"Bits and Bytes" -- May '98

Table of Contents

1. Pearls of URLs
   This monthly item will highlight Internet web sites which are considered "gems" by educators.
2. Notes and Quotes
   This regular column provides information on a potpourri of technological "tidbits".
3. "LGC '98": Thirty reasons to say "thanks"
   This year's "Let's Get Connected" event included 30 curricular-driven activities which used the Internet to enhance teaching in a wide variety of innovative ways. This article provides a brief overview of each activity. Educators are encouraged to visit the web site to gain more information.
4. "StickyNote 3.0" - A freeware creator's perspective
   Christian Carrillo, not only shares this innovative Windows '95 freeware but also his reasons for providing such software with a payment that you "hug your kids if it makes you feel better and that will be the repayment to the good of humanity, far beyond what you offer anyone through money."
5. Making Signature Files in Paintbrush
   Carol Kaye, from St. John's Ravenscourt - Lower School, shares an interesting technique that students can use to identify their creations in a distinctive manner.
6. Food for Thought: On the Last Day of School before Christmas
   Rhonda Morrissette, from Greenway School, shares a story by Tony Campolo that all educators should take time to read and reflect upon.
7. A Child Learns ...
   Following the previous article, I thought these words of wisdom by Dorothy Law Nolte quite fitting.
8. HyperStudio "NEWHOME.STK" - A home grown solution for a quick start ...
   Ron Lambert, of Sargent Park School, shares a technique (and a new home stack "freebie") that he has devised to speed up the loading of HyperStudio off the file server in his lab.
9. Manitoba Association for Computing Educators (ManACE) Summer Workshops' Index
   This index provides a list of Professional Development opportunities that are being offered from July 2 - 17 and August 17 - 21, 1998. Check out the ManACE web site for registration and workshop details.
10. Freebie Request Page
    The three freebies provided this month include "GIF Animator LE" (from ULEAD Software), "StickyNote 3.0" for Windows '95, '98 & NT and "NEWHOME.STK" - a modification to HyperStudio's starting stack.

Pearls of URLs

  Needle in a CyberStack - the InfoFinder at:      http://home.revealed.net/albee/pages/Curriculum.html

  Child Safety on the Information Highway at: http://www.larrysworld.com/child_safety.html

  The World Wide Web in Education at: http://sunsite.unc.edu/edweb/web.intro.html

Brian Metcalfe - Editor - "Bits and Bytes"                                                      Copyright © 1998 (ISSN 1195-5864)
Last revision date: May 20, 1998                                                             Information has been shared with

Notes and Quotes

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Search Engines in French and English
Judith Dueck, from Gordon Bell High School, shares the following two Canadian search engines which can be searched in both official languages:

• http://www.canada.com

• http://www.altavistacanada.com

"Let your fingers do the walking" ... across Canada
The "Yellow Pages" of Canada provide an interesting web site in both official languages:

• French at: http://www.CanadaYellowPages.com/canada/frenchhtml/index.html

• English at: http://www.CanadaYellowPages.com/index_linked.html

One can access up-to-date News, Weather and Sports as well as view popular pictures from across our country. You can even send electronic postcards highlighting your favorite Canadian scene organized province by province.

WebTeacher Tutorials
Margaret Stimson of Assiniboine-South School Division recommends this web site which features a full tutorial and "primer" to assist educators with an easy-entry to wonderful world of the Internet. Check out this web site at: http://www.webteacher.org/winnet/indexc.html

Sheldon Oberman - Writer and Storyteller
Recently I sent out an e-mail "broadcast" regarding our "Let's Get Connected" event to all MERLIN subscribers. Sheldon, who is a teacher and author, replied to me asking if I could link to his site so that "local teachers can have access to my resource material". Those wishing to take advantage of this opportunity may visit Sheldon's web site at: http://www.merlin.mb.ca/~soberman

Works 95: Clipart Formatting Lost When Using Clip Gallery 3.0
Our secretary, Linda Shelest, passes along this tip. When you insert and then resize clipart from Clip Gallery 3.0 into Works (version 4.0, 4.0a or 4.5), the resizing will be lost whenever you save a file, copy/paste or move the clipart image. Linda found that by searching the Microsoft Technical Support On-line at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q157/2/23.asp     
Microsoft has created a self-extracting file called Clip3.exe to correct this problem. Check out this Article ID: Q157223 for specific details on how to acquire and install this update.

Quote of the Month
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
                                                                                      - Albert Einstein - 1879 - 1955

[Table of Contents]

"LGC '98": Thirty reasons to say "thanks"

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

In the educational setting, whenever there are two or more events it seems natural for teachers to want to "compare and contrast". This year, our second "Let's Get Connected" week was officially designated by the Minister of Education as May 11- 15, 1998. During the month of May, and in some cases continuing into June, students and staff members were actively engaged in utilizing the Internet to support curricular-based instruction across our province.

What are some of the similarities and differences between the first and second "Let's Get Connected" events? Our first "Let's Get Connected" event hosted 32 activities which were primarily highlighted for the week May 12-16, 1997. This year, although only 30 different activities were facilitated, the quality, educational relevance and curricular integration were much stronger. Acting on feedback from last year's participants, the "Let's Get Connected" event this year was increased to the two weeks from May 4 -15, 1998 to provide time for facilitators to explore other LGC activities with their own class(es). Furthermore we were delighted with the increased number of activities (from 2 to 6) that were designed in French or that had a bilingual nature to them. This year, our steering committee decided to attempt to utilize the Internet as much as possible to assist the registration process. The result was a very professional interface that allowed potential facilitators or participants to browse through the collection of activities, to select possible activities for consideration and when they "checked out" with their activity portfolio, a record of their intentions were made available to the respective activity facilitators. In addition, this year a limited number of activity facilitators registered their activity with Canada's "SchoolNet" to qualify for a "GrassRoots" grant.

The above addresses the mechanics of our successful event but I think that the Professional Development component that is afforded through the "Let's Get Connected" event should not be overlooked. I was delighted with the facilitators from last year who submitted their popular activity once more. However it was gratifying to see new facilitators examine the archives of last year's activities and take an idea and extend or improve upon it. The "leveraged learning" and sharing of ideas was quite gratifying. The collaborating actions were not only between classrooms in a school or schools in a division but between schools in different school divisions. Such networking dramatically illustrates that the Internet can link beyond boundaries and that students and teachers with like ideas through synergy can collaborate and develop very innovative activities. Last Fall, approximately 25 educators met for a Saturday morning at the Faculty of Education to brain-storm and discuss how innovative "Let's Get Connected" activities can be planned. Computer Education consultants planned workshops to assist educators who wanted to be part of the "connected" environment. The willingness for educators to share their knowledge base through the "letsgetconnected" LISTSERV e-mail distribution process was gratifying as well.

If you haven't had an opportunity to explore the various LGC events, I recommend that you examine the database available at the Computer Education Coordinators of Manitoba web site at:

http://www.cecm.winnipeg.mb.ca/lgc/

If upon examination, you wish to participate in an activity, I recommend e-mailing the activity facilitator to see if s/he is still willing to engage new students in June. Please find out the prospective time line since some activities may be inactive while others may still be available during June. If on the other hand the activity will no longer be active, you can still try out the activity in your own classroom. The activities which are in our archived site, provide a wealth and legacy of Internet-related resources which are designed to enhance classroom instruction in innovative ways. Furthermore you are encouraged to bookmark the above web site and visit the activities database and join the LISTSERV. It will be through this e-mail mechanism that you will learn more about "Let's Get Connected" as well as have an opportunity to share in the educational wealth of other dedicated Internet-using educators.

The list that follows highlights the activity titles that are active in the database. If you wish to explore any activities in detail, you are encouraged to visit the above link and note the names of the activity facilitators. If you recognize any of the facilitator names, send them an e-mail, or thank them personally. These individuals represent 30 innovative and dedicated educators who are willing to share their time and talents so that others can benefit through the use of technology and the Internet. Thanks for caring and sharing!

Browse Activities	View Activity Portfolio	Check Out	LGC-Main Menu

As you browse the activities in the database, you can 'sign-up' to join an activity. This 'sign-up' process is based upon the model of a shopping cart used at many online stores. The activities for which you 'sign-up' can be viewed using the "View Activity Portfolio" link above. It is possible to add or delete items from this portfolio during this session.

In order to register for the activities in the portfolio it is necessary to 'Check Out.'

Displaying records 1 through 30 of 30 records found.
(30 records displayed)

Click on the link(s) below to see the full details of an activity. At the end of details you have the opportunity to add this activity to your portfolio.

[Table of Contents]

"StickyNote 3.0" - A freeware creator's perspective

by Christian Carrillo - Forwarded by Steve Skultety - Cecil Rhodes School

Background
StickyNote 3.0 for Windows 95, 98 and NT is provided as a freeware freebie this month. Those who need to keep track of a multitude of details in a fast-paced technological world, will find this reminder tool very useful. In addition to the freeware application, it was the author's perspective (which in many ways reflects the camaraderie and willingness to share freely via the Internet) which appealed to me.

Author's Note
I decided I wanted a sticky-note-like program for Windows, and I certainly found a number of very impressive ones on the Web, but all were either commercial or shareware. I didn't feel like spending money, so I wrote my own. Consequently, I certainly won't charge money for this program as the spirit under which it was created dictates that one of its main features should be its free availability.

I always wonder about programs of this sort. What motivation (other than sinister) could an author have for distributing a program without reimbursement for his time and effort? Some street mechanism in me tends to reinforce the adage, "you get what you pay for." But this program defies that, in a very GNU-esque manner. The Internet should be a system by which you can obtain information which will benefit you and increase the productivity of your computing experience. When commerce and money get tied up, the Internet turns into a carrot-and-stick mechanism, where you have to wait minutes downloading a program, invest hard-drive space in it, spend time playing with it only to be rudely jerked from functionality after 21 days. This works against that system. I'm sure there are better notes programs around for certain things- in fact, I've seen a couple. I'm sure there are some very intricate codes for doing many things beyond what I offer in this little incarnation. But I offer something which none of the rest offers: freedom, the GNU ideal. Thus, it can be said that, perhaps, my program's main feature is its free nature, and further my honest intention in creating it as such was simply to make it better than previous programs through its freedom, to make it different.

This program will run forever, without asking for money or displaying dialog boxes of the annoying genre, and will not affect your system in any malicious way. You are basically assured of this anyway; you probably copied it from some large site which tests it forwards and backwards before making it available to you. But for that last little inkling of guilt for getting something free, I say forget it. Hug your kids if it makes you feel better, and that will be the repayment to the good of humanity, far beyond what you offer anyone through money.

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at ccarrill@fas.harvard.edu. I try to get back to everyone who writes, and although I guard my language here so that no-one will feel bad if I don't, I've never missed an e-mail. So be assured that, if you write, you will probably get a response. I am certainly willing and able to make changes to the program you are interested in as well. Anything that suits your fancy; just drop me a line.

Thank you for trying my little program. I hope it works well for you and gives you some enjoyment. Happy computing and good health.

- Christian Carrillo
   ccarrill@fas.harvard.edu

Also, I'd like to give a special thanks to Ron and Kevin Jou for their great help in designing this program. Without them, it would not have had nearly half the features it does.

 [Table of Contents]

Making Signature Files in Paintbrush

by Carol Kaye ckaye@mbnet.mb.ca - St. John’s - Ravenscourt Lower School
   

Here is an activity for your students, using a little trick in Paintbrush. The Paintbrush trick is to select part of an image, then hold down Shift to "paint" with the selection.

Signatures have taken on new dimensions in the digital world. Previously, a signature typically referred to a person’s name or initials written by hand. Many people now have text signature files in their e-mail programs which are attached to and identify each piece of e-mail they send. Some of these signatures have become rather elaborate and many even contain ASCII art. Many of our Grade 4 students have created graphical signature files, which they use to identify their writing assignments on the computer. These graphical signatures are particularly distinctive in color printing or screen display, but they work in black/white print as well.

Students follow these steps to create their signature file:

1. In Paintbrush, create a gaudy, multicolored shape, about 2 - 3 cm square.
2. Using the free-form selection tool, select and copy a small, irregular-shaped piece that includes a few colors.
3. Select and delete the original shape so that the page is now clear.
4. Paste the selection onto the page. (Paintbrush always drops it into the upper left corner of the page.)
5. Move the selection into position to start "painting", keeping the selection box active.
6. Again keeping the selection box active, hold down the Shift Key and move the mouse to write your name or initials with the shape you created. If you are doing initials, use "paste" to begin each individual letter.
7. Using the rectangular selection tool, select your signature and use "Edit, Copy To..." to save it as a .bmp file.
8. Insert the file into your word processing or dtp document and downsize it to fit your document.

Our students have used their graphic signature files to identify their writing assignments in The Student Writing Center, Wordpad and Word. (If you are using Word, be sure to put your signature into a frame so that you can move and/or size it easily.) They can also be sized and converted to .gif files, using a graphic editor, for use in Web publishing.

A related Paintbrush "trick" is to select part of an image and hold down the Ctrl key to stamp the image on the page.

[Reprinted with permission from the "ManACE Journal" - Spring 1998]

[Table of Contents]

Food for Thought: On the Last Day of School before Christmas

A story by Tony Campolo - forwarded by Rhonda Morrissette - Greenway School

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkempt and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant. It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all.

Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him either. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records and put Teddy's off until last. When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise.

His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners . . . he is a joy to be around."

His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem."

By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard. Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy brown paper of a scissored grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."

After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called "Teddy."

As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him the faster he responded. On days there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and . . . well, he had also become the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.

A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering . . . well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.

And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like . . . well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last Christmas together.

Most people overlook a child's heart when it is buried under pain. Take the time to give a wounded child your love and he will learn to love the world. Love is very powerful. Use it's power wisely and someone will be the better for it.

[Table of Contents]

Your Child Learns ...

by Dorothy Law Nolte

   If a child lives with CRITICISM, he learns to CONDEMN.
   If a child lives with HOSTILITY, he learns to FIGHT.
   If a child lives with RIDICULE, he learns to be SHY.
   If a child lives with SHAME, he learns to feel GUILTY.
   If a child lives with TOLERANCE, he learns to be PATIENT.
   If a child lives with ENCOURAGEMENT, he learns CONFIDENCE.
   If a child lives with PRAISE, he learns to APPRECIATE.
   If a child lives with FAIRNESS, he learns JUSTICE.
   If a child lives with SECURITY, he learns to have FAITH.
   If a child lives with APPROVAL, he learns to LIKE HIMSELF.
   If a child lives with ACCEPTANCE and FRIENDSHIP, he learns to FIND LOVE in the world.
   
                                                                                                 - Dorothy Law Nolte
  [Table of Contents]

HyperStudio "NEWHOME.STK" -
A home grown solution for a quick start from File Server Access

by Ron Lambert - Sargent Park School

Subconsciously, I clicked on "Open Stack" Button, read the message and understood what the message meant with the words "leave Home Stack now". I understood then that I had just seen a ‘card’, but there was no mention of it on top. Where was this card, why did it appear, what did it do? Could it be replaced - doom!

I found it in Explorer, opened it up, saw it’s name - "HOME.STK", and instantly knew I had a solution to an extremely slow load for 25 computers from the .exe file on the NT File Server! The memory for the "HOME.STK" is 1296 KB! It must have commands embedded to the "Hstudio.exe" file for many tasks that were in general not needed for most users on start up as they want either "New Stack" or "Open Stack". Most experienced Windows users can easily go to "File" on the menu bar and get what they want, but they needed a simple, low memory card for the "HOME.STK". What could I create and change to make a solution?

In HyperStudio, I created a new ‘test’ card, saved it as "TEST1.STK" on a floppy, but you could save on a new folder on the file server in HStudio. In the Winnipeg School Division’s computer labs, this is on the '2TEACHER (T:)' drive. On the file server, in the main folder for HStudio, I made a new folder called "HS_HOME", copied and pasted the original "HOME.STK" file to it from its main folder. Next, I renamed the original file "HOME.STK" to "HOME1.STK". Then, I copied the "TEST1.STK" to the main folder, and renamed it to "HOME.STK". Then, I changed the properties for "HOME.STK" and "HOME1.STK" to ‘read only’. By following this sequence, I could keep the original file in a new folder (as back up), have the original renamed and available for a "Open Stack", and have my new file open as the "HOME.STK" with less memory - 77KB! Obviously, I tested and revised the design of the card, then watched and timed the opening for the entire lab with a class starting it.

A sample of this low memory solution - "NEWHOME.STK" file - is included as a "freebie" this month. The design and layout is a demonstration of some of HyperStudio’s ‘Options’ used in Text Style and Set Text Color - it makes use of words that have been highlighted in order to do the changes. Its right alignment permits the File drop menu to be viewed as well as the contents of the HyperStudio card which give instructions and identifies the school.

I welcome your ideas, comments and samples for your own home-grown "NEWHOME.STK". Email me at rlambert@wsd1.org.

[Editor: It is recommended that educators consider the above process only with the assistance from their local or divisional technical support personnel.]

[Table of Contents]

Summer Workshops' Index

---

The Manitoba Association for Computing Educators (ManACE) is offering a Summer Professional Development Program July 2 to 17, and August 17 to 21, 1998. These educational technology workshops are open to all kindergarten to post-secondary administrators, educators, and support personnel throughout the province. Check out registration and course details off the ManACE web site at:

http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/~manace

[Table of Contents]

Freebie Request Page

by Brian Metcalfe

Please duplicate as necessary and complete form by PRINTING.

        NAME: ________________________________

        SCHOOL: ______________________________

                      PHONE: _______________________________

Internet users are encouraged to download these "freebies" by selecting the appropriate underlined and/or colored link below. Educators in The Winnipeg School Division No. 1, who do not have Internet connectivity, may still acquire these "freebies" by sending in this completed form with the appropriate number of NEW double-sided, HIGH DENSITY 3.5" blank diskette(s) specified in brackets. Others, outside our Division, are entitled to these "freebies" on the condition that they download these resources using the Internet.

[    ]  "GIF Animator LE"   - FREEWARE for Windows '95                  GALE10.EXE                [#280]
          from ULEAD Software - (Single NEW 3.5" high density disk) 
          Patrick Logan advised me of the power of this freeware product. Users who wish to explore how
          animated GIFs can be constructed with different timing sequences and transitional effects will be
          very impressed with the capabilities. It is a relatively simple process to create a  bit-mapped sequence
          of images that can be re-ordered and viewed before creating a corresponding animated GIF.

[    ]  "StickyNote 3.0"  - FREEWARE for Windows '95, '98 & NT      STICKY3.EXE                    [#281]
          by Christian Carrillo - (Single NEW 3.5" high density disk) 
          This freeware product allows the user to make notes which can be "stuck" on your computer screen
          as a reminder. Educators will find this tool helpful in organizing all the things that "need doing".

[    ]  "HyperStudio NEWHOME.STK"  -                                                 NEWHOME.STK                 [#282]
          by Ron Lambert - Sargent Park - (Single NEW 3.5" high density disk) 
          Review Ron Lambert's article in this issue to see how this NEWHOME.STK can be used to speed up
          the workstation loading time when HyperStudio is located on a centrally-networked file server.
          Netscape users will find that when they click on the above hyperlink, the stack will be deposited in
          the directory/folder at C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.

*** E-mail Notification to "Bits and Bytes" Readers ***

If you would like a brief reminder sent to you each month by e-mail when each new issue of "Bits and Bytes" is available on the World Wide Web, please complete the form below and return it as indicated. I will endeavour to develop an e-mail address database and e-mail readers when a new issue is available to peruse electronically. If you prefer, you can e-mail the contents of each of the five fields below directly to our secretary Linda Shelest at: lshelest@wsd1.org
Thanks for your understanding.

FIRST NAME: ____________________    SURNAME: ____________________________
SCHOOL: _______________________________________________________________
PHONE: ________________   E -MAIL ADDRESS: ______________________________

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