By Laurie Celaya, Cross
Digital photography is a great addition to any classroom. It's simple to use for both
teachers and students, is relatively cheap to purchase, and is an excellent way
to place memorable input in front of students and parents.
I have a sixth grade science classroom. When I first looked at incorporating digital photography into my curriculum, I started with the basics: I took pictures of the shapes of various clouds to add to my weather unit. I turned these into a Power Point presentation and had the kids identify the different types of clouds. Basic, simple, and easily changed to fit the content de jour: shapes of leaves, seeds, etc. I was on a roll.
Now that I had the main idea, I started to look outside the box. What a great idea, I thought, to have kids demonstrate the steps of the scientific method as they worked through an experiment. Hey, it would also be great to have students act out the various classroom rules and procedures. Snap, snap. I have two great PowerPoint presentations for next year. Adding the digital pictures creates a more lasting impression and is definitely more exciting than the regular lessons with me reading a list of procedures or rules. Plus, if you can find a "ham" who will do the "DO NOTS' for labs or classroom behaviors (trust me, you have more than you would imagine in your class), the students will remember the information for a long time.
Ok.that's done. What else can I do? I have a camera and a class. I know. Let's take pictures of regular classroom activities, experiments, award ceremonies, field trips, and the kids just being kids. Slap them together with a few captions. viola! A wonderful showcase of what we do in class, just perfect for showing at open house for parents, for the students to watch at the beginning of the school year, and for parents to see at orientation. Here's my class; here we are having fun; here we are learning. Great PR, little work, very impressive.
Go one step further. Take the pictures of the students and put them on the school, team, or class web page. Kids are excited about seeing themselves on the Web, even if they are simply holding the cell they made in front of their faces while glue drips down their arms. Go figure. (Make sure you review the District guidelines for student pictures on the Internet
We made the kids happy, the parents happy, and I assume the administration happy. What else can I do with my trusty little Sure.why not? Make a newsletter in Word. Plop three pictures of classroom events on there, write a paragraph for each, and I have a great way to let parents know every month what we are doing. Good news. The format is the same each month, so I swap out the pictures and change the text. It takes me twenty minutes maximum. I take the list of parents who wish to receive the newsletter, select them in my address book, and within minutes, email them a colorful, informative insight into their kids' day. And, the parents can right mouse click on the picture and keep a copy of Junior mixing baking soda and vinegar, just the thing to forward to Grandma. Better yet, have the students make the newsletter. No fuss, no muss, great exposure. (If you try this one, make sure you get permission slips to use student pictures in your newsletter. Since it is going, via email, only to parents of students in the class, I have found very little parent hesitation.)
These are just a few of the hundreds of ways to add digital cameras to a classroom regardless what level you teach and what content you present. Use some imagination and get the kids involved. Our campus is blessed with a wonderful student council and terrific PTO that are clamoring to help us update our technology. We currently have four digital cameras on campus, but one is all you really need. Most of the pictures I take are on a single day. Then I won't use the camera again for several weeks. With just one camera on campus (that's an investment of about $500.00), and a bit of planning, everyone at your school could make digital photography a new and exciting part of his/her curriculum. Give it a try; go ahead, Go Digital!
Microsoft Keyboard Shortcuts
By Peggy Steffens
If you like to use keyboard shortcuts on your computer but you don't have a complete list,
the Microsoft website can help you. Most people know that pressing ctrl b will bold the word you have selected, ctrl s will save your document, and ctrl p will print your document. But there are many more shortcuts you can be using. Microsoft has created a web site that lists the keyboard shortcuts for many products. Go to
www.microsoft.com/enable/products/keyboard/keyboardsearch.asp
Use the pop up window to select the product you would like to see the keyboard shortcuts
for and click on Search.
For example, in Word 97 and 2000 try the following:
Alt Ctrl i will switch you to the print preview mode and back.
Alt Ctrl c will display the copyright symbol - c
Alt Ctrl r will display the Registered Trademark symbol - r
Alt Ctrl . will display an ellipse - .
Alt Shift d will display the date - 3/29/2001
Alt Shift t will display the time - 11:54 AM
Alt Spacebar will display the leftmost icon on the main toolbar bar of the active window; this menu typically contains the following commands: Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize and Close. Use the arrow keys to move between the choices and press the enter key to make your selection.
Ctrl 2 - makes the paragraph you are in or the selected area double-spaced.
Ctrl 1 - makes the paragraph you are in or the selected area single-spaced.
Ctrl 5 - makes the paragraph you are in or the selected area 1.5 spacing.
Ctrl Backspace - deletes the entire word to left of the cursor.
Ctrl d - displays the font dialog box
Ctrl shift spacebar - creates a nonbreaking space.
Shift F7 - displays the thesaurus for the selected word.
Shift F3 - changes the case of the selected letters
These are just a few of the shortcuts available to you in Microsoft Word. Go to the web site to view or print out more shortcuts for your favorite Microsoft program.
To Snood or Not to Snood?
By Kathy Sheppard
In mid March there was an article in the Arizona Daily Star about the latest computer game craze - Snood. It is free and it can easily be downloaded from the Internet. Obviously it must be a lot of fun if it's dropping grade point averages at Universities and Colleges around the country because students can't stop playing long enough to study. So why not download it on your District computer? I'll try to tell you why not!
It not only downloads the game Snood, it downloads other programs at the same time: Gator and OfferCompanion. Gator keeps track of all your passwords and login ID and "fills in forms for you with NO typing." OfferCompanion tracks what Internet sites you visit and "offers" you "savings." These are basically sales tools. We do not want these types of programs on district computers.
Once Snood, Gator and OfferCompanion are installed they interfere with your ability to run your Virus Scanner. To put it in plain English, the Virus Scanner crashes.
If you uninstall Snood it doesn't uninstall Gator or OfferCompanion. They have to be uninstalled individually. Even after you uninstall these programs, additional program files are left behind on your hard drive and have to be manually deleted.
So the answer the question "To Snood or not to Snood," at Amphi, is NOT. And not just Snood, do not download any games or executable programs from the Internet or from your friends. These programs can and do interfere with our district standard software and operating systems. This means additional work for our support staff and down time for you and your computer.
Please do not download games or other non-essential programs from the Internet. Thank you for your cooperation.
Notes from the Director
By Ron Shannon
The staff continues to work hard in many areas to provide you with the tools and services that enable you to do your job. They repair, install, set up, manage, and teach classes on how to do many interesting and creative things. I am always amazed at how talented and smart this group is and how hard they work to keep things running. Whenever you feel that they have done a super job, please let them know - and you can even copy me on their achievements.
I would like to focus on one major project that we have recently completed. That is the installation and setup of 650 computers that were supplied by the School Facilities Board. Many people were involved in this process and I want to recognize them: Sheri Gimlin, Jim Davis, Raul Bejarano, Richard Coca, Matt Weber, Will McCullen, Peggy Steffens, Patti Greenleaf, Kathy Sheppard, Seth Butler, Margaret Harris, and Sue Sledge.
I hope that every school that has received either the new Compaq or Macintosh computers realize that there is a group of dedicated people working at making your life better. My thanks to the Technology team for all their hard work.
New SIS Manager Jean Scott
By Ron Shannon
I'd like to introduce you to Jean Scott, our new Student Information Manager. Jean was born in Bakersfield, California, grew up in Hawaii, but graduated from Los Gatos, California. She earned a Bachelors degree in Agricultural from Cal Poly, then joined the Peace Corps and spent 2 years in Lesotho, which is located in southern Africa. Upon her return to the States, she received a Masters in Plant Genetics from North Carolina State. Then she began working on her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and is ABD.
Jean moved to Tucson in 1988 and has had several jobs in the technology area. She worked in Catalina Foothills as a site Technician (where she met and worked with Brad Pemberton and Will McCullen). Then she moved to Marana and worked first as a Technician and then later as a Network Applications Specialist where she supported SASI, Follett, and was a system administrator for their file servers.
Jean enjoys photography, sewing, hiking, camping, fishing, and biking (even rode in the El Tour once), and has a cat, dog, fish and a tortoise.
Please welcome Jean Scott to the Amphitheater School District Technology Team.
Sheri Sense Joins the Technology Department
By Ron Shannon
Sheri Sense has been around the district for 11 years, and now she works as a SecretaryIII in the Technology Department. During this time, Sheri has worked at Donaldson, Amphi HS, CDO HS, and most recently in the Human Resources Department. Sheri has lived in Arizona for most of her life, although she spent some time in Colorado going to high school and college, she claims Tucson as her home.
Sheri's hobbies include tennis, golf, and playing the piano. Her favorite pastime, however, is hanging out in Rocky Point. She is currently taking Spanish lessons and has started working on a degree in technology. Sheri has 3 children that attended Amphitheater School District and her husband is a teacher in Marana School District.
Please welcome Sheri Sense to the Amphitheater School District Technology Team.
Collaboration
By Cecelia Crowder, La Cima Middle School Librarian
One of the goals of school libraries is to develop independent researchers by teaching students the skills of locating, analyzing, interpreting, producing and utilizing a variety of materials and media. This goal is best met by integrating the library skills program with the curriculum while providing students with meaningful, relevant and challenging tasks. Cooperative planning with teachers is essential for the achievement of a successful library skills program. Collaborative planning contains seven components (Information Power): Why are we doing this? What specific concepts do we want the students to learn? How will the students gather (extract) information? How will the students record information? How will the students process/organize information? How will the students produce his/her findings? How will the student be evaluated?
In a recent article (School Library Journal, Feb 2001) a librarian complains that her students work hard at emailing, checking out paintball equipment and skateboards, or surfing the net during their research time. She feels the Internet is to blame for a decline in students' research skills. I think the librarian should look at making some changes in how she manages her library. The Internet can be very serviceable as a tool in the research process. Students need to be instructed in not only the mechanics of a search but also skillful in interpreting electronic print. Successful researchers are media literate.
Each year Ms. Phyllis Newton requires her 6th grade students at La Cima Middle School to complete projects on ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages. Phyllis and I collaborate on what materials are available (she prepares a list of topics and I share with her those subjects which I feel students will not be successful locating information on in our library). I pull books for student use during her research days. I am not interested in "testing" students' capabilities of locating an elusive book on the shelf. Instead I want kids to be efficient and effective in locating information. We have developed an organizer, a bibliographic information collection sheet, and a bibliographic format sheet with examples (Amphitheater Research Paper/Project Implementation Manual has additional samples). In addition, Phyllis shares with her students' quality final projects/papers.
This year Phyllis created activities and links on her Quia page, which enabled students to successfully locate information on the Internet. When students came into the library they found computers set at her page. They were instructed to utilize only those sites. Some kids, with permission, branched out and found quality sites that she later added to her page. By limiting sixth graders to certain sites, their time was used more efficiently. She also instructed kids on how to print only pertinent information by highlighting passages and creating a Word document.
Following are additional ways in which teachers can assist librarians in enabling students to become more effective at researching: learn along with students how to use library technologies. An assignment becomes more significant if the teacher is actively participating; have students initially use books and take notes. This forces students to think about what they are reading and concentrate on "the facts." A presearch gives them background knowledge, which most need when they try to use electronic resources.
With positive successes using a variety of media students come away from their research experiences feeling satisfied the information they have gathered will help them produce some fantastic projects!
Registration for Summer Technology Classes
By Patti Greenleaf
The summer is fast approaching and we are busy creating the schedule for district technology classes. The new schedule should be online April 23rd and in your mailboxes sometime that week. Look for the old standard classes to be offered and some exciting new choices like Creating Critical Viewers, Evaluation the Internet and Kidspiration. We will be offering several weeklong classes so that the attendees will have plenty of opportunities to create finished projects to take back to their classrooms in the fall.
The best way to register for classes is through our online site at techreg.amphi.com/ after April 23rd. If you haven't registered for classes recently and have forgotten your ID#, give Chris Cox a call at 5215. To register for classes, click on the Register link and click either Register or New Registrant so that you have an opportunity to update your information like phone number, etc.
We hope that you have a good rest of the school year and hope to see you in the summer taking classes.
Internet Update
By Peggy Steffens
Here are a variety of Internet sites that are useful for students and teachers. Check them out.
FactMonster.com
- reference materials aimed for students that include an almanac, atlas,
dictionary, encyclopedia, and more.
This site has a wealth of material and is very popular with students and
teachers.
www.factmonster.com
English Grammar 101
- Free English grammar tutorials for language arts classes,
alternative education settings, home schooling, adult study, and ESL courses.
Students can take tests, answer questions and receive immediate feedback; the
results can be emailed to the teacher.
englishgrammar101.com
Geographia
- provides photographs, video and audio clips, and basic information about many
countries in the world.
www.geographia.com
Math Goodies
- over 400 pages of free math activities featuring interactive math lessons,
homework help, worksheets, puzzles, message boards, and more.
www.mathgoodies.com/
Classical Net: Quick Composer Reference
- provides biographical information about many of
the great composers.
www.classical.net/music/rep/lists/index.html
Kids Go Wild
- provides information and activities about animals and conservation efforts.
kidsgowild.com
Maths Year 2000
- provides math games, puzzles, and useful information for students and
teachers.
www.mathsyear2000.org/
Escape from Knab
- a simulation for students to learn about the adult world of budgets,
bills, and financing. Students go to
the Planet Kanab and must collect money for a return ticket to earth. Along the
way, they must get a job, pay taxes, write checks, comparison shop and more.
128.11.96.19/index.html
Gander's Academy Ancient Egypt Site
- an outstanding site that provides information,
lessons, activities and more about Egypt.
www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/egypt.htm
Oregon Trail- provides information, pictures, video clips, diaries, memoirs, fantastic
facts, and more about the Oregon Trail.
www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html
Shakespeare Online
- provides information about Shakespeare, including his plays, poems,
biography, question of the day, plots, glossary, analysis and more.
www.shakespeare-online.com/
Color Worm
- an outstanding site for elementary and middle school students to learn about
the concepts of color.
www.cs.iupui.edu/~pellison/colorworm/home.html
From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal
- Jamie McKenzie provides information about
staff development, integrating technology, education technology articles,
Module Maker and more.
fno.org/
Lamb's Technology Integration Ideas
- provides ideas from workshop presentations on
how to effectively integrate technology in the classroom.
eduscapes.com/techintegrate/index.html
Technology Cyber Fair
By Peggy Steffens
The Southern Arizona Technology in Education Alliance (AzTEA) is hosting a Technology Cyber Fair on April 18, 2001. The Cyber Fair will be held in the courtyard at the Pima Community Campus (401 N. Bonita) from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
A variety of presenters will share information on Internet sites and technology you can use to integrate technology in the classroom. Information will be provided on Marco Polo, Track Star, Filamentality, Quiz Lab, Quia, Puzzlemaker, and much more. Participants will be able to walk around and gather information from each of the presenters in an informal environment. Amphi will even have 8 teachers sharing their expertise and ideas. Come learn and see how other educators are using technology.
Summer Computer Care
By Sheri Gimlin
Taking good care of your computer equipment can prolong the life of hardware and costly components. It also prevents problems that may result in computer down time. Here are a few tips you can use to get your computer ready so you can relax and enjoy your summer!
Place your repair trouble calls or installation calls early. A detailed description of the problem is a very good idea for summer calls. Be sure you securely attach the pink technology repair sheet to your computer. If you cover your computer, please attach the sheet to the outside of the cover. This will help us identify the correct computer and save us valuable time.
Back up all your data. Backing up to the server is my preference but you can use a floppy disk if necessary.
Clean up your computer. Now is a good time to delete any unnecessary files such as old PowerPoint presentations, student work that is no longer needed, etc.
Once you have deleted your old files, Defrag your computer. You can get to disk defrag by going to your Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and clicking on Disk Defragmenter. Note: Your may get a message that says you do not need to defrag because your computer is only 3% or 5% fragmented. If you are even 1% fragmented you should go ahead and defragment your computer.
Scan for viruses. Most educational computers have Dr. Solomon's VirusScan, which is in the Start Menu, Programs, Dr. Solomon's Virus Scan. You can choose the on-demand scanner and scan your C:\ drive. Be sure to choose all files before you start the scan. Note: Some computers have Norton Antivirus software. If you find your computer is missing AntiVirus software, please notify your Tech Specialist.
Unplug your computer and printer. Monsoon season brings lightening storms and even with a surge protector your safest bet is to unplug the computer from the wall.
Cleaning your computer If you haven't taking a computer maintenance class, your Tech Specialist should be able to give you tips on how to clean your computer.
Some computers will be moved during the summer for floor cleaning or room changes. Extreme care should be taken when moving computers.
How to Create a Distribution List in Voice Mail You may find yourself sending voice messages to the same group of people again and again.
Instead of calling each person individually, you can create a distribution list and send the message to the whole group at one time. Fast and easy to set up, Broadcast messaging can also be a convenient way to send an announcement to your entire group.
Sending a broadcast message is a simple two-step process. First, create a distribution
list of the people you want to send the message to and second, create the message and send it to your new distribution list.
How to Create a Distribution List
How to Send a Message to a Distribution List
How To Create A Computer Learning Center for K - 1 Students?
Have you been wondering how to use the computer in your room as an educational learning
center with your kindergarten and first grade students? It is really very easy! All you need to know are a few good web sites, a few activities, and a few management secrets to get you
started.
Keep in mind that having a computer center is like any other center in your room. You need to prepare the students for what they will be doing. What are your learning objectives when using the computer? Communicate these objectives to your students. Set up rules for the computer center. Involve your students in this process. Discuss safety, appropriate behavior and respect while using technology. Establish a protocol with your students so they know what to do if something goes wrong. Who do they come and ask questions when there is a problem? Make a few students in your class experts that other children can rely on. This will prevent you from always being called upon to fix the problem.
Once you establish the routine of your center, start by introducing the students to simple activities. Always demonstrate with a group or whole class before sending students to the center. Remember to give special instructions to your expert group. Rotate your experts
based on the activity. All children have an area of expertise or can develop one! These students get the invaluable experience of being leaders and teachers of their peers, and it allows you to
move to other areas of need.
Here a few suggestions on how to use the programs in MS Office with your class.
Word
KidPix
Internet Sites that offer Educational Games and Activities
www/liveandlearn.com
www.billybear4kids.com
www.EnchantedLearning.com
www.learningplanet.com
For more ideas check out my site at www.amphi.com/~kgutierr.
Maps for Free Do you ever use maps with your students? If you do, and you'd like a selection of maps that are free, have I got a great website for you. National Geographic has a site called Xpeditions that provides many geography tools and activities for students and teachers. Part of the site has an atlas with over 1800 maps that you can print and use in your classroom.
Go to www.nationalgeophric.com/xpeditions/main.hmtl and click on Atlas. Click on the state, province, country, or continent you want. The web page allows you to display the map in detail showing the names. If you do not want the names to appear, click on basic. You could give a basic map to your students and have them label the information you want. In addition,
you can turn the country borders off, by clicking on country borders: off. When you
have the map the way you want it and your are ready to print it, click on Printable Page formats: PDF. Note: you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, most computers in the District have it installed, but if you do not have it, ask your Tech Specialist
to help you download and install it. Click on Print.
You will now have a crisp and clear one-page map to use with students.
Tips for Teaching Writing with Microsoft Word Microsoft Word has some lesser-known features that can help you teach writing to your
students. Three of these are track changes, highlighting, and text color. These features can be used by the teacher when conducting a whole group lesson using Word and an AverKey, or by individual students to help them visualize the writing/revision process.
Track changes
Highlighting
Text Color
TLCF Corner: The Place to View Lessons Created by TLCF Participants Lesson Title: Bullying Stories/Poems
www.bullying.org
Norma Bartley, a teacher at Prince Elementary School, had her grade 3-5 Transitional Class use the Bullying site as an Internet Project. The students read poems and stories that others have submitted to the site and then created poems and stories of their own to submit to the ite. For more information, you could visit the Tech Talk archives at www.amphi.com/depts/technology/january01.htm and look at the An Outlet for Victims And a Resource for Educators article. However, as a follow-up to the information she provided in the article another very powerful experience for her students was when they went to the lab recently and revisited the site and saw that their poems and stories had been posted to the site. They were ecstatic realizing that others all over the world would now be able to view their work!
Standards for the Lesson
State Standard: ReadingIdentify the author's purpose, position, bias and strategies in a persuasive selection.
Lesson Objectives
Academic:Students will learn about social tolerance through analysis of stories written by others who have experienced bullying or who have been bullies.
Students will synthesize others' opinions about bullying and use those opinions to
create their own view of bullying and its effect on others.
Technological:
Students will use the Internet as a resource to learn about bullying and how it impacts
others.
Students will use the Word program to create their own poem about bullying, print, and
save it on their personal disk.
First, the web page for the SIS department has moved, our new address is
www.amphi.com/~sis, please update your bookmarks to reflect this change.
Do you need access to SASIxp? Contact your site head secretary or Technology Specialist to request an account. Visit our website www.amphi.com/~sis. If you experience problems with our website and need to request an account please send the following information to Bryan
Parks (bparks@amphi.com):
All users must have a Novell and Email account prior to requesting a SASIxp account.
Many users have called because they are having trouble accessing the Online Documentation
in SASIxp. Acrobat Reader 4.0 is needed to view this information. An email was sent out in February to all school secretaries with instructions on how to download this program. Please see your school secretary for a copy of these instructions or contact bparks@amphi.com for a copy.
When exiting SASIxp please close all open atoms and click on File (on the Menu Bar) then
click quit, or for those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, you can press Ctrl Q. Exiting SASIxp by choosing Quit from the File Menu logs the user completely out of the program. Many users terminate the program by clicking on the "X" in the upper right hand corner of the window. Clicking on the "X" does terminate the program but often locks files, thus preventing file copies and reports from running effectively.
Primary Sources for Research Papers Have you been looking for ways for your students to get primary sources? The Internet provides some possibilities. The first would be through online survey sites where your students can create surveys and then have people fill out their surveys on the Internet. Another option would be to go to an "ask the expert" site where students are able to email experts in different fields about a specific topic or look at the frequently asked questions at a site. The URLs and a brief description of the different sites are listed below.
Survey Sites
Zoomerang
www.zoomerang.com
QuizLab at Funbrain.com
www.funbrain.com/quiz/index.html
Patti Greenleaf's Survey Sites Page
www.amphi.com/~pgreenle/SurveySites.htm Ask the Expert Sites
Pistco's Ask an Expert
www.askanexpert.com/ AskA+ Locator
www.vrd.org/locator/subject.html
Message From Claudiovisuals These are the latest videos available for checkout from the Media Center.
V 2005
Science Fair Projects
This film
follows 12-year-old Anne and her sixth-grade class as they go through the
process of researching topics, formulating specific questions to be answered,
conducting experiments to answer those questions, and preparing displays for
the science fair.
V 2006
Monarch Butterfly: Milkweed to Mexico
Each fall
millions of monarch butterflies leave Ontario. They fly to Mexico, where they
spend the winter in an isolated fir forest. In the spring, they return to
Ontario. Scientists are puzzled by the monarch's migration because the
butterflies that return are the grandchildren of the ones that originally left
Ontario. How do they know where to go? Is it instinct, a milkweed trail, or
something else? Viewers will be able to identify the distinctive features of
the monarch butterfly and describe its life cycle.
V 2007
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa, the
increasingly popular holiday celebrated by African-Americans in late December,
is explained in this presentation. The program shows Kwanzaa's founder
Dr.Maulana Kerenga, and tells why he began the holiday. Viewers see a family
celebrate Kwanzaa as the holiday unfolds over a seven-day period. Song, foods,
activities, and dances of Kwanzaa are shown as the family remembers its
ancestors and looks forward to the future with hope and confidence.
V 2008
The Magic School Bus: The Busasaurus
A visit to a
dinosaur dig turns exciting when the Magic School Bus becomes a time machine
that takes Ms. Frizzle's class back 67 million years, to the time when
dinosaurs roamed the earth.
V 2009
Fire and Rescue
Students
ride along as "Mike" the friendly fire fighter, takes them from the
fire-training academy to the life and action of a day at the firehouse.
V 2010
Road Construction Ahead
In this film
students get right in the middle of bulldozing, dirt-hauling, rock-blasting,
road-building action.
V 2011
Where the Garbage Goes
Students
jump into the driver's seat of the haulers, grinders, dozers, loaders and
compactors used at a state-of-the-art waste handling facility./o:p>
V 2012
House Construction Ahead
Put on your
hard hat and come along as we go from site excavation and rock blasting to
harvesting timber and milling lumber, from huge concrete trucks pouring the
foundation to the completion of a new house.
V 2013
Bug City: Ants
There are at
least ten thousand species of ants, all with different lifestyles, social
behavior and appearances. In this program, Dr. Art Evans demonstrates how to
make a formicarium-an artificial ant nest that allows students to observe how
ants live, work, and behave daily.
V 2014
Bug City: Bees
From the
queen to the worker bee, this program shows exactly why bees are so busy and
why we should appreciate them. As they gather food, bees pollinate plants and
allow them to grow for another season. A display by Dr. Norman Gary shows bees
in their egg, larva, and pupa stages - and even shows a newborn hatching.
V 2015
Bug City: Butterflies & Moths
Butterflies
and moths are beautiful and delicate, yet some, like monarch butterflies, are
strong enough to fly hundreds of miles in their yearly migration. This program
explores interesting facts about both types of insects, explains their amazing
metamorphosis and shows how to tell them apart.
V 2016
Bug City: Crickets, Grasshoppers &
Friends
This program reveals the incredible jumping, chirping and camouflaging skills of crickets,
grasshoppers, and katydids as well as other related insects like the praying
mantis and walking sticks.
V 2017
Bug City: Ladybugs & Fireflies
Two of the
most popular members of the insect world are ladybugs and fireflies. The
colorful ladybug provides pest control by eating insects that would feed on
flowers, vegetables, and fruits.
V 2018
Bug City: Spiders & Scorpions
Found in
virtually every climate and habitat, spiders are arachnids (not insects), and
this program examines all facets of spider life - webs and the spider's use of
silk, eating habits, growth and molting, mating habits and care of the young.
Scorpions, resembling miniature lobsters, are relatives of the spider and they
each possess a poisonous stinger. The program reviews the lifestyle of
scorpions and later presents tips on creating a spider habitat for common house
or garden spiders.
You can order any of these items from the Media Center by filling out the media order
forms available in your library or calling Claudio at 6214. You can also email
caraya.
Using ReadPlease in Your Classroom Have you heard of this new program called ReadPlease? It will actually read the text on the screen out loud and it is FREE! This is a wonderfully easy program to install and use.
To install this program you will need a zip program. The District recommends you use PowerArchiver. It is free to download from the Internet and will serve all of your zipping and unzipping needs. Go to www.powerarchiver.com. At the site click on download in the blue bar on the left of your screen. At the next screen go to the bottom of the page and click on the gray bar that says download now. The next screen will ask you to select a version. Click on USA in the English version listed first. Save to your desktop. You can keep the name Powerarc61.exe. Your computer should then start to download. When the download is finished, exit Netscape.
On the desktop click on the PowerArchiver icon. This will start the setup process. Choose where to save this file on the C drive, for example Program Files. Follow the prompts to install. Now you are ready to install ReadPlease.
Start Netscape and go to www.readplease.com. At the site click on the free version of ReadPlease. At the next screen click on download from the top task bar. Select main USA
download site. Select the program to download onto your desktop as you did above. Then install the program from your desktop.
Now you are ready to start. I would recommend going to the voice settings tab on the ReadPlease screen first. This will allow you to play with the voice controls, such as speed, pitch and volume. Also, listen to the samples that are available. There is also a great help to learn about the program. Click on Help and then choose view help file through your browser.
This will teach you all you need to know about using ReadPlease.
This program is great for students who are not able to read yet or for students who are
struggling readers. All students need to learn is how to highlight text, press control C to copy, right click on the ReadPlease icon in the task bar and click on paste and play. With practice it becomes second nature, even to first graders! Anything can be read that is not part of an embedded text frame, like words in a picture on the Internet. If you can highlight the words you can read it! By teaching them to copy, paste and click you open up a whole new world to them. Now students are not held back by more complicated reading material. Students at an early reading stage can use this program to help them learn more from the Internet. The ability to repeat the play and slow down the speed also helps early readers. The applications for this program are endless. Try it and see what your students can do!
Information About Disciplinary Action Form 9038 Here are a few reminders for filling out 9038's:
It is very important that these forms are filled out correctly because; if a hearing occurs on a student these forms can be used as a legal document.
Technology Curriculum Frameworks Online! This semester a new compenent was added to the Technology Web page: The Amphitheater
Curriculum Frameworks for Technology.
Many teachers wanted the information online, so they could highlight parts and put
them in their lesson plans. The Technology State Standards and Amphitheater Technology Curriculum Frameworks are online so that teachers and administrators can use them as a planning tool for developing grade level plans. The frameworks are available online at
www.amphi.com/depts/technology/curriculum/index.htm.
Email Too Wide? Do you ever receive messages in Netscape Communicator that you have to use the left and
right scroll bar to read and find it annoying? The problem is that message isn't wrapping to fit the screen. So, if you won't enjoy reading the message by using the right and left scroll bars, follow the steps below when you are in Netscape:
Go to View and click on Wrap Long Lines (if a check mark does not appear in front of it).
Now all of the messages that you receive should wrap to fit your screen.
The Jason Project Fourth and Fifth grade students at School participated in the Jason Project. Read their stories. For more information about the Jason Project, go to www.jasonproject.org.
What is JASON Project?
By Elizabeth Wong, Walker 4th grade
JASON Project is a program where students from all over the world go on a "virtual expedition" and do research on a different place each year. Dr. Ballard, the man who discovered the Titanic, started the JASON Project. JASON Project got its name from a myth about a man named Jason who sailed around the world with his crew called the Argos.
JASON has some amazing things, like a website that is really cool! The website has
journals that each class keeps, message boards, chat rooms with scientists, and
online digital labs.
This year in JASON XII, we are studying Hawaii. We are having lots of fun with the cool
experiments. We also got to see live broadcasts via satellite with Dr. Ballard. The JASON Project uses science, social studies, math, reading, writing and sometimes art. When we went on our field trip to Phoenix, we went to the Arizona Science Center and got to explore the different exhibits. Then we went to see the live broadcast.
Team JASON Online
By Kaliana Venet and Erik Ysea, Walker 4th grade
Team JASON Online (TJO) isn't what you would call a good website, it's what you would call
an extraordinary website. TJO is a fun, educational website for teachers and
students, it is password protected, and worldwide. It features interactive
tools that allow students to engage in inquiry-based learning.
The teacher administrative tools can be used by teachers to create and administer their
students' TJO accounts. Teachers can also use these tools to create a message
board available to their class, and only their class.
The message board allows teachers and students to chat and discuss JASON topics over the
Internet. There are also additional message boards that can be subscribed to on
various topics.
There are also chat programs that provide opportunities for teachers and students to
contact researchers, and interact with one another. A review of the chats is
posted, so if students miss this opportunity they can easily catch up.
JASON also provides the Ask-an-expert system. This allows students to learn more about
science. If the student's question is not answered in the time provided, he or
she can fill out a question form. The answer is then sent directly to the
student within a week.
There is also a journal available to students to keep track of information they are
learning while they are exploring the site. All students journals are
accessible by the teacher.
The digital lab is where all of JASON's interactive activities are held. Students involved
in JASON are able to better understand science by doing the experiments,
similar to the ones done by JASON's Host Researchers. The digital lab is full
of information and cool experiments.
TJO is a great learning tool for teachers to involve their student's in. (Believe us, if
we say it's good, we're driving a hard bargain, so that's why we call it
phenomenal!)
The Scientist Chat
By Chris Cordova, Walker 4th grade
The scientist chat is an opportunity to interact with scientists around the globe.
This year, their "home-bases" are on islands of Hawaii. Thanks to
satellite, computers, new technology, and microwave technology, we are able to
chat between Walker School and Hawaii.
The chats give us a chance to ask questions and get the answers from real scientists! I
use the scientist chat to talk to them and know what is going on in Hawaii. The
chat gives me and other kids the chance to do this. If there were no chat, kids
around the world would be left with questions, but no answers.
Student Chat
By Ashley McGrane, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Ariana Lujan, Walker 5th grade and
Justine Mayo, Walker 4th grade
We did a student chat on JASON Project about four weeks ago. It was our first student
chat and we were talking to people from all over the world. All the people that
we were chatting with had to answer some questions like, "What native and
nonnative animals do you have in your area?" They also asked us if we had
any endemic species in our area. It was very cool because we found out
different names for a certain animal. The native species we have here are nonnative
to some states, and are killing off their native species.
An Amazing Part of JASON
By Kala Stepter, Walker 4th grade
The live broadcast is a fascinating part of JASON. Scientists and students (called "Student Argonauts") participate in research, which is simultaneously broadcast, via satellite, around the world. Students who are watching the broadcast from a PIN site
(Arizona's site is the Arizona Science Center) have the chance to show their
interest in JASON by asking questions, which are videotaped and sent to the
scientists. Although there isn't a gigantic chance of your question being
selected to broadcast around the globe, it is fun to think of a question,
submit it, tape it, and hope yours will come up on TV.
To become a Student Argonaut is a young argonaut's dream, and to many only a fantasy or a
hope. Not many are chosen, but the ones who do get picked are very lucky. The
Student Argonauts are some of the most fun people to meet and learn from. They
go places and do things only scientists do! When you watch the broadcast you
feel as if you are there, also. To me, the broadcast is the coolest part of
JASON!
Searching for Images Many times students and teachers want pictures and images for Word and Power Point
presentations and clip art does not provide what is needed.
Many turn to the Internet and do a search
and don't specifically get pictures.
One of the nice features many search engines have added is the ability
to search for images. You should check
the Help option at your favorite search engine to see if they have the ability
to search for images.
Below are the steps for searching for pictures at Alta Vista.
Go to Alta
Vista search engine - www.altavista.com/
Click on
Media/Topic Search
Type what
you are looking for in the Media/Topic Search: box.
Click on
Images in the Search in: choice.
Click on the
Search button.
Scroll down
and you will see thumbnail images of pictures.
Click on the
Picture you want and you should be taken to the web page that has the picture;
you may have to scroll around to find the specific image. Note: it is very
important to click on the picture if you plan to copy and paste it into Word or
PowerPoint, it will NOT insert in Word or Power Point if you copy the thumbnail
image.
Using Pictures
from the Internet in Word or PowerPoint
First
remember that you must follow copyright laws when using images from the
Internet. I think it is good to teach
students to ask permission to use images in presentations.
I know that every person I have emailed to
ask permission to use images from a site has granted me permission within less
than one day of asking.
Right Click
on the Picture (on a Macintosh hold the mouse down on the image)
Left click
on Save Image as.
Type a File
name or use the name it comes with.
Save the
picture to a location you will remember (i.e. desktop, my documents, or a
folder you created)
Click on
Save.
Open
Microsoft Word or Power Point
Go to Insert
and click on Picture and pull to From File.
Find the
location of where you saved the image.
Click on the
Image.
Click on
Insert.
Now you can
format this image like any other picture you use from Clip Art.
Using images from the Internet will allow
reports and presentations to have graphics that better represent the
information.
Mesa Verde Students Use Technology This year Mesa Verde students continue to hone their computer skills.
Currently intermediate students have been
practicing a variety of tasks in Word, which include creating specialty
nametags, writing thank you letters, and creating "interesting and
unique" versions of a Cinderella mad-lib story.
All of these tasks help the students learn how to utilize the
tools available in Word. In addition,
some students have created PowerPoint presentations for book reports and our
Open House. Primary students are using
CD ROM programs including KidPix, A to Zap, and Reading Blaster.
Students have also visited the Arthur Internet
site, which has some good sequencing and reading reinforcement activities.
Mesa Verde teachers also have moved up the learning curve. Intermediate teachers spent the
first quarter learning/using the new grade book program.
Several teachers reported their satisfaction
with this versatile and easy to use program.
The progress reports to the parents seem to be a definite bonus. Our PE
teacher has found Easy Grade Pro a useful program as well.
Special thanks to our SASI administrator,
who exported all of the students from SASI into excel so we could import them
into the grade book program. Thanks
Rhonda!
Our goal at Mesa Verde is to implement a portfolio to help each child keep track of his or
her technological progress. This
portfolio will include a checklist of work completed in Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, and use of the Internet for research.
At the end of fifth grade each student at Mesa Verde should have
had experience creating documents in each of the above areas.
Macintosh Computers Need Special Cable For Lexmark Inkjet Printers Hot off the press! It appears that the new Z52
Inkjet printers need the newer High Speed cable to run on the Macintosh
operating systems. This cable can be
obtained through our technology website price sheet at
www.amphi.com/depts/technology/prices.htm.
The part you need to order is a Lexmark 10' High-speed Parallel Cable,
1329605, Part number LEX1329605 for a cost of $35.00.
Copyright Information for Schools Copyright laws exist to protect the creator's right to commercially benefit from a
valuable work and for the creator to control how the work is being used. Mark
Twain said that "Only one thing is impossible to God:
to find any sense in any copyright law on
the planet." This sentiment seems especially true from the perspective of
a teacher. There are so many wonderful
materials to use with students, but it is important to use those materials
legally. The following article explains
some of the key features of copyright law that are important for teachers.
The Fair Use Act allows people to use copyrighted materials without permission from the
owner for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching,
scholarship or research.
The four factors to consider when determining fair use are:
1.Purpose of the use: commercial nature
or educational/nonprofit nature
2.Nature of the work: fiction/nonfiction,
published/unpublished
3.Size of the use:
a lot or a little
4.Effect of the use: Owner's ability to
make money off of the work or devaluing
Tests for Fair Use in Educational Settings:
1. Brevity-The copied material should be
limited
2. Spontaneity-The copying is the decision of
the teacher and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so
close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a
request for permission.
3. Cumulative Effect-The copied materials is in
limited amounts to limited classes.
Guidelines for Print
Guidelines fr Videotape Purchase or Rental
Guidelines for Videotapes of TV Broadcasts
Guidelines for Music Use
Guidelines for Software and Multimedia Projects
When in
doubt about any of these guidelines, ask for permission.
To gain permission, write a letter to the
owner or a service provider. Describe
what you want to do precisely and include alternatives if you are unsure of
format. Keep documentation of your
efforts and be sure to receive written notification of your permission to keep
on file.
New and Improved FAQ Page Online So many people have questions about technology, and are unable to find someone
available to answer them. Well now there is a web site online called
Support.amphi.com or FAQ page where many questions are answered with a click of
your mouse.
The FAQ page is a collection of articles that demonstrate, define, and organize information
about technology. It is set up so you can search by topic or you can enter a
keyword in the search box and it will search through all the archives for your
information. Be sure to test all the different types of words that could
describe what you are looking for.
To visit the FAQ page, go to techreg.amphi.com/support/.
Alternative School Update The Amphitheater District Alternative High School Program, along with other schools
in the district was allocated $1000 for software purchases. Thanks to this funding,
we have ordered software that will help improve our science curriculum. After
extensive research, Richard Matts, our math/science specialist, recommended the
purchase of a CD-ROM set produced by McGraw-Hill called Science Voyages:
Interactive Quizzes and Explorations. This
software acquisition features virtual labs that allow our school to create a
laboratory atmosphere for students without the expenditure of laboratory
equipment and supplies. These CDs can be used at both Mac and PC student workstations.
The Gateway Time Out Error Have you ever been jaunting about on the Web and suddenly run into a "504 Gateway
Time Out" error or had your browser turn up a message that states that it is "unable to locate the server?" This can be really frustrating at times. Especially when you know that the site is out there and that it is a fairly popular site. This kind of error is not uncommon but its occurrence has increased lately.
As you probably know, we have been saturating our bandwidth. We have a 1.5 MB connection to the Internet and it has been rather full lately. If you would like to have some idea of how this tracks you can view it from the U of A's perspective by going to www.telcom.arizona.edu/router-stats/index.html. Scroll down and pick Amphitheater School District. The flat lines on the graphs show when our bandwidth has reached its limits. Whenever you go to a web site several connections are made. The first is what is called a DNS lookup. When you type in a web site like
www.discovery.com the computer first needs to find out what IP address is matched to that domain name. Using the IP address e.g. 216.35.209.171 is the only method by which your web requests
can route across the Internet. Your computer calls a DNS server, which happens to be on the same computer as the Email, and says, "What IP is www.discovery.com?" The DNS server then calls out to the Internet DNS servers to get the answer. If this reply does not come back in time then you will get a Gateway Time Out error. Before our bandwidth was maxed out, replies came back in time with few problems. When our line to the U of A is full, it is not nearly as reliable. In addition, when the Email server is under a heavy load scanning for viruses, DNS replies are slowed as well. When you get an error wait a few seconds and try again. Many times the DNS reply will have arrived by then. We are currently working on setting up another server whose sole purpose in life will be to supply the District with DNS replies. This will take some of the load off the Email server and increase DNS performance. It is our desire to provide the best service possible.
A Word About . . . Phones Our district Meridian phone system is wonderfully efficient but only as good as the
user. Please keep in mind when leaving
your desk it is helpful for you to forward your phone to voice mail as opposed
to letting it ring three times and then transferring.
The reasons are as follows:
1) lets the caller know you are indeed not in the vicinity of your desk
(or gone for the day), 2) saves the caller some time by going directly to voice
mail, and 3) saves the sanity of your co-workers who are within earshot of
other ringing phones. There are also
many other useful features such as temporary greetings and automatic call
back. Our telephone network
coordinator, Tom Gill, teaches a hands-on class called Meridian Voice Mail
Fundamentals that is very informative and will teach you about automatic call
back and other features you may not know about. The class is well worth your
time. The next class is April 26th from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Wetmore Training
Lab. Call 5078 or go to
techreg.amphi.com to register.
Hublet Troubles? The expansion of classroom networks using hublets has caused problems recently that
I would like to address. There are a
number of reasons a hub is not connecting. Here are some of the classic
problems.
Problem # 1:
You moved computers and had to reconnect cables.
Now none or only some of them work.
Solution
#1: It appears that the cable from the
wall jack was not put back into the "uplink" port or that the port
next to the uplink port is in use by a computer that is not connecting to the
network. Hence what you must do is to
plug the cable from the wall jack into the uplink port and take out the cable
in the port next to it. Note: Sometimes
you will see a little connecting line between these two ports that signifies
the interconnectivity of these two ports
Problem # 2:
There is no link and everything is plugged in correctly.
Solution to
#2: You may have a 100-megabit only hub.
Replace this with a 10/100-megabit hub.
Problem #3:
There is no link and everything is plugged in correctly.
Solution #3:
You may have a bad cable or a bad hub.
Try another one or call your Tech Specialist.
If all else fails call our 5078 hotline number to report the
problem.
Happy
hubletting !
Don't Believe Everything You Read on the Internet Killing Time I belong to a wonderful book club and we have read many memorable books including Memoirs
of a Geisha, the Madman and the Professor, Pay it Forward and more.
One of our recent books was Killing Time by
Caleb Carr. The reason for sharing about it in Tech Talk is its premise that
the Web is destroying the world. The
book takes place in 2023 and the idea behind the book is that Americans have
become a society that believes anything they read on the Internet or see on TV.
Dr. Gideon
Wolfe is the main character in the book; he is an expert criminologist.
Near the beginning of the book he discovers
that the video broadcast on all the networks concerning the 2018 assassination
of President Emily Forrester is a forgery.
America is about to enter war with Afghanistan because we believe the
false video.
I enjoyed
this mystery thriller book and recommend it if you like this genre of
book. However, it raises the issue
about society and if we are teaching children to analyze information they read
on the Internet or see on television.
We must help students to be critical viewers of information and to not
blindly believe everything they read or see.
We are offering several technology classes this summer about helping
students view information on the Internet and the media more critically.
It is important that children be taught that
anyone can put information on the Internet; they must actively be involved with
information and not passive believers of everything they read and see.
What To Do About Your Home Computer I have been
asked by many people if they should upgrade their computer or purchase a new
one. Two things that are important to consider:
How much do you want to spend and what do you want your machine
to do for you?
The cheapest
way to go is a possible memory upgrade.
Memory is very inexpensive at this time and will improve the overall
operation of programs on your computer.
If you are gutsy enough you can install the memory yourself.
If not the store can install it for a fee.
More involved are storage upgrades and motherboard and CPU upgrades.
The other
alternative is to purchase a new computer.
The price of a computer depends upon the speed and goodies you want to
go with it. Average price for a good
computer is around $1800 and the prices
go up from there. Looking at prices
from years past, prices for new computers have not increased.
There are many different PC companies out
there: Gateway, Dell, Compaq, and Hewlett Packard to name a few.
The choice is yours.
Standards for home users
Oops, We Did It Again. Save in HTML missing in Word It warms the
heart to hear that so many of you out there want to take advantage of building
your own classroom web page! It also
makes us in the repair department cringe with fear.
You see, we discovered a bit too late that the default install of
office97 did NOT include the ability to "Save As HTML."
So, if you are using Word to create your web
page and you go to the File menu, the choice to save as HTML may be missing.
This is a known problem.
So, if you are trying to build a web page
using Microsoft Office, and you were not one of the last two or three sites we
updated, you will need to call the hotline (x5078) and let us know so that we
can reinstall Office for you.
PowerPoint For 4th Graders Yes teachers, your 4th graders can easily learn the basics of PowerPoint in three
or four lab periods. I even showed them
how to animate their slides so they had visual and sound effects.
My students were eager to learn and their
final products were fun presentations.
The first
three lessons dealt with showing my students how to use the menu bar and
icons. They learned various page
layouts and I let them experiment with changing background designs and adding
clip art. I then prepared a
presentation sequence they were to follow, but I allowed them to personalize
their text and clip art. During the
fourth lesson, I showed them the basics of animating their slides so text flew
in from different directions, they had sound effects, and clip art appeared at
the click of the mouse. The kids were
jazzed.
My reward
has been that a few of my students have already used their newly learned skills
to create book report presentations. Creating multimedia presentations is a
skill required in the Arizona State Standards in Technology and Amphitheater
Curriculum Frameworks starting in Kindergarten. My 4th grade students met the
Standards and used this extremely powerful tool to aid in communication.
Web! Web! Web! In this
technological era, where information is generated and accessed in an instant,
some of us are still in the days of the past. There is so much talk of the
Internet, web pages, money on-line, this on-line and that on-line it makes one
wonder: Where are we going to next?
Speaking
from personal experience, I have used on-line services for a vast variety of
needs. One of the more important being, gathering information for my daughter's
school homework assignments. This sometimes is not of any use if she does not
have the assignments at hand or written down somewhere.
If only her
teachers had their own personal web pages with the days or week's assignments,
along with an email address and any other pertinent information, then, whenever
we needed to know what was due and when, we could do so without having to call
up one of the other classmates and hope that they were home and that their
information was correct. Of course, some would object to an on-line page and
base their reasoning on that this makes more work for the teacher, which is
partially true, but, being on the other side, "the Parents side,"
having a web page available for the students would be extremely helpful in
making sure that the student and parent are always current on class
requirements.
Some schools
do have web pages for teachers and they do indeed post assignments etc. therein
and have proved to be beneficial for the students.
The Teachers at Painted Sky have begun creating web pages on the
Amphitheater Server and post assignments for students and parents to use.
They claim it just takes them a few minutes
a day to update the page to reflect new assignments.
The District
Technology Department offers classes on how to make your own web page, and
classes on programs such as Quia! and School Notes which require no HTML
programming and are very simple to use.
Teachers can create pages to help parents and students know what is
happening in the classroom in less than a half hour for free at places like Quia
- www.quia.com or School Notes -www.schoolnotes.com.
Check these sites out or sign up for technology classes.
Programming Your Samsung CTV Update Over the past three years, the Technology department has purchased two models of Samsung
27" color television/monitors. The first model, TXB2735, was primarily
installed at Wilson K-8. The second model, TXJ2767, was installed in the rest
of the schools. Some schools may have a mixture of both models. This article
gives a step-by-step procedure for programming each of these models, as well as
the new TXK2767 going in at Ironwood Ridge High School.
Each school
was given coax cable and responsible for hooking the CTV to the cable jack.
Some also hook a VCR into the system. If the VCR antenna in jack is hooked to
the cable wall jack, and the VCR TV/out jack is hooked to the CTV antenna in
jack, the VCR should have the power turned off, before trying to program the
CTV. Also, make sure the CTV is hooked to an active antenna system.
Programming
the CTV for the first time - model TXB2735
1.Turn on the CTV by pressing the Power
button. (if using a remote control that has a TV, VCR or CABLE button, press
the TV button first - if necessary).
Adding or Erasing channels - model TXB2735
1.Repeat steps 1-4 above.
Programming the CTV for the first time - model TXJ/TXK2767
1. Turn on the CTV by pressing the Power
button. (if using a remote control that has a TV, VCR or CABLE button, press
the TV button first - if necessary).
Adding or Erasing channels - model TXJ/TXK2767
1. Repeat steps 1-3 above.
Check to
make sure that the auxiliary inputs (Video 1, Video 2, A/V or S-VIDEO) are
available by either pushing the TV/VIDEO button on the remote or by pushing the
channel Up/Down button on the CTV to get before channel 2 or after the highest
channel programmed. If your CTV does not show S-VIDEO as an option, contact
MEDIA SERVICES to get it reprogrammed to accept S-VIDEO.
If you need
to make any other changes, refer to the operators' manual. If you need further
assistance, you can contact me at 6200 or e-mail at glarsen@amphi.com.
Websites at painted Sky While I was at the University, finishing my student teaching, I became really interested in creating websites. The potential uses in a classroom were infinite. During my first year at Painted Sky, I put this information in use and began a website for my class. This site includes a homework page, which is updated on a regular basis, a parent letter page, as well as a links page. Parents have been really excited with this site, as they are able to see what their children are working on and make sure that their child is keeping their assignment book current with the class. If parent letters do not make it home, they can get it on the site. The links page has been a huge success in helping my students with sites for their research papers. After a few weeks, some of the other teachers had seen what was happening and asked for help in creating their own websites. Presently, with Cathy Burg and myself, we have many teachers at all levels with their own sites! Some arte just experimenting and others are updating daily.
By Tom Gill
By Karen Gutierrez, Keeling Elementary
- This site has many color and letter identification activities. There is also a good book about opposites to check out.
- This site is very kid friendly. It has great letter identification and letter sound activities with audio. You will have to show the students to click on the balloons to get to the activities.
- This site has a great picture dictionary where kids can do simple searches. They
just click on the first letter and scroll through the pictures. The dictionary is also available in Spanish, French, and German.
The game Rats! is a wonderful sorting game. Students can sort by vowels and
consonants or upper and lower case letters. Mr. E's Concentration Game is a matching game using letters or words.
By Peggy Steffens
By Liesl Mitchell
Turn on the Track Changes feature (in the Tools menu - make sure you choose "Highlight
Changes" and check the box that says "Track changes while editing." You can also click "Options" to change the color and effect). Now when you delete characters or words they will be red with a strikethrough (strikethrough), and when you add characters or words they will be red and underlined. This feature can be used by students to help them keep track of the changes they have made in the editing/revision process. You can also use this feature during whole group instruction using an AverKey to keep track of changes made when teaching editing and revising.
The highlighter is a great tool to use to make a line or passage stand out. To use it make sure your Formatting toolbar is visible (this is the one that lets you change font, font size, bold, etc.). At the right end of this toolbar is a button that looks like an angled stick with a line of color under it. Select the text you wish to highlight, and then click on the button. If you wish to change the color of the highlighter, click the down arrow to the right of the button and select a new color. You can also click on the highlighter with no text selected. You will get an "I-beam" cursor with the highlighter symbol over it. Then you can use your
cursor to highlight text. This feature can be used by a student to mark an area he/she wants to return to, or in whole class instruction to mark a passage that needs attention or is an example of an exceptional sentence.
The highlighter will look like this.
The text color feature can be used much like the highlighter feature. Instead of highlighting a selection, it actually changes the color of the text. Next to the highlighter button is the text color button, an "A" with a line of color under it. Again, select the text you wish to change, then click on the button. The color under the "A" is the color the text will be. To change the color, click the down arrow to the right of the "A" and select a new color. This can be especially helpful to highlight word choice by changing all the exciting words or commonplace words so they stand out from the rest of the text and are more easily seen by the students.
By Patti Greenleaf
State Standard: WritingUse correct spelling and punctuation in an original poem
By Patti Greenleaf
This site allows you to create surveys online and then have people respond to your surveys. The site has templates that they have created that you can plug your information into. Your survey is posted on the Internet for 10 days. Be sure to sign up for the "Basic membership" because the other options charge a fee.
You might be familiar with QuizLab for making online quizzes. They now have an option where you can create surveys. If you have not registered you will need to do that; it is free. Then when you log in click on Quizzes, Create a New Quiz, and then select Survey as the Quiz Type. The nice thing about this site compared to Zoomerang is that your survey is on the Internet forever. Unfortunately, you cannot create a survey with a variety of different question types.
The format for survey questions is multiple choice.
This is a page I created for a class that has different information about creating
surveys and links to some online survey sites.
This site has numerous links to experts in a variety of fields. Click on the Browse the Experts Categories and select a category. You will be provided links to different sites related to that category. Each site is a little different but you should be able to find a FAQ page and a place to email an expert at each location. You will want to see if they say anything about their response rate because some of the sites take quite a bit of time to respond to email.
This site is similar to the above site as far as having categories and different links to
topics in that category. However, this site is more uniform in the organization of its links. It gives you a description of the site, the site's home page link, a button to click to ask your question, and the answer policy of the site in regard to email.
By Claudio Araya
By Karen Gutierrez, Keeling Elementary School
By Pamela Kreiner
By Chris Cox
By Peggy Steffens
By Walker Elementary Students
By Peggy Steffens
By Suzi Cook, Mesa Verde
By Seth Butler
By Sonya Connolly
By Chris Cox
By John Weismiller
By Will McCullen
By Sue Sledge
By Seth Butler
by Caleb Carr
- a book review
By Peggy Steffens
By Raul Bejarano
Pentium III or AMD equivalent 600 megahertz and above
128 MB
Memory
DVD ROM
Sound to
support DVD
Video Card
on board memory 3D Capable
17in Monitor
.28 or less
56k v90
modem
20 Gig Hard
drive
Mouse and
Keyboard will be included
By Jim Davis
By Marvin Montez, Wilson K-8
By Richard Coca
By Gordon Larsen
2.Press the F-Set (function) button of
the remote, once. The on-screen display will give a choice of a sub-menu for
TV/CATV (highlighted in red), MTS Mode, Sleep or Surround (in green).
3.To the right of the TV/CATV listing is
the Mode selected - AIR, STD or HRC.
4.Push either of the Mode UP/Down buttons
repeatedly until STD is chosen.
5.To choose another function, push the
F-Set button repeatedly until that function is highlighted.
2.Press the AUTO-PRG button to begin the
auto programming sequence. The CTV will begin memorizing all the available
channels according to the antenna system type.
3.Press the numbered keys to choose the
channel you want to add (or delete).
4.As soon as the channel number is
displayed, press the ADD (or DELETE) button. ADD (or DELETE) will be displayed
under the channel number.
5.Wait until the number display goes off
screen before choosing another channel to add or delete. NOTE: You can expedite
this waiting process by pushing the Volume down button. If the add or delete
functions doesn't make a change in the channel memory, perform the AUTO
PROGRAMMING function again.
2. Press the Menu button. The on-screen
display will give a choice of a sub-menu for Video (highlighted) Audio, Time or
Setup.
3. Press the Menu button 3 more times until
the Setup sub-menu is displayed. The choices are Channel-Memorize
(highlighted), Add/Erase, Fine tune, Labeling; Caption or Language.
4. Press the Ch up or down button until
Memorize is highlighted (if not highlighted).
5. Press the Vol+ button. The Memorize
Channels sub-menu is displayed. The choices are Antenna (highlighted), Cable
STD, Cable HRC or Cable IRC.
6.Press the Ch up or down button until
Cable STD is highlighted.
7. Press the Vol+ button. The CTV will
begin memorizing all the available channels and set the antenna system type.
This process may take about 1- minutes for completion.
8Press the Menu button twice until the
screen returns to normal viewing. Or wait 30 seconds, and it will do it itself.
2. Press the Ch up or down button until
Add/Erase is highlighted.
3. Press the Vol+ button. The Add/Erase
sub-menu is displayed, showing the current channel number and whether it is
presently added or erased.
4. Press either the Vol- button (to erase)
or the Vol+ button (to add).
5. Press the Ch up or down button (or punch
in channel # on the remote control) to go to the next channel you wish to
change in memory.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until finished.
7. Press the Menu button twice until the
screen returns to normal viewing. Or wait 30 seconds, and it will do it itself.
by Robet Walling