HEHS Technology

Connecting to online storage

2009-09-22T15:18:00.014-05:00

D211 uses Microsoft's Unified Access Gateway (UAG) to allow students and teachers to access their files remotedly from any location with Internet access. It is similar to last year's NetStorage but with more security and more features.

Here are your directions for logging in to UAG and accessing your files.

Go to the district Online Storage web page which can be found on the web page of every D211 school. The direct link is https://xtier.d211.org/
Click on the LOG IN button.
You will get an error message stating that there is a problem with the security certificate on this web page. Click on CONTINUE TO THIS WEB SITE.
A box will pop up that states the web site is already in your trusted sites list and ask if you want to allow opening the site. Click YES.
An add-on needs to be installed onto your computer to make the software work. Click on the INSTALL button if this box pops up. You will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.
The software is being installed onto your computer and needs access to the district Online Storage page for it to work. When you get the security alert asking if you trust the certificate, click on TRUST THIS SITE and then choose ALWAYS. Then click on the TRUST button at the bottom. Again, you will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.
You can now log in . Add the phrase d211\ to the beginning of your username. Without adding d211\ you will not be able to access your files. It is required! Enter your password and then click on LOG ON.

For more information on UAG please visit Microsoft's website.

Department chair check out - technology department

2009-05-13T13:53:00.005-05:00

There are several things that need to be done before a teacher or department chair can check out for the summer.

1. Your H Drive must be under 1GB. There is no exception to this, unfortunately. We are moving to a new network and to transition the data over successfully we need everyone to clean up their data and get it to a manageable size.

This is how you check the size of your H Drive:

Go to "My Computer" and double click on your h drive
Go to "Edit" and click on "Select All"
Then move your mouse to one of the highlighted files or folders and "Right-click" on the highlighted files and select "Properties"
Now it will tell you how much space you are using

2. Your web page folder must be under 1GB. This is for the same reason as #1.

3. Clean the I Drive. This is the drive that is shared by all staff members. Your department has a folder where you share documents and other files. Please go through that folder and remove outdated or duplicate items.

4. Clean the O Drive. This is the drive that staff members use to share files with their students. This includes the Assignment Inbox where students drop their homework in to their teachers. Your department has a folder where you share documents and other files. Please go through that folder and remove outdated or duplicate items. Coaches, remove ALL team videos from the O Drive.

5. Equipment returned by June 1. All videos, cameras, etc. must be returned by June 1.

6. Computer clusters list. I need a list of each one of your rooms that has more than one computer in it as well as the number of computers in that room as well as the purpose of those computers (i.e. room 114 - cluster of five for finishing homework, research, and READ180).

7. Software lists. Provide a list (NOT a screen shot) of the special software that needs to be installed on your tablets or desktops.

Teacher check out - technology department

2009-05-13T09:46:00.005-05:00

This is how you check the size of your H Drive:

Go to "My Computer" and double click on your h drive
Go to "Edit" and click on "Select All"
Then move your mouse to one of the highlighted files or folders and "Right-click" on the highlighted files and select "Properties"
Now it will tell you how much space you are using

2. Your web page folder must be under 1GB. This is for the same reason as #1.

5. Equipment returned by June 1. All videos, cameras, etc. must be returned by June 1.

Student data removal

2009-05-13T09:16:00.003-05:00

Student data will NOT be saved this summer. All data will be removed due to the transition to a new network.

ALL STUDENT DATA WILL BE DELETED ON JUNE 8.

Students can burn their data to a DVD or save it to a flash drive. We have 2GB Kingston flash drives for sale in the library and the technology office for $10.

Tablet turn-in for 2009

2009-05-13T08:37:00.004-05:00

Teachers can keep their tablet computers for the summer, but they must be turned in by August 18 for reimaging. You can pick up your tablet starting Monday morning, August 24. This is a firm deadline: August 18. If your computer is not turned in by August 18 you will NOT get it back in time for the start of school. You can turn it in before August 18, but no computer will be ready for pick up before Monday, August 24.

Administrators will hold on to their tablets for the summer. We will work with the Buildings and Grounds Assistant Principal to choose a day in August when they will all be turned in for reimaging.

Counselors and psychologists will hold on to their tablets for the summer. We will work with the Guidance Chairperson to choose a day in August when they will all be turned in for reimaging.

Connecting to Wireless Projector with Tablet

2008-10-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Turn on Projector and hit Key #5 (Easy MP) Button on the Remote Control

Start------All Programs-----EPSON Projector------EMP NS Connection V2.11 (Click)

Select Advanced Connection Mode and check the “Set Selected Connection Mode” box in the lower left---Click Okay

Click Okay for no projector found

Click on Manual Search on top of tool bar

Type IP Address as it appears on Easy MP on the screen and hit okay

Select the projector that you want to connect to by checking the box to the left of the projector

To protect your connection from being interrupted, Click on the “Disable Interrupt Connection”

Click CONNECT in the lower right corner

Your Tablet should now be connected to the classroom projector.

Converting PowerPoint slides to PDF

2008-10-01T12:07:00.010-05:00

Saving your PowerPoint as a .pdf document allows you to post your notes/ presentation on your web page. For those who choose to print to document this method conserves resources by combining several slides onto one sheet of paper. Here are the directions for saving a PowerPoint as a .pdf file:

Open your PowerPoint presentation
Add Header & Footer information to the handout
It is a good idea to identify the handout and who created it. Credit should be given to the original author on the handout!
Open the Add Header &Footer option in PowerPoint 2007 as shown below.

Below is the Header and Footer screen. Be sure to select the Notes and Handouts tab!
Adjust the settings as desired by clicking on the check boxes and adding your own information. Click the Apply to All button.

Print the document as a PDF
Proceed as if you are going to Print the document but don't print it, yet. Adjustments need to be made!
A screen shot of the Print window is shown below. Following are specific instructions that accompany the screen shot.
A. This area shows that you have to select the Adobe PDF option as your printer!
B. Be sure to click on the drop down arrow in this section and select 'Handouts' since this is what you are looking to add to your website.
C. Six slides per page is a good quantity to choose and will save paper should students print this handout at home.
D. Be sure the last box is checked if you have inked on your PowerPoint and want the inking to appear on the handouts.
E. No other settings need to be adjusted.
F. Click OK and the Save As dialogue box will appear prompting you to provide a name for your handout and location for saving.

Click on Save from the Save As dialogue box
Your PowerPoint slides will be converted to a PDF handout. This may take a minute or two depending upon the number of slides in your presentation.
Add this file to your web site and create a link to it from one of your web pages
Here are two examples of PowerPoint slides that have been converted to PDF handouts. Please take note of the Header/Footer information.

Please be sure to stop by the TLC for additional help!

"Crazy rasberry ants"

2008-05-23T08:04:00.002-05:00

There have been ants in Texas "attacking" electrical wires and making nests inside desktop computers, and the story is interesting enough to pass along. Here it is"

http://www.slate.com/id/2191749/?GT1=38001

Technology Committee for 2008-2009

2008-05-19T09:15:00.002-05:00

These are the members of the Technology Committee for the 2008-2009 school year:

Administration Tom Newton

Applied Technology Wayne Oras

Art Kevin Beers

Business Education Tom Magan

Driver Education Mike Levanti

English Christina Ordonez

E.S.L Kate Cho

Family & Consumer Sciences Debbie Albin

Foreign Language Robin Jacobi

Health Education Karisa LaFleur

Mathematics Keith Peak

Media Mary Spevacek

Music Dung Pham

Physical Education Dan Davis

Science Darcy Sowle, Kristy Depa

Social Studies Rob Schmidt

Special Education Gonz Bullon, Greg Rouse, Jaclyn Zydek

Student Services Jennifer Carlson

Technology Coaches for 2008-2009

2008-05-19T09:05:00.002-05:00

These are the Technology Coaches for the 2008-2009 school year:

Administration
Tom Newton

Applied Technology
Wayne Oras

Art
Kevin Beers

Business Education
Tom Magan

Driver Education
Mike Levanti

English
Christina Ordonez

E.S.L
Kate Cho

Family & Consumer Sciences
Suzanne Wolf

Foreign Language
Robin Jacobi

Health Education
Karisa LaFleur

Mathematics
Keith Peak

Media
Mary Spevacek

Music
Dung Pham

Physical Education
Dan Davis

Science
Darcy Sowle
Kristy Depa

Social Studies
Rob Schmidt

Special Education
Gonz Bullon
Greg Rouse
Jaclyn Zydek

Student Services
Jennifer Carlson

SyncToy - backing up and synchronizing your files

2008-05-14T13:46:00.005-05:00

Snyc Toy is a software title installed on all tablet computers at HEHS. It can help you synchronize, copy, backup and maintain folders of files on your computers, including the files kept on your desktop which are not backed up to the server. You choose the folders you want to save (called the left folders) and then choose a location where they will be saved (called the right folders). Files are never deleted by SyncToy - they are merely moved to the Recycle Bin. Here are the five options for saving your files:

Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.

Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.

Subscribe: Updated files on the right are copied to the left if the file name already exists on the left.

Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.

Combine: New and updated files are copied both ways. Nothing happens to renamed and deleted files.

Synchronize

The synchronize action will make two folders mirror each other, keeping the latest changes made to the files in either folder. New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.For example, you have two computers. You keep a copy of pictures, documents, and/or tunes on both. Changes often occur on both computers. You want SyncToy to notice additions, deletions, changes, and renames on both computers, and then do the right thing to bring the folders back in sync.

Every file in the left folder that is new or changed is copied to the right folder.

Every file in the left folder that has been renamed is renamed in the right folder.

Every file that was deleted from the left folder is deleted in the right folder.

The process is repeated for files in the right folder.

Note: If both sides were renamed since the snapshot, the name from the left side will be used. If a snapshot does not exist, the name from the left side will be used. If only one side got renamed since snapshot time, the other side gets renamed to match.

Echo

The echo action will make copies of files that are new and changed on the left to the right. New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.For example, when you travel, you take a copy of your pictures, tunes, and documents to work on. When you return, you want SyncToy to notice the files you added, changed, deleted, and renamed in the left folder, and you want SyncToy to recreate those additions, changes, deletions, and renames in the right folder. Echo is very similar to Synchronize, except Echo works only left to right.

Every file in the left folder that is new or changed is copied to the right folder.

Every file in the left folder that has been renamed is renamed in the right folder.

Every file that was deleted from the left folder is deleted in the right folder.

No left folder files are deleted, or renamed.

No files are copied from right to left.

Right folder files are deleted.

Subscribe
The subscribe action will check files that exist on both sides, and if changes have been made, the updated file will be downloaded. Updated files on the right are copied to the left if the file name already exists on the left.For example, you like to keep a copy of a handful of important documents with you when you travel. New files are added only very rarely, but existing files are updated often, and you want SyncToy to make sure that the files in the left folder are updated with changes made to those same files in the right folder.

When the same file name exists in both folders but the right folder file is newer, that right folder file is copied to the left folder.

No files are deleted or renamed.

New files in the folder are not copied.

Contribute
Contribute will add changes from the left folder to the right folder. New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.
For example, you have a compact flash, SD, USB thumb drive, or other removable media that you take with you when you travel. You probably delete some files on the removable drive while you are away so that you can add or change other files. When you get back, you only want SyncToy to recognize new, renamed, and changed files, and you want the new stuff copied to the right folder. Contribute is the same as Echo but without the deletes.

New and updated files from the left folder are copied to the right folder.

Files renamed in the left folder are renamed in the right folder.

No files are deleted.

No files are copied from right to left.

Combine
The Combine action will make sure files exist in both folders, without renames or deletes. New and updated files are copied both ways. Nothing happens to renamed and deleted files.
You have multiple PCs in your house. You add pictures, tunes and/or documents to both computers. You do not delete or rename files often and when you do, you do not want those deletes or renames recreated on the other computer. In essence, you want SyncToy to insure that all files in these folders exist on both folders at the end of a Run. (Combine is the same as Synchronize but without the renames and deletes.)

Any file that exists in the left folder but does not exist in the right folder is copied from left to right.

Any file that exists in the right folder but does not exist in the left folder is copied from right to left.

If a file has changed in either folder, the newer file is copied to the other folder, and the older file is renamed but not copied.

No files are deleted.

When the run is finished, every file that existed in either folder will exist in both folders.

Online Photo Editing

2008-04-29T14:56:00.002-05:00

Among the Web 2.0 tools, there is a new, free, online photo editing service by Adobe called Photoshop Express. While it doesn't have all the features of the full application, it does allow you to do more than most online photo applications, like Flickr. Photos can be downloaded or pulled from online sources. There is also space to store albums. Check it out at http://www.photoshop.com/express

ICE Conference Report

2008-04-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

At the ICE Technology Conference, I saw several sessions demonstrating interactive whiteboards, or Smartboards. While these hit the circuit several years ago, I have just lately become aware of the exciting possibilities and potential this technology has in the classroom. I have also seem them in action while observing classes in other schools. Download and use of their software is free as long as you don't use it with a competitor's product. While it does limit what you can do, there is still plenty to work with. http://www.smarttech.com

Printing guidelines

2008-04-18T11:19:00.005-05:00

With the large amount of electronic resources we have available to us at HEHS it is important that we make every possible attempt to reduce the amount of printing. Please read the following guidelines and try to incorporate them into your work day. These guidelines were made in conjunction with Fremd High School.

Don’t print PowerPoints! Doing so defeats the entire reason why the PowerPoint was created - to present information to others using the computer and projector found in every classroom in this school. If notes are needed by the student they should print them wisely by printing multiple slides on one page and to do so in black and white. In the “print what?” drop-down menu of the printing dialog box choose “slides.” Be sure to also select three slides on one page and “grayscale.” PowerPoints would be perfect documents for students to submit to you for grading as an attachment to an email, through the Digital Dropbox, or on a CD. Keep this in mind - one PowerPoint slide printed in color costs $0.29 each. If each student prints just a ten-slide presentation it costs the school $72 for every class period given that assignment. That's over $350 for just one teacher to assign one project to all of his or her students.
Cut Back on Color Printing. Reconsider your desire to have students submit color copies as assignments. Consider whether this project will be displayed or just placed in the trash when completed. Also consider whether color printing truly impacts student learning. Please keep all color printed assignments to no more than two pages. Students wishing to print in color in the library or drop-in lab will need a permission slip from their teacher.
Review your documents before printing. This will greatly reduce the need to print multiple copies every time you discover an error. Use that spell check feature, too. If there is only one line of text on the last page, try to change your margins or font size to get it all to fit on the page before it.
Avoid multiple copies. Instead of using the printer to produce class sets of handouts, submit documents to Faculty Service for copying. Use printers only when brainstorms occur and you may need to print something quickly. This goes for students as well. They are allowed two copies of their work - one for themselves and one to turn in. They should not be printing copies of anything to hand out to every member of their class. The students should submit their work to the teacher and allow the teacher to submit a request to faculty services to make multiple copies on the Xerox copier. It costs more than 10x more to print on a printer instead of using the copier.
Display the print queue. Tremendous amounts of paper are wasted because people keep sending their document to the printer thinking it never made it there initially. If you show students their document is in the print queue, they will see when it will print. This might help them become more patient.
Pull out the printer tray as a means of controlling student printing. Without the tray engaged, a printer will not produce copies. It also lets you delete backlogged print jobs.
Check the paper supply in the printers. Students will send their job to the printer multiple times when they don’t hear that printer start-up right away.
Utilize other storage devices. Students can save and/ or submit their work through the Internet, NetStorage, Digital Dropbox, flash drives and CD-ROMS. Today's students are more comfortable with reading electronic text. Also, students could submit documents to you on disk for evaluation rather than printing out copies. Microsoft Office products offer innovative, time-saving editing features. We’d be happy to teach them to you!

The more we spend on toner, the less we can spend on other technology that will help improve the way you teach & the way students learn!

Save online videos to your computer

2008-04-14T10:37:00.004-05:00

We often find a video online that we'd like to show in class. Unfortunately we often can't show these because the video is either removed from its website at a later time or the school web filter blocks it. A solution to this is to download the video at home, save it to a removable hard drive (flash drive, USB hard drive, etc.), and then show the video at a later time on a different computer.

Most video sites block you from saving their videos or force you to download their video player to show them later. There are ways around this. One site is called KeepVid.com <http://keepvid.com/> and it allows you to save videos in .flv or .mp4 format. The .mp4 format is better than .flv because it is a higher video quality and it can be played using QuickTime, Internet Explorer 7, or Windows Media Player 11.

Here is how to save a video to your computer using KeepVid:

Find a video you want to save on a site such as YouTube or Google Videos. Find the direct URL to that video and copy it.
Open a new browser window and go to KeepVid.com
Paste the video's URL into the box near the top of the page that states "Download videos direct from most video sites", choose the site where you found the video, and hit the Download button.
Three links will appear in a new section below titled "Download". The first is the original URL of your video. The second allows you to download that video to .flv format. The third allows you to download in .mp4 format. You want to save in .mp4 format.
Right-click on the >>Download<<>
Choose a location (save it to your desktop or your My Videos folder).
It will try to save the video as "videoplayback.htm" which you need to change. Rename the file, give it the extension .mp4 instead of .htm and then click on the Save button.
The video will then save to the location you chose earlier. Double-click on the video to play it.

Remember, there are strict copyright issues governing the use of videos in the classroom. Please check with your school's librarian or technology coordinator for more information before showing any video in class.

Convert a video from one format to another

2008-04-08T15:27:00.006-05:00

Prism Plus video conversion software is a video file format converter for Windows. It can convert video files from avi, divX, mpg, vob, wmv (Windows Media Video formats), 3gp (mobile phone format) and more into avi, asf or wmv files. It can also convert your DVD discs into many different formats.

With Prism Plus you can convert your video files into the formats you need to watch on TV, put on a website, create a presentation, watch on your iPod and much more. In fact, the possibilities are endless using this powerful video file converter. Prism video converter is very easy to use. Just add the files you want to convert to the list, select the format you want to use, and then click the convert button.

Prism will convert between the following video formats:

avi, mpeg, wmv, divX, Xvid
mpeg1, mpeg2, mpeg4
mp4, mov, asf, vob, ogm
.3gp, H.264, RM
and many more formats

Download the free software at <http://www.download.com/Prism-Video-Converter/3000-2194_4-10644345.html>. Limitation!! Unless you buy the full version, you can only convert to avi and wmv after 14 days.

DVD authoring

2008-04-08T15:15:00.004-05:00

Most computers include DVD burners which allows the user to burn data to DVDs. However, creating a DVD that can be played in a home DVD player (not a computer) often requires an extra piece of software. This "DVD authoring" software often costs approximately $40, with Roxio MyDVD 10 and Roxio Creator Suite 10 being very popular.

One piece of software that is free and works well to author DVDs is called DVD Flick <http://www.dvdflick.net/>. We have installed it on several computers in our drop-in computer lab and it has been problem-free so far.

Here's a description from the DVD Flick web site:

DVD Flick aims to be a simple but at the same time powerful DVD Authoring tool. It can take a number of video files stored on your computer and turn them into a DVD that will play back on your DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. You can add additional custom audio tracks as well as subtitles of your choice. Features:

Burn near any video file to DVD
Support for over 45 file formats
Support for over 60 video codecs
Support for over 40 audio codecs
Add your own subtitles
Easy to use interface
Burn your project to disc after encoding
Completely free without any adware, spyware or limitations

Free audio program - Audacity

2008-04-04T09:12:00.003-05:00

One piece of software being considered at HEHS is Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/> which allows the user to save and edit audio files for use with many other pieces of software, including PowerPoint and MovieMaker.

Another program for editing audio files can be found at JamGlue's website <http://www.jamglue.com/>.

Here are the details from the Audacity web site:

Recording
Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from cassette tapes, vinyl records, or minidiscs. With some sound cards, it can also capture streaming audio.

Record from microphone, line input, or other sources.
Dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings.
Record up to 16 channels at once (requires multi-channel hardware).
Level meters can monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording.

Import and Export
Import sound files, edit them, and combine them with other files or new recordings. Export your recordings in several common file formats.

Import and export WAV, AIFF, AU, and Ogg Vorbis files.
Import MPEG audio (including MP2 and MP3 files) with libmad.
Export MP3s with the optional LAME encoder library.
Create WAV or AIFF files suitable for burning to CD.
Import and export all file formats supported by libsndfile.
Open raw (headerless) audio files using the “Import Raw” command.
Note: Audacity does not currently support WMA, AAC, or most other proprietary or restricted file formats.

Editing
Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete.
Use unlimited Undo (and Redo) to go back any number of steps.
Very fast editing of large files.
Edit and mix an unlimited number of tracks.
Use the Drawing tool to alter individual sample points.
Fade the volume up or down smoothly with the Envelope tool.

Effects
Change the pitch without altering the tempo, or vice-versa.
Remove static, hiss, hum, or other constant background noises.
Alter frequencies with Equalization, FFT Filter, and Bass Boost effects.
Adjust volumes with Compressor, Amplify, and Normalize effects.
Other built-in effects include Echo, Phaser, Wahwah, Reverse

Sound Quality
Record and edit 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit (floating point) samples.
Record at up to 96 KHz.
Sample rates and formats are converted using high-quality resampling and dithering.
Mix tracks with different sample rates or formats, and Audacity will convert them automatically in realtime.

Plug-Ins
Add new effects with LADSPA plugins.
Audacity includes some sample plugins by Steve Harris.
Load VST plugins for Windows and Mac, with the optional VST Enabler.
Write new effects with the built-in Nyquist programming language.

Analysis
Spectrogram mode for visualizing frequencies.
“Plot Spectrum” command for detailed frequency analysis.

Free and Cross-Platform
Licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and GNU/Linux.

Tablet Presentation at ICE

2008-04-02T12:56:00.002-05:00

I went to a presentation at the ICE conference by teachers that use tablet computers in their classroom. The teachers were from Hinsdale South High School. One teacher taught in a room where all of the students also had tablets. It was interesting to hear about different ways the tablet could be used in the classroom. They showed us some programs that they use and some sample assignments and projects. I have a tablet computer, but do not use it in the classroom. I am excited to try and use my tablet more in the classroom.

Digital Story Telling Using PhotoStory

2008-04-01T10:44:00.006-05:00

A session I went to was on Digital Storytelling lead by Jon Orech, an English teacher and curriculuar technology consultant at Downer's Grove High School. I heard him speak last year on using wikis as literature circles and found a bunch of great information.

This session was called "Advanced Thinking in Digital Storytelling". Jon showed how by using a basic narrative (biographical story) and still images, along with Photo Story 3, a student can both easily create an enhanced method of telling his or her story AND learn important rhetorical skills that our students are currently lacking in.

Jon's website is far more informative than anything I can write here. The one suggestion that I have is that you look at his tutorials and his finished examples.

Scratch-Drag Drop Animation Code

2008-03-31T08:49:00.000-05:00

Friday morning I listened to keynote speaker Mitch Resnik from MIT. His group developed a new programming language, called Scratch, which makes it easy for students to create their own interactive stories, games and and animations. This application has a tool box with pieces of code which can be dragged and dropped onto a code window to perform operations with a sprite (image). The default sprite is a cat (hence "scratch"). This language is great for an introduction to structured programming and it is extremely visual in its structure. The scrath download is free and can be found at http://scratch.mit.edu/. There is also a place to post and share finished projects with others.

Crickets

2008-03-05T18:32:00.006-06:00

Mitchel Resnick of MIT was the Keynote Speaker at the ICE Conference in St. Charles on Friday, February 29. He presented two things - Scratch and Crickets. Keith Peak with tell you more about Scratch in his blog. I'll tell you what I learned about Crickets.

A Cricket is a very small computer that has several different input and output devices. The user programs the Cricket to do things based on what is coming into the computer and the output devices connected to it. For example, the Cricket has a light input sensor. It measures how much light is nearby and gives it a rating between 1 and 100. The Cricket also has different output devices, such as a small speaker. It can produce different tones or sounds, such as a kitten meowing. A young student might write a code on his computer saying, "When the light is low, produce one kitten meow." He then beams the code over to the Cricket. If this student stuffs the cricket into a stuffed cat, and you waved your hand behind the cat's head as if you were petting it, then the amount of light would drop and it would produce a sound of a cat's meow. That's a basic example, but it shows how students must consider the input and output possibilities of the program. Students can measure light, sound, pressure, and electrical resistance (or some combination therein). The output can be in the form of different colors of light, different sounds, a motor spinning, or a numerical display. More inputs and outputs will be added later. It's not just what comes into and out of the cricket but also the reasoning that goes into creating the code as well as the artistic expression that many students show when creating their device.

While younger students understand the basic concepts behind it, the device seems to be geared more towards junior high or even high school students. Here's more information from the company itself:

PICO products are based on research and ideas from the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, a leader in the design of innovative educational technologies and creative learning environments.
Lifelong Kindergarten researchers, in collaboration with the LEGO Company, created the first “programmable bricks,”squeezing computational power into LEGO bricks. This research led to the LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ robotics kits, now used by millions of kids around the world to build and program their own robots. MINDSTORMS is designed especially for making robots, while the PicoCricket Kit is designed for making artistic creations with lights, sound, music, and motion.

The PicoCricket grows out of this same research tradition, but with greater emphasis on artistic expression. Cricket activities have been developed and refined as part of the Beyond Black Boxes project and the PIE Network, funded by the National Science Foundation. PICO re-engineered and extended Cricket technologies and activities to create the PicoCricket Kit.

For more information please see the company's web site at http://picocricket.com/ or see a video by the creator at http://picocricket.com/videos.html. A Cricket set costs $250 and can only be bought through the company's web site.

Royalty- free music

2008-02-20T14:38:00.000-06:00

Here are two royalty free music websites to consider for teachers and students to use for projects.

http://www.soundzabound.com/

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/clips.html

Log into Novell from another school

2008-02-05T07:44:00.000-06:00

When logging in to the Novell network in District 211 you often use a short user name. This only works when you are in your home school. To log in while visiting another school you will need to use a longer user name. Your password will remain the same, however.

The long user name begins with a dot (don't forget the dot!), followed by your usual user name, followed by another dot. Then there is a series of letters and dots that change depending your home school. The log-in for each home school is listed below. Don't include the school name or parantheses at the end, such as (Palatine).

For teachers:
.username.p-ts.phs.edutech (Palatine)
.username.f-ts.fhs.edutech (Fremd)
.username.c-ts.chs.edutech (Conant)
.username.s-ts.shs.edutech (Schaumburg)
.username.h-ts.hehs.edutech (Hoffman)
.username.staff.leap.edutech (LEAP)
.username.staff.slc.edutech (Academy North)

For administrators, counselors and staff:
.username.p-as.phs.edutech (Palatine)
.username.f-as.fhs.edutech (Fremd)
.username.c-as.chs.edutech (Conant)
.username.s-as.shs.edutech (Schaumburg)
.username.h-as.hehs.edutech (Hoffman)
.username.staff.leap.edutech (LEAP)
.username.staff.slc.edutech (Academy North)
.username.staff.adc.techserv (Ad Center)

Social Bookmarking

2008-02-04T15:17:00.000-06:00

We'll be looking at social bookmarking at our next Trailblazer meeting in February. Learn more about social bookmarking, or sign up for Del.icio.us, a popular social bookmarking site, by going to https://secure.del.icio.us/register.

Our adventure into eBooks

2008-01-09T09:54:00.000-06:00

HEHS has just purchased Gale's Virtual Reference Library

This is an exciting opportunity for students to access quality information from home or school.

More than 1,000 electronic reference titles - eBooks - in virtually any subject area including health, science, art, history, biography, and more. Remote Access Password: hawk

http://www.hehs.d211.org/media/databases/school.shtml

Have fun!

Mary Spevacek

Apperson scanners and the electronic gradebook

2008-01-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

1. In the electronic gradebook, add a new assignment.

Do NOT save it to other classes at this time! Wait until the very end of these directions.
Check the "scanned multiple choice" tab

2. Choose "scanning" on the top toolbar.

Click on the "key maintenance" tab. You will need to enter the number of questions on your test, enter a title for your test (under "description"), choose the form type (this is listed on the bottom of the actual scantron form), choose the entry method ("manual" if you want to use your mouse to click on the correct answers or "scan" if you want to create a key on a scantron form an then scan it into the system), and then drag-and-drop the CLS associated with each question, when appropriate.
Click on the "scan sheets" tab. Before you begin scanning your students' tests you must choose how you want their tests to be marked ("Correct answer" will mark their answer wrong and print the correct answer to the right. "Hash mark" will only mark the answer wrong.) Click on the "scan" button in the upper right of the screen to begin scanning your students tests. Tests only go into the Apperson scanners one-at-a-time. There is no automatic paper feeder. The department key box can only be checked by a department head who wants to load an answer key for his or her entire department. If your department head has already pre-loaded answer keys into the system you will be able to use that key in your gradebook.
The scantron form has an ID box on the top right. Students should enter three zeros, followed by their six digit ID number. If there are any empty boxes left just leave them blank. Do not fill them in with additional zeros.

3. Copy assignment.

Once the assignment has been created and the key has been entered you can now copy the assignment from one class to another. There is a "copy" button in the toolbar that will let you choose the assignment, choose the class you would like to copy from, and choose the class you would like to copy into.

Parent Contact Check Box

2008-01-09T09:06:00.000-06:00

The parent contact checkbox in the electronic gradebook can only be checked on a day when that student is in your class. For example, if today is an A day then you can only check the box for students who are in your class on an A day. If you speak with a parent of a B day student you will have to wait until the next day to check the box. The gradebook programmers are aware of this inconvenience and will try to correct it.

There is one exception to this. If you access your grades online through the school web page you can check the parent contact box regardless of the day.

Security software for your home computer

2007-12-17T11:01:00.000-06:00

We get a lot of requests to recommend software for home use. Security software - anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection - is a big concern for many people.

My personal recommendation is called Windows Live OneCare from Microsoft. It retails for $49 but it can be found at Best Buy and Circuit City for $20 about once per month. You can learn more and also download a 90-day free trial at the product's web site.

Laptop carts

2007-12-13T13:09:00.000-06:00

Here are some suggestions and rules for using the laptop carts with your classes:

When A Class Begins

Make sure the computer cart is plugged in.
Make sure the printer is turned on.
There may be connection problems that will require a restart of the computer. When a restart does not work you may need to remove BOTH batteries from the computer, turn the computer on (this will discharge any remaining electricity), wait ten seconds, then reinstall both batteries and turn the computer on.

When A Class Ends

Return all computers in the proper, numbered slot.
Plug in all computers.
Close the doors and hang the lock on the front (only lock the door if it's the end of the day).
Turn off the printer.
Check the schedule on the cart to see if you need to move it to the next class.

Hallway Use

We strongly suggest that you do not allow students to be unsupervised in the hallway when using computers.
Third block classes should not be in the hallway during lunchtime passing periods. Please bring them back into the classroom before the bell and send them back out once the lunchtime crowd has passed.

Network Issues

The wireless access points are located in the hallway. Leaving your door open often improves your network connection.
If a computer cannot connect please check to see if the wireless connection is turned on (there's usually a blue connection light on each computer, depending on the model).

Who Moves the Carts?

If a cart is going to move to another classroom on the same floor, then the teacher who used it last will move it to the next class.
If a cart is going to move to another classroom on a different floor, then a member of the computer department will come in five minutes before the end of the period and move it. Please make sure the computers are put away and plugged in before that time.

More Help

Call the Help Desk at x5762 if you are having issues or need additional help.

Internet/ email scams

2007-12-13T07:36:00.000-06:00

Just like our home email accounts, we have been receiving a few phony emails from people attempting to get our bank accounts, social security numbers, and other vital information. The district filter blocks most of these phishing attempts, but some unfortunately do get through.

Here are a few phrases to look for if you think an e-mail message is a phishing scam:

"Verify your account."
Businesses should not ask you to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal information through e-mail.
"If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed."
These messages convey a sense of urgency so that you'll respond immediately without thinking. Phishing e-mail might even claim that your response is required because your account might have been compromised.
"Dear Valued Customer."
Phishing e-mail messages are usually sent out in bulk and often do not contain your first or last name.
"Click the link below to gain access to your account."
HTML-formatted messages can contain links or forms that you can fill out just as you'd fill out a form on a Web site. The links that you are urged to click may contain all or part of a real company's name and are usually "masked," meaning that the link you see does not take you to that address but somewhere different, usually a phony Web site.Notice in the following example that resting the mouse pointer on the link reveals the real Web address, as shown in the box with the yellow background. The string of cryptic numbers looks nothing like the company's Web address, which is a suspicious sign.

For more information please see this article from Microsoft.

Photo Story 3

2007-12-11T13:01:00.000-06:00

The following quote comes from an article about one use of Photo Story 3 in an integrated classroom. For more information please read the entire article written by Mark Geary:
http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604857

"Photo Story 3 is a free download from Microsoft that lets you easily create
narrated "mini-movies" using photographs. It also has a built in music generator
that allows you to put your story to music, copyright free! Think of Ken Burns's
many wonderful documentaries. This program will allow anyone with a computer
running Windows XP to do something similar.

"The program gives students the ability to make their own 'Book Trailers' to
help other students get interested in books they have read. Students can scan,
draw or take pictures related to the book, import the pictures into Photo Story
3, arrange the pictures, add narration to the pictures, and choose the type of
music used when the trailer plays. Photo Story 3 then generates a stand-alone
movie based on all of the above."

Parent contact checkbox

2007-12-11T12:21:00.000-06:00

The "Contact" column is for the teachers to check the box next to each student when they have contacted the student's parent. You only need to check it once for each student. Whenever a teacher makes some contact with a parent, regarding academic progress only, they are to check a box that is now on the attendance screen. This will help satisfy a new state requirement to maintain records of teacher/parent contact. Coaches and Activity Sponsors are supposed to have the ability to do this down the road for their students. Additionally, down the road there is the plan for a "memo" type form to come up that will allow teachers to record notes for/from the contact event.

Parent contact includes:

phone calls,
personal conversations,
individual email communication between the student's parents and the student's teachers, counselor, or administrator,
parent attendance at Open House,
discipline conferences with administrators,
parents attending score interpretation nights,
conversations between parents and coaches or activity sponsors,
pre-season coaches meetings that emphasize academics.

Parent contact does not include:

broadcast emails from teachers,
report cards,
progress reports, (mid-terms)
form letters,
mass mailed or emailed notices letters of phone calls regarding absences or attendance at an athletic or activity events.

Required Action:

At this time, the requirement is only to check the box once, if you have made contact with a parent this school year. (See my other email for what constituted a "contact"). The box will remain checked once you click "Update." This is the extent of the State reporting requirement.

Counselors who have attendance reporting requirements will access the "Contacts" check box through the Parent Access system under the "Reports" - "Obligations" screen. There will be a new option called "Contact Request." This system should be in place in the very near future.

Future Consideration and Direction:

With all parental contact it is recommended that you keep a written log of both the date and time of the contact as well as the purpose and extent of the discussions. If necessary, this log can provide useful information should situations arise in the future.

In regard to the DEG and/or enhancing the DEG to incorporate a Parental Contact "Log" - that is in discussion and looks to be added in the future. If added, this will provide a way to record each parental contact/interaction not just a single check box once.

Responses to your questions to date:

"Is there anyway I can log in contacts that have been made for earlier in this week?"
The State only requires that we respond that we have only had parental contact. It is not specific regarding the number and frequency of parental contact. If you have checked the "Contacts" box in the DEG you are set at this time. However, as stated above, I would recommend keeping a log of all parental contacts.

"Thus far, multiple previous (i.e. Sept. / Oct. ) contacts per student have occurred -- would you know if such previous contacts are to be logged?"
As stated above, you currently only need to check the box once for each student. However, I would recommend keeping a log of all parental contacts.

"If a box is clicked once, yet multiple contacts in a given day regarding a given student have occurred, should this be reflected, and if so, how does one do this, and how can one tell if the 'click' has occurred?"
At this time, once you "click" the check box once and "Update" your attendance, that check mark will remain for all future attendance screens so there will be no need to "click" it again.

"Does reloading a class period attendance page -- to update attendance -- also impact a clicked box (i.e. Would reloading for attendance purposes on a page that has student with a 'clicked box' also inadvertently appear as if a 2nd/3rd contact were being logged for the student?)"
Future "Updating" of the attendance screen does NOT impact a "clicked box." Additionally, there is not a "log" being created for each time a box is checked. Currently, the reporting simply
checks whether a "Contacts" box is checked or not. It does not tally the number of times it is checked.

"Does this create a "contact log" of everytime you contact a parent or only that you contacted them once?"
No, at this time it is simply a single check.

"Are we supposed to retroactively fill these in or just from here on forward?"
I would recommend going through each of your classes, and checking all of the students whose parents you have made personal contact with to date. Then in the future you can simply update
the remaining students as contact with their parents is made at tht time it occurs. However, I would recommend keeping a log of all parental contacts.

"Does the checkmark clear out daily so that somewhere it records the day you spoke with them (i.e. do you need to hit "update" to save it and it will save as communication for that date)....or is it just indicating that you've EVER had contact with the parents."
Currently, the system is just indication if you have had contact with a students parents during the 2007-2008 school year.

"I used to keep a word file of all my parent contact. I'm basically also wondering if I should check mark anyone I've spoken to this semester or just go forward with this."
I would recommend continuing this practice of "logging" parental contact. There is discussion about enhancing the DEG to accommodate the type of contact logging you are currently doing in
word. I will provide more information on that possible enhancement in the future.

"Do you have to submit the checked box or will it just go as soon as you "check" the box?"
Once you check the "Contacts" box, you will need to "Submit" to have it recorded and stored in the system.

"Does this record the date a contact was made? Is there room to indicate multiple contacts for each teacher?"
At this time, no to both of these questions. There is a possible future enhancement that will accommodate this type of information.

Microsoft resources for the Gateway tablets

2007-12-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

For information on the Microsoft Education Pack for Tablet PC (already installed on your tablet)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tabletpc/educationpack/default.mspx

For information on the Microsoft Experience Pack for Tablet PC (also already installed on your tablet)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tabletpc/experiencepack/overview.mspx

Math Practice Skills Pack from JumpingMinds.com
http://www.jumpingminds.com/mathpracticeskillpak.htm

Annual technology requests

2007-12-10T13:14:00.000-06:00

The Trailblazer from each department works with their department chairperson to discuss their technology requests for the following school year starting in December. This was the email sent on out December 10 to the HEHS staff:

December marks the time when the Technology Coaches must begin meeting with your teachers to plan for technology needs next school year. I need the Technology Trailblazers or department chairs to have a discussion with the others in your department about the direction / equipment / software that they would like to see implemented next fall. As you know, there are no promises except we will do our best to provide the technology resources and services that you feel are necessary to advance student learning and achievement.

As always, department educational technology needs are the focus of this process. Teachers should be able to justify any needs so please don't be shy in asking them how the technology is going to be used as part of their curriculum, SIP, department goal, etc. As we all know, money will be tight, but I am always looking for suggestions that can make the most significant impact on our students' education.

I would like you to fill out the attached form after you have talked with your department teachers about technology needs for the 2008 - 2009 school year. As the form indicates, please email it back to me when completed using the format: Departmentname-Tech Request 0809. I will take these requests and put them into another spreadsheet summarizing all the purchases so please try not to change the format.

National Center for Education Statistics

2007-12-07T10:20:00.000-06:00

The NCES Kids' Zone provides information to help you learn about schools; decide on a college; find a public library; engage in several games, quizzes and skill building about math, probability, graphing, and mathematicians; and to learn many interesting facts about education.

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/index.asp

(This site is for younger students but may be beneficial to those with low reading skills.)

Speak Up National Research Project

2007-12-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

I am pleased to personally invite you and your students to participate in this year’s Speak Up National Research Project. The Speak Up project collects and reports out annually on authentic, unfiltered feedback from K-12 students, teachers, parents and school leaders from every state on 21st century education and technology issues. Speak Up is conducted 100% via online surveys and every school and district in the United States and Canada is eligible to participate. The online surveys are open for participation until December 7 this year.

The major themes for this year's survey include:

Opportunities and impact of technology on learning
Communications, self-expression, and social networking
Global awareness and international collaborations
Science, math, national competitiveness, and workforce development
Schools of the future

Trailblazers blogging assignment #2

2007-12-03T09:03:00.000-06:00

Blogging is relatively new to education, and there are still many questions regarding how to use it effectively in the classroom. Early research has shown benefits as well as drawbacks to using blogging as a way to communicate with your class or as an instructional tool.

I want you to think about how blogging can be used in your specific classroom. Add a comment to this post and tell me about it in just one or two sentences. We'll talk about this at our January meeting.

Trailblazers' blogging assignment #1

2007-12-03T08:19:00.000-06:00

Assignment

Our assignment for December 2007 is to set up a blogging account and then to create a blog for one of the classes you teach.

Sign up

Create a new account on Blogger.com using your school email address. Three things that you will be asked for include:

Display name - This is the name that will appear on your blog as well as the name that will be listed next to any comments you add to someone else's blog. Your name can be changed at a later time.
Blog title - You will have the ability to create several different blogs if you like and give them all different names. For now create one that will be used (or could be used once you are ready) by one or more of the classes that you teach. Name your blog in a way that makes sense to your students. The title can be changed at a later time.
Blog address - This is the exact URL that people will type to get to your blogging page. I chose "hehstech" as my address, and my entire URL is now http://hehstech.blogspot.com/ which can be changed at a later time.

Edit profile

Then go into the DASHBOARD and edit your profile. Enter as much information as you feel comfortable, ad keep in mind that your profile will be viewed by your students. You may keep it simple if you like. Mine can be found here if you need an example. You can add a photo, an audio clip, your school web page URL, and other information. It's suggested that you use Hoffman Estates, IL as your location.

Create a new post

Finally, create one post for your students. It can be a simple "Welcome to our new blogging page" type of entry that is only 1-2 sentences long.

Examples and articles

I'll try to find an example of a blog created by a D211 teacher who has been using blogging for a few months already. You can also read an article on how to use blogging effectively.