Tightwad Tech

Synopsis:     In this episode Mark and Shawn discuss what they've been up to in recent weeks, as well as what's coming in the future.  They also mention a couple of great tips sent in by listeners and add a bit of their own opinion on the subject of Internet content filtering. Be sure to visit our Web site and leave some feedback in the comments.

In this episode Mark and Shawn interview Dr. Doug Green regarding his recent blog post entitled, "Should We Get Rid of Technology Directors"?

In this episode Mark and Shawn give a thorough review of the iPad after Mark manages to get his hands on one in a very unlikely way.

In this episode Mark and Shawn are joined by Jeremy Fluhmann to discuss the readiness of Desktop Linux for the educational environment.  Is it ready?  Does it suck?  Does it matter?  Next they go through some tips and feedback provided by listeners.  Be sure to visit our Web site and leave some feedback in the comments.

Synopsis:     In this episode Mark and Shawn are joined by Chuck Syperski and Jian Zhang to discuss FOG, a free and open source hard drive imaging and remote administration suite.  Visit our Web site and leave some feedback in the comments. Links:FogProject.org InstallRite - An application packaging utility TIPS:Tech Tip of the Week – WinAuditTeacher Tip of the Week – LiveMocha.com

Synopsis:In this .5 episode Mark and Shawn revisit in greater detail the Boxee media center software mentioned in a previous episode and discuss the process of ripping your personal DVDs, along with some pointers on building your own digital media center. Be sure to visit our Web site and leave some feedback in the comments. Links:Boxee - Digital media center software, with forthcoming hardware applianceAcer AspireRevo - From Amazon.com Acer AspireRevo - from BestBuy.com Handbrake - Video transcoder DVDFab - DVD Copying/Burning software Generic PC Remote - From Amazon.com

Synopsis:     In this episode Mark and Shawn are joined by Stuart Burt of Chapel Hill I.S.D. to discuss various free and open source audio editing and mixing tools.  If you want to be a rock star on a ragamuffin budget, this is the episode for you.  Be sure to visit our Web site and leave some feedback in the comments. Links:Audacity- Open Source audio editing toolJam Studio- "The Online Music Factory"Myna- A Free Online Audio EditorLAME Encoder- A library file needed to export projects from Audacity as MP3 files TIPS:Tech Tip of the Week - The Ultimate Boot CD Teacher Tip of the Week - TeacherShare

For this .5 episode Mark and Shawn discuss the art and nature of podcasting and try to answer the questions "What exactly is a podcast?" and "Is there a right or a wrong way to do it?"  During the course of the show Mark promised to write an article describing a few different equipment setups for podcasters with budgets ranging from the meager to the relatively flush, which can be found on our Web site at www.thetightwadtech.com

Synopsis:     In this episode Mark and Shawn are joined by Pam Crandford of White Oak, Texas and Eric Schwalbach of Ocoee, Florida to discuss Moodle from the teacher's perspective.Links: Pam's Moode: http://www.woisd.net/viewAlso check out www.moodle.org.Tips: Tech Tip of the Week: UnetbootinTeacher Tip of the Week: Scribble Maps

In this episode Mark and Shawn are joined by Rusty Meyners and Ken Task to discuss the open source course management system "Moodle" with an emphasis on the tech side (i.e. setup and management). Some of the tools and services mentioned in this episode are:Webmin, Kaltura, OSTube, Remote Learner, Inwicast, Google Docs, DimDim, Mahara Teacher Tip of the Week: Wordle.netTech Tip of the Week: Prism