Art Teaching with a touch of Technology

Teaching tricks. I have a loveable little dog.  Her name is Molly.  It takes her a bit to get something, but once she gets it... she knows it.  She doesn't do tricks, but she sits and stays. She is a good dog. I get a treat after this, right? Well, as a Technology Integrator, I have been trying to find ways to teach my teachers 'computer tricks'.  I am new to my school this year, but I feel like I am getting there.  Winter is nearly over, so new doesn't cut it anymore. The schedule at my school is a bit difficult to meet with many groups on a regular basis, and my teachers are busy.  And asking them to attend a training is difficult. So, I started using YouTube LIVE.  I have been planning Professional Development sessions, and broadcasting a live version on Tuesday afternoons, which I have been calling 'Tech Tuesdays in the 803'.  I use a Google Site to promote, send the link to the live stream, and send the teaching session materia...

This year, my school purchased not one, not two, but five 3D printers.  All of them, the same model, the  XYZ DaVinci Duo printer .  As an EdTech specialist, and self-proclaimed 'king-nerd' of the office, I chose to learn what I could to get them useable in learning activities in the classroom. So... here is a bit of where I came from, and where I got to... and a few of the 'how-to-fix' things I figured out. STL vs CAD file .STL files are a pretty standard file for 3D printing.  Basically, your 3D printer is printing lots of little triangles, stacked and arranged in different ways to build your model.  But, there are different types of STL files.  The XYZ printer likes ASCII STL files.  So, if you are downloading... conversion may be required. Making  Getting 3D designs made is a challenge, but there are a lot of tools.  A number of them come from AutoDesk for free.  Here are a few I like: Mac 123D Design ...

Image Source The Problem. "A Student sent me this Pages file, but I can't open it!" The cries of the teacher were heard across the EdTech office. Administrators calling the office... "Hey, I upgraded to Mavericks, and installed the new Pages... now people getting my Gmail attachments tell me they can't open it." We were at the start of a problem. At Korea International School, we were mostly running MacBooks running the "Lion" operating system. But there was this new operating system, "Mavericks" that was free from Apple to download. It was time to make a change, and do some Professional Development.  With the lesson, we already identified the need. As it is a new operating system, there are many students upgrading their systems, many students have been sharing files to turn into their teachers, but teachers having troubles opening them. Administrators were having trouble attaching files to their GMail. In this lesson, it i...

At KIS, my edtech team and I have had the task to find alternatives to re-imaging computers.  Re-imaging is stressful for all involved. You want all of your computers up to date, with the software that is needed.  With Re-imaging, computers are collected, connected to a server, and computers are overwritten.  Folks often forget to backup their computers, tears flowing over lost data. I work in a 1:1 Mac environment, with many iPads.  Many teen agers who are new to Macs, and often have a problem making sure their computer is up to date.  A big issue:  lots of iPads, in little hands.  We are also trailing 1:1 iPads in grades 3 and 4 this year. My school also wanted an alternative to Apple Remote Desktop.  A system that allows for monitoring Macs.  At my school, it did not work.  Due to networking issues, it was nearly impossible to find all students in your class with ARD. We were able to find solutions, but ultimately, we ...

I had recently had a Mac on Lion unable to load the Users & Groups Preference Pane.   Like this: My IT support had suggested reimaging the computer.  Reinstalling the Operating System, reloading the applications, and transferring back the User information from Time Machine Backup. Well, after doing all of that, the problem reappeared immediately.  I scoured through Apple Support Communities and found this fix.  For some reason, some transparent users are showing up in your system.  They need to be deleted.  But since you cannot load Users & Groups... it becomes a problem. Here is the solution / procedure. Quit System Preferences.   Launch Terminal.  (Applications/Utilities/Terminal)   Copy & Paste these commands. sudo dscl . delete /Users/Guest press enter Terminal may ask for your Administrator Password, enter that. sudo dscl . delete /Users/Guest1 press enter ...

AirDrop, Apple's somewhat unknown feature, works on most modern Macs.  What it does:  It allows you to drop a file to another Mac, over Wifi. Want to know more about it?  Look here:   http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/14/how-to-use-airdrop-in-mac-os-x/ But, you need to be able to see other users to use it.  For some reason, my Mac, running Mountain Lion, just stopped showing other users, I couldn't see them & they couldn't see me.  I was worried that I would have to reinstall my OS, which may not have fixed it.  Then, I found this script for Terminal.  Now, I am Not a Terminal expert, but this was just a cut / paste fix. To find Terminal on your Mac, go to Applications / Utilities / Terminal.  Cut / Paste this code and press Enter. defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 1 Launch Airdrop as normal, and you should be back up and running! Original Source for Terminal Script:  http://www.yourdailymac....