Upcoming Technology Training

Next month I will be presenting Playing it Safe in the Digital Age. We will explore strategies to protect your program and discuss policies to help make your digital world more secure. I'm pleased we were able to partner with the YWCA of Rockford and Illinois Department of Human Services. This hands on training only costs $45 and you get lunch! How great is that.
Click Here to find out more and register.

After your final status update

The possibilities and implications for the future are mind blowing. Watch this short TED video:

One Stop Social

If you are anything like me you belong to lots of different social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Vimeo, Youtube, Ustream, LinkedIn just to name a few. Ever wonder how you can share all of these sites with friends, co-workers and people who might be interested in your media? A personal social media landing page is the way to do it. Below I will show you three examples that I use.

Presenting One Stop Social

First up is Flavors.me:

Easy to set up and use, Flavors has nice options and if you want to pay you can have a custom URL. You can view mine at http://flavors.me/gioarroyo.

Second is About.me

I like a lot of the layout options on About.me, it is actually where I set up my first social media landing page. I also like the url, it makes "sense". My page http://about.me/giovanni.arroyo

Last up is a new one, Infostripe.com

You can tell by the format that Infostripe is a little different. It is actually a mobile friendly landing page. It has a lot of options and is a little more difficult to set up, but still very easy and they provide you with a QR code to use on the bottom of your page. With smartphones becoming the norm, I'll spend the few minutes setting up a landing page for one. Check out my page http://infostripe.com/garroyo.

As you can see these are just a few of the options. My suggestion is to set up one of the first two, either Flavors.me or About.me first to see how you like their format. Then move on to Infostripe.com. Ideally you will have at least two of the three (Flavors or About + Infostripe) then share them as you find the need.

Links:
Flavors.me
About.me
Infostripe.com

Xoom Backpack

After carrying my Xoom around the mall following my wife shopping today I decided I needed a carrying device for it. We stopped at Walmart at one point and I found this mini backpack. It fits the xoom in its sleeve perfectly. I now got a way to haul this thing around. Oh and it only cost $9.

Week one with the Xoom

Last week I purchased my first tablet. No it wasn't an Ipad, but I did consider one. Last Friday I walked into my local Costco and a few minutes later walked out with a WiFi Motorola Xoom. This isn't my first attempt at having a portable computer that was not a laptop. I've also owned two different Sony ultra portables. While good the battery life and working with a mouse or stylus never went well. Anyway on to the xoom.
Things I like:
Battery Life
SwiftKey Beta
Pulse Newsreader
Flash
Instant on computing

Things I don't like.:
Not a lot of apps
Force closes
My daughter wanting to play Angry Birds

I overall satisfied with the entire tablet experience. Android Honeycomb is a great Os. I think it will really grow to be the best operating system for this type of device. I really see a lot of potential for learning and teaching on this platform. As I explore the uses more I will definitely keep you updated.

It is nice being able to post right from the web without using an app.

Webinar 6/3

I love trying new things especially when its related to technology. Luckily my job affords me the opportunity, and on June 3rd I will presenting my first webinar with Kara. The topic is "Facebook as a Marketing Tool for Early Childhood Programs".

Click the link to find out more: Facebook as a Marketing Tool for Early Childhood Programs

Playing it Safe in the Digital Age Prezi