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Let’s Go Phishing!

In the spirit of yesterday’s Safer Internet Day…

I often get asked which is better — Gmail or Hotmail (or its derivative outlook). The answer for me is so easy: Gmail, and one of the reasons is because it handles phishing attempts so much better than Hotmail.

I only log into my Hotmail account once a month or so, just to keep it alive. This time, there were approximately 20 emails in my inbox. A few were legitimate security alerts created by my Google account, a few were from Microsoft trying to sell me something or other, but the rest (over half) were phishing attempts — bogus emails attempting to get me to click a link where they would prompt me to reveal private details such as account numbers or passwords. Continue reading “Let’s Go Phishing!”

Computer Technology Overview

Computer technology is an expanding branch of engineering, with roots in both electrical engineering and computer science. It includes the related areas of computer hardware and software; computer interfacing, programming, and networking; analog and digital electronics; and robotics. Computer technicians, technologists, and engineers work in every sector of society, in careers ranging from building and repairing computer systems to designing and installing computer networks, to designing and building prototype robots and electronic devices. Students taking computer technology courses will learn to work safely with computer equipment, electronic circuits, and robotic devices, and will explore the Essential Skills and work habits that are important for success in computer technology. Computer technology courses prepare students for apprenticeship, further study at college or university, or entry into the workplace directly after graduation.

–from https://goo.gl/aN1Rhc 

TEJ2O Computer Technology

This course introduces students to computer systems, networking, and interfacing, as well as electronics and robotics. Students will assemble, repair, and configure computers with various types of operating systems and application software. Students will build small electronic circuits and write computer programs to control simple peripheral devices or robots. Students will also develop an awareness of related environmental and societal issues, and will learn about secondary and postsecondary pathways and career opportunities in computer technology.

TEJ3M Computer Engineering Technology

This course examines computer systems and control of external devices. Students will assemble computers and small networks by installing and configuring appropriate hardware and software. Students will develop knowledge and skills in electronics, robotics, programming, and networks, and will build systems that use computer programs and interfaces to control and/or respond to external devices. Students will develop an awareness of related environmental and societal issues, and will learn about college and university programs leading to careers in computer technology.

TEJ4E Computer Technology

This course enables students to further develop their practical understanding of computer hardware, software, networks, and operating systems. Students will use utility and application software, and will follow proper procedures for installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting computer systems and networks. In addition to demonstrating an understanding of the ethical use and environmental effects of computers, students will develop marketable skills and assess career opportunities in the field.

TEJ2O Computer Technology Expectations

The full curriculum with overall expectations and examples is available here.

TEJ2O Expectations Word Cloud

A. COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS

OVERALL EXPECTATIONS 
A1. identify and describe the functions of, as well as important advances related to, electronic and computer components;
A2. demonstrate a basic understanding of computer networks and their components;

A3. demonstrate a basic understanding of binary numbers and digital logic. Continue reading “TEJ2O Computer Technology Expectations”

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How to Save URLs in a Project Folder

This video will show you how to save URLs into your project folder. This is necessary when creating and submitting projects that use assets from the Internet.

Always give credit where it is due!

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start.ca – Awesome Internet Provider

“Effective February 1, 2017, your internet service pricing will go down by $10.00 per month and your speed will increase from 30 Mbps download to 40 Mbps download with 10 Mbps upload.”
 
How many times have Rogers or Cogeco sent you an email like that?!!
 
I’ve been a very happy customer of this company’s since I switched to them. The few times I’ve had technical problems their customer service was fantastic, and their prices are much better then Cogeco’s or Rogers’.
 
https://www.start.ca/. If you subscribe, please tell them I sent you so I get a referral bonus. You won’t regret switching to them and your wallet will thank you.
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How to “Clean” a Flash Drive, SD Card, or Internal Drive to Fix Partition and Capacity Problems

The instructions on this site were invaluable to help me fix a USB drive that had multiple partitions and was no longer usable in Windows.

If your USB flash drive, SD card, or another drive isn’t working quite right, “cleaning” the drive and removing its partitions is one possible solution. This can fix problems with a drive that can’t be formatted or one that shows the wrong capacity.

Source: How to “Clean” a Flash Drive, SD Card, or Internal Drive to Fix Partition and Capacity Problems

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TEJ2O Daybook: ePortfolio Requirements

TEJ2O wordcloud

To my TEJ2O students, this is where you will find the outline of your ePortfolio requirements:

At the time of this writing the outline is not complete. I will be adding one or two items every few days, so as not to overwhelm you.

Organizational tip #1: Create your pages in a folder named “Incomplete”, then move them to the proper location once they are complete.

Organizational tip #2: Bookmark the requirements page so you can refer to it often and easily.

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TEJ2O, TGJ2O, TGJ3M, TGJ4M Daybook: Update ePortfolio on New Google Sites

We used to use the old Google Sites for our ePortfolios, but, even with the current limitations, will now use the new Google Sites for our ePortfolios.

Each student shares their ePortfolio with me as an editor, so I can edit their site if necessary, or when the feature gets added, to add comments to their site.

For students that have taken classes with me before, they create a menu for each class with their assignments as sub-menus below them. For students in one of my classes only, their main menu is their list of assignments for that class.

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TEJ2O Daybook: Glossary Terms

TEJ2O Glossary Terms

Today in the TEJ2O Computer Technology class we’re going to be compiling a list of terms that potentially will be used in the students’ ePortfolio glossaries. You will find the Google Sheet here that we are using.

For accountability, students are asked to enter their first name and last initial. We only post the last initial because the post is publicly viewable.

Each student initially enters four terms. This may grow to five, depending on how they do.

I purposely don’t list all the potential categories because that enables some problem solving and communications amongst the students.

Update: getting students to simultaneously edit a Google Doc is always an interesting experiment. In the future, I think I will get the students to fill in a form and then we’ll dissect the results together.