Periodic Fable | Life and learning in an uncertain world | Helen Whitehead

Wish I could remember that #1: How to change file extensions in Windows

30 June 2015 by Helen

This series of posts is to help me and anyone else with those little tasks you forget how to do next time you do them… (Or maybe it’s just memory problems while getting older!)

I often need to change a file extension, e.g., from a txt file to a csv (in order to be able to upload into Moodle, usually). Here’s how to do it:

Go to the folder where the file is and in the folder controls go to
organize > Folder and Search Options.
Click the View tab.
Uncheck the box titled “Hide extensions for known file types”.

And that’s it – the extensions are revealed and you can change one (with caution of course).

digital literacy, Periodic Fable, technology Read more

Crags, caves and Ice Age tales

28 June 2015 by Helen

Deep in Robin Hood country, in the very middle of England, and surrounded by aristocratic estates, there’s a cave-lined limestone gorge full of incredible Ice Age archaeological evidence. The caves have survived millions of years of upheaval, collisions of continents and Ice Age glaciers coming to within 20 miles, but

blogging, creativity, education, Periodic Fable Read more

Making meaning in the message

4 June 2015 by Helen

Key messages, you’d think, would be carefully thought out before they go into public view. Driving into work one recent morning I was following a van that proclaimed proudly “Fast Response Services”. Laudable, I thought, are these services anything I might want, like plumbing or boilers or cars? But nowhere

Elearning, Higher Education, learning and teaching, online learning Read more

5 tips for writing multiple choice questions

14 April 2015 by Helen

I was struggling to write multiple choice questions for a course until I reminded myself of the key rules for writing these tests. #1 Keep the answers as short as possible If the question needs a lot of text put most of it in the question introduction or stem. This

e-assessment, Elearning, learning and teaching, online learning Read more

Not being a perfectionist

3 April 2015 by Helen

I’ve been pondering recently on the degree to which I’ve changed as I’ve grown older. There are a lot of advantages in being older – when I remember the acute embarrassment I felt constantly as a young woman I can only be glad I’m over it. Have my Myers Briggs

Periodic Fable Read more

Webinars: Inside and outside the institution (Video of presentation)

1 February 2015 by Helen

I gave a talk at the MELSIG event ‘Creative Lecture Capture, Webinars & Screencasting’ about webinars. The event took place on 20th January 2015. Event page: http://melsig.shu.ac.uk/?page_id=715

Elearning Read more

Protected: Video

24 January 2015 by Helen

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

blogging Read more

Using SWOT analysis to evaluate sustainability strategies (Sustainability, Society and You MOOC starts again Mon 16 June)

12 June 2014 by Helen

In order to succeed, companies’ strategies for sustainability need to be informed by their context, aware of internal and external factors, and able to adapt with these in mind. A commonly used technique in developing strategy is SWOT analysis, based upon an assessment of ‘Strengths, ‘Weaknesses’, ‘Opportunities’ and ‘Threats’. These

Elearning, lifelong learning, MOOC, online learning Read more

Auditing our domestic waste

31 May 2014 by Helen

Waste audits can be useful in helping you to consciously think about what you are producing/disposing and why? Do you know where your waste goes? Are you aware of the energy and water required to create the products you are using and then throwing away? In the Sustainability, Society and

MOOC, online learning Read more

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