Streaming in the classroom: Barco ClickShare

Not too long ago I reviewed the Barco WePresent and found it pretty good especially at its price point. Now we are taking a look at the ClickShare. Barco offers a few options with their ClickShare product and this one is the CS-100, the current entry level. This can be …

Episode 181 – Zoom

Tony and Patrick are back talking about distance learning, recommendations about video conferencing (including Zoom) and a lot more. Please subscribe to our podcast from Apple our searching for us on your favorite podcasting app. Happy Easter/Spring Break Zoom Zoombombing Zoom and privacy Zoom alternative Microsoft Teams Google Meet Skype …

Episode 180 – Empty shelves empty seats

Tony and Patrick are talking the school closures and what schools are doing, video conferences, and so much more. As always be sure to subscribe our podcast on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. No school! Distance Learning Plan So much to talk about here Be asynchronous  Front load …

Distance Learning ? – Check out these resources

I am sure many of you are teaching from somewhere other than your classrooms. If that is the case, then flexibility and leveraging other websites for services and content is something you are keenly aware of and possibly in search of. This list of resources has been bouncing around social …

Covid -19 – We’re closed :(

Like many other schools around the world we have closed due to the Coronavirus. In light of these circumstances I thought I would share our school’s Distance Learning Plan. I’ve embeded it below, but if you would like a link to the Google Doc please click here. From there you …

Episode 179 – Student Fail

Tony and Patrick are at it again. We’re still talking about the Coronavirus about a somewhat dubious story out of China some hardware and how some students were pretty sneaky. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Online learning, biggest issue I am …

Smithsonian for the win!

The Smithsonian has released nearly 3 million images, 3D models, videos and more into the public domain! What this means is that anyone can search, find, download, use adapt and publish any of these artifacts without asking. So get searching and share this with your kids. Chances are if they …

Episode 14: Police or Criminal Background Checks for Expats

In this episode, I discuss the issues and processes required to obtain background checks. The shownotes in this episode are loaded with resources to help everyone going through this process. If you would like to ask specific or confidential questions please email me: tonydeprato@gmail.com LinkedIn Profile: http://bit.ly/2lGuV9m Show Notes: Watch this …

How to use Pear Deck

The Pear Deck add-on is very popular amongst teachers. It allows them to bring interactive elements into their Google Slides presentation. Check out the video above to get a better sense of what Pear Deck offers and whether or not it is right for you. Source: IT Babble Blog …

Cybersecurity Part 4: Surviving Ransomware

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn The scope of all the following arguments is for equipment owned by the school, or equipment approved to use at school. This post is not promoting policies for personal devices used solely at home, nor is this post addressing devices that may …

Episode 12: Getting Lost in the Echo Chamber

In this episode, I discuss the issues with using Social Media and School Review websites for making decisions. I also discuss the best ways to research any school, and what you need to focus on to make a good choice. If you would like to ask specific or confidential questions …

Sneaky, sneak kids and electronic tests

This week, is a good week. I learned a whole lot about something this week and I thought I’d share it with you my good reader. So let me layout the scenario for you. It is the end of an grading period at my school and like many other school …

Streaming in the classroom – Airtame 2

I wrote a review about Airtame back in July of 2018 and I was pretty impressed by it. The price point was fair, the fact that it could mirror most devices (limited with iOS and Android but still not bad) and it could be used as digital signage. Oh yeah, …

Episode 178 – Forced to Flip

Tony and Patrick are back with a pretty important episode this time that is having an impact on some of our friends overseas but could happen to you one day. Also, social media sucks. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Tony’s post: …

School portal – How to Improve the Parent Experience

A lot of schools offer a Parent Portal. Some portals are more robust than others but they all seem to offer these features: Check their child’s academic progress Check out school events (athletics, groups and clubs alike) Pay for fees Sounds good right? Well, yeah, but sometimes parents don’t use …

Streaming in the classroom: BenQ – Instashow

The journey continues! This time we are looking at the BenQ Instashow. A lot of people may not be too familiar with BenQ in North America, but they have it looks as though they have been making steady inroads into the continent. They may a bevy of products and this …

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Episode 11: Q&A, The Coronavirus, Having a Baby Abroad and more

In this episode, I discuss conflicts around the Coronavirus and job recruitment fairs, hidden fees in the paperwork, employers trying to withhold money, and issues related to having a child overseas. If you would like to ask specific or confidential questions please email me: tonydeprato@gmail.com LinkedIn Profile: http://bit.ly/2lGuV9m Show Notes: Watch …

Episode 177

RIP Kobe Bryant Parent Portals  How to get parents to use them more Only use one portal – avoid fragmentation Consistency with the portal for teachers and faculty Survey coming soon (next few months) Tony wants to rant on vendors: Managebac  Microsoft’s new Edge browser Based on Chromium Microsoft Chromebook? …

The Support Puzzle

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I was recently in a conversation with a large group of people who provide IT Support. Many do not work in education, which is why I like the group. One of the members was recently asked in an interview to rank the …

Episode 176 – Happy New Year 2020

Tony and Patrick are back for 2020 with a new episode. It’s been a while but I assure the wait was worth it. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Happy New Year – Resolutions? TDK12 – Practical advice for expats  Tdk12.net  Tony’s …

Streaming in the classroom: Barco WePresent

When it comes to screen sharing few names are as renowned or respected as Barco. They have a history of building quality products and delivering solid results. So today, I have been playing around with the Barco WePresent. A streaming box that will allow you to connect your device to …

Cubit Robotics: Probably Better Than What Your Are Doing

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have been working with robotics since 2005. I have worked with students from US Grade 4 to students competing in university competitions. As of late, I have been shocked by this trend: remote control. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=2082 Remote control is not the future. …

Are Your Files Public? The Edlio Example

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have written before about cloud security and file security. I was doing a simple pentesting job for a school recently and found a service they were using called: Edlio. I cannot say if Edlio has a security issue, or if what …

Episode 10: Tie Up Loose Ends or Suffer

This episode explains the planning required to make your move from where you are to where you need to be. The focus is on being as independent as possible from debts and obligations and being smart about a myriad of other things. If you would like to ask specific or …

Going Phishing with Finalsite

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn This video reviews a method to extract staff email and names from the popular Finalsite CMS used by K12 schools. Disclaimer: This video is not documenting any known bugs or issues with Finalsite. This video is demonstrating how Personal Information can be …

Streaming in the classroom: Mersive Solstice

I’m on a quest and here is the next forray into that quest. I present to you the Mersive Solstice. On paper this thing looks great! It really does. It can allow many people to connect to a single screen at one time, you can even bridge multiple Solstices together …

Streaming in the classroom: Apple TV

Ah yes, the Apple TV. This is currently what we are using in my school and while it is pretty good there are problems I will get into. First, let’s talk about what is, what it does, how much it costs and all that good stuff. Apple TV HD Cost: …

Episode 9: All About Job Fairs

This episode is an interview with Job Fair Veteran Patrick Cauley. Patrick worked overseas for more than ten years. Patrick moved up as a teacher into a Director Position and eventually repatriated into an outstanding position in the USA.

Episode 175 – Cyber Bunker

Tony and Patrick and talking Cyber Security (more like Cyber Fear) and Patrick’s quest to find a good wireless streaming option for classrooms other than Apple TVs. As always please subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app or on Apple Music. Tony’s Fired Up about CYBERSECURITY PANIC Connecting your …

Streaming in the classroom: Introduction

I’m on a quest! I’m on a quest to find the best wireless streaming solution for a classroom. 2020 is nearly here and there are more than a few options out there and at a wide variety of price points. Unfortunately, I cannot look at every possible Frankensteined configuration so …

CyberSecurity Part 1: Social Engineering

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsVtHqICeKE By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have noticed an uptick recently in schools moving resources, money and time, to address cybersecurity concerns. The motivation for addressing security issues is genuine, but the approach and implementations I am reading about are less than effective. Over the …

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Episode 7: All About Healthcare and the Package Part 3

This episode focuses on the most common healthcare plans and options offered by international schools(schools requiring a teaching certification and degree). This is part three of a four-part series. The goal is learning to make an Apples-to-Apples evaluation of all job offers. If you would like to ask specific or …

Episode 174 – Law & Tech

Tony and Patrick have got law questions. This means that we had to go out and get a real, honest-to-God lawyer in the form of Keith Wurzbacher. Listen to a (mostly) serious conversation regarding schools, email addresses and much more. As always be sure to subscribe to us on Apple …

Episode 6: Salary,Pensions and the Package Part 2

This episode focuses on salary and pension calculations, as well as banking and transfers. There is more to the process than your annual salary. This is part two of a three-part series. The goal is learning to make an Apples-to-Apples evaluation of all job offers. If you would like the …

cal.new = A new Google Calendar Event

Not too long ago, Google announced a bunch of really handy short URL’s that will let you create new types of files. I wrote about it here. For a quick refresher, here they are: docs.new = New Google Doc sheets.new = New Google Sheets slides.new = New Google Slides Now …

Episode 173 – Colts for the Win!

Tony and Patrick are back for another great episode. It is a quick one this week where we talk a little NFL, Google Daydream and swimming in your data. Check out the talking points below and as always be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting …

Episode 4: Get Your Docs in a Row

This episode is about getting all the documents you need organized. This includes criminal background checks, cover letters, social media management, and more. LinkedIn Profile: http://bit.ly/tdk12linkedin     Show Notes   Letter of Good Conduct Sample  http://bit.ly/2Mryvif Letter of Teaching Philosophy  http://bit.ly/2MqUBkS Photo Resources   Standards and Format  http://bit.ly/2pADFje International Size …

Swimming in the Data Lake

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn Educational organizations are face with the constant influx of seemingly new technology. This creates pressure (even a demand) to review, to compare, to challenge, and often, to change. The business around software is not understood nor recognized by most educational institutions. Schools …

Episode 3: Choosing Recruitment Agencies

Watch this Podcast on Youtube http://bit.ly/tdk12podcast Show Notes University of Northern Iowa: http://bit.ly/2p7U8Lu International Schools Services (ISS): http://bit.ly/tdk12iss Search Associates: http://bit.ly/TDK12search CRS: http://bit.ly/tdk12crs TieOnline: http://bit.ly/tdk12tie LeopardFish: http://bit.ly/2oy0fsl Google Search: International School JoinUs Cost of Living Calculator Expatistan: http://bit.ly/tdk12_expat LinkedIn Profile http://bit.ly/tdk12linkedin   http://tonydeprato.com/podcast/tdk12/episode3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS | More

Episode 2: Technology and Tools for Job Recruitment

TDK12 Episode 2: Technology and Tools This episode reviews the technology and tools you need to prepare all your recruitment materials. This is not a paper world anymore. Watch this Podcast on Youtube http://bit.ly/tdk12podcast Show Notes: PDF Merge: http://bit.ly/3229Giq PDF Compress: http://bit.ly/2OyeZCd Acrobat Reader DC: https://adobe.ly/33bEMUO Online Word Counter: http://bit.ly/2ICavH0 Grammarly: http://bit.ly/33d9m0c Canva: http://bit.ly/2M0t49J Google Search …

Episode 172 – Did Someone Say Pirated Movies?

Tony and Patrick are back with more Ed Tech goodness. Check out the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app (PocketCasts is free now!). PSA: Google Drive and Pirated Movies by Patrick Cauley https://itbabble.com/2019/09/23/psa-google-drive-and-pirated-movies/ Digital Millennium Copyright Act – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act  …

Episode 1: Job Recruitment

TDK12 Episode 1: This episode is an overview on what new and current expat educators need to do in order to prepare for recruitment. Show Notes Watch this Podcast on Youtube http://bit.ly/tdk12podcast International Schools Services (ISS):  http://bit.ly/tdk12iss Search Associates: http://bit.ly/TDK12search CRS: http://bit.ly/tdk12crs TieOnline: http://bit.ly/tdk12tie LinkedIn Profile: http://bit.ly/tdk12linkedin Cost of Living Calculator …

PSA: Google Drive and Pirated Movies

This is just a quick public service announcement and one not too new. We have seen a number of postings on a local listserv that says that students have been accessing pirated movies on Google Drive. All you need to do is search Google Drive + Popular Movie Title and …

Episode 171 – Roller Madness

Tony and Patrick are back for another great episode. We talk about mice, student information systems and more! Check out the talking points below and as always subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Patrick’s new mouse – Logitech MX Ergo  https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/mx-ergo-wireless-trackball-mouse What’s a Student Information System …

NASA, Still Pretty Cool and Open for High School

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn NASA has a program for High School Students. Take a few minutes, and see if your students can participate. Be bothered. Be engaged.      All details can be reviewed with this link: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/stem/High_School_Aerospace_Scholars.html Source: IT Babble Blog and Podcast

Episode 170 -EMERGENCY! YOU MUST LISTEN

Tony and Patrick are back for an important announcement that could save your MacBook Pro when you travel! Be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Airlines banning certain MacBook Pros https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/29/macbook-pro-some-airline-restrictions/ Google getting serious about Enterprise https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/26/20832925/google-chromebook-enterprise-dell-laptops-microsoft-windows-challenge-businesses Chrome OS not going anywhere! Amazon Web …

Episode 169 – It’s not cheating?

Tony and Patrick are at it again with another great episode. We talk about some NFL news, some advice to homeroom/advisory teachers and much more including what constitutes cheating this day and age? Check out the talking points below. As always, be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or …

When TurnItIn Fails

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn   Plagiarism is serious issue for most high schools. It is rare to find a school without a detailed plagiarism policy. Most of these policies have a few tiers, because it is common for students to commit plagiarism more than once in …

Episode 168

We are back! Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! Today we (Tony and Patrick) talk about a few items, but most noticeably is a kick ass t-shirt printer that is waaay too expensive for either of our schools! Check out the talking points below, subscribe to us on iTunes or …

Presenting a slideshow? Keep it brief

It is back to school which means there are a lot of PowerPoints, Keynotes, Google Slide shows that are going to be presented to students, parents and staff. I’ve got some tips for making yours better than the most. Keep it short The quote for good old Bill Shakespeare sums …

PSA – Flash is dying

Folks, this is not new news. In fact it was fist reported back in 2017, but you will start hearing more about soon. Adobe Flash Player is finally dying. All major browsers will be phasing it out and it will most likely stop working all together sometime in 2020. So …

Scan Your School for Unsecured Public Documents

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn How many documents do you have open to the public? When was the last time you checked to see what anyone with internet access could download from your school website, your PowerSchool or SIS public folder, or even your various cloud services? …

A Positive Start Matters

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn Stress at the start of the school year is normal. I firmly believe that a positive start leads to a positive year. Here are some suggestions I like to give to people at the start of the year. What do you need …

Episode 167 – Scheduling Advice

We are back! I know that 166 is not published yet but we are working on some sound issues. In this episode, we tackle scheduling advice, we also talk about the SIM card swap nightmare a journalist had, ambient privacy (neat concept) and finally about the fad of being depressed …

Picking an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB)

This is a pretty meaty topic so hang on. An interactive whiteboard (IWB), or interactive flat panel, is basically a large TV that ranges 55“ – 88” (139cm – 224cm) that has touch capabilities. They usually come loaded with an Android OS or Windows 10 (some can even swap between …

Picking and Interactive Whiteboard (IWB)

This is a pretty meaty topic so hang on. An interactive whiteboard (IWB), or interactive flat panel, is basically a large TV that ranges 55“ – 88” (139cm – 224cm) that has touch capabilities. They usually come loaded with an Android OS or Windows 10 (some can even swap between …

Episode 165 – Projector Search

Tony and Patrick are back with a scintillating show talking about Apple, projectors, Python and more! Check out the talking points below and as always subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app What’s everyone been up to? It’s not TV it’s HBO – seriously? Apple kills a …

Anchor – I am worried :(

In February of 2018 I wrote a review for Anchor. Anchor is a website and mobile app that will let you create and publish your very own podcast! I had a lot of very nice things to say about and you can read my review here. I did warn that …

Episode 164 – Angry High Schooler

Tony and Patrick after a long and much deserved Spring Break. This episode promises to be another classic as Tony and Patrick talk about some upcoming Windows news, some great advice about STEM/STEAM skills and even a bit of comic book movies and Game of Thrones. Check out the talking …

Make your own flashcards in Google Sheets

OK – to be fair, you need Google Sheets and the Flippity add on, but still, this is pretty handy, easy to do and works really – really well. I’ve seen a couple of articles about this on the web but I’m going to go a little deeper and walk …

Self Checkout with a Chromebook!

I know I’m not the first (not even close!) to do this but I figured it would be a good post anyway. We now have a self-checkout station in our library, so our students can check out books on their own. This post will show how we set it up …

STEAM/STEM Core Skills

  By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato   Developing STEM and STEAM programs (Science Technology Engineering/Art Mathematics) is very exciting, but I have noticed recently there is a lack of cohesive standards to measure progress. Like many people, I am working on building a set of standards. …

Episode 163 – Momo is Stupid

Tony and Patrick are back for another outstanding episode. Tony’s travel tips, why Momo is just stupid and all the other talking points are below. You can subscribe to us on iTunes (please do) or your favorite podcasting app.  Tony’s travel tips Carry ons – …

Linking Google Slides

I had teacher walk into the IT office with a good question. She wanted to make a slideshow about a topic and have each student in her room create one slide to add to the slideshow. Here is what you need to know. She is using Google Slides This is …

Episode 162 – CAPTCHAS Suck!

Tony and Patrick are back with another great episode. The talking points are below but know this CAPTCHAs suck Tony’s holiday Finally – displays are moving in the right direction by Patrick https://itbabble.com/2019/01/29/finally-displays-are-moving-in-the-right-direction/ Not overthinking it CAPTCHAS suck BUSES! FRICKING BUSES!! Filling in an online form for an event at …

Episode 161 – It’s a HOAX!

Tony and Patrick are back! We talk about snow and other important topics and there is the first ever Story Time with Uncle Tony and it is a good one! Check out the talking points below and as always please subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. …

Run Self Hosted Tech Without Your School Building

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Imagine you have had to evacuate your high school. Could you facilitate your classes and business processes without physically being in your building? If most of your infrastructure is  in a cloud based environment, odds are you can maintain business continuity …

Episode 160 – AI Still Sucks

Tony and Patrick are back to wish you a Happy New Year and to spread a little ed tech love your way. This show is a good one to close out 2018 so check out the talking points below and as always, be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes …

Fun Holiday movies

Only a few more days until the winter break and the end of 2018 so I thought that some teachers might like some holiday movies that they could show some of their students. Here you go! How the Grinch that Stole Christmas Yep – it’s a classic and no I …

I Played with Virtual Reality

In the not too distant past there was a promise that virtual reality and/or augmented reality was going to be the “next big thing.” Well both are here and there is less buzz around them than ever before? I have played around with a virtual reality headset and was less …

The Beauty of Repairability

At my school, we are trying out Chromebooks instead of iPads for our 1:1 program. I’ve written about it here and here. I still feel it is too early to see how Chromebooks fair and so I’ll reserve those observations for another time. Today, I’d like to point out a …

Episode 159 – Virtual Nope!

Tony and Patrick are back and right before the US Thanksgiving holiday. It is another great show where we talk about the confusing Apple hardware lineup, a virtual reality headset and Google’s news of getting into the LDAP game. Check out the talking points below and as always be sure …

Episode 158 – Trends? Maybe not

Tony and Patrick are back for another great episode. Check out the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Apple, Microsoft and Amazon’s events Apple – https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/everything-apple-announced-2018-iphone-event/ Microsoft – https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/2/17923080/microsoft-event-2018-announcements-news-surface-laptop-windows-10-updates Amazon – https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/20/17882582/amazon-event-september-2018-echo-alexa-speaker-news https://aws.amazon.com/deeplens/ https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-tab-s4/ New Apple Event – October …

Subscriptions: Get the Best Deal Possible

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato I am often shocked and amazed at the prices people are paying for subscriptions/services. Believe it or not, schools pay different prices for the same products. There is usually a deal to be made, and here are a few simple tips …

Predictions, Patience and Observation

I saw this article by Jamey Keaten in the Huffington Post titled Automation In The Workplace Means Machines Will Handle Half Of Tasks By 2025: Report. It basically says that automation will replace people at their jobs. So schools need to adjust right? I mean the future is happening right …

Scheduling , Why Wait?

        By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato If your phone battery is not at 100%, would you still use it? Or, would you sit and wait for it to charge? If your water bottle is 50% empty, would you continue to use it, or …

Episode 157 – Welcome Back

Tony and I kick off the school year in style with a fantastic podcast. Check out the talking points below and as always subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app or on iTunes. School’s back in session! Goals for this year? New tech for this year? Amazon App Stream …

Airtame – A review

I normally do not review hardware. Primarily because it costs a bunch of money and I don’t feel comfortable receiving products from companies to review – it just feels weird. Anyway, our school needed a way to stream from a computer to a display or projector for outside people who …

Episode 156 – Angry Grandpa

My apologies IT Babblers – I should have posted this a while ago. At any rate check out the latest episode of the IT Babble podcast. Tony and I discuss imaging difficulties with Mac OS High Sierra, AirTame and what it means to be Tech Savvy. As always you can …

Tech Savvy, Are Your Sure?

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato There are many uncomfortable situations people in technology leadership have to endure annually. Normally, uncomfortable situations are created because someone did not understand the far reaching ramifications of a single bad decision. Often, these are not isolated incidents. Too often, in meeting rooms or …

Episode 155 – Gamechanger

Tony and Patrick are back in another awesome episode of IT Babble. The big news here is Amazon Workspaces and the game changing opportunities it offers education. Check out all the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. In 2018, …

The Accidental BYOD Solution

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato After reading Patrick’s recent post about iPads and Chromebooks, I decided to wrap-up an article that follows along those same lines. The problem is, right now, (and how do I put this) our options for EdTech SUCK! In 2008, I would have said Apple …

iPads vs Chromebooks: Part 2 – 2018

In the Part 1 I surveyed teacher to see how they feel about the 1:1 program. overall the teachers are still very enthusiastic about it, but when asked if the iPad was the best device based on what and how they teach many felt that it wasn’t. They thought that …

Episode 154 – Poop on the Desk

Tony and Patrick are back and what an episode! Check out the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or on your favorite podcasting app. The best gadgets are the ones you know how to use by Dieter Bohn https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/2/17302680/best-gadgets-tech-gear-liveblog-bag This applies to schools: hardware, …

Episode 153 – Go for Gold

Tony and Patrick are back for another great post. We all wish Tony a quick recovery with his knee surgery. Check out the talking points below. As always please subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Tony’s knee surgery http://www.davincisurgery.com/da-vinci-surgery/da-vinci-surgical-system/ Apple’s MacBook Pro recall Battery Recall https://www.apple.com/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-replacement/ …

Controlling What Students Can Access

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Recently I have been discussing multiple new security measures for academic networks. From these discussions with other schools, engineers, and suppliers, I have created set of goals to help keep the development of network security on track and within budget. Physical Access Physical access …

Chrome Extension – Kami

Here is another extension that I like a lot in Chrome. Now Chrome can view PDF’s and I have never really like the way they handle it. Check out the picture below to see what I mean. The image is not quite large enough for me to easily read and …

Episode 152 – PHEASANTS!

Tony and Patrick are back! After a quick go around about pheasants on Tony’s campus they get going talking about some exciting ed tech talk. As always subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Amazon WorkSpaces https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/ Pricing – https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/pricing/ Don’t buy Nintendo Labo – by Patrick …

iPads vs Chromebooks: Part 1 – 2018

I thought I would put the year on the title of this post just to give it some search relevance. I don’t know how many posts I’ve seen that are 3–4 years old and while some of the arguments are still relevant others are not. This short series will detail …

Don’t buy Nintendo Labo

I’ve been meaning to write this ever since I heard about this product. First, let’s get something out of the way. I like to game. I am not a huge gamer but I really enjoy the time I get to plop down and dive headfirst into a video game. I …

Episode 151 – iPads are a bore

  Tony and Patrick are back after spring break! What better way to return than with a great podcast. Check out the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Apple’s education event New iPad New software Does this make the …

Tech Support Problems, Apathy, & Solutions

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato Recently I was reading a Technology Directors’ forum, and noticed that a few very well established schools were explicitly looking for people to assist them in improving their technology support system (Help Desk, Help Tickets, etc.) Reflecting on how I design and implement such …

Use Drupal? Patch it now

Use Drupal? Patch it now Drupal is a popular and free open source CMS that a number of schools use. For the average person it is not too difficult to set up and run and since you can assign roles and permissions to different people you can allow for a …

Kaizena update – Resolve comments

I posted my review less than a week ago and already there is an update! One item I did take notice of but forgot to mention in my post was the fact that Kaizena cannot Resolve comments like the standard commenting system in Google Docs offers. If you are unfamiliar …

Kaizena – A review

Kaizena is an Add-on for Google Docs. What it does is allow a teacher or another person to give audio feedback for a Google Doc that has been shared to them. The owner of the doc can then listen to that feedback and improve their document further. Sounds pretty sweet …

Episode 150

Episode 150 is HERE! For the special occasion we have brought back Mr. Omar Ghosn (cofounder of IT Babble) to talk ed tech once again. The episode is a little longer than normal but certainly a great one. As always you can find our podcast on iTunes (please subscribe) or …

It’s Time to Regulate Social Media in Schools

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on Twitter @tdeprato It is spring time, and once again I am planning a new network security plan for a school. The same issues as always, and the same questions. All questions usually have answers with a price tag attached. Value in such planning …

viewpure – a video tutorial

  Earlier this week I wrote about viewpure.com and I am genuinely pretty impressed with what this service does. Above is a quick video showing it in action and how you can customize YouTube videos of your own choice to safely show to your students.   Source: IT Babble …

Episode 149 1/2 – Where’s Omar?

Hello IT Babblers! I know that this is supposed to be episode 150 but Omar had another commitment and couldn’t make so rather than record 150 without him we decided to record 149 1/2 and save 150 for later when Omar can join us. Check out the talking points below …

viewpure and YouTube

Let me lay out a scenario and see if you can relate to it. You have found a great YouTube video (like the one below :)). You want to show it to your class. It has a great explanation, it simplifies it and since it is on YouTube you can …

Mobile devices for 1:1 programs

Mobile devices for 1:1 programs I saw this on the Eduro blog. This isn’t an article though, it is a YouTube conversation. I just realized that their YouTube link doesn’t work so here is the correct link. So they discuss whether or not 1:1 programs should be built with mobile …

Chrome music lab

Yes – this is fun. You may not be aware but Google Chrome has a team that makes something called Chrome Experiments. This thing is just thinking outside the box of what Chrome can do. Most of it is interactive fun artsy stuff which isn’t all that bad. Their latest …

A 360 app for your smartphone is handy

This is a quick post and I hope you find a helpful one. Our school, like many I suspect, do deep cleaning in classrooms throughout the year – especially during long breaks such as winter, spring break and of course the summer break. Whether you have carpet or not in …

The future of smartphones and teachers

I normally don’t talk about phones and which one is better than the others on IT Babble. I’ve certainly got my opinions but I am intrigued with the Galaxy S9. No, not its camera or Bixby or it display. I’m interested in the Samsung DeX. This device connects your Samsung …

Episode 149 – Useless Tech

Patrick and Tony talk about a bunch of great stuff not just useless tech. As always subscribe to us on iTunes or on your favorite podcasting app! Wikispaces is going away https://blog.wikispaces.com/ Did you ever use Wikispace Anchor – A review by Patrick https://itbabble.com/2018/02/23/anchor-a-review/ Podcasting service Useless technology https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/21/17036762/tap-wearable-keyboard-mouse-price-availability What …

Anchor – A Review

Anchor says it is “The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.” Well we will just see about that and also see if it is a good fit for you in the classroom. There are three things that make Anchor a bit different than its competition. One, there is no …

Adios Wikispaces

Wikispaces is closing down after more than ten years of service. You can read the sad news here on their blog post. I never used Wikispaces in my teaching. I tried to set some events and units up using the service but just couldn’t get past some of the user …

Episode 148 – Olympic Fever

This episode Tony and I make some big statements about the Olympics, talk about Gmail extensions, what ed tech really is and a whole lot more. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Check out the talking points below. Happy Olympics and Valentine’s Day! …

Student Passwords – Live and learn

If you use G Suite or Office 365 with your school – those students must have a password. If you work with high school students it is easy – they can manage their own password. Heck even middle school students can manage their own passwords (most of the time). What …

ClassHook – A review

I saw ClassHook on Free Technology for Teachers and thought to myself Hey! That looks interesting. So, here I am writing a review of the service and trying to determine if it is worth your or my time as educators. What is it? In it’s own words: ClassHook is the …

Devices – Students, teachers, schools

I’m a part of a Listserv that works pretty much just in the state I live in. It is often helpful, sometimes funny and in this case a little though provoking. This morning I came across this entry (below) and it got me thinking about devices in the school. Quickly …

My Three Gmail Extensions

My Three Gmail Extensions Gmail is pretty great and when you couple it with Google Chrome you can make it even better. There are a bunch of extensions out there for Gmail. Chances are you can find what you are looking for. I’ll highlight the three that I use. Just …

Smartphones – Let’s experiment and see

My good friend and fellow IT Babbler Tony wrote a piece called Mobile Phone Shutdown about how his school is banning students from using their smart phones during certain hours of the day. It’s good (please give it a read). In the post he identifies some problems that his school …

Loom – A review

I really like making tutorial videos. I don’t do it as much now that I’m not teaching but whenever there is an opportunity I like to jump at it. You know what? I’m not bad. I try to make it as professional as possible. I use Screenflow, which allows me …

Episode 147 – No phones

Welcome back to another awesome episode of the IT Babble podcast. This week Tony and Patrick discuss cell phone bans and some solutions, screen time and much more. Check out the talking points below and as always please subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. Mobile Phone …

Chrome & Autoplay

Autoplay sucks! Let me explain. Autoplay is when you open a site and a video automatically starts playing. Annoying! This just happened to me. I was in a meeting, looking for an article on CNN and I opened a page and all of a sudden a reporter’s voice starts flowing …

MySimpleShow.com – A Review

  Howdy IT Babblers – I’m back with another review. This one is of http://www.mysimpleshow.com. It is a website that lets you make a presentation explaining something. Now, please don’t go confusing this with a way to make tutorial videos. This is more for about explaining concepts, ideas and other …