By now most of you will have experienced the highs and the lows of using the Internet as a reference tool. It's great using a search engine that finds the information you are looking for in seconds, but equally infuriating to search through endless sites only to be confronted with garbage. While there is a wealth of information and resources available, there is just as much, if not more, useless or misleading information as well. Using a search engine may return results from thousands of different websites so it is quite easy to lose track of the sites that contain relevant material as you browse through the multitude of options.
Once you find a useful site the trick is to remember it for future use. All Internet browsers have the facility to bookmark favorite websites or web pages so that you can return easily in the future. For example, if you use Internet Explorer as your browser you can bookmark websites by following these instructions:
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Go to FAVORITES>ADD TO FAVORITES
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The NAME field will show the name that has automatically been assigned to this site. If you would like to change this name simply overtype the details in this field.
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Click OK
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A link to this website will now be included in your Favorites menu
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You can also organise these into logical folders to separate personal interest sites from work related sites, or even create a separate folder for a particular research project. By building up a list of reference sites you'll make surfing the web a more accurate and enjoyable exercise.
Here are some great sites to get you started:
General Knowledge
www.howstuffworks.com
Search Engine
www.google.com
Directories & Maps
www.whereis.com.au
www.streetdirectory.com
www.mapquest.com
www.whitepages.com.au
www.yellowpages.com.au
Business
www.ato.gov.au
News
www.theage.com.au
www.smh.com.au
www.heraldsun.com.au
User Group Discussion Forums
groups.google.com
Other
www.trading-post.com.au
If you have any sites that you find particularly useful then send them to us as a link. We will pick the best and include them in future newsletters as a "Web Site of the Week" feature.
Due to popular demand another date has been scheduled for the First Class introductory course:
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Introduction to First Class
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Friday 7 June 2002
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This course provides a great overview of the software as well as tips for using shortcuts and other useful features. The cost of the course is $195 (ex. GST), which includes a light lunch and a copy of the First Class training manual for you to keep.
On completion of the course you will know how to:
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Import data into First Class from First Class 6 and in the form of text files
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Export data from First Class to other programs
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Create and enter data into databases
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Create and enter data into a grid
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Resolve clashes
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Allocate students to classes
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Move students between classes
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Allocate extras
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Generate and edit a timetable
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The course commences at 9.00 am and concludes at approximately 4.00 pm. As our training courses are a forum for you to have your questions about the software dealt with, we remain flexible about the finishing time. Our instructors want to make sure that you get as much as possible out of your day and part of this is ensuring that we spend as much time as necessary answering your queries!
It has been brought to our attention that some people are experiencing occasional problems with First Class truncating room codes when they print a timetable.
Release 245 of First Class is on the web and it solves this problem.
How do I use the timetable generator to set up a meeting?
Often, a group of teachers (for example Heads of Departments) hold a regular weekly meeting during school hours. You can use the timetable generator to locate a time when all teachers are available for the meeting. In order to do this you need to set up the meeting as a new Subject, set up a Block for the meeting and then give the new Block its allocations.
Setting up a Subject:
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Go to MAINTENANCE>SUBJECT>EDIT
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Change into EDIT mode
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Click ADD
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Define a new SUBJECT CODE and SUBJECT NAME
For example:
| Subject Code: | MTG |
| Subject Name: | Meeting |
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SAVE the new Subject
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Setting up the Block:
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Go to MAINTENANCE>BLOCKS
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Change into EDIT mode
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Click ADD
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Give the Block a CODE and a NAME
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Click SAVE
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Click on the ROW HEADER for the new Block. This will allow you to add classes to the Block.
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Normally you would add the Forms associated with a Block but, as this Block only involves teachers, just click on the ADD button at the bottom of the screen. A new vacant class will appear.
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Add the subject MTG and the teacher (leave the room blank)
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Repeat this process for other teachers in the Block
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CLOSE and SAVE the Block as usual
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Giving the block its allocations:
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From the MAINTENANCE menu, select ALLOCATIONS
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Filter by TEACHER
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Select one of the teachers in the Block
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Use the standard method for giving the Block its allocations
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When the timetable generator is run it will attempt to locate a position on the timetable where all of the teachers in the meeting are free.
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
Henry Brooks Adams, Historian
Regards,
Robert Bakker
Computer Techniques P/L
Phone: +61 3 9699 9777
Fax: +61 3 9690 2802
Email: firstclass@human-edge.com.au
Human Edge adheres to a policy of not sending unsolicited (SPAM) e-mail. You are receiving this e-mail because you are listed as a contact for a product or service that our organisation provides or have requested that this service be activated for you. If you are receiving this message in error or wish to have our records changed please advise us via return e-mail or call us on +61 3 9690 5044
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