To educate, inform, inspire

Behind the screen – SnagIt

April 16, 2014 - Learning , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

I am continuing to focus on various tools I use to help students better understand various concepts and tools. This week, I focus on SnagIt (from Techsmith). Essentially, this tool allows you to take screen captures. Ok, I already know how to use the PrntScrn key (including the Alt+PrtScrn to […]

2014 Illinois Web Design Contest

April 9, 2014 - Web - by Mark - No Comments

The 2014 Illinois Web Design contest was held in Springfield on April 4, 2014 (with a briefing of participants on April 3). This represents the 14th year I have supervised this contest. Many thanks to Jonathan Worent for his help in the supervision of this contest and for portraying the […]

Behind the screen – Presenter

April 2, 2014 - Adobe , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

This is the second part of my attempt to share some of the technologies I use when teaching online classes. I previously briefly reviewed Adobe Connect. I thought it might be helpful to next focus on Adobe Presenter. I use this tool periodically to introduce a topic. Students in my […]

Photoshop Generate

March 26, 2014 - Adobe , Technology , Web - by Mark - No Comments

I never cease to be amazed at the capabilities and options available in tools. Options that I didn’t know about or overlooked. Yes, working with web technologies, one is constantly learning. I recently completed a course at lynda.com dealing with Adobe Generator by Chris Converse. I simply didn’t realize this […]

Funk’s Museum of Mineralogy

March 19, 2014 - Travel - by Mark - No Comments

This week, I move away from technology and focus on one of the interesting spots in central Illinois. I have visited the Funk’s Museum of Mineralogy before and thought this time I would take some video to share the experience with others. Of course, this was filmed using my iPad […]

Photoshop and 3D Printing

March 12, 2014 - Adobe , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

I recently took the time to learn the fundamentals of 3D printing using Photoshop. Yes, I feel like I am using a replicator from the Starship Enterprise. I have actually created some items and shown them at our local Web Professionals and Adobe User Group meeting on March 11. I […]

Behind the screen – Connect

March 5, 2014 - Adobe , ICC - by Mark - No Comments

I thought it might be helpful for students to see some of the numerous technologies I employ when teaching online classes. Although not many students have taken advantage of my online office hours this semester, I use the Adobe Connect environment to support my online office hours. Rather than just […]

Things which make me go hmm…

February 26, 2014 - ICC , Student Examples , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

Ok, this may be a bit of a rant, but I have experienced a number of situations in the past few months which really make me wonder. Some time ago (2011), I posted a set of notes on how to email your professor. [Note: although that rant was over 2 […]

After Effects Animated Gif

February 19, 2014 - Adobe , Technology - by Mark - 25 Comments

At our February Web Professionals and Adobe User Group meeting, someone asked about the fundamentals of working with Adobe After Effects. I thought it might be appropriate to create a simple animated gif (perhaps a snowstorm – since we have had so much snow this winter). I wanted to put […]

Kali Linux

February 12, 2014 - ICC , Technology , Web - by Mark - No Comments

Each spring semester, I teach the CMWEB 270 class on web application security. Although we review a number of tools in that class, I also recommend students investigate packages of tools. One such tool is Kali Linux. This is a newer version of the venerable Backtrack Linux (which has been […]

Wifi Connections

February 5, 2014 - ICC , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

Periodically, students complain about the speed of wifi on our guest network at school. I thought I would take a few moments and document my observations. The tool I used was the Network Speedtest app on my Windows RT Surface (hey, I have to find some use for it these […]

App – Project Spitball

January 29, 2014 - Mobile Apps - by Mark - No Comments

As many readers know, I am always on the lookout for apps I can use in various aspects of teaching and learning. I recently came across the app “Project Spitball” in the App Store. This seems like an interesting concept and has some potential uses for educators so I thought […]

GoPro Camera Lens Correction

January 22, 2014 - Adobe - by Mark - No Comments

Now that I have been working with my GoPro camera for a while, I have noticed that the lens typically causes a fish-eye effect on photos. It also seems to have some chromatic aberration (not all colors are focused at the same convergence point). I thought readers might be interested […]

GoPro Camera

January 15, 2014 - Adobe , Technology - by Mark - No Comments

My wife, Jeri, bought me a GoPro camera for the holidays. Many thanks dear. This is a rugged little camera which can be used in a number of different places. The great part about it is that you can set it to take photos, time lapse photos or video, activate […]

Notice to Appear

January 8, 2014 - Security - by Mark - No Comments

As a public service at the beginning of 2014, I thought it might be appropriate to grade some of the recent SPAM I have been receiving. I suspect the intent behind this SPAM is to incite fear in the recipient. Instead it incited humor in this recipient. As most students […]