Tech Bytes!

Ready for a New School Year!

Paula Pulley — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:16:37 +0000

Teachers—are you ready to begin integrating technology into your classroom again this year? I’m ready to share ideas with you on how we can work together to engage the students by using a digital camera—a video camera (yes…we’re getting one this year!)—a laptop—a school pad—a SMARTBoard—a computer lab—videoconferencing equipment…

I’m looking forward to another exciting year with technology!

Summer PDA Offerings

Paula Pulley — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:25:11 +0000

July 16
Using Audacity to make great music and sounds.
Check back for time and location

August 5
“PDA Palooza”
The ITRTs will be offering a variety of sessions—something for everyone.
Check back for times and location

We’ve Got the Power!!!

Paula Pulley — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:12:05 +0000

We’ve got the Power JFKMS! I have posted Power Points of the SOL Released Test Items for 2007 for review if you’d like to use them. I have also posted other technology-type reviews and websites on the page that you can use with your students. These review and websites are also available from home. Check the reservation for available equipment times.

Click on SOL Review 2007-08 Page above.

The Help Desk

Paula Pulley — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:50:52 +0000

I recently read an article in the Technology section of The Virginian-Pilot and found some very helpful information that I wanted to share on my blog. These are a couple of excerpts from the article “The Help Desk Problems Solved Here. The Most Asked Questions of the Year” by Bill Husted.

Should I turn off my PC at night, or just let it sleep?

It’s OK to leave your PC on all the time; it’s OK to turn it off when you go to sleep at night. No big deal either way. Turning off the PC at night or for an extended period cuts electricity use, even if only slightly, and it means the computer isn’t online waiting to be hijacked.

There’s another benefit. While desktop PCs are capable of running 24/7 with no harm, that’s based on everything working correctly. If the fan goes out, or if the cooling vent is clogged, a PC can overheat.

How do I stop e-mail spam?
It’s almost impossible to stop every bit of spam. Even with the anti-spam software, you are likely to get some amount of spam every day. The major spammers are well-run businesses, often located in other countries. Professional-level computer experts work at ways to avoid spam filters.

A method that the author suggests is called Challenge and Response. When someone who isn’t in your address book sends you an e-mail, the Challenge and Response software sends back a challenge in the form of an e-mail that asks the sender to copy down some letters he sees on the screen. Spammers won’t go to that trouble for millions of pieces of spam.

To find out more about this technology, visit tinyurl.com/265loj.

Upcoming STAR Training Sessions

Paula Pulley — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:16:46 +0000

STAR Training Sessions for the 2nd Semester have been placed in your mailboxes and you can also view them by clicking on the Calendar tab above. These training classes are NOT mandatory…you will receive 1 STAR point and 1 Recertification point for attending each the hour long sessions.Training sessions taught by other ITRTs at other locations can be found by clicking the following link:

https://sofa.spsk12.net/itrt/star%20point.htm

3 Words…

Paula Pulley — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:28:55 +0000

Students—Teacher Appreciation Day will be here before we know it. Now—I’m sure that you appreciate your teacher every day…but there is an entire WEEK designated for teacher appreciation.

This year, we’d like to incorporate a little technology into showing your teachers exactly what they mean to you.

So—what I’d like from you are 3 words (nice words!) that describe how you feel about your teacher(s). We’ll take all those special words and turn them into a wonderful surprise for the teachers at JFKMS. Leave me a comment with your 3 words.

Happy Holidays

Paula Pulley — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:03:27 +0000

Enjoy a much deserved break students at JFKMS! Hope that your holiday is filled with joy and happiness. See you in January 2008!

The Laminator

Paula Pulley — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:48:56 +0000

Sounds like a movie title, doesn’t it?

Great news! The new laminator has arrived at JFKMS. The laminator will be housed in the media center. Mrs. Grimsley, not shown here in this picture, will be laminating materials once weekly on Wednesdays only. Items needed to be laminated should be placed in the library by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. Laminated items can be picked up from the library once they have been completed.

New Equipment for JFKMS

Paula Pulley — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:46:27 +0000

We have a new addition to the technology we have at JFKMS. We are now in possession of an Interwrite SchoolPad. This is a wireless pad that gives the teacher the ability to teach from anywhere in the classroom or pass it to a student and let them contribute from their desk. The pad is used with a projector and becomes an interactive whiteboard.

Students using SchoolPad—working out Math problems on the projection screen

On Nov. 6 at our Staff Development, Win Anderson of Comcor, Inc. will be demostrating how the SchoolPad works and showing some of the many features of the tool. Stop by and see for yourself how amazing this new technology is. He will be presenting in Room A210.

Here is a link to the website where you can learn more about the SchoolPad.
http://www.gtcocalcomp.com/interwriteschoolpad.htm

Join Me at Staff Development!

Paula Pulley — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:46:10 +0000

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, I will be presenting a session on Using Movie Maker with a fellow ITRT from KFHS. We will be showing you several examples of student and teacher made movies and we will then create one from scratch! Follow this link for more info on Movie Maker. Hope to see you in the session!

http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/moviemaker2

Classroom Ideas for Movie Maker
http://www.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/Teacher_Res/secondary/tecint/mm2.htm