Time’s Up!

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 9-7-2014

If you are like me, I never have enough time with my students in the computer lab.
It seems that when I look up at the clock, it is time to stop.
As in NOW.
Here are a few tips to add minutes to production time.
You can work longer AND still leave the lab ready for the next class.

Teach your students these basic keyboard shortcuts:

1. CTRL + S = Save
Have your students do this when they first begin their project, and it will default to a “Save As…”.
At the end of the class, this keystroke will quickly do a “final save”.

2. ALT + Spacebar (together) and then “C”.
This will close all open windows.

3. Windows Key + L = Lock Screen
This is the final keystroke so students can log off and their computer is ready for the next student.

4. Windows Key + D = Minimize all windows showing desktop.
I use this when I want to speak to all students without their working windows open.
They know what “Windows-D” means.

We hope this give you a few extra minutes at the end of your “lab time” and saves you a few extra steps with your personal computer use.

Have a great Sunday.
It looks like “early heat dismissals” are finally coming to an end.
Make the most of that extra time with your students!

Three Simple Shortcuts

by recesstec tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 2-10-2013

On March 7, 2011, I shared “Taking the Shortcut”.
This week I was reminded of some other keystroke shortcuts that I use every single day.

While on the internet, hold down the “Ctrl Key” and press the “+= Key” (Ctrl+Plus),
and your screen will enlarge as you zoom in.
Hold down the “Ctrl Key” and press the “_-Key” (Ctrl+Minus),
and your screen will decrease in size as you zoom out.
(Return to normal view with “Ctrl Key” and “0 Key” (Ctrl+Zero).
Bonus: On a PC, hold down the “Windows Key” and “D”,
and you will quickly navigate to the desktop.

I shared these with a group of teachers this week,
and they agreed that these “tricks” were worth a “Sunday Morning Post”.

Stay warm and dry today.
We hope your day has a nap or a good book tucked somewhere inside it.

Searching, Searching, Searching, Found…

by recesstec tips

Monday Morning Message ~ 8-29-2011

It’s called “Digital Literacy”…

…and it saves time.

Control+F.

Everyone is desperate for more time, and I recently read that 90% of US net users don’t know about this shortcut.

It’s no secret that we pride ourselves in our “Geek-y” personalities, and that we love to share little “Tips and Tricks” that we’ve learned working with hundreds of other “Geeks” like us.

This tip is a “Must-Know”.

Whether you are working in a document such as Microsoft Word, or on the internet, if you hold down the “Ctrl Key” and the “F” key, you will be prompted to enter the word you are seeking, and, once found, all words will be highlighted within the document or the webpage.

Quicker yet, while on the internet, just hit the F3 Key saving you one keystroke.
If you are working in “Firefox”, the “Forward Slash Key” ( / ) will do the same thing.

With a little time and practice, you can learn shortcuts, and after teaching our students the basic functions of the digital world, we need to model and teach these “time-saving” steps more than ever.

If you missed an earlier post on shortcuts,
we invite you to read a March post “Taking the Shortcuts”.

Make Monday count as the first day of the best week this year,
and remember to have fun!

Taking the Shortcuts

by recesstec tips writing

Monday Morning Message ~ 3-7-2011

It doesn’t take long to learn some valuable “shortcuts” that will save you and your students time in the lab.

Basic to student instruction and use are the usual shortcuts keystrokes for:

Copy (Ctrl+C)
Paste (Ctrl +V)
Cut (Ctrl +X).

We teach these to our students in the first week, and find they catch on quickly and grow to use these instead of the “Pull-down Menus”.

One more you can add to their/your repertoire is:

Tab (Ctrl+T)

This allows the students to quickly open up another tab and to work side-by-side when researching and collaborating. By allowing them to use additional tabs open while on the internet, they can save the tabs on the bottom for files/folders they need to access on their computer.

With 30+ computers to shut down every evening, our students use another quick shortcut that gets the job done quickly.

Shortcut to shutting down computers:

To close all windows, press (Alt+Space Bar)
Together (Ctrl+Windows Key) with left hand and (Up Arrow) with right hand.
Hit “Enter”, “Enter”.

Your lab has been shut down, and you can rest knowing your job is finished for the day.

If you are living in the State of Illinois, enjoy your Pulaski Day off, if your district observes it.

Shannon has to work today, but I am lucky enough to have the day off before I return to our first day of ISATs. If you were able to finish yours last week, enjoy your return to normal. We will start in with “Day 1” on Tuesday.

Regardless, have a great week!