by Wes Mann - Gordon Bell High School

Many web users are aware that there exist software search "spiders" or "robots" that are designed to crawl throughout the world wide web with the exclusive purpose of looking for, and extracting, e-mail addresses. It is a relatively simple task for software to scan text on various web pages looking for any continuous string of characters containing an "@" followed by some more characters containing a "dot" such as "joepublic@mts.net" or "webmaster@shaw.ca" Individuals running such e-mail extraction robots have been known to sell the "harvested" addresses to spammers who bombard these e-mail addresses with junk mail. If you have your e-mail address on a web site and have been receiving an increased amount of junk mail, you might try this tip. Wes suggests that web creators use Paint to create their e-mail address and save it as a GIF or JPG which can then be inserted as an image onto a web page as illustrated below:

True, your web visitors cannot simply click on this image and have the address automatically load into their respective e-mail software, but you will get less junk e-mail using this tip.

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by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Last month, I wrote an article entitled "IrfanView - Image freeware you can count on!" In addition to the IrfanView features that I thought would help teachers most, I described this software's powerful, "batch processing" capability. I specifically described classroom situations and how I was able to save time using IrfanView to quickly modify a series of bit-mapped (BMP) files to Internet-ready GIF files and vice versa. However, there was one "batch processing" feature that I did not discuss which many educators might wish to utilize.

Educators may be faced with a variety of situations in which several images need to be resized. For example, educators wishing to showcase student creations on the Internet may need to reduce larger images for faster loading. Such situations could occur when:

• Early Years children use Paint to create 640 x 480 sized images
• Students return from a field trip with a full set of digital images in 800 x 600 JPG format
• HyperStudio card images with 512 x 384 dimensions which need to be reduced in size for Internet viewing
• Scanned artwork on 8.5" x 11" paper needs to be proportionally resized

If you find the following steps lacking specific detail, you are encouraged to review last month's article.

IrfanView "Batch" Resize File Conversion
To illustrate this process, consider the situation in which a teacher has Early Years' children using the Paint program to create a picture of their "neighbourhood". Since these younger children lack fine motor control, the students are encouraged to fill the entire 640 x 480 pixel screen with their "creation". When finished, each child saves the image with their own name in the standard bit-mapped (BMP) default file format. In order to prepare this classroom set of files for Internet viewing, one would normally go through a two-step process with every single file. Not only must one convert each file from its BMP to its corresponding Internet-ready JPG format, one must also reduce each image in a proportional manner so that each creation loads quickly on the Internet. These two steps take time but when one has to repeat both of them between 20 and 30 times, based on class size, the task becomes considerable.  IrfanView can convert the file type and reduce each image proportionally in one-step regardless of the number of images.

To illustrate this process, I have prepared two folders on my hard drive using the following directory structure:
     -   C:\RESIZE\LARGER\      (Input directory of larger 640 x 480 bit-mapped files)
     -   C:\RESIZE\SMALLER\   (Output directory with smaller JPG images)

The "LARGER" folder contains the entire classroom set of bit-mapped files. In order to convert the file format and apply the resizing feature to several images at once, one must invoke IrfanView's powerful "batch" conversion process.

1. Start IrfanView and click on the "File/Batch Conversion/Rename" menu items.
2. Use Windows navigation to select the LARGER file directory (so it is displayed in the "Look in" field).
   
   



3. Click on the "Add all" button which will select all student files in the LARGER folder as "Input files".
4. Click on the "Browse" button and navigate to the SMALLER folder so that the "Output directory" field displays "C:\RESIZE\SMALLER\".
5. Click on the "down arrow" to the right of the "Output format" field and select the Internet-ready "JPG - JPEG Format" setting to prepare for the file format conversion process.
6. Click on the check box to the left of "Use advanced options".
7. Next click on the "Set advanced options" button.
8. On the next screen, click in the check box to the left of "Resize".
9. In this example, all of the original images are going to be reduced in size to one-quarter or 25% of their original 640 x 480 pixel size. To accomplish this one may click on the radio button to the left of "Set new size".
10. Next change the "Width" (in pixels) to 160. One could also change the "Height" to 120 but it is not necessary if the "Preserve aspect ratio" is checked. For the vast majority of resizing the "aspect ratio" should be preserved as it makes certain that both the width and height are reduced proportionally.
11. An alternative way of resizing is to click on the "Set new size as percentage of original" and enter 25% in the "Width field". Likewise there is no need to enter the "Height" percentage, if the "aspect ratio" is preserved.
12. Once all values are set on this screen, click on the "OK" button to return to the previous screen.
13. Click on the "Start" button to not only convert each bit-mapped (BMP) image to its corresponding JPG but also to resize each image to a quarter of its original dimensions.

The teacher can now use IrfanView's main screen to open a resized image using the "File/Open" menu items and navigate to the C:\RESIZE\SMALLER directory. If one chooses to use the "Thumbnail" option, described in last month's article, the user can view each converted image and verify both its type and new dimensions.

Teachers who need to go through either a file format conversion process or a resizing task with multiple images are delighted when they use this time-saving, "batch processing" mechanism. You, too, will find IrfanView an indispensable tool.

[Editor: To find out about another innovative feature of IrfanView, make sure you peruse the following article. IrfanView allows the user to gain immediate feedback as to the size (in pixels) of any rectangular area one wishes to select from a given image. See how this feature was used to crop uniform segments from various photos to provide an "eye-catching" display.]

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You can't spell "d-g-tal p-ctures" without the "i"s

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

On Wednesday, November 27, I was fortunate enough to attend a Manitoba Association for Computing Educator’s (ManACE) "Technology Information Night" (T.I.N.). Not only was the salad and pizza supper great but the opportunity to meet with other computer-using educators and learn new, practical, educational ideas was a valuable experience.

The focus that evening was on "Digital Photography". Gil Gauthier, from Advance Electronics, presented valuable information about the basics of digital photography and what cost-effective features educators should look for when purchasing digital cameras and related equipment.

Al Omichinski, a high school teacher from St. Norbert Collegiate, provided an overview of the power of the newly-released "Adobe Photoshop Elements" (version 2). Al, who is an experienced Photoshop user, is considering adopting this less expensive "Elements" component to teach high school students a wide variety of aspects about digital photography. This software, which can be downloaded in a "tryout" version format from the Adobe web site at: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopel/main.html# will be a very cost-effective product which educators can use to teach many of the features of Photoshop at a very inexpensive price by comparison.

Through the use of a PowerPoint slide presentation, Anne Guld, from Carpathia and Robert H. Smith Schools, shared with us the advantages of using a digital camera in elementary classes. Anne highlighted several practical classroom-based activities in which teachers used a digital camera to enhance educational objectives.

An activity that "caught my eye" was a Grade 1 unit on "the senses". The digital camera was used to take close-up shots of each student’s face. Net, only the eyes were "cropped" to form an image. Students were then challenged to match up each set of eyes with the names of their classmates.

Since, it has been stated that "a picture is worth 1000 words", I thought I would illustrate this activity by including the eyes of some individuals who are active in promoting Technology Education in our Division. Can you guess to whom the following eyes belong?

               

The answers will be included in the January ‘03 issue of "Bits and Bytes".

I encourage you to visit the ManACE web site at: http://www.manace.ca and check out when the next T.I.N. will be scheduled. Although ManACE members can attend for free, all other educators may register and attend for only $5.00. Not only is this an inexpensive supper of salad, pizza, drinks and dessert, it is an opportunity to meet other computer-using educators, share ideas and strategies and learn something new. I hope to see you at the next "Technology Information Night" and I’ll promise "to keep an eye out for you".

[Teacher Tip: Those who have access to a digital camera and want to try out this activity would be wise to begin by taking several "test" photos of student faces. Make certain to record the distance from the camera to the subject's face in each case. Import the "test" photos into one’s computer and use IrfanView to view each face in turn. Click on each face and draw a rectangular frame around the eyes watching IrfanView’s top blue display bar which gives you instant feedback as to the size of the rectangular portion in pixels. Once you determine the measurements (in pixels) of the rectangular frame which displays most of the eyes, this becomes your standard "cropped" image size. For example, the selections above are all 336 x 108 pixels.

In addition, the distance between the subject’s face and the camera should become a standard as well. I’d recommend tying a string to the camera and leaving a length attached which equals this "distance standard". Now students can use the string to position the camera approximately the same distance from the subject’s face before taking the photo.

Once the classroom pictures have been transferred to the server, each student should open his/her full facial image into IrfanView. Using the pre-determined standard rectangular frame size, each student can be advised to draw a rectangle around his/her eyes using these dimensions. Once the rectangular frame is drawn around the eyes, the student must click on the "Edit/Copy" and "Image/Create New (empty) image" menu items in IrfanView. In the "Create new image" dialog box, one can enter the standard frame size "width" and "height" dimensions and then click the "OK" button. Once the cropped set of eyes is displayed, click on the "File/Save as" menu items and save the image in a format that you prefer.]

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Manitoba GrassRoots Program 2002-2004

by Darryl Gervais - Project Leader, Manitoba GrassRoots Program

Some questions about the GrassRoots program were asked at recent CECM meetings in Winnipeg and Brandon. This message contains responses to those questions. Please pass this information on to the teachers and administrators in your divisions. Your cooperation and support in the past has made GrassRoots a very successful program in Manitoba.

This message answers four questions.
1. How long will GrassRoots funding continue?
2. What funding is available?
3. How long does it take to have a proposal approved?
4. Who should I contact with comments about GrassRoots?

Again, thank-you for your enthusiasm about the GrassRoots program and the support and cooperation you have given to the people that make up the GrassRoots team.

Send me an email if you have additional questions or call if a discussion will better suit your needs.

Darryl Gervais
Project Leader, Manitoba GrassRoots Program
Distance Learning and Information Technologies
Manitoba Education and Youth
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/ks4/
dgervais@gov.mb.ca
(204) 945-0294
1-800-282-8069 ext. 0294

Background:

The Manitoba GrassRoots Program is a partnership between Industry Canada's SchoolNet, Manitoba Education and Training, and MERLIN. The program promotes academic, employability and computer skills in Canadian youth by integrating information and communications technologies into learning. The GrassRoots Program offers funding to schools for the creation of collaborative and interactive learning projects on the Internet that:
*       foster the acquisition of academic, employability and computer skills in Canadian youth
*       build unique and relevant Canadian content on the Internet
*       integrate information and communications technologies into learning  GrassRoots projects are initiated, designed and implemented by the teacher and students, are curriculum relevant and focus on learning activities carried out using the Internet. Students seek online resources and carry out collaborative activities that result in a final report and website that are published on the Internet. GrassRoots projects take place over a significant period of time, the minimum being four weeks.

1. How long will GrassRoots funding continue?

GrassRoots is a partnership between the province and the federal government. The funding for the program comes from the federal government through Industry Canada's SchoolNet. The province manages and promotes the program. GrassRoots is funded in phases and reviewed annually.  The current phase of GrassRoots ends March 31, 2004. Funding for the current school year (2002-2003) is in place. An agreement for funding to March 31, 2004 is near completion. The future of GrassRoots beyond March 31, 2004 has not been announced. As with any funding program, it is possible that the GrassRoots program will not continue beyond March 31, 2004. Industry Canada will decide
on the duration of the program.

2. What funding is available?
 
GrassRoots projects are funded for $300, $600, or $900 each. Projects are funded on a 'first-come, first-served' basis until funds run out. Please encourage teachers to submit proposals as early as possible in the school year. Manitoba GrassRoots has not limited the number of projects any teacher or school may submit. However, teachers should carefully consider the number of projects they can reasonably complete within a school year. For the 2002-2003 school year, projects must be completed and reported no later than May 31, 2003. Projects not completed by the deadline will not be funded and cannot be carried forward to the next school year.

Schools may continue to do large theme projects with multiple teachers and multiple classes. However, Block project funding is no longer available. In the past, Block 1 projects were funded based on the collective value of the individual projects within the block project. Block 1 projects were essentially a collection of individual projects. Funding for Block projects could only be provided after all of the component projects were complete. One incomplete component project could jeopardize the funding of the entire block project. To alleviate this problem, we decided to limit proposals to the individual categories ($300, $600 and $900). The same amount of funding is still available for large theme projects. However, it is no longer necessary to submit all of the individual proposals under the heading of a Block project. Now, each teacher in the theme project simply submits their own project proposal. Hopefully, this will streamline the proposal process and increase completion rates for projects. Nationally, GrassRoots no longer offers the $5500 Block 2 funding. Thus, all projects are funded individually, not in blocks.

Criteria and online proposal forms are available at: http://www.schoolnet.ca/grassroots

3. How long does it take to have a proposal approved?

Our goal is to respond to all project proposals within two weeks. Response time depends on the volume of proposals we receive and other project work at Manitoba Education and Youth. This year we have typically been responding within one week. Responses to project proposals generally take longer closer to the deadline dates. This is caused by the large number of proposals submitted just before the deadline.  Proposals must be submitted no later than April 30, 2003 for this school year. Please encourage teachers to submit proposals early in the year.

4. Who should I contact with comments about GrassRoots?

If you have a question about a specific project proposal or report, contact the member of the Manitoba GrassRoots team that reviewed the proposal. The team member's name will appear on email correspondence to the teacher leading the GrassRoots project.

If you have questions or suggestions about the promotion, organization or management of the Manitoba GrassRoots program, contact:

Darryl Gervais
Project Leader, Manitoba GrassRoots Program
Distance Learning and Information Technologies
Manitoba Education and Youth
dgervais@gov.mb.ca
(204) 945-0294
1-800-282-8069 ext. 0294

If you have questions about the continuation of the National GrassRoots Program or want to share positive experiences regarding the benefits that GrassRoots has provided for the students in your schools, contact:

The Honourable Allan Rock
Minister of Industry
Industry Canada
11th Floor, East Tower
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen Street
Ottawa ON  K1A 0H5
Tel.: (613) 995-9001
Fax:  (613) 992-0302
E-mail: Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca

Your local Member of Parliament may also appreciate your comments about this successful government program.

Consider the following when contacting a Minister or MP:
- Letters and email have far greater impact than telephone calls or faxes.
- They receive more letters of complaint than letters of support. Thus, letters of support are appreciated.

Thank-you for your interest in the GrassRoots Program.

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by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Earlier this month, many individuals in our Division received an e-mail message similar to the following:

If you ever receive such a warning, what should you do?

1. First, NEVER "contact everyone in your address book" as the last line recommends.

2. In fact, DO NOT FORWARD OR SEND THE E-MAIL MESSAGE TO ANYONE UNLESS you are sending it to someone in Information Systems or Technology Education asking that individual in either department to validate the authenticity of the e-mail claim.

3. As a responsible Internet user, you can help by doing preliminary research into the validity of the claim. Regardless of whether this e-mail came from your supervisor, someone whose opinion you trust, or a respected outside agency, CHECK ON THE VALIDITY OF THE CLAIM.

4. Visit the "Hoax and Virus Information" web page at: http://www.wsd1.org/hoaxinfo.htm

5. The above site should be bookmarked or added to your favourites so that you can check out to see if a "threat" is a virus or a hoax. If the "threat" cannot be identified at the F-Secure (for example) web site, check out both the McAfee and/or Symantec sites as well. This same "Hoax and Virus Information" web page has links to up-to-date virus lists from these same three companies as well as "Additional Resources" on e-mail abuse, chain letters and spam.

Those wishing to navigate to our "Hoax and Virus Information" web page, must:

• Go to the Winnipeg School Division web page at: http://www.wsd1.org/
• Choose the "Staff Resources" in the top right corner.
• On the next page, click on the "Teacher Resources" link, and
• Choose "Hoax and Virus Information" on the left hand menu.

You will now arrive at the "Hoax and Virus Information" web page at: http://www.wsd1.org/hoaxinfo.htm

You might want to gain a better appreciation for hoaxes & viruses by examining the following recent articles in "Bits and Bytes" at:

1. "H.E.L.P. - Hoax Education for Lay People" at: http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/9900/bbmar00/default.htm#STORY1

2. "The Teachable Moment - SULFNBK - Is it a hoax or a virus" at: http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/0102/bbjan02/default.htm#STORY1

3. "The Teachable Moment - Virus Protection" at: http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/0102/bboct01/default.htm#STORY2

In summary the following points should be noted:

• Always make certain that you are using up-to-date virus software on any computer you use (both at work and at home).
• The staff of Information Services in our Division use up-to-date software which attempts to trap and remove any e-mail viruses on our mail server computer before they can infect any recipient.
• Treat all e-mail messages which ask you to forward the information to all addresses in your address book with suspicion. This not only applies to virus hoaxes but also applies to other "chain letter" hoaxes such as "a dying child's last wish", "missing child", or "a request to pass along information from the American Cancer Society".
• Validate the information to determine if it is a hoax by checking out our "Hoax and Virus Information" web page.
• If the e-mail contents do not appear in one of the three lists (F-Secure, McAfee or Symantec), one can always use the Google search engine at: http://www.google.ca and search for specific unique phrases in the message.
• If after this validation process, you have been able to determine that it is a hoax or a virus, send ONE e-mail message, or contact by phone, an individual in Information Services or Technology Education asking that they distribute an e-mail warning Divisional staff. Mass e-mail hoax or virus information distribution should only originate from either of these above two departments so that credibility can be maintained. (Note: one individual contacted me assuming that since the original virus e-mail had been sent from the e-mail address of "well-intentioned@merlin.mb.ca", that the contents must be valid since M.E.R.L.I.N. (Manitoba Education Research & Learning Information Networks) had sanctioned this message. Please do not elevate the "believability" of the message based on which Information Service Provider's name is identified in the sender's e-mail address.
• Once a hoax is identified, please contact the sender and help educate him/her by either referring them to our Divisional "Hoax and Virus Information" web page or articles in "Bits and Bytes".

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Food for Thought: "A Christmas Story"

from "The Joynet" at: http://www.byjoy.com/thejoynet.html

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted.

"Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbours, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he had no coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me.

I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and write, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.
 

[Editor: Thanks to Aleda Sloane, teacher at Dr. D. W. Penner School in the Louis Riel School Division and Lynda Metcalfe, school nurse at John M. King School, for sharing this inspirational message.]

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Search "Bits and Bytes" Mechanism Now Operational

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Several teachers have contacted me recently to advise me that "Search Bits and Bytes" icon found on the bottom of the main and yearly pages of my newsletter was no longer working. In the process of moving over to a new look on our Divisional web site this past summer and Fall, this link was severed. However, in the process of converting, one can now click on this icon and one will be taken to a new search engine as displayed.

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