Introduction to Khan Academy. I am using this to assist students in math remediation. His econ classes are suspect but the core of science and math classes are excellent.

Can’t imagine how many cool things a teacher could use this for.

Getting started with Evernote to manage the crazy life.

Evernote is a wonderful program that serves as a place to capture all the stuff that you have to remember and work on. In it’s basic form it is an online notebook. In it’s most feature rich use it becomes the backbone of an effective personal productivity system. Here is an introduction
A little more about the service
Here are some bloggers who do a great job of describing how to use Evernote to become an Awesomeness Machine. Michael Hyatt has so much great information on his site from resources for presenters to making a life plan. His most recent post is “How to Get Your Stuff Into Evernote” Ok, so you know all the great ways to get your stuff into Evernote. Why would you do that? Well, the simple answer is to get it out of your head The Over Forty Tech Blog and writer Evan Kline has a great article on doing this So, how can a personal productivity system work with Evernote? There is so much written about productivity the options can be a bit overwhelming. Let’s keep it simple. 1. Capture it all. You know, all the stuff that if you didn’t get into your schedule or get done you would have real problems on your hands. If you happen to be…..say…..theoretically….ADD like someone I know very well you may get yourself into trouble with those that are close to you if you don’t keep track of committments. These are things you have to get done or get to or both. I’m not talking about project management yet, just getting your own stuff organized and together. I try to keep track of it all two ways. I use my iPhone Evernote app to capture voice memos, pictures to remind of things and text. The second way is simply to write it down for later in a notebook. I highly recommend Ecosystem notebooks. They are 100% recycled and 100% American made. 2. Decide what to do with it all. Not trying to sound like a shill for Hyatt, honest. He does a great job in this post on how to process it all in the weekly review 3. Get it done. How you start your day has a lot to do with this. Believe me, I’ve had good starts and bad and I know that if I don’t look at my calendar, lists, and figure out my MITs (Most Important Tasks) that day won’t be fruitful and I will probably screw something up. I’ve got a lot coming up (Three grad courses, three undergrad courses this summer) so I will have plenty of opportunity to work this system! If you have questions or comments use the ask feature! Jason .

Great SmartBoard Tutorial Videos →

Fusion Universal seems to be a new site that is developing great tutorial content. The smart library tutorial video library seems robust and great for folks who got a SmartBoard installed in their room but received little training.

Wonder what this means for American kids in the summer or kids who get a free laptop overseas…

I sometimes talk to kids about their habit of clicking thru links on wikipedia and i wonder how to tap that curiosity to teach.

What do you think?

Resources for Online Safety

We had a great Q&A Time at Pine Hills Sunday and I promised I would share some resources.

Richard Byrne has a great post that shares 11 resources for online safety.

I especially like this one from Google

The solution doesn’t reside just in resources. It is in relationships and identity.

Relationships between parents and kids are vital to help children have wisdom when parents aren’t around. Knowledge a parent wants to give a child only goes as deep as the relationship with the child. If you are concerned about your kids use of technology first look at your relationship with them. Instead of running to a web filter to protect the kids schedule time to take the kids out or throw the ball in the yard or play some Wii with them.

Identity is a second key component. When a child knows thier identity as a member of a family with responsibilities, obligations and expectations there will be a pull to not get drawn into things that aren’t healthy with technology. Christian kids really need to understand their identity as a child of the Almighty bought at a price then they will seek to act in accordance to that.

Both of these issues revolve around trust but what about ways to protect kids who aren’t looking for bad things but need to be protected from predators, phishing, pop-ups, etc . I would recommend some easy steps that should eliminate much of that.

1. No technology in bedrooms. Nothing with a screen.
2. If you have a desktop PC or Mac put it in a central place in the house.
3. Purchase good anti-virus software that includes anti-malware/spyware and phishing and pop-up blockers. Norton, Webroot and McAfee are good options. Check them out, see what options they offer and invest in them. $49 dollars yearly is worth kid’s not having a surprise or your computer getting hijacked.
4. Understand social media. Especially if your kids are on Facebook. Facebook has privacy settings that help but ultimately a parent has to do a couple of things. They need to stalk their kids by friending them and they should have the login info for the kid’s account. This allows you to read the direct messages if needed.
5. Own all passwords. Let them know, especially if they are younger, that you get to login in whenever you want to Facebook, etc.
6. Read your kids text messages randomly. They can have privacy when they are on their own paying for their own stuff. Until then remember, stupidity loves secrecy. For Christian, sin loves secrecy.
7. Use SafeEyes. It is a web filter recommended by Dave Ramsey that includes filtering for the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.

Family Technology Safety Presentation @ Pine HIlls

Looking forward to my presentation this afternoon at Pine Hills Church! This week I will be addressing many of the topics in daily blog posts. These will contain resources and tools to help your family manage technology safely and wisely!

Outline for May 1st Pine Hills event!

Outline for May 1st Pine Hills event!

Here is a link to my outline for the May 1st Event. It will automatically update if I need to make changes prior.

Questions I will answer today.

1.How is technology changing?
2.What are the dangers and what can I do?
3.How can I use technology wisely?

Topics I will cover

Web 1.0 v. web 2.0, a quick look at how technology has changed.
Google is the new pre-Interview. Strategies for living in the glass house of social media.
The down side of technology: depression, predators and the digital tattoo.
The effect of media violence on children.
Tools and strategies for monitoring internet and cell phone use.
Tools for being more productive, organized and using technology less
Final thoughts: Timeless wisdom in a modern age.
If you want to know a person’s idol, try to take it away.
Cell phones
XBox/Playstation/Wii/W.O.W., etc.
Facebook
It all starts with you. You model what wise use of technology looks like
Guiding principals for wise use of technology
Use technology more effieciently so you use it less.
Use technology more productively
Learning, edifying, etc.
The Technology Fast
Make it serve you, not the other way around.
Geocaching: Fun mostly free sport, kids love it.
Photography: Digital cameras are cheap and kids love being photographers.
Family projects/learning: Use technology for learning old skills (canning, dog training, gardening, cake decorating, etc.)
Frank, honest discussions go a long way.
Have the courage to be the parent.

New site, new direction!

Expanding my practice has been a goal since the beginning of this venture. I have always wanted to bring great information about wise use of technology both in family life and in daily work. I would love to hear your feedback as to what you want to know more about? I am adding an ASK page on the site so you can shoot me a question there or drop one in the comments on the Facebook page.

Thanks!