Publishers of Materials that Help People Learn

 

Microsoft Publisher 2007 for Classroom Teachers                                 

This is an Introductory level course. In order to be successful with this course, it will be helpful if you have some familiarity with Microsoft Office 2007, but that is not crucial. This course is designed for the teacher who is looking to develop a variety of desktop publishing skills using Microsoft Publisher 2007.

 

You will need to be using a PC (Personal Computer) running Windows and using Microsoft Publisher 2007. You will also need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the lessons which will be sent to you weekly. NOTE: Although this course was built specifically for Publisher 2007, there are many similarities so that you can apply many of the techniques if you have Publisher 2003.

 

During this course, you will:

· Develop you’re an understanding of the key elements of “desktop publishing”, specifically graphics and text boxes, layout, composition, visual appearance, use of templates as well as building a product from a blank form,

· Develop a variety of curricular materials, student handouts, flyers, brochures, programs, newsletters (both hard copy and electronic), and even building a basic website if you wish,

· Utilize scanned documents, work with digital photos  from the camera and a variety of on-line resources relevant to your teaching responsibilities

· Capture screenshots from a variety of resources which you will embed in Publisher products, demonstrating ethical and legal use of those resources

· Be prompted to consistently reflect on how you might be able to apply the various features in your role as a classroom teacher and model of technology use as well as to create brand new uses for the software

 

Using Microsoft Office to Enhance Student Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)             

(Intermediate level) (Requires basic familiarity with Word, Excel and PowerPoint)                     

This course is designed for the teacher who is very comfortable using Microsoft Office products, (specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and is looking for more ways to cross-utilize the applications to enhance student higher order thinking skills. This course is where technology knowledge and skills intersect with curriculum design and planning.

During this course, you will:

Enhance your existing skills and build on them by learning a variety of integrated presentation techniques, strategies for developing a variety of curricular materials including lesson plans, data collection and analysis techniques, and presentation strategies.

Review current research on teaching HOTS to students at your grade level

Create multiple presentations that you can use in your own classroom or teaching situation to help you learn how to help students deepen their understanding of the core material for your grade level

Be prompted to reflect on how you might be able to apply the various features in your role as a classroom teacher and model of technology use

You will need to have either Office 2007 (Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2007) or Office 2003 (Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Excel 2003 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2003), Adobe Acrobat Reader, as well as having access to the Internet and a valid email account to fully benefit from the course.

If I am to create a thoughtful environment for my classroom, I need to use the technology I have in class for my advantage.  I must be honest sometimes I am too caught up on trying to cover the content that I forget if I am really helping my students.   I need to create a classroom that is open to exploration using valuable resources like WebQuest or the formerly known Marco Polo sites. If I want my students to obtain those HOTS I as a teacher need to take some risk.                                                                                                                                  Rebecca B

 

Integrating Microsoft Office ® 2003 OR Microsoft Office ® 2007 products for the Classroom Teacher

(Intermediate level) (Requires basic familiarity with Word, Excel and PowerPoint)       

This course is designed for the teacher who is comfortable using Microsoft Office products, (specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and is looking for more ways to cross-utilize the applications.

During this course, you will:

Enhance your existing skills and build on them by learning a variety of mail merge techniques and integrated presentation techniques, such as

Develop strategies for developing a variety of curricular materials, student handouts (both hard copy and electronic).

Be utilizing scanned documents, working with digital photos from the granted camera and a variety of on-line resources relevant to your teaching responsibilities

Among other activities, you will …

Create a PPT show in which you teach your students to create an Excel spreadsheet and simple chart

Create a rubric in Excel to evaluate a student-made PowerPoint presentation, which you will then embed in the PPT show

Capture screenshots from a variety of resources which you will embed in Office products, demonstrating ethical and legal use of those resources

Be prompted to reflect on how you might be able to apply the various features in your role as a classroom teacher and model of technology use

You will need to have Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) OR Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 

 I really found this lesson to be full of useful information.   I have often times found myself very frustrated when trying to work with graphics in Word and PowerPoint.  I am fairly comfortable with the use of text boxes, WordArt, and modifying objects, but I was amazed by the optional practice activity.  I had no idea that the Drawing Canvas provided such a vast amount of tools and effects.  It was relatively easy to navigate through Drawing Canvas, and with a bit of experimentation I can see becoming proficient at using this tool.      Jill S

Wow – each lesson keeps getting better and better.  I was able to gain some good insights from each section of this lesson.  I was able to learn and understand a lot more about sections, columns, breaks, and tables.  It is hard to point to one or two main things I got from this lesson.  There were too many to list.  Thank you for all the good details and explanations in each section.  One section that does stick out to me is the Excel section.  I was able to get a better understanding of how to use numbers and formulas.  Again, too many things to list that I will be implementing into my future documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint slideshows.  I will be keeping all these lessons in a binder so I can use them as reference when I don’t remember how to do something.                                                                                                                                                                                     Barry C.

Creating your First Website                            

This course is designed for the teacher or team who is ready to create his/her/their first web page. In this course, you will learn:

· Basic concepts underlying web pages and the Internet, including webpage design and layout, text, colors, graphics

· To observe web pages that you visit to understand how they were created

· Learn some of the basics of the language of the Internet -- html (hypertext markup language)

· How to determine which uses you wish to accomplish for your website

· A variety of different ways to create the layout for your web page(s)

· How to work with ftp software (file transfer protocol) and how to communicate with the district or building techies who maintain your school website

This course will demonstrate web-building activities using Microsoft Office 2007, but there are simple adaptations to Office 2003. Access to Microsoft Publisher would be helpful but not required.

Taking this course has certainly helped me grow as a professional.   I’ve advanced my technology skills, which in turn will allow me to contribute to the effectiveness and vitality of my school.  No other first grade teacher at my school has a web site up and running and I think in the very near future (possibly as early as next year) our district will require every teacher to have one.  Now that I have confidence in setting up a website I can be a leader and hopefully, an inspiration for my colleagues as they begin the process.   Anne M.   

 

Grant Writing Workshop                  

This course is designed for the teacher who is ready to learn how to search for, write, and secure outside grant funding. In this course, you will learn:

Fundamentals of grantsmanship – why do people want to give you their money and under what conditions?

Searching strategies to find relevant grant opportunities

How to read – and read between the lines – of a grant Request For Proposal (RFP)

Strategies for collecting relevant data, defining your needs and developing the plans to meet those needs, including creating attractive “boilerplate”

How to write so that your proposal will rise to the top of the stack of applications

You will create a draft of an actual grant application and receive feedback on your proposal.

You will need Word, Excel, access to the Internet, access to local statistical data and background information, and administrative support if you plan to actually submit your application.

This final narrative gives us everything we need to start writing grants for this cause. This class has given us the tools to search for grants for specific types of money and materials.  We’re even planning on going to the administration and finding out if we can get time set aside for us on staff development days to work on grant applications for the school.                                                                                                                                   Hesper P.

 

Technology Boot Camp

Just starting out and maybe a little afraid to jump into Microsoft Office for PC?

The “Technology Boot Camp” lets you successfully learn about the tools in

Word, PowerPoint and Excel (either 2007 or 2003) for Classroom Teachers.

Start with Word and build from there. Create powerful PowerPoint slideshows

for your class. Collect and analyze data using charts you build in Excel.

Only $300 for all three introductory courses.

Don’t be afraid! Be SUCCESSFUL!

Other Courses

        2007        or     2003

FRESH PERSPECTIVES offers these courses for you in your role as a classroom teacher.

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