Issue 27, Volume 5

March 9, 2005

 
 

Thought for the Week
 The secret of happiness is to make others believe they are the cause of it. -- Al Batt

  
District Switchover to Exchange Settings for Email
As per the email and fax distributed across the district on February 21, 2005, the district email system has been switched over to using Exchange server settings exclusively for the sending and receiving of internal email on March 7, 2005.

If you are encountering email problems, it is likely you have not changed your email settings as required. Please remember that all employees still have access to the web-based email at http://www.cpsb.org by clicking on the “Employee Email” link on the CPSB homepage so no one is completely without email at this time.

If you or one of your co-workers are having a problem, please direct them to the email setting conversion instructions at http://help.cpsb.org under the “Tech Guides” link in the “Email (Microsoft Outlook)” section. If they continue to have problems, they can use the web-based email (go to http://www.cpsb.org and click on the “Employee Email” link) to send a help request to the CPSB Help Desk at tech.help@cpsb.org.

To help speed a solution to their problem, please have them include the computer’s network name in the request. The easiest method to get this name is to get it from the computer’s log on screen where you enter your password. Look at the third box on the screen that normally reads “CPSB” and click on its drop-down arrow. You will see one listing with a name along with the text “(this computer)” next to it. This is the computer’s network name. We will need this in order to help solve the problem.

Remember that those users of Outlook Express and any other third party email programs (ie. Incredimail) will no longer be able to use those programs for email. These users will have to switch to using Outlook since continuing to use those programs is not an option.

If you have any questions, please contact the CPSB Help Desk at tech.help@cpsb.org
Top Ten Reasons for Site-Based Staff Development
  1. With Reading First, the early literacy component of NCLB, coaches are mandated as part of professional development requirements for each grant. (Education Act, 2001)
  2. Coaching teachers in their practice is the most powerful means to increase their knowledge and improve their practice. (Costa/Garmston, 1994)
  3. The most expensive professional development experience is the one that teachers do not transfer to their classroom. (Pete/Fogarty, 2002)
  4. Adult learning is too often reduced to pulling together hundreds of teachers to listen to an expert pontificate on a given subject. (Sweeney, 2003)
  5. The people closest to the problem have the greatest chance of solving the problem. (Deming,1992)
  6. How a staff training is designed is the most important factor leading toward success. (Joyce/Showers1997)
  7. If the subject is relevant, learners connect emotionally and emotions lead to cognition, to transfer and changes in practice. (Goleman, 1999)
  8. Adults are practical learners. They want to know that what they are learning is connected to what is happening in their school/district. (Knowles, 1989)
  9. A well-trained, highly qualified and quality minded teacher is the number one determinate in the success of students. (Sanders 2001)
  10. Site-based staff developers never get lost driving in from the airport!
Student Usernames Explained
According to the 2004-2005 Authorized User Policy (AUP) for CPSB, it is a violation for you to allow anyone other than yourself to use your login information. This article will explain the proper login procedures that should be used for students in the parish. These login procedures do not include labs such as CAI Labs, Aztec Labs and Read180 Labs. These labs have specific login directions and that should not change.
  • The general login account for students. (Should be used in all instances except when utilizing Renaissance Products, Scholastic products, Aztec, CAI Labs):

    Username: student
    Password: student
     

  • The login for Renaissance products (expect for Renaissance Place). This includes Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, Accelerated Grammar and Spelling, Early Literacy:

    Username: patronXX (XX is your school number, i.e. patron7 is RW Vincent, patron61 is Vinton High School, etc.)
    Password: (leave the password field blank)
     

  • To access library management tools such as circulation. Should be used only on computer that are running the Follett circulation. (This account will become obsolete when the destiny server comes on line.):

    Username: circulationXX (XX is your school number)
    Password: (restricted to librarian)
     
  • Other labs such as Aztec labs, Read180 labs, CAI labs should use the login procedures that have been put in place for those specific sites.
Tools for Elementary School Teachers
If you're looking to update some skills of your own or looking for lesson ideas to integrate into your curriculum, this site from Microsoft is worth a visit. There are lots of templates for free download. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011433021033.aspx
Create an Agenda in Microsoft Word
To create an agenda in Microsoft Word, go to the "File" menu and click "New".  In the "New Document" task pane, under "Templates", click "On my computer".  Click the "Other Documents" tab. Double-click the "Agenda Wizard".  Follow the steps in the wizard.
Showing the Shortcut Keys
Some people prefer to use shortcut keys (some frequently used favorites are Ctrl+C which copies and Ctrl+V which pastes). They help to speed up our productivity in any Office program. Office provides an awesome way to help you learn these keys. Click on Tools > Customize, then click in the Options tab. Next, click the Show Shortcut Keys in Screen Tips, and then click Close. When you move your mouse over a button or icon, a pop-up screen showing that command's shortcut key will appear.
Check out National Geographic for Kids!
Visit the National Geographic for Kids site at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html to find the following:
  • Kids Resources
  • Search
    Find resources, stories, pictures, and more on the entire National Geographic Web site.
  • Homework Help
    Check out the One-Stop Research for pictures, articles, maps, and more on our top subjects.
  • National Geographic Publications Index
    Want to find out where to look for information in National Geographic Kids, National Geographic, or other National Geographic publications? Check the index, then go to your local library to find and read the article.
  • Map Mania at National Geographic
    Want to locate a city or country? Check out MapMachine. To print maps for a project, go to Xpeditions Atlas for printer-friendly maps.
Excel Tip
If, when you try to enter something into a cell and Excel insists on turning that into a formula, try this. First type an ' (apostrophe) and then what you've been trying to enter. What appears in the cell is what you wanted, not the formula.
The Water Cycle
Looking for an easy way for kids to understand the water cycle? Visit the link from Miami University, Ohio to see illustrations and a globe to better assist students' understanding of the water cycle. After understanding the basics, kids can make their own water system models from activities listed at the site.  http://www.units.muohio.edu/dragonfly/water/watercycle.shtml
MarcoGrams from MarcoPolo
MarcoGrams are valuable curriculum e-mail newsletters, distributed monthly to educators across the country, highlighting common themes from space exploration to family culture. Each MarcoGram features motivating warm-ups for classroom discussion and links to the best K-12 interdisciplinary lessons and resources from the Content Partners. Share MarcoGrams with fellow educators via e-mail, or print and distribute them. MarcoGrams utilize the MarcoPolo content. MarcoPolo provides high quality, standards-based Internet content and professional development to K-12 teachers and students throughout the United States. To sign up for MarcoGrams, go to http://www.marcopolo-education.org/teacher/marcograms.aspx. A list of previous MarcoGrams are available for review along with a link to subscribe.
Control Junk Email with Outlook 2003
If you use Outlook 2003, you can filter out junk email.  (To determine if you have Microsoft Outlook 2003, first open Outlook, then click on help, and "About Microsoft Outlook".) This web site goes over common procedures setting "Junk Email" options. 
http://kb.indiana.edu/data/amzk.help?cust=8712813.5662.30
Top Ten Viruses Found on CPSB Computers
Here are the top ten viruses found on CPSB computers in the past 7 days. The stats are based on 568 infected computers out of a total of 9635 OfficeScan clients.

The latest OfficeScan pattern as of 3-08-2005 is pattern 2.248.00. Please check your pattern by placing your cursor over the OfficeScan icon and viewing the pop-up window that appears. If your pattern is significantly LOWER than this (A HIGHER PATTERN NUMBER IS OK), please email tech.help@cpsb.org regarding this or any other question you have regarding OfficeScan.

The information shows the name of the virus, the number of infected files found, and the percentage of the virus from the total.  ALL school board employees need to ensure that their Dell, Compaq, HP, IBM or other PC classroom computers stay virus free. Go to the following link to download the district copy of OfficeScan: http://teacherlink.cpsb.org/officescan and your computer will automatically be updated daily to scan for the latest viruses. You must install the software using Internet Explorer 4.0 or later (Netscape will not work!!!!!) Please answer "Yes" to all prompts as the software installs. If you have any questions, please contact the CPSB Help Desk at tech.help@cpsb.org.
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)

SUREFIRE STRATEGIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTING:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/nopain.htm
Find numerous tips at this site to help you prepare your students for successful standardized testing.  Ideas included at the URL are: skimming the questions first before reading the text, color-coding identification questions, asking students to write math word problems based on everyday situations, and having students create practice tests for each other.

INSTANT POETRY FORMAT POEMS:
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/Poetry.htm
It sometimes helps to introduce students to poetry writing if they can create within the parameters of a format. This site offers all kinds of poetry formats, along with short lesson ideas to accompany the forms.

SIMPLE MACHINES UNIT:
http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/pdfs/machines.pdf
Various observations, recordings, explorations, and hands-on activities round out this unit on simple machines for third grade. Seven lesson plans are included on force and work, examining levers and fulcrums, wheels and axels, inclined planes and pulleys, and inventions.


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This site was last modified on Friday, August 19, 2005