IMPORTANT DATES & Info.

I POSTED A SAMPLE SCHEDULE ON THE BOARD, SO THE KIDS CAN SEE HOW EASILY THIS IS ALL PACED OUT WITH THEIR CLASS TIME. The pieces are small and you can view the curriculum on pvOnline. :) The sample schedule shows the kids how to prioritize and pace themselves. :) It is also color-coded.

The metaphor pic is postponed until after break. :( I'm bummed, but I know it isn't all about me.

• 12/6: We will create our own covers for The Red Badge of Courage (you may do this on your own or in class that day)
• 12/6: Block II's opening scene products are due! It should be uploaded on your site under your code of conduct.
• 12/10: Vicksburg or Gettysburg brochure is due. It will be created in Pages (save as a gif or jpeg or screen shot it and upload it to your site under Before Brother Fought Brother (at the bottom)
• 12/15: Complete ALL pvOnline: do a little bit each day...I posted a sample schedule on the board in class. :)
• 12/15: Present INFORMAL content on one of these topics (found in pvOnline): Women, Soldier's Life, Children @ War, or War Technology. This means you use what is provided on pvOnline, create some slides with bullets, so you know what you are talking about and sum in up in a meaningfully short public speaking fashion. I'm not grading this for tech. I am ONLY looking at social studies content and public speaking. DON'T go crazy. This will be done in groups or pairs. I'm undecided so far.
• 12/16: ALL GRADES CLOSE DISTRICT-WIDE and report cards are processed

***We will pic the sections you want to re-create visually like Block II did (see 12/6)

and they will be due most likely on 12/13.

Make sure you know what you are expected to read each night. Please discuss/email your leaders. :)

Here is how class will be structured, so PACE is important!!!

Period 1 - work on what you need to

Period 2 - specific Miss Bailin described things OR work on what you need to (depends on the day)

Period 3 - RBOF group work

Period 6 - specific Miss Bailin described things OR work on what you need to (depends on the day)

Period 7 - RBOF group work

Period 8 - work on what you need to

That is all. When we get back from break, we will get into a little Honest Abe moment, the end, and the Reconstruction Period (ugly times kids).

Exercising Independence

Hello all,

From now until 12/15, the students are exercising their independence. This means that they have mini-pieces they are creating, updating their websites (their semester final if you will), engaging in student-centered and generated literature studies for The Red Badge of Courage, and processing through online housed curriculum. After break, we will be getting back into a bit more direct instruction, but the students need to be practicing knowing their boundaries and working on time management. All grades close on 12/17...no exceptions. Seriously. I'm leaving the country.

Smiles,

:)Erica

Fundraiser Info.

PTSA-- Library and P.E. Fundraiser

When: Monday the 22^nd, Tuesday the 23^rd and Wednesday the 24^th of November.

What: Students will be able to purchase a daily ticket for a special privilege that day.

Library

Cost: 1:00 a ticket. The ticket is good for one day only. Except for Library game pass

Library tickets:

The wearing of hats, caps, and hoods.

The use of their I-pod during free time and lunch.

The use of their cell phone for texting only at lunch

Tank tops (NO Spaghetti straps.)

Pajama bottoms/ flannel pants

Computer game pass for the library at lunch.( Ticket good until December 19^th)

You will purchase your tickets each morning in the Media Center. Cash only.

The PE dept. ( Mrs Barazk and Mr. Shultz ) will be selling a ticket for two dollars that can be used to get out of the Wed mile for one day in Dec. You will purchase those in class when you go to PE that week.

Helpful Sites

Hi,

I also have these posted at the bottom of the Home Page, but I just wanted to remind everyone of these important links. The school calendar is IMPORTANT. It shows you sports, clubs meetings, days off school, etc.

PVUSD Home Page: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/siteweb/

PVUSD's Gifted Education Web Page: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/giftedweb/

Digital Learning Center's Information Web Page: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/giftedweb/digitalLearningCenter.html

Sunrise Middle School's Home Page: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/srmsweb/

Sunrise Middle School's Events Calendar: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/srmsweb/Events

Parent/Student Handbook: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/siteweb/handbooks/ParentStudentHndbk.pdf

Ms. Binder's Web Page: http://cmweb.pvschools.net/~abinder/

11/17 And now we are in the war...

We are getting into battle now......

Today the kids are advising the presidents of the Union and the Confederacy about why their side is LIKELY to win the war (at the beginning).

What is a way my child can organize his/her time on this project?

Thank you very much for asking. For the Thematic Causes of the Civil War Digitally Narrated Product that should be 5-7 minutes and is due on 11/24 (if you don't check the homework blog....please do), here is an "ideal" way to organize the time on the nights that your child has the laptop checked out.

On the evenings when it is not his/her turn to check it out, they should be planning/storyboarding/scripting what they will accomplish the next time they have the laptop. On the days that he/she has the laptop, they should create and record about 1 minute of their presentation. That leaves 2 planning days (roughly) and 5 creating/narrating days to equal 5 minutes.

FOR EACH EVENT YOUR CHILD CITES AS EVIDENCE, HE/SHE MUST EXPLAIN THAT EVENT AND HOW IT APPLIES TO THE THEME HE/SHE HAS CHOSEN. That is the meat of their presentation/narration.

With all the students citing the same content (roughly), one of the MAIN goals of this piece (aside from social studies content) is to make their project stand out in some way. It is hard to do, but they will lose the audience otherwise.

Movement, meaningful images (setting a scene), and a well-timed, voice appropriate narration is KEY to visual/auditory success on this piece. Students should not be using popular songs.

How to Start the Project

a. Complete categorizing the causes/events that contributed to the start of the Civil War into

each theme: community, conflict, justice, and wealth/economy.

b. Choose the ONE THEME that contributed THE MOST to the start of the Civil War.

c. Determine the ORDER of the causes/events that you will present to persuade the audience that your cause is the main cause.

Day 1 w/ laptop

1. Make intro slide w/ your name, due date (11/24), unit title (Before Brother Fought Brother),

topic title (Civil War) and your MAIN theme of the start of the Civil War (Community,

Conflict, Justice, and Wealth)

2. Narrate...MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SLIDE ONLY CONTAIN KEY TEXT AND THAT YOUR

NARRATIONS ARE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES....NOT JUST READING US BULLET

POINTS!!!!!

Day 2 w/ laptop

1. Complete 1 minute of slide creation and narration.

2. Add appropriate transitions from your intro slide to your next section. Make it smooth.

3. Remember to test the sound and make sure the volume is the same.

Day 3 w/ laptop

Repeat day 2

Day 4 w/ laptop

Repeat day 2

Day 5 w/ laptop

Repeat day 2

Day 6 w/ laptop

Repeat day 2...5+ minutes should be completed.

Day 7 w/ laptop

Final touches. Make sure all the sound is correct. Show someone else and have them grade you on the rubric.

Laptop Check-Out Days for this Project

(if you need to schedule something different, you need to arrange it with your partner)

Any day your partner is NOT taking it home, you are welcome to check it out. :)

Wed. 11/10 & Thursday 11/11 (no school) - BLOCK II (day count 2)

Friday 11/12, Saturday 11/13, and Sunday 11/14 - BLOCK I (day count 3)

Monday, 11/15 - BLOCK II (day count 3)

Tuesday, 11/16 - BLOCK I (day count 4)

Wednesday, 11/17 - BLOCK II (day count 4)

Thursday, 11/18 - BLOCK I (day count 5)

Friday, 11/19, Saturday 11/20, Sunday 11/21 - BLOCK II (day count 7)

Monday, 11/22 & Tuesday 11/23 - BLOCK 1 (day count 7)

11/2 Things are not always as they seem....

Today, after much discussion and revision, the debaters came ready (most :( of them) to debate. A twist was thrown in and each group was given an evaluator to individually coach his/her group and one was switched into another class. The year is about to start taking some twists and turns. :) Tomorrow we will be doing the Stephen Crane redo projects and the debate (all students should come to school or bring dapper clothes). More twists to come....

The photos in this post show the evaluators from Block I becoming leaders and are now directing groups.

11/1 The Rundown

While the debate participants are currently prepping their plans for brilliantly articulated debates, the evaluators are learning the importance of organization, explanation, and evidence. Listening to the evaluators discuss the pieces of writing they have received has been very interesting. The discussion had strong moments of cognitive enlightenment.

As for the debaters....we need to go over persuasive introductions.

This is our first attempt at debating in a formal setting.

REMINDER

PLEASE DO NOT PACK PEANUT PRODUCTS AS YOUR CHILD'S SNACK.

THANK YOU!

SMILES,

:)MISS BAILIN

10/26 2011-2011 DLC Info. for Incoming Students

Here's the application info. http://cmweb.pvschools.net/giftedweb/pdfs/DLCApplication.PDF

Here's the general DLC info. http://cmweb.pvschools.net/giftedweb/digitalLearningCenter.html

Here are the visitation plans (PLEASE ATTEND BOTH because each serves a different purpose and the events work together to give you a better picture of the DLC philosophy):

1. Please join us for a parent presentation on Tuesday, November 16th at 6:00 PM in the Sunrise Middle School Media Center. Sunrise is located at 4960 E. Acoma, Scottsdale, AZ 85254.

2. A tour of the school and the Digital Learning Center is scheduled for the following Tuesday, November 23rd at 9:00 AM. Students are welcome to attend.

To RSVP: Please DO NOT call schools regarding classroom visits and observations. Requests should be directed to the Gifted Education Services Department.

Contact Gifted Services Karen Monaghan Gifted Support Technician Paradise Valley Unified School District e-mail: kmonaghan@pvschools.net 602-449-2113 office 602-449-2163 fax

Don't forget how to view grades...this is where I post most of my comments

Infinite Campus

https://ic.pvschools.net/campus/portal/paradisevalley.jsp

Once you log in, click on "Schedule" which will give the student schedule by term.

Click on the course name for the current term to see grade information.

Remind your parents about PTSA

You can sign up and NOT attend the meetings!!!

PTSA NEWS

Remaining PTSA Meeting Dates for 2010-2011

November 16, 2010 January 18, 2011 February 15, 2011 March 15, 2011 April 19, 2011 May 17, 2011

Remind Your Parents About Conferences

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Students are encouraged to attend.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent - Teacher Conferences -

Monday, Oct 25th - 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct 26th - 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

These are the only days for conferences.

All teachers will be available at the listed dates and times with the following exceptions:

Tammy Newell: Oct 25th 6:00 - 8:00 p.m and Oct 26th 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Kathy Chesser: Oct 26th 3:00 - 4:30 p.m and 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Holly Mitchell: Oct 25th 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Susannah Suchin: Oct 25th 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Oct 26th 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Lucy Hawking: No conferences

Teri Engle: Tuesday only

Bruce Laks: Oct 25th 6:45 - 8:00 p.m.

Early dismissal at 12:00 p.m. - Wednesday, Oct 27th

Early dismissal at 12:00 p.m. - Thursday Oct 28th

K-8 recess - Friday, Oct 29th

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent - Teacher Conferences -

Monday, Oct 25th - 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct 26th - 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

These are the only days for conferences.

All teachers will be available at the listed dates and times with the following exceptions:

Tammy Newell: Oct 25th 6:00 - 8:00 p.m and Oct 26th 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Kathy Chesser: Oct 26th 3:00 - 4:30 p.m and 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Holly Mitchell: Oct 25th 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Susannah Suchin: Oct 25th 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Oct 26th 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Lucy Hawking: No conferences

Teri Engle: Tuesday only

Bruce Laks: Oct 25th 6:45 - 8:00 p.m.

Early dismissal at 12:00 p.m. - Wednesday, Oct 27th

Early dismissal at 12:00 p.m. - Thursday Oct 28th

K-8 recess - Friday, Oct 29th

TEEEE-SHIRT Time

Show your Sunrise Spirit!

Wear your Sunrise T-shirt every Tuesday throughout the school year!

Warm Wear Drive

November 1st - 22nd

Student Council is sponsoring a "Warm Wear Drive" for Phoenix's homeless.

See the flyer for specific information!

Student Council News

Student Council News

Join us at Yogurt Builderz on Tuesday, October 26th

from 11:00 a.m. - 10 p.m.

14202 N Scottsdale Rd #167

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Please bring the flyer with you and 30% of the sales will be donated back to us!

10/11 Getting into pvOnline

Today was our first attempt at completing a unit on pvOnline. Based on students' feedback, we are making some adjustments.

BRAVO DEVON!!! :)

Devon Gomez had the STAND OUT demonstration!!!

Kids Teaching Kids

This week the BLOCK II students are teaching the BLOCK I students an in-depth look at specific events from the Industrial Revolution that extend on the ideas the BLOCK I students researched and presented on within their own class.

Having the kids see the styles of other kids was really beneficial. We now have a new expectation for presenting: the content of Elizabeth, Jake, Bryan, Alison, and Nick with the creativity and movement of Brady, Robert, and Tyler Sand, and the demonstrations, movement, and timing of Devon G. By combining the strengths of these three groups, we have set a new expectation for ALL presentations. Thank you for setting the NEW :)DLC7 standard for presentation style and products.

Gaming & Learning

As part of our Industrial Revolution unit, we have integrated some industrialization games to simulate how to develop, transport (import/export....movement of goods), costs, etc. It was amazing to see how the students naturally moved to areas where groups were the most successful. Seeing this collaboration was very powerful. Shown below is an empty table group surrounded by working students. At one time, this group had students, but as the game progressed, student found the most successful students to work with.

Monday 9/20

Now we are getting into some more historical content!!! While the students are finishing up their analysis of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat and preparing their presentations to teach the class (Monday, September 27th), we will be using class time to start getting into the Industrial Revolution. The IR set up the foundation for our modern world and we will be running segments of Modern Me and Putting the 'Us' in the Industrial Revolution to show the parallelisms between now and the IR and prepping for our debate.

One way we will be flushing out content during the Putting the 'Us' in the Industrial Revolution unit, is by housing content in pvOnline. We will be using pvOnline as a way to access content, organize groups, engage in online disussions, share videos and we will be combining that with face to face interactions and activities as well. pvOnline can be reached and used by any computer because it is a web-based program.

Here's how to login:

1. Go to: https://pvschools.mrooms2.net/login/index.php

2. Enter your username and external password (this is your pvLearners password)

3. Click Middle Schools

4. Search DLC

5. Select DLC7th Grade -Bailin

Tomorrow is a half day and we will be using class time for three things:

1. Demonstrate public speaking style of Miss Bailin/peer analysis, so you can get tips to improve on before presenting on Monday, September 27th.

2. While not meeting with Miss Bailin/group to receive presentation feedback (refer to the Public Speaking Rubric on the class webpage), students will be working on completing their slides. If students finish their slides, he/she should be on pvOnline and investigating the IR.

3. During 2nd and 8th periods, we will have a demo of glogster (http://www.glogster.com/) by some selected Alphas. Students are to ONLY investigate the educational area. Students will be making an All About Me multi-media poster for their _______'s Bio & Blog page on their :)DLC7 website. This will be due Monday, September 27th.

IMPORTANT NOTES

-School Dance is Friday

-Every Tuesday is Spirit Day....wear your Sunrise t-shirts

-Tuesday is a half day. No sports today.

-My midterm grades will be completed by Wednesday evening.

9/13 Welcome to Tech Trouble Shooting Day

Today was a day full of twists and turns in the tech trouble shooting world. There are times when we can't control everything that happens and most of the kids saw first hand today what happens with things go wrong. There are lots of ways to trouble shoot technology problems. The most important thing is to remember what applications were running and what you, as the user, were doing at the time when disaster hits. This helps us retrace steps.

Some students were able to show their products to the other block and Ms. Binder and I were very pleased about how the students behaved as audience members. We could see that a lot of effort was put in and many of the presentations have very sophisticated multi-media elements.

This week the focus will be on the students completing the Friedman notes and prepping their slide presentations. These presentations will be done in Google Docs, so students will not need to be checking laptops home unless they do not have access to the Internet. The purpose of these presentations is to teach the rest of the class a brief history of the 21st century as told by foreign affairs columnist and economist Thomas Friedman. These presentations are nothing fancy. The complexity comes from the information analysis, not the technology proficiency. It will be nice for the students to take a bit of a break from all the tech tinkering they have been doing. There are times when we just need to let things settle in and I believe we are at that point.

The students will also be learning about Final Cut Pro during class and experimenting with it.

I am very excited for our demo tomorrow.

The Short Week

This week were showed our Welcome Vids for our websites. The students have grown a great deal with what they can do with the software. The students were also working on their more creative product with their animated slides and poem vids. I can't wait until Monday to view these. We will even have all the :)DLC7 students together for the first time for the viewing!

Next week we will get more sophisticated and go more in-depth with The World is Flat. Make sure you are keeping up on your reading and revisions! :)

Jacob & Jackson's Demo

Later in the week, two Blender genius and all-around stellar tech gurus from the Alpha Class, Jacob & Jackson (as shown above), came in and did a presentation/demonstration for the Betas about Blender. They left the Betas with many feeling inspired and motivated. They left their former teacher feeling so humbled because they did this all on their own. I never showed them a THING about Blender. :)

8/30-9/3 Highlights

Monday, we had our first collaboration between the Alpha and Beta classes of the DLC. The Alphas served as mentors by viewing the students' projects, providing them feedback, assessing them on the Digitally Narrated Product Rubric, and demonstrating ways to revise their products with our technology tools. This was an incredible moment for me as a teacher. I was so proud watching the Alphas share their knowledge and I was so excited watching the Betas asking questions and trying out what their mentor shared with them. It was challenging to contain my joy during this time.

Shown Image Left: Austin, Brady, DJ, & Lucy

Topics covered this week: analysis of The Axemaker's Gift, expectations for Socratic Seminars, Google Scholar v. Google, basic research, credible sites/evaluating websites review, comparing and contrasting electronic v. hardcopy text, citations, Blender, and Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat.

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.