Typing Tutorial Websites

How can I improve my typing skills? a question we hear quite often.. 

Like the piano - it's simply a matter of practice, but remember this isn't crucial - lots of our famous authors and reporters spent their entire careers "pecking away" and did very well...   Now if you are getting ready to take a typing test that's a different story, but I doubt that most of us are worried about that...

But if you think you'd like to improve your typing skills - speed, accuracy or both - you don't have to run out and purchase an application software program - there are wonderful FREE websites that can help you with this new goal - here are "hyperlinks" to some of our favorite typing tutorial websites, so check them out...

Note-some sites will ask you if you want the "tutorial" for a "QWERTY" or "DVORAK" keyboard-ours in the classroom, as are most keyboards, are "QWERTY" style...  

Not sure what the difference is - check out our blog posting pack in November 2009 about these two types of keyboards

http://www.utseniorpcgeeks.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-difference-between-qwerty-dvorak.html

Free Typing tutorial websites:

www.powertyping.com

www.typingweb.com

www.rapidtyping.com

www.freetypinggame.net

www.alfatyping.com

Enjoy and Good Luck

How To Add a Link In Your Email To A Popular Video

Whether you are visiting “YouTube.com” or “HuLu.com” or a local media stations, there may be times that you will see a video that you think someone you know would like to see. It is easy to copy that video location and paste it into your email. Here’s how:

If you have just watched a video on Youtube, look up at the address bar. You will see something that looks like this in the “address bar” of the internet browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox) that you are u sing.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-6dQvOSYmI

• Highlight the letters in the address bar, by hovering your mouse over the highlighted area and right click.
• When the action list appears, choose “copy”
• If you email account isn’t open it, then by using your Tabbed Browsing, open another Internet connection and open your email account (Hotmail, Gmail, AOL…).
• Add the addressee and subject fields.
• Type your letter. (Something like “I thought you’d enjoy this.”) and once you have written what you’d like, be sure to come down to an empty line, then right click and when the action menu appears, Choose paste.
• The link will now be in your email. Notice it is normally a different color than your regular font because it is an active “hyperlink”
• Click send.
• Now, all the receiver has to do is “click on the link” and they will be taken to the website and see the video.

Surf the Internet and use some favorite shortcuts

Just a few reminders to use some of the "basic" keystrokes & keyboard shortcuts so that when you are surfing the Internet - it will be easier and more enjoyable.....

• "F5" REFRESH KEY – using this function key will “reconnect" you to a website to update all the information


• "F11” FUNCTION KEY – (or Menu Bar, View, FULL SCREEN)- This is a “toggle button/key” so you can go back and forth for Full Screen which CONDENSES your toolbar at the top OR Normal Screen with All Toolbars at top and Task Bar at bottom…


• CTRL AND + OR – KEYS – Allow you to quickly and easily enlarge the screen when you are on the Internet OR use the Zoom Icon/drop down menu on the status bar at the bottom of your screen or go to your Command Bar, Page and Zoom-and change the size there - remember this doesn't change text size, it simply magnifies whats on your monitor when you are on the Internet so that it is easier to read..


• CTRL PLUS LEFT CLICKING THE “HYPERLINK” YOU WANT TO OPEN – this allows you to leave the page you are on open and it forces open another new tab so you toggle between both websites


• TABBING & FAVORITES/BOOKMARKS – these features allow you to easily multi-task and toggle from one website to another without having to “sign in” repeatedly and to visit websites you visit often

What is tabbed internet browsing?

What is tabbed Internet browsing that I keep hearing about?

Most Internet Browsers use TABS so you can open one connection to he Internet and then open multiple tabs vs. having to open your browser several times…

First of all if you aren’t sure what is an Internet Browser is – a Browser is the free software that allows us to search the Internet – the major ones are: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox – Safari for Apple Computers an Opera for hand held devices… Most of us have 3 or 4 browsers on our computers so different users have their choice of which to use..

Take full advantage of tabbed browsing on your Internet Browsers. While reading any web page if you come across a link you may be interested in open that link in a new tab so it can be viewed later. A new tab can be opened any of these (3) different ways:

• Going to the new tab and left clicking on it to open a new tab & type in the web address


• Hold down the Ctrl key and left click on the web address hyperlink (my favorite way t do it)


• If you have a mouse with a wheel click the link with the middle mouse button

New Wi-Fi Memory Cards for Digital Cameras

Have you heard of the new “wi-fi” memory cards for use in your digital cameras and camcorders… Check out this website:

www.eye.fi

The Eye-Fi memory cards look, stores media, and fit into cameras just like a regular SDHC memory card. On top of that, the Eye-Fi card has built-in Wi-Fi that uses your wireless network to effortlessly transfer photos and videos

The Eye-Fi card uses your home or office Wi-Fi network-Upon setup, specify which networks the Eye-Fi card uses to transfer your media. You can add up to 32 networks for your card to use. The next time your camera is on and within range of a specified network, your photos and videos will fly to your computer and to your favorite sharing site.

The Eye-Fi cards (4GB – 8GB for $40-$150 each) are the first wireless memory cards.

Features (from their website)

• 
  
  4GB memory. Store up to 2,000 photos or 90mn of video with top-notch Class 6 speed. Works just like with your regular SDHC memory card. Perfect for your compact camera


• 
  
  Wireless. Upload .JPEG or .JPG photos & videos fast through your home Wi-Fi network thanks to built-in 802.11n speed


• 
  
  Endless. Get the only card that can free-up space for you after pictures are safely delivered. Never worry about running out of space again


• 
  
  Automatic back-up. Wirelessly upload JPEG photos and videos to folders of your choice on your computer, or even directly into iPhoto for Macs


• 
  
  Organized. Photos and videos can automatically land in date-based folders, so memories are organized effortlessly


• 
  
  Compatible. No need to buy a new camera – visit their website to confirm that your camera can be turned into a wireless uploading machine


• 
  
  Effortless sharing. Wirelessly send your JPEG photos and videos to a popular website. Visit their website to see a complete list that you can choose from, which includes Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, MobileMe, and YouTube


• 
  
  Pick your pics. You can select which photos and videos are uploaded


• 
  
  Get notified. Get email, Facebook or Twitter alerts when your photos are uploading online


• 
  
  Quick and sweet. Set up takes just minutes

Postal Tips - Overseas Military and 9 Digit Zip Codes

For those of you shipping to family in the military, visit this postal hyperlink – this postal website has all the addressing info & deadlines needed to ensure your packages arrive safely..

http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/addressingtips.htm

The holidays are coming when we all tend to send more “postal mail” for holiday cards and packages… To help ensure that our mail arrives quickly, it helps to use the full 9 digit zip code for everything we mail… If you don’t know the zip code, go to the following “hyperlink” on the United States Postal Service website, put in the address and you will have the current 9 digit zip code:

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

The original 5 digit zip code was introduced in 1963, but the additional 4 numbers were introduced in the 1980’s.. so they’ve been around for quite some time… Using the complete 9 digit zip code improves mail delivery…

Did you know that the first # of every zip code (0-9) indicates the general area of the country ~ state. Lowest numbers in the east and they increase as you move west…

• 0: Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA), Maine (ME), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), Puerto Rico (PR), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), Virgin Islands (VI)
• 1: Delaware (DE), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA)
• 2: District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV)
• 3: Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Mississippi (MS), Tennessee (TN)
• 4: Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Michigan (MI), Ohio (OH)
• 5: Iowa (IA), Minnesota (MN), Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Wisconsin (WI)
• 6: Illinois (IL), Kansas (KS), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE)
• 7: Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX)
• 8: Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), Idaho (ID), New Mexico (NM), Nevada (NV), Utah (UT), Wyoming (WY)
• 9: Alaska (AK), American Samoa (AS), California (CA), Guam (GU), Hawaii (HI), Oregon (OR), Washington (WA)

Enjoy this music video

I hope you will enjoy this ~ One of your fellow students shared this “hyperlink” with me and I thought you might enjoy it…. It is amazing what technology can do today and with the Internet we all get to enjoy so many interesting things…

This “hyperlink” is a video of street singers from around the world being recorded, overlayed and mixed with one another while singing the song "Stand By Me".

It is a marvel to listen to and watch. They all deserve to be heard.

The finished product is tremendous! So click below where it instructs you to "click" and enjoy what some think is an incredible piece of sound engineering
,
So enjoy - turn up your speaker volume and [Click Here]

When it opens the website - you can begin by left clicking on the "play arrow" on the bottom left corner of the screen - and remember to use your F11 key to get the "full screen" impact