Save time using shortcut keys

How much time do you waste searching for the right formatting option or icon in a Microsoft Word document? Well, there are many helpful tips for when you want to format a document quicker. You can use shortcut keys on the keyboard to carry out functions.

The following are some helpful shortcut keys in Microsoft Word:

• Ctrl + A to select the entire document
• Ctrl + B to bold the words
• Ctrl + C to copy
• Ctrl + D to open the font dialogue box
• Ctrl + E to centrally align
• Ctrl + F to find
• Ctrl + G to go to
• Ctrl + H to replace
• Ctrl + I to italicize the words
• Ctrl + K to insert hyperlink
• Ctrl + N to open new document
• Ctrl + O to open an existing document
• Ctrl + P to print the document
• Ctrl + R to go to end of the line
• Ctrl + S to save the document
• Ctrl + T to go one tab ahead
• Ctrl + U to underline the words
• Ctrl + V to paste the copied or cut words or sentences
• Ctrl + X to cut
• Ctrl + Y redo button
• Ctrl + Z undo button
• Ctrl + Shift + D to double underline the words
• Shift + F3 to change uppercase to lowercase, or lowercase to uppercase
• Shift + F7 to look in thesaurus
• Ctrl + Shift + F to change the font name, for example: Times New Roman, Arial, etc
• Ctrl + Shift + P to change the font size, for example: 10 points or 12 points
• Ctrl + Shift + G to count the words in the document
• Ctrl + Shift + L to insert bullet points
• Ctrl + Shift + Q to change the font to symbol

 Note: “+” sign means that you have to press these buttons all at once.

-AS

Moodle for Professors I

Course Page Overview

The following is a view of a sample course page. These are the default blocks that display when

you create a new course. You will see 3 columns left to right. The middle column is where you

will put your course text, information, and resources organized by a week or topic. This view is

in editing mode. Below are brief descriptions of these default blocks.

• People contains a list of all the students and participants enrolled in this course.
• Quickmail
  participants in their course. Messages sent using this program are delivered to the
  Participant's external or Bard e-mail accounts.is Moodle's internal mail program allowing the Professor to contact all
• Administration
  and teacher enrollments and their groups, the course gradebook, and custom grading
  scales. Students only see a link to their Profile and Grades in this block.contains links allowing Professors to manage course settings, student
• Latest News
  archived news. See the
  of this document.displays recent posts made in the News Forum, along with a link to olderNews Forum description in the Adding Course Content section
• Calendar
  course groups, or individual students.is a useful tool for displaying events for administrators, course members,

-TG

Customizing Bullets

 When creating documents in Microsoft Word it is often necessary to create bulleted lists when trying to convey concise points.  This allows the reader to find important information very quickly and eliminates the monotony of long paragraphs so the reader can stay focused.  Microsoft Word contains many different types of bullets to create variety. However you are also able to customize a bullet to suit your document theme, color, or mood.  Also a list may contain more than one type of bullet, for example a green plus sign for pros (+) and a red minus sign for cons (-).

1.    Position Cursor  in desired area
2.    Select the Home tab
3.   Click the down arrow beside the bullet icon
4.   Select define new bullet from the drop down menu
5.   Choose either symbol, picture or font
6.    For symbol or font choose from the available option and select ok
7.    For picture, locate a saved image you would like to use
8.   Select the picture, then click ok
9.   First bullet will appear; proceed creating list as usual.

Have fun creating your own bullets!

-AS

MS-Excel data into MS-Word document

Microsoft office comes with this excellent feature that allows you to insert data created in Excel into Word documents. This is helpful especially when you are using Word to create business documents such as reports and business plans. While it is an easy process, you have to be aware of your options and the limitations inherent in each of the options.

One way to do it is to insert a link to an Excel worksheet in your Word document.  For users who want to ensure that the information is updated every time a change is made to the spreadsheet, this is the way to go. However, you have to make sure that you have to re-establish the link if you move the Excel file. Also, if you plan to transport the Word file for use on another computer, you will need to remember to include the Excel file.

To insert a link to an Excel file, follow these simple steps:

1. Open both the Word document and the Excel spreadsheet.

2. In Excel, copy the range of cells you want to include (if you plan to insert more columns or rows into your spreadsheet, select the entire worksheet by clicking the box at the juncture of the row numbers and column letters).

3. In your Word document position the cursor where you would like the table inserted.

4.  On the Clipboard menu, click on the dropdown menu under Paste and select Paste Special.

5.  Click the radio button beside Paste link

6. Under the label As:, select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object
 7. Click OK 

-AS

Integrating Technology Into the Classroom: Methods and Means

How to Integrate Technology

*Research

Research is the number one reason to use the internet in education. Students have a wealth of information open to them. Often, when they are researching obscure topics, school libraries do not have the needed books and magazines. The internet helps solve this problem. Here's an example of a great research project: Using this site's new Lecture Outline Series for the History of China1, students can research directly off this page and then present the information they find.

One concern which I will discuss in Part II of this article is the quality of the information found online. However, with some advance 'footwork' of your own, along with stringent recording requirements for sources, you can help the student determine whether their information is from a reliable source. This is also an important lesson for them to learn for research in college and beyond.

The possibilities for assessment of research on the internet are endless, many of them involving other forms of technology. Some ideas include essays2, debates3, panel discussions, role play, video presentation of information, web page creation (see next subheading for more on this) and PowerPoint(tm) presentations.

*Online Assessment

A newer area of the internet to explore is online assessment. You can create your own tests online through your own website. These require knowledge of the internet, so many new users might not be quite ready for this. Although, it might be a great way to interact with Advanced Placement students over vacations and the summer. If you are interested in this, see Free Home Pages for Educators7 for more information. In the near future, there will be many companies who will offer not only online testing but also instant grading of exams.

Concerns

1.Time
Objection: Teachers hardly have enough time to do all that is expected of them as it is. Where do we find the time to implement this into the curriculum without 'wasting time'?

Possible Solution: Teachers have to do what works for them. The internet, just like any other technology, is a tool. Many times information can only be passed on through books and lectures. However, if you feel that integrating the internet is important, just try one project each year.

2. Cost and Available Equipment
Objection: School Districts do not always provide a large budget for technology. Many schools don't have the necessary equipment. Some aren't connected to the internet.

Possible Solution: If your school district is not supportive or unable to provide technology, you can turn to corporate sponsors and grants. Sources of Grants1. If you would like information to help you write grants, read Grant Writing Tips2.

3. Knowledge
Objection: Learning about new technology and the internet is confusing. You will be teaching with something you may not completely understand.

Possible Solution: Hopefully most districts have instituted an inservice plan to help acclimate teachers to the web. Barring this, there are some online help sources.

4. Quality
Objection: Quality on the internet is not guaranteed. It is easy to run a biased and inaccurate website with no regulation whatsoever.

Possible Solution: First, when you are thinking about having your students research a topic, do a search to make sure the information is available. A lot of time is wasted searching for obscure topics on the web. Second, review websites either on your own or with your students. Here is a great site with information about evaluating web resources3.

5. Plagiarism [/br]Objection: When students research off the web to produce a traditional research paper, it is often difficult for teachers to tell if it is plagiarized. Not only that, but students can BUY papers off the web.

Possible Solution: First, educate yourself. Find out what's available. Here are some resources4 with which to start. Also, a solution that works well is oral defenses. Students answer questions I pose and must be able to explain their findings. If nothing else, they have to learn what they have stolen (or bought) off of the internet.

6. Cheating5
Objection: There is nothing stopping students from cheating with each other while on the internet, especially if you are giving online assessments.

Possible Solution: First, cheating off of each other has always existed, but the internet seems to make it easier. Many schools make the sending of emails and instant messages against the school code because of possible abuses. Therefore, if students are caught using these during an assessment, they would not only be guilty of cheating but also of violating school rules.

Second, if online assessments are given, watch students carefully because they could switch back and forth between the test and web pages that might give them answers.

Resource: http://712educators.about.com/cs/technology/a/integratetech.htm

-TG

Things to do on a computer when bored

If you find yourself feeling bored with time on your hands in front of your computer, put your spare time to good use. Perform a little organizational maintenance to keep your computer operating properly, and then if you still have extra time, surf the Web or have fun with a game or two.

Organize Your Desktop

1. Take a good look at your computer desktop. If it is cluttered with folders and icons that are haphazardly stored on the desktop, take a few moments to reorganize these icons and folders. First, look at all of the loose icons. If there are like items that can be grouped together into a folder, make a new folder and place similar icons into this folder. While you are doing this, if you find icons that you don't recognize or don't need anymore, place them into the recycle bin. Further organize the desktop by making one general folder to use to hold smaller folders. You can also create a folder to store program shortcuts, if desired.
   
   While you are cleaning your desktop, consider choosing a new desktop background for a fresh new look. 

Defragment Your Hard Drive

1. Defragmenting can be a long and laborious task that many people do not do often. If you have extra time, consider defragmenting your hard drive to optimize your computer and help it run more efficiently. Be aware that some computer processes may not run smoothly while your computer is defragmenting and defragmenting can often take hours.
   
   Close all running programs. Make sure that your computer will not accidentally lose power during the entire defragmenting process to prevent hard drive damage. A back-up battery will prevent this from happening. Open the defragmentation program and select the "Analyze" option within the program. The program will determine whether your hard drive needs defragmentation. Follow the recommendation to defragment if necessary by selecting the "Defragment" button or exit the program if defragmentation is not recommended.                                

Add/Remove Programs

1. Take a look at the programs you have installed on your computer. If there are programs you no longer use or need, consider removing them to free up space and resources. Follow the prompts within the control panel to remove unwanted programs. 

                     

Run a Virus Scan

1. Start an in-depth scan of your computer using your virus protection program. It is a good idea to do this regularly to make sure your computer is free of malware and viruses. While you have time, initiate a full scan of all of your computer components. 

 

                    http://www.ehow.com/way_5170533_things-do-computer-bored.html

                   -AS