Top Twelve Teacher Technology Tips! T5

 

Is your e-mail inbox full junk mail with a few important, but unread, messages mixed in? Does it take 5 steps just to get to your files?  Do you have desktop clutter keeping you from teaching? Come find out my top twelve technology tips that will save you time, make you more productive, and relieve your technology stresses. Learn how to make technology work for you! Productivity based websites, making shortcuts, organizing e-mail, getting the most out of a projector; paper saving tips among others will be discussed. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their personal favorites.

 

This info is online at http://www.mapsnet.org/pages/mhefke

Links are located at http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/Hefke/school/toptwelve

 

            1.   Daily Schedule (PP on Projector) Geography & Econ Today.ppt

·   Insert Date

·   Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

·   No Whiteboard,  No Problem MimioStudio Software

·   Countdown / Timer Website online-stopwatch.com

            2.   Freeze (projector: use Velcro on Remotes)

·   Take attendance, Enter Grades, Check e-mail…

            3.   Monitor Asleep? (Mouse Mover 1.2) MouseMover.exe

            4.   Shortcuts to commonly used items on your desktop (Password in the title)

·   Lesson Plans

·   Documents

·   Web sites

·   Grade Software

            5.   Lesson Plan Template Week 6.doc

            6.   Digital File Folder Tips (Organizing A to Z)

·   Label Folders

·   Use Shortcuts

·   File & move e-mail messages out of your in-box (Put Select All on your toolbar)

            7.   Cool Web Sites:

·   Hulu.com, Freetech4teachers.com, Wittycomics.com, Photopeach.com

·   Internet Radio Sites: I Tunes, Pandora, Jango, Live 365

            8.   Search Engines and More: Google.com & Yahoo.com  (Spell Check, Toolbar, Email, Calendars)

            9.   Formatting Tips

·   Always use Times / Times New Roman: Calibri was created so Microsoft didn’t have to pay for the best font

·   Never use curlz MT font, or other fonts you think are cute, as body text

o most are hard to read in sentence form

o save these for headings or titles)

·   Never type more than 3 letters in capitals, (Never use ALL CAPS)

·   Only leave one space after a period. (1 not 2!)

·   Pictures on top

·   Always use .5 margins

          10.   YouTube, teacher tube (save videos: Zamzar.com - Free online file conversion)

          11.   Junk Mail and forwarding mail: Soapbox

          12.   Web based bookmarking (www.ikeepbookmarks, Delicious)

Ten common typesetting mistakes.

 

The widespread use of word processors has created a new breed of typesetters, yet few people have any familiarity with the principles of typesetting. Here are some of the most common (and significant) mistakes.

 

 

1. Mistaken application of typewriter conventions

 

Follow the period at the end of a sentence by a single space, not two.

    The reason you may have learned to type two spaces after a period was that you were typesetting on a typewriter. As a typewriter set fixed-pitch type (i.e. the widths of all the letters were the same and no kerning pairs were possible), the letters set very loosely, which made it necessary to add an extra space between sentences to make the break more obvious. With modern fonts, the letters are spaced and kernel much more tightly and the extra space after the period is unnecessary. The increased space actually becomes distracting and emphasizes the breaks too much.

 

 

2. Inappropriate use of monospace fonts (vs proportional fonts)

 

In the Courier typeface, and other typefaces restricted by the mechanical constraints of typewriters, the letter i is forced to have the same set width as the letter W. It is quite legitimate to use Courier, or another monospace font, if you want your document to look like it was produced on a typewriter. But if you want a document to appear attractive and permanent, choose a proportional font.

 

Typewriter         or         Typewriter

 

 

3. Correct font selection:

 

Sarif vs. San Sarif

 

Type Fonts are divided into two main categories, Sarif & San Sarif.

Sarif Fonts, which include Times and Tiempo, are the fonts that look more dressed up. These fonts are to be used for body text. (Studies have shown that these fonts put less strain on the eyes when reading long passages of text. San Sarif (without the little ditties: sans means without) are more legible and are best saved for headings or titles.

 

Use a font that is appropriate for the job.

In most cases, for example, you probably wouldn't want to use a grunge font for the body text in a corporate brochure. Use a font that will best target your audience, and don’t go overboard by using too many different fonts. Generally no more than three fonts should be used in a layout, including the italics.

 

 

4. Gigantic headings

 

It is obviously necessary to distinguish headings (or heads) from body text. Normally, a head is placed in the margin, or set off by spacing. In these circumstances, it is unnecessary to set the head in a size larger than the body type, and usually unnecessary to use a different font family. If you are unfamiliar with typesetting, simply set the head in boldface type of the same size as the body face. Choose suitable point sizes. The point size should not be so small that it compromises legibility, nor should it be so large that the text seems cramped or overwhelming.

 

5. Incorrect use of CAPITAL LETTERS.

 

Capital letters are to be used in three situations. To start a sentence (after a period), to mark an important or proper name (Mr. Smith, Abe Lincoln, Ann Arbor, Bank One) and when forming an abbreviation (AT&T, MAPS, UPMSC). They are not to be used as a replacement for small case letters. Using text created in all capital letters creates an additional line of sight and eliminates familiar textual patterns your eyes and brain use to make meaning out of the individual symbols. To emphasize text use Italics (see tip #6).

 

Even when appropriate three or more capital letters together draws too much attention to those letters relative to the rest of the text. Bob and Jim of AT&T worked on their presentation for the UPMSC. To correct this undue attention to the capital letters reduce them by one font size for 12pt or more is larger text.

 

 

6. Use italics for emphasis, underlining is strictly for typewriters.

 

Modern word processors and page layout programs give access to italic typefaces. Use italics for emphasis. To use boldface would make your page look blotchy. Use quotation marks only for their intended purpose: quotations. To use quotation marks for emphasis is disruptive to smooth reading of your text. Tip: when changing a word to Italic mak sure you also format the space after it otherwise the work will appear to be leaning into the next word.

 

 

7. Clearly identify paragraphs

 

You must choose one of two alternatives to identify paragraphs: Either indent the first line of every paragraph, leaving all lines on the page with the same spacing, or use no indentation at all and place a blank line between paragraphs.

 

 

8. Leave some white space

There is nothing worse than a document which is too cramped. If the layout is too busy, it is difficult to focus on the text, and the objective (which is to communicate information) can be lost. The tendency to put too much information in an advertisement, or to try and integrate too many design elements into a layout is usually the mark of a novice designer. White space (i.e. parts of your "page" which remain unprinted, or are only lightly printed) can do more for the "feel" of your design than can the actual printed areas. Filling a page with information can overwhelm your audience and distract them to the point that they fail to understand (or they simply ignore) the message which you really want to convey. Give your graphics and the type on the page some room to breathe. Think about which part of your design your audience will first be drawn to. From that point, is there an easy path their eyes can take to other important elements on the page, or is it difficult to decide where to look next? Use white space to better emphasize your elements and to help guide your audience through the design. When you are designing in black and white (in particular) it is of utmost importance that you include enough white space around the edges of your page. Inmost cases, page elements which are placed too close to the edges, make those elements appear to be uncomfortably cramped. It is kind of similar to watching a movie from the front row of the cinema. You need to sit far enough back that your eyes can easily follow the action on the screen. There are ways to set your type which can work hand in hand with the whites pace in your design. One way to make your type less dense and often more legible, is to increase the leading of the lines. In summary, the right amount of white space is a delicate balance which depends largely on what effect you are trying to achieve. Do make a conscious effort to introduce white space into all your designs. Sometimes less really is more.

 

9. Always use .5 in margins (all the way around)!

Don’t waste space and paper. Your printer can print to 1/3 of an inch from the edge of the paper so use that white space! (The only time you should use 1 inch margins is for a resume or a MLA or APA formatted paper). 1.25 and 1.5 inch left margin is for printing a book that you are going to bind so make sure you only use that if you are going to actually bind document, making back to back copies with a 1.5 inch left margin makes this unnecessary margin even more obvious.

 

10. Add pictures to your document to increase interest and readability.

Pictures add interest and white space to your document increasing readability. When adding a picture past in or insert the image you want to add to the document which MS word will add as in-line text. Select the item and then click picture tools to bring up the picture toolbar and change the text wrapping to either square or in front of text which will make it much easier to deal with.

 

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS                By LaurenMarie August 29, 2007        

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

No, I didn’t forget to run the spell checker before publishing that. I did it on purpose. You may be wondering what in the world that has to do with typing in all caps. Well…

Upper and Lower Cases

Before we can discuss why you shouldn’t type in all caps, we must define upper and lower case letters. Other names for upper and lower cases are capital letters or majuscules, and minuscule (please don’t say miniscule!).

Traditionally, manual type setters placed the capital letters on the top shelf of their type trays for storage because they were used less often. The minuscule letters were stored on the lower shelves because these were used so much more and the lower shelves were much easier to get to. The original development by Alcuin of these two types of letters made it easier for the human eye to recognize the beginnings of sentences and proper nouns (names, places).

Ascenders and Descenders

Remember that we talked about the x-height last time? Ascenders are the parts of lowercase letters that rise above (ascend) the x-height. Examples of letters that have ascenders are l, h, b and f. Descenders on the other hand, go the opposite way; they fall below (descend) the baseline. Some letters with descenders are p, q, g and y.

HAVE YOU EVER KNOWN SOMEONE WHO TYPES IN ALL CAPS? IT’S ANNOYING AND HARD TO READ, ISN’T IT? KNOW WHY?

Apart from it being considered yelling in the digital world, capital letters have no ascenders or descenders. Ascenders and descenders help us recognize word shapes, instead of needing to identify each individual letter. This speeds up reading incredibly. Using a serif font also speeds up this shape recognition because they help us see the shapes more easily by almost connecting the letters.

It wasn’t too difficult to understand the scrambled message at the start of this article, was it? They say it’s because we see the “word as a whole;” we see the shape of the word, not its individual letters. Would it be the same if the message were in all caps?

AOCCDRNIG TO RSCHEEARCH AT CMABRIGDE UINERVTISY, IT DEOSN’T MTTAER IN WAHT OREDR THE LTTEERS IN A WROD ARE, THE OLNY IPRMOATNT TIHNG IS TA HT THE FRIST AND LSAT LTTEER BE AT THE RGHIT PCLAE. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Much more difficult, isn’t it?