Smart Fun!

If you can use a computer and a mouse, you can use an interactive white board! Yes, it really is that simple. BUT there are many more features for you to learn and use. There are tools to make your lessons more interactive and attractive to your class. There are pens, a highlighter, a screen to hide part of your lesson, and a spotlight to focus attention on a specific item.

There are settings you can customize, too, to make the board more efficient. If you are having trouble with the touch, try customizing the orientation of the board. Click on the link for Other Smart Tools and choose the Control Panel. then select Smart Hardware Settings. In the drop-down list, choose Orientation. The default number of points for orienting the board is 9, but you can choose 12 or 20. The more points, the more accurate the orientation will be.

Another feature you will want to check out is the Design Gallery. There are graphics and interactive activities for you to use. You can use the Search feature to find items or browse through the items listed by subject. Check out the interactive lessons!

Tips for Microsoft Word 2007

If you missed the workshop this past week, here is a tip for working in Microsoft Word 2007 and I will put the rest of the tips on the Tech Tidbits Ning:

Line spacing:
• default spacing is1.15 with space after each paragraph
• To change spacing – highlight text and select No Spacing in the Styles section of the Home tab
• To make the change permanent – make the changes, click the bottom arrow at the end of the styles. Choose Save Selection as a New Quick Style. Name it My Style and a new button will appear in the Style section.

Laptops @ school

Laptop use is on the rise at school! Using it to take roll saves lots of time. If you just close the lid (ssh, it's sleeping...), you can leave My Backpack open and it will save you some time for the next class, especially if you have to move to another room.

Did you know that when you log on to your laptop at school, it reacts the same way at any of the desktops at school. You can use Outlook to check your email (NOT the web access) and if you open My Computer, you can see all the drives available to you. No need for Citrix at school - you still need to use Citrix when you use your laptop at home.

Have any of you found any other good suggestions?

Pop ups are no fun!

All of a sudden last semester, I started getting a pop-up warning every time I went on a secure website, asking about showing content or not. It happens when I use Internet Explorer and it is so annoying!!! I researched it on the Internet and I found this fix:

Try this:
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click on the Tools menu and Choose Internet Options (at the bottom of the list)
3. Click on the Security Tab and make sure Internet is selected.
4. Click on the button for Custom Level
5. Scroll pretty far down the list (under the Miscellaneous section). Look for Display Mixed Content.
6. Click the Enable circle.
7. Click OK and OK again.

It worked for me!

September's almost gone!

The whole month of September, I'm wishing for it to be over. Too much chaos! I always think October will be calmer, but usually I'm wrong and I already wished away another September!

I have a Word 2007 tip for you. The default spacing is set to 1.15 (where did that number come from?) and spacing is always added at the end of a paragraph. That style is called Normal! I always knew I wasn't normal (jk). To correct this, make sure you are on the Home tab, in the Styles section, click on the second Style, named No Spacing. Really! You won't believe how long it took me to find this!

I also wanted to mention that you can export your class lists into excel if you need a digital list of students to work with. Under Reports choose Class Roster and at the bottom, change the drop-down list to MS Excel instead of Report Preview.

In the swing...

Slowly but surely, I am getting back into the routine. My classes have been great so far. Most of them feel pretty comfortable with technology. I always hope they will teach me something!

I found and interactive website to help find commands in Word 2007: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/interactive-excel-2003-to-excel-2007-command-reference-guide-HA010149151.aspx?CTT=3. It brings up a window that looks like the old Word (2003). You click on a menu, then move your mouse to the command you need and a box opens with a description of where it is in Word 2007. Cool!

School has begun!

I don't remember ever feeling soooo tired! So far, the year looks great! Everyone is busy and motivated. I have great expectations for the technology this year. Someone mentioned a use for the laptops that I hadn't considered and it's a good idea, so here it is. Set your laptop up in the classroom and use it to take attendance. That way you can have the classroom computer on a thought for the day or daily question or problem and the SmartBoard on. Now they can be busy doing something constructive while you concentrate on the attendance!

The End of Summer (sigh...)

You can feel it in the air - it's almost here... Time to get back to business - the business of teaching! I must admit, I am looking forward to the start of the school year for a change. The faculty was energized in June by the speaker and then the workshops run by PLP members. I can't wait to see the new technologies used. There will be a whole new language heard around school: Nings, and wikis and glogs, oh, my!

It's the Little Things!

In the past week, a couple of people have reminded me that sometimes it's helpful to have a reminder of basic technology tools, shortcuts or tips. These are little things that I take for granted, I guess. Take for example, the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste (ctrl-c to copy and ctrl-v for paste). When I mentioned them to a teacher in a recent workshop, she gave me a blank stare and then she thanked me for telling her about them! She was thrilled! I was surprised - doesn't everyone know them? I guess not. So here are a couple more: ctrl-z to undo; ctrl-s to save; ctrl-p to print. More later - enjoy!

I love Technology!

I do, I love technology. I guess that makes me a geek - but aren't geeks in these days? That's ok. I am on the computer all the time - checking email, playing games, looking stuff up, and on and on. When my computer failed earlier this year, I was crushed. I did what I could but no change. A friend looked at it and helped me retrieve my files from the hard drive. That helped. Then, I could at least re-format the drive and start over. It was actully a little exciting, starting from scratch! Except, every once in a while I realize I am missing something I had before - a favorite website or program. But it's okay, I can move on. It has made me be a little more careful and I do backup more and am a little more organized. Even old geeks can learn new tricks!!