PAbay , Mass Notification, Snipping, and Dual Screens

BREATHING DEEPLY
I am so thrilled to finally come up for air and start blogging again.  Haven't we had just a POSITIVELY AMAZING start to the school year?  The technology department has worked so hard to plan, purchase, and implement so many new and exciting tools into all of our divisions.  I am working on a quarterly newsletter to keep you updated on campus wide happenings as they relate to the technology field.  Keep an eye out for BITS AND BYTES coming soon!

DO YOU EBAY?

Whether you have bought, sold, searched or just talked about Ebay, I'm confident you are all aware of this awesome website and the opportunities it affords to buy and sell merchandise.  Because many of us are hesitant to enter the large Ebay world, PA now has it's own version...

PAbay is a webpage on Edline that the faculty and staff of PA can use privately to post notifications regarding buying, selling, posting want ads or seeking advice (ex: does anyone know a good handy man?). 

To access PAbay, hover over My Classes and Shortcuts on the Edline homepage and select PAbay.

Posting an ad works the same way posting content to your class pages does.  Simple!
Click on a category name to add a post to that section.

Once inside a folder, click the Edit Content button.

Click the Add button.



Now you can fill out the title of our post, a written description and attach a picture. Be sure to include your name and email address or phone number.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of this web page.  This will eliminate the need to use our PA email to advertise and will help us continue to use Edline in new ways. Please check the page frequently for updated ads and post items without hesitation!
**Thank you to Diane Lafferty for creating the EDLINE page for PAbay.

MASS NOTIFICATION
It is hard to believe that fall is here already.  Those hot summer days are slowing leaving and the crisp smell of football and fall is in the air.  It will not be long and old man winter will be knocking at our door.  This year we have added a new option to EDLINE.  EDLINE will now have the capability to send you email, text, and voice mail messages regarding inclement weather. The last few weeks have been spent making sure that we have active accounts for every faculty, staff, student (grades 5-12), and parent associated with PA.  This is a welcomed enhancement to our communication piece.  This system will also be used in case of a true emergency situation that may arise on campus and it will be incorporated into our emergency management plan. If you have not already activated your account, please contact me or diane lafferty for the necessary information.

WINDOWS 7
I have been so happy with the upgrade to WINDOWS 7 for two main reasons.  The snipping tool and the split screen options have changed the way I work.

SNIPPING - Taking a picture of your computer screen.
How to find it - Click on START>ALL PROGRAMS>ACCESSORIES>SNIPPING TOOL
1.  A snipping dialog screen  will open up and the remainder of your screen will turn gray.
2.  Draw a box with your mouse around the portion of your screen that you would like to take a picture of.
3.  Here is an example: I snipped this image from the top of this page. Also, the images above for PAbay were made using this tool.

4.  With the snipping tool you can copy, save, or e-mail your image by using the tools at the top of the Snipping dialog box.

I am asked questions all the time via Email.  My response often includes a picture.  The snipping tool has saved me a lot of time.  I hope that it will for you too!

(If you do not have WINDOWS 7 and would like to "take a picture" of your screen, FUNCTION/Print Screen will take a picture of your entire monitor screen.  You can then paste the image into WORD and crop out the unwanted portions.)

SPLIT SCREEN - Viewing two screen at the same time.
The split screen option for WINDOWS 7 is just AWESOME.  I am a major multi-tasker and this allows me to truly maximize my time. 

How to make it work for you -
1. Open two documents or windows on your computer.
2. Use the shrink option in the top right of each window.  It looks like this.

MINIMIZE          SHRINK                          CLOSE

3.  Click on the MOVE bar at the top of one of the windows and drag the screen into the middle of  the left side of your monitor until it snaps into place.

4. Click on the MOVE bar at the top of one of the windows and drag the screen into the middle of the right side of your monitor until it snaps into place.

Your screen will now look something similar to this.  I can now view the Internet and WORD at the same time.  This new feature has saved me a tremendous amount of time toggling..