School Central to Improve SCS Communications

New FREE Communication Tool for Administrators, Teachers and Parents

NMSU’s Regional Educational Technology Assistance (RETA) FREE webinar series continues with TWO (2) great presentations this week. On Monday night at 6 PM, Animoto and Moblying will show you how to add some fun and some bling to your online learning environments. These tools allow you to pull together images, slides, captions, audio files, and music for engaging learning objects or introductory materials. On Thursday night at 6PM, The International Digital Children’s Library introduces a free online library of digitized children’s books in many languages from various countries. Children can search for books by location, color, length, intended age group, content type, and emotional quality.

Last week, Dr. Cheryl Wilson, Superintendant of Socorro Consolidated Schools, announced that the district had reached an agreement with School Central to provide a free service with a protected, moderated communication platform that allows the district and each school to create its own on-line community. This turnkey platform is built upon the latest Internet and mobile technologies, thus enabling interested administrators, active teachers, engaged parents and eager students to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

SCS Expands Phone Services … RETA Expands Spring Webinars

Communications and PD From the Tech Team

This week brings lots of excitement to Socorro Consolidated Schools as the Tech Team announces the formal introduction of “Teacher Voice Mail” to the district. Also, beginning on Thursday, January 22, the Tech Team encourages all teachers and interested SCS personnel to join the instructors from NMSU’s Regional Educational Technology Assistance (RETA) staff for the first of 24 FREE Webinars scheduled for Monday and Thursday nights from 6:00 – 7:00 PM.

This week’s webinar, iMovie, offers a great introduction to this wonderful program that is available on all SCS computers. iMovie is a powerful and highly engaging tool for students to share their knowledge and express themselves in the form of digital movies. iMovie provides an opportunity for students with multiple learning styles to succeed and to demonstrate their individual strengths.

You can easily watch the webinars at home because no special software is required (you need speakers, but a microphone is optional). The Technology Office is open during the webinars, so you can stop by and share the webinar with us. If you cannot attend a webinar, you can always go to the RETA Webinar Page and view the archived recording. Whatever way you decide to participate, these webinars will always be informative, valuable and absolutely free.

Late last week, phone lists were distributed to all principals that included the extension numbers for all teachers and administrators throughout the district. Beleive it or not, even if you do not have a phone in your classroom, you will now be able to receive voice mail messages. How will that happen?

Socorro Hosts the Second Open Light Partner Conference

Technology Training is a Major Success

On Saturday, January 10, Socorro Consolidated Schools hosted the Second Open Light Conference at Socorro High School. The full day event, with over 40 attendees that included 28 educators from Soccoro, Truth or Consequences, Magdalena and Las Cruces, featured free technology training provided by the Open Light Partnership through NMSU’s Regional Educational Technology Assistance under the leadership of Holly Rae Bemis-Shurtz.

Dr. Cheryl Wilson, Superintendent of Socorro Consolidated Schools, was impressed by the turn-out and called the day a major success. “I hope everyone will join me in thanking the Tech Team for working with the RETA staff to put on the Open Light conference here Saturday,” she said. “It was a great day for the many professionally dedicated teachers from our district and others who gave up a Saturday to share and learn new ways to use technology to reach and serve our students.”

Training Screencasts on New Email Available

Please Watch These Instructional Podcasts

The Tech Team has prepared three podcasts designed to help users acclimate to the new email system. The podcasts can be found in the navigation bar under Professional Development (Screencasts 6, 7 and 8). More podcasts will follow.

Screencast 6 is an overview of the two different Microsoft email clients. Screencast 7 is intended to alleviate the concerns that some get when they see a “security message” that that the Microsoft Outlook Web Access site is not secure (trust us … it is). Screencast 8 shows you how to receive email from “old email server” from users who mistakenly continue to send email from the old system.

While everyone should be using the new email system, some issues regarding passwords that expired at the end of the year may still exist. If you are having problems accessing email, please submit a work order through School Dude.

There also seems to be some confusion about which program to use for email. If you are on any SCS network computer and you are signed in under your login and password, you should use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. This program is accessed though the START MENU by selecting ALL PROGRAMS, then MICROSOFT OFFICE and then MICROSOFT OFFICE OUTLOOK 2007.

The web-based option, Microsoft Outlook Web Access (the link from the SCS Home Page) is intended for use from remote locations (such as your home or when you are on a computer that is not linked to the SCS network).

As always, please contact the Tech Team if you have any questions.