I Knew That

You think tech is overwhelming in your position? Try being a tech director! One of the things I love most about my job is the constant renewal, learning, moving forward. But it makes it very difficult to remember all the cool little things. The annual MACUL conference is one way I not only learn lots of cool new things, but it also gives me a chance to revisit the cool old things I heard about in the past. Much of this comes from chatting with staff who attend. When I ask them about their sessions, they excitedly tell me about a few neat tips/tricks they picked up. Having been around this block a few times, those sharing moments usually result in an ‘Oh yeah’ moment for me as I’m reminded of a neat tip or trick that has fallen by the wayside for me. So, this week I’m sharing a few of my ‘Oh Yeah’s’ with a little spring break twist. Enjoy!
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IFTTT
If This Then That: A fantastic tool is full of little apps (aka Applets — get it?) that help you live your life better. Get a notification when the International Space Station passes over your home. Or a reminder to bring your umbrella if the forecast calls for rain. Send a text to someone when you leave work. Sync SoundCloud or YouTube likes with Spotify. Sync Instagram photos to auto-post on Twitter.  Ok, some of those are just fun. But there are a million applets on IFTTT that consolidate lots of the little things you do every day, or remind you to do the little things every day (hourly reminder to drink a glass of water!) Can’t find what you want? Dip your toe in the programming waters by creating your own applet. For spring break, I’m going to set up all my staycation photos to save to DropBox.

Voxer
Voice texting. I actually use this simple walkie-talkie app fairly regularly,  but I keep hearing about new ways to put it to use. Create an account, get your friends/family to join and goodbye annoying group texts! As communication happens, everyone in your pre-determined group is guaranteed to get the message. And if there’s a flurry of activity, nothing gets lost, you know exactly who said what when. I especially like the voice memo. It’s just easier lots of times than typing. For spring break: Set up your family and keep track of what everyone’s up to in one convenient place.

And last, but not least; .gif (Please, don’t call me Jiff!)
When a standard image doesn’t quite fit the bill, go for the animated version! You can easily copy/paste .gif images into any doc, presentation, blog post, etc. Head on over to Google images and under tools, select animated. Spend an unnecessary amount of time picking just the right one, and away you go!