Chrome Everywhere

Imagine opening a web browser, signing in and accessing all your bookmarks, settings and apps/extensions on any computer and any device.  Well, let me introduce you to Chrome.

You might be thinking, "So what's the big deal about that?"  Picture this.  You've bookmarked some of your favorite sites to use at work, but then lightening strikes and fries your computer.  You hope the tech department can revive the poor machine and at least recover your bookmarks.  Sadly, your computer cannot be resuscitated and the funeral will held right after school today.  Now you have to hope your memory holds up and you can remember all those websites you had bookmarked.  Good luck with that.

Now let's imagine that you have been using Chrome as your browser.  You sign in, save your bookmarks and add your apps.  Then lightening strikes.  But you don't care because even if the tech department can't revive your computer, they will just get you a replacement.  You'll open up Chrome, sign yourself in and all your bookmarks and apps will be available to you again.  No problem.  The other benefit in using Chrome is you can access your bookmarks from any computer or device once you sign in on Chrome.

Flowcharts are like a maze

Via Teach.com and USC Rossier Online

As a visual learner, I love looking at infographics and the wealth of information contained in a simple image. So after looking through this visual flowchart, I was reminded of my first computer class in JR High (yes, I'm from the pre-middle school generation). I was in ninth grade and excited about taking my first computer class. I had seen the cool pictures my friends were making in their computer class like the Christmas Tree and this bunny.

Naturally, I never thought about the time or process involved in getting these "cool" images. So, when I started my computer class and found out that I had to learn programming. I was bummed. I just wanted to go in, type a few lines and create some awesome pictures. I really didn't care about typing numbers and coordinates to create the image I wanted. I did stay in the class, but the only thing I really remember was learning the history of the computer and creating flowcharts. Flowcharts - those wonderful cause and effect visuals that made you feel like you were wandering through a maze with the hope of finding the end. If you were successful in your flowchart creation, it was suppose to help you with computer programming. Personally, I never did comprehend that whole process, but we had a special flowchart template (that was kind of cool) to draw the various box shapes and lines.

After that first computer class, I veered away from the world of technology until it became a little more user-friendly. Today, I can create cool graphics and comics with a simple drag and drop feature built in to the program. I know my fun drag & drop programs have hidden complex coding that make them function and I admire the people who do that kind of work. Luckily, we don't all have to know programming to produce some cool projects.