Black History Month Resources

This summer, I spent a few days in Memphis, Tennessee. The highlight of the trip (other than catching up with my fantabulous college friends) was visiting Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.

We had a delightful tour guide that showed us the house and shared stories that have been passed down through the generations. The moment that made the biggest impression on me was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with 10 other adults in the tiny basement. I'm 5'2" (in shoes!) and I had to stoop down in some places so I wouldn't hit my head. Our guide explained that there could be as many as 40 slaves living in this basement for days at a time. It was such a humbling experience. If you're ever in Memphis, please take the time to stop by and visit.

Unfortunately, we can't really take actual field trips to Memphis, so I hope you can use some of these resources with your students.

• Scholastic's Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery - this interactive unit includes a teaching guide, myths of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman Web Hunt and Reader's Theater, Slideshows, and several images, documents and interviews in the Primary Source Gallery.

• Scholastic's Celebrate African American Heritage Resources - In addition to the Underground Railroad unit, Scholastic also provides a wealth of other online resources (History of Jazz, Rosa Parks' Story, a class play called A Long Road to Freedom, Jackie Robinson: Athlete and Hero, and more.)

• Fact Monster's Black History Month Links - includes many short articles about Civil Rights Heros, Notable Speeches, the March on Washington, and more. 

• The Underground Railroad from National Geographic Education  - Be sure to run through this interactive journey and see some of the other resources here.

• The Underground Railroad from The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - this site does a great job of explaining what the Underground Railroad was, the risks Escaping Slaves endured, Maps of some of the routes, and more. 

• Songs for Black History Month

• KB...Konnected's Kaleidoscope of Wonderful Websites - is a fantastic collection of online activities to celebrate Black History Month by one of my favorite bloggers over at KB...Konnected.

Do you have a favorite resource that I haven't listed here? If so, leave a comment!

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Outlook 2010

Outlook 2010 is an outstanding email management and calendaring program that gives you so many more options than using the web version at live.com. If you are already using Outlook to access your email, skip down a bit to learn some tips and tricks that can make your life even easier!

EM-S ISD Peeps: If you still access your email in district by opening an internet browser and going to www.live.com (or by going to the district site, clicking Employees, clicking the Live@edu Sign-In link), please follow the simple directions at the EM-S ISD Tech Tips blog to set up Outlook on your computer and begin using this application as your email program. If you need assistance with this, please contact your CTI, IT, or turn in a Technology request in Helpdesk.

Be sure to check out this great Introductory Video about Outlook 2010. I've been using Outlook for more than a year now and I still learned a few new things!

My Favorite Outlook Tips & Tricks

• When entering a contact's name in your email, begin typing the first few letters of the first name. Hit Control + K on your keyboard to see all the possible contacts from the district address book.
• Need help? Hit F1 (a function key at the top of your keyboard) and easily search through Outlook's Help information.
• Did someone send you an email (instead of a meeting request?) with details about a meeting or appointment? Just click and drag the email over to the correct date on your calendar and it will turn into a meeting!
• Easily create an Email Signature! On the Message tab, in the Include Group, click Signature, then click Signatures. Click New and enter your signature information. You can include colors, images, and more. (If you have a blog or webpage, be sure to include that address!)

Even more Outlook help ...

• Outlook 2010 Quick Reference Card - this 2-page PDF file includes basic and advanced mail tips, calendar how-to's, keyboard shortcuts, and more. If you're new to Outlook or looking for new things you can do, be sure to check it out!
• Basic Tasks in Outlook 2010 - this article explains (in very simple terms and screenshots) basics like creating emails, forwarding/replying to emails, working with attachments, email signatures, calendar appointments, contacts, tasks, and more
• Outlook Skills Builder - from using tasks and reminders to customizing your inbox view, get the most out of Outlook with this video training series. 

The Picnik's Over (or will be soon)

Picnik has been an online photo editor that we have used in district for a while. Unfortunately, they have announced that they will be closing up shop as of April 19.

If you have pictures stored in an account with  Picnik , you can use the Picnik Takeout tool that allows you to download all of your images in one zipped file. 

The good news is that  Picnik is allowing all users to use their Premium tools for free to edit images between now and April 19, so be sure to take advantage of that!

In the meantime, if you're looking for a new online image editor, be sure to give Pixlr a try - it's my (current) favorite. It allows you to work with layers, etc. to create impressive graphics! If that's just TOO much and all you want to do is a little basic photo editing, try out Pixlr Express. I think you'll like it!

Office 911: Keyboard Shortcuts

This fun little video is a good reminder that there are lots of keyboard shortcuts available in Office applications (and others!)



I read about this video on The Microsoft Office Blog. I recommend you check it out!