March 2003 Archive   Computing Skills Assessment Updates (Y7 - 10) (Monday 31st March 2003) Support information for the Board of Studies secondary CSA. Includes mapping of ICT skills across mandatory Stage 4 & 5 syllabuses. You can also request a copy of the on-line trial version of the 2002 CSA test. Wazza's Digital Photo & Video Links (Tuesday 25th March 2003) While this afternoon's Digital Photography session at Berkeley PS is full, this page provides plenty of useful links, including the notes from the presentations. NTSC to PAL with iMovieVSS (Tuesday 25th March 2003) This small (free) utility changes the default video standard setting for iMovie 3 from NTSC to PAL (and visa versa!). NSW Teachers Federation ICT Policy (Monday 24th March 2003) Amid the current discussion about technology support in schools, it is worth understanding the Federation's viewpoint on this, and other issues related to technology in schools. Bandwidth Upgrade Issues (Tuesday 18th March 2003) Local schools' WAN bandwidth is being upgraded to 2Mb. A number of contractors are working in local schools as part of this upgrade. Schools should contact their DET service manager if Telstra suggest that they will be installing a large floor-mounted cabinet in which to store their equipment. Theme Resources for Schools (Friday 14th March 2003) Provided for teachers as a resource for the development of units based around themes. It is provided through EdNA Online, who have evaluated the resources as being of educational value. Camino Replaces Chimera (Mac OS X) (Wednesday 12th March 2003) Now updated to v 0.7, it is definitely FAST! Camino (formerlly known as Chimera) is a web browser built on the Mozilla software. Although web browser offerings appear to have stagnated during the past 12 months with Explorer's dominance, it seems that a new spirit of competition is now providing some great browser alternatives. See also Apple's Safari, which is also very quick. Defaulting iMovie 3 to PAL Format (Mac OS X) (Tuesday 11th March 2003) A simple edit in an iMovie resource, using TextEdit will make iMovie always startup in PAL format, rather than NTSC. ITEC Meeting - Digital Photography (100k pdf) (Friday 7th March 2003) The first meeting of ITEC will focus on Digital Photography in schools. All staff in Illawarra schools are welcome to attend. A number of short sessions will be presented - what to look for when buying a camera, loading photos onto your computer (Win & Mac), shareware editing software options, and the basics of Adobe PhotoShop Elements. NSW DET School Assessment and Reporting (DET Intranet access required) (Monday 3rd March 2003) Information about the NSW DET Basic Skills Test (BST), Primary Writing Assessment (PWA), English Language and Literacy Assessment (ELLA), Secondary Numeracy Assessment Program (SNAP), and the Yr6 Computer Skills Assessment (CSA). Minolta QMS 2350 Colour Laser Printer (Monday 3rd March 2003) Colour Lasers are getting cheaper! Paul Hall from Frank Vaughan Electronics advises that these Minolta printers (with 128 Mb RAM, PostScript Level 3, and 10/100 NW card) are now available to schools for app $2500. (Neat little flash animation at this site too!) Kudown - OSX Shutdown Utility (Monday 3rd March 2003) Mac OS X does not provide a built-in auto shut down facility. Kudown is an application to schedule computer shutdown, restart, sleep or log out at a specific time and day of the week. It can schedule several different actions for every week day.     Back to headlines