Tech Tuesday: Screen Capturing

One trick that I use on an almost daily basis is screen capturing.

For the Mac users in the world there are a couple ways to capture -- aka take pictures of -- all or part of your screen.

If you're a menu-driven person, you may prefer to choose "Go > Utilities > Grab" to initiate the capture. Once Grab is launched, use the Capture drop-down to choose a particular selection, window, or your entire screen.

If you're a shortcut person like I am, you can use keystroke combinations to initiate the capture process:

• Take a picture of the whole screen........................Command - Shift - 3
• Take a picture of part of the screen.......................Command - Shift - 4, and drag the crosshair pointer to select area
• Take a picture of a particular window..................Command - Shift - 4, press space bar, move the camera to the chosen window, and click

Pictures generated in Grab are TIFF files by default, and shortcut pictures are PNG files. Both are compatible with most other applications and can be embedded, opened, and sent easily. You can change them to different file formats in Preview by doing a File > Save as, and changing the format.

I promise you that once you start using screen capturing, you'll find tons of uses for it.

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Media Monday: SIRS Researcher

Doing a debate? Writing a persuasive paper? Preparing for a compelling speech? Have I got a resource for you!

One of the databases that the LHS Media Center subscribes to is SIRS Researcher (by ProQuest). SIRS Researcher is particularly useful for many of the projects that students engage in at our school, as it covers more than 300 popular pro/con topics that students tend to gravitate toward for persuasive-type research.

The home page highlights the top ten leading issues, which change based on searches and current news, and also provides an A-Z list of all of the leading issues.

When a student chooses a leading issue, the search results page is topped with an overview of the topic, as well as pro/con arguments and essential questions that give the student jumping off points for research. A full list of resources follows the introductory information. SIRS gathers its search results from magazines, newspapers, graphics, and selected web sites. SIRS Researcher offers full-text documents and MLA style citations.

Keep in mind that when using the

school network, no username and password will be needed. Outside of school, however, you will need to login. Usernames and passwords for all of the LHS databases are available in the Media Center (database login information cannot be posted online).

I've embedded the SIRS Researcher Quickstart Guide below. If you have any additional questions, find me in the media center.

SIRSResearcherQSG

Welcome to my new blog!

Here's my stab at creating a useful resource for sharing media and technology with my colleagues, students, and anyone else who enjoys learning new things. Here's the plan so far...but I reserve the right to change my mind. :)

Media Mondays - I'll share a resource (print, online, or other) available to my colleagues and students through the LHS Media Center.

Tech Tuesdays - Tips and tidbits about gadgets, gizmos, and other geeky tech stuff.

Web Wednesdays - I'll highlight a Web resource that can enhance or simplify your assignments, your lectures, or your life.

Theme Thursdays - I'll do my best to share an assortment of resources all focusing on a particular topic.

Fiction Fridays - Great reads! Enough said.

Lofty goals, I think, but worthy of my time and effort if others are able to pull a few things here and there that they find useful. And if you're one of those people, please feel free to share these blog posts with others you think may appreciate them by clicking on the little email link beneath each post.