Being able to use attachments in email is a fundamental skill that you really need to know.  It cuts down on paperwork, and can make your life a whole lot easier.  Attachments are especially good to use when you are cooresponding with one person, or with a person outside the school division.  If you plan on sharing files (pictures, documents, etc) with a large group of people, it would be best to post that to a drive.  More on how to do that later.  For now…here are some simple directions for attaching a document in Kerio.

1. Create a new email message. 
2. Click on the paperclip icon.
3. Click “Browse.”
4. Find the location of the file (that you want to attach) on your computer. Click on the name of the document and then click “Open.” 
5.  If you are successful, you will see the name of the document on your email message in the “Attachments” section.  You can type the rest of the email and send it.

I’ve uploaded a handout with pictures too.  It’s located in the blue box on the right hand side of the blog.  If you would like to send me a test attachment, just write that in your email, and I’ll let you know if I’ve received it. :)

Google Docs is an online way to edit excel, word, and now, PowerPoint files online, collaboratively! More than one person can work on a presentation this way, from anywhere…whether or not they have MS Office on their computer. Thanks to Vicki Davis, I had a chance to try the new PowerPoint part out with a group of fellow educators (in an amazing show of collaboration) and was impressed. She blogged the conversation here. For those of you who like to work on things from home, this might be a tool you want to check out!

I’m so excited to be starting my third year working as an ITRT with my schools! I’ve been so impressed with teachers since I’ve been here, and as I watch them find new ways to use technology, I get even more excited for what’s to come. I know I’ve learned a lot about working with teachers and technology in the past two years…I hope you’ve learned a thing or two too!

I do want to give you a heads up on the role I’ll be playing more this year than I have in the past–your assistant! What this means is that I would like to be stepping out of the “lead teacher” role when we do classroom lessons together, and more into the “assistant” role, especially when we teach lessons or use programs we have worked on together in the past. After all, the point of my job is to assist you so that you feel more comfortable using different technology with your students…and then to step away, and let you shine.

This doesn’t mean I won’t help you when you want to try something brand new. I’ll be happy to play the lead role anytime you try something new and different!! I’ll also be happy to review the use of a program with you before we go do a lesson with your students, and I’ll be there to help out whenever you need it!

Dayna Wells has set up a webcam in Sherri Shupe’s room at Andrew Lewis Middle School to capture Monarch butterflies emerging from their chrysalis. Click here to see! There is also a link to the webcam page on the ALMS home page.

I am placing a notebook in the computer lab of each school that contains handouts for most of the programs installed in the lab and on the carts.  These handouts were created by the ITRTs for you to use.  Feel free to copy and share, but please leave the notebook and all it’s pages in the lab so that others can find and use it too.

You can also find handouts in the blue box on the right-hand column of this blog.  Feel free to download, print, and share them!  If there is one that you need that’s not there, let me know!

In the near future, we plan on adding links to these handouts on the ITRT site as well, and I’ll let you know when that happens!

Ever had your students write about this topic? I couldn’t resist sharing a couple of my experiences this summer, but thought it might be nice to do it digitally.

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Monterey, California

I love to travel, and I had never been to Monterey before. I was able to see a California Mission, drive up the coast to Big Sur, drive down the coast to San Franciso to tour Alcatraz, and take a helicopter flight over the coast. It was an awesome trip!
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Kings Dominion

Yep, to ride roller coasters. Since I grew up in Richmond, I spent tons of time at Kings Dominion as a kid. Boy, things have changed since then. I hadn’t been back in about 10 years, so it was a blast to ride all the new rides. The Volcano was my favorite, maybe because of the new video technology I observed. Check out the video above, and yes, I’m the one screaming her head off.

And that’s what I did on my summer vacation.

Next week I’ll be passing out the handouts to make seating charts. This year, I want you to assign the students number that go with the seating chart. Those numbers will be used in the computer lab and with the laptop carts, and will make keeping up with which students use which computers much easier. I’ll be making copies of these and putting them in notebooks on top of each cart. Between the online schedule and the assigned numbers, we will be able to tell which students used which computers each day. Thanks for your help with following this!

You can find a blank copy of the seating chart on the G drive (G:\east\Student Computer Numbers or G:\gwc\Student Computer Numbers).