Tech Tidbits for October

Here's what I shared with the FLEC staff during our October faculty meeting:

How to 'zoom' browser pages
When you come across an internet site that has you reaching for your magnifying glass, simply press 'Ctrl' and the '+' keys together. To zoom out, press 'Ctrl' and the '-' keys together. And to return to the default view, press 'Ctrl' and the '0' keys together.

Intro to Google Chat
Here at FLEC we've gone Google! That means we provide our staff the complete set of Google applications, including email, calendar, and documents. I demonstrated how teachers and staff can easily communicate using the free chat built into our email. From within the chat window you can send email, type messages, and even voice and video chat. You are also able to insert your photo so people can see who they're talking to, and can update your status. Finally, Google keeps track of your past chats, so you can look back and search for a previous conversation!

We're Appreciated!

This was teacher appreciation week. The Home & School association has been doing a fun variety of things, from cash to lunch to a celebration service in the gym, to show the staff how much they're valued.

Yesterday was a particularly stressful day for me, with networks going down, equipment failing, and more. At the end of the day, Mrs. Stewart, who teaches kindergarten, gave me a stack of colorful cards tied with ribbons, that her students had made for me. What a blessing! It really gave me a boost right when I needed it.

Here's my favorite card, written by Megan, which shows (I think!) me either fixing the student computers, or bringing the TV/DVD player to their classroom:



Inside of the card:

HP Labs discovers "Memristor"

My brother, an engineer at HP, forwarded me this article. The possibilities are fascinating!

HP Labs Proves Existence of New Basic Element for Electronic Circuits

“Memristor” discovery could lead to far more energy-efficient computing systems with memories that don’t forget, never need to be booted up

HP today announced that researchers from HP Labs, the company’s central research facility, have proven the existence of what had previously been only theorized as the fourth fundamental circuit element in electrical engineering.

This scientific advancement could make it possible to develop computer systems that have memories that do not forget, do not need to be booted up, consume far less power and associate information in a manner similar to that of the human brain.

In a paper published in today’s edition of Nature, four researchers at HP Labs’ Information and Quantum Systems Lab, led by R. Stanley Williams, presented the mathematical model and a physical example of a “memristor” – a blend of “memory resistor” – which has the unique property of retaining a history of the information it has acquired.

Read the entire article...

Erasable paper, Macintosh clones

A few interesting technology stories I just read:

1. Xerox demonstrates erasable paper

2. Testing out Psystar's Open Computer Mac clone

Meeting an Apple Evangelist

As technology director for FLEC, I never stop learning and growing. From subscribing to various tech magazines, to attending the yearly Florida Education Technology Convention, to our membership in the Southern Union Education Technology Association, we do our best to stay plugged in to the latest tech knowledge. That's why when I heard Guy Kawasaki was coming to Orlando, I grabbed the opportunity.

Guy worked for Apple in the 90s evangelizing people about the Macintosh computer (I use a Mac and PC at home, by the way, but prefer the Mac), and has been rated one of the top ten bloggers in the world. His talk was focused on entrepreneurs hoping to build their business, but was also filled with practical tips on using email effectivly, and pointers on networking.

I met a lady that night, Linda, who offered me one of Guy's books! During his talk I sat on the front row, and after his presentation asked him for his autograph, and shook his hand. I came away from the evening enriched, inspired, and motivated to do the best job I can for the staff and students at FLEC.

Cleaning up the rack

One of fun jobs of the FLEC Technology Department is keeping more than 300 computers running smoothly. These PCs all connect to our network via Ethernet cables. No wireless here, yet! Over time, the nest of wires in our switching room had gotten out of hand, and needed to be dealt with. Let me show you.

Yikes! Is there a family of mice living in there?


That's me, modeling my new hairdo.


Warren from Outsource to the rescue!



Fixed! No mice were harmed in the re-wiring of this switching room.

The end of an era

Windows 3.1 at FLEC is no more. Yesterday we finally took our oldest PC out of service. The circa 1993 Packard Bell PB430A computer had been happily humming along in Mrs. Sheffield's kindergarten class for many years, but had recently died a dusty death. Its 33 MHz Intel processor, 8 MB of RAM, and 170 MB hard drive will be laid to rest, replaced by one of 50 newer Compaq EVO machines donated by Florida Hospital.

Now, lest this ancient machine lead you to think our other equipment might be outdated, let me assure you that most classroom computers do run XP, and our slowest machines run Windows 2000 on 1.3 Ghz processors.

Here it is. Should we put it in a museum?



These are some of the newer EVOs that were donated by Florida Hospital. Thanks, Herb!

FLEC Technology Blog 1.0

Welcome to the FLEC technology blog! This is an effort to keep our department plugged into the latest technology tools, to serve as an example to teachers and staff as to what's possible with blogs, and to give us a way to communicate the exciting things that go on behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy reading, and learn something along the way.