Issue 16, Volume 10 December 10, 2009     Thought for the Week Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. -- Benjamin Franklin   Scott Schonefeld Named Educator Of The Year At LACUE! The 25th Annual LACUE (Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators) Conference was held this past week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. More than 2,800 educators from across the state attended Louisiana's largest conference for educational technology. Every year, each region selects winners in the various categories. Our Region V winners include the following:      Elementary Teacher of the Year - Ashleigh Mire-Schulz, Calcasieu      Middle School Teacher of the Year - Lorri Caldwell, Calcasieu      High School Teacher of the Year - Georgia Broussard, Calcasieu      Post Secondary Teacher of the Year - Dr. Wayne fetter, Calcasieu      Leader of the Year - David Hooper, Allen      Special Person of the Year - Carol Koonce, Calcasieu      Educator of the Year - Scott Schonefeld, Calcasieu Once the regional LACUE winners are selected, the state LACUE winners are selected through a team of out-of-state judges. At the annual LACUE luncheon, the state awards were announced and Calcasieu came out with a top award! Calcasieu educator Scott Schonefeld won Educator of the Year, presented by LACUE Board Members. We are very proud of this outstanding educator! Congratulations to Scott Schonefeld, Tech Support Coordinator in the Technology Department, for winning State LACUE Educator of the Year! Featured Blackboard Site The featured Blackboard site was created by Pat Robichaux, a middle school Art Enrichment teacher from Vinton Middle School. Mrs. Robichaux created the site to serve as a resource for all of her students and as well as a communication resource with parents. Visit Mrs. Robichaux 's site. Free Software Guides From Tech Support Center There is a myriad of free software available to educators from the web, but not all of it is free of adware or tons of pop-ups. To assist teachers, the CPSB Tech Support Center will start spotlighting some free software programs available for use in classroom that are safe to use. Through the CPSB Technology Support website, teachers will have access to handouts that explain where to get the software and how to use it for different tasks. Since the software is free, teachers can install it on any computer, and students can download and install the software on their home computers as well. This enables students to have the same software resources both at school and home.   The first free software package to be highlighted is a graphics application called Paint.Net. With more teachers and students using digital cameras in the classroom, the need to edit pictures as well as compressing the size of the photos so that they can be put on web pages or sent via email has been increasing. With the free Paint.Net application, teachers and students can do a variety of tasks involving digital photographs such as:        *Resizing a photograph so the file size is smaller (for web pages and email)      *Cropping a photograph for a better composition      *Removing “red eye” artifacts in photographs of people      *Making transparent selections for photographs on web pages   The handout also covers how one can go even further and use Paint.Net to create original content for web pages, PowerPoint presentations, and videos. With the new Paint.Net handout, anyone can learn how to edit digital photographs as well as create original graphic content. The best thing to remember is that Paint.Net is absolutely free to install on any computer, so there is no worry about purchasing licenses.   The new handout for the free Paint.Net software is available from the Tech Support Center website at http://help.cpsb.org under the Guides section and is listed under Multimedia guides. A direct link to download and open the handout is http://help.cpsb.org/guides/guide_display.cfm?guide_id=64. Remember, you must be on the CPSB domain to access these guides.   Be sure to look for additional free software programs to be highlighted in upcoming TechConnect issues.  If you should have any questions, please contact the CPSB Help Desk at tech.help@cpsb.org. Free Online Camera Tool With Cameroid, you can take snapshots using your webcam straight from your desktop or browser. You can save them to your desktop, download as a JPEG or simply print them out. The web app allows you take snapshots using several effects. You can take a photo of you with the filter, distort, framed or with scenario. Of course, there’s the regular clear snapshot with no effect. To use the FREE service, you’ll need a webcam. Go to the Snap tab and grant the application access to your webcam. Choose which effect you’d like to use and click the Take Photo Button. You can either save your image to a Cameroid gallery, download the JPG version, or use the URL link to share your image. Check it out at http://cameroid.com. Register Now For Promethean ActivBoard Classes Register now at the following site: https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses/ PRAI 210/PRAI211:  Using Promethean Accessories: ActivExpressions/ActiVotes Dates:  December 15th When:  3:00-5:00 pm Prerequisites: PRAI 101 or PRAS 101 Location: Lab C- Technology Training Center  CLUs: 2 Do you have ActivExpressions or ActiVotes?  Are you looking for effective ways to use these devices in your classes.  Register now and come to the PRAI 210/PRAI211: Using Promethean Accessories: ActivExpressions/ActiVotes. This hands-on workshop is designed to provide the participant with a working knowledge and use of the ActivExpressions/ActiVotes in conjunction with the ActivInspire software.  Participants will be given the opportunity to practice using these tools.  PRAI102: Beginning Flipchart Integration and Construction Date:  January 5th When:  3:00-5:00 pm Prerequisites: PRAI 101 or PRAS 101 Location:  Lab C-Technology Training Center CLUs: 2 Are you looking for ways and time to develop flipcharts for your classes.  Then, PRAI102:  Beginning Flipchart Integration and Construction might be the class you are looking for. In this hands-on workshop, the participant will be given a brief review of PRA101 ActivInspire tools and software. The remainder of the workshop will focus on providing the participant with the opportunity to begin constructing basic flipcharts that promote student engagement.  Participants are encouraged to bring teacher resources such as Comprehensive Curriculum and/or Teacher Manuals to aid in the development of these flipcharts.  Participants may also wish to bring a pen drive to save their projects to.  Register for any one of these classes 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. Stay Current On The Web With ReadWriteWeb Want to be current and in the know about the latest happenings in the web world? Then check out ReadWriteWeb, a blog that provides analysis of web products and trends. One of the world's top 20 blogs, ReadWriteWeb speaks to an intelligent audience of web enthusiasts, early adopters and innovators. It was founded on April 20, 2003 by Richard MacManus and is now one of the most widely read and respected blogs in the world written by a team of Web enthusiasts. The URL: http://www.readwriteweb.com/about_readwriteweb.php Inserting A Watermark In Word 2007 With watermarks, you can add a new layer of information to your documents.  You can add text watermarks, such as Draft or Confidential, to your document. Microsoft Office Word 2007 provides galleries of ready-made watermarks or you can create your own custom watermark, such as a company logo. Or you can add a background color or picture to your document. Here's how: 1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Watermark. 2. Do one of the following:      - Click a predesigned watermark, such as Confidential or Urgent, in the gallery of watermarks.      - Click Custom Watermark, click Text watermark and then select or type the text that you want. You can also format the text. 3. To view a watermark as it will appear on the printed page, use Print Layout view. Google Apps In Education Imagine how valuable it would be if your entire campus community — students, faculty, and staff — could share information and ideas more easily. With Google Apps Education Edition, you can start bringing that vision to life. Google Apps Education Edition is a free suite of hosted communication and collaboration applications designed for schools and universities. Check it out at http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/. 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) Christmas Spelling Generator http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/words/worksheets/spelling_word_list217.html Enter your spelling terms in this word list generator, choose your font, and generate a worksheet. Scrambles, word searches, and even math puzzles with Christmas themes are included, for kindergarten through 5th grade, or create your own.   Interactive Dear Santa Letter http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/actCtrImg/c00506128.pdf Primary students will mostly be filling in the blanks here, but nevertheless, they will still have to use their imaginations and check their lists twice to make sure they've included everything!   Olive, The Other Reindeer http://www.bry-backmanor.org/holidayfun/olivestory.html You've all heard of Rudolph and his red nose; now meet Olive with her olive nose, and her adventures with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the North Pole. A reader's theater script perhaps?   An official publication of the CPSB Technology Department If you have any questions or comments please e-mail the Webmaster. 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