Weekly Tech Tips and News for March 30, 2018

The Last Supper, Da Vinci

For those of you with one foot out the door to Spring Break - safe travels! Here are some tips to read while travelling to your destination. For the rest of us who are staying put, here are some tips to read in your spare time. In light of the recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data mining scandal, there's a tip for protecting your data from third parties - those extra apps either within Facebook or the ones we use our Facebook accounts to login to. The truth though, is that Facebook is really just the scapegoat here - they are not alone in playing fast and loose with our online information. Our internet providers, mobile carriers, and other social media networks have been selling our online habits for years. Facebook is just going to be the tip of the iceberg - but it is helpful to know how to protect your online habits and information as much as possible. This will be an ongoing topic in the news for quite awhile. As we enter into the Triduum and approach Easter, I wish you a very blessed holy season.

• Broken Mac? Fix it With These Simple Troubleshooting Tips
• How to Make Siri Understand You Better
• Five Tips for Blocking Spam from Your Inbox
• EDU in 90:  Quizzes in Google Forms, Sharing Scores
• Everything New in Windows 10's Spring Creators Update, Available April 2018
• How to Transfer Photos from Android to Your Windows PC
• $1 Merge Cubes:  Easy and Cheap Handheld AR/VR
• 5 Things You Might Not Know About Kahoot!
• How to Stop Facebook Giving Your Data to Third Parties

Broken Mac? Fix it With These Simple Troubleshooting Tips

Broken Mac? Fix it With These Simple Troubleshooting Tips, from ZDNet by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Much like the troubleshooting tips I posted a few weeks ago, these Mac troubleshooting tips don't require a programming or IT degree. If you can follow instructions, you can perform them - and possibly save yourself a trip to the Apple Store or a repair bill. You can do it!

How to Make Siri Understand You Better

How to Make Siri Understand You Better, from How-To Geek by Craig Lloyd
Do you get frustrated with Siri on your iPad or iPhone? Here is some help.

Five Tips for Blocking Spam from Your Inbox

Five Tips for Blocking Spam from Your Inbox, from Popular Science by David Nield
Do you get a lot of spam in your email? Here are ways to whittle it down.

EDU in 90:  Quizzes in Google Forms, Sharing Scores

This is a follow up to last week's EDU in 90 on creating Quizzes in Forms. Today's post is the next step - how to share those grades with students or import into Classroom.

Everything New in Windows 10's Spring Creators Update, Available April 2018

Everything New in Windows 10's Spring Creators Update, Available April 2018, from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman
If you use a Windows 10 PC, you'll want to know there's a big update coming in April. Microsoft usually issues the big updates twice per year - in the Fall and in the Spring. At the very least, now you'll know that when your computer wants to run Windows updates in April, you'll need to allow extra time for it. If you want to know what changes you can expect in Windows this April, take a look at this post. Some of the new features include a timeline of your activities, Near Share that will be similar to Apple's AirDrop, easier pairing with Bluetooth devices, progressive web apps, easier font management, and better control for app permissions.

How to Transfer Photos from Android to Your Windows PC

How to Transfer Photos from Android to Your Windows PC, from How-To Geek by Cameron Summerson
You have a phone full of photos you don't want to lose, now what? It's not as difficult as you may think, but here's the process, step by step.

$1 Merge Cubes:  Easy and Cheap Handheld AR/VR

$1 Merge Cubes:  Easy and Cheap Handheld AR/VR, from A Lever and a Place to Stand by Amy Roediger
I just picked up one of these Merge Cubes on Amazon for $6.00, because my local Walmart was sold out of the $1 cubes. I'd learned about them at a MACUL conference session from Leslie Fisher. In fact after her session, all local Walmarts sold out of them. The nearest one with any in stock was 40 miles away. Fellow attendees were tweeting pictures of themselves buying carts full of the cubes. Walmart employees were probably wondering what was going on.

The cube works by loading a Merge Cube app on your iOS or Android phone or tablet, pointing it at the Merge Cube and letting the fun begin. As you turn the cube in your hand, the interactive image also turns along with it so you can explore or play the game. If you have iPads, Android tablets, or even newer 2-in-1 chromebooks with dual cameras and Android app capability in your school, you can use the cube right away. There are numerous apps, some are educational, and some are games that promote problem solving and critical thinking. The cube is made of foam, so it won't break in the hands of our more excitable students. There's a demo video in the post - check it out! For my ASA friends, if you want to try before you buy, let me know and you can experiment with mine.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Kahoot!

5 Things You Might Not Know About Kahoot! from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Did you know you can shame your students who choose naughty nicknames with scarlet - or avoid those naughty nicknames altogether with the name generator? You can also throw a twist and have students drag answers into the correct order instead of picking the correct answer. There's more, watch the video.

How to Stop Facebook Giving Your Data to Third Parties

How to Stop Facebook Giving Your Data to Third Parties, from How-To Geek by Harry Guinness
With the revelation that Cambridge Analytica has been mining personal data from Facebook users without their knowledge, this is a handy tip. It won't help you with past data mining, but will allow you to control what information third parties have access to in the future.