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Have you ever spent more time trying to find information on your computer than it would actually take to get the job done once you have found the information?

Well lucky for you there are applications that will assist you in organizing your notes. These applications enable you to keep notes, phone numbers, files, tasks, lists, tags, images, directly record audio notes, share notebooks among colleagues, etc., all in one easy to use and organized place. The two applications I enjoy most are OneNote by Microsoft and BasKet Note Pads for Linux.

If you work for APS you can start using OneNote right away. While at work, turn on your computer, click “start,” “run,” and type in “aps2007,” and click, “ok.” Wait 10 or 20 minutes while it installs on your computer. Do not stop the process.

Once it’s finished installing you’ll have the Office 2007 suite which includes OneNote. To learn more about using OneNote, log in to One Place and go to Atomic Learning where you can search through over one hundred tutorials on using One Note. You can also go to Microsoft’s One Note website to find lots of helpful training resources.

If you have a friend in the district that is hopelessly disorganized, send them this link. Give them the necessary tools to empower the organizational wizard within them. Let’s all get organized. 🙂

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Here is the link to the One Note Presentation that I used at West Middle School.

Inauguration Day is quickly approaching. If you plan on allowing your students to experience this historic event, you’ll want some resources to make the event richer.

How about a little music? DJ Z-Trip has created an amazing remix that weaves celebratory music with historical sound-bites of President-Elect Obama’s journey to the Whitehouse. The song is over 30 minutes long. However, it is definitely worth a listen. http://downloads.djztrip.com/Z-Trip_ObamaMix(RadioEdit).zip

Also, here’s a site that has found links to: 25 Inaugural Addressess, Inauguration Timeline, Inauguration Day Events, Inaugural Quiz, TeacherVision-Presidency Lessons, Library of Congress, and much more. http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=2467

What plans do you have for your classroom on Inauguration Day?

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/jjXyqcx-mYY" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Credits: video- thanks to Ben Gondrez for showing it to me, image- http://www.djztrip.com/obama/

Do you sometimes wish you could do a Vulcan Mind Meld with your students in order to get a better understanding of strengths and weaknesses? If so, check out Mr. Riebau’s post on Student Response Systems.

Use ActiVotes & ActivExpressions Without an Interactive Whiteboard! Yes, that’s right, you heard correctly! You can use those student response systems like the Votes and Expressions without being in possesion of a board. I’ve found from many of my visits with teachers that there is a general misconception that they need a board in order to use these gadgets. The reality is, if you… READ MORE

image: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/thumb/3/34/MindMeld.jpg/180px-MindMeld.jpg  

Did you know that your students can have access to online newspapers in your classroom or elsewhere? They can.

Whether you want a subscription for you to demonstrate Information Literacy or you want to provide students and opportunity to experience Information Literacy with a virtual newspaper, you can do so for FREE!

This is a great resource if you have a computer in your classroom… but if students have their own laptops to use, this is a goldmine!  Not only does http://postnewseducation.com/ give you free access to newspapers, you’re also provided lesson plans and other resources.

How would you have your students use this resource if they had a personal laptop?  (post comment below)