Issue 35, Volume 5

May 12, 2005

 
 

Thought for the Week
 "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." -- Herman Melville

  
Microsoft Office Updates
Are you having trouble with your Office applications? If so, you should check to see if there are any Office updates available. To do this, go to www.microsoft.com, click on "Office" on the left, then on the right click the link "Check for Updates".  On the next page, click "Check for Updates" again to see a list of available updates.  Choose any updates you wish to install and click "Agree and Install".  After installing, you may need to restart your computer. You may find that some of your problems get resolved with these updates.
PowerPoint Tip
Know exactly what the recipient of your presentation will see. If you're sending a PowerPoint presentation by e-mail, try saving the presentation as a "Slide Show" so that it automatically opens for the recipient in slide show view. To do this, on the "File" menu click "Save As". In the "Save As" dialog box, select "PowerPoint Show (.pps)" from the "Save As Type" dropdown list.
K-3 Learning Pages
This new list serve is designed for teachers of K-3. A weekly edition is emailed Saturday mornings on different topics throughout the school year. It also offers an archive of thematic editions.
The URL: http://www.k-3learningpages.net/list%20serve%20home.htm
Celebrate Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month—a celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. In May 1990, the holiday was expanded further when President George H. W. Bush designated May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated with community festivals, government-sponsored activities, and educational activities for students. This year's theme is "Freedom for All—A Nation We Call Our Own."  Click on this link to learn more…. http://www.factmonster.com/spot/asianhistory1.html
Outlook 2003 Tip
Did you know you could automatically respond to meeting requests? Outlook will process meeting requests and cancellations as you receive them, responding to requests, adding new meetings to your calendar and removing cancelled meetings from your calendar. If you choose, Outlook will automatically decline meeting requests that conflict with existing items on your calendar. You can also choose to automatically decline any request for a recurring meeting.  To instruct Outlook to automatically respond to meeting requests:
  • On the "Tools" menu, click "Options". The "Options" dialog box appears.
  • On the "Preferences" tab, click the "Calendar Options" button, and then click the "Resource Scheduling" button.
  • The "Resource Scheduling" dialog box appears.
  • Select the "Automatically accept meeting requests and process cancellations" check box.
  • Select the "Automatically decline conflicting meeting requests" and/or the "Automatically decline recurring meeting requests" check boxes if you want Outlook to do this.
  • Click "OK" to close each open dialog box.
TinkerPlots
Introducing TinkerPlots, the only software program specifically designed to get students in grades 4-8 excited about what they can learn from data! A must for inquiry-based math and science classrooms in which students collect and analyze data to explore their own hypotheses, TinkerPlots helps students grasp the key concepts that drive data analysis by providing user-friendly plotting tools to make their own graphs!  To find out more visit:  http://www.keypress.com/catalog/products/software/Prod_TinkerPlots.html
What does research say about using Technology effectively?
Research now exists that helps define where technology can most effectively impact student learning. Some key areas are:
  • motivation, engaged and active learning.
  • authentic learning experiences.
  • collaborative learning environments and projects.
  • explorers and producers of knowledge.
  • integrated instruction across curriculum.
  • improvement in digital age literacy skills.
  • performance based assessments.

Here are some research links that may be helpful when planning for technology integrated units.
Test Out Font Sizes Quickly in Word
When you need to change your font size, but you aren't sure what point size to change it to, use Word's handy Grow Font and Shrink Font tools. Select the text you want to adjust and press [Ctrl][Shift]> to grow the font or press [Ctrl][Shift]< to shrink the font. The font size changes according to the increments listed in the Font Size dropdown list on the Formatting toolbar. To change font sizes in one-point increments, press [Ctrl]] to increase the size, and press [Ctrl][ to decrease the size.

If you'd prefer to include these commands as toolbar buttons, check the Formatting toolbar for the Grow Font, Shrink Font, Grow Font One Point, and Shrink Font One Point buttons. You probably won't see these buttons on the toolbar, because they don't show up by default. Luckily, you can customize the Formatting toolbar to include them. Select the Toolbar Options dropdown arrow at the end of the Formatting toolbar, and select Add Or Remove Buttons. On the resulting submenu, select Customize. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab. Select Format from the Categories list box, and find the buttons you want to add in the Commands list box. Click and drag these commands to the Formatting toolbar, and click Close when you're done customizing the toolbar.
Excel Tip
Working with dates in Excel can sometimes be tricky. Use these two tips to make entering and formatting dates easier.  Excel automatically formats a formula cell as a date cell when the formula refers to another cell containing a date or a time. For example, if you enter 1/1/2003 in A1, 1/1/2004 in B1, and =B1-A1 in cell C1, Excel displays the result in C1 as 12/30/1900.  While Excel doesn't let you turn off this automatic date formatting, it does provide a shortcut key combination to quickly change the cell to General format. Select the formula cell, and press [Ctrl][Shift][~] to display the true value, which in this case is 365.  In addition, Excel's Autofill feature lets you quickly enter a series of dates into a worksheet. For example, say you want to track weekly attendance by entering a series of dates in Column B, and you want to start with 3/1/04.   Follow these steps:
  • Enter 3/1/04 in B1.
  • In B2, enter =B1+7.

Click and drag B2's fill handle down the column to generate the additional dates.

Shortcut to Quickly Find Users in Your Address Book
You can quickly locate a user in your address book by typing portions of the name or alias and pressing "CTRL" + "K". For example, if you wished to send a mail to John Doe, typing "jo do" and then pressing "CTRL" + "K" will automatically complete the name John Doe, unless other names exist with "jo" and "do". This can be very helpful with a large address book, especially when you don't know how to spell someone's name.
Top Ten Viruses Found on CPSB Computers
Here are the top ten viruses and spyware found on CPSB computers in the past 7 days. The stats are based on 4228 infected computers out of a total of 10498 OfficeScan clients.

The latest OfficeScan pattern as of 5-11-2005 is pattern 2.621.00. 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: https://antivirus.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)

INSECTS THEMATIC UNIT:
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/Insect.htm
Bees, butterflies, and ladybugs will be studied in this thematic unit on insects. Students will identify insect habitats, become familiar with life cycles, look at ant anatomy, and visit a beehive to understand its inner workings. Observation stations will be placed around the classroom to collect various specimens, while various activities explore the insect theme across the curriculum.

SCHOOL MEMORY BOOK:
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/crafts/books/schoolmemory
With a page for autographs, a self-portrait, planning for summer vacation, and favorite events during the school year, this book will become a treasured favorite. Download and print enough copies for each of your students to collate and personalize.

CRIME SCIENCE:
http://kancrn.kckps.k12.ks.us/northwest/kavaver/crime-sci-main-web.html
Group roles include lead investigator teams, recorders, lead forensic technicians, and assistant forensic technicians. Direct evidence, indirect evidence, and circumstantial evidence all have a role to play, along with motives. A record keeping and investigation activity is included, along with teaching notes and student activities.


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