Official Launch of THE QUIZZERS PAD!

Okay, team, today is the day of the Quiz Team Kickoff, so I thought it was time to give you a post with a quick tour of this website! We will be referring to this site as either "The Quizzer's Pad" or just plain old "QuizPad." You can access it either by going to www.quizpad.com or by going directly to the site at quizpad.blogspot.com. QuizPad is run by a free service called "Blogger" which allows users to create newsy websites of any kind, and uses a number of other free services to provide functionality.

This main area of QuizPad will always contain the "News" for the team. This may be news about the team, announcements about up-coming events, funny stuff that we find, or general bible news from the Internet. There will be something new almost every day, so I recommend you bookmark this page and visit it regularly. (Bookmarks are the same thing as "Favorites" under Internet Explorer.) You may even want to make it your Home Page (i.e. the page that automatically loads when you first start up your browser).

To the left of the main area, there are four sections to which you will want to pay special attention:

At the top, is the Quiz Team Calendar. This is a miniature calendar for all of the major events for the Team. If you run your mouse over the days of the month, it will pop up the events. If you click on the MONTH NAME then it will open a new window with a large view of the month, suitable for printing and posting on the fridge, with all of the practices, events, and quiz meets for the month.

Next down on the left is the Important Links. This is a short list of links to places and resources on the web that you may find especially useful in study or getting critical info about Quiz Team. Clicking "E-mail the Coaches" will open your mail program with an address that will automatically e-mail all four coaches. Clicking on the "Read Romans Online" link will open the Bible Gateway site to Romans, allowing you to read the whole NIV portion online without spending a penny (beyond the cost of getting onto the Net). You will also notice several key documents in PDF format. PDF is a universal document format invented to allow any system to download and print a document from the web. It requires the free Adobe Acrobat to read these files, but most computers ship with that program pre-installed. If you have any problems accessing these files, or want them in another format, please e-mail me. Most of the handouts from Quiz Team should appear in the Important Links area.

Next down on the left is the Launch Chat button. This opens a new window (JavaScript required) that provides a place for quizzers to discuss issues and leave messages for each other. This site will be monitored by the Quiz Coaches on a daily basis, and will remove any inappropriate comments. We request that quizzers (and parents, if you post) do not use full names in this area, in order to protect kids and preserve anonymity on the net. Nicknames are best, first names second best, first names with last initial acceptable.

Finally, down on the left is the Quiz Team Photos badge. This is a little link that shows a picture from Mark's library of photos, most of which are from the Quiz Team. If you want to view the pictures in full size, click on the badge and you will be brought to Flickr, the photo site that I use to store all of my pictures online. Again, I do not post any real names with the pictures, but this is a way that everyone can share the fun. The pictures can also be downloaded from there to your local computer. If you want a print of any picture, let me know and I can direct you to another place that hosts my photos which will provide "old fashioned" prints for a small fee.

That is about it. The site has been up and running since about July, and has already attracted a small but faithful following. Feel free to pass along the link to friends, family, and other quizzers on other teams. And please e-mail the coaches if you have an idea for the site that can make it better.