Google's Nexus7- the iPad killer?

After a terribly late arrival (due to the high demand) my Nexus 7 finally arrived. A 7-inch tablet made by Asus and Google, it provides stiff competition for the industry leading iPad. From my few weeks of playing with the N7, I have been thoroughly impressed. I had never had an Android device before (I had owned an iPod Touch and played with iPads) and I have to say I am sold. The N7 is priced right - at $200 for the 8GB and $250 for the 16GB (both come with a $25 credit to the Google Play Store). This about half the price of a new iPad. I have never had a huge affinity for Apple products as I feel they are overpriced for what you get. I think they have the "clout" factor which bumps the price of the product up about $200 from what it should be for the actual performance. You pay for that little Apple logo on the back.

Apple products are also less customizable - Android lets you tinker and tweak things to your exact specifications. I was able to get all the Apps I wanted easily and (mostly) free from the app store. Google, one of the most popular web service providers is high integrated into the N7 - coming with Chrome as the default browser, a native Gmail client, and powerful Google search features including Maps/Navigation.

That being said, the N7 is not perfect. When a perfect device comes out, I would like to see it. Some of the flaws (more like missing conveniences) are the limited amount of storage space (8GB/16GB) with no card bay to add removable storage. There is no rear facing camera, so taking photos is out. You can take photos with things like Instagram from the front facing camera, but it is primarily for video chat. I wouldn't pay for it, but there is also no option for 3G service with the device, like some iPads have.

It does play nice with things like Google Drive and Dropbox so that allows you to extend your storage space, only downloading what you need but still having access to all your cloud based files.

The Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system is fast, functional, and I have yet to have a problem or see a flaw. Granted, I am not an Android aficionado, so take that with a grain of salt.

I will have a more blog posts upcoming about ways I am utilizing the N7 in my counseling program, articles about my favorite apps, and other featurettes about my new toy, so stay tuned.

Below are some photos of my device, a video showing some of the features hands-on, and the exact specifications from Google.

 

Follow-Up: My Interview Kit

Marketing Myself and Being Prepared

On Tuesday, I posted a video blog about the process I took (and a process you can take too!) to construct a digital professional portfolio. This week I have been busy constructing my interview kit and I wanted to share that with you as well. Looking at it, I feel like it is a lot - but I think will be well prepared to answer the questions and show evidence with the arsenal I bring with me into the interview room.

I had another district call today, as I was putting these kits together, to interview me on the same day that my other interview was scheduled -- never had that problem before, but it is a good problem to have. After rescheduling one interview to an earlier time (they are about 3 hours away from each other), I realized I needed to go to the store to get my "arts & crafts" material. I had ordered 5 flash drives on Amazon earlier this week to be sure I got them in time, but after the second interview got lined up - I did not have enough drives for all the members of both panels. I went with using CDs instead.

Below are the components within my interview kit with corresponding numbers (described below the photo).

My Interview Kit.

1. The Final Handout: This is what I will hand to all members of the interview panel when I get introduced. They may already have copies of it, but it is better to come prepared than leave them without. A simple paper-clip keeps it together.

2. The Media: Since I could not get the needed amount of flash drives prior to the interview (and the cost factor), I decided to go the CD route for my digital portfolio and ended up buying some labels and disc jackets for one district (with more people). I spent ~$12 on both the CD labels and disk jackets, but it creates a professional looking product. Imagine if you just wrote your name on the CD with a Sharpie. I also used Avery's website label developer to integrate the background from my portfolio onto the disc label. I printed address labels with the title of the disc and my contact info to put on the jacket. I am pretty happy with the turn out.

3. Letters of Recommendation: I included the standard three letters in all of the packets so they could reference them if needed or see further evidence that supports my candidacy.

4. My Notepad: I always bring my schnazzy note pad to take down notes about the questions they ask, important information, names/contacts of the interviewers for thank you notes/follow-up, and to have a "cheat sheet" about what I want to talk about in front of me.

5. Cover Letter: I typically print out the cover letter I submitted with my application and include it in the packet to each person. Some may not have had a chance to read it or perhaps only skimmed it prior to the interview.

6. Resume: Resume always goes on top for me - I want the key points of why they should hire me in front of their eyes. Again they may already have a copy, but if you applied several months prior to an interview - it lets you provide an updated (or edited) copy for them to see.

7. My Comprehensive Portfolio: This contains work samples, all the other documents that I included in the packets (printed on nice paper), my philosophy statement, and things that I have developed (like curricula). I usually reference this if answering specific questions or for evidence about my qualifications.

Other than that, I always bring myself, dressed in a nice suit, and a positive attitude. I know I won't be right for every job and there will be times I don't get the position even if my interview rocked their socks off -- it is all about finding the right fit. Market yourself and create a "brand" that you are selling to schools -- do it right and employers will chase you down.

A Guide to Digital Portfolios

Knock the socks off of your next interviewer!

Back in my undergraduate program, a project that was assigned in one of my technology courses was to develop a professional portfolio utilizing a high-tech tool. I used PowerPoint to build an easy to navigate and professional looking "program" that will allow interviewers, principals, and other stakeholders to view all my qualifications (resume, cover letter, transcripts) and showcase my technological skills at the same time.

Yesterday, I made a new portfolio for my counseling career. I have an interview in a few days and will be bringing this with me to give to the panel (on inexpensive zip drives).

The video below shows you how I storyboard and created the portfolio, so you can create your own.

A few notes before the video: First is to make this portfolio represent your personality. Have fun with it, but keep in mind the viewer. Things to avoid are: fonts that are difficult to read (try to stick to a serif or sans serif font), unflattering photos, and colors that do not go together. Also, use a site like stock.xchng to find free, high-quality stock images to use as a background (and other images) for your portfolio. The packaged images in PowerPoint are tacky and overused so try to spruce it up (check out the categories of texture, light blurs, etc). You can also deselect the "advance slide on click" option to only let users click on hyperlinks, which is nice so they don't click and accidentally advance to the next page (thank you to my wife for user testing my portfolio and finding that nugget of info). Finally, try to break away from using the slide templates. Start with a blank template and add things like text boxes, your own images, and smart images (not word art!). This gives you both flexibility and a customized look.

Check out the video below and jump start your interview.

School Counseling Techonlogy Series: Using Google Docs Form for Surveys

Gather Powerful Data to Drive Curriculum

Using Google Docs Forms

Counseling programs are driven by data and following the ASCA National Model. We want to make data based decisions in our programs, justify our processes, and let parents, administrators, and other stakeholders know how we are being effective. Surveys are a quick method to gather data from a large group of people that can be tabulated and compared or contrasted. 

Typically, surveys appear in a paper format, which can be difficult to monitor and collect data from. Students lose the paper, forget it at home, or are simply bored with the format. Counselors also have to manually input the collected data, which is a pain. This is when it is time to use the gift that technology has given - Google Docs Forms. Forms is a in depth, yet simple and user-friendly method to survey students, teachers, parents, etc. and have the answers automatically entered into a table, ready to be analyzed. I have created a basic overview of Google Docs and the form feature, which I highly recommend watching before viewing this tutorial (especially if you are unfamiliar with Google Docs).

This video blog's main focus is to teach you about using the "Go To" feature of the forms. A simple survey is easily created using the basic functions to add the different types of questions and spit out the results - but what if you want to differentiate the questions based on how a stakeholder answers? That is what I hope to cover in this video. Granted, I cannot cover every step and keep the video semi-short (< 9min this time), but it gives you the general sense of how it works. I am available to help you with questions (through email, comments, twitter, or I am open to hosting a Google Hangout to share specific steps and utilize the "screen sharing" feature to take you through step by step), so please ask.

Finally, I am linking to the actual document which I invite you to save to your Drive and utilize. Customize it (using the Form menu), change it to fit your program, and play with it. One last note, always test your forms before sending them out. Sending out a form that doesn't function the way you hope can ruin chances to get accurate data or have stakeholders submit their responses a second time after the error is corrected. I suggest taking the form yourself (trying to answer all the different ways a student might if you have questions that go to different pages) and having your counseling colleagues take it as well. Good luck!

Links and Live Form after the break.

Geekly Update - Follow TCG on Pinterest.com

Where My Pinterest Peeps At?

For those of you that are avid "pinners" or perhaps are wondering what that means, you can now follow The Counseling Geek on Pinterest. I will be adding articles, research pieces, websites, blogs, new technology, info-graphics, and high tech activities. I will follow you back if you add me because I love sharing just as much as receiving. Click on the logo below to head to my Pin Page!

Professional Development: Coursera -- Courses for Everyone

Power-Up your Pro-D

This week's entry will be a video blog help you learn how to utilize, navigate, and maximize your learning through Coursera.org. Coursera is an online learning community that collaborates with top Universities like Stanford and Princeton to bring high quality college level courses to users around the world -- for FREE. You can access courses from Finance to Computer Science and Social Network Analysis all from the comfort of home. Check out the video below for a brief overview and look into the benefits and features that Coursera.org can bring you and how to get started today.

Link to Coursera

Link to Embedded YouTube Video