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Issue 36,
Volume 5
May 19, 2005
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Thought for the Week
If you don't accept responsibility
for your own actions, then you are forever chained to a
position of defense. -- Holly Lisle |
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Join Us! Summer Technology Classes!
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 Did
you take the NETS survey for teachers or administrators? Are
you proficient in every standard? Need CLUs for highly
qualified? Just want to learn more about how to use a
certain software program or how to engage your students in
the classroom using technology? Well, have we got a deal for
you!
The Summer Technology Training Center Course offerings are
now live for registration. Each class has been correlated to
the NETS for teachers and administrators. As you peruse the
descriptions, you will see which NETS is a target for the
class.
Since each of you are now required to track your CLUs for
professional development offerings, we have a plan to help
you! To register for technology class you must FIRST create
an account before you can register for any training classes.
To create an account, register for training, view your
upcoming classes, or view your Account Summary, go to the
following URL:
https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses.
Join us this summer for one or more classes, gain skill and
expertise in using technology in your job…..but most of all
have some fun with the tech center staff! |
Summer Checklist for Computers
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The following is a Summer
checklist from the Tech Support Center:
If you have any supported equipment that is need of repair,
it must be brought to the Tech Repair Center by 4:00 P.M.
on Friday, June 3, 2005 in order for it to be scheduled
and repaired before the beginning of school in August. If
you have any repaired equipment, and you have been notified
that it is ready for pick up, be sure and pick it up by the
end of the day on May 31, 2005.
School servers and network rack equipment (hubs, switches,
routers, etc.) should NOT be turned off during the
summer. However, classroom computers can be turned off and
power cables unplugged from the wall. Make sure that when
you return from the summer you check your classroom
computer’s OfficeScan pattern version and Windows updates to
catch up on the current versions.
If you do not check your CPSB email during summer, your
mailbox will fill up and all messages sent to your account
will begin to be rejected. Shortly before the start of the
new school year, the network staff will delete ALL messages
in full mailboxes in order to prepare the mail server for
the start of school. If you wish to avoid a full mailbox and
having all of the messages deleted at the end of summer, you
will need to check and manage your mail. You can check your
email by using any Internet service and browser you have
access to and going to
http://mail.cpsb.org or by going up to school
periodically and downloading your mail to your computer.
If you are checking out a classroom computer for use at home
during the summer, please be aware of the following items:
- Most desktop computers
do not have phone modems installed in them. You cannot
plug your home phone cord into the network jack on the
computer to get Internet service. This will damage the
network connector. Please don’t do this.
- Do not install America
Online (AOL) software on the computer. It can disable
the computer’s built-in networking and cause your
computer not to operate on the CPSB network when you
return.
- CPSB computers are
only to be used for work related tasks so do not install
video games and/or other personal software or
peer-to-peer file sharing software (KaZaa, Gnutella,
Limewire, etc.) for copyrighted music and software. Not
only is this a violation of CPSB copyright policy, the
file sharing services are also the primary place where
new viruses and worms are release onto the Internet.
If you have any questions,
please contact the CPSB Help Desk at
tech.help@cpsb.org. |
Win
More than $2.2M in equipment from Microsoft and Samsung
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 Samsung
Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are offering schools a chance to
win up to $200,000 in Samsung and Microsoft technology. The
contest encourages students to write a 100-word essay
describing "How will the growing use of technology in the
classroom benefit students in the future?" Essays should
focus on the specific educational benefits of new
technology, how advances in entertainment technology can be
used to benefit education, and the positive long-term
impacts of technology in the classroom. One grand-prize
winning essayist will receive $200,000 worth of Samsung
electronics and Microsoft education, productivity, and
entertainment software for his or her school. An additional
100 schools each will receive $20,000 worth of Samsung
electronics and Microsoft software. Plus, authors of all 101
winning essays will receive a Samsung MP3 player.
Grant Title: Hope for
Education Essay Contest
Organization: Samsung Inc. and Microsoft Corp.
Eligibility: Legal residents of the 50 United States and the
District of Columbia. Minors must obtain parents' permission
before nominating their school.
Value: than $2.2 million total in software and electronic
Deadline: July 1, 2005
Contact:
http://www.hopeforeducation.com |
Arts & Kids Contest
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 Arts
and Kids have just announced that it is now accepting
entries for its Annual
Open Art Competition. The contest is open to everyone 17
years of age and under,
and entry is free. “Everyone will receive an individual
acknowledgement of their artwork, and will enjoy an equal
chance of winning the contest, since entrants will be judged
using age-appropriate standards," stated Suzanne Lawrence of
Arts and Kids, an organization dedicated to bringing the
work of young artists to the public’s attention. "In the
last ten years, we have awarded over $100,000 to talented
artists, most of who have never before entered--or expected
to win--any type of artistic competition."
Check out their website:
http://www.artsandkids.com/Contest/artcontest.asp |
Formatting a Table in Microsoft Word
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 If
none of the table autoformats meets your needs in Word, you
may want create your own formatting styles for table text,
especially if you plan to use it more than once. To create a
style for text in a table: On the "Format" menu, click
"Styles and Formatting". The "Styles and Formatting" task
pane appears. In the "Styles and Formatting" task pane,
click "New Style". The "New Style" dialog box appears. Type
a name for the new style, click the down-arrow to the right
of the "Style type" box, and click "Table". Click the
down-arrow to the right of the "Apply formatting to box",
and select which text to which the new style should be
applied. Select the formatting options that you want. Click
"OK". Select the text you want to format with the new style,
and in the "Pick formatting to apply" list, click the style.
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Memorial Day Websites
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 Memorial
Day was officially proclaimed on May 5th, 1868 by General
John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the
Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first
observed on May 30, 1868.
This year Memorial Day is observed on Monday, May 30, 2005!
Some sites to help in this effort:
PBS TeacherSource - Concepts Across the Curriculum -
Memorial Day
Features Memorial Day Activity Ideas, On-Air Listings,
Related Resources and Articles.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thismonth/may02/index1.shtm
VA KIDS Teachers' Page
This site is designed to provide you resources and reference
links for teaching children about what it means to be a
veteran and how we can honor veterans. Find out what
benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs, the second
largest cabinet department, provides for veterans. The site
also contains useful historical reference materials and
current event articles related to veterans.
http://www.va.gov/kids/teachers/index.asp
The Memory Shall Be Ours: Celebrating Memorial Day
For many students, Memorial Day merely marks the beginning
of summer fun. This year, introduce them to the true meaning
of the holiday, and provide them with a glimpse into the
lives of the men and women it honors. Included: An Internet
Treasure Hunt plus Web-based activities for learning about
and celebrating Memorial Day!
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson119.shtml
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated
to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. Since it
first went on line in 1996 it has evolved into something
more. It is now also a place of healing for those affected
by one of the most divisive wars in our nation's history.
http://www.thewall-usa.com |
Is my computer upgradeable?
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Remember
that the requirements for the upgraded computers have
changed. For Windows 2000 the computer has to have 400 MHZ
Processor or higher and 128 MB of Ram or higher. For:
Windows XP the computer has to have 500 MHZ Processor or
higher and 128 MB of Ram or higher. To find this
information, you can follow the “old” handout on
http://help.cpsb.org,
click on Tech Contacts link, and then "Determining
Upgradeable Windows Computers" link. This handout has the
old requirements so please disregard that part. If you have
further question please contact
tech.help@cpsb.org. |
National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
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 In
spring of 2006, the new National Museum of Nuclear Science
and History will open in Albuquerque, N.M., sharing the
story of nuclear science with the public. The website
contains information from a historical perspective which
begins with the dawning of the atomic age and traces the
technology through the cold war and expansion eras.
http://www.atomicmuseum.com/tour |
Security Tip - Shortcut to Lock Your Windows Workstation
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 If you need to step away from
your workstation for a few minutes, you might want to lock
it to prevent others from being able to access your data.
To lock your Windows XP
workstation,
- press the Windows key (located
near the spacebar) + L or
- CTRL+ALT+DEL then
ENTER
- press CTRL+ALT+DEL
then enter your password to unlock the workstation
To lock your Windows 2000
workstation,
- press the Windows key (located
near the spacebar) + i or
- CTRL+ALT+DEL then
ENTER
- press CTRL+ALT+DEL
then enter your password to unlock the workstation
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Top Ten Viruses Found on CPSB Computers
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| Here are the
top ten viruses and spyware found on CPSB computers in the past 7 days.
The stats are based on 3929
infected computers out of a total of
10536 OfficeScan clients.
The
latest OfficeScan pattern as of
5-18-2005 is pattern
2.635.00. 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.
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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)
Paper CD Case:
http://tkurc.mky.us/index.php
Use this website to create a PDF file which can be printed and
folded to create a paper CD case.Be sure to read the About section
for directions on how to fold it properly.
Rhyme Zone:
http://www.rhymezone.com
Type in a word and find every word with which it rhymes, plus find
its synonym, antonym, and definition. Want to read all of
Shakespeare's plays on line? Or find quotes from Groucho Marx? Read
such works as the New Testament, Mother Goose poems, or the
Declaration of Independence? This IS the place!
LiteracyCenter.Net:
http://www.literacycenter.net/about_us/index.htm
This site offers early learning games for Pre-K to grade 1. Games
provide auditory reinforcement in four different languages. This
site works well for whole group as well as stand alone computer
stations.
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An official publication
of the CPSB Technology Department
If you have any questions or comments please e-mail the Webmaster.
For Technical Support:
tech.help@cpsb.org
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Teacher Link
Best on
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