In past years, 7th grade students in Mr. Tom Arcuri's Life Science classes used to create posters of their assigned invertebrate animals and present them to the class. However, creating these posters would take a significant amount of class time and the students were not learning new skills beyond the curriculum. In an effort to implement something innovative into his classroom and after attending an iMovie inservice class last year, Mr. Tom Arcuri immediately saw a way he could use it in his classroom. To begin, he assigned his students to work with a partner and gave them guidelines to follow as to what their iMovie should include. After learning the basics of the program, Mr. Arcuri (pictured below working with one of his students) worked with his students for four days in the computer labs compiling their movies. The first day consisted of researching information pertaining to their assigned animal. During the second day, students loctated and downloaded photos from the Internet into iPhoto. In the remaining 2 days, the students composed a story board, organized their photos into an iMovie video, and took turns doing voiceovers. After students completed their iMovies, they presented them to the entire class. After presenting them, Mr. Arcuri collected and then exported the videos as Quicktime movies that were uploaded to onto his SchoolCenter website so students could share with their family at home as well. When asked about how successful he felt this project went, Mr. Arcuri commented that learning to use this technology is very easy but before teachers try to implement this, he recommended they take inservice classes in iPhoto, iMovie and Safari. Tom says that a teacher should be able to create their own independent projects so they are comfortable enough with the techniques to be able to teach and troubleshoot with their class. He also points out that if other teachers begin to use this in their classrooms, students will receive even more practice and be able to develop advanced presentations capable of impressing any crowd. Finally, he states since iLife applications are similarly setup, once students are familiar with one iLife program, they will readily be able to learn others. When students were asked what they thought about the project, students were astonished as to how quickly they were able to learn the iLife apps they used. Jokingly, one of the students was heard saying “It’s so easy even a caveman could do it”! The overall impression from the class was that they would prefer an assignment that integrated using computers and the Internet, as opposed to creating posters. In the future, Mr. Arcuri plans to do the same acivitiy with next year’s class. However, next year he knows he will be more prepared to troubleshoot the problems that he did not anticipate with this year’s projects. To learn how you can use iMovie, iPhoto, and Safari creatively in your classroom, check out My Learning Plan to see what's offered to learn how you too can use these exciting tools within your classroom!

Have you ever wanted to convert a file from one format to another quickly without needing to open a graphics editing program such as Fireworks or Photoshop? For example, suppose you have a PDF document that you want to convert into a graphic image so you can post it as a thumbnail on your website. Believe or not, this can be done most easily using Preview, Mac OS X built-in image viewing program! The steps below show you how!

1. Open the file in Preview just as you normally would.
2. Choose File > Save As... to open the Save dialog box. In the Save dialog box, change the type in the Format menu, (see circled area in the screenshot below) to the type of file you want to convert to. PNG, JPG, or GIF will work best for most situations.

3. Rename the file as you want. Note that the new file extension on the end of the file has changed automatically!
4. Point the converted file to save where you want. Use you newly converted graphic in anyway you want!

NEED TO CONVERT A GROUP OF IMAGES?
If you have a bunch of files to convert, you should consider using Automator, Mac OS X's program that uses point-and-click (or drag-and-drop) creation of workflows for automating repetitive tasks. Using Auotmator and Preview, you can convert a bunch of PDFs into other files formats in no time!

Nortel LearniT is an initiative of Nortel Community Relations to prepare teachers, students, and learners of all ages to develop 21st century skills that will provide a basis for their ongoing engagement in learning and personal achievement. Their goal is to reach learners around the world and share with them the skills and opportunities that technology can bring to learning and their future. By creating innovative online learning opportunities and resources for teachers, students, and learners of all ages, Nortel LearniT provides a new level of engagement that promotes enhanced levels of interest and academic success. Using a variety of methods, Nortel LearniT has worked with students, educators and professionals from around the world to develop a wide range of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and other subject related content. Some of the specific resources for technology training featured on the site include an ever-growing collection of technology topics including: discovering the Internet, imaging, PowerPoint Presentations, Web Content Creation, Networks to Knowledge (N2K), Video Production, Digital Ethics, Online Safety, materials development focused on the 6ES approach, explorations of next generation job and career opportunities (Career Bytes), technology and project tips and tricks from educators and students in the field (Tech Talk), as well as several collections of teacher- and student-contributed examples. Nortel LearniT's project-based lesson plans provide teachers with classroom-ready resources to promote the integration of technology into teaching and learning. The Nortel LearniT lesson library includes hundreds of lessons that are editable in your word processor, include assessment tools are linked to your curriculum standards. Lessons are organized and searchable by grade, subject and technology. Working with top educational organizations, universities, and federal agencies, Nortel LearniT believes in the power of partnerships to bring their users relevant and outstanding content, build community, and provide access to curriculum standards. Their development team includes a growing network of teachers and educational specialists, education leaders, community and government leaders, technology coaches, student interns, community relations specialists, web designers, and graphic artists. 

To appeal to a wide range of users, the site can be navigated according to your own style. If you want to use their Visual Site Map, you can get an illustrated descriptive tour with direct links to our main sections, features, and capabilities. For more advanced users, their Verbal Site Map has site organization set up with direct links to both high-level and drilled down information levels, features, and capabilities. Check out the site today to see what it can offer you and your students to enhance your digital skills!

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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!

Wednesday, September 12
Creating Open Court CDs Using iTunes - Bradley

Thursday, September 13
The Art & Magic of Digital Presentations - September

Monday, September 17
Mac OS X Tech "Talk, Tips, & Tricks" - September

Wednesday, September 19
Creating Open Court CDs Using iTunes - Hughes

Wednesday, September 26
SchoolCenter School: Exploring the New Features of Your School Website - September

iCal Users
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