New Computers!

This summer the district purchased 90 new Gateway desktop PCs. As usual, the oldest of 90 throughout the district have been retired. Seventy-five of the new systems are Gateway Profile systems. These computers have a much smaller foot print than previous systems. The LCD screen is incorporated directly into the PC which is an upright case. This allows for greater space on desks. You’ll be seeing these new style systems in Middle Grade classrooms as well as the High School Media Center.

Important reminder:  LCD or flat panel screens should never be cleaned with any chemicals. Please use a soft cloth dampened with water ONLY. If you feel the screen needs cleaning beyond that mentioned, please call Ted or Bill immediately.

BrainPop® Has Arrived!

We now have a license for BrainPOP^®. This is a collection of standards-based educational videos for grades K-12. BrainPOP^® has received  rave reviews from teachers, as well as awards such as the Flash Film Festival, Forbes Best of the Web and District Administration Curriculum Award. Our license allows for up to 35 simultaneous computers at any time.  Contact Maureen at ext. 2056 or via email for our username and password.  Go to http://www.brainpop.com/ if you'd like to explore.
 

Community Tech Workshops

During October we will continue our Community Technology Workshop series for adults with a four-part workshop called “Creating Publications with Microsoft Publisher”. It will take place on October 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Middle Grade Computer Lab. Maureen Edsforth will be the instructor.

This free hands-on workshop uses Windows XP workstations and Publisher 2003.  Participants will learn how to use the basics of Publisher to create calendars, newsletters, brochures, flyers and greeting cards. Each participant will create at least one publication using the techniques learned in class. Participants should have experience using a computer and should be comfortable using the mouse. No prior experience with Publisher is necessary.

If you or someone you know is interested in signing up, email or call Maureen at  extension 2056. Enrollment is limited, so please call promptly.

Teachers Using Technology

Many staff members have created or updated their classroom materials with technology over the summer. Some activities included:

• evaluating Unitedstreaming™ videos  and integrating them into lessons.

• creating a collection of graphic organizers with Inspiration^® for  students.

•  working with FrontPage and added new content to their web pages.

•  creating Jeopardy!-type games with PowerPoint. Participants agreed this will make reviewing fun for everyone. 

• practicing with Excel with plans to use it to analyze student data.

• developing Publisher templates  for creating student books.

• creating online course content with Blackboard.com.

If you'd like to explore any of these topics, contact Maureen to set up a date and time.

Email Archiving

Microsoft Outlook has a feature called “Auto Archive”. This feature allows Outlook to archive email messages based on attributes you set. Some of the attributes are message age, message size, who messages are from or who they’ve been sent to. The benefit to using the archiving feature is that it reduces the size of your mailbox on the server allowing for faster performance as well helping you keep organized. The messages that are “flagged” for archiving based on your settings are removed from your mail box and sent to an archive folder that we set up in your home folder. This archive folder can be accessed quickly at any time should you need to look for older email. The archiving process runs automatically again on a schedule set by you. Typically we recommend archiving messages older than one year. If Auto Archiving is something you would like to learn more about or help setting up, call Bill at ext. 2234.

After School Staff Opportunities

All sessions will be held in the MG lab from 2:40-3:20PM. Brief and on target!
If you plan to attend, please email Maureen.

September 28- "Getting Organized: Managing Files so that you can find them again!" - Do you have difficulty finding documents in your network folder? Are there times when you say to yourself, "This is such a mess. I can't find anything!"? You are not alone. Topics to be covered:

• Planning your folder organization

• Creating new folders

• Moving files to these new folders

• Naming new documents and folders

• Renaming documents and folders

"Using the Internet for Research" - There is so much information, yet so little time! How do you separate the good from the bad? Let's show our students how to surf the web efficiently and to evaluate the information they find. Tips and tricks for use with your students will be shared. Each session will cover a different topic. Come to one or all of the sessions.

• October 5 - "Let Favorites Remember for you" - Using the Favorites component of Internet Explorer will make researching the web much easier for your students. Learn to add, delete, organize and import/export your Favorites.

• October 12 - "Which search engine is best?"- We will spend time exploring and then you can make an informed decision.

• October 19 - "Evaluating Web Sites" - what makes a site "good"? Help your students to view web pages with a critical eye. Forms to use and/or modify for your students will be shared.

• October 26 - "What is the Invisible Internet and How Can You Find It?" - Great for upper level and AP coursework. Excellent for grad school!