Welcome to the ninth issue of the SAU 16 TechLetter. This newsletter's goals are to keep you abreast of the latest technology news, highlight interesting technology stories, and to inform you of professional development opportunities.
FirstClass 8 Upgrade Coming this Summer
Technical Support plans to upgrade the FirstClass mail system early this summer. The FirstClass server has been used so much over the last year, it is currently at 96% capacity. That is a good sign meaning it is getting used! They will be replacing the FirstClass server with one that is 6 times faster with 300% more hard drive space, and redundant power and network connections (less downtime).
There is also a MAJOR update coming at the end of this month. FirstClass 8.0 is being released. Some of the new features:
* Calendar is improved
* Web interface has been overhauled - The web-based interface will look like the client interface so now you won't be able to tell if you are using the client or using the web. Almost identical! It will be much easier to access your e-mail from any internet machine.
* A new Contact Management Feature
And many other improvements. Those of you that like Microsoft Outlook will find this interface much more pleasing.
They are also implementing a Technology Workorder System that will be integrated into FirstClass. You will notice a "new" icon on your desktop. This is a conference which will contain the link to submit a workorder and any technology announcements you may need to know. More to come on this issue over the summer (a busy season for tech. support)!
Open Source
Software / Linux - What is it?
Open source is a term coined in the nineties to represent free software (for more information on the definition of the terminology, check out LearnThat.com or the Open Source Initiative - www.opensource.org.) It is software that can be freely distributed and must be distributed along with its source code. Thus the source can be changed easily, and the program can be altered to fix bugs or add features. Some popular examples of Open Source software are Linux (an operating system) and Mozilla (a browser).
SAU 16 is starting to implement more open source solutions throughout the technology infrastructure. Why?
COST SAVINGS!! This is usually the first stated and most widely known advantage. Software licensing takes a large portion of the computer budget.
Sharing of information, code and support - the open source community thrives on a model of sharing and there is a large corps of developers, Internet mailing lists, archives and support databases—all available at no cost
Ability to offer more resources to more people. Students and teachers can have similar software for use at home for free. Allows more people access to technology tools.
Extends the use of hardware - we can use older PCs as "terminals" that will run off a "server" and run modern applications faster than a PC.
Reliability - Tech. support finds many of these programs install faster and are easier and more reliable to support.
Each school will begin to see more computers operating on the Linux operating system and using Star Office as the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Some of our websites and Tech. Services solutions already use open source software and we will continue to look for opportunities to use more. You can review a chart of suggested software that will run on Linux as replacements for our current software products along with the associated costs/potential savings. For more news and web links about Open Source at SAU 16, you can view the SAU 16 Open Source website from the Technology section of the SAU 16 site.
The SMS DreamWriter Project: A Low Tech Tool for High Tech
What if your students always had access to computer equipment for writing? We all might dream about this but currently the price is out of the question for most schools. What if students had access to something a bit lower on the tech scale? Would it be enough to make a difference? This spring at Stratham Memorial School, we decided to test this out. Each 3rd grade student received a pre-owned Dreamwriter to use. These units are basically lightweight battery powered word processors. The units have a parallel port to connect directly to a printer, a memory card port to archive files, and a serial port to transfer files to a computer. Up to 100 pages of writing can be stored at a time in the file storage area.
Initially students asked:
“Can I go on the Internet from my DreamWriter?” No…
“Can I set the screen to have colors?” No…
“Can I take them home?” Not at this time but that might change in the future...
“Can I do IM with my DreamWriter?” No…
They were a little disappointed by these answers but were encouraged by the following:
“Can I keep them in my desk?” Yes, but they do need to be recharged every few days.
“Can I use them for my spelling words?” Yes as long as your teacher approves.
“Does it have a spell checker?” Yes, and it even has a dictionary and a thesaurus.
“What happens if it turns off and I have not saved my document?” The main writing window should still have your writing unless the Dreamwriter has locked up.
“Can I bring what I type on my Dreamwriter into Word or PowerPoint?” Yes your files can be transferred to your network folder and read into these programs.
So that is how it started and boy it has been a very busy spring indeed as these students thoroughly endorsed the DreamWriter concept. They loved being able to write and quickly get printouts. They loved how mobile these units were so they could even work on the floor or take them into another room. Students wrote letters to community members, wrote Mars Colony reports, wrote Birthday and Student of the Week letters, wrote animal reports, and used them for other writing activities. Some students used the Dreamwriters to take notes for a research project and then scrolled through these notes as they constructed PowerPoint presentations. Even Kindergarten students were introduced to DreamWriters through a “My Alien” buddy story writing project. You know you have struck gold when you hear that teachers have to specifically tell their students to put their Dreamwriters away.
Now as the year ends they are eagerly awaiting the fall return of their DreamWriters.
“Are we going to have DreamWriters in 4th Grade?” Yes but probably not the exact same units.
“I am going to miss my DreamWriter over the summer. I wish I could take it home…”
“Thank you for giving us DreamWriters.”
A final note of thanks to the SMS third grade teachers that fostered this DreamWriter program: Cathy Wansart, Chris Gaudet, Donna Lee, Charlene Gelineau, Anne Leonard and Pat Robinson.
School websites show teachers' imagination
Several teachers at Swasey Central, along with support from the Media Center, have used the school website in imaginative ways this year.
Grade 4 created a website using MS Publisher on the Respiratory System - check it out and turn up your speakers if your computer has sound.
The Unified Arts teachers had the fifth grade perform songs related to history studies and posted videos of their performances on the website.
Ms. Desmarais posted student work for her first graders - illustrated riddles!
At the Cooperative Middle School, the Art teacher has posted student art work in an unusual manner - you can send a greeting card with it - if you haven't used this feature, send a card to someone you love (better than Hallmark).
Both the Middle School and High School Library Media Centers have been busy creating websites full of resources on reference websites, searching the web, information literacy, resource citations, copyright and plagiarism, and links to many wonderful sites on various subjects. There are resources here that everyone in the district can utilize.
NWEA testing
Each school in SAU 16 piloted a new student assessment test this spring called the NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). These tests were administered on computers and the advantages of using computers for this testing are multiple:
In the Fall of 2004, all students grades 3-10 will take these online tests in Reading, Mathematics and Language Usage. For more information on NWEA testing in SAU 16, there is a web page for teachers under Teacher Resources on the SAU 16 site and an information page for parents and the community under Curriculum and Assessment on the SAU 16 site.
SPDC
Expanding its Service
The Seacoast Professional Development Center, located at 24 Front Street in Exeter, is looking forward to it's second summer of workshops. They will be providing training every day from July 12th through August 20th with participants from 10 different school districts in the Seacoast Area. For more information, view the SPDC website (note - SPDC website now on Open Source software called Mambo).
SST
Brings Technology into the Classroom
Bob Bailey teaches Marketing Education at SST and uses technology in most all aspects of his classroom. He has enhanced the curriculum for M.E. students so that in their second year they can concentrate on E-Commerce, Web Design or Business Management after having studied general marketing principles their first year. He plans next year to set up an online store to complement the on-site store and offer students a hands-on opportunity to use the internet to expand their experiences and he’s adding how to use the small-business accounting software, Quickbooks, to the curriculum. He uses the internet for career development resources, examples of public relations, customer service, and advertising, and as a resource for teaching certain topics. The American Marketing Association and Marketing Education Resource Center (MarkEd) both provide websites that are rich in materials for students and professionals and they provide newsletters that the students can receive on a regular basis on current topics pertinent to their focus. WebCT provides a web platform for him to place assignments, links to website resources, course syllabus, online tutorials, and a calendar of events. All his students have e-mail accounts on gaggle.com (a moderated, filtered e-mail system for students) so they can communicate regularly and send assignments and project work. When asked what the most valuable tool in his classroom is now, he responds that the overhead projector that allows him to show powerpoint presentations and web information is the most valuable. Students seem to agree as they walk around the room with the wireless mouse and keyboard and share their end-of-year projects with the class. Students graduating from Bob’s class will have used technology for many aspects of their learning in addition to learning computer skills that they can carry directly into the workforce.
Professional Development Opportunities
- SPDC Summer Workshops
- Connected University - original subscriptions are extended to Aug. 2004 so if you have a subscription and haven't had the opportunity to finish a course, this summer may be a good time. New subscriptions are available through the SPDC.
- TeacherLine - a PBS-run set of online courses
- Webteacher.org - an online tutorial that explores web basics, email, newsgroups, chat, video, web pages, etc. and using the web in your classroom - a great resource for learning more about the internet on your own.
