netTrekker Blog

Admin Tools Update

netTrekker Administrators, this is for you! In addition to providing new resources, the latest nT release offers Admins the ability to assign and revoke the Teacher role directly from the User Management page in Admin Tools.

You can still set up a Teacher Code in the Admin Tools, and have users login and change their user role from Student to Teacher for added functionality. However, now you can assign and revoke the Teacher role simple click of your mouse within the User Management interface, as well as take care of other important Administrator tasks that you are already familiar with:

• Review usernames and roles;
• Change passwords;
• Review and alter a username’s status and ability to log in;
• Review most recent login by username;
• Assign administrative rights;
• Delete a username.

Need more clarification on the User Management tool, or a refresher of other administrative functionalities? Log in to your nT account, click on the  Admin Tools link, and view our helpful Admin Videos. If you want, you can click here to go directly to the Admin Video on User Management.

Tags: Admin Tools, Teacher Code, Teacher Role

You mean I can add MORE collections?

YES, YOU CAN add to the collections already in netTrekker d.i.!  And you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out that it’s Weekly Reader Express (WRE).   If you’re like me, you have fond memories of getting this great magazine as a child.  Now you can provide your students with the same great info through your netTrekker subscription!  It simply appears in your Collections Refinement Menu as well as integrated with other resources in Search Results pages once you order it.

And the best part is that you can search their database of articles, teacher’s guide content, and reproducible activities from eleven Weekly Reader classroom magazines from 2000 to the present.  —over 7 million words in all!

WRE covers a broad range of academic topics, from social studies and English language arts to science, health, current events, and career development in all eleven of their magazines. 

Can you honestly resist a magazine with such great covers?  Give me a gorilla any day! “How do I get this?” you ask.  You can get a free trial or add it to your subscription by calling 877-517-1125 or emailing sales@netTrekker.com.

For even more details, check this out:  Weekly Reader Express.

Tags: netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., weekly reader, weekly reader express

Teachers’ Domain: Interactive Fun!

Teachers’ Domain offers a diverse collection of activities and media resources for your classroom. The netTrekker sites in Teachers’ Domain contain video, interactive media, images and .pdf files.  Resources accessed through netTrekker pertain to Social Studies and Science topics, but, once you log into Teachersí Domain you can search any topic and find rich resources that address all areas of the curriculum.

The Teachers’ Domain site encourages you to register, requiring you to complete a short and simple profile. The process asks:

• The type of school
• Where it is located
• A user name/password you would like to access Teachers Domain
• Your name
• Email
• A COPPA regulations confirmation that you are over 13 years of age
• A question of how did you hear about Teachers Domain?

If your school uses a universal user name for the students to access netTrekker d.i., consider registering it here as well!

To continue on with the theme of hearts that Amy introduced with the SMART resources, here is an example of an interactive resource found in netTrekker d.i. from Teachers’ Domain. My search word was heart. I refined my search to only show Teachers’ Domain resources and then selected the entry about

heart transplants. It pulls up an interactive program for your students to actually conduct a heart transplant. It includes the background information, questions, and the standards for this activity.

It is simple and truly a rich resource to enhance your classroom, all available in netTrekker! View this short video to see this classroom application in action.

Teachers’ Domain in Action

Tags: interactive media, netTrekker, Teachers' Domain, The Collections, video

Handheld Technology from TI

Texas Instruments’ Activities Exchange is a collaborative forum of activities for use with TI calculators, complete with downloadable handouts and access to calculator and PC software applications. These resources are not only free but also linked to state standards and to textbooks. They’re perfect for supplementing lectures and required reading, practicing standardized tests, and, last but not least, motivating students via a wide variety of projects and investigations.

A search for TI resources using nT will reveal over 2,500 math and science resources for classroom, small-group, and individual use.

If integrating this type of handheld technology into classroom instruction is new to you, you’ll benefit from the training and support materials Texas Instruments provides for its users. Here are a few places for those just getting started:

Click here for downloadable Guidebooks, manuals for TI’s family of products, from the TI-Nspire operating system, to computer software and calculator applications, to the calculators and their accessories. Click here to access all TI Freeware available for your calculator(s).

Before downloading and using using TI’s Activities Exchange resources, it’s a good idea to pre-download and install the LearningCheck App for the popular TI-83 Plus and TI-84-Plus calculators. An advanced search on TI’s site indicates that there are over 500 math activities that utilize this application, which allows students to monitor their own progress as they complete teacher-generated questions, practice tests, and exams. Click on the image on the left to see two screenshots from a sample program that uses the LearningCheck App.

If you’re interested in creating and uploading your own activity, click here for file-extension guide. This is useful, too, for educators new to Activites Exchange who need help with activity downloads.

Last, but not least, here’s a teacher-authored resource that will help you with your calculator. Based on common issues faced by new users of the TI-83 and TI-84, it’s organized into problem-and-solution format and is intended to help students fix errors they might encounter. See sample problem and solution by clicking the image at right.

Tags: Activities Exchange, Texas Instruments, TI