October 30, 2007

Welcome to SchoolCounselor.com, an electronic newsletter designed to advance counselors' level of technological literacy, application, and integration. You will find practical solutions and answers to technology related problems, especially as they apply to your job as counselor. If you would like to share a tip or trick, or if you would like to ask a question, e-mail Russ Sabella at newsletter@schoolcounselor.com.

Highlights from SchoolCounselor.com

New on SchoolCounselor.com ...

Updated PowerPoint on Cyberbullying and Internet Safety (PDF)

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/safety/index.asp

Technology Tools for Calendaring

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/pubs/calendaring.htm

Technologies for Communication/Collaboration

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/pubs/communication-tools.htm

New School Counseling Related Videos

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/videos/

Top 5 Training Topics

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/top5training.htm

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TIPS AND TRICKS

Test your MySpace Safety Knowledge

Kids love the social-networking Web site MySpace.com. But far too often, their profiles disclose too much personal information. See if your child can spot 10 safety problems in the sample MySpace page below. You may have to scroll down to view all of the safety issues. Then, follow the links below the profile to see if your child is correct!

http://www.komando.com/myspace/

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Sharing Large Files

Lots of counselors ask me to send them files that are crazy big (e.g., 20 Mb or more), too big for e-mail to handle. There are other ways to transfer those large PowerPoint, video, or other files, here are a few:

– I use www.Yousendit.com all the time. You simply upload a file up to 100 Mb, include the e-mail address of the person you are sending it to, and they will get an e-mail with a download link. That’s it. You can also send the link to others for multiple end recipients.

– Similar to Yousendit.com, MegaUpload at http://www.megaupload.com/ will handle up to 500 Mb files! Also check out sendspace at http://www.sendspace.com/, Transfer Big Files at http://transferbigfiles.com/ and YouSwap at http://youswap.com/

– Another way to transfer large files is to send them using a google mail or gmail account. Gmail currently allows up to 20 Mb attachments. Caution though, if your recipient isn’t using gmail, his or her e-mail system may reject larger files. So this solution works well when all users are using gmail.

– I use Skype (http://www.skype.com/) for making all types of phone calls. I can also send files to other Skype users without any limits. The transfer is a bit slow although you can “set it and forget it” while it works in the background. If you are a Skype user, ring me up at Russell_Sabella.

– If you want people to pay for the files download, you can do this at Payloadz. I like it because it integrates well with PayPal, Google Checkout, and other merchant account services for collecting fees via credit card. https://www.payloadz.com/sell/

- Xdrive gives you a 5GB personal hard drive on the Internet. You can back up your valuable files - your music, photos and more - automatically; Conveniently access all your files from anywhere; and easily share your files with friends and family. http://www.xdrive.com/ Also, check out http://www.driveway.com/.

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HotChalk

HotChalk is for teachers, students and parents from grades 12 and below. Teachers can use HotChalk to manage their coursework, collaborate with their students, and communicate with parents. Students can organize their work online in a centralized location. Parents can stay current with their child's schoolwork and their teachers.

http://www.hotchalk.com/

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Microsoft Outlook 2003 Attachments

Do you want to see your pictures right next to the text of your e-mail messages? When you send or receive messages with attachments, are you often confronted with frightening warnings? Maybe attachments are completely blocked for you. Why is that? When you send pictures or files in e-mail, there are a few basics you should always keep in mind. By understanding the issues and by knowing your options, you'll be able to send and receive pictures and attachments with confidence and ease. To learn more about this course, read the overview in the center of this page or the table of contents in the left column.

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How Parents Can Block Certain Websites from Children at Home

For non-techie parents who have a computer at home and are worried about their kids safety online. Click here.

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The Ultimate Steal

Seize the deal! Get Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 for just $59.95. It’s a total steal: Save time and money with this premium offer. Office Ultimate 2007’s brand new features and fresh look will help you organize and get all your work done in the blink of an eye. The Ultimate Steal is finally here, so grab it now! Only for students (You must hold a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution ending in .edu. Also, you must be able to provide proof of enrollment status (i.e., student card) upon request by Microsoft. If you are unable to provide proof of enrollment)

http://www.theultimatesteal.com/

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Teens and Online Stranger Contact

Fully 32% of online teens have been contacted by someone with no connection to them or any of their friends, and 7% of online teens say they have felt scared or uncomfortable as a result of contact by an online stranger. Several behaviors are associated with high levels of online stranger contact, including social networking profile ownership, posting photos online and using social networking sites to flirt. Although several factors are linked with increased levels of stranger contact in general, gender is the only variable with a consistent association with contact that is scary or uncomfortable--girls are much more likely to report scary or uncomfortable contact than boys.

http://pewinternet.org/PPF/r/223/report_display.asp

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WORTHY WEBSITES AND SOFTWARE

Joost 1.0

Some people may appreciate having a break from television while they are on the Internet, but this latest version of Joost offers no such rest to those potentially weary souls. Joost allows users to watch thousands of shows online, provided that they have a high-speed Internet connection. Along with popular programs, visitors can also search through the genre list to locate documentary and news channels. New users may also wish to look through the "Selected Picks" section as well. This version of Joost is compatible with computers running Windows XP Service Pack 2.

http://www.joost.com/

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Admish

Admish is a powerful college admissions community that brings together colleges, students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors in a single portal.

http://www.admish.com/

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Cyberbullying

Following the huge response to the cyberbullying campaign, n2k has decided to answer some of your questions and feedback over a two part feature. In Part 1 we take a look at what is cyberbullying. Next week we look at how to deal with cyberbullying and the law.

http://www.need2know.co.uk/relationships/bullying/article.html/id=1155

Also, go to http://www.schoolcounselor.com/macomb/all-sites.asp and do a search on the word bully. And, visit http://www.schoolcounselor.com/safety/index.asp and click on Safety Links.

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Firefox

A Better Web Experience Firefox has an intuitive interface and blocks viruses, spyware, and pop-up ads. It delivers Web pages faster than ever. And it’s easy to install and import your favorites. Packed with useful features like tabbed browsing, Live Bookmarks, and an integrated Search bar, Firefox will change the way you experience the Web, for the better.

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/google/index.htm

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TokBox

Tokbox is a free service that lets you talk with your friends over live video. Here's how it works: you sign up and we give you a link. When you want to talk with anyone, just give them the link - they click and you chat.

http://www.tokbox.com/

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Solution Focused Brief Counseling Recommended Reading List

Russell Sabella says: "SFBC has been applied very successfully in a variety of situations, including addictions counseling, marriage counseling, pastoral counseling, mediation, and with groups of school children. More recently, this model has been successfully applied to solution focused brief consultation with parents and teachers, classroom management, and supervision. These are the books that I recommend to both professionals and others interested in this innovative and powerful approach to changing one's life."

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How I made my presentations a little better

http://www.43folders.com/2007/08/23/better-presentations

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Microsoft Outlook

Learn how to set up meetings and be an effective and considerate attendee when someone has invited you to a meeting. Handle all aspects of Outlook meetings with finesse, no matter how many times the affair is rescheduled.

Length: 40–50 minutes

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JUST FOR FUN

Freedocumentaries

This is an awesome catalog of documentaries about many different subjects. You can browse the films by region, theme, or title. The videos are free and are accompanied by a brief description, comments, and sometimes a link to a related page.

http://www.freedocumentaries.org/

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Comedy Central's Indecision 2008

A humorous take on the 2008 presidential election. Features video clips of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's interviews with 2008 presidential candidates and Colbert's candidacy announcement, humorous candidate profiles, and a blog. From Comedy Central.

http://www.indecision2008.com/

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Craigslist

No matter what you need, chances are, you can probably find it here.

http://www.craigslist.org/

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Stand-up Posters

Stand Ups are lifesize cut-outs designed to decorate any room or party (or your office or classroom). Each stand up can be mounted to a wall or door, or can stand by itself. Sizes are approximate.

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/posters/standups.htm

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wikiHow

wikiHow is a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. With your edits, we can create a free resource that helps millions of people by offering solutions to the problems of everyday life.

http://www.wikihow.com/

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