WWWords to Live By

Tangipahoa Parish Technology Training

Wondering what kind of technology training is going on in TPSS? Check out the new Tech Training Calendar at http://my.calendars.net/tpsstechcalendar. There is always a link to it from the Tangischools Technology page at http://www.tangischools.org/tech.html.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting is very excited to announce that they will be providing Unitedstreaming™, a new video-on-demand service that is now available to Tangipahoa Parish School System at no charge. Unitedstreaming™ offers teachers and students more than 20,000 core-curriculum video clips and teacher resources that are directly correlated to the Louisiana Content Standards. The video clips can be streamed or downloaded, then incorporated into classroom lessons and multimedia student projects. LPB's partner in this new service is United Learning, a leading distributor of educational audiovisual materials since 1954.

http://www.lpb.org/education/classroom/itv/unitedstream/index.htm gives you specific directions.

Each TPSS school has a generic login and password that is being distributed to the HOTT team members and the school librarians. Teachers should use the generic information, then create their own personalized login and password. Downloading of these videos takes a huge amount of bandwidth on the TPSS network, so teachers are asked to download videos before 8:00 a.m. or after 3:00 p.m. Of course, these resources are available from any internet connected computers.

It is recommended that the videos are burned to CDs after downloading them if you are worried about the amount of space that the video takes up on your computer's hard drive.

TEAMS Teaching Circles

TEAMS Teaching Circles is a new web-based resource for K-8 teachers designed to assist in developing teaching practices. These resources are also beneficial to mentor teachers and teacher trainers looking for resources to share with new teachers. TEAMS Teaching Circles is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Dept of Ed and is FREE for all teachers in Louisiana.

How To Access TEAMS Teaching Circles

• Go to TEAMS Teaching Website at http://teachingcircles.lacoe.edu/
• Go to the sidebar and click on “How to Subscribe”
• “Are you a teacher for one of our National Partners”? Click on YES
• In the “Registration Instruction” box, select your group from the pull-down menu – Louisiana
• Enter the Password for your Group (Get the password by emailing vickib@tangischools.org)
• Click the “Register” button.
• Complete “Required Personal Information” and “Username & Password”
• Click on “Complete Registration” … “Congratulations! You are now a member of TEAMS Teaching Circles” will appear.
• “Click here to login with your Username”

Login using your email address as your user name and new password

Command Anti-Virus is our OLD anti-virus software that is no longer effective. It needs to be removed from all TPSS computers because it is causing some conflicts and problems on the computers. To uninstall Command....

1. Go to Start -Control Panel - double click on "Add or Remove Programs."

2. Click to select Command Anti-Virus Software and click on Uninstall or Remove and then let it uninstall.

3. It WILL NOT uninstall correctly on all computers, so the HOTT team member at each school should compile a list of the computers on which Command would NOT uninstall.

Click "Start / Run" and type the following string...please note the *** are the three initials for your server.

\\***-dc\image\inosetup.exe/s /N-

Wild Wonderful Web Sites

This is a new feature in the Bits & Bytes Newsletter where we would like to highlight websites that are recommended by the teachers of TPSS.  I would love to hear from you about the best educational sites you have found on the web. Please submit, via email, the sites you feel merit inclusion. Send your recommendations to vickib@tangischools.org  Please include the URL and a short sentence about the site. 

Teachers, Check It Out

Bobbie Smith from Hammond Eastside Primary recommends Internet for Classrooms - Helping Teachers Use the Internet Effectively. "I use this site for my students to practice reading and math skills."

Windows Logo Key Shortcuts

The Windows Logo key located in the lower-left-hand quadrant of most keyboards (if you can't find this, just look for a key that resembles the Windows Logo) is actually a very quick access point for a number of useful and commonly used Windows commands. Here's the short list:

• Hit the Logo key once to access the Windows Start menu.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit D to minimize or restore all open windows.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit E to open the Windows Explorer file management application.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit F to launch the File search interface (it will say "Search Results" at the top of the window.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit F1 to access the Help and Support Center.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit R to access the Run dialogue box.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit Break (this key is usually shared with Pause) to access the System Properties box
• Hold down the Logo key and hit Tab to step through taskbar buttons. Repeatedly hit Tab to keep stepping through them.
• Hold down the Logo and Ctrl keys and hit F to search for another computer on your network.
• Hold down the Logo key and hit U to open the Utility Manager.

If you don't like the Office Assistant following you around, you can turn it off by right-clicking it and then clicking "Hide" on the shortcut menu that appears. If your Office Assistant isn't activated and you feel like you're missing out on the fun, you can activate it by clicking "Help" (in the open Office program) and then clicking Show the Office Assistant.

Always check your cable connections before panicking.... so many times the surge protector has been turned off by accident, or the electricity plug has wiggled loose from the wall socket. The monitor cable might be loose or the printer cable is not connecting.... check those plugs and cables FIRST!!!

Tangipahoa Parish School System Technology Department
59656 Puleston Road, Amite LA. 70422
Voice 985-345-1406 or 985-748-2469; Fax 985-748-2445
Bits & Bytes Newsletter
December 1, 2003
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