Mark West

Welcome Back!

Neither Technology Engineering nor Computer Skills is being offered this year.

I'm still at Cornerstone, but my role has changed and my day is more focused upon teacher training and the implementation and use of Promethean Boards (interactive white boards). Feel free to view my blog at Promethean Boards Bound: A Blog About Educational Technology.

Free Software

This stuff is both free and legal. Oh, and most of it is pretty neat, too...

• AdAware- Freeware Helps eliminate spyware and adware and finds suspicious cookies.

• AVG Free - Freeware anti-virus software to help protect your computer from Internet viruses, worms and Trojan horse programs.

• Audacity- Freeware for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

• GIMP (The GNU Image Manipulation Program)- Free Photoshop-like program. Official site, including download area (Win/Mac/Linux), documentation, FAQs, and a plugin registry. How well does it work? Check out the logo at the top of this page; now imagine if someone with an art degree got his/her hands on this thing...

• Inkscape is a handy vector-based imaging (drawing) program that exports to SVG format and more. - for Windows, Mac and Linux.

• Irfanview is a free image viewer that is very easy to use. It allows you to do basic picture editing. Windows.

• KompoZer is free and allows anyone the ability to create web pages and manage a website with virtually no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML. Win/Mac/Linux.

• openoffice.org is a free, easy-to-use office productivity suite. You can read and save documents made in Microsoft Office in their native format (.doc (or .docx), .xls (or .xlsx), .ppt (or .pptx), etc.) You can create word processing documents, spreadsheets, publications, graphics, e-mail, surf the web and much more with this delightful program. Win/Mac/Linux. For Mac Users, there's also NeoOffice.

• Scribus - open source destop publishing- for Windows, Mac and Linux

• Source forge - a tremendous collection of open source software for Windows, Mac and Linux

Active Amber Alert(s):

We are now recycling old cell phones, ink cartridges, and laser toner cartridges by parternering with www.thinkrecycle.com; please send recyclables to your child's teacher.

A Resource For Educators

Promethean Boards Bound is a website developed by CMS's own Mr. West and is an aid to educators using Technology in the classroom. Click the logo to be taken to that website.

Cornerstone Middle School • 371 First Avenue South • Baxter, Tennessee 38544 • 931-858-6601 Map