Take virtual trips around the world following the characters of the novel you are reading in class! Even better, engage your students in creating virtual trips that not only follow the characters of a novel but that also provide critical commentary on the novel to demonstrate higher-level thinking. Plus, these projects can be shared with (and then used by) others around the world with Google Lit Trips!

Have you ever heard of Google Earth? If not, Google Earth is a free piece of software for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. This software can be downloaded at school by our Field Engineers (Call the Help Desk at 847.934.8100--press 2!) on all compatible computers that meet minimum system requirements. (Please consult with your iTech teacher before calling the Help Desk and asking for an installation of Google Earth.) Google Earth is an atlas come alive--and one that can be modified further by students and others who mark it up with additional information and links.

With Google Lit Tours, students have created tours based on where the characters in the novels that they have read have lived and traveled. In some of these projects additional information has been added by the students that they have created as links while in other projects the links simply take one to off-site content, such as Wikipedia entries. These sites can also prove very engaging to explore as a pre-reading activity in small groups, too.

Does your e-mail Inbox overwhelm you? If so, Microsoft has some tips for helping you manage your Inbox. While these are great tips, and they do really work, they also require tools that are not available currently to all District 21 staff members at this point through the CommuniGate webmail interface we use.

We have begun migrating individuals to our new e-mail/calendar/contacts server, which is called Exchange. Exchange is fully functional with Microsoft's Outlook e-mail/calendar/contacts/tasks software as well as "mostly" functional, and fully compatible, with Microsoft's Entourage 2008 for Mac, part of Microsoft's Office for Mac suite. As we move to Exchange, District 21 staff members will also be able to utilize "Thin Client," which provides access to another computer through your computer. The picture below was taken on a Mac in District 21, and it shows a full screen view of Outlook in Windows. With software such as this, everyone can use the type of tools described in the article above!

As has been clear in recent weeks with the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld, mobility in the form of laptop computers, is king in the computer world today. With more District 21 laptops employed now than ever before, and with more and more District 21 employees owning their own laptops, they can take their work "on the go"--to the public library, a friend's house, or the local coffee shop. While using wireless connections can be really exciting and very easy-to-use, it can also include increased risks to both your computer and the data with which you are working. To keep yourself safe and secure, check out these tips from Microsoft.

Did you ever wonder how to type with appropriate punctuation in Spanish, such as accent marks and punctuation that doesn't exist in English? If so, you need the secrets afforded by the option key in Apple's OS X operating system. (The same tricks can be done in Windows, but there are different ways to do them.)

The option key can be found along the same row as the spacebar. On a full size desktop keyboard, there are two of them, one on each side of the spacebar. (The command key is between the keyboard and the option key on each side.) On an Apple laptop keyboard, it can be found just two keys to the left of the spacebar. A picture of the keyboard can be seen below, and it shows you what all of the keys will produce when holding down the option key.

While I know that this has been passed around by our iTech teachers for some time, it was recently re-distributed at Cooper Middle School. Below, you can see the handy list of keys and what each key produces when used in conjunction with the option key. You can also print the PDF version here.

So, use the option key, and type what you want to type!

(Yep. That's how the computer people actually spell it.)

The listserv is an e-mail tool that can be used for communication to a large group of recipients. Listservs are designed as e-mail sharing tools. They essentially do the same thing that one could do manually, by hand-entering lots of e-mail addresses, but putting everyone on to the listserv makes this process much easier for the user.

In their most pure form, anyone who is on the listserv CAN post to the listserv, and everyone who is on the listserv receives e-mails posted to the listserv. Often times, listservs are configured to automatically "reply to all", and while this can lead to an embarrassing accidental response to everyone, the idea is that it makes it very, very easy to share communication with everyone on the list.

Listservs can also be structured to function more like "subscription services," allowing the listserv's owner to send e-mails out to an entire group. Again, this could be done with the owner hand-entering each e-mail address. Now, though, the e-mail recipients can sign themselves up--simply by e-mailing the listserv!

Who would have a listserv in a school district? Well, over the last few years, lots of listservs have been developed in District 21 (see picture below). There are staff listservs, parent listservs, and even one student listserv!

In the case of the staff listservs, these typically function as "electronic meeting places" in which anyone on the list can post to the list. For example, on the e-mail below from Erin Schlenger to the Whitman listserv, she provides other staff members at Whitman with some web-based instructional resources that they may find useful. Rather than getting a paper memo in their mailboxes, paper and ink were saved, and more importantly, the end user (recipient of the e-mail) can just click on the links and go directly to the websites listed.

Our parent listservs have been constructed as subscription services, providing school staff members another way to communicate with parents. We have listservs in action as E-mail Subscription Services for Parents from a Kindergarten classroom to middle school teams to entire schools.

Teams can use these to remind and update parents on general information, such as the e-mail below from Team Unity. At Riley, Cooper, and London, teams (and a Kindergarten teacher) are using these tools on a regular basis.

Likewise, Riley's Learning Coach has established an electronic Parent Subscription Service for GaTE parents at Riley. Again, the use of a link in the communication allows parents to go directly to the website of the National Association for Gifted Children with just a click.

At the school level, electronic subscription services for parents are great for sending out reminders about upcoming school events as well as for getting the word out quickly about last minute changes, such as a meeting or event cancellation due to weather. In those cases, while not everyone will receive the e-mail, those that do may communicate its contents to others via word-of-mouth, thereby helping to spread the word.

Things to consider...

First, there are significant ethical issues in that not all of our families have Internet access available to them at home. In fact, many do not have such access. Thus, other than those last minute cancellations, anything that goes home in electronic format should also go out in print to ensure that all parents have access to critical information.

Second, it is important to understand that only one person can "own" the listserv, and depending on the type of listserv created, that individual may be the only one who can post to the listserv. If teammates provide useful information to share electronically, this is not a significant burden for that person, but if this person has to type every message from scratch, this may prove unwieldy.

Third, once you start to communicate to parents using such a tool, you should do so with some regularity. It does not need to be weekly or on a perfect schedule, but a pattern should present itself to end-users in order to help them know what to expect and when.

Fourth, if you begin a parent listserv, you will need to plan a "launch" and market it to parents. Encourage them to e-mail one another to sign up. It is as simple as them sending an e-mail to: whateverthelistservisnamed-on@ccsd21.org. You will not need to hand-enter all of their e-mail addresses. You will need to encourage them to sign-up, though.

Fifth, if you initiate or are part of a staff listserv, there should be clear rules communicated to everyone on the listserv about how it is to be used, and these rules do need to comply with our Acceptable Use Policy.

Finally, it is cheap and easy! Using our existing e-mail system, it only takes a few minutes to set-up and use a listserv. If you have a need that a listserv may help resolve, contact Jason Klein.

Yesterday, an alpha version (a very early test version) of Wikia Search launched. It has initially been created by the founder of Wikipedia, and like Wikipedia, the idea is that it will be managed by everyone who uses it (and has the know-how to manage it and has the desire to do something to it). Like with Wikipedia, the belief is that transparency will make it a valuable tool versus the other search engines, like Google and Yahoo. They are based on a model of generating advertising revenue, and they keep very secret the formulas that are used to determine the order that web pages appear in the search listings. (It’s much better to be near the top of the rankings after a search! Corporations and organizations will use all kinds of technical tricks to try to get their websites placed there!)

This is really a revolution in the goal of searching the Internet. Here the goal is to simply help you find what you need and to allow everyone who knows anything about computer programming to contribute to that process.

Read the BBC article.

As of yet, District 21 makes no recommendation about the use of Wikia for yourselves, personally or professionally. Additionally, we have policies that clearly guide us in our use of search engines with students. Our students live in a very different world... as do we...