How to Change The Theme in a Google Presentation: Brief Tutorial

You can change the theme in your Google Presentation to add some color and interest in your presentation. Here is a brief tutorial on how to change your theme in Google Docs and Spreadsheets. (You can log in and create a presentation here: http://docs.google.com)

1. To change a theme, simply click on the Change Theme button in the tool bar on top of the presentation slide.

2. A window will pop up showing several different types of themes which you can choose from.

3. Click on the theme you want.

4. That theme will now be applied to your presentation.

-Ze Peng

How to Insert an Image into a Google Presentation Slide: Brief Tutorial

Google Docs is a Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation on line software. It allows users to create and edit documents online and you have the ability to collaborate with other users in real time. You can log in and use Google Docs and Spreadsheets here: http://docs.google.com

If you already have presentation slides on Google Docs, how can you insert an image and text? Here are two ways to insert an image in Google Presently:

The First Method:

1. At the top of your presentation slide you will find a tool bar with an Insert Image button.

2. Click the place where you want to insert image in the slide.

3. Click “Insert Image” button

4. A small window will appear.

5. Click the “Browse” button to choose images on your computer

6. Select the image and click the “Ok” button

7. To move the image around, hover over the text frame and when your cursor turns into a hand icon, click and drag to move the image to any where on the slide.

The Second Method:

1. Right click the place where you want to insert image.

2. Choose “Insert Image”.

3. A small window will appear.

4. Click the “Browse” button to choose an image on your computer

5. Select the image and click the “Ok” button

6. To move the image around, hover over the text frame and when your cursor turns into a hand icon, click and drag to move the image to any where on the slide.

-Min Robin Lu

How to Insert a Text into a Google Presentation Slide: Brief Tutorial

Google Docs is a Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation on line software. It allows users to create and edit documents online and you have the ability to collaborate with other users in real time. It also tracks and keep a history of edits and changes made to the document. Google Docs have four features:

* Create, edit and upload quickly
* Access and edit from anywhere
* Share changes in real time
* It’s free

You can access Google Docs and Spreadsheets here: http://docs.google.com

How to Insert a Text into a Google Presentation Slide

The first method:

1. At the top of your presentation slide, there is a tool bar with an Insert Text button.

2. Click “Insert Text” button

3. A frame will appear.

4. You can type your text in that frame.

5. To move the text around, hover over the text frame and when your cursor turns into a hand icon, click and drag to move the text frame to any where on the slide.

The second method:

1. Right click the place where you want to insert text.

2. Choose “Insert Text”.

3. A frame will appear.

4. You can type your text in that frame.

5. To move the text around, hover over the text frame and when your cursor turns into a hand icon, click and drag to move the text frame to any where on the slide.

-Min Robin Lu

Audio: LeMasney on How to use Powerpoint at Rider University Media Server

Audio: LeMasney on How to use Powerpoint at Rider University Media Server
I gave a presentation on How To Use Powerpoint today to a semi-packed room in the new Faculty Staff Training center in FA 113. Powerpoint was discussed in some detail, but of course, we talked about alternatives to Powerpoint, ways to avoid death by Powerpoint, Google Docs newest addition, Presently, and related topics. Take a look at Rider technology training site (log in as a guest if you wish) at http://www.rider.edu/training and click on the How to Use Powerpoint course to follow along with the audio if you want the whole effect. - John.

Audio: LeMasney FOSS Presentation to Brookdale Computer Users Group

Here is the audio from my presentation on Friday night on Free and Open Source Software to the Brookdale Computer Users Group. We had a fantastic time, and I can’t wait to go back. We had a lot of laughs, we all learned a lot, and I feel like I have a lot of new friends out by the shore. Thanks to BCUG for being so welcoming!

http://media.rider.edu/authors/lemasney/2007_lemasney_bcug_foss.mp3

How to View Missing Text Boxes in Blackboard for Internet Explorer 7 Vista Users

Active X Controls can prevent text boxes from showing up in Blackboard for Internet Explorer 7 Windows users. XP users have a prompt at the top that they can click on to allow Active X controls to work, but Vista users do not get this prompt in Internet Explorer 7. Please follow the direction below to have your text boxes show up again.

1. In the Blackboard Welcome tab, click on Personal Information on the left side under Welcome, Your Name.

2. Under Personal Information, click on Set Visual Text Box Editor Options.

3. Set Availability to Unavailable.

4. Log out of Blackboard, then back in. Your text box will appear without the extra formating tools, but you’re still have a spell checking tool and a text box.

* If this does not work, you can download the Firefox web browser (http://www.getfirefox.com) and your text boxes will appear in Blackboard.

Enjoy!

-Angel Brady

How to Use Google Reader to Read Your RSS feed

Google Reader—Google Reader is a Web-based aggregator, capable of reading Atom and RSS feeds online or offline. It was released by Google. It is a very good tool for reading RSS feed.
RSS feed – RSS feed is a new IT word. It is for obtaining and providing contents of web pages, podcasts and so on from a content provider automatically. You don’t need to visit the content provider’s website each time when you want to check new content.

1. Go to www.reader.google.com
2. Open your own Google Reader account and sign in.
3. You will see a blue button “add subscription” in the left side of page, Click it.
4. A small window shows up, put RSS feed address which you want to read in this windows.
5. And then click “add”.
6. Now you can see you RSS feed in the left side.

-Min Robin Lu

A good question about formatting in email

I got a great question about formatting email from one of my favorite faculty today, who always reminds me that when I assume that something’s common knowledge, it’s time to check my perceptions.

John, if I want to send an email, say to students in one of my classes, and I want it to have different formatting and graphics (different font sizes, different fonts, a picture, an email link, etc.), is there a way of ensuring that they all see the same thing, i.e., that their emails will all look the same no matter what email program they’re using? How do I do that, if it’s possible?

The only way to ensure that everyone sees that same thing is to make a picture of what you want them to see, and then send the picture.

Everyone has:

• different fonts installed, so that if you use whatever.ttf and I don’t have it, I’ll see something else
• different monitor capabilities, so that if you want the color red to appear an inch down the page, but I have a very low resolution setting, it may appear 3 inches down
• different default font setting in email, so that if you don’t specify a font, and your default is times new roman.ttf, but my default is everclear.ttf, we will see something different
  
• different email and HTML rendering capabilities, so that for instance, some might see bullet points to the left here, and others might not, and so on.
• Some might see this line blinking, and others won’t, due to differences in rendering engines.

You could approximate some level of continuity using something like an attached PDF if you wanted to retain the capability of users selecting text, for instance. But without a picture, you’re leaving everything to chance.

Hope this helps.

How to Embed a YouTube Video into a Web Page or Blog

Did you ever want a YouTube video to appear right inside your page of your blog? Moodle course? Blackboard course? web page? All you need to do to embed the video is copy the embed code on the YouTube and paste it into an area you write your text. Sounds a little confusing? Follow these steps and you’ll be embedding YouTube videos in no time.

1. Go to http://www.youtube.com

2. Use keywords to search for a video you would like to post on your blog, Blackboard, Moodle, or web page.

3. Once you found the perfect video, look to the right of the video. In the text box that describes the video, find the information in the text box next to the word Embed.

4. Highlight and copy (Control+c) the embed code (the information in the text box).

5. Open the application you want to embed the video in.

• Blogs-Create a new post and paste (control + v) the embed tag into the text box of the post.
• Blackboard-Open up the Content Area you want to add the video to. Create an Item. in the text box, paste the embed tag into the text box. Click Submit
• Moodle-Go into the course you want to add the video. Add the resource Compose a web page. In the text box, paste the embed tag. Click Save Changes.

The YouTube video will now directly be displayed in the page and you can play it on that page.

Enjoy!

-Angel Brady