Have "Alex" Proof read your paper

http://screencast.com/t/H7jyaXw9
Hope this link works....
This is for Mac user only....
Have you ever struggled proof reading your own paper or experience frustration while proofing someone Else's because they don't agree with your edits?  While my suggestion is to have "Alex" proof read your paper.
From the apple menu ( top right) select system preferences.
Click on "speech"
Change the settings to select " Speak Selected text when the key is selected"

Next select the "Universal Access Tab" also in the system preferences. 

VoiceOver may be turned on by pressing pressing Command + F5. VoiceOver may also be turned on in the Universal Access panel of System Preferences:

1. Chose Apple menu > System Preferences, and click Universal Access. (Alternatively, click on the System Preferences icon  in the dock.)
2. Click on the Seeing tab.
3. Check the radio button labeled On in the VoiceOver section (Figure 1).
4. If desired, click on the Open VoiceOver Utility... button to configure VoiceOver options

When you Highlight the selected document "Alex" will read it back to you..

Self Editing in Microsoft Word Part 1

As a parent, I am in constant battles with my sons about composing and revising documents. (yeah , yeah I know I am no Language Arts expert) So here are two things you can do to help your student/child self edit a document.  The first is to check the grade level equivalence.  You can do this by:

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
2. Click Proofing.
3. Make sure Check grammar with spelling is selected.
4. Under When correcting grammar in Word, select the Show readability statistics check box.

I am using an older version of Word ( my employer says there is no monies to up grade even though other units received new laptops )on my Mac  so I went to :

• Tools- spelling and grammar
• Options on the bottom right hand corner
• Show readability statistics
• Once you finish the document you can run it through spell check and at the end it will give you a readability score.

I was so tempted to take out my red pen, add my comments and make edits but I resisted and ran it through the Readability test.

So what does this mean and how are these scores calculated...

Understand readability scores

Each readability test bases its rating on the average number of syllables per word and words per sentence. The following sections explain how each test scores your file's readability.

Flesch Reading Ease test

This test rates text on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most standard files, you want the score to be between 60 and 70.
The formula for the Flesch Reading Ease score is:
206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test

This test rates text on a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document. For most documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.
The formula for the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is:
(.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)

Here is a sample of my son's assignment. Even though I thought it was weak, it did pass my readability test standards since he is currently in the fifth grade and his grade level equivalence came out to be 7.0

Lotus notes

Anyone can embed a picture in an email, but I like to add gif animation to my emails to make it personal.  I'm sure the Notes authorities will soon be monitoring my emails and I'm sure our new director will receive a few complaints....  oh well

And away we go...  That's my new catch phrase

1. First I scour the web using a search engine and type in "subject and gif animation"
2. Then I save the file to a folder I title Gif
3. Open your Lotus notes create a new memo
4. Under more click on insert signature 
5. Click on import from file. 
6. Select the file , change the file to enable "GIF images"an Viola ( hey you are getting free French Lessons too)

Disclaimer:  Things that I say or post about the DOE does not reflect my employer ( wait a second, on second thought it may reflect my employer) but I hereby waive any liability for the Department of Education for any slanderous activity I may post.  The thoughts on this post is mine and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.

The reason I am starting this post is

1. I want to share what ever resources that I discover for my colleagues
2. If I do something tech related , I often get the question " How do you do that?"
3. I do not want to start yard work.

Even though my college degree does say "Education"  please do not correct any grammatical or spelling errors that may be posted.