IE 9.0 RC available, updated list of Microsoft partners in learning apps and testing your speed/port
Feb 14
posted by Mark Christie in
File management, MS Office, Microsoft, music, Authoring Tools, Educational Sites, Resources, Support, Windows, Software Tips
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Three things rolled up into one blog entry...
- IE 9.0 Release Candidate available
- Finding out how fast your connection is and what ports are being used
- Partners in Learning links to applications and solutions
This is a bit of a Microsoft Entry. I meant to write about this on Friday and things go out of control. Firstly I downloaded and installed the Internet Explorer Release Candidate 9.0. It is quite good and now we have a complete set of browsers that support the <video> tag and most of HTML5.
One thing I did notice was that some parts of web pages were missing. the editor I use on this blog didn't display and the upload button for uploading YouTube videos also didn't display. Then I remembered about compatibility mode. So if "bits" of your website are not displaying, don't reach for another browser. simply click on the broken page icon on the right of the URL entry field at the top of your browser.
Testing your connection speed.
A student is accessing your virtual course from Balikpapan in Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are having problems accessing Adobe Connect or Moodle with its links to YouTube training videos. How do you check where the problem might be without contacting the ISP in Indonesia making a housecall to check the connection?
There are a couple of tools available and one that will provide some basic speed capabilities between almost anywhere in the world is http://speedtest.net This highly graphical interface provides you with data on speeds of basic transfers up and down and also expected speeds of videos and sounds which would be helpful when trying to ascertain if a student outside our known network will have access to sufficient internet speed.
Another tool that is free, easy to run a test but not necessarily easy to understand is nmap. Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network exploration or security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime.
Not for the faint hearted, it has great capabilities that can help us identify why things are not working as well as we would like.
Finally - the PIL List - Microsoft's Partners in Learning list is a comprehensive list of applications and soluitons - most of which are free that can be used in the classroom.
Here is the list.
* Download fees and charges may apply as set by your Internet Service Provider. © 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft and the Microsoft logo, Partners Network logo, Windows, Windows Live, Microsoft Live, Silverlight, Bing, DreamSpark, Kodu, Mouse Mischief, OneNote, Photosynth, PowerPoint, Excel and SkyDrive are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. 14963-0111/MS
Amazon Kindle® for PC |
Find out everything you need to get started with Amazon Kindle, from compatibility and installation, to registration and paying for downloads. |
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Solutions and products that Microsoft Australia offers for education, connecting you with resources to help you get the most from existing ICT investments. |
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Microsoft® AutoCollage |
Create photo collages with your students to use as posters, covers for projects or mementos of school outings. All they have to do is pick a folder, press a button, and in a few minutes AutoCollage creates a collage. |
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This is a great way to make history or geography come to life. Simply select a location and explore cities at eye level and in 3D. Download Microsoft® Silverlight® for a richer experience. |
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Empowering students, teachers and chemists to easily author documents in the language of chemistry. |
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Create your own How-to tutorials, How-to guides with this screen capturing software recorder. Or use it with OneNote to give detailed student feedback on video. |
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Teach and assess basic, everyday computer concepts and skills. Choose from three course performance levels: Basic, Standard and Advanced. |
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DreamSpark is simple; it’s about giving students Microsoft professional tools at no charge. |
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Test out software prototypes designed specifically for the education sector by both community members and Microsoft product teams. It’s a great chance to provide feedback that will shape the technology of the future. |
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Teacher guides, complimentary software applications and online resources as well as news and teacher blogs. |
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Microsoft® Faculty Connection |
Training resources, software and tools, news, publications and downloads. |
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Microsoft® Flashcards |
Flashcards is a Microsoft® Silverlight® Web application where you can create, share, and study online flashcards. Find a deck in the community, or create your own. |
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The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition, open to H.S students. |
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Microsoft® InkSeine |
InkSeine is a prototype ink application from Microsoft Research. It is designed from the ground up to have a user interface uniquely tailored to pen input. |
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Microsoft |
Resources, expertise and technology for schools. |
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Microsoft |
A site dedicated specifically for inspired teachers. Find out how you can become involved in the Innovative Teacher program. |
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Microsoft |
Create in-class polls and share them over a wireless network in real time. Plus share notes and content with students during lessons using Microsoft® OneNote®. |
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Microsoft |
Subscribe your institution to comprehensive IT training, resources and Microsoft certification opportunities. |
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A great site for your students with fantastic tips and tricks, answers to all kinds of questions, kids’ courses and a secure place to connect with other students. |
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Kodu™ |
Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. The programming environment runs on the Microsoft® Xbox® or PC, allowing rapid design iteration using a game controller (or keyboard) for input. |
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Create and publish high-quality, interactive, online courses including interactive activities, quizzes, games, assessments, animations, demos and other multimedia. |
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Microsoft® Live@edu |
Complimentary hosted email, calendars, online work spaces, instant messaging and more for everyone in your school. |
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Microsoft Live™ |
Visit this site to see interesting ways of displaying information to inspire your students. |
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A multimedia and animation tool that lets students create animated stories using avatars. |
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Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 |
Plot graphs in 2D and 3D, calculate numerical results, solve equations or inequalities, and simplify algebraic expressions in Microsoft Word® and OneNote®. |
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Microsoft® Mouse Mischief™ |
Allows you to create Office PowerPoint® presentations that children can interact with in class using multiple mice. |
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Microsoft® Office Live® Workspaces |
5 GB of complimentary online storage where you can share files. |
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Microsoft Partners in Learning Network |
Join the global community of educators who value innovative uses of information and communication technology that improve learning outcomes. Collaborate with like-minded colleagues; participate in discussions and accessing lesson plans, tools and more. |
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Microsoft® Photo Story |
An easy way for students to create multimedia presentations. |
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Microsoft® Photosynth™ |
Students can reconstruct a scene or an object in 3D from photographs and publish it over the Internet. |
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Microsoft® Pro Photo Tools version 2 |
Find the tools for editing metadata in photographs including latitude, longitude and other location details. |
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Microsoft® pptPlex |
This complimentary download* works with Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® to let you zoom in and out of slide sections and move directly between slides that are not sequential in your presentation. |
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Microsoft® Ribbon Hero™ |
A game for Office Word, PowerPoint, and Excel® 2007 and 2010, designed to help you or your students boost your Microsoft Office skills and knowledge in a fun way. |
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Microsoft® SeaDragon |
SeaDragon allows you to zoom in and pan around any image on the Web. Just give us the URL to an image on the Web. |
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Microsoft® Security Essentials |
Provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Always kept up to date and it’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple. |
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Microsoft® Songsmith |
Songsmith generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you. Then share your songs online, or create your own music videos. |
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Microsoft® Touch Pack for Windows® 7 |
This site offers a collection of Microsoft games and |
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Microsoft®
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Create your own maths worksheets in minutes. You can generate multiple maths problems based on a sample – from basic arithmetic through to algebra. |
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MSDN Academic Alliance if a faculty-based subscription providing teachers and students access to a comprehensive range of Microsoft tools, including, Windows 7, VS2010, Expression 4, Windows Server and much more. |
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Watch videos, and download guides and e-books to inspire your class and to help you make the best use of tools and technology in your lessons. |
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Free beta versions of Microsoft programs for photos, |
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Sign up for this complimentary service that lets you synchronise files across your work computer, laptop, Mac® or PC and mobile phone so you always have the latest version handy. |
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Easily connect to other teachers via video, |
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A fast, easy way to turn photos and video clips into great-looking movies and slideshows that you can share with students, other faculty or on the Web. |
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This complimentary download* lets you load photos and videos from a camera to their PCs. They can crop, recolour and retouch photos to create impressive panoramics. |
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25 GB of complimentary storage so your |
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A complimentary blogging tool for students. They can share comment, photos and videos on almost any blog service: Windows Live®, WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, and many more. |
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Turn a classroom PC into a TV, where you can play videos and music. |
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PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released to manufacturing. They’ll add fun and functionality to your Tablet PC experience. |
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This amazing virtual telescope brings together imagery from ground and space telescopes from around the world, so students can explore the galaxy, the solar system, the planets and their moons. |
