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Issue 26, Volume 7
March 1
, 2007
Thought for the Week
Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young. -- J. K. Rowling
Featured Blackboard Site
The featured Blackboard site was created by Gina Shaw, a high school English teacher at Barbe High School. Mrs. Shaw created the site to serve as a resource for all of her students as well as a communication resource with parents. Visit Mrs. Shaw's site.
Get Students Involved In E-Learning
ATTENTION TEACHERS! The following course will allow you to have usernames and passwords to Blackboard for your students for the 2007-2008 school year! To attend this class you must currently have a Blackboard website.
Utilizing Blackboard to Support Curriculum – Getting Students Involved
Dates of Training: April 18, 2007 (face-to-face, orientation)
and April 18 – May 9, 2007 (3 weeks online)Time: 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (face-to-face, orientation) Location: Lab A Level: Intermediate Technology Requirements: Internet Access at Home This hands-on workshop combined with an online class will guide participants through the enhancement of their current Blackboard Website to utilize with students during the upcoming 2007-2008 school year. Participants will learn how to utilize the many tools of Blackboard to create a rich, engaging online environment for students extending instruction beyond the classroom.
To Register: https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses
Questions: kim.leblanc@cpsb.org
NEA’s Read Across America
It’s that time again! Time to celebrate the love of reading with NEA’s Read Across America (RAA). March 2, 2007, marks the 10th anniversary of Read Across America – and the day is bigger than ever. Now, for the first time, the NEA Professional Library has RAA gifts and gear, where NEA members can purchase Read Across America merchandise items (such as button and stickers) with the official Cat-in-the-Hat Read Across America logo.
Since this is the The Cat in the Hat's 50th Birthday, find out the story behind The Cat in the Hat and how you can support literacy in your classroom. You can also enter the Cat's 50th Birthday National Educator Contest. It's all in the new teacher activity guide: http://www.nea.org/readacross/activityguide.html
Additional Sites: Read Across America Teacher Resources
http://www.usd267.com/TL%20Student%20Pages/readacrossamerica.htmlLearning With Dr. Seuss
http://www.teachingheart.net/thedrsuesspage.htmlMy, My, More Seuss Lesson Ideas
http://www.teachingheart.net/drsuesslessonlinks.htmlHubbard's Cupboard
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/dr__seuss.htmlDr. Seuss Lesson Plans
http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/ilalko/Seuss.htm
Apply A Picture To WordArt
After you or your students have created some WordArt, make it look really fancy by applying a picture to the face of the WordArt. The picture will be spread out on top of the WordArt, making the WordArt look cool—a real work of art! The picture can be saved from a Web site, selected from a picture CD, scanned, or taken with a digital camera. Here's how to do it!
1. Open a new Word document. 2. Click the Insert WordArt button on the Drawing toolbar. 3. Select the WordArt style you like best, and then click OK. 4. Type a title or short phrase to replace the sample bullet. Feel free to select the font you like best, and then click OK. Your WordArt will now appear on your document where your insertion point was placed. 5. To apply a picture to the WordArt, click the WordArt to select it (selection boxes appear around the edges). Then click the Format WordArt button on the WordArt toolbar (the button looks like a paint bucket and paintbrush).
Note: If the WordArt toolbar is not visible, on the View menu, click Toolbars and then WordArt.6. In the Format WordArt dialog box, select Fill Effects from the Color drop-down list. 7. In the Fill Effects dialog box, click the Picture tab. 8. Click the Select Picture button, and choose the picture you would like to use. (Note that the picture must be on a disk or on the hard drive already in order for you to use it.) Click the Insert button, then click OK twice to see the picture applied to your WordArt. 9. Resize the WordArt by dragging from one of the resizing boxes around the edges of the WordArt.
TIP: To keep the WordArt in the correct proportion, drag from a corner box.10. Finally, if you would like to drag the WordArt anywhere on your page, first make sure the WordArt is selected. Then click the Text Wrapping button on the WordArt toolbar, and select a type of text wrapping. Experiment with the text wrapping options. For example, try Top and Bottom if you want the WordArt to appear on a line of its own. Try Tight if you want text to wrap close to the WordArt, around all sides.
Using Technology To Support Alternative Assessment And Electronic Portfolios
Are your e-portfolios standardized checklists of skills or constructivist stories of learning? Learn about open source or free strategies that increase student voice in learner-centered eportfolios. Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. Find out more about "Enhancing Student Voices in ePortfolios through Blogging, Podcasting, and Digital Storytelling" by Dr. Helen Barrett, Research Project Director of The REFLECT Initiative. The URL for the downloadable PDF: http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/CUE2006.pdf
Design And Discovery
Your middle and high school science students will be-come hands-on engineers with this free curriculum from Intel, complete with teaching instructions and student handouts. Students will address design problems and work to develop prototypes to solve the problems. Eighteen sessions are included. The URL: http://www.intel.com/education/design/
OfficeScan Pattern Update
The latest OfficeScan pattern as of 2-28-2007 is pattern 4.301.00. 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)
St. Patrick's Day In The Early Childhood Classroom
http://www.ecewebguide.com/stpat_games.html
http://www.ecewebguide.com/spat_misc.html
Find themed games and activities from teachers and others in this list to help you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your preschool classroom. The 2nd link above also includes appropriate science activities for early childhood education.
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day With Preschoolers
http://childfun.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26
Find some great ideas here to teach your preschoolers all about St. Patrick's Day. They can make Sparkle Shamrocks or Shamrock Wands, coffee filter shamrocks, or paper plate versions. Be sure to scatter gold coins and go on a treasure hunt as well. Also, find some fun songs to sing.St. Patrick’s Day Activities and Links
http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/St__Patrick_s_Day/
Find songs and poems, leprechaun visits, and ideas to celebrate the green holiday! There are lots of activities and crafts from shamrock corsages to leprechaun hats. You can even guide your students in using their knowledge of force and motion to make working leprechaun traps!
