Update from Bill Reeder:

• Open Access at ITS/Dunn Loring Center

• ITS Web and Intranet Site

• Closing the Gap Conference
  

News from
Cheryl Temple:

• AlphaSmart Grants

• Upcoming Conferences
  
  

• Increase Your Tech Vocabulary
  
  

This Month's Featured
Staff Member

Rita Mars

ITS Web and Intranet Site

Have you visited the ITS Intranet site lately? If not, you may be surprised at all the fantastic resources available to FCPS staff. The site has the following major headings:

• Activities and Directions: lots of downloadable templates, directions, ideas, etc., that are sorted by specific software/peripheral
• Software Review: Before you buy something out of a catalogue, check to see if it is on the list of software reviews that have been completed by ITS Software Review Teams over the years. Titles are sorted by curriculum are and alphabetically for quick reference.
• Tools: Links to download sites for programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader, IntelliPics Player, StuffIt Expander and many more.
• Web Sites: Links to recommended web sites as identified by our Web Review Teams and sorted by curriculum area (e.g., Biology, Ancient Rome, Government, etc.).
• Preschool Web Page: Link to all the wonderful stuff for early childhood classrooms found on this FCPS site.
• AT Referral Forms: Download all of the various forms and directions associated with referring a student, class, or project to ITS.
• ITS Staff: Can't tell the ITS players without a scorecard!
• TOPS Teachers: There are currently 84 ITS Technology Outreach and Program Support (TOPS) teachers and this is where you can find the latest TOPS list of who's-who.
• Tech Talk: Both the current and archived versions of Tech Talk are found here.
• Directions to ITS: How to get here from there.

Take a look! The ITS Intranet site (FCPS access only) is located at:

http://fcpsnet.fcps.k12.va.us/SSSE/its/

Also, many of the same resources are available at the ITS Internet site, located at:

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/DSSSE/its/ITS.htm

Closing the Gap Conference

Recently 13 ITS staff members attended and presented at the Closing the Gap (CTG) Conference, which is held annually every October in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CTG is "the" annual Assistive Technology (AT) conference and ITS staff members have attended and made presentations since ITS was created in 1989. ITS staff members conducted or participated in eight different sessions this year and attended many more. In addition to many wonderful presentations, CTG is known for the several hundred vendors who specialize in AT for students with disabilities. Every year many vendors wait for CTG to unveil their latest and greatest AT stuff. This year attendance was slightly down due to concerns after the tragic events of September 11th, but overall it was another successful event. ITS staff members attending CTG this year included: Jeannie Boyer, Sandy Cohen, Lisa Givens, Gail Holloman, Nancy Icke, Karen Karrenbauer, Christine Lee, Rita Mars, Sandy Morrissette, Bill Reeder, Kathy Spar, Cheryl Temple and Mary Beth Turanchik. Alice Farling, FCPS Assistant Superintendent for Special Services, was also a very welcome CTG attendee this year!