Now before I get a slew of emails, I know teachers are very conscientious about making sure their students know what to do each day before they leave, but somewhere between the classroom door and their own front doors, the directions seem to become lost to many students.

Communication between home and school is a must.  We all know what happens to the important notices, field trip alerts, and assignment sheets that are sent home. Many times they mysteriously disappear into the deep chasms of the backpack never to be seen again.  They're probably in the Bermuda Triangle at the bottom along with old progress reports, gum wrappers, volunteer sign-up lists, and moldy gym socks.

So, what's the answer? Provide parents with information on the web! Make a class web site!  It doesn't need to be fancy or complicated. It need only contain whatever basic rules or guidelines are important to your class, list homework and due dates of projects and reports, and provide parents with an email address to get in touch with you.  These simple pages would take a short period of time to create and upload and would provide an invaluable reference for the frustrated parent sitting at home lost in a mountain of papers.

As time goes by, you can experiment and try adding additional pages. I teach sixth grade science, and I have pages for each unit we cover. On these pages I have practice tests, study sheets, additional information on content topics, guidelines for projects, and links for more information and research.  On other pages, I have a listing of homework assignments including due dates for projects (no more midnight runs to K-Mart to buy construction paper and poster board the night before a project is due), a page with basic classroom policies and expectations, and thanks to the upgrades in Easy Grade Pro, I will soon be uploading that elusive weekly progress report to the Internet, so it can be seen by parents and not get sucked into the Black Lagoon. And I began a few years ago with one simple page that gave directions for a project.

 If you don't know how to start a page, ask your Technology Coach.  We have Netscape Composer on our classroom computers, or if you are adventurous, there are a lot of decent web page builders on the market. (I prefer Microsoft Front Page.  It works like Word and creates some great special effects).  Some Coaches are even creating basic templates for teachers to use.  Teachers just type in their own information in the spots provided and viola, instant communication page.  If your Technology Coach cannot help you, ask the Technology Department at the district office. Patti Greenleaf (ext. 5218) and Peggy Steffens (ext. 5213) teach classes yearly on how to create pages.

As educators we have an obligation to solicit as much assistance from parents as we can to help keep students' current on class work so they can succeed.   With a class web site, teachers can add one more brick into the foundation of better communication between home and school.

If you want a peek at my web site, go to: www.amphi.com/~cross/
and select Mrs. Celaya's Pages or cruise the various web sites for our district schools.  There are a lot of great sites out there!

When the current phone system was installed no one foresaw the Caller ID feature being used as extensively as it is used presently. As a result, the type of telephone lines that were originally installed in the District by Qwest (US West at the time) did not support the data stream protocol that is required for the Caller ID feature.  So when a call is made to a phone outside the District that has the Caller ID feature, the District number will be displayed as "unidentified."  Obviously, this can pose a problem. For instance, if an outside phone has the "block unidentified callers" feature turned on, calls from the District won't be able to get directly through. The Qwest system usually prompts you to leave an identifying message in the hope that the called party will call back when they receive this message.  When the message is left, the Qwest system should instantly ring the called telephone number to alert the party and play your identification message. This may not be that efficient and can be a frustrating process. But more importantly, sensitive concerns may arise in emergency situations in which school personnel may need to call parents regarding their child. This would require prompt action.  So in this case, I suggest using the "red phone" for these types of emergency calls. The red phone is independent of the District phone system and will be identified with Caller ID.  Fortunately, there are plans to upgrade the system to support Caller ID.

Upgrading the phone system to support Caller ID is going to be a lengthy and expensive process. The Technology Department already has a preliminary plan in place and is securing the resources to carry out the upgrade project. It is important to mention that the enhancements will extend far beyond the Caller ID functionality.  Greater voice and data reliability will also be an evident advantage.  The upgrade process is going to consist of many necessary hardware and software changes. This is going to involve an overhaul of our phone and data connections to Qwest, as well as the installation of new equipment in the main Wetmore phone system and systems throughout the district. In coordination with the respective vendors, a "cut over" to the new system is going to have to be a very strategic undertaking.  Timing is key to limit any disruption of phone service.

This is going to be an exciting and worthwhile upgrade that will positively affect more than just having the Caller ID capability. When timelines are set for the project, the sites will be appropriately notified.  I'll keep you posted on the progress.

As I stated in the first paragraph, we have not had many problems with corrupt grade files in Easy Grade Pro. However, many of the corrupt files we are getting are from people who save their grades on the network server. The Tech Support from Easy Grade Pro has said that saving to a server can cause as many problems with grade files as saving to a floppy. I know that we have many people who save their grades to the network without a problem; however, I just wanted to make you aware of this and if you do choose to save your grades to the network, please remember to make backups.

Nicole was born in Tucson, graduated from Sabino High School, and just recently graduated from the UA with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with emphasis on Marine Biology.  (I can't wait to find out what she does with that degree in Tucson!)
Her hobbies include SCUBA, traveling, hiking and she has exotic fish and reptiles.
When you see or talk to Nicole the next time, please welcome her and help her feel at home in Amphitheater District.

SFB in our Schools
Over the last eight years, Amphitheater District Technology Department has been cabling the sites for telephones, televisions, and computers and installing lots of technology.  Last year, the State implemented a plan that will cable all the classrooms in Arizona for computer access to the Internet.  Since Amphitheater had done most of this work earlier using older cabling specifications I was concerned that we wouldn't get anything from this program.  I was excited to hear that Amphi would still benefit from this program in schools that didn't have Cat 5e data cable.  So, in the next few months, the SFB (School Facilities Board) will be surveying each school and upgrading the data cable and networking equipment as needed.  The end result is that we will have a faster network to access our file servers and the Internet.  When you come back from summer vacation, you should be pleasantly surprised at the enhanced speed of our network.

1. Once you call your computer or monitor in to be fixed don't move it out of the room.  I looked for a particular monitor for 20 minutes the other day before I finally found it in the storage closet.
2. Keep your computer connected to the monitor, keyboard and mouse and the power cord.  There are times when a simple onsite fix takes longer (and may be more disruptive to your class or work) because we have to reconnect the computer.
3. Include the serial number and ASD tag when you call it in, especially if you have a new Compaq or Gateway, this speeds service.
4. There are times when we get to your call faster than you receive the pink sheet.  While we are happy to provide such fast service it can be difficult to sometimes locate the unit needing service, especially if you have several computers in the room.  In this case putting a post-it note on the equipment is most helpful.
5. Leave a detailed note on the computer if possible.  I know that when you call a computer into the hotline there is only a short amount of time to leave a large amount of information.  Any other details that might be useful can be jotted down and left on the computer for the technician. These might include:

a. What programs you had open at the time of disaster.
b. What you, or the Technology Specialist on site, already tried in the way of troubleshooting.
i. Turning off computer
ii. Turning off the printer
iii. Changing printer cartridge
iv. Running scan disk, defrag or virus scan
c. Changing monitors.
d. Reinstalling the program.

NCS's SASIxp "Training Online" is now available at the SIS office.
This is the first time our District has subscribed to NCS's comprehensive web-based SASIxp tutorial package. (HINT: New SASIxp users are very strongly encouraged to take the Basic Applications course as soon as possible!)

SASIxp training is now available for:
1. Basic Applications
2. Query
3. Attendance (Period or Daily)
4. Scheduling (Basic and Mass)

Advantages over traditional classroom/lab training environments:

• Courses can be taken anytime in the SIS office Monday - Friday, between 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM. (please call ahead, x5162)
• Courses are self-paced and can be split up into multiple sessions.
• Courses can be taken more than once as a review or refresher.
• Course content simulates real job-based functions.
• Course content is interactive and encourages users to do rather than to just read, increasing the potential for learner retention.

• A glossary of terms.
• An assessment to test the users comprehension. (The course assessment test provides immediate feedback, encouraging the learner to recognize and learn from mistakes and correct answers, AND includes a printable certificate that indicates mastery of the training material.)

• K-3 BEGINNING OF 6TH GRADE

• ALL ELEMENTARY BEGINNING OF 9TH GRADE

• ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL BEGINNING OF 11TH GRADE

Governor Jane Hull's Kid Page - provides information about Arizona history, natural wonders, wildlife, and state facts. The site also has pictures of Arizona and a coloring book that you can download.  This is a great site for 4th grade students and teachers studying Arizona.
www.governor.state.az.us/kids/kids.cfm

ABC Teach - provides worksheets, activities, handouts, and ideas for teachers and students to use in the classroom.  Everything from D'Nealian style handwriting practice pages to thematic units is available at this site.  This is an excellent resource for teachers and parents.
abcteach.com/

ArtCyclopedia - the site provides over 80,000 images from over 7,500 artists.  You can search by artist, title of artwork, or museum name. This is a great way to find art images to show to students.
www.artcyclopedia.com/

Pics for Learning: Copyright Friendly Images for Education - a copyright-friendly image library with thousands of images for teachers and students that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. You and your students can search the categories for pictures for reports, PowerPoint presentations, and more without fear of breaking copyright laws.
pics4learning.com/

KidStorm: Facts about Tornadoes, Lightning, Hurricanes, and Storm Chasers - Storm chaser Chris Kridler provides information, photographs and links about severe weather for students.
skydiary.com/kids/

Virtual Cave - Caver and photographer Dave Bunnel has created a site for students with information and photographs on four different types of caves: solution caves, lava tube caves, sea caves, and erosional caves.  This is a great way for your students to learn and see about caves without wearing a helmet, light and sturdy boots and going on a spelunking field trip.
www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave/index.html

Healthy Teeth - provides information about teeth and gums, prevention, cavities, braces, experiments and activities, and a teacher's guide.  The site has text, graphics, photos and movies about teeth.
www.healthyteeth.org/

What's in Your Lunch - Grade 3
This lesson involves individual students researching, analyzing, and creating multimedia slideshows to present nutritional information to their third-grade peers.
www.amphi.com/~technology/standards/lessons/lafaye2.html

Do You Get the Hungries? -Grade 4-5
Students look at a menu from a popular fast food restaurant and determine what to order based on their budget using spreadsheets.
www.amphi.com/~technology/standards/lessons/hungry.htm

Newspaper Creation-Grades 6-8
During this lesson, students research a current topic on the Internet and gather images appropriate to the topic.  The information and pictures are then used to create a newspaper article using either Microsoft Publisher or Student Writing Center.  Students write the articles on the basis of the 5 W method (Who, What, Where, When, and How).  Students work in groups and combine their individual articles into a newspaper.
www.amphi.com/~technology/standards/lessons/gilbertson3.html

Urban Legends - Grades 6-8
Students will explore two urban legend websites and answer questions designed to help them understand, recognize, and learn to evaluate Internet "stories."
www.amphi.com/~technology/standards/lessons/rolewski3.html

We also just added a link to a spec page for each printer to help those of you trying to decide between printers.  On the Printer Price sheet page,  (www.amphi.com/~technology/pricesheets/priceprint.htm), all you need to do is click on the name of the printer for more information.  You can compare pages per minute, memory, processor, duty cycle, etc.  Hopefully, this will make your decision a little more informed as you're deciding which item is right for your department or school.

It should be noted that while SunGard and the Technology staff here at Wetmore will do our level and very best to make sure the only thing you notice is a speed increase, this is a whole new system, and there might be a few speed bumps.  Without going into gory and boring technical details, a lot of different pieces are being changed at once, any one of which can cause problems on its own.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free, as always, to call me at 5222.

Have you used your computer in the classroom lately?  Does it feel more like you are integrating your computer into the curriculum, or using technology to enhance the subject matter at hand?  Technology is a required part of the ATEPs - meeting that requirement isn't always easy.  How about dedicating a week in the summer toward creating a unit plan and making it happen.

Intel, with support from Microsoft, offers educators a program called Teach to the Future.  In this program, teachers are given the time to plan out a unit that completely embraces technology.  At the end of the course, your unit is ready to teach and you have many newfound technology skills.

In this course, you will write your own unit.  The unit can cover any subject matter that you choose.  Woven into your unit, enhancing your curriculum will be various Microsoft activities.  Students completing your unit will be required to create a PowerPoint presentation, a Publisher activity, as well as many other computer related tasks.

Some perks of the course are: The time to work on your technology skills, 45 re-certification hours, free snacks, University credit, free software, and a disk containing other technology units for your use.

This course is free!  It has had a profound affect on the way that I instruct my classes.  I am no longer searching for ways to integrate technology into the curriculum - it is now a part of what I do.

There are two locations and times this summer to take the Teach to the Future course:

Amphitheater Middle School - June 8 - June 15 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Jeannie Wager 696-6333 Library Lab
Wilson K-8 Niki Tilicki June 3-11 from 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. weekdays in the Middle School computer lab 696-5860

Just call to register.  We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity.

To make the current layout in a to-scale drawing we had to measure all cabinets, tables, as well as walls and walkways.  After measuring everything, we put it into a Super Paint drawing.  This to-scale drawing was important because it gave us a useable way in which we could rearrange the room without physically moving anything.

To solve this problem we made another Super Paint drawing with all the furniture that was in the first drawing, and rearranged everything so all computers were connected to Ethernet connections as well as power.  We also made sure there weren't any cords in walkways and that all the walkways were large enough to be accessible and useful.  We also made sure that all the computers were facing the instructor and the screen that would display the needed instructions and information for the class.  After we completed both to-scale drawings and had a design that would work, we put them both into a PowerPoint presentation to show the class what we did.

We thought this problem showed us a good 'real-life' use of programs on the computer.  It was very interesting to see what other groups' new layouts were as well as comparing ours to theirs.  It was a good assignment that required us to think and use problem-solving techniques to come up with a good layout for the classroom.  Our experience with PowerPoint and Super Paint taught us skills that could be used for future job or school presentations.

1. Make sure there is enough space on the hard drive to install the program. Kid Pix recommends a full install of 330 MB.

2. Remove Adobe Acrobat and any Quick Time players that exist prior to install. Kid Pix wants to install its version of Quick Time and Adobe, so if you leave the older or newer versions it will cause a conflict.

3. Kid Pix 3 has several requirements before installation, if you explore the disk and read the read me file it will go into depth on system requirements.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
* One of the following: Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, Millennium, or NT 4.0  (service pack 5 or higher)
* 233MHz processor
* 32MB of RAM
* Minimum 100MB hard disk space
* 4x CD-ROM drive
* 800 x 600 display, 16-bit color
* 16-bit Windows compatible sound device
* Windows Compatible Sound Card
* Standard mouse and keyboard
* A microphone is needed for Sound Art and for recording sounds
4. Older machines below the requirements have worked with the new version.

However, these machines had been restored from the ground up with only core software on them due to small hard drive capacity.

5. Note of precaution: No matter what you do Murphy's Law does apply.

If you have looked through the Known Problems and Limitations section and still need assistance, you can contact Broderbund Technical Support by using the options listed below.  It will be very helpful if you can tell them your computer make and model, and the brand names of both the video card and sound card you are using.  If possible, have the computer positioned near your phone and turned on.  Please also be prepared to give them a detailed description of what happens when you try to run the program.

For technical support you can:

* Email a description of your problem to help@tlcsupport.com
* Telephone Technical Support Call Center from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM CST at (319) 247-3333 Monday through Friday.
* Fax 24 hours a day at (319) 395-9600
* Mail correspondence to:
Broderbund Technical Support
1700 Progress Drive
Hiawatha, IA 52233-0100
Attn: Kid Pix Deluxe 3

The fifth graders explored intolerance in America. We focused on four intolerances in America's past: slavery, Japanese Internment Camps, Women's Suffrage Movements and Civil Rights. Each of the five fifth grade classes was divided into groups of four. In their groups they went to the Internet to learn and gather information for their subject. Through my web page they had a list of resources or web sites to gather the information needed to answer the guided questions. According to the information gathered, each student produced a slide for PowerPoint. When each student in a group finished their slide we put them together for a presentation. After all the slides were put together, the students added their finishing touches.

Since this was their first experience using PowerPoint, I kept it simple. We did find pictures from the Internet to bring into the slides. Some students found pictures through clipart on the computer. One student went off the paper of questions and explored an area of slavery I didn't get into. Another student went to the library to gather information and found a picture in a book, which we scanned and put into their slide. In the end, I was very proud of how they handled this project. We presented a few of the presentations to the whole 5th grade class along with their teachers and other specialist teachers.

• Under Class select "Quarter 1: Period 1"
• Under Name type Taylor.
• Under Password type password.

While this is a wonderful way to provide another means for your students' parents to receive their son/daughter's grade, when you are working with the Internet there are always safety issues. Parents and students can access student grades if they have a password. It needs to be stressed to your students to make unique passwords to help prevent others from accessing their grades.ÿHowever, even without a password if anyone really wanted to hack into a page they can. Also, if a teacher gives out his/her web password to others, people would be able to access their web account to seeÿstudent grades. Despite these possible security risks we have decided to proceed with caution with regard to posting progress reports to the Internet.

In order to minimize the security risks and to make grades more secure, if you choose to post progress reports to the Internet we would like you to follow the following guidelines:

• Keep your web account password very private.
• Make unique passwords for each student. The student id is not a good password.ÿ
• There is a place when you are creating the progress reports in Easy Grade Proÿto include only the ID and not the student's name on the progress report or not to put either the ID or NAME, you need to select one of these options. That way even if someone hacked into the progress report page they would not have a name to go with the grades.

Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF) is a very accessible way in which to present documents and graphics on the Internet.  PDF is a universal file format that maintains all the fonts, formatting, graphics, and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to produce it.  A file that is created and saved as a PDF and then posted on the Internet can be viewed by anyone with Adobe Acrobat® Reader®.  Getting this program is simple. Adobe Acrobat® Reader® can be downloaded from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.htmlfree of charge.

There are quite a few problems that can be eliminated through the use of PDFs.                                                                     These include:

• Inability to access a document/graphic file because the program used to create it is not on your computer
• Formatting, fonts, and graphics being lost due to incompatibilities in platform, software, and/or version
• Documents not printing correctly because of software or printer restrictions

Rubrics from the Staff Room
This site contains a wide variety of rubrics for the general music classroom plus middle school and high school.  Why reinvent the wheel when someone already has done the work?  Check out this site to see if a rubric you need is here.
www.odyssey.on.ca/~elaine.coxon/rubrics.htm

MIDI Technology
Want to learn how to use MIDI?  This site will give you information about workshops that are available for training.  You can also get information about software and hardware available in the music field.
www.midiworkshop.com/

The National Association for Music Education
Interested in what is going on nationally in music? Check out this site.  You can find resources, chat rooms, ideas and great links here.
www.menc.org/

Music Friends
This website has the job of helping to support the music education of all children.  If you want ideas of how to talk to parents and the community about how they can help support music in your school, check out this site.
www.musicfriends.org/brochure.html

Music Curriculum
I think almost everyone has heard of Scholastic Inc.  It is one of the largest publishers and distributors of children's books in the world.  In their Teacher Resource Center link they have a section with Music Curriculum containing lesson plans and activities for teaching music.
teacher.scholastic.com/professional/music/index.htm

Arizona Music Educators Association
This is where you will find out about what is going on in our state with music.  Check out the many different areas of interest to music educators:  Choir, Band, Jazz, Orchestra, General Music and much more.
www.arts.arizona.edu/amea/menu.html#amea

American Choral Directors Association
acdaonline.org/

Ear Training Sites
www.good-ear.com/
www.earpower.com/
www.ossmann.com/bigears/

Ear Training - Dictation Worksheets
www.sheetmusic1.com/ear.training.html

I hope you enjoy surfing the net to take a look at what is available.  If you find any great ones please share them with me.  I can be reached at tirwin@amphi.com or 4237.

To Change the Default Font Style or Size
Click on Format from the Menu Bar.
Click Font.
On the dialog box select the Font, Font Size, etc. that you desire.
Click the Default button.
Click Yes to save your desired choices.

Excel

Wrapping Text in a Cell.
Select the cell containing the data you want to have wrapped onto multiple lines.
Click Format from the menu bar.
Click Cells.
Make sure the Alignment tab is selected.
Click the Wrap Text option.
Click OK.

PowerPoint

Changing the Design Template (Background)
Click on Format on the Menu Bar.
Pull down to Apply Design.
Double click on desired design.

To change the color of the apply design
On the Menu Bar, go to Format, select Slide Color Scheme.
Click on the color scheme you want, then choose Apply (single slide) or Apply to All (all slides).

Teachers and students can access real time data and use it in problem solving lessons.  The idea is not to give students more numbers to memorize but to give them meaningful activities to solve real life problems.  For example, give them information about their community and water use or garbage collection amounts and compare them with other areas and get them to determine how they could create a conservation program.  There are many sites that provide current and up-to-date information for students to use and there are real time data projects that students can participate in with other students from all over the world.  In some projects, students work with scientists to solve problems or gather and publish data.  Using real time data with students can make a subject come to life and provide students with the necessary problem solving skills to contribute to society.

The important thing to consider when using the Internet is to determine how this is meeting your curricular goals.  What objectives do you plan to meet using real time data and how will you assess that your students have met your objectives? Keep your curriculum in mind as you look at real time data sites and projects.
There are a multitude of real time data sites on the Internet.  The Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) has the best resources on the Internet dealing with real time data.  Look at the data sites and projects below that they recommend. The CIESE sites are accurate and will provide excellent learning opportunities for students.

Introduction to Real Time Data presented by CIESE - www.k12science.org/training/realtimedataelem/
Real Time Data links recommended by CIESE - www.k12science.org/realtimedatasites.html
Real Time Data Projects - www.k12science.org/realtimeproj.html
More Real Time Data Projects recommended by CIESE - www.k12science.org/nationalprojects.html

On Wednesday the technician showed up before I got home and had cut all the cable feeds into my house.  I remembered reading that the cable modem wouldn't work if you had more than one splitter in the line.  I had forgotten about the splitter outside.  He toned the cable for the computer room, and split the rest of the cables to the other rooms and said he was ready to work on the computer.  He sat down at the computer and began doing the setup, and after about an hour he determined that I was going to have to reformat the computer and reinstall the OS.  It was about that time that I realized that maybe he didn't know everything there was to know about this installation.  So, I called a friend (and technical advisor) who talked the technician through the setup and discovered that one tab (DNS server) was checked and shouldn't have been.  It finally worked!

The technician packed up and I sat down to begin exploring the Internet from home and was so amazed at how fast it was.  Then, I tried checking my new home email account and it didn't work.  After making yet another tech support call, everything was resolved and it all worked.  Finally, I can ditch my old 28.8 modem.  Now all I have to do is contact all my friends and family and let them know I have a new email address.

To summarize, the installation wasn't as easy as I thought it might be.  The people on tech support weren't knowledgeable enough to assist with anything but the simplest of problems.  But, it was well worth the wait.  Now the world is once again at my fingertips.

There are different ways EMI can cause damage or simply interfere with the normal performance of your computer equipment, from making your speakers sound like you are in outer space, your monitor looking  like an ultra-sound machine or just completely erasing your data from the hard drive. Scary, isn't it?

How to avoid this situation:
a. Never place equipment with electro magnetic materials next to a computer system (stereo speakers with built in magnets, a microwave).
b. Place the computer system away from the TV; if is too close this will interfere with the display signal.
c. Never place any magnets on top of computer parts. This will cause permanent damage to the items or will erase data from the hard drive.

CDR 117  Prime Time Math: Emergency - Measurements and Rates    Grades 8-9
A patient arrives at the hospital, and the emergency team goes into action. This title covers conversions of metric units and equivalents, medical measurements and rates, and graphs of values over time.

CDR  118  Prime Time Math: Fire - Formulas and Triangle Grades 8-9
A team of firefighters is called to the scene of a building fire. This title covers formulas using basic algebra, order of operations, firefighting measurements and rates, triangles, and the Pythagorean Theorem.

CDR 119  Prime Time Math: Stakeout - Statistics and Graphs    Grades 6-7
Detectives are investigating a rash of robberies at local comic book stores. This title covers calculating mean values, working with percentages, using statistics to establish patterns, and understanding data in tables, bar graphs, and frequency charts.

CDR 206  Prime Time Math: Cliffbound - Rates and Ratios    Grades 6-7
Two rock climbers get stranded on a cliff, and a rescue team lifts them to safety. This title covers computing time, rate, and distance; operating with fractions; using unit ratios; and using equivalent ratios.

CDR 207  Prime Time Math: Adrift - Maps and Geometry    Grades 4-5
A boater is missing, and a team searches the lake where he was sailing. This title covers using grids and numbered pairs, using a map scale and compass, and computing rectangle area and perimeter.

CDR 208  Prime Time Math: Lost - Decimals and Geometry
Grades 5-6
A young girl takes a wrong turn in the woods, and a search team jumps into action to find her before dark. This title covers computing with decimals and percents, using maps and map scales, and measuring angles and distance.

The documentation of the minutes of our board meetings used to be done on a steno pad, taken in shorthand. It was next done using a stenograph, as court reporters use. Later a transcribing machine was added. Transcribing machines were made that recorded on a standard Philips cassette. Then ones were made that recorded on a microcassette, with two speeds - 1 7/8 ips & 15/16 ips. At the slower speed, you could record up to 1-« hours of information per side on an MC90 tape.

The latest acquisition the Governing Board secretary has obtained is a Lanier Advocate V dual regular cassette recorder that takes C90 tapes. It has two speeds (15/16 ips, 15/32 ips), eight microphone inputs and four channels/tracks. When on the slowest speed, a C90 tape will record for three hours in one direction. At about 9 minutes before the first tape runs out, the second deck turns on and starts recording. When the first deck comes to the end of the tape, it turns off, allowing the second deck to continue recording. The one disadvantage to this system is that the cassettes can't be easily copied. This is due to the fact that the speed is to slow for regular cassette players (1 7/8 ips).

Another system that is available is the FTR Digital Audio Reporter, which records to a computer CD-ROM. It will hold up to 20 hours of proceedings, has 8 microphone inputs and 4 channels.

If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me at ext 6200 or glarsen@amphi.com.

If you need help with this contact your school Technology Specialist for assistance.

1. Click on the Start Menu.
2. Highlight Programs.
3. Highlight Accessories.
4. Click on Notepad.
5. Start typing the closing salutation (e.g. Cordially or Have a great day etc.) and your district information, like your phone number, address and title.
6. Click on the File menu and click Save.
7. Type in file name entry box the following C:\mysignature.txt and click Save.
8. Exit out of Notepad.
9. Start Netscape and go to the Edit Menu.
10. Click on Preferences.
11. Double click on Mail and Newsgroups.
12. Click on Identity.
13. Click in the blank below Signature File.
14. Put in the name of your file from step 7.
15. Click OK.

The summer class schedule will be out at the end of April.  You can check for the new classes and register online at techreg.amphi.com.

You can also take classes from the comfort of your home if you have the Internet with Amphi's online classes.  Go to www.amphi.com/~technology/amphionline/ and learn about the available courses and how you can earn 9 hours of recertification credit.

Learn something new this summer!