Students and Teachers:

Our local Tech Prep association has once again purchased the Bridges.com career exploration software for our entire district again for this year. If we have high usage, we get to keep it; if not, they will likely give it to another school next year.

This web-based software is excellent and can be accessed by teachers, students, and parents from any computer at school or home with an Internet connection. There is an interest inventory quiz to get them started, or they can choose their favorite school subject and explore a list of careers and colleges that offer training for those careers, etc. There are 400 videos of people talking about their jobs.

It is highly suggested that Career Technology teachers use this resource since it is part of the TEKS. English I students have be writing a career research paper using Bridges. It would be great if students explored careers at every grade level before they graduate. Students could also use this as a way to earn extra credit after he/she has finished his/her class work. I would be happy to come to any classroom at your convenience to teach students how to use this.

Teachers, students, and parents will use the following site ID and password to login to create their own profile (it is case sensitive). From then on teachers, students, and parents may log-in with their own ID and password. Any areas of interest that users explore will be saved in the personal profile tab. Users may continue to use their log-ins after graduation and for the rest of their life as long as they access it at least every two years.

1. Go to www.bridges.com
2. Click on “Create a new profile”
3. Merkel site ID: 0104765
4. PW: merkel
5. Remember your new login and password. This will still be valid after graduation.
It is suggested that your profile name and password follow this pattern:
Profile name: janesmithbadger PW: 2007 (year of graduation)

There is also a Professional Access Code available to upgrade teacher logins to a higher level. Teachers can see their students’ research, run reports, have access to professional tools, etc.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask. This is definitely something we want students to use.

Happy researching,

Mrs. Amerine

We are pleased to announce that we have recently partnered with ConnectEdu (www.connectedu.net) to provide each student, parent, and guidance counselor with a comprehensive solution to better organize the college search, application, financial aid, and decision making process!

Register for your Connect! Account

Step 1: Go to www.connectedu.net/members

Step 2: Click on the Create my account Tab.

Step 3: Click STUDENT

Step 4: Use the information below to register for your account:
First Name: enter student first name
Last Name: enter student last name
Student ID Number: enter student ID number

You will be prompted to select a username and password. In addition, you will be asked to answer one security question that will be used in the case of a lost password.

Use this information to log on and create your personalized account.

You are now ready to begin using Connect!