August 2nd, 2010 by Sarah Ward
External Hard Drive photo c/o Miss Karen on flickr.com
While attending online school, it’s important for you to back up your schoolwork, portfolios, photos, and music so should the unthinkable occur and your computer crashes, you will have your data backed up externally. Two ways you can do this is through flash drives and external hard drives.
A Student’s Guide to Computers for Online School: Flash Drives & External Hard Drives
A flash drive is a small mobile USB device that can be purchased for just a few dollars and hold quite a bit of material. If you start a school project on the library computer, you can save your data onto a flash drive and easily transfer your information from one location to another.
An external hard drive contains hundreds of megabytes and will allow you to back up your entire computer for a fairly affordable price.
So when your budgeting how much money to allocate to your online school budget, don’t forget to include funds for a flash drive and external hard drive!
Here’s a couple flash drives that will get a rise out of your friends…
Severed finger flash drive
Machine gun round flash drive
Tags: crazy flash drives, external hard drives, flash drive, hilarious flash drives, online school
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August 2nd, 2010 by Sarah Ward
As you get your computer ready for online school, two integral things you can’t be without are keyboards and mice.
A Student’s Guide to Computers for Online School: Keyboards & Mice
Typically when you buy a computer from the store, it will come with a default keyboard and mouse. It may be an easy assumption to make that one keyboard is good as any other, but not all keyboards are created alike. While they will serve the same function, since you will be on the computer working on assignments many hours of each day, it’s important that the keyboard be comfortable for you.
Some online school students may choose ergonomic keyboards while others may simply opt for a gel pad to support their wrists when they type. Without an comfortable and effective keyboard, you can develop problems with your wrists including tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Choose a keyboard that works for you!
Like a keyboard, you’ll want to make sure your mouse is comfortable and reliable to enhance your online school experience. Some mice have a few buttons, others have dozens, allowing you to program different buttons to do different tasks, such as cut and paste. Some mice even have no buttons at all and simply react to the movement of the hand. You also have the option to have wired or wireless mice depending on your preference as well as bluetooth mice.
If you want something really cool, check out these Tron-inspired gaming keyboard, gaming mouse, and mouse mat. That’s right, they glow blue.
Next up! Flash Drives and External Hard Drives.
Tags: keyboards and mice, online school, student's guide to computers, tron gaming keyboard
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July 30th, 2010 by Sarah Ward
As you prepare to start your first semester of online school, you’ll definitely need a computer. This series is designed for students that aren’t tech-savvy and may not be familiar with all the computer terminology. Whether you have a laptop or desktop, from time to time, you’ll likely need to upgrade your RAM.
A Student’s Guide to Computers for Online School: Upgrading RAM
Has your computer processing slowed down to a crawl? Does it take forever to open up documents and the internet? Is your computer slow as molasses? These are some tell-tale signs that you may need to upgrade your RAM. RAM stands for Random Access Memory and is essentially your computer’s memory. RAM is is an affordable way to upgrade your computer, and improve its speed and functionality without shelling out money for a brand new computer.
To break to down for you, RAM is temporary memory on your computer. In other words, while you are working on an essay in Word with several additional documents open for research, your computer’s RAM is temporarily saving your work until you hit save. Once you save it, your essay is saved to the hard drive for permanent storage. When you click “save,” your overwhelmed RAM is relieved of the pressure of having to juggle so much information and things speed up on your computer.
If you’re not sure how to install RAM yourself, you may seek help from your favorite computer tech or electronic store. One thing to keep in mind is this might void your manufacturer’s warranty. If you have a Mac, contact your local Apple store and get their professional advice about how to improve your computer’s performance.
Online school shouldn’t take any longer than it needs to, and upgrading your computer’s RAM can help speed up your computer’s operating system which will help speed up the whole educational process.
Have you ever upgraded the RAM in your computer? Has it helped improve the speed of your computer?
Tags: computers for online school, importance for upgrading ram, online school, student's guide to computers
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July 26th, 2010 by Sarah Ward
In any classroom, a good relationship with a teacher can go a long way for a positive experience, with support and the opportunity for a professional reference in the future. If you are a student at an online school, standing out from the rest may be challenging, but not impossible. Here are some tips about how to stand apart in an online classroom.
- Get involved. While most of the work involved in an online school is reading, watching lectures, and completing assignments, contributing in online forums will help show your teacher that you’re open to participating. Asking questions via chats and e-mail will also help you develop rapport with the teacher.
- Ask questions. Since online classrooms don’t allow you to raise your hand, teachers won’t know you have questions unless you ask. A steady stream of questions can become burdensome for a question, but legitimate questions pertaining to the course work can help the teacher recognize who you are.
- Upload a profile picture. Putting a face to a name can help you overcome the anonymity associated with the internet. Post a photo of yourself for your student profile so your teacher create an association between your photo and name.
- Create an e-mail signature. E-mail signatures provide the recipient of your email relevant contact information for you, including your phone number, email address, website or blog, and social media information. Create a specific school e-mail signature so your teacher can contact you if necessary.
- Play nice. There are plenty of ways to stand out online, not all of which are acceptable or encouraged. Because we don’t see reactions to things we say online, this can cause us to say things we wouldn’t normally in real life. Be courteous in your interactions online with other students and be recognized for your courtesy and kindness.
These five tips can help you stand out in an online classroom and enhance your online school experience.
Tags: online school, stand out, stand out in an online classroom, stand out in an online school
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