2nd+Week


 * Monday, February 16th - 4:30 - 6:00 pm (Schedule A)**

We took a look at Microsoft OneNote 2007 and discussed the possibilities of using this with students, especially 9th graders who will come to the High School next year with laptops that have OneNote installed. Basics of the OneNote screen are these: - Open Notebooks listed down the left side of the screen - Sections listed across the top of the screen - Pages and subpages listed down the right side of the screen

OneNote is a great organizational tool for both teachers and students. It has lots of possibilities for not only taking notes but also including graphics and audio into notes. It can also be used as a great presentation tool, providing teachers with more engaging ways to reach students. We really only scratched the surface at this meeting but many who were there suggested they would download the 60-day trial from the Microsoft site, use it for that length of time and then decide where to go from there.


 * Helpful links while you get started with OneNote 2007... **

Download the [|free 60-day trial] Learn the Basics of using OneNote by going through this [|30-40 minute OneNote Tutorial] Use OneNote's Online [|Help and How-to Webpage] Browse Microsoft's [|OneNote 2007 Homepage]

The last part of the meeting was spent using individual login information to access server space. We discussed which folders in a user's profile are secure and which aren't. The Public folder with Drop Box opportunity was discussed. Creating folders inside the Documents folder will be a good way to keep files and folders secure, while placing them in the Public folder will make them available to students. Security settings can be changed so that files stored there are "Read Only". That way students can copy them, but cannot change them. When teachers are interested in making these changes, they can contact Cheryl for help.


 * Friday, February 20th - 4:00 - 5:30 pm (Schedule B)**

This group is interested in using Twitter as a possible communication tool with students and groups of students. It is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? The group felt this might be easy to use and would enhance learning, especially since it appeals to students as an online social communication tool. Once we actually setup accounts and used the website, we realized that there are lots of inappropriate conversations going on there, depending on whose site you access. On the other hand, there are important conversations going on there, coming from news broadcasters to authors to President Obama. For now, we tabled this idea, but may need to come back to it later. To quicly access Twitter's website, [|click here]. In addition to creating an account there, you can view a short video to see what it's all about.

We also spent time with the Troutner book, choosing things that we want to pursue as individuals and as a group.