This Friday, Sept. 19, special education staff will begin a professional learning series focused on advanced applications of data-based decision-making. The meetings are opposite of the office meetings, with some regions having office meetings in the morning and professional learning in the afternoon, and other regions having the professional learning in the morning and the office meeting in the afternoon.
Below is a link to register for the meetings. When registering, specific information regarding location and times will be available. If you serve special education or are a regionally-assigned PLLC, please register for the meeting in the region in which you work. If you work in more than one region, register for and attend the meeting in the region from which you are supervised. You do not need to register for an office meeting if you do not serve special education and will only attend a half-day meeting. If you have questions, please contact Sarah Brown at sbrown@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Click Here to Register
Monday, September 15, 2008
FYI: Des Moines Register Doing Article About AEAs
We wanted to give you a heads-up that the Des Moines Register is working on a comprehensive article about area education agencies. Their reporters have requested a great deal of information from every AEA in the state. At this time, we do not know what the angle of the story will be or when it will be published. What we do know is that we have tremendous employees who work every day to help all students achieve. We do not think the media will call any of our staff members, but in case they do, please refer them to the Communications Department. We will keep you updated as information is available.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Now Posted to the Web
Minutes from the Heartland Board of Directors meetings are now posted on the agency Web site. They can be accessed from the navigation bar on the left side of the page. There is a link under Heartland Information called Board Minutes which contains the minutes from this year's meetings as well as those from 2007.
Updated Regional Map on the Intranet
An updated regional map for the 2008-09 year showing Heartland's school districts in their respective regions is posted under the Human Resources tab on the Intranet. It also lists partnership directors and special education program assistants for each region. You can also click here for the map.
Technology Update
Firefox 3.0 Update
Mozilla, the makers of Firefox, recently released version 3 of Firefox. If you are a Firefox 2.0 user, you may have recently been offered to upgrade to version 3.0. If you’d like to update to the latest version, you can choose to do it when it offers the upgrade to you or you can follow the instructions below to do the upgrade.
The new version fixes the visual glitch (partial obscuring of the Save and Close or Send button) that occurs in Kerio when you are creating events on your calendar. This new version has created a different problem when using Kerio though. You are no longer able to right-click (or for MacBook users two-finger click) to get the pop-up menus to appear. You now must hold down the Control key on the keyboard and click to get the pop-up menus to appear.
In order to use Firefox 3, you must have Mac OS 10.4 or later installed on your computer. To check whether you have the necessary version of Mac OS, go to the Apple menu and choose About this Mac. If your version is 10.3.9 or earlier then you should not proceed with the install. If you have version 10.4 or later then you can proceed with the install if you wish. Below are the instructions for installing Firefox 3. There is also a video of the process available at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/pub/tech/firefox_install.html.
Installing Firefox 3
1. If Firefox is running on your computer, quit the program before continuing.
2. Locate and double-click on the Macintosh HD icon located on your desktop.
3. Locate and double-click on the Applications folder located in the Macintosh HD window.
4. Locate the Firefox icon in your Applications folder window and drag the icon to your trash located on your dock.
5. Logon to the Heartland file server and choose the Workgroups volume.
6. Locate and double-click on the Technology_Services folder.
7. Locate and double-click on the Software_Resources folder.
8. Locate and double-click on the Firefox 3.0.1.dmg file.
9. When the Mozilla Firefox End-User Software License Agreement window appears, click the Accept button.
10. After a while, a new window will appear which will look like this.
Click and drag the Firefox icon onto the folder icon located to the right in that window. This will copy Firefox to your Applications folder. You now have version 3 of Firefox installed on your computer.
Phone Systems Update
Plans are in place to expand Heartland’s Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone services to the remaining branch offices. When the final installations are completed, all Heartland staff members will be able to make calls between offices using just a five-digit extension and there will be no long distance charges incurred. The Enterprise Manager tool that we currently have at the Johnston office will allow configuration, control and management of all branch office phones and systems from a single central interface. Moving, adding or changing staff extensions will no longer require that a technician travel to the remote site, which will eliminate most of the phone maintenance costs that we currently experience.
Installation and training on the new phone systems is planned for the Newton office the week of September 29, the Ames office the week of October 27, the Woodside office the week of November 10 and the Indianola office the week of November 24. Plans are still being finalized for the Carroll office, but we are working with DMACC and the ICN to connect the Carroll office to our network and hope to also deploy the VoIP phone system to the Carroll office in the very near future.
Dial-Through Phone Service
Heartland has a "dial-through" service for employees approved for “Work At
Home” or for staff who must use personal cell phones to conduct agency business. The service is intended to protect the privacy of staff working in these environments and to ensure that return calls are not made to personal lines outside of business hours. Using the service consists of calling a toll-free number in much the same way that you would use a calling card. No personal charges will be incurred for using this service other than cellular airtime, which may be reimbursed. Please contact your supervisor for the access information and instructions on using this service.
Beware of "I Am Wait Your Reply" Spam E-mail
Staff members should beware of the spam e-mail message with the subject “I am wait your reply” that contains the "ILOGS.zip" attachment. If you receive an e-mail like this, don't open the attachment and delete it as soon as possible.
Mozilla, the makers of Firefox, recently released version 3 of Firefox. If you are a Firefox 2.0 user, you may have recently been offered to upgrade to version 3.0. If you’d like to update to the latest version, you can choose to do it when it offers the upgrade to you or you can follow the instructions below to do the upgrade.
The new version fixes the visual glitch (partial obscuring of the Save and Close or Send button) that occurs in Kerio when you are creating events on your calendar. This new version has created a different problem when using Kerio though. You are no longer able to right-click (or for MacBook users two-finger click) to get the pop-up menus to appear. You now must hold down the Control key on the keyboard and click to get the pop-up menus to appear.
In order to use Firefox 3, you must have Mac OS 10.4 or later installed on your computer. To check whether you have the necessary version of Mac OS, go to the Apple menu and choose About this Mac. If your version is 10.3.9 or earlier then you should not proceed with the install. If you have version 10.4 or later then you can proceed with the install if you wish. Below are the instructions for installing Firefox 3. There is also a video of the process available at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/pub/tech/firefox_install.html.
Installing Firefox 3
1. If Firefox is running on your computer, quit the program before continuing.
2. Locate and double-click on the Macintosh HD icon located on your desktop.
3. Locate and double-click on the Applications folder located in the Macintosh HD window.
4. Locate the Firefox icon in your Applications folder window and drag the icon to your trash located on your dock.
5. Logon to the Heartland file server and choose the Workgroups volume.
6. Locate and double-click on the Technology_Services folder.
7. Locate and double-click on the Software_Resources folder.
8. Locate and double-click on the Firefox 3.0.1.dmg file.
9. When the Mozilla Firefox End-User Software License Agreement window appears, click the Accept button.
10. After a while, a new window will appear which will look like this.
Click and drag the Firefox icon onto the folder icon located to the right in that window. This will copy Firefox to your Applications folder. You now have version 3 of Firefox installed on your computer.
Phone Systems Update
Plans are in place to expand Heartland’s Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone services to the remaining branch offices. When the final installations are completed, all Heartland staff members will be able to make calls between offices using just a five-digit extension and there will be no long distance charges incurred. The Enterprise Manager tool that we currently have at the Johnston office will allow configuration, control and management of all branch office phones and systems from a single central interface. Moving, adding or changing staff extensions will no longer require that a technician travel to the remote site, which will eliminate most of the phone maintenance costs that we currently experience.
Installation and training on the new phone systems is planned for the Newton office the week of September 29, the Ames office the week of October 27, the Woodside office the week of November 10 and the Indianola office the week of November 24. Plans are still being finalized for the Carroll office, but we are working with DMACC and the ICN to connect the Carroll office to our network and hope to also deploy the VoIP phone system to the Carroll office in the very near future.
Dial-Through Phone Service
Heartland has a "dial-through" service for employees approved for “Work At
Home” or for staff who must use personal cell phones to conduct agency business. The service is intended to protect the privacy of staff working in these environments and to ensure that return calls are not made to personal lines outside of business hours. Using the service consists of calling a toll-free number in much the same way that you would use a calling card. No personal charges will be incurred for using this service other than cellular airtime, which may be reimbursed. Please contact your supervisor for the access information and instructions on using this service.
Beware of "I Am Wait Your Reply" Spam E-mail
Staff members should beware of the spam e-mail message with the subject “I am wait your reply” that contains the "ILOGS.zip" attachment. If you receive an e-mail like this, don't open the attachment and delete it as soon as possible.
Reminder: Parents in the Military Lunch & Learn Sept. 26
Reminder: You are invited to attend the Parents Serving in the Military Lunch & Learn event which will be held on Sept. 26 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Johnston Lions Club. The Iowa National Guard will be providing free lunch and a resource packet for every participant.
To register, click here.
To register, click here.
U of I Seeking Teacher Librarian Grant Program Candidates
The University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is now recruiting the second cohort of 20 students into its Teacher Librarian Grant Program. Students will earn a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science and receive training in the skills necessary to effectively operate today’s school library programs. This cohort will begin classes in the summer of 2009.
A federal grant will provide a $15,000 stipend over the two-year period of enrollment to pay tuition and fees. Most course work will be delivered through distance education systems. Students will be required to attend an on-campus class component in the summer and one each semester they are in the program. Students will be responsible for costs in excess of the stipend provided for tuition, books, travel, supplies and other expenses.
Please encourage teachers whom you think would be good candidates and teacher librarians to apply for this program. Those interested in applying should visit the IMLS Teacher Librarian link on the School of Library and Information Science Web site at http://slis.uiowa.edu. Applications are due February 1, 2009. Contact information for Jim Elmborg, the Director of the SLIS program, is available on the Web site.
A federal grant will provide a $15,000 stipend over the two-year period of enrollment to pay tuition and fees. Most course work will be delivered through distance education systems. Students will be required to attend an on-campus class component in the summer and one each semester they are in the program. Students will be responsible for costs in excess of the stipend provided for tuition, books, travel, supplies and other expenses.
Please encourage teachers whom you think would be good candidates and teacher librarians to apply for this program. Those interested in applying should visit the IMLS Teacher Librarian link on the School of Library and Information Science Web site at http://slis.uiowa.edu. Applications are due February 1, 2009. Contact information for Jim Elmborg, the Director of the SLIS program, is available on the Web site.
Deaf, Deaf World Workshop Offered
If Heartland staffers are interested in experiencing what it is like to be deaf or hard of hearing, the Des Moines Public Schools Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program invites you to its "Deaf, Deaf World Workshop" on September 18. The event will be from 5:00-7:30 p.m. in the gym at Capitol View Elementary in Des Moines with food being served at 5:00 and the workshop beginning at 5:30. Registration is required and can be done by calling the DMPS Deaf Ed Office at (515) 242-8402. Registration must be done by TODAY.
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