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| Question:
How do I change the default font used in my
Word documents (open a new document and look
at the Font toolbar to figure out the current
default)?
Answer:
Click Format-> Font. Make all the
changes you'd like to font, style, color, size,
and any other category you find in the Font
dialog box. Instead of clicking OK when you're
done, click the Default button. Click Yes in
the message box that pops up.
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| Question:
Whom do students contact for Blackboard help?
Answer:
E-mail bbsupport@sjcny.edu or call (631) 654-3247
For any problems with the St. Joseph's College
Blackboard Software, phone and email support
are available for the entire semester. When
contacting support students should include their
contact information, course number and problem.
They will receive a response within 24-48 hrs,
Monday through Friday.
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| Question:
I am playing a Video/DVD in my Smart Classroom
and I hear it, but can't see it?
Answer:
Press the Video button on the projector
remote to switch to VCR/DVD mode.
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"The
Right Click"  |
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Firefox
allows you to search for specific words you
select within a web page.
1. Select (highlight) any words or a phrase
in a web page. If you want to look up just one
word, double-click it.
2. Right-click on the selection
and choose "Search Web for [your
selected words]" from the menu.
Firefox opens a new tab and uses your default
search engine to search for the selected word(s). |
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| |
"Cell
Space" |
|
Instantly
Create a Chart
The fastest way to create a chart is to select
the range of data you want to chart and press
F11. Excel instantly inserts
a chart sheet into your workbook. At any time,
you can switch to the chart sheet (click the
tab in the lower left) and modify this chart
as needed.
|
|
| "Surfing
the Net" |
PSC Expert Excel Advice
www.cpearson.com/excel.htm
One of the most extensive Excel sites
available. Visit the Topic page (on the
left side) to locate dozens of advanced
articles & sample workbooks.
Turn It In
www.turnitin.com
Turnitin is an online plagiarism prevention
system which allows you to check your
students's work for plagiarism. For the
account id information, please contact
mwilliams@sjcny.edu
Winona SU Sample Rubrics
winona.edu/air/rubrics.htm
Great collection of links
to sample rubrics & assessment resources
covering all subject matter. |
|
| |
| In
the Next Issue... |
 Setting
a Vacation Message in Webmail |
 Use
of PowerPoint in Blackboard |
 Creating
a Printable Form in Word |
... and much more! |
| |
| Contact
Us |
|
|
TIS
Help Desk
In Brooklyn x263
In Long Island x1263
TIS Help Form
or send an e-mail to
techhelp@sjcny.edu
|
|
We
welcome article suggestions & feedback! |
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| A
publication from
TECHNOLOGY
AND INFORMATION SERVICES |
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|
Tech Times
is provided to all staff and faculty as an extension
to the current technology
training workshops offered by the Technology and
Information Services department. In addition, current
and past issues are archived
on the Training web page. We welcome suggestions and
ideas for topics, including your favorite shortcuts
and tips.
|
 Rules
for Creating & Sorting an Excel Database
A
list is a labeled series of rows and columns that
contain data. For example, a list may contain
clients and their phone numbers, students with
their courses and credits, or a month's worth
of invoices. All lists have some features in common
such as a row of column labels. Sometimes a list
is referred to as a database
where the rows are called records
and the columns are referred to as fields.
When setting up your Excel list for sorting, there
are several basic rules you should follow.
• The first row of your list should
contain column (field) labels. Do not
include a title for the spreadsheet in any of
the rows. Use a header instead. See row 1 in the
image below.
• The list should not contain any
blank columns or rows. Avoid using blank
columns and rows to force space between data.
Instead, you can increase the width of the column
or the height of the row to add extra space between
the data. When you include empty columns/rows
in the list, Excel automatically assumes there
are two (or more) separate lists in the
spreadsheet.
• Be consistent when entering data.
For example, in a field that contains state entries
NY, N.Y. and New York are considered different
items.
• Do not include leading spaces
in your data. Excel sorts items that
contain leading spaces (a space or two in front
of the first character of text) first. For example,
the address " 116 Main Street" as shown
in the image below will not be sorted correctly
since there are blank spaces before the address.
Remove the leading spaces before sorting the data.
• Excel sorts text values separately
from number values. If you have a list
that contains numbers formatted as text values
(the entries will be left-aligned), they will
be sorted after numbers formatted in the number
style.
For example, in the list found in the image to
the right the entry for 500 is formatted as text
while the other three entries are formatted in
the number style. When sorting based
on this column, Excel first correctly sorts the
cells that use the number style and then
sorts the cells that use the text style.
That's why the cell with the 500 amount is not
in between the entries for 400 and 1000. Make
sure your numbers are formatted in the number
style.
• Excel sorts blank values last.
If you sort based on a column that contains empty
cells, the blank cells will appear last.
• Check that mixed data is formatted
as text. If the column you want to sort
contains both numbers and numbers that include
text characters (such as 100, 100a, 200, 200a),
you need to format them all as text.
If you do not, the numbers will be sorted first,
then the numbers that include text.
• Unhide rows and columns before
you sort. Hidden rows are not moved when
you sort rows, and hidden columns are not moved
when you sort columns. However, when you sort
rows, the data in hidden columns is sorted, and
when you sort columns, the data in hidden rows
is sorted. Before you sort the list, unhide the
hidden rows and columns.
• Do not select a column or a row
in a list before sorting. When sorting
on a specific column/row, do not select a column
or a row in a list before sorting. Instead, select
only a single cell in the column/row.
• Be careful when sorting data if
there are formulas in the cells. Sorting
data linked by formulas to other cells, or to
cells in other sheets, could distort the calculations.
• Insert a sequence column to restore
the original order. Insert an additional
column into the list with ascending numbers (1,
2, 3, and so on) before sorting the data.
Do not use a formula to create these numbers.
If you have trouble with your sort, simply resort
the list based on this sequence column. This will
return the list back to its original layout. |
 |
|
 Selecting
Text in Documents
If
you need to select a large amount of text across
a number of pages, there is a quick and precise
way to do it that doesn't involve the unwieldy
dragging method. Open a saved document and start
by moving the cursor to where you want the selection
to begin. Now scroll down to the place where you
want the selection to end, hold down the SHIFT
key and click where you want the selection to
end. The text between the two points is selected.
If you have already selected a portion of text
and realize that you have selected too much, hold
down the SHIFT key and click
on the point where you want the selection to end.
The unwanted text will not be selected any longer,
while the rest of the selection will remain.
But wait - there's more! Simply holding down the
CTRL key and clicking on a word
will highlight the entire sentence that contains
the word.
To select a single word, double-click it. To select
an entire paragraph, triple-click it. To select
an entire line of text, position the mouse just
outside the left edge of the line (in the margin
area). Left-click when you see the white arrow.
If you want to select an area of text, hold down
the ALT key and drag across the
area. To select all text in a document, click
Edit-->Select All. |
|
|
 Saving
Attachments Sent Via E-mail
When
opening files from within Firefox (Word or Excel
documents for example) you may notice that Firefox
handles these requests slightly different than
other browsers. You can control the behavior of
file downloads by using either the left
or right mouse buttons to obtain
the files. There is no trick to downloading files,
but you should be aware of what happens on screen
when you attempt to grab a file sent via e-mail
attachment in your SJC Webmail account.
Using the Right-Click Method (Saving Attachments)
To download and save a file attachment you receive
in an e-mail message in your SJC Webmail account,
without opening the file, follow these steps:
1) Right-click either the file link towards the
bottom of the e-mail or the paper clip icon.
2) From the context menu that appears, click "Save
Link As…" (see the image below).
3) In the Save As dialog box that appears, browse
to the folder or drive location where you'd like
to save the file and click the Save
button.
Using this method, you can open the saved file
outside of Firefox whenever you want. The file
is only copied from the original e-mail message;
it is not removed.
Using the Left-Click Method (Viewing Attachments)
To download and open (directly from within Firefox)
a file attachment you receive in an e-mail sent
to your SJC Webmail account, follow these steps:
1) Left-click either the file link towards the
bottom of the e-mail message or the paper clip
icon.
2) In the dialog box that appears (see the image
below), click the radio button next to the option
"Open with" and then
choose the appropriate program in the drop down
list to the right. For example, if the file you
are trying to open is a document, choose "Microsoft
Word for Windows" in the drop down
list.
3) Click the OK button.
4) To save the attachment from within the associated
program simply click File-->Save As
and then browse to the folder location where you
want to store the file (My Documents folder, etc.).
NOTE: The following items may
or may not display depending on your browser's
tab and download settings.
At this point, you may notice several changes
in your screen view of Firefox. Firefox will briefly
display the file attachment in the appropriate
program. Then, this application is usually automatically
minimized to your Windows Taskbar. Within a few
seconds, the Downloads Complete window appears
in the lower right corner of your screen with
an indication that the download has completed
(see the image below). This popup will disappear
after a few seconds.
You may notice a dialog box on screen after downloading
the file. A Firefox Download Manager window appears
if the option to "Close the Download Manager
when all downloads are complete" box is unchecked.
This option can be checked or unchecked when found
under Tools-->Options, then
the Downloads button at the top. If necessary,
you can simply close the dialog box using the
black X in the upper right corner
of the window.
Additionally, you may have an extra empty tab
or Firefox window open. The title of the tab or
window may appear as "Untitled." If
a new tab appeared, simply close it using the
small x in the orange square at the end of the
tab bar (or right-click on Untitled and choose
Close Tab in the popup menu).
If a new window appeared (you will see an extra
Mozilla button at the bottom of your screen in
the Windows Taskbar) click the black X
in the upper right corner of the window to close
it. |
|
|
 Setting
Blackboard Course Availability & Duration
Why
are students being denied access to my Blackboard
Course? Have you made your course available to
students? It is the instructor's responsibility
to make their supplement courses available or
unavailable to students. The Course Availability
page, located in Settings, is used to control
access to the course.
• While in Control Panel of your course,
select the Settings link located
in the Course Options area.
• Select the Course Availability
link.
• Select Yes or No
(Selecting Yes will display the course link to
the student, selecting No will not.)
• Click on Submit and then
OK.
• Select the Course Duration
link
• Select Continuous if
you want the course to be continuously available.
(If course availability is set to Yes, students
will have full access to the course.)
• Select Select Dates if
you would like to select the dates that the course
will be available. You must then select the Start
and End Date check boxes and
choose your dates. (If the course availability
is set to Yes, the students will see the course
link, but will not be able to access the course
until the selected start date.)
• Click on Submit.
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|
|
 Using
Tabbed Browsing
Firefox
uses a feature known as Tabbed Browsing
to allow multiple browser sessions to be opened
and manipulated within the same Firefox window.
This frees up space on your Windows taskbar and
allows you to browse many sites conveniently from
within one Firefox window. You don't have to use
tabbed browsing, but you might find it is a better,
faster way to browse the Web.
Opening Tabs
To work with tabbed browsing, follow these steps:
1) Open the Firefox browser. The SJC web site
appears.
2) To open a new tab, press CTRL+T
or select File-->New Tab.
3) Type in the URL of the web site you'd like
to visit in the Location bar and press the Enter
key (type in www.yahoo.com for practice purposes).
4) You will see two tabs located just below the
browser's toolbar and Location bar (see the image
below). One has a SJC title and the other has
the title of the page you are visiting. You can
easily move between the two web sites by simply
clicking the appropriate tab.
Moving Tabs Within a Window
Tabs are displayed in the order you open them,
which may not always be what you want. To move
a tab to a different location within a Firefox
window, simply drag it there using your mouse.
While you are dragging the tab, Firefox displays
a small indicator (usually a purple down arrow)
to show where the tab will be moved (see the image
below).
Closing Tabs
To close the current tab, press Ctrl+W,
click the Close Tab button on the right side of
the browser window ,
or select File-->Close Tab.
To close all tabs other than the current one,
right-click on any tab and choose Close
Other Tabs.
Loading Links in Tabs and Other Options
You can easily load any link found on a web page
in its own tab. When you locate the link on a
page (when the mouse arrow changes to a hand)
right-click the link and choose Open
Link in New Tab from the context menu.
Find a link on the SJC web site and try right-clicking
it to open in a new tab.
There are other ways to control how tabs work.
If you right-click on a tab, you will see a context
menu. Here you're able to create new tabs, reload
the current tab, reload all tabs, close other
tabs, bookmark the tab and finally close the selected
tab. |
|
|
 PowerPoint
Slide Show Controls
It’s
time to run your presentation in front of your
audience. You’ve practiced it repeatedly,
revised slides, animations and transitions, and
developed wonderful handouts for the participants
and useful notes for yourself. Now, if you could
only figure out what to do during the show!
There are a few tricks you can use to help you
master the mechanics of presenting a PowerPoint
slide show. To run your presentation in full screen
mode click Slide Show-->View Show
or use the F5 key. When presenting
in front of your audience, you don’t have
to simply click through all the animations and
slides. PowerPoint contains a vast – and
sometimes overwhelming – number of options
to help you run a slide show. One important piece
of advice stands out: If you are not sure what
to do during the show, right-click the screen.
Do not press the ESC key. Right-click
instead.
The right-click menu commands give you instant
access to just about every option you would need
to run the slide show. For example, you can jump
directly to a slide based on its title; or move
forward and backward in the show. You can blank
the screen, or use an electronic pen to draw on
the slide to illustrate a key point.
If you have to present often, you should try to
memorize a few of the more useful keyboard shortcuts.
The HOME key will always take
you to your first slide. The B
and W keys will blank your screen
and provide you with an easy way to focus the
group's attention (B for a black
screen and W for a white one).
Pressing a number and then the ENTER
key will take you directly to a particular slide
in your presentation.
There are numerous keyboard commands and mouse
tricks you can use to perform a variety of tasks
during the presentation. Here’s a sample
list:
| Press
This |
To
Do This |
| ESC
|
End
your show |
| Home
|
Return
to the first slide |
| S
or + |
Stop
or restart an automatic slide show |
| N,
Spacebar, or Page Down |
To
move to the next slide |
| P,
Backspace, or Page Up |
To
move to the previous slide |
| <number>
+ Enter |
Go
to slide <number> |
| B
or period |
Display
a black screen (press again to return to
show) |
| W
or comma |
Display
a white screen (press again to return to
show) |
| CTRL
+ P |
Display
the hidden pointer/pen |
| CTRL
+ A |
Return
to the arrow (after using the pen) |
| E
|
Erase
on-screen annotations |
|
|
|
SJC
Webmail Alert :: Don't Take the Bait! Avoid "Phishing"
Scams
"If you don't respond within 48 hours, your
account will be closed."
"Please verify your account."
"We suspect an unauthorized transaction on
your account."
Have you received any e-mail with text in the
subject line or body that is similar to the urgent
messages above? It’s a scam called "phishing"
(pronounced fishing) — and it involves Internet
fraudsters who send messages to obtain personal
information (credit card numbers, bank account
information, Social Security number, passwords,
or other sensitive information) from unsuspecting
victims. These messages may appear to come from
legitimate companies like a bank (maybe even one
you use), credit card company or a popular online
merchant. Attackers can easily copy images, links,
and text from legitimate web sites to make the
e-mail appear authentic.
In these phishing attempts, you may be asked to
"update," "validate," or "confirm"
your account information. Some messages threaten
a dire consequence if you don't respond. Often,
they direct you to a web site that looks just
like a legitimate organization's site. But it
isn't. It's a bogus site (referred to as a "spoofed"
site) whose sole purpose is to trick you into
divulging your personal information so the operators
can steal your identity.
The SJC TIS department will never send out an
e-mail asking you to send in or confirm sensitive
information (your password, financial information,
etc.). If you receive e-mail that appears to be
from administrator@sjcny.edu forward the message
to abuse@sjcny.edu
and then delete it. No such administrator address
exists within our Webmail system.
Phishers use many different tactics to lure you.
Some of the indications of a phishing
attempt include:
1. Most – if not all – legit businesses
will not ask you to send passwords, login names,
Social Security numbers, or other personal information
through e-mail.
2. The phishing e-mail messages are usually sent
out in bulk and often do not contain your first
or last name. However, a modified version of these
e-mails may be personalized to you. These are
called "spear-phishing"
attacks.
3. An e-mail indicating you've won an online auction
and need to make payments (usually to a fake escrow
site).
4. The links (or graphics) that you are urged
to click may contain all or part of a real company's
name and are usually "masked", meaning
that the link you see does not take you to that
address but somewhere different; this is usually
a phony Web site. Simply hover your mouse arrow
over the link and look in the lower left corner
of your screen for the address. The address will
start with http://webmail.sjcny.edu/Redirect/[company
web site address here]
What you can do:
1. Don't reply to the suspicious e-mail.
2. Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages
that ask for personal or financial information.
3. Don't e-mail personal or financial information
to anyone.
4. Use common sense and be suspicious when you
are offered money or discounts that seem too good
to be true.
5. Don't use the links in an e-mail to get to
any web page if you suspect the message might
not be authentic or you don't know the sender.
Instead, call the company, or log onto the company
web site directly by typing in the Web address
in your browser.
6. Always report "phishing" or "spoofed"
e-mails to the following SJC e-mail address: abuse@sjcny.edu
and then simply delete it. |
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Technology
Help Desk
Having
computer problems? Phone not working? Printer
making you sad? Smart classroom not so smart?
The
Technology & Information Services Department
has one central contact for all your computer,
printer, Smart Classroom and telephone technical
issues or for any hardware/software installation
questions.
If
you are having any type of technical issue please
call:
In Brooklyn, dial x263
In Long Island, dial x1263
Please
leave a message. Your call will be recorded
and a TIS staff member will be dispatched to
your office or location. This central dispatch
will allow for a faster response to your technical
problems.
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Copyright
© 2007 St. Joseph's College, New York
Microsoft product screen shots, logos and images
used with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
Firefox product screen shots, logos
and images used with permission from Mozilla Foundation.
Webmail screen shots are reprinted with permission
from Stalker Software Inc.
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