Camp Data no cost summer sessions

Registration forms for Camp Data should be available April 9, 2012 and submitted between April 16-30, 2012. This camp is a community outreach effort offered by Augusta's City IT department. Submit registration forms early as this is a no cost session and based on a first come first served basis. Transportation is not provided so start the car pool coordinating now.

Children ages 6-8 and 9-11 are invited to come and explore the exciting world of technology. If you have additional questions please contact the Information Technology department at 706-821-2522. 

Docusign Ink App

DocuSign Ink for personal use lets you sign and return ANY document sent to you as an email attachment or stored in a cloud service—for FREE. DocuSign Ink is available through the iTunes Store, Android Market, and as a plug in for Outlook through the Office Marketplace. 

Common Access Card holders have the option to use ApproveIt to digitally sign documents. Classroom images currently do not have ApproveIt installed. This situation will be resolved during the month of March as the classroom images are updated.

Screen capture from Android

Now the challenge is on to go paperless with some of the common documents that we use in the SCCC classrooms that require signatures. From vehicle inspection checklists that must be completed before every long weekend (government holiday, training holiday), student designed memorandums for record (MFR) for assignments, cover sheets of designated projects, to classroom QAO evaluation checklists, presenting options for those who use digital devices is another way to integrate digital tools. This provides another option for personnel participating in the iPad pilot.

As more SCCC students bring digital devices to the classroom, the budget cuts which always impact toner and paper purchases, the option to securely sign documents is a job requirement and a learning opportunity for the diverse group of SCCC students and their facilitators.

One issue that always arises is the security of the signature. As we are all aware, if something was created by humans, it can be hacked by humans. DocuSign has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certification as an information security management system. DocuSign Security and Legal information: 

• DocuSign warrants Federal ESIGN Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) compliance.
• Exported signed documents are digitally sealed and verified for authenticity with a trusted third-party certificate authority.
• Detailed audit trails for each transaction include sender name and email address, timestamps, and originating IP address for each action.

Are you using DocuSign in a learning environment? Or for personal or professional use? If so, how is it working for you?


Recent screenshot from the iPad and the Android (above) devices I am using to tinker with the DocuSign Ink app.


Some additional features of DocuSign:
Additional options for those using DocuSign for Business: Signing, Sending, Collaborating, Enterprise Management, Mobile, Legal and Security.


All types businesses are using Docusign and the marketplace options from Independent contractors, Realtors, Salesforce, Banking, to parents signing permission slips.


What digital signature tool do you use most often?


Comments, recommendations +1s, and reaction check boxes are always appreciated.

Readability Indices, Google Docs, MS Word, Outlook, and Twitter Stream

A former SCCC student shared page 27 from DA PAM 25-40 Army Publishing: Action Officers Guide (published 11/7/2006) available through the Army Publishing Directorate. This page contains a Readability Grade Level nomograph with the steps to calculate Reading Grade Level.

Readability can also be enabled in Google Docs, Microsoft Word and Outlook. Google Docs and Microsoft Word provide three indicators of the reading level of the document you're creating. They will each calculate for you the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and the Automatic Readability Index. In Google Docs you visit the tools menu and select the word count option.

Outlook

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Spelling tab, and then click Spelling and AutoCorrection.
3. Click Proofing.
4. Under When correcting grammar in Outlook, select the Check grammar with spelling check box.
5. Select the Show readability statistics check box.
6. After you enable this feature, open a file that you want to check, and check the spelling. When Outlook or Word finishes checking the spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document.

Word

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.

Through my social media stream EdTech SandyK shared this tweet:

There are many digital tools available to check for the reading grade level but what I like about Peter Krantz's tool is that it continues a discussion from a blog post he published in 2005. The online tool also calculates in languages other than English. The calculator uses the following formulas:

English: Flesch-Kincaid reading ease and grade level.
Spanish: Fernandez Huerta
French: Kandel & Moles
Swedish, Danish: LIX
Douman: Dutch


The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease - This score indicates how easy a text is to read. A high score implies an easy text. In comparison comics typically score around 90 while legalese can get a score below 10.

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade level indicates the grade a person will have to have reached to be able to understand the text. E.g. a grade level of 7 means that a seventh grader will be able to understand the text.

Peter Krantz's blog post from Septermber 2005: Methods for measuring text readability also contains links for those looking to improve their readability index.


While we have regulatory guidance, writing or Communicative Arts facilitators, digital tools, it boils down to what is old hat to you may be new to someone else. Continue to share your experiences, write publicly and privately because we all know that no one is perfect when it comes to writing and speaking.


As always, comments, recommendations +1s, and reaction check boxes are always appreciated.

Heart Graph, Google search features and geeks are cool

Google search features are used for more than searching for the answers you are looking for and during Valentine's Day all types of things flow your social stream.

Heart hacks or graphing cardioids are popular and Google Students showed some love to math lovers http://googleforstudents.blogspot.com/2011/12/showing-some-love-to-math-lovers.html and shared this: (sqrt(cos(x))*cos(200x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(9-x^2), -sqrt(9-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5 (copy and paste into Google search box or Wolfram if you are a member), then some one started sharing this: sqrt(​1-​(abs(​x)-​1)^​2), arccos(​1-​abs(​x))-​π

Graph for sqrt(​1-​(abs(​x)-​1)^​2), arccos(​1-​abs(​x))-​π produces this version:

Keep tinkering and demonstrating that Geeks are cool!
So what else do you use Google Search for with so many options available?
Various categories of popular features range from Everyday Essentials, Reference Tools, Choosing Keywords, Local Search, Health Search, Trip Planning, Query Refinements, and Search by Numbers ...What is your favorite?

Synonym Search - If you want to search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms, place the tilde sign (~) immediately in front of your search term.
Currency Conversion - To use our built-in currency converter, enter the conversion you’d like done into the Google search box and your answer will display directly on the results page.
Fill in the Blank - Sometimes the best way to ask a question is to get Google to ‘fill in the blank’ by adding an asterisk (*) at the part of the sentence or question that you want finished into the Google search box.
Related Search - To search for web pages that have similar content to a given site, type “related:” followed by the website address into the Google search box.


As always, comments, recommendations +1s, and reaction check boxes are always appreciated.

Subway Breakfast Offer How was your experience?

In January 2012 the Subway Breakfast Sampling information passed through my social media feeds and I shared the information on a post through Google+, even my mom signed up.  It was an offer available in selected areas of South Carolina, Charlotte, NC, Asheville, NC, Augusta, GA and surrounding areas from January 30 through February 4, 2012. 

You visited the site , selected the Subway store, the breakfast sandwich, the day and time you wanted to visit the store and receive a breakfast sandwich and a cup of Seattle's Best coffee. You received a confirmation email and an option to add it to your calendar. You were given the choice to print the reservation and give it to the cashier or show the reminder on your smartphone. The day before the event I received an email reminder.  I even received a text message reminder.

So on Saturday morning, February 4, we headed out to our local Subway. We arrived a few minutes early and there were no lights on in the store and my mom said, "Oh they are probably inside doing the prep work and will open on time". I verified that we were at the correct store via the text message, Google Maps, and the Gmail confirmation on my smartphone. At 0805 we pulled up to read the hours of the store and it was supposed to be open at 0800. I tried calling the store but only received a busy signal.


We decided to wait it out. About 0810, the Subway employee pulled up, jumped out of her car motioned for me to roll down my window and said, "Give me 15 minutes I am running late". A few more cars pull up and people are starting to stand out side the door. About 0815 the Subway employee opens the door. The first family orders, then she announces, "No steak, no tomatoes, and no coffee". We asked her where was her help and she said no one else comes in until 0930. Then we asked where was Mr. David Bell, the manager, and whose name was on the email confirmation, she shrugged her shoulders and kept working as she had 4 groups of customers. I told her I was going to call her boss, not to punish her but that we all expected on the last day of the promotion that the event would be implementing the lessons learned from the beginning (January 30) until today. A customer tapped me on the arm and said, "I think that is his phone number" as she pointed to a sign on the cash register. Of course when I called the phone call went straight to voicemail.


So in addition to this blog post, comment on the G+ post, I am also submitting Customer Feedback to the local store via the Subway store site.

I don't have a problem with Subway, I have a problem with the customer experience. In the end, the breakfast sandwich was not bad but businesses should not build up the customer expectation just to let them down during the experience. Maybe my next experience will be better? If you participated in the Subway breakfast promotion how was your experience?