Have you discovered Themes? April 28, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in How To.Tags: How To
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When we first switched over to this new email powered by Google, one of the first questions I asked was “why don’t we have a link to go in and change our theme?” You see, I’ve had a GMail account for a while and I knew this was an option I had there and I wanted to use it in our new email. What are themes you ask? Themes are simply different choices for how your email looks. Some are simply different color choices - similar to the option we had in desknow where you could choose between the blue, a green color or an orange-ish color, and other themes incorporate pictures. A simple way to jazz up the way your email screen looks — and since it is becoming more and more a part of our lives I personally like it to look nice while I have to use it!
Here’s how to change the theme in your email. After you have logged in, click on the “settings” link in the upper right corner of your email screen. Once at the settings screen, click on the “themes” link (almost straight down from the settings link). Choose your theme, then watch as your email screen takes on a new look. Some themes require you to enter a city, and based on the location you enter, the theme will change from day to day.
Go ahead … spruce up that email screen 
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
Michigan Authors and Illustrators April 23, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in MeL Database Review Series, Web Resource.add a comment
The Michigan Authors and Illustrators database is recommended for the general user looking for reading advice. The database has a very simple layout with the search options in a box to the left — search results appear in a box on the right.
This searchable database provides biographical and contact information for authors and illustrators from Michigan. The database also indicates if the author/illustrator is available to do presentations and provides a listing of the author/illustrator’s work and any awards they may have won.
This database would be most useful for the teacher looking to share the work of Michigan authors and illustrators with their class.
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
Kids InfoBits April 21, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in MeL Database Review Series, Web Resource.Tags: MeL, Online Resources
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Kids InfoBits is designed for use by kids in Kindergarten - 6th grade. The database has eye catching colors and icons sure to grab young student’s attention.
The database’s homepage has 12 icons representing the 12 main categories into which information has been divided. Students can click on a main category to see a listing of subcategories. When they click on a subcategory, they get an even more specific listing to choose from. When they choose their final topic, they get a page that shows file folder type tabs across the top dividing the available information by format. Kids InfoBits has full text from reference books, magazines, newspapers, maps, flags & seals, charts and graphs, and images. Entries are coded for reading difficulty level although I don’t think most kids will pay much attention to this feature.
One very nice feature this database offers is the ability to have an article read to you. Great for very young students or students who struggle with reading.
The site also has a link to a dictionary and a “Teacher Toolbox” link which includes information on how to judge information, choose a topic, write a topic sentence, create an outline, cite a source, organize a report, and write a conclusion.
The site does offer a simple search box, and a button to take you to an advanced search screen, for those who wish to simply type in a topic vs. search for it through the subject-based topic tree. Using the topic tree can be helpful though for students who haven’t decided on a topic yet and can also help students understand how things are organized and grouped into categories.
This database covers animals, plants, people, geography, science & math, stories & literature, history & social studies, transportation, inventions & technology, health, arts & entertainment, and sports.
To use this database, visit our webpage (http://www.montabella.com) and choose the Media Center link in the Elementary drop down menu, once at the Media Center page, scroll down to the listing of databases where you will find the Kids InfoBits icon. OR you can visit http://mel.org, click on ”MeL Databases” and then click on the “Kids InfoBits” link. Please note that if you access this from home you will have to type in a MI driver’s license or state ID number.
This is a great tool for elementary students to use when doing reports!
~Happy Computing
Katrina
Cool Tool April 16, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in Uncategorized.add a comment
I found the coolest thing today … I don’t know about you, but I am always finding stuff on the web that I need/want to read, but sometimes I just don’t have time right at that moment to read it. This little browser add-on can help you remember those things so you can go back to them later when you have time and read them. The “I Need to Read This” button is easy to add to the toolbar of your browser, and then whenever you find one of those things that you want to remember to go back to later, all you have to do is click it. When you have time to read some of those things, simply click the button and then click on the “View my to-read list”. How cool is that?!
To access the site to add the button
http://ineedtoreadthis.com/
Learning Express Library March 24, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in MeL Database Review Series, Useful Stuff, Web Resource.Tags: MeL, Online Resources
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The first resource I am going to cover in our series about the online databases available through MeL is Learning Express Library. Learning Express Library is for the general user. It offers interactive practice tests and tutorial courses in the following “Learning Centers”: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College Preparation, College Students, GED Preparation, Job Search and Workplace Skills, Jobs and Careers, Skill Building for Adults, and U.S. Citizenship.
The elementary through high school categories include math, reading, vocabulary, writing, spelling and grammar improvement practice activities. The college preparation category includes practice test for many major tests, including: ACT, SAT, PSAT/NMQST, and AP Prep. The Jobs and Careers area offers practice tests for many different careers which require a test for licensing such as: civil service, cosmetology, emergency medical services, firefighter, law enforcement, military, nursing and allied health, real estate, and teaching.
Users get immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and an individualized analysis of their results.
To begin, visit our webpage (http://www.montabella.com/MEDIA_PAGES/hs_media_main.htm) OR visit http://mel.org, click on ”MeL Databases” and then click on the “LearningExpress Library” link. Please note that if you access this from home you will have to type in a MI driver’s license or state ID number, Users do have to sign up for a free account in order to take the tests. This allows you to keep track of tests you have taken, and to stop a test and pick it up at a later date.
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
MeL - Michigan Electronic Library March 18, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in Useful Stuff, Web Resource.Tags: Online Resources
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What is MeL?? MeL is short for “Michigan eLibrary” (http://mel.org). It provides all Michigan residents with free access to online full-text articles, full-text books, digital images, and other research information at any time on the Internet. Databases are available for kids, adults, and on specialized topics such as car repair, practice tests and art images. It also provides an easy-to-use interlibrary loan system allowing Michigan residents to borrow books and other library materials for free from participating Michigan libraries.
MeL has recently unveiled a new resource — MORE: Michigan Online Resources for Educators, which allows teachers and parents to find lesson plans and curriculum aids searchable by subject and aligned to state standards.
“MeL is a project of the Library of Michigan, an agency of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. The Library of Michigan contracts with the Michigan Library Consortium and partners with a number of Michigan organizations and institutions to provide the MeL service.” (From MeL website)
For the next couple of months the Technology Tidbits posts will be focusing on the different databases available through MeL. I will be “introducing” a different MeL database in each post — explaining what kinds of information can be found in each database and some of the different search features offered in each particular database.
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
Pictures in your DeskNow Email February 9, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in Uncategorized.add a comment
When you receive pictures in your email do they show up in the body of the message or as attachments? If they show up in the body of your message, you may have noticed that they are usually very large and sometimes it is impossible to see the entire picture. If you would prefer to have pictures come to you as attachments, you need to make the following changes in your preferences:
Click on “Preferences” in the upper left hand frame 
(in the list under your inbox)
In the list that appears in the right hand frame, choose “General”
Uncheck the box next to “Preview Image Attachments”
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
Opening MS Word 2007 documents with older versions of Word February 2, 2009
Posted by Katrina Gormley in How To, Useful Stuff.add a comment
If you have recently purchased a new computer with MS Office, or have been sent a document by someone who has, you may have seen some files that look to be Microsoft Office documents, but their file extensions were different from what you are used to. The new Microsoft Office 2007 saves documents with different file extensions — the Word files are most commonly save with the .docx file extension. Older versions of Word (like what we have here at school) won’t open the newer documents unless you load a converter on your computer. The converter can be downloaded for free from Microsoft by visiting this webpage http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en
Also remember, you can always save a file as an older version or even in a version compatible with another program such as WordPerfect or MS Works, by changing the “Save As Type” at the bottom of the Save As dialog box.
~Happy Computing,
Katrina
Got (too much) Mail? November 13, 2008
Posted by Katrina Gormley in How To.add a comment
Does your email inbox take up more than one screen? Do you have messages that you just don’t want to delete, but that really don’t need to be cluttering up your inbox? Try making folders to organize things a bit. Check out the attached document with step-by-step directions on how to create folders in the email system to keep your email organized!
Organizing Email Using Folders
Automobile Recall Notices November 11, 2008
Posted by Katrina Gormley in Useful Stuff, Web Resource.add a comment
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), an office within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is now offering the option to have recall notices for vehicles sent to your email. By visiting the ODI’s webpage and choosing the E-Mail Recall Notifications link, you can sign up to receive email notifications whenever a recall notice is posted for your vehicle(s). You can choose to receive all vehicular recall notices or you can specify up to 5 make and model year combinations (unfortunately you can’t get as specific as your actual model). You can also receive recall notices concerning motorcycles, buses and trailers (including RV trailers).
