USE DROPBOX AND LEAVE YOUR "G" DRIVE AT SCHOOL

Try out Dropbox.  It's FREE.  Sync your files. Available for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad.

From the Dropbox website:

"All your stuff, when you need it.

Dropbox works hard to make sure that all your files are the same no matter where you're working from. This means that you can start working on a computer at school or the office, and finish from your home computer. Never email yourself a file again! Download Dropbox for your phone to simplify your life even more -- flip through all your photos or review that spreadsheet even while on the road. Dropbox lets you work from any computer or phone with the confidence that you'll always have everything you need."

 

http://dropbox.com tour "be anywhere"

NYTIMES: COMMON CORE STRATEGIES FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT

 Check this out....

The Times and the Common Core Standards: Reading Strategies for ‘Informational Text’
Why the Common Core Standards and The New York Times are perfect together, and a list of all our favorite literacy strategies for before, during and after reading a Times article with students. Bookmark this one!

Welcome to Our New Space

 

The SCS Tech-Media News has moved. We've been pondering how to make our information more available and we want to try this format. It's a blog, created with our cssu.org domain. If you would like to get notification when a new item is posted, then subscribe--you can subscribe with email, or with an RSS feed. We may also send you a reminder occasionally when we have several new posts.

Microsoft Office Will Stay

     If you've been reading our SCS Tech-Media News, or even just heard the word, we--as part of a CSSU program--were going to remove Microsoft Office from our computers and begin to rely on Google Docs and Open Office. Between the time this decision was made and real transition was beginning, Microsoft agressively lowered their prices. The new pricing makes it afforable to stay with Office instead of moving to Open Office and providing training for the move.
     Discussions about whether we stay with Office 07 or move to Office 10 are now underway. There are advantages to both systems. We will keep you posted on the news when a decision is made. For now, Office will be with us, although we are encouraging folks to use Google Docs for most tasks--it's more easily accessible and performs most of the tasks we use everyday.

Webpage Readability in Google

Finding online resources that are written at a reading level that works for students is difficult at times. With Destiny Quest, we can search for books by readabiity. Some student search engines will filter their results
     There are several sites designed for younger students, including
KidsClick.org
KIds.Yahoo.com
Quinturakids. oom
KidRex.org     These are great with younger students, but for older students, Google now offers a readability option. There are only three settings: basic, intermediate, and advanced,  and the basic is not terribly low. But the basic results are usually clearly written or in a video or image format. T access the readability feature choose advanced search. Click on reading level under Need more tools?