How to Deal with Office 2007 FilesI'm sure by now most of you have encountered a file created using the new Microsoft Office 2007. You'll know it by the odd extension (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) and by the fact that you can't open it. IT is in the process of developing a plan to roll out this new product but until that rollout is ready, there are a few things you can do to make your life easier re: Office 2007. 1) Try installing the Office Compatibility Pack.This allows you to use and older version of Office to open, edit and save files as Office 2007. The installer is available from Microsoft's Download Center. Important Note: Your computer MUST have all of its updates before this patch will install. This has proven to be a real pain for some folks. Mac Users: there is a beta program that you can load to help with this conversion. 2) Make it clear to students that you will only accept files in Office 2003 or Rich Text Format (.rtf).This is easy for them to do. All they need to do is a Save As > Office 2003 or earlier. Office 2007 in the ClassroomI have just verified with Classroom Support that the Office Compatibility Patch has been installed in all the Windows classrooms. This should help with compatibility issues when students bring 2007 PowerPoint presentations. To be on the safe side, before having students present make sure they test their presentation ahead of time. | New Online Video Site - FORA.TVThere are a million video sites on the internet but many of them don't contain much of substance. Enter FORA.TV. The site's tagline is "The World is thinking". So what is FORA.TV? According to them "FORA.tv delivers discourse, discussions and debates on the world's most interesting political, social and cultural issues, and enables viewers to join the conversation. It provides deep, unfiltered content, tools for self-expression and a place for the interactive community to gather online." The site is broken down by Topics and Regions so it makes it easier to search for videos in your genre. Once you find your video you can choose to watch a small clip or the entire program. Some of the videos are broken down by chapter and there is an area where you can rate the program. This product is currently still in BETA so not everything is working properly. The theory behind the site is that the videos would be accompanied by a discussion area and suggested topics but so far, I can't get those to work. I was able to watch clips but couldn't get any of the "go to program" links to work. Although the site promises things it can't currently deliver I think it's a site to watch. The videos that do work are worthwhile in an academic setting. Check it out and see for yourself. Other Online Video Sites
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