How to Use Your Projector

Successful Q & A

• 
  Getting the Session Started
  Walk toward the audience. The question and answer period of a presentation can often be the most informal. Show that you are open to truly answering questions by walking toward the audience.
  Raise your hand. When you ask "who has a question" — raise your own hand. This creates a mirror response in the audience.
  Expect a response. Show your audience that you expect them to ask questions. If possible, choose an individual or a group to question. For example, move to the appropriate side of the room and say "I know that someone in Engineering wants to discuss . . ."
  Steer clear of "yes" and "no" questions. Begin your appeal to the audience with "why" or "how". Try something like "How did the sales forecast look to you?" This type of question begs for an explanation while a simple "Did the sales forecast make sense to you?" begs for a simple yes or no.
  Wait for a reply. Give your audience enough time to respond. A good pause will not hurt anything.


• 
  Answering Questions . . .
  Look directly at the person posing the question. This demonstrates respect and forces you to focus on the question.
  Don't glance at notes or fumble for facts. Acknowledge that you are listening to the question.
  Take your time. Take a breath, pause.
  Compliment the question, if possible. A simple "good question" is often enough.
  Repeat the question. Rephrase the question and at the same time — consider your response.
  Answer the whole group. While one person asks the question, the whole group waits for the response.

courtesy of Epson

Grant Opportunity

Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program



Eligibility:

Elementary through four-year college teachers and school administrators are eligible to apply for positions abroad. However, not all categories of applicants are eligible for all countries. Please see the Teacher Exchanges & Summer Seminars and/or Administrator Exchanges section of our website for country specific eligibility requirements. To meet the basic eligibility requirements of the program, an applicant must meet all of the following seven requirements. Failure to meet any one of the requirements makes a candidate ineligible. At the time of application, a candidate must:



be a U.S. citizen;

hold a valid U.S. passport (or be in the process of obtaining one);

be fluent in English;

hold at least a Bachelor's degree;

have a current full-time teaching or administrative assignment in the U.S. or one of its territories;

be in at least the third year of full-time teaching or administration (teachers applying to the seminar only need to be in their second full year); and

have not participated in a Fulbright grant longer than eight weeks in the past five years. Have not participated in a Fulbright grant of eight weeks or less in the past two years. Have not received more than the lifetime limit of two Fulbright grants. (Eight weeks or more = 1 grant; Eight weeks or less = 1/2 grant and a lifetime limit of two grants of eight weeks or less)For the purpose of determining eligibility, "full-time" refers to applicants who are currently employed full-time by a single institution (school, school district, or college). Teachers or administrators who hold a combination of part-time jobs which may add up to a full-time equivalent are not eligible.



Purpose:

For U.S. teachers, this opportunity involves a year, semester or six-week direct exchange of teaching positions with a counterpart in another country teaching the same subject(s) at the same level. Fulbright program staff in the U.S. and abroad match U.S. and overseas candidates in the spring of each year. Fulbright staff then propose matched-exchanges that each candidate and each school involved in the application process must approve before final selection to the program takes place. For more information about the grant process, see the Selection and Grant Details section of our website. For a country listing of teacher exchanges and more information about country choices, see the Teacher Exchanges & Summer Seminars section of our website.In addition, U.S. teachers of Latin, Greek, the Classics, Social Studies and other related subjects may be eligible to participate in one of two summer seminars in Italy or Greece. For more specific requirements and information about these two programs, please see the Teacher Exchanges & Summer Seminars section of our website.For U.S. administrators, the Fulbright program offers non-simultaneous work-shadowing assignments with an overseas counterpart. These exchanges may be from three to six weeks in length, but each partner must exchange to the other's school during the same academic year. For a country listing and more information about these opportunities, see the Administrator Exchanges section of our website.



More information:

If you have questions about the program or need any assistance, please feel free to contact us directly at:

Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 320 Washington, DC 20024 Email: fulbright@grad.usda.gov

Fax: (202) 479-6806

Phone: (202) 314-3537 (for general questions and further information about the program) Phone: (202) 314-3520 (for current applicants/grantees of the program)

Phone: (202)314-3527 (for issues related to the online application process)


Deadline:
October 15, 2008
Maximum Award:
Expenses
http://www.fulbrightexchanges.org/

Grant Opportunity

Youth Service America and Disney

Disney Minnie Grants

Eligibility:
This is an international grant opportunity, so applicants from all countries are welcome to apply, provided they are·
Youth (ages 5-14);
or· Older youth (ages 15-25) who design a project that engages children (ages 5-14) as volunteers;
or· Recognized groups/organizations who work with younger youth* (ages 5-14).
*The term "youth" is equivalent to young people. For this grant, youth (ages 5-14) should have a significant part in planning, implementing, and evaluating the proposed service project.

Purpose:
Youth Service America (YSA) and Disney know that youth of all ages can be involved in volunteer service projects. Children can solve community problems by working with their families, schools, friends, and neighbors. Join in the global youth service movement, and make a difference in your area. Grants of up to $500 are available to support youth-led service projects taking place from October 15-November 15, 2008.

More Information:
Questions? Email MinnieGrant@ysa.org

Deadline:
August 30, 2008
Maximum Award:
Up to $500
Number Of Awards:
Multiple
Period:
October 15-November 15, 2008
URL:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/grants/grant_info.html?grant_id=18321

Book Review

I am sitting at my desk and see a stack of books that I have read over the last few weeks. I realized I haven't taken the time to mention any of these here. One of these books is The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Written in 1985, this book has been required reading in high schools and colleges since it was released. It is an eerie tale of women around the turn of the 21st century. A revolution has taken place. A backlash to the free spirit and sexual revolution of the previous decades has led to extreme sexual repression. Religion and a strict biblical interpretation of how to live prevails. Women have a duty to have children. That is their primary function. It is inferred that a nuclear disaster has taken place and that a large percentage of the population is sterile. Women who can bear children have an elevated place in society. They are assigned to "Commanders" or the ruling elite and known as "Handmaids". Sex is not for enjoyment and it is not a social activity. The book was written as a wake up call against groups like the Moral Majority. 20 years later, it doesn't appear that we had much to fear. I liked the resigned writing of the book. Humans can adapt to their situation. The protest is there in the writing. A somewhat dated and fear mongering book. Do read this one.

Enjoy!

Dennis

Computer Kits for June

Computer Kits for June

Upgrades:
Upgrade to 2 GB DDR2 RAM add $25
Upgrade to dual layer DVD burner add $5
Microsoft Windows XP-Professional or Vista Business add $145

How to Use Your Projector

Size Does Matter!
A presentation is a presentation right? It doesn't matter whether you are speaking to 5 or 500 people . . . As long as you have a good presentation it will work accordingly. Not quite!
One of the worst commonly overlooked details of giving a presentation is the size of the audience. It is true that the content of the presentation doesn't have to change because of the size of the audience, but the way it's communicated should be quite different!
Check out the table below. Listed are the basics of audience size and presentation needs/dynamics.

Audience Size and Needs

Small Group (Client Presentation, Work Groups)

When delivering to a group of this size, all of your efforts should be focused on the individuals in your audience. Presentation style, pace, visuals, and group interaction are dictated by your audience. Given the size of this intimate group, it is imperative the audience feels important.

Interactive Group (Training Class, Department Meetings)

An interactive group demands different things than a small group does. For one, the level of involvement with the audience diminishes. While audience interaction is important, a high level of audience interaction is not possible. Instead, the content of the presentation is most important. Visuals should be clear, concise, and help move your audience to better understand the content objectives.

Structured Group (Sales Presentation, Shareholder Meetings)

The key to a presentation of this group size is effectively communicating your message as a speaker with your delivery and visuals. Because this type of presentation is very targeted and the audience knows this, visuals should be specific to the main messages in the presentation.

Big Room Groups (Keynote Speakers, Luncheon Meetings)

If you are speaking to a large audience, you must realize that people are there to see you speak. While the content of your presentation is important, you are part of the reason why they are there. Consequently, it is extremely important that your delivery by dynamic, simple-to-follow, and credible. Your visuals should also be simple so that any audience member is able to see and understand anything that is projected.




Now it's time to order!
$699
2400 Lumens!
Native XGA (1024x768)
2000:1 contrast
DVI, RGB, S-video, composite video, component video
PC & Mac compatible
6.6 pounds

How to Get and Keep Windows XP After June 30

XP-Professional is the darling of business operating systems. It is still in huge demand. Consumers have had less choice in avoiding Vista. Come June 30th, Microsoft is taking the next step in making it more difficult for the rest of us to avoid taking the plunge into Vista.
What does the June 30th cutoff date mean? It’s not the end of the world. The big guys like Dell and HP will no longer offer XP as a standalone option to purchase. Customers who order business class machines with either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate can order systems with XP-Professional preloaded. These machines will have Vista activation keys. They will ship with both Vista and XP discs and drivers. The big players will only be offering these machines with downgrade rights until January 31, 2009. Not all machines will have this option.

Northwest Computer will be offering XP as an option on our machines for the foreseeable future.

Copies of XP-Professional are still available for sale and will be available until at least January 31, 2009. There are rumors about a new version of Windows XP for business that are floating around. Don’t count on this. Microsoft is fast forwarding the deployment of their next version of Windows. They are hoping to have a release before the end of 2009. Vista is now being described openly as another Millenium edition. Microsoft is going to want to put this behind them as quickly as possible.
The one area that Microsoft has left open is surrounding ultra-low cost notebooks with low hardware requirements. The Asus EEE mini-notebook is an example of this. The notebook now comes with an option of using Linux or buying a model with XP preloaded on it. This is XP-Home. The cutoff date for these is now listed as June 30, 2010.

Support

According to PCWorld, “Obtaining support for XP after June 30 will be easier than trying to buy XP after that date. For starters, you have access to what Microsoft calls "mainstream support" for XP until April 14, 2009. Mainstream support includes the release of bug fixes and security patches, so you'll still be receiving updates for the operating system. You can pay Microsoft for help, as well, and the company will also honor all warranty claims until then.
After that date, and until April 8, 2014, Microsoft will offer what it calls "extended support" for XP. During that time, Microsoft will continue to issue security patches but won't release public bug fixes. Businesses that signed support contracts with Microsoft will be able to get bug fixes, but no one else will. Paid support will still be available, but warranty claims won't be honored. Microsoft says Windows XP customers will have to take up such claims--even if they relate to software--with the PC manufacturer at that point.”

Please don’t tell me you will be running machines that you buy this year in 2014.