Newsletter - Winter 2016

DIRECTOR'S CORNER

Happy Holidays! The staff at CUES looks forward to sharing a successful second half of the school year with each member district and school. At CUES we wanted to provide individual teachers with information about us so that we can better serve and keep you informed about projects and training available. Each quarter we will be sending a newsletter to let you know about servicesCUEShas available for you to request and use.  Most of all CUES thanks each of you for the hard work you do to help students learn and become better.

Jason Strate, CUES Director

Endorsements

CUES is happy to participate in offering endorsement classes to provide you with more opportunities to increase your educational degrees. There are several classes being offered right now. Here is information on them. 

  • Ed Tech Endorsement through CUES. Brandon Harrison (our very own CUES trainer) will be starting an online Ed. Tech. Endorsement program. 12 of the credits will be accepted by SUU towards a Master?s degree. This is an open enrollment program so you can start it at any time.

  • Reading Level 1 and 2. This endorsement is offered through NUESand starts in January, Weekly classes meet in the CUES Office building or other location throughout the region.

  • Math Endorsement. -This endorsement is offered through SEDC and starts in January,

Overdrive
 
Our CUES Overdrive Library continues to be a success with monthly check outs averaging 2,300. Ephraim Middle School currently leads with 1,649 checkouts since September 1, 2016. CUES has also been awarded a grant of $15,000.00 from LSTA and with this has purchased an additional 345 Ebooks, 202 audiobooks, and 36 narrated books. Patsy continues to work with individual schools to help train and find innovative ways for schools to use this awesome resource.CUES will be having an Overdrive contest with prizes awarded to the top 4 participating schools. The contest will run from December 1 to January 15th. 4 winning schools will receive a Kindle Fire. Encourage your students to read during the holiday break! Our library is always open!
 
Tech Tip- Passwords
Password Managers. Managers save and generate secure passwords for you, meaning you only have to remember one password- the one that opens your vault.  So make it a strong one  How do you make a strong password?
- Use capital and lowercase letters
- Use special characters and numbers
- Should be at least 12 characters, longer passwords are recommended
- Create a sentence or phrase as the basis for your password

Examples of Password Managers:
LastPass * Dashlane * KeePass Sticky Password * 1Password RoboForm * Keeper * Zoho
 
Did You Know?
 
zSpace: CUESisveryexcited to have this virtual reality machine available to teachers. We'll keep you posted on training that will be happening in your part of the Region. Until then, check out www.zspace.com to see what it is!
Kits:  Don't forget that CUES offers educational kits that you can check out and use with your class.  Our newest kit, Bones, is sure to be a favorite with your students!  Click HERE for more information and to reserve your kits today.