"Send that to my Computer" that really works

Monday, February 16, 2009 by jethrojones


I really like the show "24" and being a geek, I always notice the geeky things that are cool in that show. One of the things that I want is to be able to say to someone, "Send the file to my computer" and have them able to actually do it. That would be awesome. Well, I found out how to do that. It is a little program called Dropcopy. Below is a video I made showing how it works. 



On my MacBook Pro, I only have one account, and on the iMac, I have two accounts, one for me and one for my wife. To get it to transfer to the iMac properly, I had to manually set up both accounts, which wasn't that hard because I just had to put in the IP addresses for the iMac (same IP addresses, obviously) and give the different accounts nicknames, which isn't actually necessary. From my iMac to the MacBook Pro, it worked flawlessly, and saw the computer without any additional setup. 

It seems to transfer faster than using Finder to transfer files (though I don't think it is any faster), and certainly faster than a thumb drive. Also, it is super easy. Just drag and drop a file. The Preferences pane does give some additional options, which I think are useful and pretty self-explanatory, so I will just show some screenshots. If you have any questions, just leave a comment. 




Another neat feature is that you can send short text messages to the other computers. I imagine that in a school setting, this would be pretty neat.

That is much faster than finding my hall passes, or a piece of paper, and writing out the same note. And, it is much less of a disruption when the kid comes into class. But, imagine if you use it to collaborate with your teachers. The department chair has a curriculum that she needs everyone to have, but she forgot to send it out. In no time, the other teachers would have the file sent to them, and they would be able to access it. It would be faster and easier than email. 

I use Apple Remote Desktop all the time, and this little program would make it very easy to send files for people to install. For example, trying to download Smart Technologies software (for Smartboards and our Clickers) is a total pain. With this, I can easily send files to people so that they can install the updates, instead of going through the ridiculous sign-in process via the SmartTech Website.

Have a Good Life.

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Saved by the Document Camera

Thursday, February 5, 2009 by jethrojones

My wife has been having pain in her jaw for the last week or so, and the only way I could convince her to go see the doctor is if I came home from work and went with her. She scheduled an appointment for a day that I don't want to miss from work. So, I decided that I would take advantage of the Document Camera that we have and have a little fun at the same time.



I recorded myself teaching the students about persuasive writing while I taught it in the morning classes. That way, when I left, the substitute could just press play and I would be able to sleep at night knowing that my students got the information I need them to. This video is just the beginning part. The rest of the videos will be posted online soon enough. I am actually pretty excited because it will be fun to be able to use this again next year for a refresher course for me. The students responded very well to it. I almost want to do this every day. I could just record my direct instruction, and then I wouldn't have to repeat myself so much every day. Also, it ensures that all my students get the same message. Even though I may be sick of hearing myself over and over again at the end of the day, it will be new to my students each period, and I won't have to do anything different to keep myself from getting bored. This is one thing that I want all my students to understand completely, and it is really good for them all to hear the exact same thing and see it done the exact same way. 

Have a Good Life.

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