Your desktop
Are you a victim of
e-clutter? You know that docu- ment, e-mail or picture you are looking for is somewhere on your com- puter, but you just can't find it! If this has hap- pened to you, you have a serious case of e-clutter.
M
ake it easy to find. Give your document an appro- priate name so you can
find it easily in the search bar. Give it a specific title so you know exact- ly what you're looking for. For example, you want to save a recipe for brownies that you saw in a mag- azine. Save it as "brownie-recipe- cooking-magazine-2012" instead of "brownies."
A folder for everything and
everything in its folder Do not leave documents floating
around your desktop. Folders are an easy tool and can instantly clean up your hard drive. You can also put a folder inside a folder to organize your computer even further. If you were to save your brownie recipe,
Look familiar? If your desktop looks like this, you probably spend more time looking than finding, which means you're a victim of e-clutter.
you could create a "cooking" folder. Inside that folder you might create a "desserts" folder. Avoid naming a folder something ambiguous, such as "miscellaneous" or "extra stuff."
Ask yourself "the ques-
tions" Do I really need this document?
What will I use it for? Does it need to be readily accessible? Ask your- self the hard questions so you can properly place your important doc-
uments and trash the items you don't need. The nice thing about digital documents is that they don't take up any physical space, so you can keep the things that you think you could possibly need one day without feeling guilty. Just make sure you save it in the proper place!
Pictures are important, too These rules apply to pictures
also. Try your best to name every photo: you can create your title
based on the people in the picture, the events taking place in the pic- ture, or even the location. Then depending on your software, organ- ize your pictures into folders or albums. Dates are an easy way to organize your albums. You can cre- ate an album for each year, or each season of the year if you take a lot of pictures!
Sources: cbsnews.com and diylife. com
10 free things - but first ask, "Do I need this?"
EELINK - Offers a compilation of Pre-K-12 lessons, activities, and other curriculum resources that focus on environmental education. www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50685. htm
Underground Railroad - Five of our favorite curriculum resources on the Underground Railroad for grades K-12 include lesson plans, interactive maps, timelines, and biographies.
www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50644. htm
Science and math informal learn- ing educators (SMILE) - SMILE Website offers thousands of science and math lessons and more, for K-12 educators. www.nea.org/tools/les- sons/50637. htm
20 free iPad apps for educators - A variety of teaching and learning materials to access from your iPad. www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50621. htm
Civic quotes - This project - 64 notable quotes from over 45 U.S. government leaders - is viewable on the web or with an iPad applica- tion.
www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50625. htm
ELL Tapestry - The Tapestry is a resource center for Pre-K-12 teach- ers and administrators who work with English language learners. www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50582. htm
YouTube and Education - YouTube offers a variety of free services to facilitate classroom instruction, including access to educational videos. www.nea.org/tools/ lessons/50803. htm
The Athenaeum - This is an evolv- ing set of online tools for anyone with an interest in history, archae- ology, philosophy, or the arts, and offers examples of artwork. www.nea.org/tools/lessons/50754. htm
14 September 2012 DSEA ACTION!
Center on Congress short videos- "The Impact of Congress" is a series of web-based videos examin- ing key legislation in our nation's history that impacts our lives today. www.nea.org/tools/lessons/49967. htm
366 Community Service Ideas - Visit www.nea.org/tools/lessons/ 366-community-service-ideas.html and download ideas for activities and projects that promote commu- nity service from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the 4-H.
Source: NEA Today, Spring 2012
www.dsea.org
