TrainTheBrainVideos' Podcast

Introduction to Powerpoint Part 1

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 23:58:51 +0000

Weve been investigation Powerpoint in the Friday class, how to use it, what are the alternatives to the purchase cost of Powerpoint, and finally how to publish slide shows to the net.

How to use Google Presentations

TrainTheBrainVideos — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 11:23:33 +0000

Recorded in class earlier this Term, introducing Google Presentation as a sound alternative to Microsoft Powerpoint. In fact its even easier to use than Powerpoint. Very cool in fact. Theres a link to the same video on YouTube here. http://youtu.be/ALFBFbtvVaU

Letter writing with either MSWord or Google Drive

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 22:58:40 +0000

I always enjoy this talk, mainly because I love to offer alternatives to expensive software, such as Microsoft Word. Google Drive (used to be Google Docs) offers a free alternative to making Microsoft a bit richer. I also have a video here you can watch. Please leave some comments about your experiences with either. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22YOAtZ2fIE

Google Alerts Q&A Part 2

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:45:20 +0000

This is the final 15 minutes from a 2012 class on the subject of Alerts.

Google Alerts Q&A Part 1

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 06:03:55 +0000

One of the most useful in Google, but not often mentioned in general computing discussions.

Google+ People

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 10:56:39 +0000

This class will show you how to manage the people you connect with in Google+. You can add people to circles depending on the nature of the friendship or relationship. Using Circles makes it easy to accurately share information with those who will be interested in it.

Introduction to Pinterest

TrainTheBrainVideos — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:40:51 +0000

Pinterest s a tool for organising and collecting things that interest you. go to www.pinterest.com

The instructional video is here http://bit.ly/15fm102

Introduction to Google Presentation

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:26:01 +0000

Before we can begin explore the subject of Computers & Photography its necessary we know how to use Google Presentation. Presentation gives me another tool we can use to run the classes and get across point by point information available both during and between classes.

U3A Week 10 Introduction to Powerpoint

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:39:46 +0000

A short introduction to Microsoft Powerpoint. "Definition: "a software package designed to create electronic presentations consisting of a series of separate pages or slides."

U3A Week 9 Browsing the Web

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 09:44:35 +0000

This week in class we: 1. We looked at a modem, 2. How to connect and disconnect from the internet 3. We looked at the 2 distinct ways of surfing (via the URL bar and traditional search) 4. How to navigate around a website 5. How to enhance search by adding more search terms and reducing the number of returns. 6. How to use Crtl+P for quick printing.

U3A Week 8 Word Processing III

TrainTheBrainVideos — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:46:52 +0000

There was a lot to cover today and not much time to do so. Using Microsoft Word or Google Drive we looked at: Working with multiple documents, the undo (and redo) buttons, and how to Select, insert, delete & overwrite texts, Bold, italic, underline, alignment, apply bullets and numbers. Presentation is here http://goo.gl/yMlX4 if you'd like to look through it.

How to Search & Follow on Twitter

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 06:50:22 +0000

A how to search and follow others on Twitter. The video for the same class is here. http://youtu.be/PELcQv4VKtE

Google Search

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 08:47:59 +0000

A class we did on how to use Google Search. Someone in the group was trying to find a favourite, namely Luv-a-Duck so we had some fun learning how to find said duck. Turns out it was available in the local supermarket. Lots of fun getting there. The video here http://youtu.be/OAYwqEbF7Z0 shows 6 ways to search like a pro. Enjoy.

Interacting with the YouTube Community

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 05:24:30 +0000

Interacting with the YouTube Community. http://www.nigeldobson.com/ Interacting with the YouTube is an often overlooked aspect of the YouTube experience. The community is literally made of of video makers often people just like you & I wishing to share their knowledge. So its important to offer feedback where its appropriate, and maybe even interact with the others in the community who leave comments also. This talk and video will show you the steps to get involved with your YouTube Community. http://youtu.be/zvHYNFt9TU4

How to use YouTube

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 23:28:27 +0000

A general description of the controls on the screen that are there to control your YouTube experience. We learn how to play, pause, reverse, fast forward and so on.There is a supporting video here http://youtu.be/qwTL8kjY098

Google + Management & How to Interact with the Podcasts

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 05:14:10 +0000

The main lesson for todays class was Google + Management. This followed on from last weeks class, where we orientated ourselves to Google+. The video is here: http://bit.ly/10muUnt In a fit of inspiration, I decided to offer a second video detailing how to interact and share the Podcasts. The video is here: http://bit.ly/11OThYh Please like and comment below.

U3A Week 7 Word Processing II

TrainTheBrainVideos — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:17:43 +0000

I had to record yesterdays class in 2 sound bites. Here is the second recording.

U3A Week 7 Word Processing

TrainTheBrainVideos — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 04:17:01 +0000

An exploration of Word Processing ranging from traditional (Microsoft Word) to the contemporary (Google Drive)

Welcome to Nigel's Podcasts

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 23:08:09 +0000

Welcome if its your first time here, and welcome back to those who have used the channel before. 1. From now on I will be pod casting all my classes so you will hear what I'm doing in other classes. 2. Big advantage is that you can listen to them anytime you want. 3. Pod casts will be full length. A 50 minute class will have a corresponding length podcast. 4. I'm hoping to do a weekly short podcast about developments in the world of computing particularly about things that directly affect us. Thanks for your support.

Gmail Chat Part 3

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 09:40:44 +0000

The last in this series of talks.

Gmail Chat Part 2

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:25:22 +0000

Our talk continues.

Gmail Chat Part 1

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:45:21 +0000

It may not be obvious how to use Gmail chat, once understood is a tool that can easily rival Skype. Once we've got a handle on Gmail chat, we can articulate it into Video chat. Thats really fun, and we will do some more with Video chat in 2013.

Google Alerts Part 2

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:14:27 +0000

The Google Alerts story continues. Even today, Alerts continue to deliver news to me that I would never otherwise find. They are one of the most underrated tools in Googles suite.

Google Alerts Part 1

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:32:05 +0000

My favourite tools. Gets me off the computer and doing other things.

Google Play Part 5

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 03:35:59 +0000

This IS the final part of this talk, I promise. Tomorrow we will start a new subject.

Google Play Part 4

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:22:34 +0000

The 4th and final talk in this series.

Google Play Part 3

TrainTheBrainVideos — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:01:32 +0000

Another 15 minute segment of the Google Play talk from 21st November, 2012.

Google Play Part 2

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:58:59 +0000

The second installment in this talk.

Google Play Part 1

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:09:52 +0000

With the inexorable rise of mobile computing, it was obvious that we needed to open the door and our minds that one day soon, mobile computing will dominate and the beloved PC will drop in significance. This class is designed to give us the confidence to proceed in that direction. 15 minutes long.

Google Drive Part 4

TrainTheBrainVideos — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:37:48 +0000

The final talk in this series on Google Drive. Headphones are best for this talk. I'm constantly amazed at how good Google Drive is, and that its available for free.

Google Drive Part 3

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:36:35 +0000

Another 15 minute segment from Thursdays class.

Google Drive Part 2

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 01:10:18 +0000

Another 15 minute talk continuing the discussion about Google Drive. Best to listen with headphones.

Google Drive

TrainTheBrainVideos — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 02:35:09 +0000

Please listen with headphones. The recording levels on this and the next 3 are quite low. Best to hear with headphones on.

Cloud Computing Part II

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:47:11 +0000

Here is the next 15 minutes of our discussion in Wednesday afternoons class introducing both the concept and practical application of Cloud Computing. When we returned to our computers we all collaborated on the same document and began to experience the joys and difficulties of working at the same time on the same document.

Cloud Computing

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:48:49 +0000

This is Part I of a talk I gave on Cloud Computing in an effort to orient this new group to the concept. The talk began with a general discussion about computing and returned to discuss in detail the subject. I'll post Part II tomorrow.

PicasaPC and PicasaWeb

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:26:50 +0000

Picasa PC is free software developed by Google to help us manage, edit and share our photos. We start off by downloading Picasa to our PC, here is the link. http://picasa.google.com.au/ Having installed Picasa, it will now find all your photos on your PC, even the ones you’d forgotten about. That initial find the photos exercise may take a short while, and then you will see a screen that looks like this. This next view of PicasaPC is from my own computer. The main features to note here are: Log into your Google account at the top right. This links what you're doing on your home computer with your online photo album. The Navigation panel on the left will to a large extent reflect the structure of the files and folders you have in your home computer. Its like looking at your photos using Windows Explorer. The preview panel is showing you which photos are in the folder you've clicked on in the Navigation panel. You have to firstly double click on a photo before you can begin editing. Notice that we have a number of buttons below the photos as we edit them. Notice also one of those is an email button. This is connected to our Gmail account. That makes it very easy to finish editing a photo and then email it to a friend with just a few mouse clicks. PicasaWeb PicasaWeb is our online photo album. We control its content using PicasaPC, as outlined above. The two services are closely linked and becoming proficient with PicasaPC will increase our use of PicasaWeb. To locate and begin using our web albums, do the following. Open Google Chrome Log into your Google account Open a new tab on your browser Type “Picasa Web” in Google search and hit the enter key. Click on the Picasa Web hyperlink Bookmark the Picasa Web album now to your browser to make it easy to return. Click on the “Explore” tab at the top left. Either select one of the Featured Photos, or scroll through the Recent Photos, or enter a search term in the search bar at the right, such as Healesville, and click on search. When you've finished exploring, use the back key or click the bookmark made earlier to get back to Picasa Web. Upload photos to the web using the software's "Web Album" button, or use your normal web browser to add pics that are high quality. Each account receives 1 GB of storage--enough to upload, share and view around 4,000 standard resolution images. Share your photos with others. Rather than attaching photos one-by-one to send in an e-mail, you can send a link to a photo, an album or your entire online gallery. Connect to your friends' albums. Rather than simply viewing another's photographs, you can connect to someone else's album. Add captions and comments to your own, and others' photos. If you've given your photos captions in PicasaPC, the same captions will remain after you upload them to the web. Create wallpaper, screensavers, slideshow, CDs and more using the programs easy-to-follow instructions. Recorded 15/11/2012

Cardiovascular Plaque Recipe

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:01:16 +0000

Ernest was sharing a recipe with the group today for overcoming Cardiovascular plaque. I thought it sounds very interesting and so asked if we could share his recipe with all the groups. So here it is. Have a pen and paper handy so you can get down the ingredients.

Google Earth

TrainTheBrainVideos — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:53:28 +0000

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funded company acquired by Google in 2004 (see In-Q-Tel). It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe. Features Google Earth is equipped with a visually distinct, extensive database of satellite imagery and 3D models. Re-imagine the possibilities of mapping in your production. Below we will highlight some of the features most relevant to media use. All of these features are available in both the Free and Pro versions of the software. Worldwide satellite coverage No matter where a story takes you, Google Earth has satellite coverage for you to use. Over one quarter of the world’s land surface, covering over 75% of the world’s population, is in sub-meter high resolution — meaning each pixel represents an area smaller than one square meter, roughly enough detail to see a car windshield. We frequently update our worldwide imagery database in an ongoing effort to accurately document the state of the world. 3D buildings: Use ours or make your own Use the hundreds of thousands of 3D models available in Google Earth to render a highly realistic view of a city or specific building. For an increasing number of locations, you can find photo-realistic models of all downtown buildings and surrounding neighborhoods. You can even animate daylight by using the time of day feature to make your shot match a specific hour. Terrain: Mountains, valleys, and below the sea In addition to buildings, Google Earth offers worldwide measurement-based terrain imagery. Show mountains, cliffs, valleys, and even trenches and continental shelves under the sea. For a more rich presentation, you can exaggerate terrain by up to three times. Satellite imagery drapes precisely on top of the terrain, so when you can’t send a camera to take the shot, you can rely on Google Earth. Most extensive map data Google Earth shares the same road, landmark, and border data trusted by hundreds of millions of Google Maps users. We also offer user-contributed map data from over 170 countries and territories through our Google Map Maker program. Our users have helped demarcate roads, parks, and major buildings in countries where other digital maps only have sufficient information to show a dot to represent a city. These extra details, vetted by a moderation team, are invaluable when researching and creating maps to support news reports or features from parts of the world that are less accessible. This information is available when you turn on the Roads and Borders and Labels layers. Historical imagery Would you like to show how an old stadium was torn down and a new one put in its place? Then the Historical imagery feature is for you. Google Earth offers imagery from the past several years worldwide. In the U.S. and select other locations, we have acquired older imagery, some going as far back as World War II, and many major cities offer a dozen or more views throughout time and during various seasons. Simply click the clock icon and scroll through time — the notches indicate every point in time for which we have a photo within the current view. Thousands of layers From real-time earthquake locations to undersea oil pipelines, airplane paths to demographic data, there are thousands of layers of geographic data available through the Google Earth ecosystem. Some are accessible through the layers on the left within the desktop version, while others can be found in the Google Earth Gallery or simply by adding the letters KML or KMZ to a web search to find files compatible with Google Earth. This sort of data can greatly enrich your news coverage, with a quick and compelling platform for visualizing geographic information. Moon, Mars, and Sky Google Earth can also offer an outer world experience. Should your news or feature story venture to the cosmos, you can click on the planet icon to jump to the Moon, Mars, or the night sky. Moon and Mars offer the same sort of interactivity as Earth, and also features some rich on-the-surface content sourced from the Apollo missions and Mars rovers. There’s a whole lot more you can do with Google Earth, and we invite you to learn more on our Help Center . The next step is to learn about the tools and techniques available for applying this powerful content to your broadcasting or publishing needs. Recently, around 2009, Google added a feature that allows users to monitor traffic speeds at loops located every 200 yards in real-time. In version 4.3 released on April 15, 2008, Google Street View was fully integrated into the program allowing the program to provide an on the street level view in many locations. On January 31, 2010, the entirety of Google Earth's ocean floor imagery was updated to new images by SIO, NOAA, US Navy, NGA, and GEBCO. The new images have caused smaller islands, such as some atolls in the Maldives, to be rendered invisible despite their shores being completely outlined. Theres a useful link here to the Google Earth Help. Recorded 14/11/2012

Lets make Christmas Cards

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 21:57:43 +0000

As our knowledge of computers broadens we realise there are multiple ways of doing any one task. Today we will explore several ways of making Christmas Cards. Of course we can make any kind of card at any time of the year, we need not be limited in using our imagination. 1. Using Picasa. Log into PicasaPC Find a picture we’d like to use for our card. Insert text in the form of a Season's Greeting. Finish off the editing process is whatever way we want. ie Borders, etc.\ Finally highlight the photo with a single click, and Email it to the recipient from inside PicasaPC. 2. Open Microsoft Paint (on the start menu button. Open the photo you want. Insert text and make whatever changes you want to with the picture. Save you work. Open Gmail, fill out the To: and Subject: fields. Attach the photo you've prepared. Send the Gmail to the recipient. Recorded 9/11/2012

Entering Gmail Contacts

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 02:08:59 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LePi7_lMrw Here is a short video Ive made that will take you through all the steps. Your contacts inside of Gmail is an important area to keep up to date. And its worth making the effort to keep Contacts up to date. The main reason being, that as you use more and more of Google’s suite of free tools, the more current is our Contacts book, the easier it is to share content with others. To begin, open your Gmail. Now, click on Gmail and expand the compressed menu. This will show us three options; Gmail, Contacts and Tasks. Click on Contacts. Now click on “New Contact” You will notice where it says “Add Name” is already highlighted in blue. This indicated we can begin typing immediately, entering the persons name. The key to understanding this exercise is the impact the Tab key has. Each of the boxes where we enter text are known as fields. We enter the information in a “field”, then move onto the next field. The easiest way to move to the next Field is by tapping the Tab key once. Or, we can keep tapping the Tab key until we get to the information field we require. For example, we may only have someones name and email address. We click New Contact, type their name, and then hit the tab key three times which will park the cursor in the email field. We can then type the email address, and move on when finished again using the tab key. Recorded 7/11/2012

Gmail Management

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:44:07 +0000

Yesterday we looked at how to manage the incoming flow of Gmails. I was intending to get into Gmail Filters, but we wound up having an in depth discussion on how to apply the Archive, Spam and Delete buttons. Worth having a listen to if your not sure how to apply these powerful three buttons. Id still like to go over Filters. They are a wonderful tool that will keep the Gmail inbox clear of junk. Have a good weekend everyone. Here is a YouTube playlist of videos I've made that will help you. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx4_DURC5tiSNadYQ0odBsNUF6mzZkcVj Recorded 8th November 2012

Google Wallet

TrainTheBrainVideos — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 06:52:42 +0000

Google Wallet is a free Android app on Google Play that turns your mobile phone into your virtual wallet, so you can tap, pay, and save in-store. Google Wallet uses near field communication (NFC) technology to transmit your payment details in a secure and wireless manner. You’ll receive a payment confirmation after you tap the contactless reader and then you’re on your way. The new version of the Google Wallet app supports all your credit and debit cards. Carry them with you on your phone or computer. Shop faster, smarter and safer, in-store and online. Make your phone your wallet and carry all your credit cards, debit cards, and offers on your Android phone. Tap the back of your phone at the point of sale to pay. Google Offers automatically sync to your phone, so they're always with you. Your wallet in the cloud All your credit and debit cards are stored on highly secure Google servers. Use them on your phone or computer. Tap your phone to an NFC terminal at checkout and use any credit or debit card you want with your Google Wallet app. Your phone sends payment info to the terminal. Google Offers from participating merchants are redeemed automatically. Tap your phone to pay at hundreds of thousands of NFC-enabled merchants across the country. What is NFC? Make your phone your wallet NFC is a new wireless technology that enables data transmission between two objects when they are brought within a few inches of each other. Smartphones enabled with NFC technology can exchange data with other NFC enabled devices or read information from smart tags embedded in posters, stickers and other products. Carry your wallet on the web Simplify your online shopping with one account for a more convenient checkout. Sign in once and shop all over at thousands of merchants across the web using your computer or phone. Just click to pay. Sign in to your account. And you're good to go. No need to create multiple accounts or re-enter payment information every time you shop. We do not share the credit and debit cards you store online with any retailer, and all your purchases are backed by our fraud protection policy. A wallet you can lock Shop safely with a mobile wallet you can remotely disable if you lose your phone. We take security seriously. See what we're doing to make Google Wallet smarter and safer than your traditional wallet.

How to Print Screen

TrainTheBrainVideos — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 09:17:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCjDKndd65o Here is a video that completes the whole exercise in 1 minute. In Fridays class, my attempts to record the class didnt work. So Ive made this quick recording for my Students in case they need some help to do this at home. Class notes follow. Sometimes it can be very frustrating when we have something appear on our computer screen, such as a potential problem, and we can't share this view with someone else who can help us solve the problem. Fortunately there is a way. Its called Print Screen. Whilst we all have a Print Screen (PrtScn) button on our keyboards, its not obvious how to use it. So here are the steps to taking full advantage of the Print Screen function. When you press the Printscreen key, usually labeled “Prt Scr,” “Print Scr,” “PrtSc” or something similar, you won’t think anything has happened. It certainly won’t send your screen to the printer. But in the background, Windows has sent a snapshot of your screen to the Cashe, a little storage tank for informational tidbits. In your case, since you want to print that snapshot, you should copy your snapshot into a graphics program like Paint. (Paint is a graphics program included with every version of Windows, including Windows 7.) Follow these steps to print or save screenshots from within any version of Windows: On your Windows desktop, align your windows the way you want them to appear when printed or saved as an screenshot. Press the Prt Scr key to send the image of your desktop to Windows’ hidden Cashe. (To capture only an image of your currently open window, hold down the Alt key while pressing PrtScr.) Click the Start menu, choose All Programs, choose Accessories, and click on Paint. When Paint opens, click the Paste icon from the ribbon along the top; your image will appear in Paint. (Or, you can hold down Ctrl and press V to paste your screenshot into Paint.) Once the image is in Paint, you can print it (Ctrl+P) or save it as a file (Ctrl+S). (You can also edit it with Paint’s editing tools before printing or saving your handiwork.) If you’re e-mailing the image to somebody, save it in the PNG or JPG format, as those formats create smaller files.