Online Class | Week 2 | Day 1 | Story Telling

In today's class, it was about story telling and comprehension.

As the class begins, the teacher encountered a bit of issue with her headset. Every time she speaks, the participants hear static noises. After a while, the teacher decided to just use the laptop's integrated mic and speaker. Did some testing and her line now sounds really clear.

The title of her story is 'Ang Itim na Kuting' (The Black Kitten). The name of the kitten is Ignacia. Ignacia is sad because nobody wants to adopt her because people has a belief that black cats brings bad luck. People shoos her away and so on. If you haven't read this story before, click the image below to read the full story at ChildrensLibrary.Org.

After the story telling, the teacher asked the students some questions to check if they understand the moral of the story. One I remembered was 'Is it right to judge people or animal base on skin color?". The students answered that it is not right and the teacher further explained to them to treat everyone equally and to treat everyone with kindness.

Then they proceeded to watch a couple of short videos, the first one is about an old lady in the train station. The second one is about a puppy. The videos individually encourage the students to show kindness to animals and people and to not judge people.

They wrap up by making a drawing of their favorite pet. Those that doesn't have pet were asked to draw their favorite toy. My kid doesn't own a pet, so he draw his favorite toy, a Nintendo Switch, where he plays a lot of Minecraft, Mario Smash Bros. and Pokemon. Then they posed for a group picture together with their drawings.

Google Drive App | How to’s | Folder & File Sharing

This post is a continuation of yesterday’s post, Google Drive App | How to’s.

This post is intended for users who have never used a free cloud storage before, specifically Google Drive.

"How to Share a File or Folder Using a Link"

1. Select the file or folder you want to share, then tap the '3-dots' next to it.

2. Tap 'Copy link'.

3. A message will appear at the bottom 'Link copied to the clipboard'.

Open your 'Notes' app and paste the link. Provide the link to the person whom you want to share your file or folder with. The person who has the link will be able to view and download the file or folder.

"How to Share a File or Folder Using a Specific Email Address"

4. Select the file or folder you want to share then tap the '3-dots' next to it. Tap 'Share'.

5. Type in the 'email address' of the person whom you want to share to share your file or folder with.

6. Select what type of access you want to grant for that person.

7. In this example, we grant 'Editor' access.

Editor - the person can edit the file or folder and download.

Viewer - the person can only view the file.

8. You may type in a message for the person. This is optional.

9. Tap the 'send' button.

10. A message will appear at the bottom.

"How to Remove or Change Access from the Shared File or Folder"

11. Select the file or folder you want to share then tap the '3-dots' next to it.

12. Tap 'Share'.

13. Tap the 'person' icon.

14. Tap 'Editor'.

15. Tap 'Remove' to remove the access.

16. Tap 'Viewer' to change the access.

17. A message will appear at the bottom.

Edifier M1250 USB Speaker

In my kid’s online classes we prefer to use the laptop’s speaker for the audio output so myself can also listen to what the teacher is saying. There is an option to use two (2) headsets at the same time but the setup looks messy with all the headset cable dangling. We decided to just add a USB speaker.

We found this item in Shopee, an Edifier M1250 Speaker (750.00 pesos)

It is powered via USB and the audio signal runs through the audio jack.

On the speaker itself, there is  an option to connect a headset. 

It is very simple to setup. Just connect the audio jack to the audio port and connect the USB cable to the USB port and power on the speaker. Adjust the volume to your preference.

Finally, here is the audio output, listen.

Google Drive App | How to’s

This post is a continuation of yesterday’s post, Google Drive | Free Cloud Storage.

This post is intended for users who have never used a free cloud storage before, specifically Google Drive.

How to Install Google Drive App

1. Go to App Store (IOS) or Play Store (Android), search and install Google Drive.

2. When installation is done, the Drive icon will appear in your home screen. Tap the icon to open the app.

You will have 15GB of FREE space. There are options located at the bottom.

The menu is located at the left side.

How to Create a New Folder

3. Click the plus (+) sign.

4. Type in the folder name.

5. Tap ‘Create’. A message will appear at the bottom ‘Folder Created’.

The new folder will appear under ‘Files’.

How to Upload Photos, Videos & other Files

6. Click the plus (+) sign.

7. For uploading photos and videos, tap ‘Photos & Videos’. For uploading other files, tap ‘Browse’. In the example we will upload a photo.

8. Select the album to browse the photo or video you want to upload.

9. Select the photos you want to upload.

10. Tap ‘Upload’.

The files will begin to upload one by one. The speed of the upload will depend on the speed of your internet connection.

The uploaded files will appear under ‘Files’. You can also upload files to a specific folder by going first inside that folder and upload the files.

Google Drive | Free Cloud Storage

This post is intended for users who have never used a free cloud storage before, specifically Google Drive.

Let me begin with a short story. One night after our 100th visit at Kidzania in BGC, we had a very difficult time booking Grab Car. After two long hours of booking and hailing taxis we still cannot get a ride. So we ‘call a friend‘, sir Frank. He arrived and fetched us from the lonely waiting area at the building. During our trip back home, sir Frank said, “I lost my phone. I lost all my contacts, all the photos that has been kept for years. Good thing that the telco allowed me to retain my number on a new sim, that’s why I was able to receive your call. Then they blocked my number on the old sim.”. I felt bad for him. I know how it feels losing personal important files. So I decided I will recommend a solution that will enable him to back up his files from his mobile phone to an external storage.

Enter, Google Drive.

“Sir Frank, you should use Google Drive to back up your photos and other important files on your phone. What is Google Drive? It is a cloud base service that gives 15GB of FREE storage to anyone that has a gmail account. Yes, all you need is a gmail account. You can access Google Drive from your laptop, PC and mobile device.”, “It means backing up your files to Google’s computer. So that when you lose your phone again, you will have the ability to restore your files to a new device via Google Drive.”. I gave sir Frank specific steps on how to use Google Drive. He agreed it is a good option. I feel good for him knowing that in the future there is a place to restore his files if needed. We safely arrived in our place because of sir Frank’s kindness. Thanks to God for him. It was a long day.

In my next post, I will give you the steps on how to start with Google Drive. From app installation and basic usage.

Online Class | Day 4 | Plural & Singular Nouns

In today’s class the teacher begins with an opening prayer. Then they reviewed last time’s topic which was about proper and common nouns. The teacher played a video a short story ‘The Lion and the Mouse’. Then the students were asked one by one to identify the nouns they can find in the story. After which the teacher proceeds with a new topic which was about plural and singular nouns. The teacher gave many examples of singular nouns and how to make them into plural nouns by changing the spelling. 

bus | busses

church | churches

dog | dogs

bench | benches

fox | foxes

Then the students were given an activity, they were shown new examples of singular nouns and now they were asked to make them into plural nouns. One by one the students were able to correctly answer. They confirmed that today’s topic was easy when the teacher asked them. Today’s class is a wrap up for week 1. Week 2 begins on Monday. I observed that the students are enjoying the online class setup.

Laptop Upgrade for Home Use | A Simple Guide

This post is intended for non-technical users with home laptops that runs basic programs like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop with other Adobe Creative programs and other essentials.

Is Your Laptop Running Slow?

You just purchased a brand new laptop, it looks great and the speed is fast. You installed several essential programs, an antivirus, etc. Then you start to notice the speed is now crawling especially when few programs are all running at the same time. I personally experienced these things on my Mac and Windows machines. I didn't know better back then, so I thought it was the memory (RAM), "The memory is not enough. Or maybe it is the anti-virus. Or maybe my machine has virus.".

Or maybe you are using a not so old laptop and you want to boost its performance without breaking the budget. 

Simple things that will improve the speed of your machine.

1. Upgrade the hard drive from HDD to SSD.

The price varies depending on the capacity and brand. The bigger the capacity the more expensive. You may inquire online from local retail shops or drop by their store. Sometimes you can get one with 2-3 months installment pay just ask the shop for options. Price range, would be from 3,500 pesos and higher. Brand, we're using Samsung SSD and it works great. You may try with other brands but make sure to ask the shop for recommendations. 

2. Upgrade the RAM to at least 4GB and maximum of 8GB.

We are using Kingston. Again, you may try with other brands but make sure to ask the shop for recommendations. Price range also varies. Would be best to inquire with different shops to get the best deal.

These upgrade will guarantee a big boost on the performance of your machine. But before you purchase any of these (SSD & RAM) make sure to do a little home work about your machine and its hardware capabilities. This might part might be too technical for a novice user. My recommendation is to bring your laptop to a skilled tech or to a reputable shop to inquire if your machine has the capability to upgrade.

Online Class | Day 3 | Math

On day 3 of my kid’s online class, things starts with an opening prayer then they discussed about addition and counting numbers. What are addends, plus sign and sum. The teacher also taught them how to add numbers vertically using columns (ones & tens) followed by a short answering activity. Then they moved to counting numbers. They were shown a grid of numbers, 1 to 50, with empty random boxes between numbers. For example, in the first row there are five boxes. The students have to answer what comes after number 1, number 4 and so on. 

1		3	4
	7		9

My son keeps asking me, “How much longer the class will finish?”. I answered,  “11:30.”. He is so excited about his newly created YouTube channel. Yesterday he asked me to assist him to upload his very first Roblox video. He was shouting with excitement yesterday after he got his very first subscriber and had few video views. He told me and his mom, “Please subscribe to my YouTube channel, hit Like, hit the notification bell and add a comment please.”. When he got his 2nd subscriber, he went really crazy shouting and jumping as if he was awarded with the YouTube Golden Button. If you would be so kind please subscribe to his channel it means the world to him. Here is the link:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC0wWuCIEkSRj_Eq0_Pw8bOA

Throwback | Singapore Zoo

It was in 2011 when we had the chance to visit Singapore Zoo. I don’t know why I’m posting it only today but maybe because it’s Thursday and it is a good day for throwbacks. I cannot recall a lot from my memory at this time. I found one of our video footage from my old external drive and I will share it here. 

I remember though that we had a lot of fun. We had our breakfast at KFC, we’re all looking forward to have a generous amount of gravy over our fried chicken, but, in Singapore back then, gravy by default is only added to mashed potatoes. Without further delay here is the 13-minute video footage.

Google Classroom App | How to’s

How to Install Google Classroom App

1. Go to App Store (IOS) or Play Store (Android), search for Google Classroom. Install the app.

How to Login to Google Classroom

2. When installation is done, the app will appear in your home screen. Tap to open the app.

3. Tap ‘Get Started’.

4. Tap or add your google account to login.

5. Type in your google account.

6. Then click ‘Next’.

7. Type in your password.

8. Click ‘Next’.

How to Access Your Homework

9. Tap the classroom created by your school.

10. Tap ‘Classwork’.

11. Tap to open the home work file you want to answer.

How to Answer Your Homework

12. Tap the pencil icon to edit the file.

13. When you are done answering or editing the file, tap ‘Save’.

How to Submit Your Homework

14. Press and pull up the arrow to access the edited file.

15. Tap ‘Turn in’ to submit your home work.

16. Tap ‘Turn in’ again.

17. When submitted successfully, the status will be indicated as ‘Turned in’.

18. If you wish to unsubmit your home work, tap ‘Unsubmit’.