Have you ever been on a videoconference living in fear that you’ll get that Amazon delivery and the dog will go nuts when the doorbell rings? The solution is here! Krisp is a PC download and a Chrome plugin that uses artificial intelligence to filter out background noises. I tried it out with everything from pounding on my desk while …
All about Infographics
Because many of us are no longer in the same room with our colleagues, we’re all seeking new ways to communicate information that doesn’t require the umpteenth PowerPoint this month or a 3-hour Zoom. Lately I’ve been getting a bunch of inquiries about how to make infographics, so I’m releasing the Book Study the Nerdy Best Friends Book Club did …
Very Cool Video Editors
The longer the pandemic lasts, the more video I produce — and the more cool video tools I find to share. This week I discovered Descript and Type Studio, two tools that let you edit video and audio by editing the text transcription. So instead of trying to clip out your “umms” and “uhhhs” in a standard video editor, you …
Worth the Price: Prezi, WeVideo and Canva
Y’all know I specialize in finding free and super cheap tech tools to make our lives easier, but when I find a tool that is extra special helpful, I pony up the money for a full-featured version. In the last two weeks, I’ve upgraded three tools I used to use for free because they’ve evolved into awesome. Canva: Graphic Templates …
Tools for the Job Search
These days people are searching for jobs for lots of reasons. Perhaps they are one of the victims of layoffs or furloughs or cutbacks. Or maybe they love the work-from-home life, but their employer is bringing people back to the office. Whatever the reason you might be looking around, we have tech help to make things easier. I’m pretty much …
The Cutest Security Tool Ever
Most of the security tools I use are pretty serious-looking beasts: red and black logos, all-caps fonts and intimidating names. So when I saw the adorable elephant mascot for the privacy app called Jumbo, it took me a while to take it seriously. Jumbo Is the Privacy App You Need Now You have heard those warnings about all the things …
Two Alternatives to PowerPoint
For—I don’t know, 200 years?—the standard for presentations has been Microsoft’s PowerPoint. Ever since we dropped the overhead projector/transparency model, we’ve emphasized key points of our educational sessions with hard-to-read, badly designed bullet-point slides. Although PowerPoint is still the most popular program, it has become the software we love to hate. That’s why we’re always looking for alternatives. Prezi: Storytelling …
NerdWords Live: Tools to Engage Online
Now that we’re a work-from-home society, professionals are struggling to engage colleagues and participants online. Admit it: You’ve hosted and been on really.really.really boring webinars. So have I. My sister is a middle school teacher who is suddenly working to engage her budding teens online, and she’s actively seeking new tech to help. She keeps saying, “Oooo… have you heard …
Education Tools We Can All Use to Engage Online
I interviewed my sister, a middle school teacher, and her principal to discover great tech tools that schools are using to engage their students — ones that translate to the rest of us. First, watch the video here. And then come back here for the details. Pear Deck for Google Slides Activity Tool for Google Slidespeardeck.comFree basic version with individual …
Free and Discounted Tech during the crisis
Amid all the chaos of the pandemic, some of my favorite tech companies are giving away and discounting their products. Now’s a good time to try some things out and take advantage of discounts. Know of any others? Please add in the comments. I’ll keep this updated as I see more. Focus@Will: Half off all plansFocus@Will is a site with …
My favorite app of 2020: Otter.ai
Well we’ve barely started the new year, but I’ve declared Otter.ai my very favorite app of 2020. Otter is a meeting recording tool that transcribes in real time, even sweeping back through the conversation using artificial intelligence to clean everything up. Then you can review the written notes and click through to hear the audio wherever you want. It will …
Recipe Collection Apps: Your View
A random email from a community member sparked a fascinating conversation on Facebook about where to store recipes. Here’s the quick reference guide to all the ideas: Original Note: “I have long used (years) an app called Pepperplate to store my recipes. Pepperplate has been a free app that was supported by advertising. This month, they have decided to reinvent …
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