Tech Tip: Google Art Extension

Tech Tip: Google Art Project for Chrome

I love art, so this tech tip is totally up my alley. This chrome extension “Google Arts & Culture,” as it’s called on the chrome web store, is easy to install and adds an extra bit of flair with every new tab I open. I think these come from the same Google photos and art archive that is used for ChromeCast for tv. It really reminds me of another extension called Stumble Upon which I guess has now moved to Mix. I haven’t used this in years, but basically what I remember of it is with each time you reload a page it takes you to a new website- of which there are seemingly endless in number. I recall being a teenager and finding some very cool websites this way. Before I discovered sites like Reddit and before Facebook became prevalent where it incorporates links from other sources, this was how I accessed obscure sites. I recall one in which it had a ton of envelope icons, each different from the other, where if you click them it would open a random, out of context handwritten or typed letter. It was so fun to see the different fonts and styles of writing people had, and each seemingly used a different utensil. Some even had pictures or stamps. This was quite fun. Websites like that one and this one are great tools for exploring the internet. I’m happy to have beautiful photographs, paintings, and drawings before I access the internet site I intend to. The only drawback is the fact that the icons of frequently visited sites are no longer there to easily open my most used websites. This is a small disadvantage for the visual treat that this tool allows, though!

(Image Source: Screenshot by me, Google Arts & Culture Extension)

Leave a Comment Tech Tip, Week 11

Typing Test Tech Tip: A Little Above Average

I told myself at some point I would try Tech Tip, and I figured now was as good a time as any to try it out. I went to the Typing Test that was suggested on the assignment overview page. The screenshot I took is a little hard to see, but I had 73.46 word per minute with 97.35% accuracy. I was glad to see that even while I'm feeling down and out since I'm sick that my scores were still a fair amount above the average, which can be seen on the upper right-hand corner just below my results.  I liked the little blurb it had me type, it was very encouraging. I then went to Typingtest.com to compare my skills with a different website and found I had similar results with both the short 1 minute version and 3 minute version: about 70 words per minute with about 5 mistakes. I liked that I could choose between about 8 different types of text. It featured "Aesop's Fables," but I went with "Zebra- Africa's Striped Horse" (my favorite zoo animal since I was little) for the first and "The Enchanted Typewriter" for the second.

I have always considered myself a fairly good typer since I grew up with good computer classes. I loved my teacher, Mrs. Fellers. As a staff kid I always got to school early in the mornings, and in exchange for turning on and sanitizing all of her computers, she would allow me to practice my typing on the kid-friendly programs of the late 90s. I don't remember much about it, just that it was like a video game with characters like alien creatures. When another teacher replaced her when she retired, I lost my enthusiasm for putting in this extra effort every morning since I didn't have such a relationship with the guy and also he got rid of the fun typing games that got students enthused about enhancing their typing skills! Really a bummer. I also used to be an avid AIM and MSN Messenger user in the 2000's, so some of my speed and accuracy might stem back to this too.

(Image Souce: Screenshot by me. Keyhero)

Leave a Comment Tech Tip, Week 9