Thing #14 Productivity Tools

1.) & 2.) What a usable tool! I took a Word doc and could convert it to a PDF, jpg, tff, wav, or mp3. I am curious about the thumbnail--I know I can use it to spiff up my Moodle course--iI wonder if this is how Ron makes those cute little icons instead of the standard Moodle icon? I often find a PDF on a site and want to make one or two changes. Zamzar offers me the opportunity to do that. Of course, I am guessing that attribution and Creative Commons licensing would apply here as well. I plan to try the mp3--see how it sounds. This application would be a boon for ELLs and students who work better with aural guidance. I have a big problem, though, knowing exactly what all those files even are. Is there any place, I wonder, that has a tutorial on which files are what and how to save them? I hate it when my computer asks me how I would like to save the file--and I have NO idea. I've saved files as text and get gobbeldy gook; I recently saved something as a WAV file and I can't play it. I can manage my way around most of these 21 applications, but it would be beneficial to have a little more technical knowledge. Like a Files for Dummies book!

3.) I have a Google calendar and love it's use in our home. I nagged my husband for the first 10 years of our marriage to write things down on the calendar in the kitchen, but he did so about 5% of the time, causing scheduling grief and frustration on my part. About a year ago he turned the tables on me and asked me to start using a shared Google calendar. Now it was my turn to grumble and procrastinate, but I gave it a try ... now I am the convert! I absolutely love the color-coding features, the "yours, mine, and ours" aspect. I also have a great app for my iPad that syncs with the Google calendar but puts it in a planner format.

I have to admit, though, that while I tried putting assignments, etc. on a Google calendar for my classroom I don't like the fact that I just can't write enough explanation. I have to short-hand so much I don't feel I'm getting across the info I want to convey. I can create a Google calendar, I just haven't found it usable for my purposes so far. Instead, I use a free online calendar creator, which is really just a text file--I copy that monthly to my Moodle course for parents and students. On that calendar, if I add assignment details, the text is right there--unlike Google which just has the event label.