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| Over the past month, students of Mr. Paul Bisaccia (pictured below working with one of his students) have been piloting the new laptop cart for the high school in his Economics and World is Flat classes. The twenty-five brand new Macbook laptops have already been used on several projects with a few more innovative projects already planned. One of these projects coming up very soon is one where students will participate in a stock trading game in Economics class. In the simulation, they are given $100,000.00 and over the course of a month, they learn about the markets and economics  conditions as well as how the Federal Reserve monitors and applies policy to adjust the markets accordingly. The laptops in the classroom will allow the students to monitor the markets and their portfolios in real time and react to market news as it happens, which is critical when it comes to being ahead of the curve and avoiding losses. Another project that Bisaccia has planned is in his World is Flat classes where students are learning that open-sourcing, outsourcing and insourcing are taking place around the world. To teach this concept, Mr. Bisaccia is planning several activities where students will collaborate with each other via the Internet and will soon be working on projects in class that force them to work with students from other schools and eventually other countries. Bisaccia says there are many advantages to having the laptop cart avaliable. "It is great that we can stay in my classroom and not have to waste time or disrupt others by moving to the library lab. Secondly, students are able to come into class and immediately sign on and begin working on their projects or assignments." Bisaccia also points out that with the increased usage of the library’s computer labs and the lack of availability during certain times of the year, the new laptop cart offers one more option for teachers to use technology directly in our classrooms. Bisaccia encourages other teachers to contact him about his experience in using the laptops with students. The laptop cart will soon be available for all teachers and students of the high school to use once all of the procedural and operational "bugs" have been worked out. The cart will be stored on the second floor for sign out to individual classroom(s). If you would like use the laptops in your classroom, just contact the Tech Department and they would be glad to work with you in getting this great resource in the hands of your students as part of a structured "rollout" in the coming weeks! |
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|  Many Mac OS X users who are running Mac OS X Leopard are familiar with Quick Look, a convenient preview feature that is built into the latest version of Mac OS X, but some many not know at all about this hidden gem of productivity. Quick Look makes it easy to take a peek at what’s in a file without actually opening the file, switching Finder views or opening the file’s corresponding application! Here is a rundown on Quick Look if you are new to it as well as some power user tips if you already use this great feature of Mac OS X Leopard!
Quick Look Basics
If you have not used Quick Look, just highlight a file’s icon that you want to preview in the Finder and press the Spacebar or Command + Y. A large version for the file will appear for viewing without opening its associated application!
In the Quick Look window that appears, (see screenshot above) a toolbar at the bottom of the window lets you perform various actions. These button will let you move ahead or back to view other selected files, Play (if the file is a video or audio file), view an index sheet of all selected files, view in the file in a full screen mode, or if its an image, import it directly into iPhoto!
What Files Do What With Quick Look
When you try to view various files using Quick Look, here is an overview on the basics of you can expect to see:
- PDFs: You get a preview of the entire PDF. Use the scroll wheel to move through pages of a PDF. Command + and Command - will zoom in and out respectively.
- JPGs or PNGs: You get a preview of the image. Option click zooms in and Option Shift click zooms out. You can also hold down option and use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. A button appears at the bottom to add the image to iPhoto.
- Text files: You get the text in a Monaco font and you can scroll through the document.
- HTML files: You can’t click on links but a hover will tell you where the link is pointing.
- Folders: You get the total size, number of files inside, and last modified date.
- Video files: You get a video interface so you can play the video.
- Audio files: You get a playback interface and the cover art.
- Fonts: You get a sample alphabet in that font.
Fast Toggle from Single File View to Index Page
When you select several files for viewing in Quick Look, you can see all of them using an index page. To do this, select several files on the Mac OS X Finder and hit the Space bar to enable Quick Look.
While the QuickLook panel will provide a four-panel button to see all the files on an index page, using Command + Return with instantly toggle you into the index page mode! From there, you can then use the left and right arrow keys to select any file for viewing very quickly, (see screenshot below)!
Instant Playback of Media
When you open a few audio or video files in Quick Look, if you click on the Play button once, all the media files will play when they become visible in the Quick Look window. Just use your left or right arrow key to show the next media piece!
Peeking at a File in the Trash
Have you ever tried to open a file in the Trash—for example, to make sure it’s the one you wanted to delete—only to have OS X tell you that you can’t open the file because it’s in the Trash? Thanks to Quick Look, you will never have to face this situation again! Just open the Trash, select the items you want to preview, and press the Spacebar to view them in Quick Look.
Go Full Screen
Sometimes you may want to go into Full Screen mode automatically in Quick Look such as if you want to view a bunch of oddly named photos from a digital camera or a website download. To go directly into full screen mode in Quick Look, first select a file or files and then use Option + Command + Y! Another Full Screen tip: When viewing a multi-page document in full screen mode, you can use also use Space Bar and Shift + Space Bar to page up and down the document easily. |
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iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world. iEARN is a non-profit organization made up of over 20,000 schools and youth organizations in more than 115 countries. Over 1,000,000 students each day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide and since 1988, iEARN has pioneered on-line school linkages to enable students to engage in meaningful educational projects with peers in their countries and around the world. Currently, there are over 150 projects in iEARN all designed and facilitated by teachers and students to fit their curriculum and classroom needs and schedules. To join, participants just select an online project and look at how they can integrate it into their classroom. With the project selected teachers and students enter online forum spaces to meet one another and get involved in ongoing projects with classrooms around the world who are working on the same project. All projects in iEARN are designed by teachers and students, and provide powerful examples of how technology can make a difference in teaching and learning.
As part of iEARN's mission to improve the quality of life on the planet, all projects involve a final "product" or exhibition of the learning that has taken place as part of the collaboration. These have included magazines, creative writing anthologies, websites, reports to government officials, arts exhibits, performances, and many more examples of youth taking action as part of what they are learning in the classroom. The iEARN Collaboration Center allows you to browse project descriptions and view student-produced media from around the world. In addition to connecting students' learning with local issues and meeting specific curriculum needs, every project proposed by teachers and students in iEARN has to answer the question, "How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?" This vision and purpose is the glue that holds iEARN together, enabling participants to become global citizens who make a difference by collaborating with their peers around the world. If you are looking for a way to get involved in an innovative global project and aren't sure where to start, iEARN may be one place to help you start the process! Check out this innovative site today or just use some of the QuickLinks above to go to key areas of this website now! |
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 | | SHARE THE NEWS | | |
 Know teachers who would like to read the New Hartford Tech Spotlight but aren't receiving it by email? Send them to the online version of the New Hartford Tech Spotlight to read about the latest technology happenings in New Hartford Schools. |
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| MISSED AN ISSUE? |
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| All the great issues of the New Hartford Tech Spotlight are now available online. Just go here to view the Past Issue Archives and find the issue you missed! Enjoy! |
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| SOFTWARE SIDEBAR |
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Apple's Font Book application is the font manager that has shipped with Mac OS X since version 10.3 (Panther). The program enables users to perform a variety of tasks for managing fonts on their computer and OS X account. For example, the application lets you easily preview any font installed on your system using various sample texts and sizes. In addition to viewing, Font Book also let you install, validate, activate, and deactivate fonts should you need to. One of the handiest features of the program is its ability for you to group fonts into custom collections, which can then be used in all Cocoa programs. This can be most useful for example if you want to use the same fonts for a group of presentations you are making in Keynote or for a series of related publications you are creating in Pages. When it comes to managing fonts in Mac OS X, look no further than Font Book to make the job easier. You will be glad you did! |
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| NEED COMPUTER HELP? |
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 Do you have a computer or printer not working in your classroom? If so, you need to fill out a ticket on New Hartford's Web Help Desk, the district's tech repair reporting system. Once you go to the website, simply enter your OS X name and password to sign into the system.
After signing on, you can report problems, view FAQs about common tech problems in the district, even track the status of your repair request! Go to the site and tech help will heading your way soon! |
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| TOP TEN THIS MONTH |
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Here are ten simple things educators can do on the web this month. Perhaps these can be springboards for a lesson or even some new "lifelong learning" for you, they are all related to events and traditions of the month known for love. Take a look and see what you can pick up & share with your students!
