HippoPost: It’s never too late to send a free postcard!

By this point in the holidays, I am sure that some of my gentle readers are looking for something different to do.

Here’s something that seems to be a bit of an  anachronism in today’s high tech world:

http://www.hippopost.com/index.html

You can send postcards completely free to anyone in Canada or the United States.  That’s right ….. the company pays for the card and postage.  The message space is more than enough based on the initial samples I sent out to my family.  You even get to upload your own photo or image to be displayed on the card.

It is all advertiser supported so a small advertisement is placed on the message side of the postcard.

Again, it is completely free. You can use your BlackBerry phone, Facebook, or your web browser. Just follow the link above and follow the directions.

Thanks to my dentist, Dr. Munar for sharing this with me.

http://munardds.com/

Happy Holidays — Semester is closing fast

Some last minute reminders to my students:

Don’t forget that the latest you can turn the paperwork for internships is Wednesday, December 16th.  It has to be signed off by me,  Dr. Green, Dr. McKenzie, and the Crouse Center.  After that you will to go over and add the class at the Registrar’s office using the add/drop form.   If you get to my office by 2pm on that day, I can help push the paperwork through, but after that you may not get approved in time.

Final exams are now upon us and with that comes final grades, of course.  I post all of my final grades for my students in the AU Moodle system, so you know how you did on for the course work, the final exam, and the final grade.

I have posted my Spring, 2010 office schedule and teaching schedule on the blog as I always do. Both will be updated as they change.  If you are trying to get hold of me during the holidays, the best thing to do is send me an email message —- it goes right to my BlackBerry.

Happy Holidays to all of my faithful readers.

Now you can follow this blog via email…

For those faithful readers that would like

A faithful reader

to be notified of postings to this blog via email, your time has arrived.

There will be an item on the right side of your screen (near the top) titled”Email Subscriptions.”   Just click on the link and follow the instructions.

This service is offered by WordPress, so I don’t really expect any problems, but if you need help — just email me at the address shown on the Contact Me page.

Need a cheap version of MS Office?

Students have recently been asking me how they can get a good price on Microsoft Office.  Believe it or not, one of the best deals you can get is from Microsoft.  Check out eligibility requirements and see what other software is included at this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

Don’t forget that you can also download a free (completely legal) alternative in the form of open source software.  Open Office is a great alternative to Microsoft Office’s word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet software.  Get more information at:

http://www.openoffice.org/

Did you know that you can even run Open Office from your USB drive? Many AU students that have taken my courses have learned about this useful way of using software.  Running Open Office from your USB drive means you can do you work on virtually any PC.   It is free and easy to install.  Check out this link for more information:

http://portableapps.com/apps/office/openoffice_portable

Do you know of another alternative or a better price on MS Office?  Feel free to post a comment and let the world know about it.

Aurora University profs,staffers serve students early Thanksgiving feast

I was lucky enough to be part of Aurora University’s annual Thanksgiving Feast for students. It is just one of the many ways that professors, staff, and students interact throughout the year at AU.

Here is a link to the Aurora Beacon news story:

Aurora University profs,staffers serve students early Thanksgiving feast

http://snipurl.com/tegoz

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Excel Tutorials

Many students have been asking me where they can refresh the MS Excel skills that they first learned in high school.

Here are some of the free web-based tutorials for MS Excel that I share with my students:

Microsoft’s Excel Tutorials
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/HA102189871033.aspx

About.com’s Excel Tutorials
http://math.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=math&cdn=education&tm=7&f=11&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.saskschools.ca/~ehs/HeiseIntra/excel.html

 

Happy Halloween

FL Gulf Coast Excel Tutorials
http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2007/Excel/index.asp

Teach Excel Tutorials
http://www.teachexcel.com/tutorials/tutorials.php

Even YouTube has Excel Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbxpiCTRvH0

Specialty:

Excel Tutorials for Financial Applications
http://www.tvmcalcs.com/excel/excel_tutorial_index

Excel for Accountants
http://www.functionx.com/excel/Lesson01.htm

AU Homecoming around the quarter / Semester 1/2 over for some; 1/4 over for others

For those that are new to AU, Homecoming is around the corner.  Here is the schedule and info :

http://www.aurora.edu/alumni/family-weekend/homecoming.html

I will be at the Saturday morning volleyball game — I hope to see you there, too.

The semester is now half over for those in 8 week courses and one quarter over for those in 16 week courses.  You should be well established in your courses by now, but if you still are unclear about something, come and see me during office hours or send me an email and we can schedule a special meeting.

Here is a link to the AU academic calendar — plan accordingly:

http://www.aurora.edu/academics/resources/academic-calendar.html

Fall 2009 Office Hours and Course Schedule Posted

I just posted my Fall 2009 AU Office Hours and Course Schedule on this blog.  It is, of course, subject to daily change due to weather, faculty meetings, and other calls to duty.

Subject to change, faculty meetings, and other calls to duty

BTW, this graphic was created using the Facebook application called Course 2.0.  Students and Faculty can use it and easily post their schedule to their profile.  I love software that can be used to accomplish more than one task and that FB app definitely is one of my favorite tools.  I even print out the schedule above to put on my office door at AU.

Web-based Exams Book

I have recently been receiving a lot of email about the book I published last Spring about web-based exams.  To make it easier to get more info, I have included a dedicated page in this blog to that book.  Just click on the “Web-Based Exams Book Info” tab at the top of this blog.

 It includes a link to Amazon.com where anyone can buy it.

Thanks to all of my friends and colleagues that have spread the word about the book.

Ready for 2009-2010 AY?

The 2009-2010 academic year is now less than 30 days away. Are you ready?

For my courses, it is a good idea to read the first two chapters of the assigned textbooks.  It will give you a good idea of what to expect in each course and prepare you for the first few class sessions.

 I know many students wait until the last minute to buy them to make sure that the professor actually “uses” the textbook.  In my courses, I assure you that we will read and use the textbooks as an integral part of the course, so consider buying your textbooks now.   A fairly new option for textbooks is to “rent them” digitally for real savings.  Check http://www.coursesmart.com for details.

It is also a good idea to make sure that your PC is working  and ready. Be sure that your internet connection is available and that you can access your AU email and Moodle accounts.  Send a note to ITShelp@aurora.edu , if you need help.

Be sure to update your version of Windows or other operating system with the latest updates from the software publisher.  These can help your PC run more efficiently and securely.

It is also a good idea to make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware is up-to-date and working.  Make sure that your software updates itself with the latest virus definitions. If it doesn’t,the anti-virus software won’t be as effective.  If you need free anti-virus software consider AVG, Avira, or Avast.  For effective free anti-spyware software, I suggest Spybot Search and Destroy.  There are free and completely legal versions of all of these which are easy to install and are free for home or personal use.  Use your favorite search engine to find the best download site for you.

See you on campus at the end of August!