tech Tips - free online tech help and tips
Posted on 06:46 by Unknown
Online Tech Tips is a great resource for anyone who uses computers. The site has great information on tricks, tips, updates, and fixes for your computer.There are tips for Windows, Mac, smartphones, and much more.The site is well designed and easy to use and the tips are written in a way that most computer users can understand. It has a huge variety of information and resources that are very useful.The site offers RSS feeds and email subscriptions...
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Prezi Interactive Presentation Tool gets a new interface
Posted on 14:07 by Unknown
Prezi, the zooming presentation editor, has a new version of it's interface. Prezi is a nice alternative to things like PowerPoint for making presentations. Instead of slides, you create presentations using any thing as the basis, from a word to an image. You can change how the presentation moves from part to part and integrate video directly into the presentation.The new interface is cleaner and standardized and looks more similar to other apps....
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