8/27 Flippy Flop

Block I and the Block II will be flip flopping lessons today. This means that Block I will be working on their movies and Block II will be comparing and contrasting electronic and hardcopy text. :)

During Block I, I walked around and started personally reviewing the students' videos and giving them specific feedback on their products. The morning group will be taking the laptops home this weekend, with my suggestions for what to fix, and the expectation is for the students' products to be practically perfect when they walk into class on Monday. Monday will be our first mentoring meeting between the Alpha and Beta class. The Alphas will be providing the Betas with feedback on their products. The students will then have a week to make their revisions and be able to contact their Alpha mentor prior to me assessing their video.

8/26

Today's focus was comparing and contrasting electronic and hardcopy text. The students processed through a variety of direct instruction and peer activities to come to their final decisions about which type of text/learning they prefer. The final assessment will be a piece of writing that will serve as their first entry on the Modern Me web page (writing grade) and it will also be made into a video diary entry.

We started the check-out process today. We have a lot of students that have not turned in their paperwork. Please make sure your child has a case or they will be denied taking the laptop home.

Students should be reading The Axemaker's Gift each night and making entries into their Google Docs, so I can provide them with feedback.

8/25 Our First Work Day Experience

Today was the first day that students experienced a full three periods to construct their products. The expectation on these days is that students are collaborating, planning, assembling, and revising their products of learning. Today's task was to work on the welcome videos for their websites.

24/8/2010

Today we learned about search engines and efficiently search. We also started working with some Mind Mapping software, so we can track our learning and make it into functional structures to demonstrate knowledge.

Students should be reading, thoughtfully adding to their notes, and practicing the keyword search strategies.

8/23 School Resumes with the Start of the Second Week

The second week has now begun! The day flew by and we covered so much information. We even received a compliment today from the DLC8 teacher, Miss Leland, on the "impressive focus" the group had. :) I can't tell a lie, receiving compliments never gets old when it is genuine and unexpected. NICE WORK KIDS!

Today we processed through safety and privacy rules, Netiquette, the purposes and power behind Blogging and the Web 2.0 world, evaluated web sites, and continued to work through setting up our own web sites and digitally narrated products.

I have been receiving a lot of emails asking, "Miss Bailin, can my child do this work at home?"

The answer is...YES! All prep work can be accessed through the Google interface and is compatible with all systems. This means that anything on Google Docs, like the students' notes on reading The Axemaker's Gift (due when you walk into class on Monday, August 8th...and you should WISELY be reading and updating your notes each night and viewing my commentary) is accessible to you at home. Students can also be working on formatting their webpages and blogs. The only item at this point that the students cannot put together at home is their video for their webpage because we are using Keynote and iMovie. However, this does not mean that they can't be saving images and planning what they want to do in class at home.

8/20 The First Week Wrap Up

With our first week now done, we have successfully started our journey into the 2010-2011 school year. Our focuses have been communication & collaboration, photo manipulation, and presentation software.

Looking at the upcoming week, the students will be working on netiquette, safety, and the power of having the world at their fingertips. While we are working on these topics that encompass the current generation's world, the students will be completing their prep work for our first unit, Modern Me, that we will be hopefully be starting Monday, August 30th. The students will also be finessing their websites with artifacts from their new presentation software.

8/19

The DLC7 kids worked very hard today. They have quickly learned that what works for one person may not work for them and are seeing first-hand trouble shooting (and the importance of following verbal and visual directions as to not make Miss Bailin kick of her heels and jog around the room repeating herself). We had a good mix of learning new tech tools and tool interaction time today with an emphasis on photo manipulation (legal use of images) and web site creation. I am getting excited to see how our use of Web 2.0 applications will enable students to communicate and collaborate in new meaningful ways.

Please follow my blog as well as your child's. :) We love having supportive fans to give us feedback. Feel free to post comments. This is an interactive discussion forum, just like the students blogs will be.

With the basis for our communication and collaboration interfaces almost established, we will be pushing in the direction of legal issues and safety in the upcoming week. We will also start reading some pieces that make us think about the progression of our world today and will prepare us for the Modern Me unit.

You can view the calendar @ http://www.google.com/calendar/hosted/pvlearners.net/embed?src=ebailin%40pvlearners.net&ctz=America/Phoenix . If the students have trouble, they (and you because you have their usernames and passwords) can log in to pvLearners, choose sites, select the Digital Learning Center DLC7:) site and choose calendar.

Miss Bailin's DLC7 Web Site Address: http://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/dlc7/

Please email Miss Bailin @ebailin@pvlearners.net. That is the address for parent and student communication.

8/18

The DLC reflected two different processes today. In Block I, the students got to experience the DLC in installation/password mode and Block II got to work through the installed tools. There will be a flip flop on some days where one group does the grunt work, so that they can learn the steps of the grunt work, and the other group gets to reap the benefits earlier.

Block I focused on communication/conference tools.

Block II focused on the communication/conference tools plus the Google interface.

I have entered and emailed all the email addresses that students turned in to me. Check your email and give me a reply, so that I know that it went through. We will have Block II's parents entered tomorrow.

You can view the calendar @ http://www.google.com/calendar/hosted/pvlearners.net/embed?src=ebailin%40pvlearners.net&ctz=America/Phoenix .

Miss Bailin's DLC7 Web Site Address: http://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/dlc7/

Please email Miss Bailin @ebailin@pvlearners.net. That is the address for parent and student communication.

8/17 The Second Day of School

Today's classroom environment reflected a great deal of trial and error (at moments it was monotonous, like entering data and other times it was more rewarding, like seeing animation in Keynote). There are times when we try things and they don't quite work as planned, BUT if we are patient, keep breathing, and seek advice, then we get through it.

Today we went over the Mail aspect of pvLearners, Google accounts, viewed work samples from the previous year to give students an idea of what the expectation is of their products in the Digital Learning Center (samples can be viewed @ pvCast http://pvcast.pvschools.net/ under the student work category...then enter your child's username and password....now search for titles) and Keynote.

Students left class with a Contact list, their chats setup (parents should be watching to see how much time their child is on the chat), and the basics of Keynote. We will be working more on these throughout the week.

I am currently entering in parents' emails and you should expect an email confirmation by Thursday at the latest. :)

Please check the online calendar on the DLC7 web site for assignemnts. B1 means Block I and B2 is Block II. There will be times when the blocks aren't matching in assignments. If you click on the assignment, it will give you a description and a due date.

Miss Bailin's DLC7 Web Site Address: http://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/dlc7/Please email Miss Bailin @ebailin@pvlearners.net. That is the address for parent and student communication.

8/16 The First Day of School (WELCOME BACK!)

My first impressions of this group in a formal education setting was, "Wow...impressive." I am beyond excited to get this year going. Thank you parents and students for trusting me and the educational philosophy of the Digital Learning Center.

Today we went over first day procedures, did icebreakers so we could get to know each other, and got a little bit into pvLearners and basics of the Mac.

Students left class with a sample Google site to fiddle with and it will eventually be a formal assignment and way to store and share content, storage folders, bookmarks, and activated pvLearners accounts (except two and I am working on it).

It is important to note that we will be front-loading the year with teaching technology. This is one of the changes from last year. This means that you will not be seeing social studies or reading grades within the first few weeks of school. By front-loading the curriculum with teaching the technology tools that we will be using, we are expecting smoother transitions during project creations. :)

Please check the online calendar on the DLC7 web site for assignemnts. B1 means Block I and B2 is Block II. There will be times when the blocks aren't matching in assignments. If you click on the assignment, it will give you a description and a due date.

Work/Assignments outside of class are designated into different categories:

1. Prep Work - these assignments set-up the student for success in future classes

2. Optional Tasks - these assignments can be worked on outside of class based on interest. Often times these assignments can get the students ahead for the next class and help them balance their busy schedules. It is one way to maximize class time and gear the students' interests and goals.

3. Homework - these assignments are actual small assignments that need to be completed and turned in the following day. These assignments may include, but are not limited to: entering data, updating blogs and/or websites, viewing podcasts of online vids, investigating and coming to class with completed research, readings, and things of that nature.

Miss Bailin's DLC7 Web Site Address: http://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/dlc7/

Please email Miss Bailin @ ebailin@pvlearners.net. That is the address for parent and student communication.