A Weekly Taste of What’s Cool

[Pages:6]A Weekly Taste of What's Cool

in Educational Technology

Every Tuesday

Kahla Middle School

Week of Tuesday, December 12 (Holiday Edition)

In This Week's Edition: Microsoft Word Tip of the Week: Holiday Card and Letter Templates. Microsoft Excel Tip of the Week: Top Secret: Do Not Print Microsoft PowerPoint Tip of the Week: Make Your Presentations Viewable by Others Top Tip Of The Week: Yes, Virginia Cool Websites of the Week: Holiday Top 10 30 Minute Afterschool Taste of Technology Training: Photovisi Teacher Technology Spotlight: Kids and Computers! Technology Spotlight: Cool Stuff for Your Home Computer

This week's Word Tip is Holiday Card and Letter Templates.



This week's ExCel Tip is Top Secret: Do Not Print

When it's time to print your Excel worksheet, you may prefer that some information is left unprinted. To avoid printing specific rows or columns, just hide them before printing. To hide rows, select them by clicking the row numbers (click and drag to select a block of rows; hold down Ctrl while clicking to select non-adjacent rows). Then right-click one of the highlighted border row numbers and click Hide. Use the same procedure to hide columns (but right-click a highlighted column letter to choose Hide). When you're finished printing, you can quickly unhide all rows or columns by selecting the entire worksheet (click the blank gray box formed by the intersection of the row and column borders at the top left corner of your spreadsheet). Then right-click a row or column border and choose Unhide.

This week's PowerPoint Tip is to Make Your Presentations Viewable by Others

One drawback of PowerPoint 2007 is you can't open the files in earlier versions of PowerPoint. The 2007 version of the program uses a new file format that's not compatible with earlier versions.What can you do if people without PowerPoint 2007 need to open your presentation? Save the file as a PowerPoint 97-2003 document. Instead of saving the file as you normally would, go to file save as and choose "PowerPoint 97--2003 Presentation."

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters

and stamps. and

Cool Websites of the Week

There are many fun and interactive sites for kids on the Internet that are only used a few weeks out of the year. I have listed ten of the best Christmas sites below for kids of all ages to play and explore.

1. Top Shelf offers Christmas jokes, games, crafts, Christmas Carols and so much more to keep kids busy while waiting for Santa Clause.

2. Norad is where your kids can track Santa with the best tracking devices You will always know where Santa is and where his next stop will be. When night falls, light up the town with your mouse so Santa can find his way...take a virtual sleigh ride, explore the night sky, read stories, and play hand bells.

3. Apples for the Teacher lets you have fun while decorating the tree and its surroundings. 4. Ten Little Snowmen is a great site for preschoolers to learn to follow simple instruction while having fun

building a snowman. 5. The Toy Box is where kids will have hours of fun playing dress up with Santa and his elves. 6. Elf Yourself is fun for all ages. Choose a face from your own photos and turn it into a dancing elf

complete with music. They make great online Christmas Cards. 7. The Doll Palace where girls can have hours of fun dressing dolls in beautiful gowns and everyday

clothes with hundreds of accessories. 8. Design Your Own Gingerbread House is great fun for all ages. 9. The Christmas Room Maker has everything you need to create a house filled with your favorite things. 10. North Pole shows what's happening in Santa's Secret Village. Kids can create their own story book,

play games, read Christmas stories, write a letter to Santa and send Christmas Postcards to their friends.

3:30-4:00 Taste of Technology PHOTOVISI ?Tfrere,aining

online photo collage maker for printing, sharing, or scrapbooking your holiday photos. Bring photos on a flashdrive or disk for practice, or I'll have some you can use.

Teacher Technology Spotlight

Technology Spotlight

Most of these are downloadable files, so they're not appropriate for district computers. However, for your HOME COMPUTER this holiday season, here are some

FREE and SAFE items.

Beautiful Christmas wallpapers

The easiest way to customize your computer is with desktop wallpaper. All it takes is a few clicks and you've got a shiny new image. Christmas is a festive time of year. There's good food, good music and time to spend with your family. Want to bring the joy of the season to your computer? Nothing does the job better than a gorgeous wallpaper for your desktop. That's why I created these great wallpapers. They truly bring the beauty of this time of year to your screen. You can get a sparkling tree, religious images or gorgeous winter wolf. All of my wallpapers are free. And you can swap them out as often as you like! Cost: Free Link: store.

Desktop Christmas trees

You probably have a Christmas tree in your living room. How would you like one on your desktop? It doesn't need water and won't drop needles everywhere. You can download more than a dozen Christmas trees from this site. Each high-quality tree is its own program so you can have multiple trees at once. Trust me, these won't disappoint. Christmas decorations are a bit odd, and the Christmas tree is probably the best example. Take a perfectly beautiful evergreen, chop it down, stick it in your living room and cover it in shiny tinsel and sparkling ornaments. Then, throw it out after January 1. If it weren't a tradition, it would be crazy. But it is a tradition and it's a lot of fun. Why limit Christmas trees to your living room? Get your computer in on the fun. All Things Christmas has some excellent animated Christmas trees you can download. These are simply decorations you can place on your desktop. Download your favorites or grab the whole pack. Right-click on the tree to access the settings. You can make your trees remain on top of all your windows and make them transparent. Try rolling your mouse over a tree and a tooltip will tell you how many days are left until Christmas. Cost: Free Link: get-

Add cuteness to your desktop with PENGUINS

OK, OK, I know penguins and Christmas don't technically go together. Penguins live at the South Pole, after all. Still, who doesn't want cute penguins on their desktop? Who could say no to an adorable little penguin? No one. The way they waddle around is so darn cute! Clearly, you want such an immense amount of cuteness on your screen. But I don't know if one penguin will be enough. WinPenguins assaults your desktop with a whole army of penguins. They waddle all over your screen. They walk on your windows, bump into each other and generally brighten your day. This program lets you create an entire army of cute penguins that wander around your screen. You can adjust the number to keep things manageable. Just don't expect to get any work done while they're running. You could use WinPenguins as a screensaver. Or you could give it to a friend. It's sure to make them smile. WinPenguins is a portable program. You don't need an installer to make it work. But it may be flagged as a virus by your security software. Don't worry. It's safe. Cost: Free Link:

Decorate your desktop for the holidays

You're probably getting ready to pull out those Christmas decorations. I love to see a house lit up with Christmas lights. It's really the first sign of the holiday season. You can light up your computer, too! I've found a program that will add some holiday spirit to your desktop. That way, no one can doubt your dedication to the season. This program runs a string of lights and decorations around your desktop. The decorations are animated and festive. It even comes with holiday-themed music and screensavers. Your computer will scream HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And anyone using it will be forced to smile. Cost: Free Link: MacLampsX 2.0 - arcticmac. System: Mac OS X

Download free Christmas music

Nothing gets you into the spirit of the holidays like music. There are so many good songs. Deck the Halls. Jingle Bells. O, Holy Night. And musicians are writing fun new songs every year. There are plenty of holiday albums on the market. But you don't have to pay for great Christmas songs. Many independent artists make music out of love for the season. Feels Like Christmas is a great place to find holiday music. You'll hear all of the classic Christmas songs. But you may run across some new favorites as well. And all of it is free for you to download. You can make your own holiday CD or playlist. You'll really enjoy sharing it with friends and family. You'll also find several Christmas stories for the kids. These are free to download as well. Cost: Free Link:

Snowflakes on Your Desktop

Watch the snow flakes gently fall and cover your desktop. Watch the snow flakes gently fall and cover your desktop in this soothing winter screensaver. The snow slowly accumulates with an occasional snowman flying by. Link: Snowy Desktop Screen Saver

The History of Santa Claus

Santa Claus is one of the most recognizable symbols of Christmas. He appears in art, movies and songs. It isn't just an American tradition either. Santa Claus appears in cultures all around the world. Of course, he has many different names and looks. But where did it all come from? The History website has the answer. You'll find several videos explaining the origins of Santa Claus. You may be surprised at what you discover! The site hosts other Christmas videos. You can learn more about the holiday's history and common myths. It even has the history of Christmas carols.

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