Software+Solutions


 * Nex+gen Laptop Image **
 * Software **
 * Adobe CS4
 * Ti- software
 * Promethean Actiview - downloadable from web
 * Promethean Inspire


 * Web based Software/resources- require bookmarks **

[] Firefox
 * Home page **
 * PeBL- will change to BoLDR (moodle based) **
 * Browser **
 * Plug ins **
 * Flash player **
 * Media Player **
 * Acrobat Reader **
 * Quicktime **

One theme that will resonate with students is the use of PDF Portfolios to document projects, research findings, presentations, and unique document, video, and audio files necessary to collaborate with their peers, share with their parents requiring only the free Adobe Reader to view, and provide the safest keepsake of their works of art from your academy, able to open even 20 years later.

By looking at your first year freshman courseware example, the theme of Integrative Biology, one might think there is no need to use any Adobe products, but they’ll quickly discover the merits of using Acrobat to archive their works and how it can be used to deliver compelling presentations that include a variety of file types under one roof! One of my Texas CATE schools, the Wunsche Career Academy, __[]__ taught their lead students how to create PDF Portfolios last May. They, in turn, are showing their peers how to use these tools for the Fall curriculum. The technical advisor in charge of this project is Karla Koop, or __karlak@springisd.org__.

Karla has good stories to tell about her evaluation of other portfolio-buidling tools and came to a fast conclusion that the Acrobat approach was the most logical, but more importantly, most “ownable” by the student. Other solutions were just a bunch of files scattered on a site, and in some cases, locked after the student left the campus due to not being able to free the contents for reuse elsewhere.

Our PDF Portfolio gallery is locatee at: __[|www.adobe.com/education/products/acrobatpro/video-portfolio.html]__ You will need the free Adobe Reader 9 to view these, or Acrobat 9 Professional… You will particularly like the Marine Biology example…need to copy these to your desktop before enjoying…

H ere is the latest thoughts we have for software and textbook solutions:



 * Here is an article discussing the benefits and challenges of Cloud computing applications:**

__**10 Great Google Apps Add-Ons for the Enterprise**__ Apps to make Google's office wares more appealing for the enterprise.

=What do we do without a library?=

One plan is to order a full set of [|eBooks from Gale Publishing] Their entire library reference non-fiction collection comes to $87,000. What are your thoughts?
 Gale®, part of [|Cengage Learning], is a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. Best known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform. The Gale family of publishing imprints includes such noted reference brands as Macmillan Reference USA™, Charles Scribner's Sons® and Primary Source Media™. Gale also serves the K-12 market with its U·X·L®, Greenhaven Press® , Lucent Books® and Sleeping Bear Press™ imprints. Thorndike Press®, Christian Large Print™ , Wheeler Publishing™ , Five Star™ and Large Print Press™ serve libraries' large print collections. Major brands include //InfoTrac//, //Gale Virtual Reference Library// — the company's eBook platform — and the unparalleled Gale Digital Collections such as //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//.

APS District On line Library Resources
as told by Debby Macias, District Libraries Coordinator "...information on the online services we provide for the schools through Library Services. The entire district has access to World Book online and TeachingBooks.net, which we pay for from our budget. The State Library provides various Gale Infotrac (magazines and journals) databases, which are free of charge to us. We can get your school access to the aforementioned databases when you open. Some individual high schools also subscribe to Opposing Viewpoints and JSTOR."