When 4th grade teacher Bonnie Johnson attended an in-service on Extreme Word Techniques led by Kathy Donovan, Myles Tech TA, the wheels began to turn about how she could create a classroom project using Microsoft Word in her classroom. The first session of the Extreme Word in-service showcased Word’s ability to perform as a page layout program. Kathy demonstrated techniques on how to manage the layout through the use of image placeholders, using templates supplied by Word, and simple table construction. After the training session, Bonnie (pictured to the right working with one of her students) began thinking about how the next book report assignment in her class could incorporate the Microsoft Word techniques she just learned. As you may or may not know, as part of the 4th grade reading program in New Hartford, students are required to read & report on a certain number of books. To encourage students to read a nice variety, specific genres are required. A straightforward book report is often enough, but to make things interesting, some of the reports are in project form. The most recent book selection needed to be a non-fiction book about “Far Away Places.” This topic seemed to fit perfectly with the Microsoft Word workshop Bonnie attended, so she decided students would use their books to make a travel brochure about festivals in other countries. Bonnie designed a tri-panel brochure Word template complete with WordArt and image placeholders for her students. Students researched their country and its festivals, and saved pictures they downloaded from the web. They then used the template and plugged in their information. They included a map of their country, its flag, and two festivals celebrated there. They even included words in the language of their country as well as their English translations. Pictured to the right is an example of the wonderful work our 4th graders are capable of! “They loved being in control of the choices they made, and really did a beautiful job.” Bonnie enthusiastically reported. This is just another great example of how New Hartford teachers are collaborating together to create great tech projects which integrate the curriculum and help students feel more successful in communicating their ideas through the use of technology. To learn more about using Word creatively in your classroom, check out My Learning Plan to see when Extreme Word will be offered again!

Safari, the web browser we often work with in Mac OS X, is very easy to use. Surfing the web with Safari is pretty straightforward and similar to most other browsers. However, downloading files can sometimes be a confusing or cumbersome process, especially for users not familiar with the browser or Mac OS X itself. However, with a few simple keyboard shortcuts, downloading files in Safari can be even easier and more powerful than you would imagine, even for those of us who have been using OS X for awhile! Here are some tips to make that make downloading files in Safari quick, neat and tidy!

OPTION-CLICK
Hold down Option key & click on link with your mouse
Starts an immediate download of the linked file to the default location of your OS X account. The Downloads window should jump to the front of your browser window showing you the progress of the file that has started downloading right away!

CONTROL-CLICK
Hold down Control key & click on link with your mouse
Reveals a contextual menu (see diagram above) where you can choose to Download Linked File... This downloads a file to the default download location of your OS X account with its default name. This method is most effective when you want to download embedded media files within a web page (i.e. - saving a QuickTime movie from a website.)

CONTROL-OPTION-CLICK
Hold down Control and Option keys & click with mouse
Reveals a contextual menu command (see diagram above) where you can choose to Download Linked File As... Choosing this command will allow you to download the file with a custom name and download location in your OS X account. This can be very handy for renaming and pointing a file to download directly into a specific folder!

Smithsonian Education is a relatively "new" companion website to one of the most well-known entities in American education, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. Smithsonian Education is the online home of The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS) which provides leadership in education at the Smithsonian and produces a variety of programs, services, and resources for the education and museum communities as a whole. As part of their mission, The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies recently teamed with international web firm AKQA to design, restructure, and recreate the SCEMS main website formerly known as "Field Trips and Learning Resources." The collaborative team worked to develop a clean, sophisticated website representative of Smithsonian Education's brand, reputation and intellect. The newly launched Smithsonian Education website is a gateway to Smithsonian educational resources with content tailored to serve three main audiences: educators, families, and students. Content on the site not only promotes understanding of the museums themselves but also emphasizes inquiry-based learning using though a vast array of primary sources across the many disciplines that the Smithsonian itself offers.

One of the notable areas of the Educator site (pictured above) is the IdeaLabs page. This page offers online student tutorials that bring the Smithsonian to life. Based on Smithsonian collections and research, IdeaLabs give you and your students an online opportunity to explore American history, science, and culture. Other specific subject areas from the site can be found by accessing the QuickLinks above in this newsletter. The site features a wealth of content that can fully searched and has been carefully categorized into standard-based as well as age appropraite learning experiences. Almost all teachers are sure to find some content that can be immediately used in their classroom. Be sure to take a moment to visit this excellent, free education resource to see what it can offer you and your students.

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Eager to learn about new ways to use Mac OS X even better? Come to our monthly OS X "Talk, Tips & Tricks" session. Find out more.

Below are select technology courses to be offered by the Teacher Center this month. To learn more, log onto My Learning Plan then click the links below for more details about each class and/or to sign up right now online!

Wednesdays, April 4 & 18
Creating an iMovie as a Class Memento

Thursday, April 5
Web Publishing For Breakfast

Monday, April 16
Introduction to Pages

Tuesday, April 17
How to Develop & Get Content on the Plasma TV

Wednesday, April 18
iLife Cereal - Intro to iTunes

Thursday, April 19
iPhoto Books, Calendars, and Cards - Oh My!

Monday, April 23
OS X "Tech Talk Tips and Tricks" - April

Tuesday, April 24
Creating Lessons using KidPix

Wednesday, April 25
SchoolCenter School: Exploring the New Features of Your School Website - April

Thursday, April 26
• iLife Cereal - Intro to iPhoto
• Fix and Forget it Classroom Webpage

iCal Users
Download April Events