Tag Archives: fmca

FMCA Rally in Madison: Geeks Teaching 7 Classes

imageWe are here, in Madison, Wisconsin getting ready for our week (7/28/15- 8/2/15) at the rally! Here is our schedule of classes, and one of them you can watch from home! The Picasa and Google Photos seminar on Friday at 8am Central time will be webcast.

Technology for Travelers Wed 11:45 Seminar 3

How to Tell your Travel Stories with Pictures, Maps, Movies, and Blogs

Jim and Chris of Geeks on Tour use lots of tech gadgets as they travel in their RV. Smartphones, Tablets, Computers, Cameras, GPS devices, a Quadcopter and an Amazon Echo. It’s not about the devices though, it’s about what you can accomplish with them. You will learn how they tell their travel stories online with photo albums, maps, movies, and blogs. Even if you’re not a traveler, if you have a story to tell you can use pictures, maps, movies, and blogs to make it come to life. Jim and Chris’ blog is at www.geeksontour.blogspot.com – then you can click the menu options for Photos, Videos, and Maps.

Wed 3:15 Seminar 5: Google Maps

You’ve probably been to the Google Maps website to search for a destination. But did you know that you can use Google’s My Maps to plan a multi-stop route and it is instantly available on all your mobile devices?  You can create and save custom maps to record your travels and share them with friends and family. Your custom maps can even include your photos, links, and descriptions. This seminar will show you how!

Thu 11:30 Seminar 7: Smartphone Basics for Travelers

Whether you’ve had a smartphone or tablet for years, or you’re just thinking about getting one, you will learn something in this seminar.  We will demonstrate why they are so much more useful than a regular phone. It is a navigation device, an excellent camera, an emergency alert system and so much more.  We will demonstrate how to install a QR code scanner and use it to find the information stored behind those funny looking square codes.  We will show you how to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot so your tablets and computers can get online when you’re traveling.

Thu 4:30 Seminar 10: 2.5 hour hands-on Smartphone Photography. Pre-registration required. $20.

Learn by Doing!  This 3 hour, hands-on class is open to anyone with Android phones or tablets as well as iPhones and iPads. Bring your device fully charged, and a charging cable just in case! We’ll start with the basics of taking pictures, selfies, and videos, then move on from there! You’ll learn what that HDR setting means and how to use it. How to take Panoramas, see your pictures in place on a map, and other special features. That camera lens is not just for capturing memories – you can also capture documents (no need for a scanner or fax!) or scan QR codes that get you discounts at your favorite store. This class is limited to 30 people. Pre-registration and a $20 fee is required. Sign up at the Geeks on Tour table in the Information Center.

Fri 8am Seminar 1: Picasa and Google photos: What to do with All Those Pictures

This is the one that will be webcast. Just follow this link.
Do you have a process for handling all your pictures? We use the free tools from Google (Picasa, Google+ Photos, and Web Albums) to show you how to Organize, Edit, and Share your pictures. We start by taking pictures with our smartphones and showing you how they get to the computer, then Picasa takes over to make the pictures look better and share them online with Google Photos.

Fri 9:45 Seminar 3: Moviemaker, Yes You Can Make Your Own Travel Video

Learn how to make your own movies. We will use Movie Maker, a free Windows program from Microsoft and also give a quick demo of Google Photos movies on an iPad.  Use your pictures and video clips, add narration and music.  During the seminar, we will create a movie, step by step.  You’ll see the original pictures and video clips and learn how to combine them, arrange them, add transitions, music, and narration, and render the finished movie.  All you have to pay for is the popcorn!

Sat 11:45 Seminar 5: Smartphone Apps for Travelers:

Using material from our weekly “What Does This Button Do?” online show, we will show you as many Apps as we can fit in the time allotted! Every traveler needs to know how to navigate with their mapping app, we will demonstrate with both Google Maps and Apple Maps. For foreign travel, Google Translate is a must. For RVers, we love Where Am I?, Gas Buddy, and Field Trip. We use several campground searching apps, Social Networking apps, Personal Safety apps, and many more.

Family Motorcoach (FMCA) Convention in Pomona, CA March 2015

2014083

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the seminars we will be teaching at the FMCA Pomona convention, March 26-29.

  1. Technology for Travelers Friday 11:30-12:45 Seminar 9 Laptops, smartphones and tablets all have something to offer travelers. Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour have compiled a list of their favorite uses of technology. Research and plan your travels with maps, apps, and GPS devices. Stay safe with weather and emergency information. Take memorable photos with your smartphones, organize and share them with today’s cloud services, use social networks to meet and greet others in this journey and keep your story in a Blog. In this overview seminar they will demonstrate each and also provide a list of resources where you can learn more.
  2. All about Smartphones and Tablets Sunday 9:45-11 Seminar 9
    Whether you’ve had a smartphone for several years, or you’re just thinking about getting one, you will learn something in this seminar. We’ll start with an explanation of smartphone connections, sensors, and costs. Then we’ll show several things you can do with a smartphone besides make calls! And finally give you a couple of tips about managing the settings of your device. Presented by Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour
  3. Cloud Computing for Storing and Sharing your Pictures (New) Thursday 11:45 – 1 Seminar 8
    Are you wondering what to do with all those pictures you take on your travels? Have you heard of “The Cloud” but don’t understand it? This seminar will focus on using Google+ photos (in the cloud) because it works with both Apple and Android devices, but we will also give an explanation of Apple’s iCloud and iCloud Photos. Google+ is so automatic, the photos you take with your phone or tablet may already be in the cloud! We’ll show you how to find them! If you do it right, you have unlimited free cloud storage for all your photos. We will explain and demonstrate how it works, how you can see all your pictures whether you’re using a computer, phone, or tablet and share your photos with any of your family or friends by simply sending them a link. You can also use your cloud-based photos in a Blog.
  4. Map your memories with (free) Google My Maps Thursday 10 – 11:15 Seminar 8
    You can create and save custom maps to record your travels and share them with friends and family. Your custom maps can even include your photos, links, and descriptions. This seminar will show you how! Also use Google My Maps to keep track of places you may want to go in the future – a wishlist, or bucket list! It works on both the computer or your mobile device, so anytime you get an idea you can add it to your map complete with any notes or pictures you need to describe it. Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour will present this seminar, you can see their maps on their blog at GeeksOnTour.blogspot.com and click the tab for Our Maps.
  5. Eliminate paper and Organize your Life with Evernote (New) Friday 1:15-2:30 Seminar 9
    How many times a day do you have an idea, or receive a piece of information and think to yourself, “How am I going to remember this?” or “Where should I put this so I can find it later?” The answer to those questions is Evernote. It’s a free note-taking and information gathering website (Evernote.com) that also has Apps for Apple and Android devices. Whichever device you have available – all your information is there! You can leave yourself voice notes. You can even use it to snap photos of receipts, business cards, or Dr. reports and be able to search for them later. You can search for any word contained in the snapshot! This seminar is a step by step How To taught by Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour.
  6. What Does This Button Do? 20 things you didn’t know your phone or tablet could do! (New) Saturday 8-9:15 Seminar 9
    Using both Android and Apple devices, Jim and Chris of Geeks on Tour will demonstrate as many Apps, Techniques, and Features as time will allow in this rapid-fire, fun-filled seminar. They will draw material from their weekly online show (GeeksOnTour.com/weeklyshow) that they have been producing for over a year. From simple, but hidden features like how to alphabetized your iPad’s icons, to amazing Android Apps that will record your hike and let you later fly through it with Google Earth, to everyday but oh-so-useful ways to find out information like the name of the county you’re in! Watch Jim and Chris as each tries to outdo the other in finding, explaining, and demonstrating their favorite tips. Seminar includes a handout with all tips listed and references to learn more.
  7. Turn your so-so pictures into stunning memories with Picasa Sunday 11:30-12:45 Seminar 9
    Picasa is free software by Google for Windows and Mac computers.  Chris and Jim Guld of Geeks on Tour are specialists in teaching Picasa. See their dedicated website, PicasaGeeks.com. This seminar will focus on Picasa’s photo editing capabilities, from simple cropping and straightening, to making skies bluer, retouching blemishes, and framing pictures. Pictures that you thought were trash can be turned into treasures with a few simple clicks. This seminar will also teach how to make collages and give you resources to learn more.

Smartphone Photography – and Other Uses for that Lens! Friday 4:30-5:30??  Seminar 11

Learn by Doing!  This 3 hour, hands-on class is open to anyone with Android phones or tablets as well as iPhones and iPads. Bring your device fully charged, and a charging cable just in case! We’ll start with the basics of taking pictures, selfies, and videos, then move on from there! You’ll learn what that HDR setting means and how to use it. How to take Panoramas, see your pictures in place on a map, and other special features. That camera lens is not just for capturing memories – you can also capture documents (no need for a scanner or fax!) or scan QR codes that get you discounts at your favorite store. This class is limited to 20 people. Pre-registration and a $20 fee is required. Sign up at the Geeks on Tour table in the Information Center.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It never fails to impress me how RVing gives you a different neighborhood all the time.  Sometimes you’re far from the maddening crowd, sometimes you’re next door neighbors with best friends, and sometimes you have a whole new set of neighbors to meet.

This week at the FMCA convention, there were nearly 2,000 RVs that come together and form a new city for four days.  This city sprouts up overnight and disperses 5 days later.  Here is a WAY COOL video about one of the RVers here who has a Quadcopter that takes video as it flies overhead.  You will see the city I’m talking about here.

And, guess what?  The Reporter in this video, Mike Wendland, was one of our neighbors!  He heard about what we do, and came over to take some video of us.  We may be on NBC!  I’m sure we’ll be on the video list on his ‘OpenMike’ FMCA page.  We’ll post the link when we see it.

Our neighbor, Mike Wendland coming over to interview us.

Mike was staying in the gray Roadtrek in the back of this picture, then next to him, in the white RV is Chuck Woodbury of RVTravel.com.  We’ve been reading his weekly newsletter for years, and I’ve even written some articles on his DigitalRVer blog, but we’ve never met in person.  No amount of online contact can make the connection that you get from spending real time with someone. 

Chuck Woodbury

Because Chuck was in our neighborhood, we even got together for dinner, and other friends popped in as well – Phil and Tracey from TechnoRV and their dog Murphy.  We all had a great time swapping stories.

Neighbors dropping by! Phil and Tracey May, Chuck Woodbury. Love this lifestyle!

Chuck took a great video walking all around the FMCA ‘city’ – this will give you an idea of what I’m talking about – from ground level.

All good things must come to an end.  The 2,000 homes that made up our town for the last few days just started the ignition and drove away!  Our next stop is the Gypsy Journal Rally in Celina, Ohio.

See Ya Down The Road!

FMCA Indianapolis

We’ve been attending, and working, at the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Ass’n) conventions once or twice every year since 2005.  It’s always a pleasure, and it’s always different.

This year, in Indianapolis, the fairgrounds is a new venue.  There was a little confusion as to parking, but we ended up in a wonderful spot.

Motorhomes arriving at the Family Motor Coach Ass’n convention

Our parking spot

The neighborhood

Except for rain the first morning, we’ve had gorgeous weather.  We were booked for 2 and 3 seminars each day.  We knew it was going to be a busy week.

Facebook Seminar

We had good crowds for all our seminars.  It’s always interesting to see which one will be the most popular. For several years, our Picasa classes were clearly the most popular, but last year, Facebook won, and now, our Smartphone class had the biggest audience.  I don’t know exact numbers, but I think Smartphones had about 400 people in the audience, and another 3-400 watching remotely on the webcast.  These live webcasts are free for anyone.  We didn’t realize this was happening, so didn’t let our readers know.  I’m hoping they are recorded and will be available for viewing later, but we don’t have any information on that yet.

All our seminars this week are being filmed and presented live over the Web.

Jim is able to project his actions on a smartphone by connecting the iPad to the projector and aiming the iPad’s camera at the smartphone.

We also had a hands-on smartphone workshop.

 

 

And a Hands-on Picasa Photo Editing Class at FMCA Rally in Indianapolis
And a Hands-on Picasa Photo Editing Class at FMCA Rally in Indianapolis

So many people are telling us about what they’ve learned from us … it makes us feel so good.  That’s what it’s all about.  We especially like it when people show us something they’ve done because of what we’ve taught them.  Today we got a link to a youtube video that would have knocked me off my chair, IF I had been sitting down!  (Haven’t done much of that in a few days!)  We taught our Photo Story 3 class from 11:30 to 12:45 – it was webcast.  At about 3 o’clock, we got an email from Vicki in Quad Cities.  She wrote:
"I watched, I listened, I learned…  " 
She had apparently watched the seminar on the live Webcast.  During the webcast she took several screenshots of us presenting the seminar.  Then she used what she learned about Photo Story to put together this little movie:

How Cool is that?!  We get to see a little of what the Webcast looked like, and she shows us that she learned how to make a photo story by watching the webinar.  All done and uploaded to youtube, within a couple hours!

Further your computer education**Subscribe to the Free Geeks on Tour Newsletters**