Tagging on to my thoughts yesterday about life in a browser, there still is a nasty gotcha when working with files. You’ve got this great file and you’re going to do something with it but it’s the wrong size or the wrong format or …
What to do? What to do? Actually, if you have enough tools installed on your computer, you might be OK. But…
If that’s a problem you have to endure, then you need to check out CloudConvert. I was drawn to explore by its tagline “convert anything to anything”. Who wouldn’t want a service like that? Off I went to check it out.
The site claims to support 123 formats and I was impressed immediately by a support for “ebook”! The format page gives a complete listing.
How to use it? It’s really easy.
Step 1: Give CloudConvert your file.
I was impressed that I didn’t have to “drop the file here” like on so many other resources. Just drop it on the page. I slid my browser to the left, grabbed a file and dragged it to the page. Step 1 done.
The file was a .jpg file. I decided to give it an easy test. Please make it a .gif file.
Step 2:
Step 3:
Give me the converted file.
What a great set of options! I’ve used services like this in the past and mailing the converted file typically is the only option. Since I would probably import the file into a document or a presentation, sending it to Google Drive makes a great deal of sense.
This utility is definitely a keeper. Whether you’re using standalone applications or working in a browser, dealing with file formats is a common task. They may well be your answer!
Yesterday, Alfred Thompson posted an interesting article titled “Why Web Apps?” I read it via mobile and was just going to let it lie but it must have been percolating in the back of my mind because I went back to it when I got to a computer and replied to his post. It really had me thinking.
I think there would have been a time when I would have agreed wholeheartedly with him. There really is something comforting about having an application installed on your local device to do the things that you like/need to do. But then I thought about my own computer habits. I do enjoy programming in Visual Basic or C# but haven’t had any pressing projects for quite some time. For the most part, that machine seldom is even booted to Windows anymore except to update things. For the most part, it runs Ubuntu and I’ll be honest – 90% of the time, it’s running Firefox and that’s about it. My Macintosh computer runs Google Chrome and the FirstClass client. Updates that are needed happen with little fanfare as Firefox and Google Chrome are configured to silently update themselves so that I seldom have to think about it.
My iPad is another thing. As I write this post, there are 17 applications that require updating and I may set that to go while the dog and I check out the mailboxes up and down the road. My daily use on that device involves a bit of web browsing but a great deal of time spent in applications so that @tgianno can clobber me in Word with Friends or any of the other Zynga games we’re playing. Portable is still a maturing platform and I don’t see ditching applications there in the near future.
But, let’s turn back to the traditional computer. Life here is indeed spent on the web. Alfred laments the demise of the standalone Tweetdeck and I remember how I felt when the Seesmic Desktop stopped being supported. I evaluated everything under the sun and ended up with what fits my needs perfectly – Hootsuite. It runs on the web; the developers are constantly updating things and these updates don’t interfere with my use.
My documents, spreadsheets, forms, and presentations are all handled so nicely with Google Drive and Evernote. In fact, I can’t recall the last time that I had to seriously use anything but a web browser to do anything.
As I write this, I just opened my Applications Folder. It’s not like there’s a shortage of applications in there. As I scroll through them, I guess I would have to revisit the last sentence in the preceding paragraph. It’s all coming back to me. Last Christmas, I did use Adobe Photoshop for some graphics work. Do I really have to go that far back? I guess I do. Looking at the extensions and tools that I’ve added to extend the power of Google Chrome, it really has become my digital toolkit. Ditto for Firefox on Ubuntu.
For me, Life with an App does seem to be relegated to mobile. Maybe I just haven’t tried hard enough there?
There definitely are limitations to working solely online. The internet needs to be there! Privacy concerns encourage a second and third thought before signing up for anything new.
However, I think the writing is on the wall for me. I could be writing this post using a local app in Qumana or I could be using LiveWriter, but I’m not. I’m using ScribeFire in the Google Chrome browser. It’s not quite a web app; it’s sure is not a local app; it’s really a browser app. Times have certainly changed.
There is another aspect to all of this. Every time a new computer needs to be purchased, it’s a total exercise in spec checking. How much processor, how much drive space, how much RAM can I afford to buy to feed the habit. At the Google Summit, I had a great conversation @mrfusco who has been living/working with his Chromebook. If you like Google Chome and don’t mind working in an OS that works like a browser, is $250 all that you need to buy to stay on top of things? Put the power mongering in the hands of the web service provider!
The bottom line for me includes a wonderful collection of extensions to my browser and the miracles that programmers are doing with HTML5. It’s not a perfect world and this article provides a nice comparison.
Like it or not, I seem to be migrating to Life in a Browser. It seems to be my new reality, Alfred!
“CloudConvert supports the conversion between more than 100 different audio, video, document, ebook, archive, image, spreadsheet and presentation formats. You can specify advanced options for every conversion type. Check the supported formats for more details.”
Inspired by another blog post, she spends some time sharing her thoughts about putting a number to one’s participation in social media. Then, she concludes with the question “Quantity simply does not mean quality, especially with social media….unless I am missing something?“
I think we need to get a deeper understanding about what a Klout score is. If you dig, it’s really not about Quantity. Klout tries to attach a number to quality. The mathematician in me says that if this is true, there has to be an algorithm to make it happen. I dug to an authoritative service, Quorato do some reading and found a link to a great mathematical talk about how to reverse engineer a Klout score. It’s certainly not an easy read. So, Klout tries to attach a number to influence and how people react to your online presence. I’m reminded as to how Google ends up ranking search results.
Like it or not, we live in a world where many results are summarized to a number. Dare I make a reference to standardized tests? Now, school districts have workshops about how to improve your standardized tests scores. Should we have workshops about how to improve one’s Klout? I guess if it’s important to you. My personal tact has always been to be who I am and be happy about it. I never think about how something I might do would affect my score and I never invite people for a coffee based upon their Klout scores. Recently, I was in Thunder Bay and did invite her out for a coffee and a chat. She spoke well for a 54. Oh, I’m going to hear about that now!
Anyway, just in case it matters to Sheila, I gave her +K in Ontario and Education while I had logged onto Klout just in case she needed a boost. Quite frankly, I’d rather have a good blogpost or Twitter engagement with her.
Always Learning Stratford Ontario is an absolutely wonderful city to visit in Western Ontario. There are a few Twitter people that I follow from there and now I can say that I follow a celebrity!
Congratulations to Tracy Bachellier for her recognition with an Avon Maitland DSB “Always Learning” award.
In recognition, the district created and posted a YouTube video outlining her accomplishments.
Way to go, Tracy! I’m sure that the school appreciates your contributions.
EQAO Musings In a world where you can easily bash EQAO and other standardized testing, Lorraine Boulos tries to show the other side of the situation.
The post includes a thoughtful look at how one educator uses the opportunity to improve her craft.
I really like the concept of self-reflection about teaching with the goal for improvement in the classroom. It’s just a shame that it takes a standardized test to make it happen. I suspect that Lorraine would do so whether the test was there or not. She does identify the challenges of trying to cover the entire curriculum while making room for EQAO.
It’s a reblog of a colleague’s thoughts about Inquiry. It’s a good read and gave me another blog to add to my list of future reads.
In the meantime, “Just do it!”
Celebrating our Pet Rabbit Inquiry All good things come to an end and so did Rabbit Road for Joanne Babalis’ class. Of course, kindergarten classes never miss an opportunity to have a good celebration.
In this case, it was a Rabbit Picnic. Imagine a celebration complete with rabbit food and guests!
Hopefully, Hop the class rabbit, shared some of the goodies brought to the picnic!
Above and beyond the idea and concept of an interesting celebration, the post serves as an excellent example of how you can document classroom activities and invite parents to know and understand what’s happening in the classroom.
Once again, it was another great week of reading. Please support these bloggers by visiting and bookmarking their blogs and visit the complete collection here.
“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0940932. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.”
