Category Archives: Uncategorized

Before break, I was talking to a teacher that was frustrated with her computer center. The students would go to the computer during centers time and then would go immediately back to her to ask which icon they need to click on. No matter whether she showed them on the projector, used sticky notes, or elaborate directions, a large portion of students needed more assistance when it was time to begin their activity. Icons can be confusing to students. Icons are small and many have similar graphics.So… here are four things you can do to make your computer more student-friendly for centers. Give your student computers a “5 Minute Makeover.” – use purposeful wallpaper – delete (or folder) extra icons – increase the font size– make One Place the home page for explorerThese wallpapers were created to make centers easier for students to comprehend which resource they should access first, or which resources they can choose from. If you see wallpaper that works for you, click on it, then right-click on the image and “set as wallpaper.” Also, feel free to download an image and edit it to meet your needs.This wallpaper will be much more useful if the majority of shortcuts and desktop icons are deleted. This will make it very obvious to students where they should begin. Have only the icons students should be accessing that day/week on the desktop. If you aren’t comfortable deleting the icons, just make a new folder and slip them into it. If the icons are snapping to the grid and aren’t lining up the way you’d like, you can turn the function off. Just right-click on the desktop, click on ” Arrange Icons by” and then uncheck “snap to grid.”Another great way to make the computer more student-friendly is to increase the font size on the computer (Thanks Kim!). You can do that by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing “properties,” clicking on the “appearance” tab and adjusting the font size.Finally, make One Place the home page for Internet Explorer. All of the online resources that they will need to access can be found on this page. To set it as the home page, do this. Open Internet Explorer, click on “Internet Options,” and the “General” tab. Type in http://discovery.aps.k12.co.us into the box. All set, click, “ok.”In just 5 minutes you can turn your classroom student computers into fun and focused centers.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Internet resources that are offered by the Aurora Public Library, check them out. They offer several great search engines and activities.

When you go to their main page, you’ll see Picture-It! | Type-It! | Book Lists | E-Reader | Homework Help | Fun Sites.

Picture-It! enables students to narrow their search for media by providing pictures clues along the way. This is a great support for beginning readers and English Language Learners.

Type-It! provides the standard search features for finding media. It includes clear examples of how to initiate a search.

Book Lists provides a concise listing of some of the best books available. The list is even arranged by reading level. This is a perfect page for students, parents and teachers alike.

E-Reader this is THE site! It contains hundreds of books that students can read in lots of languages. So for example if you happen to have new student from Croatia and you’re thinking, “Now where can I get some books for my students that are written in Croatian?” Well this is the place. But wait. There’s more. There are also actors reading stories aloud.

Here’s the breakdown:

Tumble Books: Listen to a story in English, Spanish, or French.

International Children’s Library: Enjoy books from all over the world.

BookPALS Storyline Online: See and hear famous actresses and actors read great stories.

StoryPlace: Hear stories in English or Spanish

These brief descriptions do no justice to these great sites. Be sure to check them out. While you are exploring these sites be sure to explore Homework Help and Fun Sites too.

        1place.ppt               South Middle school was given a glimpse of One Place this afternoon. It will officially roll out soon :). Be patient. It is an incredible tool. One Place runs federated searches in district and non district Internet databases. It simultaneously searches through Discovery Science, Discovery Streaming, Discovery Education Network, Atomic Learning, Culture Grams, World Book Online, NetTrekker, Verizon/Thinkfinity (formerly Marco Polo), Britannia Online, and EBSCO. The interface is smooth and easy to navigate. It is the ideal tool for planning for instruction. You can easily come up with great teaching ideas, teaching content, examples of student work and even professional articles on teaching strategies that match your topic.

Take a moment to check out One Place. It will be worth your time. Here is the link to get started (log-in directions).

Debbie Tschirgi met with DoIT yesterday to share her work. Check out this site.  She is doing some amazing work. She is integrating strategies that work with technology. There are some fantastic videos here that demonstrate how to take the “Classroom Instruction that Works” strategies by Robert Marzano and integrate them with technology to make huge impacts on student achievement. http://www.esd112.org/edtech/scp/strategiesinaction.cfm

Yesterday I received an email titled, “Burning Smell??” Yikes!

Luckily it turned out to just be a dust-clogged projector. Molten plastic was not dripping down onto the floor. This particular classroom uses the projector all day. They have technology integrated into nearly everything. It is bound to get plugged up with dust sooner or later.

Most projectors have a filter located near the front of the projector next to the lens. All you need to do is slide it out, blow the dust out and slide it back in. Be sure that it is slide all of the way back in, otherwise it can cause future problems.

Here is the manual for the projectors that the Activ3 Promethean boards use. This model, the XE40 by Sanyo) actually has two filters. The directions for cleaning the filters begin on page 54 of the manual.

The filters should probably be cleaned bi-monthly… if not monthly to avoid overheating the projector.