Tidbit ToolKit
Technology Tips and Tools #21
Did you know?
The man known as the Father of Information Theory, Claude Shannon, invented the digital circuit – the foundation of the magic that provides us all access to the Internet today - during his master’s degree program, when he was just 21 years old.
Tech Term
Domain
Domain names are used to identify one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages.
Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top level domain (TLD) it belongs to. There are a limited number of such domains. Here are a few examples:
Just 4 Fun
Thisissand is a unique playground for creating and sharing amazing sandscapes on your mobile.
Start pouring away to experience this special sand piling on your screen!
Setting up your signature in Gmail
To set up a signature that will be automatically appended to any emails you compose in Gmail, click the settings gear button and select “Settings” from the drop-down menu. Stay on the “General” tab, scroll down to the “Signature” section and select the option below “No signature” to turn the feature on.
Enter the text you want to use as your signature. If you have a logo, you can insert that as an image with your text or on its own. You can also add hyperlinks to text in your signature, by selecting the text for the link and clicking the “Link” button on the toolbar.
NOTE: If you want to add an image to your signature, you need to use an image that’s available publicly on the web. For example, to use your company’s logo, you might be able to find it on your company’s site and copy the URL from there. You need a web URL to include an image in your signature. If the image you want to use is not already available on the web, you can use sites like Blogger and Google Sites to create a simple website and upload your image to it. Or, you can use an image hosting service.
Under “Link to,” specify whether the link is to a “Web address” or an “Email address.” Enter the URL or email address in the “To what URL should this link go?” box. If you want to test the link to make sure it works, click “Test this link.” When you are satisfied, click “OK.”
Under “Link to,” specify whether the link is to a “Web address” or an “Email address.” Enter the URL or email address in the “To what URL should this link go?” box. If you want to test the link to make sure it works, click “Test this link.” When you are satisfied, click “OK.”
The link is inserted. When the cursor is on any of the linked text, additional options display. You can “Go to [the] link, “Change” the link, or “Remove” the link. To hide these options, either click the “X” on the right side of the box, or click on any other non-linked text in the signature.
Gmail automatically inserts two dashes (–) above your signature, separating it from the body of the email message, as shown below.
You can choose to leave out the dashes. To do so, select the “Insert this signature before quoted text in replies and remove the ‘–‘ line that precedes it” check box. Note that this option will also insert your signature before quoted text in replies.
Click “Save Changes.”
World Population
Welcome to WorldPopulationHistory.org, an interactive site that lets you explore the peopling of our planet from multiple perspectives – historical, environmental, social and political. It is about the 2,000-year journey of human civilization and the possible paths ahead to the middle of this century.
The genesis of this project was World Population, a simple, yet powerful, video animation of “dots on a map” representing population changes through time. First produced by Population Connection (Zero Population Growth at that time) over 40 years ago, the video became a popular teaching resource.
But, what if, you could go beyond the video animation to discover more about the trends that have shaped population growth? What if you could zoom into the population map to learn more about the places illuminated by dots? What if you could select different overlays for the map to see the impacts of human lifestyles over time? What if you could then join an online conversation about what you’ve learned? We thought that would be really cool, so we created WorldPopulationHistory.org.
THE FIVE THEMES
The historical timeline at the bottom of the screen represents five areas of human existence. These themes are also evident in the notes associated with population dots on the map, as well as additional map overlays and background articles.
PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
Includes historical markers on population changes and milestones, migrations, explorations, dynasties, civilizations, conquests and gender roles. Short readings explore trends in global urbanization, the relationship between fertility and gender equity, and how population projections are made.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Features inventions, discoveries and technological advances that have impacted population changes.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Spans the changes in farming, aquaculture and diets over the past two millennia.
HEALTH
Highlights the milestones in medicine and public health initiatives, including sanitation. Map overlays show trends in fertility rates and life expectancy over time.
ENVIRONMENT
Includes events relating to both environmental destruction and protection. Map overlays show carbon emissions and anthropogenic changes to the landscape. A short reading explains the concepts of carrying capacity and ecological footprints.
CLASSROOM RESOURCES
While this site is educational for everyone, it’s especially useful for the high school classroom with rich content for geography, world history, environmental science and much more. There are six downloadable lesson plans designed for science and social studies courses. The lesson plans address current national and state standards, as well as provide content for several Advanced Placement (AP) courses. After exploring the site, students can test their “population I.Q.” with our world population knowledge quiz.
And just for fun, everyone can find their “population number” based on their day they were born.
Jill Elberson
I am an Instructional Technology Facilitator for Davidson County Schools. I help teachers integrate the information and technology essential standards with instruction. I also model new technologies and provide training to the staff. I am here to help you utilize technology for enhancing instruction and engaging the students. I work closely with the media coordinator, along with support staff and other teachers to plan lessons. Let me know how I can assist you. My school assignments are Northwest Elementary, North Davidson Middle, North Davidson High, South Davidson Middle, South Davidson High, and Valley Academy.
Email: jillelberson@davidson.k12.nc.us
Website: http://goo.gl/AHLwaL
Location: 2065 E Holly Grove Rd, Lexington, NC, United States
Phone: 336-242-5772
Twitter: @techsiteseeing