Tech Tips 2011-2012
Below are the Tech Tips shared in the weekly bulletin.
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5/28/2012
Tech Tip: Be sure to back-up your files regularly. It's also a good idea to clean out all your old files. If you want to archive them, burnt hem to a CD/DVD. If you won't use them again, delete them. Be sure to empty your Recycle Bin!
5/21/2012
Tech Tip: Help animals in need by giving them free kibble! Answer a Bow Wow Trivia question on the website and free kibble will be donated to animal shelters. freekibble.com
5/14/2012
Tech Tip: Learn with Professor Garfield! www.professorgarfield.org
5/7/2012
Tech Tip: BBC Schools is a beta website with many great resources for students, teachers, and parents! You can find curriculum resources, games, and search more than 9,000 video clips from BBC programs! www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
4/30/2012
Tech Tip: A Bebo's Zoo the letters turn into animals (based on the book). A fun way to celebrate the alphabet and creativity!
4/23/2012
Tech Tip: The New York Times has a lot of great teacher resources and ieas for teaching with a newspaper as well as many general teaching resources. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/teaching-topics/teaching-topics-great-ways-to-teach-any-days-times/#graphicorgs
4/16/2012
Tech Tip: When you watch the Announcements or another video on your computer or SMART Board, do you ever feel like you can't quite get the image to fill the whole screen? Look for the full screen icon in the lower right corner. Some video clips are widescreen so you will have letterbox black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
4/9/2012
Tech Tip: When is the last time you used BrainPOP, Discovery Streaming, or Enchanged Learning? Don't forget about these great resources! Check your Red Binder or with Jason or Naomi if you need log-in reminders.
4/2/2012
Tech Tip: Every time a new message arrives in your inbox you get that annoying email pop-up and sound effect that distracts your students. How do you get rid of it? Here are 2 ways to eliminate the distraction. 1: Click on the pop-up when it occurs and change the settings. 2: In Outlook, go to File>Options. Click on Mail in the list on the left. Then find "Message arrival" and uncheck the boxes. Let Jason know if you need any further help!
3/26/2012
Tech Tip: When it comes time for your students to type in their MARSS Number into the MCA test, consider having students divide the number into chunks (maybe 3 digits) with their pencil or having a partner read the number to the student typing it. Also, using the keypad to type the numbers is usually easier. You could also have students practice reciting or writing their number in the classroom so they become more familiar and comfortable with the number and the card.
3/19/2012
Tech Tip: If you do updates to software like Java, be careful to watch for checkboxes which give the option to install "toolbars." These are often setup to automatically install unless you choose the option to not install them. Installing toolbars such as the Yahoo Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, or others can really gum-up your computer and cause other problems.
2/27/2012
Tech Tip: Factorize Numbers using this great tool on the Illuminations website! Great for use by individual students or on the SMART Board! Represent number factors by creating a visual (rectangle) and entering an equation. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=64
2/20/2012
Tech Tip: A fun set of stories (including fractures fairy tales) are available in SMART Notebook format from Northumberland Grid for Learning. Visit bit.ly/ws0q2s to download these SMART Notebook files and use these stories with students.
NOTE: This is now a subscription service if you are outside of the Northumberland area. https://457-northumberland.eschools.co.uk/site/1620-resources/section-1144-literacy
2/13/2012
Tech Tip: Teaching probability? Want to create a customized spinner? Want to be able to spin 10 spins, 100 spins, or 1000 spins at once? Try the Adjustable Spinner from Illuminations. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=79
1/31/12
Tech Tip: Curious about using Children’s Yoga to calm your students, transition between activities, or prepare them for an activity? Check out www.childrensyoga.com! Click on Do Yoga>Children’s Yoga and download pdf files you could show on the SMART Board or print out and try some of these great yoga positions with your students.
1/23/12
Tech Tip: Bonus for my online readers! Make funny faces using some of the great online photo imaging websites. Try funtasticface.com or ipiccy.com.
1/16/12
Tech Tip: Scholastic has some informative webcasts called “Teacher Talks”. You can watch them live or each webcast is recorded and posted online for you to watch. There are many topics including fluency, using technology, and interactive whiteboards. The upcoming webcast is on the Traits of Writing. Many of the presenters are well known in their fields. These are all free to watch. This link is a shortcut to the website: bit.ly/scholasticwebcast.
1/9/12
Tech Tip: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday, January 16th. Consider showing students the BrainPOP or BrainPOP Jr. movie of about MLK Jr. Additional information and activities inside the “Lesson Ideas” button in BrainPOP Jr. Three printables can be found by clicking the “Activities” button under the BrainPOP movie.
1/3/12
Tech Tip: Wondering if that movie you'd like to show your class is appropriate? Maybe your child really wants to see a movie, download an app, or read a book and you're just not sure about it. Check out www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media assists parents and teachers in helping their kids make good choices when it comes to media including movies, books, music, websites, apps, games, and TV.
12/19/2011
Tech Tip: With all the hustle and bustle of this time of year, we as educators often neglect taking care of ourselves! Check out wholeteacher.com, a site created by a counselor and life coach who helps teachers who are stressed and overwhelmed to find balance before burnout. Take time for yourself over Winter Break!
12/12/2011
Tech Tip: Login to Destiny Quest to recommend books to Park staff or student.s http://destiny.hutch.k12.mn.us/ Select Park Elementary. Login. See red binder "password sheet" for your password or stop by the library for a bookmark with access direction. Alsok, remember that ebooks are also available at http://hutchinsonmn.lib.overdrive.com.
12/5/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for a fun character (symbol) to use on a document or in a Notebook file, but you don't want to search through all of the symbol fonts? Copypastecharacter.com has organized favorite characters into easy-to-view categories such as favorites, alphabet, arrows, mathematical symbols, punctuation, and several more. Simply click on the character you want and then paste it into your document!
11/28/2011
Tech Tip: Do you ever wish you could see the way another teacher teaches a concept? Wonder how another teacher handles a situation? Check out www.teachingchannel.org/! Here you'll find hundreds of videos showing real teachers in real classrooms.
11/21/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for some factual information to share with students about Thanksgiving? Navigate to kids.nationalgeographic.com and search for Thanksgiving. Click on "First Thanksgiving."
11/14/2011
Tech Tip: TeAchnology provides free and easy to use resources for teachers -- 46,000+ lesson plans, 9,600 free printable worksheets, rubrics, teaching tips, worksheet makers, web quests, math worksheets, and thousands of other great teacher resources. Check it out at teachnology.com!
11/7/2011
Tech Tip: New! Have an iPad, Kindle, or Nook? Downloadable e-books and e-audio books are available through Hutchinson Public Schools. Visit http://hutchinsonmn.lib.overdrive.com. Your library barcode is your staff id.
10/31/2011
Tech Tip: Check freeology.com for great free resources available in many subject areas. There are also great seasonal activities.
10/24/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for some great interactive resources to use with your SMART Board? Check out all the great resources from Center School District: http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/resources/SBsites.htm.
10/17/2011
Tech Tip: Conference Week Stress Relief - Kaleidoscope Painter (www.permadi.com/java/spaint/spaint.html), Teacher Comics (www.crazy4teachers.com), or just take a little time to "play" with a SMART Board!
10/10/2011
Tech Tip: PowerPoint Tip--If you're displaying a PowerPoint slideshow during conferences, be sure you're giving the viewers enough time to read what is on each slide and remember that "less is more!" You may want to add sound to your PowerPoint by having students record their voices saying something to the viewer. Ask your friendly tech staff for a microphone or help with recording on slides!
10/3/2011
Tech Tip: Customizable Worksheets - Worksheet doesn't have to be a bad word! Visit www.worksheetworks.com to customize worksheet activities (math, English/language, geography, puzzles, graphic organizers, and lots more)!
9/26/2011
Tech Tip: Mozilla Firefox Links - Do you have websites you frequently visit such as Campus, Moodle, Enchanted Learning, or BrainPOP? You can add buttons to the "Links" bar in Firefox for these sites! Just under the address bar in Firefox you'll see a bar that probably starts with a button labeled "Most Visited." When you are on a site you'd like to add to this bar, simply drag-and-drop the icon to the left of the website address down to the links bar. If you'd like to rename the new button, right-click and choose "Properties." As your friendly tech staff if you need more information or assistance!
9/19/11
Enchanted Learning—Don’t forget that we subscribe to this valuable resource! It currently houses over 30,000 pages of resources from Abbreviations to Cells to Glaciers to Plurals, Poems, and Poetry! Enchanted Learning is a great whole-group, re-teaching, enrichment, or small-group resource! www.enchantedlearning.com username: park423 password: tigers
9/12/11
Tech Tip: Clean your SMART Board and pens! The cleaner should be non-alcohol based cleaner (the custodial staff can provide a bottle of all-purpose cleaner). Spray the cleaner onto a paper towel or cleaning cloth and then wipe the Board and pens.
9/5/11
Tech Tip: If you use a SMART Notebook file each morning in your classroom, consider adding a link to Campus to remind yourself to submit attendance. https://campus.hutch.k12.mn.us/campus/hutchinson.jsp (Thanks to Mr. Marks for this great idea!)
5/28/2012
Tech Tip: Be sure to back-up your files regularly. It's also a good idea to clean out all your old files. If you want to archive them, burnt hem to a CD/DVD. If you won't use them again, delete them. Be sure to empty your Recycle Bin!
5/21/2012
Tech Tip: Help animals in need by giving them free kibble! Answer a Bow Wow Trivia question on the website and free kibble will be donated to animal shelters. freekibble.com
5/14/2012
Tech Tip: Learn with Professor Garfield! www.professorgarfield.org
5/7/2012
Tech Tip: BBC Schools is a beta website with many great resources for students, teachers, and parents! You can find curriculum resources, games, and search more than 9,000 video clips from BBC programs! www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
4/30/2012
Tech Tip: A Bebo's Zoo the letters turn into animals (based on the book). A fun way to celebrate the alphabet and creativity!
4/23/2012
Tech Tip: The New York Times has a lot of great teacher resources and ieas for teaching with a newspaper as well as many general teaching resources. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/teaching-topics/teaching-topics-great-ways-to-teach-any-days-times/#graphicorgs
4/16/2012
Tech Tip: When you watch the Announcements or another video on your computer or SMART Board, do you ever feel like you can't quite get the image to fill the whole screen? Look for the full screen icon in the lower right corner. Some video clips are widescreen so you will have letterbox black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
4/9/2012
Tech Tip: When is the last time you used BrainPOP, Discovery Streaming, or Enchanged Learning? Don't forget about these great resources! Check your Red Binder or with Jason or Naomi if you need log-in reminders.
4/2/2012
Tech Tip: Every time a new message arrives in your inbox you get that annoying email pop-up and sound effect that distracts your students. How do you get rid of it? Here are 2 ways to eliminate the distraction. 1: Click on the pop-up when it occurs and change the settings. 2: In Outlook, go to File>Options. Click on Mail in the list on the left. Then find "Message arrival" and uncheck the boxes. Let Jason know if you need any further help!
3/26/2012
Tech Tip: When it comes time for your students to type in their MARSS Number into the MCA test, consider having students divide the number into chunks (maybe 3 digits) with their pencil or having a partner read the number to the student typing it. Also, using the keypad to type the numbers is usually easier. You could also have students practice reciting or writing their number in the classroom so they become more familiar and comfortable with the number and the card.
3/19/2012
Tech Tip: If you do updates to software like Java, be careful to watch for checkboxes which give the option to install "toolbars." These are often setup to automatically install unless you choose the option to not install them. Installing toolbars such as the Yahoo Toolbar, Ask Toolbar, or others can really gum-up your computer and cause other problems.
2/27/2012
Tech Tip: Factorize Numbers using this great tool on the Illuminations website! Great for use by individual students or on the SMART Board! Represent number factors by creating a visual (rectangle) and entering an equation. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=64
2/20/2012
Tech Tip: A fun set of stories (including fractures fairy tales) are available in SMART Notebook format from Northumberland Grid for Learning. Visit bit.ly/ws0q2s to download these SMART Notebook files and use these stories with students.
NOTE: This is now a subscription service if you are outside of the Northumberland area. https://457-northumberland.eschools.co.uk/site/1620-resources/section-1144-literacy
2/13/2012
Tech Tip: Teaching probability? Want to create a customized spinner? Want to be able to spin 10 spins, 100 spins, or 1000 spins at once? Try the Adjustable Spinner from Illuminations. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=79
1/31/12
Tech Tip: Curious about using Children’s Yoga to calm your students, transition between activities, or prepare them for an activity? Check out www.childrensyoga.com! Click on Do Yoga>Children’s Yoga and download pdf files you could show on the SMART Board or print out and try some of these great yoga positions with your students.
1/23/12
Tech Tip: Bonus for my online readers! Make funny faces using some of the great online photo imaging websites. Try funtasticface.com or ipiccy.com.
1/16/12
Tech Tip: Scholastic has some informative webcasts called “Teacher Talks”. You can watch them live or each webcast is recorded and posted online for you to watch. There are many topics including fluency, using technology, and interactive whiteboards. The upcoming webcast is on the Traits of Writing. Many of the presenters are well known in their fields. These are all free to watch. This link is a shortcut to the website: bit.ly/scholasticwebcast.
1/9/12
Tech Tip: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday, January 16th. Consider showing students the BrainPOP or BrainPOP Jr. movie of about MLK Jr. Additional information and activities inside the “Lesson Ideas” button in BrainPOP Jr. Three printables can be found by clicking the “Activities” button under the BrainPOP movie.
1/3/12
Tech Tip: Wondering if that movie you'd like to show your class is appropriate? Maybe your child really wants to see a movie, download an app, or read a book and you're just not sure about it. Check out www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media assists parents and teachers in helping their kids make good choices when it comes to media including movies, books, music, websites, apps, games, and TV.
12/19/2011
Tech Tip: With all the hustle and bustle of this time of year, we as educators often neglect taking care of ourselves! Check out wholeteacher.com, a site created by a counselor and life coach who helps teachers who are stressed and overwhelmed to find balance before burnout. Take time for yourself over Winter Break!
12/12/2011
Tech Tip: Login to Destiny Quest to recommend books to Park staff or student.s http://destiny.hutch.k12.mn.us/ Select Park Elementary. Login. See red binder "password sheet" for your password or stop by the library for a bookmark with access direction. Alsok, remember that ebooks are also available at http://hutchinsonmn.lib.overdrive.com.
12/5/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for a fun character (symbol) to use on a document or in a Notebook file, but you don't want to search through all of the symbol fonts? Copypastecharacter.com has organized favorite characters into easy-to-view categories such as favorites, alphabet, arrows, mathematical symbols, punctuation, and several more. Simply click on the character you want and then paste it into your document!
11/28/2011
Tech Tip: Do you ever wish you could see the way another teacher teaches a concept? Wonder how another teacher handles a situation? Check out www.teachingchannel.org/! Here you'll find hundreds of videos showing real teachers in real classrooms.
11/21/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for some factual information to share with students about Thanksgiving? Navigate to kids.nationalgeographic.com and search for Thanksgiving. Click on "First Thanksgiving."
11/14/2011
Tech Tip: TeAchnology provides free and easy to use resources for teachers -- 46,000+ lesson plans, 9,600 free printable worksheets, rubrics, teaching tips, worksheet makers, web quests, math worksheets, and thousands of other great teacher resources. Check it out at teachnology.com!
11/7/2011
Tech Tip: New! Have an iPad, Kindle, or Nook? Downloadable e-books and e-audio books are available through Hutchinson Public Schools. Visit http://hutchinsonmn.lib.overdrive.com. Your library barcode is your staff id.
10/31/2011
Tech Tip: Check freeology.com for great free resources available in many subject areas. There are also great seasonal activities.
10/24/2011
Tech Tip: Looking for some great interactive resources to use with your SMART Board? Check out all the great resources from Center School District: http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/resources/SBsites.htm.
10/17/2011
Tech Tip: Conference Week Stress Relief - Kaleidoscope Painter (www.permadi.com/java/spaint/spaint.html), Teacher Comics (www.crazy4teachers.com), or just take a little time to "play" with a SMART Board!
10/10/2011
Tech Tip: PowerPoint Tip--If you're displaying a PowerPoint slideshow during conferences, be sure you're giving the viewers enough time to read what is on each slide and remember that "less is more!" You may want to add sound to your PowerPoint by having students record their voices saying something to the viewer. Ask your friendly tech staff for a microphone or help with recording on slides!
10/3/2011
Tech Tip: Customizable Worksheets - Worksheet doesn't have to be a bad word! Visit www.worksheetworks.com to customize worksheet activities (math, English/language, geography, puzzles, graphic organizers, and lots more)!
9/26/2011
Tech Tip: Mozilla Firefox Links - Do you have websites you frequently visit such as Campus, Moodle, Enchanted Learning, or BrainPOP? You can add buttons to the "Links" bar in Firefox for these sites! Just under the address bar in Firefox you'll see a bar that probably starts with a button labeled "Most Visited." When you are on a site you'd like to add to this bar, simply drag-and-drop the icon to the left of the website address down to the links bar. If you'd like to rename the new button, right-click and choose "Properties." As your friendly tech staff if you need more information or assistance!
9/19/11
Enchanted Learning—Don’t forget that we subscribe to this valuable resource! It currently houses over 30,000 pages of resources from Abbreviations to Cells to Glaciers to Plurals, Poems, and Poetry! Enchanted Learning is a great whole-group, re-teaching, enrichment, or small-group resource! www.enchantedlearning.com username: park423 password: tigers
9/12/11
Tech Tip: Clean your SMART Board and pens! The cleaner should be non-alcohol based cleaner (the custodial staff can provide a bottle of all-purpose cleaner). Spray the cleaner onto a paper towel or cleaning cloth and then wipe the Board and pens.
9/5/11
Tech Tip: If you use a SMART Notebook file each morning in your classroom, consider adding a link to Campus to remind yourself to submit attendance. https://campus.hutch.k12.mn.us/campus/hutchinson.jsp (Thanks to Mr. Marks for this great idea!)