T&L News(143)

Week of: August 25, 2008

• The FCC wants your opinion
  Schools are preparing for possible changes to the E-rate program for the 2009-2010 school year—and the FCC wants your opinion. The FCC is seeking public comment on whether costs for items such as Internet content filtering software, anti-virus software, anti-spam software, advanced firewalls, scheduling services, and telephone broadcast messaging should be discounted with the support of E-rate funding. The organization is also asking E-rate stakeholders to offer their opinions of changes in several program definitions, such as interconnected VoIP, and basic phone service.
• Atomic Learning offers a free series on Microsoft Office 2008
  Atomic Learning will offer a free series on Microsoft Office 2008 here starting September 10th. Students will learn about Microsoft® Office Suite 2008's improved features to help manage information, organize work, and stay connected. As with all Atomic Learning technology training tutorials, the Office Suite 2008 tutorials are broken down into 1- to 3-minute movie tutorials. The free Office Suite 2008 tutorial series includes more than thirty short, show-and-tell movies that guide users through the new features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2008.
• Put to the Test: Joe Huber Reviews the Acer Aspire One
  Retail Price: Windows version, $399, Linux version, $379
  Description: Mini notebook Computer with Linpus Linux Lite OS
  How to use in the classroom: This mini notebook is an excellent platform for online testing. Its small footprint allows it to be used in any classroom or lab setting. I tested the Linux version, but the Windows version would also be perfect for a science lab where you could attach various probes to it. The low price also makes this an excellent tool for those classes where you just need Internet and office applications (the Linux version comes with Open Office).
• Fairbanks BEST (Building Educational Success Together)
  Starting this fall, students in the Fairbanks (AK) North Star Borough School District have access to 90 free online courses with a program called Fairbanks BEST (Building Educational Success Together).
• Raising the Stakes for Digital Literacy
  Honored students and educators from around the globe came together on the big island of Hawaii in August to celebrate and promote international digital literacy at the 2008 Pathways Conference. Chawanat Nakasan, 16, and Penporn Koanantakool, 20, from Thailand (pictured left) were awarded this year's World Champions for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, respectively.