If you have not used Microsoft Office 2007 yet, then you are in for a big surprise. This is the first of the Office Suites that I have not been involved in beta testing and so when I first looked at it I was totally awed. Microsoft has exchanged its usual menu bar in favor of what it terms ribbon navigation. It is rather like tabbed navigation but with some major changes.
All of your usual work icons are grouped in sections on the "ribbon" and many editing changes can be viewed "live" in the document as you move through your options.
After playing around with it for a while I began to feel more and more comfortable with it, but I keep finding new things to "play" with.
If we get new laptops any time soon (if not when) I was told that they would probably have Office 2007 on them, so be prepared for some practice and in-service.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
New Grade Book Program
We have been hearing about it for a long time but it is now a reality. On Friday, Mr. Copeland, Mr. Melaugh, Mrs. Darty, Mrs. Peek, and I attended a Train the Trainer workshop for the new OnCourse Grade Book program. I will be spending the next several weeks going over it to try and thoroughly understand as much as I can about it, but from what I saw Friday, it is a really dynamic web-based program. Those of you using Snapgrades will find many similarities.
OnCourse includes a Lesson Planner, a Web page, a way to directly tie in your standards to your lessons, email to parents, progress reports, attendance, many reports, and quite a lot of other useful items. The administration will have to make some decisions as to how some things will be handled, but it does look like it will be a big time saver once it gets going.
The official launch will not be until the second semester and we will be having training before that to make sure that everyone is thoroughly comfortable and up-to-date on how it works. One of the "perks" is that the schools using it will need to have up-to-date laptops for all of the teachers.
More information will be coming.
OnCourse includes a Lesson Planner, a Web page, a way to directly tie in your standards to your lessons, email to parents, progress reports, attendance, many reports, and quite a lot of other useful items. The administration will have to make some decisions as to how some things will be handled, but it does look like it will be a big time saver once it gets going.
The official launch will not be until the second semester and we will be having training before that to make sure that everyone is thoroughly comfortable and up-to-date on how it works. One of the "perks" is that the schools using it will need to have up-to-date laptops for all of the teachers.
More information will be coming.
Some New Web Sites of Interest
As I explore around the Web I stumble across some really great sites. I thought I would tell you about some of them.
World Literature Online is basically a companion site to The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. The site is rich with resources and references to world literature and time lines and also includes instructor resources.
Bright Storm is a site that was set up to help students with their courses. They offer courses in Geometry Algebra II SAT Writing SAT Math AP U.S. History AP U.S. Government Writing SAT Critical Reading U.S. History
Another neat site is www.zoho.com. This site is a free web-based service that offers many different programs including one called ZohoMeeting, which allows you and your students to see each others desktops as they demonstrate their work.
World Literature Online is basically a companion site to The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. The site is rich with resources and references to world literature and time lines and also includes instructor resources.
Bright Storm is a site that was set up to help students with their courses. They offer courses in Geometry Algebra II SAT Writing SAT Math AP U.S. History AP U.S. Government Writing SAT Critical Reading U.S. History
Another neat site is www.zoho.com. This site is a free web-based service that offers many different programs including one called ZohoMeeting, which allows you and your students to see each others desktops as they demonstrate their work.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Poetry 4 Kids
Okay, here's a site that is not quite so serious but still has a lot of merit. It can be used to spark discussions, journal writes, imaginations, or whatever. Poetry4Kids is a site where you and your students can go to read and/or hear some really rather interesting poetry by the author, Kenn Nesbitt. Some of it is a bit on the young side but still fun. The site is a free site and has the option of registering for free also. Registration includes extras like contests, poetry journals, and forums.
There are many other available things on the site for exploration and discovery, including a rhyming dictionary and some games.
I especially liked My Computer Ate My Homework and It'sFunToLeaveTheSpacesOut.
There are many other available things on the site for exploration and discovery, including a rhyming dictionary and some games.
I especially liked My Computer Ate My Homework and It'sFunToLeaveTheSpacesOut.
Students to the Rescue
Teachers, sometimes your students can be a very valuable technology resource. Don't be afraid to ask for help. They will be more than happy to pitch in and help you with problems if they can. Many of them are "old hands" at using a lot of the software out there.
If some of you are interested in putting together a team newsletter, my applications students are just finishing up a unit on creating professional newsletters using Microsoft Word. Some of them might be willing to head up a team of other student "reporters" to help you publish your next issue.
Students are also pretty good at digging up information from the Web. If you have that student who always finishes early, challenge him or her to find some information that you might use in one of your future lessons. They could find Web sites, pictures, articles, or whatever you need and either save the information to a flash drive, network drive, or write down information for you to review at a later time. You could refer to them as your research assistant or maybe reward them with extra credit or something else of more intellectual value.
If some of you are interested in putting together a team newsletter, my applications students are just finishing up a unit on creating professional newsletters using Microsoft Word. Some of them might be willing to head up a team of other student "reporters" to help you publish your next issue.
Students are also pretty good at digging up information from the Web. If you have that student who always finishes early, challenge him or her to find some information that you might use in one of your future lessons. They could find Web sites, pictures, articles, or whatever you need and either save the information to a flash drive, network drive, or write down information for you to review at a later time. You could refer to them as your research assistant or maybe reward them with extra credit or something else of more intellectual value.
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