TWTW Teaching with the Web	The Instructional Technology Journal of Greenwood School District 50 http://www2.gwd50.org Volume 2, Number 9 November 1, 2006
Internet Explorer 7 has been released by Microsoft... 11/1/06 But we are recommending that users wait to install it on their district computers. The reasons are: 1. It has not been thoroughly tested with our web applications like Excent and TestView (among others.) These sites may not work properly in IE7. 2. It may not be possible to uninstall IE7 if a site you need will not work well with it. 3. It is always a good idea to give a "new" piece of a software some time to have the initial bugs found and patched. For now, we are considering IE7 to be "unsupported" until we can be sure it will work well with our critical systems. So, if you choose to install it on your district computer, you will be proceeding at your own risk. If you install it and run into problems, you may find your computer needs to be wiped out and reinstalled to return to IE6. We will let you know when we feel confident that it is mostly bug-free and ready to run in our environment. Brian O’Quinn Network Administrator	Important Teacher Notes · Connecting to the wireless network: aOn the Gateway laptop, Click>Fn (Function) + F2 to turn on the wireless antenna aCheck the System Tray on the Task Bar at the bottom of the desktop aFind the wireless network icon (little computer with signal lines and a red “X”) and right-click the wireless network icon aClick> View available wireless networks aHighlight your wireless network>Click the Connect button aCheck the wireless network icon (it should not have a red “X” now) aDouble-click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop and test your Internet access aOnce Explorer is open, click on tools>Internet Options>click the Connections tab>click LAN settings>under Proxy Server, be sure “Use your proxy server for LAN” is checked ***When using your laptop at home, uncheck: “Use your proxy server for LAN” · Using Excel to gather, sort, and analyze data http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_excel.htm Excellent, easy to follow Excel tutorials can be found here. This site also offers suggestions for classroom use, lesson plans, and a list of non-mathematical uses for Excel. · Instructional Technology Coach Website http://www2.gwd50.org/hughesc/hughes1.htm This site is updated regularly. Be sure to check often for news and resources.
Data-Driven Instruction “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.” These words from the Broad Foundation’s Newsletter (announcing their award recipients) can either stop a reader cold or intrigue him/her to read further. The article, “Data is a Four-Letter Word for Success,” describes three school districts (Boston, Houston, Norfolk) that serve more than 1.5 million high minority, high poverty student populations. These districts “increased overall student achievement while narrowing gaps among all children by using one universal element: data.” What is data-driven instruction? According to an article in eSchool News, “Data-driven Decision Making,” it is “the collection and analysis of test results, demographic information, and other student data to make more informed decisions about instruction.” Testing for the sake of testing is meaningless – it frustrates educators and students. It is our role as educators to turn data (test results) into change. Data tells the story of each individual student. By pinpointing each student’s strengths and weakness, planning instruction accordingly, and grouping and regrouping according to individual need, educators can help every student every day. How do we do this? We use our district’s technology (Excel, TestView, etc.) to gather, analyze, and apply data so we can “customize” instruction. When we all do this, every student’s story will be a success story.	Site Survey: Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage · Teach the Children Well http://www.teachthechildrenwell.com/ “Teach the Children Well is a collection of links to sites carefully selected by a teacher for students as well as their parents and teachers. The site was designed for elementary grades but many of the sites will also be of interest to older students.” · Overbooked: A Resource for Readers http://www.overbooked.org/genres/youth/index.html This site offers information about fiction and non-fiction – everything you ever thought you wanted to know – a great resource for all ages. · Hot Potato http://hotpot.uvic.ca/ The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. · SeaWorld/Busch Gardens: Animals http://www.seaworld.org/ Facts, animal sounds library, “new arrivals,” ecosystems, virtual exploration, zoo news network, and “Ask Shamu” your animal questions – all fun and educational.
	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