Week+2

So we have began our Week 1 at the high school and things seem to be moving pretty smoothly. I decided to co-teach with our Math and Science team members for the first six weeks. It seems as if those two subjects go together and English and Social Studies go together also. In the Math class, we are starting to make VodCasts of the lessons being taught and plan on posting them on a Google Site. The class tends to have some attendance problems and the students that take advantage of the videos should see an improvement in grades. In the Science class, we have decided to revamp the PowerPoint lessons. They were pretty plain when I received them, containing mostly notes and some pictures that went with the notes. I thought if we added some video reinforcement this would keep the students attention. I added a couple short clips throughout the notes to break-up the lesson and keep the student's attention. We are also creating an Ecosystem Brochure in the science class. Each group will try to "sell" their ecosystem to each other. I have attatched the improved PowerPoint we will be using during class this week.
 * Monday**

Hi Justin, You seem like you are providing your students with some very well developed lessons! I agree that Math and Science go together and English and Social Studies go together. If you can cross link the curriculum, that would be great for the students as well. You have triggered my interest in VodCasts. I am going to look into these. Thank you! I could not get more than the first page of your power point to open; however, I will try again from a different computer. Nice job so far! Keep up the great work! Teresa

Wow, I just watched the video for thsi week on TeacherTube. That is crazy. I knew that social networking was a big thing but I guess I didn't realize how big it was. I know there are a ton of people on Facebook and Myspace, becuase I am on it too, but so many people to be one of the largest countries is crazy. It is so funny when I here of people's grandparents sending them friend requests but, it turns out that this is the largest growing group. In addition, being able to access all of this information on the fly is incredible. I know it is such a cool thing to be able to connect to wi-fi and check my email, facebook, twitter, online calendar, etc...without have to find a Internet Cafe. Almost everywhere I go has free wi-fi. The information is out there and the connectivity is outstanding. All these things I can connect to only if there is wi-fi, think of what one could do if one were connected all the time. iPhones and Blackberrys make this possible. However, there are some drawbacks to being connected and providing insights to what you are doing all the time. This information gives a completely new dimension to stalking. Also, sometimes I wish people could not reach me at all times. I can remember back to when our family got its first cell phone, what did we ever do without such a device? We couldn't just call someone for information, directions, help, etc. Here is a topic for discussion, what would life be like if all of the current connectivity and Web 2.0 tools were all of a sudden gone, how would this affect your life?
 * Tuesday**

Today and tomorrow we will be creating brochures of ecosystems in Environmental Science. It has gone fairly smooth. Once we got the students on track and working we didn't have many problems. The hardest part was getting them to actually do the research instead of finding pictures to copy and paste into the MS Word Brochure. However, I am impressed on how well they worked and the minute issues we had with behavior. Most worked very dilligently and were loving the fact they got to be creative in class. I am happy with the outcome of the project so far and will post a couple of student made examples when they are complete.
 * Wednesday and Thursday**

On a seperate note, we have run into some technical difficulties within the team. One of us forgot their password for their Google Site and thought we would have to recreate the website. However, it was remembered and all was at peace again. In addition to lost passwords, some of the computers we are working with while we wait for our grant laptops are rediculously slow. Our Technology Integration Specialist is working on alieviating the issue but the process tends to be slow and we are patiently waiting on the solution (as well as our computers to load).