Teaching with the Web	The Instructional Technology Journal of Greenwood School District 50 http://www2.gwd50.org Volume 2, Number 13 January 1, 2007
Is Your Laptop Ready to Return to School? 1/1/07 As in the previous newsletter, some of the following information you have seen before, but time passes and we forget. With only 3 days before school starts, it’s time to check your laptop to be sure it’s ready to go on your school’s network. When you connect your laptop to the network, it will broadcast assorted information across the district’s system – identifying itself and you to the network as well as connecting you to the Internet, email, and other applications. You want to be sure that it does not also send out a set of viruses, worms, or spam. Please check the following things to get your laptop ready for that first day back: · Update your Symantec virus definitions and run a full scan on your laptop – before bringing it back to school. See the instructions for doing this in TWTW Vol.2 No.12 (http://www2.gwd50.org/techplans/TWTW-Vol02No12.htm.) · Remove all personal software from the laptop. This is essential because that software will show up on the network inventory after you connect to the network. · Lastly – if you have any doubt that your laptop is “clean” when you bring it to school the first day, take it directly to your on-site technology support person, and ask how you can make sure it is clean.	Important Teacher Notes · A reminder: you are expected to have your laptop at school every day during the school year – and your old desktop is no longer available to you as a “teacher computer.” Read the following from Gary West, the Director of Computing Services: ”We provided the laptop to be the primary teacher computer.  We stated in training and in TWTW that all teacher data should be moved to the laptop (a flash drive was provided to help with this and OCS staff were available to assist).  We also stated in training and in TWTW that all important teacher documents must be backed up to other media (flash drive or CD - that's why we included a CD drive that writes to CDs in the laptop.)   Before school was out in May, we let teachers know that desktops in classrooms were only for student use.  We've also stated several times that if the laptop breaks, we will not try to save data on it - we will simply re-image it back to what it was when it was first delivered - without any teacher files.  It is extremely important that teachers keep backups of their important stuff.” · Please do not let anyone outside of OCS attempt to fix or upgrade your laptop. Doing so will invalidate the warranty – meaning that we cannot get it fixed for free by Gateway if something goes really wrong. · District 50 has paid for accident protection for your laptop. If you accidentally damage the machine, we can have it repaired or replaced without additional cost. This protection does not cover abuse of the laptop which includes leaving it in your car so it is damaged by heat or cold. Also not covered is loss or theft of the laptop, so please be sure the laptop is kept in a safe and secure place. If it is lost or stolen, report it to OCS immediately.
Monthly Technology Training Beginning January, monthly technology proficiency training for all certified personnel will be held at every school in the district. These trainings will address the state technology proficiency standards. Principals have the schedules and will give all certified personnel on their staff more information about the training. ((SC) TEACHER TECHNOLOGY PROFICIENCY PROVISO GUIDANCE-Proviso 1.25: “Districts must adopt teacher technology standards that are aligned with ISTE standards.” Click here: ISTE-NETS-T to view these standards. This link opens a PDF document; scroll to page 5 to view the standards.) Happy New Year! I hope it is all you wish it to be. Cindy Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. Oprah Winfrey	Site Survey: Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage · Poetry for Kids http://www.poetry4kids.com/index.php What a great site! Funny children's poems, games, contests, lessons, discussion forums, journals, a rhyming dictionary, streaming audio, school visit information and more. Many of the resources are open to non-members, but registration is free! · The Catalyst http://www.thecatalyst.org/ Chemistry resources for teachers. · National Library of Virtual Manipulatives http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/index.html This is a terrific resource that links to all of the virtual math manipulatives online in every grade level and in every area of mathematics
	The Laptop-and-Projector Project Website Tech Project: http://www2.gwd50.org/TechPlans/TechPlan2006.htm Instr. Resources: http://www2.gwd50.org/TechPlans/StaffDevResources.htm Previous TWTW Issues: http://www2.gwd50.org/techplans/TWTW-Index.htm