James Lane

Sometimes I read stuff because I just find it interesting and sometimes it's essential information that I need to stay abreast of; like for CPD (Continuing Professional Development). Either way, it takes time to read. Not least of all because while I can scan text fairly quickly, I'm a relatively slow reader - if it's something that I need to absorb. A helpful process that I use is to have that article read out. So I wanted to share with you the process I use. To make this work you'll need one of the following - A friend/relative/colleague (a child will suffice, but ensure they have a reading age great than 12 years) with nothing else to do or A laptop/desktop with a Chromium-based browser (for example, Google Chrome). Either jump straight to the Reader View extension I use, or, if you really want to make it slightly harder because you're one of those people that has to do everything the slow way - Go to the Chrome Web Store Search for "Reader View" (Offe...

A great profile picture is important. I have long-since preached the virtues of abandoning your selfie with the toilet in the background and having something that better represents you. I then came across this free profile picture maker that claims to let you "Create an awesome profile pic from any photo". I am a constant and fervent fan of Canva  for...pretty much everything - but every so often, there's something that pops up that might be worth having in your digital arsenal. I use this photo for most all of my profile pictures and I've always liked it. It is from the #Nerducator days, it was shot by a professional photographer and it suits me - so I use it mostly everywhere. So I was certainly curious to see what this tool could do with it. The tool claims to use an "AI background remover" to automatically remove any kind of background, provide dozens of design and you can tweak and edit the ideas to change them as you see fit. It only takes a few seco...