TWTW

Teaching with the Web

The Instructional Technology Journal of

Greenwood School District 50

http://www2.gwd50.org

Volume 02, Number 24

June 15, 2007

Summer Laptop Care

06/15/07

· We hope you are using your laptop to find exciting and engaging resources for use in your classroom when school starts again. Remember that evaluations and observations will include some measure of how you use the laptop for planning and delivering instruction – not just for taking attendance and giving grades.

· Please do not allow family members to install personal software on the laptop. The laptop is a tool for your work and should be treated as such at all times. That software will show up on our network inventory through ZENworks when you come back to school.

· A reminder: Do not leave the laptop in your car – in the passenger compartment or in the trunk. The summer heat will cause electronic components to fail and can cause the screen to malfunction.

· When using your laptop, be sure there is sufficient air flow under the laptop to allow the cooling fans to work properly.

Important Teacher Notes

More sites for you to enjoy this summer:

· Gardening 123
http://www.gardening123.com/
Click on the Garden Photo Album – lovely!

· Picturing France, 1830-1900
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1867
Explores 19th-century painting in France and the culture it
reflects and that produced it. Organized by region, the site
offers a glimpse of the history and cultural life of Paris,

Auvergne, Normandy, Provence, and other areas. (National Gallery of Art)

· The Accidental Scientist: The Science of Cooking
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/index.html
Look at the science behind food and cooking. Learn about what happens when you eat sugar, bake bread, cook an egg, or pickle foods. Find out how muscle turns to meat, what makes meat tender, and what gives meat its flavor. Take tours of breads and spices of the world. Explore your sense of taste and smell.

· Bigbonton
http://www.bigbonton.org/
Bigbonton is a fun (and a little wacky blog) based on happenings in South Carolina.

In the News

Online articles of interest to teachers – the articles below are from electronic education/technology journals:

Click on the title of the article to go to the link.

· What Makes Students Sit up and Listen?
eSchoolnews

· Travelocity Offers Free Online Environmental Awareness Lesson Plans
The Journal

· Kids getting tech-savvy at ever-younger ages
Information Week

· Virtual tours offer trips through time
eSchoolnews

· Education veteran creates "YouTube" for teachers
eSchoolnews

Site Survey:

Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage

· Learning Through Listening
http://www.learningthroughlistening.org/
The purpose of this site is to provide quick access to lessons and information that focuses on developing listening skills and meeting the needs of diverse learners in grades K-12.

· Metric Mania Lessons
http://www.sciencespot.net/Pages/classmetric.html
Metric Mania includes lessons and labs on length, mass, volume, density, and temperature as well as conversions (metric to metric and metric to English). Students have many opportunities to use rulers, triple-beam balances, and other scientific equipment to learn how to use the metric system of measurements.

· Mystery Net: Kids’ Mysteries
http://kids.mysterynet.com/
Online mysteries and puzzles as well as info about kid’s mystery books. Great site for kids! Check out the “grown-ups’” mystery net,
too: http://www.mysterynet.com/.

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

Instructional Technology Specialist: http://www2.gwd50.org/hughesc/hughes1.htm