Technology Announcements & News
                                                                        
First Quarter 2010/2011

 


 



           
          
News Articles

 
What's New: Hardware &
          Software Upgrades

  Setting Up Your Reimaged
          Computer

  Cool Windows 7 Features  
 
Blackboard:
          Import your Class
          Improvements in 9.1
 

 

                  
Helpful Links

  Educational Technology Home Page
  Technology Help
 
IDEAL/Discovery Education streaming
 
Tech4Learning
 
Kyrene Educational Resources
 
FootPrints Work Order System
  K-2 Resources

  3-5 Resources
  6-8 Resources
 
Archived Newsletters

  Update your Webpage
 
Newsletter Feedback
 


Educational Technology Specialists
Michelle Fahy, Kathy Grams, Stephanie Leake,
Gina Meade, Lynette Nield, Liza Richards, Jacinta Sorgel

 

 

What's New: Hardware & Software Upgrades

Welcome back to a new school year. This was an extremely busy summer for the technology department with lots of movement and upgrades of both hardware and software made possible by the support of the voter-approved technology override passed by the generous Kyrene area families in 2005.

These changes included:
     • CRT monitors were replaced with energy-efficient flat panel monitors
     •
GX240 computers were removed at all sites.
     • New tables were provided for all elementary & middle school computer/projector set-ups.
     • Small microphones were installed on all SMART Boards.
     • About 1050 desktop and 1000 laptop computers have been purchased.

     • Projectors and sound systems are being installed in all middle school gyms and multipurpose rooms.

All 10,000 classroom desktop and laptop computers were reimaged with Windows 7. With this new pared down version of the image, all computers will run much more quickly and efficiently. This image has the basic productivity software tools used most by teachers every day; like Microsoft Office, Smart Notebook, Pixie, Kidspiration, Inspiration, and Audacity, etc.

Additional software will be available On Demand, so planning ahead for the use of these programs is essential. As these programs are added, the speed of the computer will be decreased. On Demand programs include:
                    ◦ Frames, Share, ImageBlender
                    ◦
FrontPage 2003
                    ◦ Premiere, PhotoShop

The Governing Board has called for a continuation of the Capital Override. An election will take place on November 2, 2010 and voters will be asked to continue this override. For more information on this
election visit http://www.kyrene.org/budget/budgetelection.htm.
.


Setting Up Your Reimaged Computer

The information below should answer many of your questions and get you up and running.
 

Outlook
    
If you do not see your list of mail folders, follow the instructions below:
                    ◦ Launch Outlook from the start menu.
                    ◦ Go to the View menu and select “Folder List” to show all of your mail folders.
                    ◦ Go to the View menu again and select “Outlook Bar” to remove the checkmark.
     • To access to any existing personal folders (.pst) file that you saved to your H drive,
        or if you would like to create one in order to store saved emails to your H drive, please follow
        the instructions at:
http://www.kyrene.org/edtech/Outlook/2007/PST file.docx 

For additional Outlook tips and tutorials, go to:
Working with Outlook

Setting Up a Network Printer
     • Go to the Start Menu.
     • Click on All Programs.
     • Find Add School Printer at the top of the list.
     • Follow the instructions to add the printer.

Additional district printers may be added following these instructions.
     • Find Search programs and files. 
     • If you are on the East side, type in \\pseast. If you are on the West side, type in \\pswest.
       All printers on your side of the freeway will appear in alphabetical order
     • Double-click on the desired printer to select it.
       Once the printer has been installed this screen will automatically disappear.

Creating Shortcuts on your Desktop
If you wish to create a shortcut to any program on your desktop:
     • Locate the program in the Kyrene toolkit in the start menu or start menu
à All Programs, etc.
     • Right-click the program icon. You now have several choices. You can:
               1.
Pin to Start Menu.
               2. Pin to Taskbar.
               3.
Click “Send To…”, and then click “Desktop (create shortcut)”.

Importing Your Saved Favorites
If you had exported your Internet Favorites at the end of last school year, you can now import them for use on your computer for this year.
     • Open Internet Explorer
     •
Go to "File" and choose "Import and Export"
     • Follow the steps of the Wizard to Import Favorites
     •
Browse to find the file that was saved on your H drive or other external drive

Technology Help
If you need technical support:
     • Submit a Footprints Work Order at http://footprints.kyrene.org/MRcgi/MRentrancePage.pl
     • Call the TAC line at 4277.
     •
General technology HELP may also be found at: http://www.kyrene.org/edtech/help/index.htm


Cool New Windows 7 Features

Show Desktop Feature
You can easily minimize all open documents and applications and show the Windows 7 desktop. Simply click on the right edge of the taskbar—and watch open windows instantly minimize, revealing your desktop items.

Snipping Tool
Windows 7 have a new feature. It's called the Snipping Tool. The Snipping Tool captures a screen shot of anything on your desktop, like a picture or a section of webpage.
Go to the Start button, click on All Programs, and select the Accessories folder. To pin the Snipping Tool to the Taskbar, right-click the Snipping Tool and choose "Pin to taskbar". For a brief video about this cool tool, click here The Snipping Tool in Action

Desktop Gadgets
Gadgets put information right on your desktop. For a brief video about this cool feature,
click here
Desktop Gadgets

Peek Feature
Peek gives you the power of X-ray vision, so you can peer past all your open windows straight to the Windows 7 desktop. Simply point to the right edge of the taskbar—and watch open windows instantly turn transparent, revealing all your hidden icons and gadgets. Video Aero Peek

Shake Feature
Ever need to cut through a cluttered desktop and quickly focus on a single window? Just click a pane and give your mouse a shake. Voila! Every open window except that one instantly disappears. Jiggle again—and your windows are back. Video Tutorial Aero Shake

Snap Feature
Snap is a quick (and fun) new way to resize open windows, simply by dragging them to the edges of your screen. Depending on where you drag a window, you can make it expand vertically, take up the entire screen, or appear side-by-side with another window. Snap makes reading, organizing, and comparing windows a...well, you get the picture. Video Tutorial Snap



Blackboard
:

How to Import your Class

     1. From the Control Panel, choose Packages and Utilities, then click Import Package.
     2. Once the page opens, click Import Package.
     3. Browse to the location chosen when the class was Exported.
     4. Check all of the options for the Class Materials to include.
     5. Click Submit.
This process may take several minutes to import.

~ Content Area Buttons
Content from Menu Content Areas that have the same name in the imported class as in the existing class will be added in the same Content Area. Imported content is added to existing content in the same Content Area.

~ Discussion Boards
Topics are copied, but only the initial thread in each topic is included.

For printable instructions, click here Importing an Entire Blackboard Class


Improvements with Blackboard Version 9.1

  • Assignments and assessments can be easily copied and/or moved from one class to another and from one folder into another.
    Just follow these instructions
    Copy and/or Move Content

  • Students can request enrollment in a class - for teachers who facilitate after-school clubs or work with groups of students other than just those in their homeroom. For instructions on how to request enrollment Requesting Enrollment

  • Learning Modules have a Table of Contents for easy navigation.

  • Wikis provide a space for student interaction through content creation, editing and ownership.


Updating your Web Page with FrontPage

An up-to-date web page is a wonderful communication tool. Be sure to edit and revise your class web page with current contact information, class schedules, and important dates to keep your class families informed.

If you have your B laptop from last school year and it was not reimaged, you will open, revise, and publish your web page as you always have. Instructions for this are here Publishing your Web Page like Last Year

Kyrene is using an upgraded version of FrontPage this year on all Windows 7 computers. The program looks a bit different yet functions much the same as the older version of FrontPage. Click here for instructions on opening and publishing your webpage using a reimaged computer Publishing with the New Version of FrontPage

 

Newsletter Feedback

Please send feedback, comments, and ideas for newsletter articles, and success stories to Kathy GramsWe love hearing from our teachers and are always looking for stories to use in upcoming newsletters to communicate successes and strategies across the district.

 

Graphics taken from Kyrene Teaches with Technology Project