I recently learned about a piece of classroom management software called Moodle. This program allows teachers to create secure classroom environments online. Students can e-mail teachers and classmates, post their writing in blogs, discuss topics in online message boards, and utilize many other tools. Each child receives a unique username and password to ensure their safety. As a Moodle administrator, I can track, observe, and restrict anything students do within their “virtual class”. 
 
If you want to see how your students can benefit from Moodle, please visit http://demo.moodle.org/. The directions on this site well help you login to a demonstration class. I would love to hear your thoughts and concerns about this valuable tool. You can e-mail me at curtishitchens@walkerschools.org. 

Posted by: curtishitchens

Here are some directions for setting up an e-mail group. There is also a helpful picture attached to this entry.  
 
(1) Open Address Book, which is on your dock at the bottom of the screen. 
 
(2) Under the Group column, click on the plus sign in the lower left-hand corner. You can label the group Parents. 
 
(3) Under the Name column, click on the plus sign in the lower left-hand corner. Place a name and e-mail address in the appropriate fields. The field for an e-mail address is next to the word Work. 
 
(4) Continue to add group members by clicking on the plus sign in the lower left-hand corner of the Name column. 

Posted by: curtishitchens
Podcast: Picture 1.png

Are you interested in creating web pages and audio-only podcasts? If you don't have access to Apple's iLife applications, you should consider downloading Nvu and Audacity. These free programs make it simple to produce quality html documents and audio files. Nvu and Audacity can be found at these sites: http://www.nvu.com/index.php 
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ 
 
When you download Audacity, be sure to grab a second file called Lame. This file helps Audacity export audio clips into the MP3 format. 

Posted by: curtishitchens

Many of you have expressed an interest in creating a blog. Before beginning this process, you must e-mail Curtis Faulkner (curtisfaulkner@walkerschools.org) and ask him to create a username and password for your account. Once this step is complete, you can follow the directions below: 
 
(1) Go to http://www.walkerschools.org/weblog 
(2) Find your blog in the list and click on it once. 
(3) Click on Login along the right-hand side of the page, enter your username and password, then click on Login. 
(4) On the right-hand side of the page, click on New Category. 
(5) Place a category title in the box labeled Name and click on Save. 
**You can create an infinite number of categories, but I stick with three to keep things simple.** 
 
(6) Click on New Entry along the right-hand side of the page. 
(7) Select one of the categories you created from the pull-down menu labeled Category. 
(8) Type in a name for your entry in the box labeled Name. 
(9) Type your entry inside the box at the bottom of the window, then click on Save. 
**You can create an infinite number of entries in each category.** 
**Under each entry, you can click on Edit or Delete to modify/eliminate previous entries.** 
 
(10) Click on Settings along the right-hand side of the page. 
(11) Change only the Weblog Name and Description. 
(12) Click on Save to retain your changes. 
 
(13) When you are completely finished working with your blog, click on Logout. 

Posted by: curtishitchens

Beginning in August, Fairyland will have a new Internet radio station. Teachers can tune in from any location throughout the building. Students will be selecting music and recording announcements about upcoming events. Use these steps to begin listening to FES Radio: 
 
(1) Open iTunes and click on Music in the top left-hand corner of the window. 
 
(2) Click on the Advanced pull-down menu and select Open Stream. 
 
(3) Type in the following string of characters and click on OK: 10.7.6.50 
 
(4) If the music doesn't begin playing immediately, click on the play button in the top left-hand corner of the iTunes window. 
 
OR 
 
I can send you a file called music.txt, which can be imported into iTunes. Once the file is saved, open iTunes and select Import from the File menu. Next, find music.txt and import the file. Finally, click twice on "Fairyland School Radio" to begin listening. We can broadcast both music and videos! 
 

Posted by: curtishitchens

Fairyland School now has a podcast that's accessible through iTunes. Students will be recording school related content periodically. Follow the steps below to check it out: 
 
(1) Open iTunes and click on Podcasts (left side of window). 
 
(2) Click on Podcast Directory. 
 
(3) In the top right-hand corner of the directory, look for "Search iTunes Store". 
 
(4) Type "Fairyland School" in the box and press return. 
 
(5) Click twice on "Fairyland School Podcast" at the bottom of the window to begin listening. 
 
(6) You can also click on the Subscribe button, which allows you to easily access the latest version of our podcast. 

Posted by: curtishitchens

We should all start taking advantage of iCal. This program allows you to easily manage your schedule inside and outside of school. Use the steps below to create an event and send it to other people. 
 
(1) Open iCal, Click on the File pull-down menu, and select New Event 
 
(2) On the right-hand side of the screen, you can change the name, location, date, time, and other information associated with your event. 
 
(3) If you want to share an event, click on the box next to Attendees (right-hand side of the screen) and type in the e-mail address of the recipient. You can send an event to more than one person by separating each address with a comma. 
 
(4) To send your event, click on the Send button in the bottom right-hand corner of the iCal window. 
 

Posted by: curtishitchens

I read a really cool article about iPhoto and sharing your pictures via the network at school. Using this strategy will allow everyone on your grade level to easily add, delete, and modify photos. 
 
(1) Open iPhoto and click on the iPhoto pull-down menu at the top. 
 
(2) Click on Preferences and select the Sharing tab at the top. 
 
(3) Place a check in the box next to Look for Shared Photos and Share My Photos. 
 
(4) You can either share a Library (Collection of Albums) or specific Albums within a Library. 
 
(5) You can also create a name and password for the Library or Album you decide to share. 
 
These same steps can also be performed in iTunes to share your music with everyone. 

Posted by: curtishitchens

(1) In PowerGrade, open any class (excluding HR, Health, etc.) 
(2) Click on Preferences along the top of the screen 
(3) Click on the Display tab 
(4) Enter the date range for the appropriate quarter 
(5) Click on OK 
 
NEXT... 
 
(1) Open any class and click on the column labeled for the last quarter 
(2) In the window, select the appropriate quarter from the pull-down menu 
(3) Make sure there is a check in the box next to "Show on Spreadsheet" 
 
IF YOU WANT TO HIDE GRADES FROM A QUARTER... 
 
(1) Open any class and click on the column for the appropriate quarter 
(2) In the window, select the appropriate quarter from the pull-down menu 
(3) Make sure there IS NOT a check in the box next to "Show on Spreadsheet" 
(5) Click on OK 

Posted by: curtishitchens

Before attempting to use Kid Pix Deluxe 4, you need to make some changes: 
 
(1) Go under the Apple menu and select System Preferences 
(2) Click on Quicktime and select the Advanced tab  
(3) Place a check in the box next to Enable Flash 
(4) Close the window 
 
(1) Open the Macintosh HD 
(2) Double-click on Applications 
(3) Double-click on Utilities 
(4) Open Terminal 
(5) Enter the following string of characters:  
 
sudo chmod -R 777 
 
(6) Be sure to put a space after 777 
(7) Go back to the Macintosh HD and open the Users folder 
(8) Open the Shared folder 
(9) Drag the folder labeled "The Learning Company" into the Terminal window 
(10) Press Return 
(11) Enter your administrator password 
(12) Press Return again 
(13) Close Terminal 

Posted by: curtishitchens

If you are attempting to use LMS 4.0 in conjunction with the House software series, please be aware of some issues I've experienced. 
 
In order to get LMS to launch correctly, you have to visit http://support.riverdeep.com/faq_list.asp?id=1294820976 and download a file called Info.plist. After acquiring this file, you should complete the following steps: 
 
(1) Login as an administrator 
 
(2) Go to the Utilities folder and open Terminal 
 
(3) Enter the follow string of characters:  
sudo mv ~/Desktop/Info.plist /Applications/Riverdeep_LMS_4.0/SALauncher.app/contents  
(make sure there is a space before /Applications) 
 
(4) Press return and enter your administrator password 
 
(5) Press return a second time 
 
If you're logged into your computer as a non-administrator, you need to make an additional change to use LMS 4.0. Follow these steps: 
 
(1) Login as an administrator 
 
(2) Go to the Utilities folder and open Terminal 
 
(3) Enter the follow string of characters:  
sudo chmod -R 777 (there should be a space after 777) 
 
(4) Open the Applications folder on your hard drive and drag the LMS 4.0 folder into the Terminal window 
 
(5) Press return and enter your administrator password 
 
(6) Press return  

Posted by: curtishitchens