ASA Weekly Tech Tips and News for January 5, 2018

Happy New Year! Unfortunately we're starting 2018 with another security alert. This one is a hardware flaw that affects pretty much every device. The good news is there have not been any wide-spread breaches with this one (although Meltdown and Spectre attacks are starting to crop up), and security patches are starting to roll out for it, and will probably continue to do so for some time. Keep in mind though, by not running those updates, your device will be definitely vulnerable to attack, and it will only be a matter of time before it is affected. Your role will just be to make sure those security updates run on your device. There are more complete instructions below. In spite of this, I hope your holidays were restful and festive, and your new year has begun on a more positive note. Many blessings to you and yours in the upcoming year.

• Intel Flaw Makes Your Computer and Chromebook Vulnerable
• 5 Ed Tech tools to Try in 2018
• Add Audio to Google Slides With This Add-On
• Automatically Issue Certificates When Students Pass a Quiz in Google Forms
• Caption This! A Fun, Deep-Thinking Google Drawings Activity
• 12 Free Lessons About Rocks, Minerals and Landforms

Intel Flaw Makes Your Computer and Chromebook Vulnerable

The Intel sticker from
my laptop.

There is a newly uncovered flaw in the Intel chip, which runs most computers and Chromebooks, that can leave your device vulnerable to hacking/stealing your information. Fortunately many phones are not powered by Intel processors, however in this article, Apple has confirmed that Mac and iPhones are affected also.  Here are the details as reported in a ZDNet article about the Intel flaw. How do you know if your device has an Intel chip? PCs, Macs and Chromebooks should have a sticker on them that says Intel Inside. (see image - Yours may be a different color or shape, but will have the Intel logo on it.) If it says something other than Intel, such as AMD, you may not be affected. Phones typically do not have the sticker on the outside. So what do you do if you have the Intel chip (which most devices have)? The answer is a little different depending upon your device. Intel has plans to push out a patch, but in the meantime, Windows, Apple and Chrome have pushed out their own patches via updates. These updates will only patch part of the problem, and there will be more updates to come, so continue to run them on a timely basis, and make sure you are shutting down or restarting your PC every couple weeks or so to make sure they install. One reported side affect of the patches will be that your device may run slower, but it's better to be a little slower and safe than hacked. After installing the updates, make sure you only download software or apps from trusted sources, such as the Microsoft Store, Play Store or App Store. See how to check for or run updates for your device below.

Windows:  Microsoft has scrambled to push out a patch on January 3rd - so let those updates run when prompted! If your computer has run updates in the last few days, you are most likely all set - but if you haven't shut down your computer in the past week - please do so to allow the updates to run! You may need to make sure your anti-virus program runs its updates first, so the Microsoft update will run. Another ZDNet article explains why this is necessary. If you really want to be proactive, you can check yet another ZDNet article to see if your anti-virus supports the Microsoft patch yet. (AVG, which is owned by Avast, does.) If it does, open your anti-virus program and run updates. After that, search for Windows updates on your computer by selecting Check for Updates (in Control Panel in Win 7, in Settings-Windows Update for Win 10).

Chromebooks:  Chromebooks may have already received the patch with the latest update. Look for the telltale up arrow in the lower right corner. If you see it, click on it and select Restart for Update. If you don't see the arrow, you can check on the update as well. If you are running Chrome version 63, you've been patched. How to tell? Navigate to Settings - About Chrome. You should see the Chrome version number. If it does not begin with 63, click on Check Updates (it may automatically start to update) then click Restart when it is finished.

Apple/Mac/iPhone:  Apple has also reported a patch has been included with iOS 11.2 and MacOS 10.13.2, so make sure you watch for or have those updates on your Mac or iOS device. Again, if you'd like to be proactive and go looking for the update, system updates can be found in Settings - General. More updates will be coming for Safari, iOS, MacOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

5 Ed Tech tools to Try in 2018

5 Ed Tech tools to Try in 2018, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
If you didn't try them in 2017, give at least one of them a try this year. What are you waiting for?

Add Audio to Google Slides With This Add-On

Add Audio to Google Slides With This Add-On, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
A couple of work arounds for adding Sound to your Google Slides presentation have been previously discussed. Here is another way with the Audio Player for Google Slides add-on.

Automatically Issue Certificates When Students Pass a Quiz in Google Forms

Automatically Issue Certificates When Students Pass a Quiz in Google Forms, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Now when you use the quiz feature in Google Forms (which automatically grades your quiz), you can also automatically issue a certificate with the Certify'em add-on.

Caption This! A Fun, Deep-Thinking Google Drawings Activity

Caption This! A Fun, Deep-Thinking Google Drawings Activity, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
This activity can be used with either Google Slides or Google Drawings, and requires students to do some deeper, critical thinking to connect to the content you are teaching.

12 Free Lessons About Rocks, Minerals and Landforms

12 Free Lessons About Rocks, Minerals and Landforms, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Check out Scholastic's StudyJams for lessons on various math and science topics. There are videos, slide shows and short quizzes in each topic.