UNHCE Information Technology & Distance Education Blog: February 2006 Archives

For people who get seriously engrossed in their work & forget to stretch, there's a product which reminds you at what ever interval you set. This product also gives you stretching exercises in various categories.

They offer a 30-day free trail.

For further info, go to: http://www.stretchware.com/

Cradling the phone is one of the worst things one can do. Most people are under the misimpression that if they don't feel pain in their necks, caviling the phone is not an issue. That is wrong on two counts:

1) Cumulative trauma injuries build over time. By the time you feel pain, you have already incurred some damage.

2) Nerve impingement in the neck can express itself in other parts of the body. For instance, numbness in the fingers can originate from the neck.

For those reasons, no one should cradle the phone. If you must have your hands free while on the phone, then use a speaker phone or headset.

One vendor for headsets is: http://www.headset.com/

A new vendor, CompuMaster, is available. They offer classes in Microsoft applications and PhotoShop. Classes are offered in various applications through out NH, including Portsmouth, Concord, and Manchester. Some classes are also offered in MA and Vermont, which may be more convenient for some county staff.

Classes are generally $199 for one day or $399 for 2 days. They offer group discounts for groups of 4 or more.

For further information, consult their website at: http://www.compumaster.net/index.html/Z/03824/ST/CMCONPS

Some printers allow you to print on paper from different sources. For
instance, a printer may have multiple paper trays, each bearing a
different type of paper. If your printer driver is up to date, you can
instruct Word to print to exactly the paper source you want used.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0180
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

A point is a typographical measurement. Points are used for many types
of measurements in Word, PageMaker and related applications. This tip explains how you can enter them directly into dialog boxes in Word.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0075
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

Your chair is one of the most important components leading to workspace comfort. No one chair is right for everyone, but the more adjustments, the more likely it will fit you as you vary your routine, and be suitable for others in the future.

Sample Chairs

There are 3 Steelcase demo chairs available to try at UNH. They have various prices and features. They are housed at Purchasing (11 Brook Way, near Stoke.)

These 3 chairs were selected as models because they the have the necessary adjustments to fit the majority of people. Each chair has a tag, describing the features of the chair and the UNH price. (Options, such as custom material and other upgrades, would add to the price.) The contact person at Purchasing is Jackie Nyberg (jackie.nyberg@unh.edu) Her phone number is 862-2332.

Office Environments also has a showroom in Manchester. They have more chairs there than at UNH. For those close to Manchester, that may be a better option.

If you find one of these chairs is of interest, Gary Warren of Office Environments will deliver one to your office for you to try for a week or two. (He covers all of NH, so will also deliver to county offices.) He will go over all of the adjustments, so you can test it out. It's a good idea to do so for at least a week, as what feels good at the beginning of the day may not be as comfortable after a long day. It's like new shoes. You want to give it a few days and be sure it's as comfortable after using it a while, as it was at first.

The contact person is: Gary Warren at 603-668-6831 or 800 358-6328. He also has information on their complete line of chairs. If you are interested in a different chair, Gary would still be the contact person.

FYI, Office Environments are Steelcase vendors, so they should be able to obtain any Steelcase chair for you. If you would like to check out what Steelcase has to offer, their section on chairs is at: http://www.steelcase.com/na/products.aspx?f=10078 (Two of the options available at purchasing at UNH are the Criterion & the Leap chair.)

A good article on workspace ergonomics and its cost is available at:
http://www.fellowes.com/Fellowes/site/workspace/workspace_article_ergo_2.aspx

This article, titled, "Good Ergonomics Make Good Economics," discusses the cost of prevention vs. the cost of injury due to Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD)

You can increase the flexibility of tables by creatively merging cells
to get just the look and layout that you need. This tip describes a
couple of different ways you can perform the merging tasks. It covers
using menus and the more flexible toolbar approach.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0768
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

Many people seem to be using wrist supports and mouse pads which are relatively hard. The goal of wrist supports is to gently support your wrist. They should be cushioning. Foam ones are fine for many people. For the long haul, many people prefer gel rests.

The advantages to gel rests are that they tend to "bounce back" after use, and have less "memory" than foam rests. That means you don't get the little dents in them which often happens with a foam pad. Another advantage is it is a gentle, more-even form of support.

Gel rests can be purchased for your keyboard, mouse, and even accessories.

One manufacturer we have liked is Fellowes. Office Max carries that line.

Ordering info is:

Item #s are:
Gel rest (long, for in front of the keyboard): E691137
Gel rest with mouse pad: E691141

They cost $11.25 each.

A listing of all wrist rests offered by this manufacturer is at:
http://www.fellowes.com/Fellowes/site/products/productssubcategory.aspx?loc=left&Name=WRISTS_SUPPORT_WORKSPACE_ERGO


Note: Rests are not meant to be used to support your wrist while typing or mousing. Your hands should move freely and be elevated above the wrist/palm rest while typing. When resting, the pad should contact the heel or palm of your hand, not your wrist.

For further info on wrist support, see: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/components_wrist_rests.html

Paragraph marks (created by pressing Enter) and line breaks (created
by pressing Shift+Enter) are two of the most common special characters
in a document. Word allows you to easily search for these characters,
using the method described in this tip.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0007
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

Cover pages, which often need to be formatted different than the main
body of a document, can easily be created in Word. The trick is to add
a section break between the cover page and the body. You can then
format each section independently of the other. This tip explains this
concept and how to add the necessary section break.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0182
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

Graphics placed in a document can be "cropped" so that parts of the
graphic are hidden from display. This tip explains how to crop
graphics and also discusses why making such croppings doesn't result
in a smaller document.
Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T0158
Courtesy of: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

MVP ( http://word.mvps.org/ ) offers free articles and tutorials on a variety of Word topics.

The tutorial section is available at: http://word.mvps.org/Tutorials/index.htm

Sometimes a change of mouse pad or mouse causes the way your mouse responds to make it more difficult to use. You can change the speed of your mouse pointer to adjust for your individual set up. To do so in Windows XP:

* Go to Control Panel
* Select Mouse
* From the tabs on the top, select Pointer Options
* In the top box, titled "Select a pointer speed:"
* Slide the arrow along the continuum to the desired speed. (Slower or Faster)

Be sure "Enhance Pointer Precision" is checked.Adjusting the speed of your mouse pointer:

Granite State College (formerly CLL - College for Lifelong Learning) has announced several Microsoft training opportunities in their offerings this spring. Sessions are at the Portsmouth campus (formerly Pease) and Littleton campus, except as noted.

Check their calendar for dates at your preferred campus.

Classes offered include:

Intro to Microsoft Word I

Intro to Microsoft PowerPoint (Littleton campus, only)

Intro to Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access II

Classes in Littleton are from 9:00-4:00 and Portsmouth classes run from 9:30-4:30. The cost is usually $120 per class, but UNH employees can use a staff waiver to get 1/2 tuition. (County employees would have to pay full price.) Participants are eligible for 0.6 CEUs.


For further information on these classes, or to see other listings offered through Granite State College, go to: http://www.granite.edu/news/assets/workshops01.pdf

CIS has announced their training sessions through March of 2006. Sign up early for CIS classes. Not only are the most popular classes oversubscribed early; CIS cancels classes which are under-enrolled two weeks prior to the class date.

Vendor-based classes are being offered in the following subjects through March of 2006 :

* Access
* Acrobat
* Dreamweaver
* Excel (2 levels)
* PowerPoint (2 levels)
* PhotoShop

FREE Sessions offered by CIS:

CIS will be offering a FREE session titled: Desktop Video Demonstration Feb 22 and March 29 (Note - these sessions are available to faculty only)

They also offer free training in Blackboard for those who use it as a teaching tool.

Note that they have also listed offerings for April and beyond. They will continue to add to their offerings as they become available.

To see current offerings and their descriptions, or sign up for a session, use their web site at: http://training.unh.edu They keep adding to their offerings, so check back for updated information.