Issue 1, Volume 10

August 20, 2009

 

 

Thought for the Week
Inside every great teacher, there is an even greater one waiting to come out. -- Harry Wong

  
Welcome Back!
cpsb_tech_logoWelcome back to the 2009 - 2010 school year and the tenth year of the CPSB electronic resource - Tech Connect. This online newsletter is a collaborative effort of all the staff in the Technology Department. Each week they submit articles, and the articles are compiled and sent as the new Tech Connect newsletter. I am so proud of our Tech Department staff, and this newsletter is a “Quality” example of their commitment to providing employees with current and relevant technology information.  

The CPSB Technology Department had a very busy but productive summer. We conducted training sessions for hundreds and hundreds of school system employees in preparation for the beginning the new school year. We provided over 100 face-to-face and online classes to help school district employees improve their use of technology. Blackboard training continues to be in huge demand as teachers, principals, and department heads explore the power of our online eLearning portal.  

The good news is this year we will be providing training, new computers and printers to all social studies teachers in middle and high schools, and fifth grade elementary teachers. We look forward to not only providing these classrooms with the newest, up-to-date technology but also providing support for the comprehensive curriculum. Additionally, we have provided email accounts, student log-ons and network storage space for all high school students.  

At the beginning of the school year, please remember we are a very small staff supporting almost 40,000 users - students and employees - in the district; and, we are running as fast as we can….everyone seems to need tech help at the beginning of the school year. Sending any and all tech help requests to tech.help@cpsb.org will result in your issue “getting in the line” and will assure you faster service. We routinely expedite emergencies from the online help desk system, but if you are not in the system, it is very difficult to get the proper support for your technology need.  

For the eighth year we held the annual summer Tech Camp for students at our Tech Training Center. This year the theme was CamQuest: Virtual Experiences. Nearly 150 students in grades 3 - 8 enjoyed a week of fun and intense learning with technology conducted by our technology department staff. The CPSB and Region V Technology Staff geared up and provided these students a great technology-infused adventure with an award winning multimedia atmosphere using cutting edge technologies. This year Tech Camp offered cutting-edge technologies as camp participants received a WebCam and headset to utilize in the camp experience, challenging the imagination and creativity of the campers with video and audio podcasts, movie graphics, Avatar creations, and additional virtual experiences. These tools empowered the students to produce personal masterpieces—complete with the look and sound of authentic productions. They shared their finished products on DVDs and the web. Campers were captivated as they participated in a compelling and digitizing adventure in avatar creations and video capturing, editing, producing, and more at Tech Camp 2009! Check out the student projects at www.cpsb.org/techcamp.

As you log on each Thursday morning you can expect to find waiting in your email inbox the latest in "technology happenings" in our district and current "tips and tricks" to improve your technology skills. We hope you will join us in celebrating the numerous successes we have in technology by emailing tech.connect@cpsb.org any information you would like to share with our colleagues in the district. Please share any suggestions you have, and let us know what will help you in your specific job assignment. We will attempt to include your suggestions in our future issues.

We look forward to working with you again this school year. Let us know what we can do to help you, and have a great school year!

Sheryl Abshire, Ph.D.
Sheryl
sheryl.abshire@cpsb.org
Chief Technology Officer
CPSB Technology Department
337.217.4100 X 1001
“Advancing Quality Education with Technology”
Start of School Tech Support Tips
tech_supportThe Technology Support Center staff would like to welcome everyone to the new school year and take this opportunity to give you some updated information about technology issues you may encounter this year:
  • Whenever contacting the CPSB Help Desk about problems with your computer, always make sure to include the computer’s host name (serial number) and / or IP address in the message. This information speeds up the help process as we do not have to do follow-up emails asking for the information. Remember that the host name and IP address is visible as white text information on your Windows desktop background.
  • When sending emails from and to CPSB email accounts, make sure that you include a subject line. Any emails with blank subjects are automatically rejected by the district email server and a “bounce back” message will return to you saying that the message wasn’t sent due to security policies.
  • Wireless configurations on laptops are now handled automatically by the network so you no longer have to send a wireless MAC address to get your wireless activated. You must, however, have your computer registered by sending your name and computer serial number (not CPSB tag number) to tech.help@cpsb.org to get administrator rights on the computer so the automatic settings can take effect.
  • Remember, there is very good technology information available, as well as technology guides, at the Tech Support Center website at http://help.cpsb.org that can help you. If you need to have a computer repaired, need price information and recommendations for a grant, or need to locate a tech guide, this site is the best place to start. It is an intranet site which means that you can’t access it from home, so remember to use a district computer to access the site.
  • If you are writing grants or buying any technology, make sure to get prices, quotes and recommendations from the “Purchases” section at http://help.cpsb.org .  Only the exact computer models and configurations posted there will be supported and placed on the network.  Buying a Dell computer or any other type in a retail store will result in you having to return it due to non-support. 

The Technology Support Center stands ready to help you with your technology needs and that while we are very busy at the start of the new school year, we will attempt to get to your questions as quickly as possible. You can reach us by phone at 217-HELP (4357) or by submitting a question to the CPSB Help Desk at http://help.cpsb.org under the “Questions” section.
Drew Grant Workshops Available...Sign Up Now!
moneySince school began you have probably thought at least once, “Gosh, I wish my classroom had that” or maybe “A great project for my students to do would be…”

If you had that second thought, you are already on your way to being a successful grant writer!  RFPs (Request For Proposals) ALWAYS focus on supporting projects to enhance learning instead of classroom “stuff.”   If you are thinking of “stuff” your classroom needs, you are going about the process backwards.

The Grant Department is offering two workshops in September to cover the Drew Grant process, the application, how to focus the project to be funded, how to create a budget, and general grant writing tips.  If you are a first-time grant writer or wish to brush up on your grant writing skills, you are encouraged to register for one of the two workshops.

Both Drew Grant Workshops will be held at C&I on Shattuck Street.
When:  Thursday, September 17th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm
Where:  Lab A

When:  Thursday, September 24th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm
Where: Lab B

 Participants should click on the following site to register: https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses/. If you don’t already have an account to register for Tech Center classes, you will need to first create an account before you can register.
Attention Teachers! Register Now For Upcoming Blackboard Classes!
e_learningRegister now at the following site:
https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses/

BB201: Utilizing Blackboard to Support Curriculum – Getting Students Involved
Dates of Training: September 9 (orientation session - 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Lab C ) September 9 - September 30, 2009 (online course)
Location:  Lab C
Prerequisite: BB101 or BB102
Technology Requirements: Internet Access at Home/Computer Proficient
CLUs: 8
This hands-on workshop combined with a 3-week online class will guide participants through the enhancement of their current Blackboard Website to utilize with students during the upcoming 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. This class will allow students to have usernames and passwords to Blackboard for the upcoming 2009-2010 school year.

BB309:  Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom
 Dates of Training: September 15 - September 29, 2009 (2 weeks online)
Location:  All Online
 Prerequisite: None
 Level:   Intermediate
Technology Requirements:  Internet Access at Home/Computer Proficient
CLUs:  2
This online class will serve as an introduction to using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.  * There is not face-to-face session for this class.  It is all online.

BB101: Introduction to Using Blackboard as a Classroom Website
Dates of Training: September 21, 2009 (face-to-face orientation - 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Lab C)
September 21 - October 19(online course)
Location:  Lab C
Prerequisite: None
Technology Requirements: Internet Access at Home
CLUs: 6
The hands-on workshop (orientation session) combined with a 4-week online will guide the teacher through the creation of the Blackboard Classroom Website. Participants will learn how to customize the design of Blackboard, add documents, and utilize Blackboard tools.

Check for more Blackboard classes and register at https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses/. For further information, feel free to contact Kim Leblanc (kim.leblanc@cpsb.org).
Prepping Your Promethean Board
prometheanAfter returning to school after the summer break, most teachers will probably find a need to clean the Promethean Board. Here are some important tips to remember when cleaning your board:
• Do not use abrasive powders, soap, or detergents on the board
• Do not use metal brushes, scrapers, or abrasive cleaning cloths
• Always start with the least caustic agent – water
• Use regular whiteboard cleaner, but remember to spray onto a rag and not directly onto the board.
Automatic Spell Check In Outlook 2007
How many times have you hit the Send button and then a second later realized that you forgot to spell check the email. Here is an easy way to make sure that those pesky spelling errors don’t make it to your recipient.
  1. Select Options from the Tools menu.
  2. Click on the Spelling tab.
  3. Check the Always check spelling before sending box.
  4. Click the OK button.
Creating Student Assessments
Appropriate assessment methods will help your students reach the learning goals you set for them. In addition, assessment today affects not only how students are measured but also how schools and teachers are measured. Is it time to re-think your assessment strategies? Review the differences between portfolio, performance and project assessment, and find templates to quickly develop the right assessment tools. The URL: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA012319181033.aspx
Tools, Templates, And More For Administrators And Teachers
Educational World has an Administrators section where collaboration, columnists, resources, articles, blogs, Leadership Libraries and much more can be found. Additionally tools and templates are available for awards, back to school, calendars, classroom organizers, flyers, graphics, posters, content areas, newsletters, parent-teacher communications, resources and traffic signs. This is just a sampling of what all this site has to offer. Check out the Educational World and benefit from Administrators around the world just like you. Sign up for Education World's free Administrator's Desk Newsletter while you peruse the content of this powerful site for Administrators. Check it out at http://educationworld.com/a_admin/.
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)

Postcard Exchange Ideas
http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/classmanagement/pcexchangeideas.html
If you have a 50 State unit planned or you simply want to hone students' writing skills early in the year, try a postcard exchange. Find several ideas here on every aspect of this type of project, submitted by teachers who are conducting their own exchanges. Also find ideas for displaying the postcards, making inexpensive cards, addressing them, keeping organized, and more.
 
The Memory Game
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/games/memory-game
National Geographic offers several memory games for students to learn how to increase their short term memories -- great for improving test-taking skills. You can choose from the following categories: Animals, Landscapes, Numbers, and Letters. The Settings button allows you to set difficulty for different abilities.
 
Back-To-School Resource Pack
http://www.everydayteaching.com/b2s/upper_elem.php
Everyday Teaching has lots of printable forms to help you get jump-started with your back-to-school needs. The upper elementary selections include some great little icebreaker activities, along with printable reminder notices, school stationery, student contact forms, sponge activities, bio poem forms, and more.
 


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