Issue 3, Volume 11 September 2, 2010     Thought for the Week The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. -- William Arthur Ward   Electronic Portfolio Templates for Administrators, Teachers, and Students National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) aligned Electronic Portfolio Templates are provided at this International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) site. These easy-to-use templates take all the work out of creating templates for administrators, teachers and students. These templates are provided as a starting point for developing an electronic portfolio to demonstrate each of these sets of standards. Be creative! Apply your own graphics and backgrounds. Make the portfolio your own. Also, you will find information from Helen C. Barrett, Ph.D. on how she developed the templates. Check them out at http://electronicportfolios.com/nets.html. Register Now For TNT12 - October 23rd! Submit A Proposal! A professional development bargain... only $25.00! This conference is geared to classroom teachers, school administrators, Title I program coordinators, curriculum coordinators, library media specialists, and others with an interest in educational technology. We need YOU to submit a TNT presentation, share your successes using technology….please visit this web link: http://www.cpsb.org/tnt/proposal.asp  Saturday, October 23, 2010 8:00am - 3:00pm New Location!!! LCB Academy of Learning 1509 Enterprise Blvd., Lake Charles, Louisiana Teaching aNd Technology12 Institute Sponsored by: Calcasieu Parish School System Technology Department Calcasieu Association of Educators Region V LACUE Region V TLTC Visit the web site: www.cpsb.org/tnt to register, view sessions, vendor information, and submit a presentation proposal. Highlights of the conference will be: • Hands-on technology workshops • Vendor exhibits & demonstrations • Door prizes—A Dell desktop computer and iPad will be given away and lots more! Conference cost: $25.00 (Lunch is included) Registration is ONLY accepted via online submission. Make checks payable to: Region V LACUE Mail checks to: TNT Conference CPSB Technology Training Center 1724 Kirkman St. Lake Charles, LA 70601 Questions: 337.217.4120, Ext.1030 Mark your calendar now for October 23, 2010 from 8 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for TNT12 and prepare to participate in a premiere technology learning experience. Online Resource Teaching Materials Looking for lessons for the new school year? Try this database from the Smithsonian of more than 1,800 educational resources for almost every subject. All are searchable by keyword, subject, grade level, and alignment to national and state standards. Search the database at http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/resource_library.asp. Back to School with Promethean Planet Make this school year the best ever! Promethean Planet has gathered some of the best tips in the industry to create an all in one back to school guide. Find easy classroom management tips and helpful checklists to kick start your school year. Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one, you don't want to miss out on all the classroom tips in this section. From how to arrange your class to helpful tips for the first days of the new school year to ease students' anxiety; this dedicated section will provide all the resources you need to get off to a great start.  The resources can be found at http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en/professional-development/back-to-school/back-to-school.aspx. Sticky Notes in Windows 7 A new feature in Windows 7 is the built-in Sticky Notes application. You’ll find it by typing “sticky notes” in your search bar.  Below are a few ways to customize your notes: Right-click to select a new note color. Ctrl + B: bold Ctrl + I: italic Ctrl + Shift + L (once): Bulleted list Ctrl + Shift + L (twice): Numbered list Ctrl + Shift + >: Increase text size Ctrl + Shift + <: Decrease text size Ctrl + U: Underline Ctrl + T: Strikethrough ABC Google! This site shows the English alphabet in Google Earth images.  There are quite a few sites out there, but this one from The Netherlands seems to be school-friendly.  It would make a great classroom assignment at several grade levels! What a great idea for a year long project in Geography! And then, you can share the project with the younger grades! Take a look. The URL:  http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1250975 Promethean ActivBoard Installation Procedures The procedures for the installation of a Promethean ActivBoard have changed. If you place an order for a Promethean ActivBoard, installation of the board is included in the price of all boards ordered using the quotes posted at the CPSB Tech Support website at http://help.cpsb.org. The installation process will be handled by Dell using a third party company. This third party company will handle the actual physical installation while Dell acts as the management and scheduling agent. In order to clarify this process, please read the tech help guide on the Tech Help website: http://help.cpsb.org/guides/docs/Promethean_ActivBoard_Installations.pdf Elementary Webquest Collection Are you looking for a great way to introduce your students to research.  Try using these webquests from Ecole Elementary School to get your students excited about online learning. The following webquests are designed for the elementary student in grades K-5 and utilize a variety of software. Instructions are also given to help the user create their own webquests.  Check it out and prepare to have some fun while you learn: http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/wes/webquest_collection.html Best on the Net!! -- Visit this site for hundreds of websites for teachers! We would love to hear from you about the best educational sites you have found on the web. Please submit, via email, the sites you feel merit inclusion. Send to tech.connect@cpsb.org. Please include the URL and a short sentence about the site.  Featured Sites: (These sites were submitted by teachers in Calcasieu Parish) Quiz Generators for Techie Teachers http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/31494 Need some quick ways to create quizzes, tests, or exams for your classroom? Try out some of these quiz generators listed in this article from Tech & Learning. There are several from which to choose; some are free downloads and some are web-based. Try them out to see which best fits your needs.   Interactive Simulations for Physical Sciences and Math http://phet.colorado.edu/index.php The University of Colorado at Boulder offers more than 80 simulations of physical phenomena ranging from elementary simulations on balloons and static electricity to university-level simulations of optical quantum control. These interactive simulations can be modified by the user, and many are accompanied by sample learning goals, teacher tips, and ideas and activities that have been created to use the simulations in lessons.   Create Online Stories http://storybird.com/ StoryBird allows children to create their own stories from scratch using their own text and pictures. It's also collaborating so children can start a story at home and you can finish it when they come back to school. 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