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Windows Updates, as you know is a legitimate software update from Microsoft to make the operating system stable and secure for improved performance. By default the feature remains enabled, however, you have the option to configure it further. Set Windows to automatically install updates or get your permission prior to it. Generally, after Windows Update the system automatically shuts down due to the replacement of the Shut Down option in the Start menu with the "Install Updates and Shut Down" button. This phenomenon is sometime irritating.

"For me, the most annoying part of Google Reader shutting down on July 1 is ensuring that we all continue to appreciate that understanding how to harness the power of RSS is an important skill for educators and students."

"ducators and students are carrying in much more than backpacks, car keys, conversations, partially-completed homework, and outward laughter. Buried deep in the brain's limbic system is an emotional switching station called the amygdala, and it is here that our human survival and emotional messages are subconsciously prioritized and learned. We continually scan environments for feelings of connectedness and safety. I am learning that the students who look oppositional, defiant, or aloof may be exhibiting negative behavior because they are in pain and presenting their stress response. Over 29 percent of young people in the U.S., ages 9-17, are affected by anxiety and depression disorders (PDF). The thinking lobes in the prefrontal cortex shut down when a brain is in pain."

"Digital classroom tools like computers, tablets and smartphones offer exciting opportunities to deepen learning through creativity, collaboration and connection, but those very devices can also be distracting to students. Similarly, parents complain that when students are required to complete homework assignments online, it's a challenge for students to remain on task. The ubiquity of digital technology in all realms of life isn't going away, but if students don't learn how to concentrate and shut out distractions, research shows they'll have a much harder time succeeding in almost every area."

How one goes about starting a PLN, how do you monitor it, and how do you learn to shut it off.

"Why Grown-ups Should Shut Their Traps about Hating Math

"From a press release: As part of a national movement called the Tech Timeout Academic Challenge, a San Francisco school will shut down their tech devices for three days beginning February 12. SAN FRANCISCO What happens when over 1,100 students in grades K-12, at a school that prides itself on ubiquitous access to technology, power down their electronic devices for three straight days? That question will be answered on February 12-14 when students at Convent & Stuart Hall in San Francisco take The Tech Timeout Academic Challenge. It will be the first school in the greater Bay Area to take the challenge and just the third in California."

"One of the great advantages of the internet is the convenience of cloud based services where you can store documents, pictures, bookmarks or notes and access them on any device with an internet connection. Despite this level of convenience it is still important to maintain backups of your data in the case of unforeseen circumstances, such as your account being hacked or a service shutting down. Here we will take a look at a few ways to backup your online data from some of the most popular services like Diigo, Google and Evernote."

Google Reader is shutting down in two days and it is therefore important that you migrate your existing RSS feed subscriptions elsewhere. There are quite a few Reader alternatives to choose from though I have finally picked Feedly as the new home for my beloved feeds.

"More than anything else, non-threatening, informal assessment can disarm the process of checking for understanding. The less formal the form, the less guarded or anxious the student might become. Stress and worry can quickly shut down the student's ability to think, which yields misleading results-a poor "grade" which implies that a student understands a lot less than they actually do. In that way, Levy County Schools in Florida's Kim Lambert compilation of 60 Tools for Formative Assessment and Processing Activities can be useful to you as you collect data from all students, from the polished little academics, to students for whom the classroom might be a less-than-comfortable place. If you have trouble viewing the embed below, you can find the original document from LCS here."