We currently have Adobe Photoshop Elements installed on all desktops in labs, libraries, and classrooms as well as teacher laptops. Here are a few online training resources:
I have received a few questions about PC and Mac compatibility that I thought I would share.
If teachers or students are using Macs at home, there is no problem with bringing files like presentations and papers back and forth between home and school as long as a few things are understood.
The problem is not with the actual computer type (mac or pc), the problem is with the version and type of software that the student/teacher is using to create the presentation/project on their home Mac or home PC. Keep in mind that Office 2007 (Word 2007, Excel 2007, Powerpoint 2007) is installed on all Cranbrook computers.
1. If the student/teacher uses Office 2008 on their home Mac computer, then there is no issue…the files transfer to and from Office 2007 on the PC’s at Cranbrook seamlessly.
2. If a student/teacher uses an earlier version of Office on their home Mac (like Office 2004) or home PC (like Office 2000, XP, or 2003), then they will need to install the following compatability pack on their home Mac/PC in order to open, edit, and save Office 2007 files.
3. Also, remember that font styles, colors and themes may not be the same in various versions of Office so when you transfer files from one version to another, it may not look exactly the same.
4. If a student/teacher does not have any version of Office installed on their home Mac or PC, then there is no guarantee that files will be compatible or transferable. (For example, Apple iWork files like Keynote, Pages, and Numbers do not play nice with Office files like Powerpoint, Word, and Excel).
I have compiled a list of free online SMART Board training and resources for you below. My favorite is the LIVE Online Training which is a 30- to 60-minute computer and telephone conference led by a trainer from SMART.
Free Training Materials
Learn to use your SMART product with our easy-to-use Quick Reference Guides, Hands-on Practice exercises and Two-Minute Tutorials.
The Learning Management System
Free, self-paced online materials are designed to introduce you to SMART products and provide you with training at a time and location that works for you. Complete many online activities at your own pace.
Live Online Training
SMART online training sessions are 30- to 90-minute computer and telephone conferences that offer a quick, no-cost overview of the basics of your SMART product.
Recorded Online Sessions
Watch a 30-minute video version of our What’s New in Notebook Software 10 online training session. Video (113 MB). You must have the Adobe Flash player installed to watch the video.
This is a reminder that the State of Michigan’s Board-Approved CEU Master Listing System provides teachers, school guidance counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators throughout Michigan with up-to-the-minute detail about online and local professional development courses and sessions.
Be sure to check out the sessions/courses listed under these two categories: “Online-Courses” and ”Computer Science/Technology”!
Have you ever wanted to convert files without the need to download software? If so, Zamzar is dedicated to helping you transform your songs, videos, images and documents into different formats: http://www.zamzar.com/
What I like about Zamzar is that it allows me to download videos from YouTube and United Streaming (or any other website) and then convert them to an FLV format which is the only format that can be embedded directly into SMART Notebook pages.
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.
Features of Google Scholar
Search diverse sources from one convenient place
Find papers, abstracts and citations
Locate the complete paper through your library or on the web
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to leave comments in 5 ways – using voice (with a mic or phone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too. Voicethread is basically a Web-based digital-storytelling application that allows users to share their stories with anyone in the world or they can be kept private for selected individuals. One great benefit of Voicethread is that it allows an entire group’s story to be told and collected in one place.
Watch this short movie clip to gain a better understanding of Voicethread:
Teachers and students are using VoiceThread as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool.
You will need to login using your discovery streaming username/password. If you do not have one…see a librarian.
Interactive Training is a self-paced, easy-to-use program that helps you learn to use Discovery Education™ streaming. From basic site features to in-depth instructional strategies, this engaging series of lessons is a comprehensive instructional tool.
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.
