Issue 9, Volume 9 October 30, 2008     Thought for the Week It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. -- Epictetus   Last Two Days For Early Bird Registration to LACUE 2008 Mark your calendar NOW for LACUE 2008! 24th Annual Conference December 3-5, 2008 River Center Baton Rouge, LA LACUE EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE *** October 31, 2008 *** The 2008 LACUE (Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators) 24th Annual Conference is coming soon! You don't want to miss out on Louisiana's largest conference for educational technology! Help us celebrate the extraordinary successes of our Louisiana schools and gain valuable information on improving student achievement using technology. Register now – online registration and conference information is available at www.lacue.org. Do not delay….early registration is only $110……after October 31st, it increases to $135. Full conference fees include a complimentary LACUE membership. The pre-registration cut off date is Wednesday, November 19, 2008. If you have any questions please feel free to email Eva Smill at esmill@ebrschools.org  – LACUE Conference Chair or email Yvette Ardoin at yvette.ardoin@cpsb.org or Diane Mason at diane.mason@cpsb.org – LACUE Conference Co-Chairs. Any questions about the program, please contact Sheryl Abshire – sheryl.abshire@cpsb.org - LACUE Program Chair. If you have other conference or registration questions please email lacue@lacue.org. Mark your calendar now for December 3 - 5, 2008 and prepare to participate in a premiere technology learning experience! Featured Blackboard Site The featured Blackboard site was created by Jennifer Sherrill, a kindergarten teacher from E. K. Key Elementary. Mrs. Sherrill, created the site to serve as a resource for all of her students as well as a communication resource with parents. Visit Mrs. Sherrill's site. It's Time To Fall Back   Spring forward...Fall back.... It's that time to turn the clocks back! If it seems later than usual, it is... for the second year in a row. Starting in 2007, daylight savings time began in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ended the first Sunday in November. This coming weekend, daylight savings time ends on November 2, 2008. Well, if you had a "smart" clock, it probably went back an hour last weekend; so, be sure to check those high-tech clocks!  The implementation of Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin first conceived of the idea. Even today, regions and countries routinely change their approaches to Daylight Savings Time. In 2005, President Bush established the Energy Policy Act in an effort to save energy. So, remember, set your clocks back this Sunday morning (November 2, 2008). Vernier Technology Awards   Sponsored by Vernier Technology and the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA), the Vernier Technology Awards will recognize and reward the innovative use of data collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other handheld in the science classroom. A total of seven awards will be presented: one at the elementary level, two at the middle level, three at the high school level, and one award at the college level. K-college teachers are welcome to apply. Each award will consist of $1,000 towards expenses to attend the NSTA National Conference, $1,000 in cash for the teacher, and $1,000 in Vernier products. Find out more and download an application at http://www.nsta.org/about/awards.aspx#vernier. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2008. Promethean Tip  Do you need to find the serial number to your Promethean Board? If you have a fixed mount, it makes it difficult to do. It is behind the board at the top or bottom left if you are looking at the board. You may need to take the board off, but if so be careful. You need two people to lift it up so you can read the tag. If you have one of the others, then you will be able to look behind the board easier. You may need this if you contact Promethean Tech Support: http://us.prometheankb.com/display/4/search.asp?tab=search Give Your Computer A Fresh Start It is a good idea to restart your computer once in a while. To make this even easier than it is, simply create a shortcut on your Desktop to restart your computer with a double-click (or single-click for those of you that have set up your computers to single-click instead). To create this shortcut, right mouse click on your Desktop and choose New and the Shortcut. A window comes up in which you can type something in a blank. In that blank type shutdown –r –t 00. Note: there is a space between shutdown and –r and –t and 00. And those are number 0s not a letter O. Click Next. The next window lets you name your shortcut whatever you might want to, but keep it simple and just call it Restart or Restart Computer. Then click Finish. Your new shortcut is now on your desk top. From now on, to restart your computer, you only need to activate that shortcut. In some cases the restart doesn’t appear to start for several seconds, so be patient. If you ever decide you no longer want that shortcut on your Desktop, all you need to do is right mouse click on the shortcut itself and choose Delete. The shortcut is sent to the Recycle Bin until you empty it. Reduce The Size Of Your PowerPoint Files In most cases, images don't need to be much larger than 1024 × 768 pixels. If your images are larger than this, your PowerPoint files are probably bigger than they need to be. PowerPoint XP (2002) and later can compress images and remove unneeded data. Here's how: 1. Right-click the picture, and then click Format Picture on the shortcut menu. 2. In the Format dialog box, click the Picture tab, and then click Compress. 3. Under Apply to, do one of the following: To compress just the current picture, click Selected pictures. To compress all the pictures in your presentation, click All pictures in document. 4. Under Change resolution, do one of the following: If your presentation will be used for a screen show, click Web/Screen. If you plan to distribute your presentation as printed pages, click Print. 5. Under Options, select the Compress pictures check box and the Delete cropped areas of pictures check box. Click OK. 6. If prompted, click Apply in the Compress Pictures dialog box. PowerPoint compresses the picture or pictures for you automatically.  Math Warehouse Play Fraction Ball or Math Man or any other free online math game at this site. Math Warehouse is an interactive flash-based web site with activities for students or for anyone with Internet access. Each month more interactive experiences are added, so be sure to check back monthly. Math topics include Algebra, Math games, Geometry, Interactive Applications, and Trigonometry. You can even participate in a forum or find additional math worksheets and activities. The URL: http://www.mathwarehouse.com/interactive/ And Now For A Moment Of Science If you have ever hit your "funny bone," then you know it really isn’t that funny to you. So, why call it that? What do bicycles, footballs, and space shuttles have in common? Can you really learn while you are asleep? Why do some birds hop and others walk? These and literally thousands of other questions about the world we live in are answered at this site. Check it out at http://amos.indiana.edu/index.html. “The parasite made me do it!” That first sentence is a title to one of hundreds of A Moment in Science (AMOS) broadcasts from Indiana University. Scripts and podcasts can be downloaded from the website. Peruse their library and download the scripts or podcasts (or both) into your classrooms, Blackboard websites, and lesson plans. Some other catchy titles are: “What Annoys an Oyster?”; “The Invisible Man Can’t See You Either”; and “Photon Tennis.” Also visit their virtual laboratory and enjoy the interactive activities. Listeners (like you and your students) are asked to send their science questions to the program, and maybe it will become the topic of a future broadcast. To find the podcast listings, go to http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts.html.  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) Sorting Pumpkins http://www.gryphonhouse.com/activities/activityDetail.asp?bookid=15327&page=179 Grab some mini pumpkins and regular pumpkins from your local grocery store, and then find directions here to have your students sort them into various categories. Balloon Spiders http://www.todaysparent.com/craftsactivities/craftcorner/season/halloween/article.jsp?content=1029553 Make some of these fun balloon spiders for Halloween, where students will be connecting two round, black balloons, then attaching folded construction paper legs with tape, as well as eyes. Looking At Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LATheRavenAtmosphereSymbolismIn-Halloween612.htm The exact use of language is examined in this poetry lesson plan, where students will analyze Poe's terms in The Raven, describing how they create a setting and mood. After initial discussions, they will respond to the poem in either written responses or illustrations. 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 Calcasieu Parish Homepage  Technology Department  Teacher Link  Best on the Net Tech Guides  Computer Purchasing Information  Tech Connect Archive