Practicum Students:

Wind Energy Project
Click on the above link to access the Wind Energy Wiki created for you to contribute your findings.  Remember, you will need to use your password that was sent to you for access.  Be sure to check your spelling!

   FREE SOFTWARE FOR EVERY COMPUTER USER  

No Really.  Free!

List of free computer software to make computing easier.  That's right, free, nada, zilch, as in no charge.  The best four letter word any teacher ever used!  These are complete programs, no trial periods, fully functional.  Everything from browsers, system utilities, complete office suites and more.  I suggest you try some of them on your computers at home.
 

Help Desk
Nothing is new in education.  History has a way of repeating itself.  Click (twice) on the video (play button) and view the integration of a "new" system.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today!
Do these students look familiar?

Practicum Program Freeware Utilities (Links)

Ad-Aware SE:  scans your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known data-mining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components. Lists the results and offers to remove or quarantine the components. The program detects a wide range of adware/spyware related issues and can be updated with the latest signatures via the built-in update utility.

Spybot-S&D:  searches hard drive for spy- or adbots; These are responsible for  ads many programs display. These modules can transmit your surfing activity and more to external sources.

Microsoft Windows Defender (formally MS Windows AntiSpyware):  Spyware scanning and removal tool, with realtime system monitoring and pop-prevention

AVAST: Antivirus software providing desktop security and data protection. avast! detects and removes all forms of malware, including spyware, rootkits and trojans. Free for home users.

AVG Anti-Virus:  full functioning anti-virus software for personal use.

CCleaner: (formerly Crap Cleaner) system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system

Defraggler: defragments files individually or on a whole hard drive. Can run from network or removable media.

Recuva: restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer, media cards, mp3 player, etc.

NEWT:  network scanner for administrators, no client on the remote computer required. Allows sending of popup messages to remote NT machines. Can ping computers by IP address, reboot or shutdown remote machines with optional countdown and the ability to abort.

HP Printer Driver Downloads:  find drivers for any Hewlett-Packard printer or scanner (like those used at school).

Easy Network Diagrams:  create network diagrams, clip art included.

Allway Sync: File and folder synchronization software for Windows.  Synchronize your data between desktop PCs, laptops, USB drives and more.

Keyfinder: open source utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install Windows from your registry. It allows you to print or save your keys for safekeeping.

Processor Explorer:  process management utility that shows detailed information about a process including its icon, command-line, full image path, memory statistics, user account, security attributes, and more.  Task Manager on steroids!

Other Links

Summer Classes Offered Through the
Regional Office of Education 08.
 

Classroom Website Course 
(Added content - 01/2007)

WebQuests & Virtual Field Trips Course
(Revised 01/2007)

Engaging On-line Classroom Activities
(Added features -02/2007)

       
Teachers (and Students)
Creating Original Video Content
(New course 02/2009)

Check out the Regional Office's "Summer Booklet" for other upcoming courses.
 

Teaching in a Web 2.0 World

Presentations offered:

Tech Trek Presentation
Illinois Association for Career and Technical Education, June 20-22, 2006, Holiday Inn City Centre, Peoria, IL
National Tech Prep Conference, 11/03/2006,  Dallas, TX

College Financing 2007
Tax and financing suggestions for students & families in the final years just prior to starting post high school education. 

Mrs. Albrecht's 5th Grade Class

Check back after next summer's classes.
Student Web Project

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.

   US Dept of Education's web site.

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology  sharing their course content online for Free.  Content and materials can be accessed.

Free and open digital publication of high quality educational materials, organized as courses.  Contributors include Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame and others.