Random Name Picker created in Minutes!

Dale

Last night I told ChatGPT, “I want to make a webpage that will pick a random name from a list.”

In seconds, it delivered this to my phone:


This morning I fed it the suggestions below until I got what I wanted:

Is there a way for me to submit a list of names into the website and then it pick a random name?

I’d like the selected name to be displayed larger and at the top of the page. Can you add some CSS to give the page more style?

Instead of each name being separated by a comma, can this page be changed so the user submits the names with one name on each line?

When the submit button is pressed, can the page first display a random half of the names quickly one right after another and then end on the final one?

Can you double the selected name’s size?

Is there a way that the submitted names could be saved so that the user still has the last set of names they submitted from a previous browsing session?

If there are no names loaded in localStorage, can the page load with ten names to demonstrate the page? I’d like the ten names to be the first names of famous scientists.

I’d like to change the button title to Select Name. Also, can you add instructions above the bottom that explain to the user that they can replace the names in the box with their own but that they need to put one name on each line?

Can you add 10 more names to the defaultNames?

Here is the final product for you to try.

ChatGPT Makes Greeting Cards!

Dale

Was there ever a time when greeting cards were looked at as a form of cheating?

While shopping at Target, this thought came to me as I noticed several people browsing through greeting cards. My guess is that they were looking for the perfect words that they can use as their own to say things like: thank you, happy birthday, congratulations, I love you and many other other personal and heartfelt messages.

Companies like Hallmark and American Greetings have been helping us find the right words for decades. However, I discovered there is a new option – ChatGPT. You can ask ChatGPT to create a greeting card for any occasion.

For my example, I chose to have an all-AI creation. First, I asked DALL·E for an image to use on the front of the card.

DALL-E used to create image of a thankful elephant

Next, I asked ChatGPT to create the card and told it about the image I wanted to use.

Asked ChatGPT to create a thank you card with an elephant

ChatGPT gives you text that is labeled for the front and inside of the card. More importantly, you can collaborate with the AI to modify your card to address the specifics that you are looking for.

make it shorter

can you add a joke?

this card is for my brother

Once you are happy with the greeting card elements that you created, then you can drop them into a greeting card template and print.

I asked ChatGPT if it could create a printable document for me that I can fold into a card. It cannot do this – for now. Therefore, I created some greeting card templates in Google Slides that you can use to get started.

Enjoy!

Stop using Google Forms for Everything

Dale

This spring I was asked to fill out of few surveys to vote on certain changes in our community. All of the surveys were anonymous Google Forms and had simple multiple choice questions. I was only supposed to fill out each survey once but nothing prevented me from voting multiple times.

So I created a little script that allowed me to stuff the ballot boxes with my preferred choices.

Automated Google Form filling demonstration (modified from this example)

Don’t worry. I didn’t cheat on any of the real surveys… but I could have.

Google Forms offers an easy way to create surveys but it doesn’t have survey protection tools that minimize or prevent participants from taking the survey over and over again. This feature is only available if participants sign in and surrender their anonymity.

Surveys provide an easy way to get information from an audience. However, if you really care about the information you are gathering, you need to consider questions like:

  • Is the survey set up to prevent users from responding multiple times?
  • Will the survey allow you to know if you have a representative sample?
  • How will the results be analyzed and shared?

If you don’t consider questions like these, your audience may have the perception that you don’t care about the validity of the information being collected. The survey can be seen as an excuse building survey that is only used so you can have an excuse for why you made a decision.

To ensure the integrity of your survey’s responses, you may need to use a service like Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey that has a more robust set of survey protection tools.

It’s a trap?

Dale

Most of us have heard the stories about phishing and sometimes we just cannot believe what people fall for. Yet, it’s important to realize that people fall into these traps when they’ve let their guard down. It happens when they’re in the middle of work or communicating with family. We cannot fault people for this.

Do we really want to live in a world where every conversation must be viewed suspiciously?

Let’s cut people some slack. Yes, they might have missed the warning signs but often those are only obvious AFTER the scam has been identified.

Also, many legitimate emails come to us with the markings of a phishing scam. Take a look at the message I got from Common Sense Media recently.

Let’s go through the “watch for phishing” checklist:

  • Message comes from email address that doesn’t match domain
  • Message is asking users to enter login credentials
  • Links in message point to a URL different than the domain
  • Link takes user to suspicious looking pages

It’s the last two bullets that made me think I was phished. When I clicked the FAQ link I was sent here:

It turns out that Common Sense Media uses Salesforce for their help and support pages. That’s where the suspicious looking commonsense.force.com url came from. Phew.

In the end, I think it is way too easy to blame the people who are phished. What can we expect when some of the tools and tricks for legitimate communication are the same tools and tricks that are used to deceive us.

So, the next time you learn about someone who was duped by phishing, go easy on them and focus on helping them back to safety. They’re already embarrassed. Plus, it could happen to you next.

Baby Names versus Dog Names

Dale

What happens when the 2017 list of top baby names and the 2017 list of top dog names appear in my news feed on the same day?

I’m going to have questions.

Like… How many names are on both lists?

The names that are on both lists

Wow! Oliver is #9 on both lists! And look at all the female names compared to male names!
It’s 27 to 10.

I don’t know what all this means but maybe some graphs will help.

Male Names

Female Names

If you have kids named Oliver or Chloe and plan to take them to the dog park, be advised.

 

Editable sign in screens for the Chromebook

Dale 1 Comment

Since you cannot take a screenshot on the Chromebook until you are signed in, it is difficult to get a good screenshot of the sign in screens. A few years back, I created some sign in screens so I could use them to create custom Chromebook sign in documents and presentations.

Google has given the Chromebook sign in screens a fresh look, so I have created new screens that match the new look.

The screens are:

  • enter email
  • enter password
  • show password
  • failed email example (with CAPTCHA)
  • first time users (Accept Terms of Service)

They were all created with the drawing tools in Google Apps so you can edit the text to display your school’s domain.

See them all here.

Also, my old screens are still useful since they are the screens for signing in to the chrome browser. I have updated them to reflect the change.

Even the movies are saying goodbye to SMART Board

Dale

I often notice the technology that is used in movies and TV shows – especially when there is a classroom in the scene.

Yesterday, while watching Wonder, something caught my eye. Even Auggie’s private school, Beecher Prep, has left SMART Boards behind!

covered SMART
Wonder where the SMART Board is? (click for full screen)

It’s time for a video tribute to SMART so we can say our final goodbyes.

— —

Oh! Here is one more geeky thing I caught in Wonder. Auggie is playing Minecraft on a Chromebook!

Minecraft on a Chromebooks
Minecraft on a Chromebooks!?

Auggie, how did you do that? Did you put Linux on your Chromebook?

Pete Holmes and Penn Jillette

A comedian and a magician discuss growth mindset

Dale

In a recent episode of the You Made it Weird podcast is an interview with magician Penn Jillette. For over two hours, Jillette and the host Pete Holmes jump around from topic to topic during the conversation but they spend a healthy amount of time sharing their thoughts and perspectives on learning. I recommend listening to the entire episode but you can hear the parts on learning at 36:14 to 58:56. (Note: the show is NSFW – they swear and talk about some adult situations.)

Without saying it, I think they touch on the subject of growth mindset several times. For example, Jillette recalls his early beliefs about The Beatles and how they changed after hearing some not-so-polished bootlegs of the band. Here is a link that takes you to the beginning of this clip.

Earlier in the show, Jillette explains to Holmes that being tall (both the guest and host are tall men) teaches you something.

penn
I met Penn once at a conference. He doesn’t remember.

Jillette explains that, “tall teaches you not to buy into, completely, that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Because we know we’re not going to be jockeys.” The clip begins here.

I like the point that Jillette makes here. Growth mindset is a positive thing unless it is reduced to a poster, a meme, or bulletin board. I think growth mindset is far too nuanced for Pinterest. Hard work and perseverance (fine, call it ‘grit’ if you must) can get you a long way but we know there is more to the story of how we learn.

Our resilient efforts must be balanced with the reality of our limits. A great teacher or coach helps the learner find this balance. Without a balance, too many learners will live in a fixed state of delusion.

Back to the episode of You Made it Weird; it has a lot more to offer. Holmes explains what he means when he says “education is shoplifting” and Jillette talks about what he thinks the word ‘genius’ really means with examples that reference magic tricks and Bob Dylan. Give it a listen.

—
Note: Holmes does yell “that’s Dale. That’s Dale being Dale” at the end of the show. This had no bearing on my interpretation of the episode but it sure was freaky!

Add audio player to NEW Google Sites… Sort of

Dale

In 2014, I asked the question “Does Google hate audio?” Fast forward to over three years later and we still do not have ways to embed audio files into things that we created in GSuite. Not in Drive, not in Slides. And not even in Sites.

So frustrated that I could not embed audio into my web pages at Google Sites, I created my own workaround to solve the problem. I quickly learned that I was not the only one who was looking for this feature. Thousands of people watched my video tutorial and I collaborated with creators from all over the world to help them add audio to their Google Sites.

Now Google has a NEW Google Sites. it’s much easier to use but it is still missing one very important piece- the ability to embed audio files.

I was able to find an audio solution for the new Google sites but it is still just another workout. Nevertheless, it’s the only solution that we have at the moment.

Below is a quick video tutorial that explains how to embed audio files to pages in the NEW Google Sites.

There are a few things that I do not like about this process:

  1. You cannot add audio files by clicking the Google Drive button. (you can do this with videos that are saved in Drive – not fair!). [**see workaround]
  2. If you embed the URL that points directly to an audio file, it begins playing immediately and continues to play as you edit your page. (so annoying!) [**see workaround]
  3. There are no parameters to adjust how the audio player behaves and looks. (no control over autoplay, download link or background color adjustments) [no workaround 🙁 ]

Because of all of this, I do not recommend using Google Sites (old or new) if audio is an important part of your webpage. If Google is your only option, then your stuck with the workarounds above. However, if you can go beyond Google, give tools like WordPress or Microsoft’s Sway a look instead.

**However, this YouTuber shows how you can add audio files that are stored publicly in Google Drive.

 

Make something in real life!

Dale

Sometimes I worry that my creativity is stuck in the digital world. So many of my creations (videos, podcasts, etc.) are digital. I think about the characters in dystopian novels and movies where society is thrusted backwards to a world without electricity. The lights go out, and all their creations are trapped forever inside a dead iPhone.

Revolution – Season 1, Episode 3

Inspired by some of my favorite woodworking Youtubers (here and here), I recently purchased a new tool that will hopefully diversify my creations beyond bits and bytes.

Dewalt table saw (DW745)

Of course, I’m not looking to leave digital creations behind for good. Instead, I’m seeking out ways that digital and physical creations can work together. For example, I needed a workbench for my new saw. Rather than just cutting away (which would probably result in wasted time and lumber), I designed a digital version of the workbench first.

My workbench in SketchUp (download the model)

After looking at other plans online and watching several SketchUp for Woodworkers tutorials, I was able to iterate until my design met my specific needs. Before a single cut was made, I knew every corner of my workbench because I got to know it in the digital space first. When it came time to build the real thing, I was able to move much more quickly and confidently.

I was filled with enormous amounts of pride after I finished making my workbench. It certainly isn’t one of the best workbenches out their but this one is definitely mine. The feeling of touching something physical is incredibly rewarding – especially when you made it yourself.

I’m starting to finally understand why more people are getting into vinyl and why my daughter has been begging us for an instant film camera (think Polaroid). Sites like Facebook want to make the world more connected but let’s not overlook our connections with the physical world.

So, go print out some family photos, buy a paper map for your next road trip, find those old cassette tapes from high school – take a break from the digital world and make something in real life. You’ll thank yourself for it.