Issue 7, Volume 6 October 27, 2005     Thought for the Week The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time. -- Abraham Lincoln   Welcome Back....Again! Who would have believed when we began school on August 17 that less than 5 weeks later, our school district would be closed for 31 days. The quote from Oscar Wilde - "To expect the unexpected ......" was never truer than on the morning of September 21 when our district was closed for what we thought would be a few days. Those few days turned into weeks; and, what a 5 weeks that was!  We know that many of you have experienced tragedies beyond belief; and, that for most of us, life will not be normal for quite a while. Your CPSB Technology Department worked around the clock to preserve and protect the district technology assets and maintain network communications. We immediately restored email and web services in order to provide information we hoped would bring some sense of stability to your life wherever you were in the country. We heard from hundreds of you about the most amazing situations; and, we endeavored to ease your concerns about our school system, our plans, your job security and, of course, your paycheck! We are immensely proud of our city, parish and school district leaders who provided the support and resources necessary to bring our community back together and chart a course that will ensure an even brighter future for our citizens. Welcome back, CPSB employees, we are glad you are safe and back in our district working to provide outstanding educational opportunities for the students in our schools. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything our department can do to help you in your return to work efforts. Sheryl Abshire - sheryl.abshire@cpsb.org Administrative Coordinator of Technology “Advancing Quality Education with Technology”     Hurricane Rita's impact on the Lake Charles beach...  You may want to refer to Issue 4 of the Tech Connect for additional hurricane-related items and articles to assist you and your students. Attention Teachers! Deadline Extended! Want/Need Computers and Palm Handhelds in Your Classroom...Apply Now! I-TEC Classroom Grants for 2005-2006 are due November 4th ... I-TEC - Implementing a Technology-Enriched Curriculum, A Project of the Calcasieu Parish School System Technology Department You have the expertise, your students need the access, but how are you going to get 3 brand new computers and 15 Palm handhelds in your classroom - connected to the Internet with a LCD projector to display work, etc??? Well, short of winning the lottery, the next best way is to apply for the Calcasieu Parish Technology Department I-TEC Grant. Fill out the application, cross your fingers and wait to be called to say you WON!!! If you have always wanted to apply for this grant….but just could not find the time….well this year the grant is due November 4th . So you will finally have the time to write this very easy to complete grant! Visit this web link http://www.cpsb.org/resources/itec/application.doc and print out the application, NOW! Don't wait! The applications must be received no later than noon on November 4th. Interviews will be held on Monday, November 7th. Teachers selected will attend the ITEC Professional Development Workshop scheduled for Wednesday, November 9th from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Technology Center. Questions? Please contact: Kim Leblanc kim.leblanc@cpsb.org 437-1244 Disaster Relief Grants Public school employees impacted by the hurricanes may apply for grants for housing, food, clothing, and other necessities through November 1 by e-mailing hurricanerelief@nea.org or calling toll-free 1-866-247-2239. After that date, please contact your state affiliate to see if other assistance is available. The AFT Disaster Relief The AFT Disaster Relief Fund provides direct assistance to members who sustained significant losses of personal property and/or work due to natural disasters. To apply for the AFT Disaster Relief Fund grant: • You must be a member of an AFT affiliate at the time of the disaster. • You must have sustained significant loss of personal property and/or work. • AFT Disaster Relief Fund grant application must be postmarked no later than Nov. 1, 2005. To obtain the grant application for the AFT Disaster Relief Fund contact the Louisiana Federation of Teachers www.lft-aft.org or call 1-800-348-7932. Helping Children Cope With Disaster As teachers, we are a source of comfort and strength for our kids. In order to be that comforter, we must know what the kids are going through and have some information on how to help them through. The site “Connect For Kids” has several useful articles of information describing how kids cope with trauma. There are articles on topics such as terrorism and war as well as specific articles regarding natural disasters and their aftermath. Please take the time to read the articles and use them as a resource as we work to provide our kids with a healthy recovery from a great trauma in all of our lives! The URL for this site is http://www.connectforkids.org/node/392 Drew Grants - Extended Deadline Date, October 28th   The extended deadline date to turn in Drew Grant Applications will be Friday, October 28th by 3:30 p.m. You must turn in your original and 4 copies of the application to the Grant Dept. Office, Room 204 on Shattuck St. Application includes: 1. Drew Grant Cover Sheet 2. Drew Application for Assistance 3. H.C. Drew Grant Budget Detail 4. Tech Department Review Form for Equipment (Scott will send us the approved copy) Drew Grant forms can be found on the Grant Dept Website at the following link: http://www.cpsb.org/system/c&i/grants/drew/drew_documents.htm Doors of Diplomacy Competition The U.S. Department of State along with the Global SchoolNet Foundation is pleased to announce the 2006 "Doors to Diplomacy" award competition. This educational award program will recognize student-created Global SchoolNet Web projects that best teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Students work in small teams with teacher-coaches. Projects must be completed by March 17, 2006. Winners will be announced in May 2006. Every team that completes a final entry will receive a special “Doors to Diplomacy” certificate to recognize their achievement. Each student member of the team who wins the "Doors to Diplomacy" receives a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches' schools each receive a $500 cash award. For a complete description and information about eligibility and judging criteria, visit http://globalschoolhouse.org/doors/   In Memory of Rosa Parks Rosa Parks, a noted pioneer of civil rights, passed away this week on October 24th at the age of 92. At this site, you will find a reminder of how she stood up for the most basic of rights and where that courage led.  Her lone act of defiance when she refused to give up her bus seat began a movement that ended legal segregation.  The URL: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1  At this site students can actually read the words of Rosa Parks, "The Mother of the Modern-day Civil Rights Movement," as she describes her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  This may help students understand the importance of every individual citizen in a democracy.  The site also has links to vocabulary words used in the story.  http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/ Best Buy Emergency Response Program Best Buy te@ch Emergency Response Program is for K-12 schools that enroll students displaced by hurricanes. To help schools cope with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Best Buy has inaugurated te@ch: Emergency Response. This program will provide assistance to schools around the U.S. that have enrolled children displaced by these disasters in the form of Best Buy gift cards (up to $3 million in gift cards will be awarded). To apply, schools need only fill out a simple online application by November 4, 2005.  http://communications.bestbuy.com/communityrelations/teach-er.asp Helping Kids in the Aftermath of a Disaster Everyone may need a little help and knowledge since personally feeling the effects of hurricane Rita.  At this site, you may find resourceful links and organizations which can provide help to educators and school staff who have contact with children displaced or affected by the hurricane disasters. This list is provided by the Child Care Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  http://www.aft.org/news/2005/katrina/counseling.htm Weekly Reader - Hurricane Helper At this Weekly Reader page, you can find Hurricane Helper. You can find the latest news and events, learn about hurricanes, help ideas, and advice for teachers and schools on talking with kids about hurricanes. This is a place where you can also tell your personal story. http://www.weeklyreader.com/communities/ Technology After Rita The Tech Support Center wants you to know that there is technology life after Hurricane Rita. The Support Center is up and running and available to assist with your technology needs and requests. If there is anything about your computer about which you are not certain, please not hesitate to email tech.help@cpsb.org. As a reminder, the Tech Support Center is open from 7:30 to 4:30. It is important to send your question or request via email to keep all the requests in order and answered in a timely manner. If you do not have access to email, you may also contact us at 491-1690. We hope everybody survived the dreadful storm; and, we are confident we all will very successfully complete the school year! Internet Projects According to this article on Enhanced Learning.com, there are three ways to communicate on the Internet: Independent (browsing, searching, working alone Interdependent (information exchanging, email, listserv, discussion groups) Collaborative (planning together and depending on and helping each other) Judi Harris, from the University of Texas at Austin, has defined 18 different kinds of Internet projects grouped into 3 genres: Information Exchanges Information Collection Problem Solving For more information about this article and classroom internet projects, go to the following website: http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/planning.html  It also has age-appropriate links to some great web quests and other stuff. Connecting Around the World Are you looking for a way to connect your students with other students around the globe?  Check out GLOBE.  http://www.globe.gov/fsl/welcome.html GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program. For Students, GLOBE provides the opportunity to learn by: Taking scientifically valid measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and land cover/phenology - depending upon their local curricula Reporting their data through the Internet Publishing their research projects based on GLOBE data and protocols Creating maps and graphs on the free interactive Web site to analyze data sets Collaborating with scientists and other GLOBE students around the world For Teachers, GLOBE provides assistance through: Training at professional development workshops Teacher's Guide, "how-to" videos, and other materials Continuing support from a Help Desk, scientists, and partners Contact with other teachers, students, and scientists worldwide. Math Practice This website that has some great ideas for games to help students practice their multiplication facts.  Grades 2-8 http://www.multiplication.com/classroom_games.htm News Site for Nerds For all you geeks and science freaks out there… this site contains the most up to date happening in the science, computer… geek world. http://slashdot.org/ Mixing Column and Paragraph Formats By default, Word's normal template is set to single-column format; thus, when you type a paragraph, you are typing in single-column format. You can mix column with paragraph formats in the same document by simply changing the column format. For example, you may want to have your document open with an introductory paragraph or two, while the rest of the text is formatted in three columns. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Type the opening paragraphs. 2. Put your cursor where you want to begin the multi-column text. 3. Go to Format | Columns. 4. Enter 3 for the Number Of Columns, and make any necessary changes to Width And Spacing. 5. In the Apply To drop-down menu, select This Point Forward. 6. Click OK. To add a paragraph below your multi-column text, click where you want the paragraph to begin, go to Format | Columns and change the number of columns to 1. Then, in the Apply To drop-down menu select This Point Forward and Click OK. OfficeScan Pattern Update The latest OfficeScan pattern as of 10-26-2005 is pattern 2.911.00.  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 from this one (A HIGHER PATTERN NUMBER IS OK), Please email tech.help@cpsb.org regarding this or any other question you have regarding OfficeScan. 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) Halloween Writing Web http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/halloween/writingweb.htm Get out the spider webs and tack them around your bulletin board, then follow instructions here to create a Halloween-themed writing center, with suggested prompts for creative writing exercises. Gargoyle Masks http://www.kinderart.com/sculpture/gargoyles3.shtml Find out here how to make a three dimensional gargoyle mask sculpture with just a few ingredients, and have it turn out like a real stone gargoyle. How A Pumpkin Grows http://www.kizclub.com/Topics/food/pumpkin.pdf   Early elementary students will enjoy coloring, cutting, and pasting these cards into a mini-book, sequencing how a pumpkin grows and its various stages of development. An official publication of the CPSB Technology Department If you have any questions or comments please e-mail the Tech Connect. For Technical Support:  tech.help@cpsb.org Calcasieu Parish Homepage  Technology Department  Teacher Link  Best on the Net Tech Guides  Computer Purchasing Information  Tech Connect Archive