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T. Coaches
District Administration
6746 Carlisle Pike
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050-1796
(717) 697-8261
site last updated: 7/8/10
Cumberland Valley School District
6746 Carlisle Pike,
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone:(717) 697-8261
Welcome to the Tech Coach Blog!
This is an open discussion for any staff member. Feel free to comment on each blog topics as they become available.
If you are interested in using the blog feature of your teacher web page, please contact your technology coach for help with blogs.
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Weekly Tech Tips |
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1. End of Year Technology Announcements Good Morning! Now that the end of the year is winding down, I wanted to use the last tech tip for this school year to share some important announcements from the technology department. Storing Equipment for the Summer · Please gather the following materials in your classroom and lock them in a secure place in your classroom (drawer, cabinet, closet, etc): o Television Remote o Projector Remote o SMART Board Tools (pens, eraser, USB connector) · Please unplug SMART Board from the electrical outlet. If possible, please place SMART Board power cable on the tray. · If you have an Airliner Wireless Slate, allow it to become fully charged, then lock all components in a secure location in your room. · Elementary Staff – Please lock all of your netbooks and their power supplies in a secure location in your classroom. · High School Staff – Please deliver all wireless carts (including CFF carts) to the High School IMC before the end of the day on Wednesday June 9th, 2010. Important updates will be installed on those machines over the summer. If you deliver a cart to the IMC, please make sure you record the cart number so that you can retrieve the same cart next year. For Teachers Transferring to Another School in the District · If you are moving from one elementary building to another, please retain your laptop. · If you are transferring from one middle school to another, please retain your laptop. · If you are transferring from an elementary school to the middle school, please retain your laptop. · If you are transferring from the high school to either of the middle schools or elementary schools, you will receive a different laptop. · If you are moving from an elementary school or middle school to the high school, you will receive a different laptop. Please email Mr. Brian Schmick at bschmick@cvschools.org if you have any questions about this process.
Please return your laptop to the District Support Facility as soon as possible. The machine will need to be prepared for your replacement or for another teacher who needs it. Summer Technology Tuesdays Please see Mr. Brian Schmick’s email regarding the procedure for placing technology work orders over the summer. Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great summer! Darren posted 6/6/2010 9:14 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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2. Importing Outlines into PowerPoint Last week, I showed you how to easily create outlines using the Multi-Level Lists in Microsoft Word 2007. This week, I am going to show you how to use that same outline to easily create a presentation in PowerPoint without having to retype all of your information.
To view the video podcast of this week's tip, click here. posted 5/31/2010 1:54 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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3. Quick and Easy Outlines Microsoft Word 2007 provides a quick and easy way for you to make detailed outlines. By using the Multilevel List feature, you can access pre-formatted outline styles or create your own customized outline list. Just follow the links below to get started!
To view the video podcast of this week's tip, click here. posted 5/23/2010 6:11 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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4. Spring Cleaning: Your H-Drive Spring is here and it is time to do a little spring cleaning of your H-Drive! Because your H-drive is backed up on a regular basis, large files stored there can put a strain on the network over time. It is a good idea to periodically clean out some of the excess files that may be stored there. With this week's tip, I will show you how to:
To view the video podcast of this week's tip, click here. posted 5/16/2010 12:11 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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5. Downloading SMART Notebook Files I am pleased to announce that his week's Technology Tip was created by Marsha Rohrbaugh, computer teacher at Shaull elementary. Marsha created this tip while completing an internship for her Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS) certification this spring. If you ever downloaded a SMART Notebook file from the internet and could not properly open it or if you are an elementary teacher and use word sorts from Words Their Way, then this tip is for you! Note for Elementary Teachers: The Words Their Way interactive word sorts can be found on the Intranest, just download, save and you are ready to go. Log into the Intranest and follow these directions to download and use these word sorts in your classroom! Special thanks to Marsha for creating this tip... and special congratulations to Marsha Rohrbaugh, Bryan Hower, and Angie Dolheimer for completing their Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS) certifications!!!
To view the Podcast of this week's tip, click here. posted 5/9/2010 6:04 PM | comment | view comments (1) |
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6. AppRiver This morning you will see some changes with how GroupWise handles Junk Mail as we switched to a product call AppRiver over the weekend. AppRiver is an email filtering application that will help to reduce spam, junk mail, scams, and viruses from being sent to your email account. AppRiver generates a daily report of "held" email that is being blocked from reaching your inbox. You simply have to view this report on a daily basis and select which email entries should be resent so that they can be delivered to your email account. This report will be generated at 11:00 p.m. on a daily basis. Ironically the first daily report about junk mail was sent to your junk mail folder. Please go there to find your first report. We have made the appropriate change so they will no longer be sent to your junk mail folder. You also received an email that gave you account login information. Please disregard this email. This option has been disabled but was automatically sent by the system. To view this tip as a printable PDF, click here.
posted 5/2/2010 8:49 AM | comment | view comments (0) |
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7. Image Editing in Office 2007 One of the greatest advantages to using Microsoft Office 2007 over older versions is the increased ability to edit images. You have the ability to adjust brightness, contrast, color, image size, picture styles, borders, shapes, and effects. By using the Picture Tools menu tab, you can make any document look like a professional publication. Special thanks to our student intern, Justin Eberly, for putting together another great tip!
To view the Video Podcast for Image Editing in Office 2007, click here posted 4/25/2010 2:54 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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8. Citation Machine Last week, Justin Eberly (a high school senior and technology department intern) shared a method of using Microsoft Word to generate citations and works cited pages. As it turns out, MLA recently updated the citation requirements (special thanks to Michele Casey for compiling this list of the major MLA changes). With this week's tip, Justin will show you an alternate method for creating these citations. Citation Machine is an online resource that will organize your key information to generate in-text citations and works cited entries. This information can just be copied and pasted right into your document. Special thanks to Justin for putting together another great tip!
To view this week's tip as a printable PDF, click here.
To view the Video Podcast for using Citation Machine, click here. posted 4/18/2010 6:42 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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9. MLA Formatting and Citations:A Student perspective For this week's tip, we are doing things a little bit differently. I am pleased to announce the first "guest" tech tip in the history of Monday Morning Tech Tips! This week's tip was created by High School Senior, Justin Eberly. Justin has spent this year as a student intern with the Technology Department. Justin created this week's tip as an overview for teachers and students to learn how to set-up Word 2007 documents for MLA formatting. In addition, he describes how use Word's Reference tab to generate in-text citations and a works cited page. Thanks Justin! To view this week's tip as a printable PDF, click here.
To view the Video Podcast for setting up MLA Formatting, click here.
To view the Video Podcast for creating In-text Citations and a Works Cited page, click here.
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10. Airliner Wireless Slates Are you interested in using an Airliner Wireless Slate with your students? Made by the same company that created SMART Boards, the Airliner Wireless Slate allows you to control any computer application from up to 52 feet away from your computer. The Airliner allows you to teach from anywhere in your classroom and allows students to interact with your projected information from their seats. Since it is designed to work seamlessly with SMART Notebook Software, you can save class notes, screen captures, images, and entire lessons into one computer file. Attend an Airliner Wireless Slate Training to Receive A Wireless Slate For Your Classroom! Who is eligible to receive a wireless slate for their classroom?
What do I have to do to receive an Airliner Wireless Slate for my classroom?
When will the training sessions be offered?
What will be covered in this Airliner Wireless Slate training session?
Is there a limited number of Airliner Wireless Slates available?
When do I need to sign up by?
posted 4/5/2010 6:05 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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11. Reduce Image File Sizes As digital cameras are developed with the ability to shoot at higher resolutions, the quality of the image increases dramatically. Along with the increase in quality, there is also a tremendous increase in file size. Unless you are planning on having that image made into an enarged print, there really is not a need to keep the file in the large file size format. You may want to manually reduce the size of the image files if you are planning on using the images on your webpage, in a digital presentation, sending them in an email, or just storing them in a computer folder. This tech tip will show you how to use Microsoft Office Picture Manager to reduce the size of the image files. To view this week's tip as a printable PDF, click here.
To view the this week's tip as Video Podcast, click here. posted 3/28/2010 9:58 AM | comment | view comments (0) |
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12. File conversion made easy! Did you ever have a student turn in a file that is not compatible with the district supported software? Have you ever needed to convert a file into a different format or download a video from a website? If so, Zamzar is for you! Zamzar is a free online file conversion program that allows you to upload just about any file type and convert it into similar file types. When the conversion is complete, you will receive an email with directions for downloading your newly converted file (be sure to check your junk mail folder for their email). I have shared Zamzar as a tech tip in the past, but the website has added support for a greater number of file types including documents, images, audio, video, compressed files, and even some CAD file formats. For a complete list of supported file formats, please click here. To get started using Zamzar, just go to www.zamzar.com and follow their three easy steps to file conversion!
To view the this week's tip as Video Podcast, click here. posted 3/21/2010 4:51 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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13. Selecting Multiple Files Managing multiple files can be a rather tedious task. Sometimes, it is easier if you could select multiple files at the same time instead of each one individually. This tip will show you a quick way to select sequential and non-sequential files using Shift+Left Click and Ctrl+Left Click. It is not software specific, so it can be applied to most of the district supported software programs and applications. Whether you are organizing files into folders, selecting data in an excel spreadsheet, uploading multiple files to a website, or organizing your iTunes library, this tip will save you time and frustration.
To view the this week's tip as a printable document , click here.
To view the this week's tip as Video Podcast, click here.
posted 3/14/2010 4:28 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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14. Performance Tracker and Aesop For this week's Technology Tip, I would like to share with you two important announcements. The first announcement describes an update that was conducted with the Performance Tracker Website. The second announcement is a reminder about the new automated substitute request system (Aesop) being implemented by our Human Resource department. Performance Tracker Update Performance Tracker has recently upgraded their website with a cosmetic overhaul. This update does not impact the functionality of the website, it only enhanced the visual appearance. As part of this update, you will be greeted with a message upon visiting their website. You will be prompted to access the site via a new web address (URL). After clicking on the new web address, you will need to log in with your username and password. It is highly recommended that you bookmark the new web address for easy access in the future. Aesop Implementation The Automated Substitute Placement program becomes effective this evening. Please make note of the following items: · Aesop will become effective on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. · Prior to implementation, you will be able to do the following o Create your “Favorite Five” list o Record your name and title on the Aesop Phone System by dialing 1-800-942-3767 (select option #5) o Add your email address to your personal information enabling you to use the email function in the system (i.e. if you forget your PIN number, Aesop can email it to your email address listed in your personal information) · Aesop will allow you to utilize the system up to a half hour prior to your reporting time. Absences occurring after that will need to be reported to your building secretary. · Utilize the upload features to communicate with your substitutes (i.e. lesson plans, notes, etc.) · Don’t forget to use the feedback option to rate your substitute experience. If you were unable to attend a training session, please view the Basic, Advanced and Favorite Five training videos available to you on your Homepage. If you have any questions or experience any problems, please contact a member of the HR Department: Cindy Westbrook, Substitute Coordinator: 717-443-2780 (agivler@cvschools.org) Vicky Weidner, HR Coordinator: 717-506-3314 (vweidner@cvschools.org) Vangie Unti, HR Generalist: 717-506-3307 (eunti@cvschools.org) Irene Scheib, Assistant Director of HR: 717-506-3385 (ischeib@cvschools.org) Michelle Zettlemoyer, Director of HR 717-506-3339 (mzettlemoyer@cvschools.org) posted 3/7/2010 9:49 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
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15. Creating Surveys on your Teacher Web Page Back in the fall, I shared with you a way to use the form feature on your teacher web page for students to submit assignments to you electronically. This week, I am going to show you how to use the same form feature to create a survey to gather data from your students, colleagues, or the community. Surveys are a great way to check for student understanding and gathering additional data to help guide your instruction. You can even use these surveys to create sign-up lists and to have parents schedule appointments with you for conferences!
To view the this week's tip as a printable document , click here.
To view the this week's tip as Video Podcast, click here. posted 2/28/2010 6:35 PM | comment | view comments (0) |
