Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Lab Report

Typing in Student Names vs. Importing Them

- 2003.10.23

Publisher's note: It was the start of the school year when Jeff Adkins sent in this article. Really. But some other issues took precedence, and this kept getting moved back in the queue. dk

Well, it's the beginning of the year, and as all teachers do, I am getting my gradebook ready for the beginning of the semester.

Each year the school provides us with a list of names (called a roster in EdSpeak) which has student ID numbers, grade level, and other information. Computer savvy teachers dutifully type the information into their gradebook program of choice, technodolts scratch it into a too small space in a little book, and the tech elite import it from a file - if they can get the file.

Or so I thought, until this year.

Over the years I have developed an elaborate and ugly system for persuading ClassXP (a class management program written for the district's convenience, not for that of teachers) to export my student information. Just to get name, grade, ID number, and class period requires taking a workshop course and a programmed learning manual - I'm not kidding - that teaches you how to write "queries" or boolean-type database requests that are fulfilled slower than, shall we say, Quake on a Quadra.

I export this, import the date into Excel, split it into columns, export with commas, arrange the order just so, and finally reimport the data into Grade Machine, for which I have built a filter to accept this data.

When I shared my method with some other teachers, they just laughed and said, "I'd rather type than go through all that." But you geekish types know how it is. If it can be done without typing, it should, because that's what a computer is for.

Also, I suffer from carpal-tunnel syndrome - I've had it since before it became a buzzword - and repetitive typing makes my hands tingle. You wouldn't know it from the lengthy articles I post, but it's true.

Then it occurred to me that if I did type the student names, I would at least be reading them. Since I'm kind of slow learning student names anyway, this is a good thing, isn't it? Not to mention thinking about how to pronounce them before I call roll on the first day, which I couldn't get from a hands-off importing process, the entire purpose of which is to keep me from typing the names of the very students I'm about to teach. Surely they deserve enough individual attention that I can afford to type each name.

All 192 of them.

Did I mention our school is kind of overcrowded?

Anyway, I'm an advocate of technology, obviously, but as I've said to others, just because you can do something with a computer doesn't mean you should. And this year, I think I'll be typing a little more.

Jeff Adkins is a science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a beige All-in-One to a a G4 XServe, and they all work together nicely. He calls himself the "poster child for technology integration" in the classroom. He was the 2006 Outstanding Educator of the Year for the California Computer Using Educators (CUE) organization. He also maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com.

Recent Mac Lab Reports

Microsoft Word 2004 vs. iWork Pages 1.0 for writing a book, 01.10. Microsoft Word is great for technical writing, powerful yet slow, while Pages lets you concentrate on just writing, making it great for novels.
iWeb a great tool for quickly creating an attractive website, 09.11. Apple's iWeb software isn't just easy to use, it also integrates nicely with .mac and other programs in the iLife bundle.
Use your Bluetooth phone to control your Mac? Maybe, 02.27. Salling Clicker software turns many Bluetooth phones into remote controls for Bluetooth-equipped Macs.
Two more markets the iPhone could conquer, 02.01. How Apple could redefine the ebook and calculator markets with a pair of free apps for the iPhone.
More in the Mac Lab Report index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Mac Lab Report copyright © 2000-08 by Jeff Adkins. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.