If you hear thundering hooves in your school this fall, don’t worry, it’s only a stampede.

Say what?

Relax, this is one stampede that won’t trample you. The district now proudly owns a herd of more than four hundred Gateway PCs – the computers that come in the famous cow-spotted boxes. This marks the beginning of a new computer hardware standard for the district. Until recently, the technology standard for new computers has been Hewlett-Packard, and in the last three and a half years Amphi has purchased and placed more than two thousand HP desktop computers in offices, classrooms, libraries, and computer labs. Changes in computer technology and the needs of the district, however, have led the Technology department to evaluate other types of desktop computers to meet our needs more effectively. After a great deal of research and testing, Gateway was chosen to supply us with the 400+ computers to be placed in schools this fall.

Gateway got its start in Iowa in 1985. Ted Waitt, on a loan from his traditional cattle-business family, co-founded the business with Mike Hammond in an old farmhouse. There, under the trendy name of "Gateway 2000," they marketed, built, sold, and supported custom PCs, pioneering in the new industry of direct-market computers. Sales during the first four months topped $100,000. Five years later the company moved a short hop across the state line to South Dakota, keeping its cattle-ranch theme as a trademark. Recently the company dropped the "2000" from its name, but continues to achieve worldwide acclaim. Ziff-Davis rated them the brand leader in customer loyalty, and they are listed on the S & P 500 Index. Gateway also proudly announces that in 1997 two cosmonauts on the Mir space station placed an online order from space for two computer systems, making Gateway the first vendor in history to receive an online order from space. If you would like to read more about Gateway Computers, you can graze their website at www.gateway.com.

Back at the ranch, Gateway was kind enough to open a Gateway Country store just down the street from the Wetmore Center. In this cleverly barn-themed retail store, you can see Gateway PCs, talk with representatives, and buy Gateway merchandise, including shirts, desk accessories, coffee mugs, cow beanies, the ever-popular Gateway mousepad, and – my personal favorite – the Stress Cow, an udderly adorable foam toy that fits in your hand and provides hours of therapeutic cow-kneading.

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines, but making the change to Gateway cow … er, computers will provide us with additional benefits. The installation and warranty repair processes will be streamlined and should be easier for both the users and the Technology department. The new Gateway computers have many components that are similar to our existing computers, and will be set up in a similar fashion, with the same Category-1 software under Windows 95. Gateway also offers an instructional discount for those wishing to purchase a home PC; read Notes from the Director later in this issue for specific details.

If you have a Hewlett-Packard desktop and are concerned about the change from HP to Gateway, don’t have a cow; our technicians are still able to provide warranty service for these machines, and to obtain parts and perform repairs for HP machines that are no longer in warranty. (Really. No bull.)

Hey, what do you call the processor in a Gateway computer? A cow ch... oh, never mind. These new computers are out standing in their field.

By Kathy Sheppard

There is a very useful new feature in the 3.0 version of Pentamation that allows you to view your reports on the screen before you print them. If you are creating a PO or Requisition report, you can now print it to the screen and review and search it before you send it to the printer. Once the report appears on the screen you have 9 options to manipulate your report. The Right and Left option allows you to move right or left to view each side of the report. The Down and Up option allows you to move your report up or down one line at a time. The Bottom and Top option moves you to the bottom or top of the page you are viewing. Next and Previous moves you up or down a page. GoTo will let you input a page number to go to or lets you select the first and last page of the report. Search lets you enter a search pattern so you can electronically search though the report for a particular word or words. The Save feature allows you to save the report to a file. And the Print feature allows you to print the report to your printer. The Browse feature "should" allow you to use your arrow keys to scroll through the report - but it didn’t work correctly when I was testing it so be careful for now.

So, you say, what good does this do me? Let’s suppose you wanted to know all the reqs you have created since March of 1999 and you wanted to find the req number for your order of Southwest Indian Books. You can go into the Requisition Report menu selection in Purchasing. Select a report. (I’m using the Requisition Status Report for this example.) Then enter your selection criteria. For this example use location code and in the Date Requested field enter >03/01/99 and press escape. Enter Y to approve your selection criteria. Then when you see the Report Destination window, select the Screen option. Once your report appears on the screen you can do a search on the words SOUTHWEST INDIAN (select global search to be on the safe side and be sure you use upper case letters.) If all goes well, the items you are looking for will be highlighted.

Note: If nothing appears on the screen after you select Screen option, it means there is nothing to print. Check your selection criteria. Think of how you can broaden or narrow your search.

If you have any questions, please call me at 5219.

The Technology Department has been working very hard this summer and has accomplished a great deal. I just wanted to update you on some of our purchases that you will see in your schools. The following have been ordered:

429 TV monitors. Carts or brackets to mount the TV monitors.

558 Computers: 436 Gateways, 75 iMacs, & 47 G3s.

36 HP Laser Printer 4050TN’s.

And, we installed 86 multimedia library computers.

Not bad for the summer! And, it should make your school year even better. By the time you read this, much of the equipment will have been delivered and is in the process of being installed.

Have you ever purchased a computer and/or printer, modem, scanner and tried to install it on your own? Well, I just tried to do that this weekend and I wanted to share some of my thoughts as I was going through this process. I don’t care what anyone says, it just isn’t "plug & play." It requires a lot of patience, manual reading and probably several tech support calls. I spent an entire weekend installing a printer, modem and CD-ROM burner, configuring them, and getting them to work – Finally! I went through several emotional states: excited with the challenge of doing this, frustrated during most of the process, and relieved that I didn’t break it and everything worked.

What I learned from this endeavor is as follows:

I now have an even greater admiration for the Computer Repair Technicians and Network Specialists that work in our District. They have to know a great deal to troubleshoot and repair our computer equipment. So, the next time one of them fixes your computer, just remember that behind the repair call is a great deal of knowledge, patience, and technical expertise. Give them a big smile and thank them for their help.

For the last several years, the District computer standard has been Hewlett-Packard PC’s. This summer, however, we reviewed computer offerings from several computer vendors and finally selected Gateway as our District computer standard. We selected a Pentium III, 450 MHz, multimedia workstation for considerably less than the HP’s. As a result of our negotiations, we were able to buy 30 Gateways for each school that chose the Windows 95 platform. I am very excited about the possibilities these computers will provide for the students and staff.

If you are interested in purchasing a Gateway for personal use, we have agreed upon an Employee Purchase Plan. Whatever Gateway computer model you select, you will be given a 2% discount on the computer and a 50% discount on the shipping. On a $1,500 computer, you could expect to save about $200.00. If you have any questions about this Purchase Plan, you may contact me at 5216 or call Chris Rightmer at the Oracle Gateway Country Store, at 888-1700.

This summer, the legislature passed House Bill 2409 that requires public schools to equip computers with either software or filtering services that prevent minors from using these computers to access harmful material on the Internet. As a result, school districts are required to install filtering software. We have been negotiating with several filtering companies and will make a purchasing decision in the very near future. At that time, we will be required to install Internet filtering software on all computers in the District.

On a personal note, I had hoped that filtering would not become a Federal/State mandate. I felt that our District Internet Access Policy # IJNDB outlined the appropriate uses of the Internet and placed the responsibility on the students, parents and staff.

With that said, please keep in mind that Internet filtering software will not stop all access to inappropriate web sites. If a person is intent on that goal, I’m sure they’ll find a way around our filtering software. So, we are still responsible for monitoring and supervising students when they are accessing the Internet.

Every year our department conducts the Instructional Technology Plan Teacher Survey for the purpose of finding out what technology teachers are using, not only for themselves but also with their students. One of the least used areas according to the survey results is Spreadsheets and Databases. It is imperative that students learn these skills so they can compete in an ever-changing job market. The Amphitheater Public Schools Technology Curriculum Frameworks has included these skills quite extensively giving you a guide to what each student is expected to know in regard to these skills at each grade level.

Don’t think that you have to add spreadsheets and databases as a separate thing to teach your students. They can be incorporated into the content that you are currently teaching. There are several things you can do to learn how to integrate these skills into your teaching. You could take district technology classes to learn how to use Excel to create spreadsheets and databases and to get ideas for the classroom. If you already know how to use Excel but are having trouble thinking of lessons that use spreadsheets and databases there is a wealth of information on the Internet dealing with this subject.

Below are some of the web sites that will give you ideas or ways to use spreadsheets and databases with your students. Many of these sites also include other types of lessons as well.

http://www.ncdpi.org/Curriculum/Computer.skills/lssnplns/sstoc.html

Spreadsheet lessons for Grades 6-8 developed by teachers in North Carolina.

http://www.essdack.org/tips/projects.html#ClarisWorks

A variety of lesson plans using ClarisWorks, the Internet, KidPix, and HyperStudio. The ClarisWorks lessons could be modified for use with Excel.

This is a large database of lessons which allows teachers to find a variety of electronic projects to use in the classroom across many subjects and grade levels.

Lessons developed by an Australian teacher, the topics include spreadsheets, graphics, and functions.

This lesson uses a spreadsheet to create a variety of different charts. This particular lesson is geared toward third graders but could be modified to fit individual needs.

This site gives information about spreadsheets, when you could use a spreadsheet, and includes some ideas for lessons but does not include complete lessons.

For the past three years we have been purchasing Hewlett Packard PC computers from MicroAge. In fact, we were purchasing most of our Hewlett Packard brand needs from them. During the past months we have been re-evaluating a variety of brands and models of computers; the result of that research has been to move to a Gateway product. At the same time as the change in product, we are also moving away from MicroAge/Tucson, as they are no longer participants of the State Contract program. An option was to stay with MicroAge but their office is in Tempe and we preferred staying with a local vendor. We will remain with the local MicroAge dealer for any on-going HP computer Warranty issues.

The vendor and process to use when ordering the Gateway computer is: Mohave (Vendor #985), using the already established "Installing Dealer" method; which is Gateway. This means that you need to consider the additional 1% Admin Fee. (If you are unsure of how to initiate a requisition using an "Installing Dealer," please contact your site’s Purchasing Clerk.) Here are the specifics necessary to order:

Mohave, Ven# 985

Installing Dealer: Gateway, Quote#: GW07123748

Gateway computer; PN#: E-4200 450; 15" Viewsonic MM Monitor-Cost: $1183.00 OR with a 17" Viewsonic MM Monitor-Cost: $1293.00.

Here are some Internet sites to use professionally and with students. All of these sites and more can be found at Peggy Steffens web page- www.amphi.com/~psteffen.

NWREL Six +1 Traits of Writing –support for teachers, and administrators on the Six Trait Writing process and includes teacher activities, ideas for introducing traits to student writers, practice papers, prompts and more. http://www.nwrel.org/eval/writing/

21st Century Problem Solving - a collection of ideas and information to help students solve problems using examples from algebra, physics, and chemistry. http://www.english-to-go.com/

Click on Bricks: Multiplication Facts - allows students to practice and learn multiplication facts using bricks. http://tqjunior.advanced.org/3896/index2.htm

Coolmath - provides lessons on functions, tessellations, limit, fractals, careers in math, and more. Provides links for general math, algebra, geometry, and precalculus. http://www.coolmath.com/

Euclid’s Elements - uses a Java geometry applet to teach geometry concepts; students can manipulate the figures by dragging points and the remaining part of the figure will adjust appropriately. http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html

Graphics for the Calculus Classroom - a collection of graphical demonstrations developed for first year calculus students. http://www.math.psu.edu/dna/graphics.html

Mathematics Center - Houghton Mifflin provides Math Central that has Internet links, activities, printable black line masters for grades K-6, brainteasers, and an activity search. http://www.eduplace.com/math/index.html

Tessellation Links - a collection of links about tessellations from Access Indiana Teaching and

Learning Center. http://tlc.ai.org/tesseidx.htm

Tessellation Index - tessellation links appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school students. http://forum.swarthmore.edu/sum95/suzanne/links.html

English to Go - new lessons are posted weekly and include student worksheets, teachers’ notes and supplementary activities. http://www.english-to-go.com/

Arty the Part Time Astronaut - Allows children to enter a multimedia environment for exploring the planets. http://www.artyastro.com/

Amazing Space - a site to teach students about space that has excellent animated teaching visuals. http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/

Desert Biome - links to information about types of deserts, desert plants, desert animals, deserts of the world, and more. http://www.mobot.org/MBGnet/sets/desert/index.htm

The Nine Planets - a site designed to teach younger children about the planets, comets, and astroid belts. http://www.tcsn.net/afiner/general2.htm

OZline.com - Tom March provides information about creating WebQuests, online learning strategies and web development. http://www.ozline.com/

The WebQuest Page - designed to serve as a resource to those who are using the WebQuest model to teach with the web; provides training materials, collections, examples, and an overview.

School Notes.com - a free site for teachers to post homework and other school information on the web. http://www.schoolnotes.com/

American Association of School Librarians - provides news, professional resources, Internet resources, and conference information. It provides links to their standards and guidelines called Information Power. http://www.ala.org/aasl/

Milken Exchange on Education Technology - The Milken Exchange is accelerating a national agenda for technology in schools. They have links to discussions, projects, resources, tools and frameworks, public awareness, public policy, teaching and learning, and more. http://www.milkenexchange.org/

Beginners Central - An online tutorial for learning how to use the Internet. You will learn basic history and information about the Internet and there are lessons on downloading, email, and more. http://www.northernwebs.com/bc/

Sanfords’ ArtEdventures - provides ideas and examples about creating and studying art. Check out the ArtEdventure under the Play Art Games category and play the interactive games as you learn about art concepts. http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/

We have received an updated version of MicroGrade which allows you to transfer students between classes and also has a toolbar you can use instead of using the menus. Many of the bugs of the older versions are also supposed to have been worked out so you want to make sure you have the newest version installed on your computer. Below are directions to see which version is installed on your computer. If you do not have the newest version installed talk to the Tech Coach at your site.

It is wise to make backups of any files you have that are important and would cause you distress if they were lost or damaged, Thus, it is very important you backup your MicroGrade files, not only electronically but also printing out a hard copy backup. I would suggest you do this at least every couple of weeks depending on how often you update your grades on the computer.

There is only one proper way to shut down your personal computer. Please take the time to follow these steps to insure a healthy Mac or PC.

Close all files and programs you are working on.

Go to the Start button pull to Shut Down.

The Shut Down Windows menu will appear.

The default setting checked is Shut Down Computer.

Proceed by clicking Yes.

The computer will then go to a screen telling you that the PC is shutting down.

Most HP’s will power themselves off after a minute. Other PC’s will go to a screen that say "It is safe to shut down the computer" then you will power off the PC with the switch.

Close all files and programs you are working on.

Click on Special.

Pull to Shut down.

The Mac will then power off.

LC’s and older will need to be shut off at the switch when the screen prompts you.

Three years ago our district purchased the current phone system called the "Meridian" manufactured by Northern Telecom. This state of the art phone system has a plethora of capabilities from the usual hold, transfer, and forward functions, to the customizing of voice mail distribution lists. These phones are digital which make them quite different from the conventional telephone you would have at home. Depending on your individual needs, knowledge on how these phones work can be a vital part of your job.

There are two types of phones we have throughout the district:

The function keys on these phones are programmed from the system, not the phone. In other words, the system administrator (in this case, me) would do the programming of each button tailored to the users needs. Each phone is built on a custom platform, so in the event of moving a phone it would need the appropriate programming to the new location done by the administrator. Also, 2008HF and 2616HF phones cannot be interchanged "on the fly" because they are programmed on different templates.

The "Meridian" phone system does an array of system diagnostics to make sure all aspects of the system are functioning properly. One diagnostic is a system line tally which makes sure all phones are plugged in and working. This test occurs at 12:00am everyday, so if a phone has a problem or is unplugged when this test occurs, it will disable the phone line. This is done to preserve the phone system’s memory by shutting down ports that need to be fixed. The solution can be as easy as changing a faulty cord or just plugging in the phone. Please note that the phone will not start working until the line tally diagnostic is done the following day or is manually re-enabled by the administrator.

As aforementioned, these phones are digital, which allow capabilities far superior to any regular phones. The telephones and their instruments are unique to the "Meridian" phone system, so no other accessories from other manufacturers should be used unless they are approved by Northern Telecom or your esteemed administrator. Once you have a basic understanding of your phone equipment, it will ensure efficient execution of your communication responsibilities. Remember not all phones are equal, and what we have at the District is at the forefront of technology. Happy dialing!

Note: Any specific operating problems regarding the phone equipment can be directed to me at 5220 or by email at tgill@amphi. com.

There are many different programs that are used in the district that run on our networks. Many of these programs have nothing to do with the servers that run at each site. The following programs are network programs that do not run on servers: Netscape, email, Pentamation, and Subfinder. If these programs are not working there is a network problem but the server is not down. Calling the repair line and claiming the server is down when you have one of these problems will actually slow the time it takes to fix the problem because the Network technicians will be looking at the server for problems and not on the network or at your workstation. The following programs run on the server: SASI, and SASIXP. If you start the program and get to the SASI or SASIXP login but are unable to login it is a SASI problem and you will need to call the MIS department so that they can fix it. If you can’t get a login screen then there is either a problem with the network or the server may be down. To check which it is, start Netscape or another network program and see if it works. If it does not work either then your network connection is down and this is what you should call and report. If the network program does work but the server-based programs don’t then the problem is with the server program or the server and you should call and report this to the repair line. By following these simple guidelines and tests you can greatly increase the speed with which your problems are repaired.

When we encounter something new, such as the Internet, we try to make it fit into what we already know how to do. I have seen many people use the Internet like they would a textbook. They have students read something on the Internet and have students fill out a worksheet about what they learned. This is a great start, and one approach for using the Internet. But, we need to be sure we don’t stop there.

As teachers, we want to have students make a contextual connection between technology and what they are learning in the classroom. If you are teaching about statistics, use online statistics. The statistics are current and relevant to students’ interests. If you are teaching about something that you aren’t an expert in, go to the Ask An Expert sites on the Internet and email your questions to the expert. If you are studying another culture or region in the United States, go online and find a keypal class to communicate with. Have your students practice their communication and research skills as they email the students in the other class. If you are studying current events, the Internet is a great source for current news. Have students compare how events are presented in different newspapers around the globe. If the maps in your classroom do not reflect actual borders today, go online and use the map resources. Everything students read on the Internet is not true. We have to teach students how evaluate information on the Internet, to look for bias, and compare it with other sources. We need to help students use information they find on the Internet with a critical eye.

The Internet has brought an incredible amount of information to students that they can learn from and use. Teachers can find a series of Internet sites on a topic of study, he/she can bookmark them, put them in a web page, or create a TrackStar so that students can have access to them and use them to solve problems. Another way to use higher level thinking is to create Web Quests. Well written Web Quests go beyond fact finding and have students analyze a variety of resources and use their creativity and critical thinking to solve real world problems. The web is perfect for this type of activity because it offers a breadth of perspectives and viewpoints. These are just a few of the ideas of ways to use Internet for higher level thinking activities. We teach about these ideas and more in our District Technology Classes.

One excellent example of using the Internet and technology came from La Cima where 8th grade students were studying WWII and the Holocaust in their English and Social Studies classes. The Technology teacher used this topic to teach the students research strategies on the Internet, how to copy and paste text and images from the Internet to a word processing document, and how to save and import images and sounds into PowerPoint presentations. As the students were learning to navigate through search engines on the Internet using this topic, they were viewing photo archives, listening to speeches by Hitler in German, watching video clips of survivors, and more. Needless to say, they were totally involved and the air was full of adolescent voices sharing what they found and asking serious questions: "Wow, did you know...Hey, you should hear this...Can you believe...Look at this!"

They stopped by before school and between classes to show what they were learning to their friends. The Internet took a very, very important topic and made it real to students and they made incredibly powerful presentations. The technology teacher can’t stop talking about them, and is showing them to the other teachers at the school to encourage more "real use" of the Internet. The Internet, and PowerPoint for that matter, can be real time "wasters" for kids; by integrating the use of technology with what students are studying in their academic classes, everyone benefits.

There is an incredible amount of information available to students and we need to teach students how to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the information. Use the Internet to meet your curricular goals, and use it at all levels of Blooms Taxonomy. Look at the Internet activities that you and your students use now and evaluate what you are doing well and where you might improve.

One of the main goals of the Amphitheater Technology Department is to help teachers learn how to integrate technology in their classrooms. To that end Peggy Steffens and I will be offering two new types of classes this year. One strand will be called Academies and the other is the TEAM (Technology Education Assistance Model) strand.

The Academies will last for the entire school year and will meet about once a month for a total of 15 hours. So, if you sign up for an Academy and attend all the sessions you could receive one unit of district inservice credit. The course will focus on many aspects of one topic, for instance the Internet or One Computer in the Classroom. During each session students will learn a new concept related to the topic. They will have time to create a lesson related to that concept to use in their classroom, and time will also be used to share experiences they had when incorporating previously designed lessons in their classrooms.

In the TEAM strand you will be able to see Peggy Steffens and me model an effective teaching method utilizing technology. You will have time to create a lesson for your own classroom utilizing the same technology, and then Peggy or I will schedule a time to come to your classroom and model the lesson you have created with your students.

The strands have been developed to give teachers a chance to try some new things in their classroom with the opportunity of using us as a resource. We believe that if teachers get their feet wet, they will begin to see the powerful possibilities of using technology in their classrooms as a tool and learn to develop wonderful lessons to enhance student learning.

Search Engines are the way most of us find information on the Internet. We go to our favorite search engine, type in our request, get our results and feel good about the 412,873 results we received. However, we need to be aware that recent studies are showing the search engines do not cover most of the web sites. According to a study by Steve Lawrence and Lee Giles (http://www.wwwmetrics.com/), there isn’t a search engine that indexes more than 16% of the publicly indexable web. The report finds that in February, 1999, there were 800 million publicly indexable pages on the World Wide Web. In fact, coverage by search engine on the Internet has been declining since 1997. In 1997, they reported that the six major search engines (AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Lycos, and Northern Light) in sum covered 60% of the web. One of the things that has happened is that search engines are now more likely to index the popular sites; those that are commercial in nature as opposed to educational sites. Here is the breakdown, according to the report, of coverage by search engines: Northern Light (16%), AltaVista (15.5%), HotBot (11.3%). Infoseek (8%), Yahoo (7.4%), Excite (5.6%), and Lycos (2.5%). Another problem identified in the survey is that search engines are not removing out-of-date links and resources, therefore, our searches give us results that no longer work. The research found the following sites to have this percentage of invalid links: Northern Light (9.8%), AltaVista (6.7%), HotBot (2.2%). Infoseek (5.5%), Yahoo (2.9%), Excite (2.7%), and Lycos (14.0%). This information supports why it is important to teach students that the Internet is only one source of information for their research.

Ahh, autumn. The leaves are turning, the nights have a nip in the air. Time to drag out your favorite sweater and make hot cocoa in the evening.

Except here in Tucson, where it’s still ninety degrees. Even so, there are lots of ways to celebrate this mythical season we never see. How will you keep small hands (and big ones) busy this fall? Hit the web and try one of these craft ideas.

· http://www.skl.com/~guidezon/ autumn.htm

· http://homearts.com/cl/garden/1 1gardb3.htm

· http://www.earlychildhood.com/ arts-crafts/autumnwr.html

· http://www.lifetimetv.com/ exclusives/frameset.shtml/ fall_motifs.html

· http://www.kidsdomain.com/ craft/_fall.html

· http://www.geocities.com/ Area51/Corridor/9666/ hauntpage.html

· http://www.wwvisions.com/ newsletter/sept_oct97/ #seasonal

It seems that more and more as the Technology Team visits various school sites, it has been observed that the need for backing up important data has become more critical. With the new HP computers and the District now running Windows 95 on all PCs along with users that are new to Windows 95, it is inevitable that some of our users will experience problems with their computers, whether it be hardware or software, and risk the possibility of losing data. This brings up the need for safeguarding your data and doing it on a regular basis.

There are several methods available to back up your data. You can back it up to the server, to your floppy drive, or to a tape drive. In doing so you reduce the risk of losing a great deal of work should your computer encounter problems that would require a reinstallation of your hard drive. You can also save files to your hard drive. This is good for fast access but is not recommended for safe storage.

In short, backup any data that you do not want to lose, and if you need help to figure out the best method for you, please don’t hesitate to contact the Technology Department. An ounce of backup is worth a ton of reinstall.

The district will be upgrading all its Windows computers to Office 97 from Office 95. You do not need to worry that you are going to have to learn these programs all over because there really are not many differences between the two versions; Office 97 simply enhances many of the features of Office 95. However, it will take a little time for the installation of Office 97 to be complete so there will be some machines in our district with Office 97 and some with Office 95. If you are working on two different machines you need to be aware of which version each has because Office 95 can not read Office 97 files. If the two machines you are using have different versions of Office you would need to save differently. Below you will find directions on how to save an Office 97 file to use on an Office 95 computer and also how to tell which version is on your computer. If you are saving on an Office 95 machine you can save like you have in the past: Office 97 reads files that were saved in Office 95.

Word Word 6.0/95

Excel Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook

PowerPoint PowerPoint 95

When you open the file using the Office 95 version, you open it like you would any other file.

Teenagers’ knowledge of computers at home and school have led them into the high tech job market. Today’s teenagers are becoming network administrators, web page designers, and computer programmers. According to estimates from the Department of Labor, 29,000 teenagers held technology-related jobs in 1998, up from 5,000 in 1994. This trend is important because of the shortage of high-tech workers globally. According to a study by META, there are currently approximately 400,000 unfilled information technology positions and the number of students seeking degrees in this area will not meet the current or future needs. The Department of Commerce is planning to launch an advertising campaign aimed at teenagers to make high tech jobs appeal to them. They will be trying to show that this is a good career choice for everyone not just the "nerds" or "geeks." They will be stressing to students the importance of having a strong background in math and science.

Q: How do I know if I am saving my files to the server or local Hard Drive?

A: By default all administrative computers with Windows 95 have been set up to save all Word and Excel files to the server. To make sure, when you are done with a document, and from the File menu, choose, Save As… and a box will pop up asking you to give a name to the file. In the top center part of this box, you should see a line the says "Save in: " and a box that should have the folder name "wpdocs." To the far right of this text box you should see a little arrow pointing down; if you click on it, a drop down box will show you all available drives, and "wpdocs" should be listed under a folder with your user name under a drive letter greater than c (i.e. "f:" or "m:"). This is the server and all is well.

Q: Why do I want to save my files to the server?

A: Glad you asked! If you save your files to the server, and by accident you were to, oh, delete those files, we would be able to restore them almost 99% of the time. If you stored them on your local machine, and deleted them, or your hard drive failed, then all of your data would be lost. Period. End of sentence. If you do feel the need to save stuff to your local computer, then please make sure you are backing up the important things, if not daily, then weekly. When hard drives go bad, they normally do so without warning, and they somehow know when you are working on a "Very Important Document." So, please, make sure you are saving to the server, or you are backing up your own files. We in the Tech Department would rather sit and answer a million phone calls from you asking, "I am not sure if I am saving my files, can you help me make sure?" than one phone call saying, "My hard drive isn’t working anymore and my Doctoral Thesis in on there and I need it TODAY, can you get it off for me?" because if the drive really is crashed, then the answer would be, "no." I cannot stress this enough: Please make sure you are backing up your data! (If you are saving to the server, it is being backed up by your office staff.)

(This also as a footnote: This only works if you have a log on. If you do NOT, then PLEASE back up your files to floppy disk, zip disk, tape, etc.)

Over the years our school district has acquired several FCC radio licenses, the purpose of which is to have a legal privilege to transmit over the air waves. A license may be for one or more frequencies for one radio (a base station) operated from a permanent location or room. Or a license may be for several frequencies for many portable (vehicle or hand carried) radios operated from various locations on one campus or from locations all over the district.

The licensed active base stations are at Transportation (WBH988), Facilities Support Services (FSS)(KNDZ303) and CDO south gym repeater (KNDZ304). The licensed active portable stations, including buses, maintenance trucks and their hand held radios are under the KB25064 license. The above mentioned units operate on the frequencies of 154.085mhz and 155.145mhz. FSS also has a portable license (WNWD344) for the 152.655mhz frequency. All other departments or schools are covered under the portable license WPGE451. This license covers nine separate frequencies other than the three mentioned previously.

The FCC requires the license number to be given at least twice during a conversation between units. Once at the beginning, when one unit is calling another and once at the end of the conversation. The use of the word clear or out in the termination of the transmission will help other stations to realize the frequency is now available for their use. This FCC requirement (giving call letters) is not always followed. Some units use another designation to replace the license number. Buses use Bus#, maintenance persons use Tango# and schools may use their mascot as Panther#, Dorado#, Cougar#. I strongly suggest that all schools start using this radio identification procedure.

In the future, the Technology Internet home page will have a link to a chart listing the license numbers, their expiration dates, the frequencies they cover and the schools or departments that use these frequencies. Another chart will list the school, channel number, frequency & tone for that channel and the use of the channel as primary, occasional or private. The information listed in these charts should be helpful in the ordering of new radios.

Any questions or comments can be made to me at 6200 or glarsen@amphi.com.

The media center has purchased a series of nine 28-minute video programs produced by educators for educators. New Tools: Teaching With Technology serves as a practical guide through the ever-changing world of new technology and showcases the best practices for integrating technology into K-12 classrooms. Each program offers: Successful teaching strategies; The best methods of integrating technology throughout the curriculum; Hardware and software demonstrations; Interviews with leaders in instructional technology and educational reform. Titles are:

V 965 An Emerging Technology Classroom follows up an earlier segment from "This Old Schoolhouse," that show teachers going through the steps of goal-setting, planning, and acquiring new technology. Learn what new areas are expanding and readily available to you. This story can be used as a guide for any class or school that is ready to implement technology into a lesson.

V 966 Applying Technology to Applied Learning demonstrates how teachers are using technology to prepare K-12 students to be productive and competent members of today’s work force by providing meaningful opportunities that apply classroom knowledge to the outside world. Includes conversations on student presentations using technology, as well as linking with other schools on applied learning projects.

V 967 Inside the Internet focuses on how to use the Internet as a learning tool. This program shows how to use the World Wide Web in the classroom and discusses the different types of Internet connections.

V 968 Resource-Based Learning demonstrates how teachers and media specialists work together using Big Six Strategies: task definition, information-seeking strategies, location and access, information use, and synthesis and evaluation. Helps teachers combine traditional and new electronic resources in education.

V 969 Standards and Assessments focuses on using technology to track the learning and growth of students, and helps them in the educational process. Learn about the K-W-L chart, and its application in the classroom. Emphasis is placed on what the students can do for themselves.

V 970 Technology and the Arts looks at the important plays in the visual and performing arts and highlights ways in which technology can link the arts to core subject areas. Learn about easy-to-use software that will inspire creativity in all students, and how the mediums of art and technology can be integrated.

V 971 Technology and the School to Work Transition focuses on how technology can be instrumental in linking students, teachers and projects across the curriculum. Shows what’s being done to prepare students to successfully transition from school to work, and demonstrates how workplace skills can be developed even at the elementary level. Software and Internet information are also explored as well as how Service Learning projects can create dynamic community connections.

V 972 Technology and the Writing Process demonstrates how technology supports the development of writing skills. Students use electronic stationary, publish a class book, and discuss writing techniques over the Internet.

V 973 Technology Supporting Math and Science highlights the ways in which technology can be a powerful tool in the math and science curriculum. Displays the wide variety of math software available for students, shows how students can integrate into the classroom the real techniques of scientists and mathematicians, and presents various Internet sites that specialize in math and science.

You can check out any of these videos from the Media Center by filling out the media order forms available at your school or calling Claudio at 6214, or email caraya.