Never Let Them See You Sweat!

Has your classroom recently fallen victim to the latest computer prank?

In the past several weeks, classrooms down my hall have mysteriously had the screen display of two computers flipped.  If this ever happens to you…don’t let the kids see you sweat!  This latest computer prank is something kids love to do in order to see their teachers squirm!  Although a little strange to manipulate the screen this way, the fix is quite easy!

Sure, you can take your time to go into the Control Panel of your computer and adjust the orientation of the screen…or, you can use a shortcut and never skip a beat!

On a Windows XP or Windows 7 computer, simply follow these steps to “right” your screen:

Press “Ctrl”, “Alt”, and the up arrow key at the same time…this will flip your screen back to normal!



Those Four Important Questions

It's not working? WHAT?!? But you need this technology and you were sure it worked yesterday. Don't panic. The techno gods are not conspiring against you. This happens to all of us a time or two. Don't bypass the obvious. It could be a simple fix and you are back in action within seconds. So before you go running from the room to find someone to solve it, there are four questions to ask yourself.

1. Is it turned on? (I know! It does happen!)

2. Is it plugged in? (Once again! I know, but I have found plenty of cords lying on the floor.)

3. Are all the cords secured and properly attached and in the correct ports? Example: When connecting your speakers to the computer, the green cord should go into the port indicated for headphones. Or the VGA cord could be attached to the wrong port.

4. Does the computer look "frozen" ? Sometimes a simple reboot does wonders for the device.Go to the Start Menu ans select Shutdown.  If that fails, you may have to force a manually shutdown by holding down the power button for 5 seconds. Wait 10 seconds and try turning it back on.

If you have answered yes to all these questions and still have difficulties, seek advice from someone trustworthy to have a look. In the meantime, go "Old School" and plan B. Trust me always have a plan B!