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.