February 23, 2014

Back From Break

Welcome back!  I hope you had a wonderful break.  For those of us who stayed locally, enjoying a "staycation," we certainly had our fill of snow and rain!  For those of you who traveled to warmer climates, I hope you had a great time!  We are back and ready to get all those loose ends tied up!

Before we get started let's hear what some other students have to say about using iPads in school
The first order of business this week for many students will be creation of Apple ID accounts.  Once those accounts are created, all students will be checking their school email accounts for the response from Apple. You will need to follow the links and directions in this email to activate your school/professional Apple ID.
**If you have not yet created your school/professional Apple ID you will be doing this in class with me.  We have a special procedure and naming convention to use.  For those of you who did this at home with your families, or tried and were not successful, I will be helping you out so no worries!!

Once you have completed this process, you will need to find the other email waiting in your inbox.  This one is from "Cisco/Meraki," our mobile device management system (a.k.a. MDM).  It is very important to finish this process as well.  Once you have accepted and verified their invitation, you will be able to get the school provided Apps on your devices.
**If you were absent for the start of this process or do not have the invitation, you will need to first complete this VPP Invitation Form.

I know there are a couple of students who missed the initial iPad Student Commitment Letter lesson.  I am making arrangements to have you complete these lessons with me this week.

Once we have tied up all the iPad loose ends, you will be adding a new "page" to your blogs.  We have such an amazing and unique opportunity ahead of us with the 1:1 iPad Initiative.  I am going to ask you to share your thoughts along this journey.  I don't want you to feel the need to write on your main blog pages, so I am going to show you how to create a new page for your blogs.  You can use the "About Pages-Blogger Help" link to assist you with this as well.  This page will be dedicated to posting about "Technology in School" and I am going to ask you to write your first post this week.  Think about what will be happening next week; receiving an iPad to use all day long in school every day.  What are your thoughts and feelings about this?  How do you  imagine yourself using this device?  What will change for you?  What are you most excited about?  Most nervous about?  I would like you to answer these questions and any other thoughts you might have in regard to this exciting event.  As I have been saying to you all along; you are the most important part of this project.  You are helping implement change in our school and in your learning!  How exciting!!!

February 13, 2014

Make Up Work Update.....please read!

I am extending the due date for any make up work for my classes.  I have not been readily available to you this week; therefore I am extending the make up work deadline for incomplete and missing work from this Friday, Feb. 14th to the Friday after vacation, February 28th.  I will be happy to discuss any questions and concerns you are having when we return.  Please remember you received a "progress report" grade, not a final grade.  There is time for you to use your Effective Effort strategies to make improvements.  So have no worries, and enjoy your vacation!

February 5, 2014

A Different Way to Review Copyright

This week you will be revisiting those copyright terms.  When I reviewed your "Copyright Terms" definition assignments, I realized many of you are still not fully understanding them, and what copyright really means.  Instead of having you simply redefine the terms, I have decided to have you create a "Copyright Quiz" using your Google Forms.  I have created a couple of resources to help you with this.  Mr. Persico will be there to help you with this assignment.  If you are using your Effective Effort strategies, you will be using all of your resources and your time to get this assignment done.  It will most definitely take you all of class one and most likely some of class two to finish this assignment.  Please take your time and think about the questions you write.  Here are the two resources you will need for this assignment.  "Creating a Copyright Quiz Using Google Forms" and "Creating a Google Form" will both help you.  Have fun being the teacher.
**Sorry my friends; I forgort to make those docs "public" earlier.  You should be all set now.

Once you have finished this project I would like you to explore a Brain Pop unit on "Paraphrasing."  This is a skill you all need to work on.  This Brain Pop unit is just an introduction. The log in information for Brain Pop can be found on the whiteboard in the back of the room. We will be taking another look at paraphrasing after vacation.

**Important information about make up work:  You should be receiving your feedback on your blog post and copyright terms assignments during class one this week.  If you received an incomplete for an assignment on your progress report you must turn in the completed work by this Friday, February 14th.  Please be sure to carefully read the instructions on the back board of my lab.  You must staple your new blog post to a new rubric and turn in both the old and new assignments.  Be sure your name and ILT# are on any work  you turn in to me.  Please email me any questions you might have.

If you should be really focused and get through both of these assignments, I would like you to work on your blogs!  If I don't run in to you in the hallways, have a great vacation!

February 3, 2014

What Will Your Verse Be?

This week we will be embarking on a historical journey together.  The class of 2019 will go down in history in our school system as being the first class in which every student was given a device, an iPad, to use to advance and personalize their learning.  We will start our "work" this week by watching, "What Will Your Verse Be?", one of Apple's latest productions.  I cannot wait to hear your thoughts, not only about the video, but more importantly about how you envision using iPads all day long in school.  Just imagine every morning as you are preparing for your classes, you will grab your materials out of your lockers and then you'll grab your, yes your, iPad off the cart.  Now I am sure you have many questions.  Some of those will be answered during our discussions this week. You need to understand there may not be answers for all of your questions right now.  You will be reviewing and then signing the newly developed "Student Commitment Letter," and leaving your final thoughts on the back board of our lab. In addition to this discussion and sharing of expectations, you will also be creating your "professional or school" Apple ID.  

Wikipedia defines "beta" as "In computing, the term "beta" is used as (usually) the last release in the software release life cycle."  So I guess we can say our school is rolling out the "beta" version of 1:1 iPad use. With that said, there may be questions for which there currently are not answers.  You will be playing an enormous role in this process.  We will be learning right alongside with you.  So how will you use your iPad to improve and personalize your learning?  What will be your new learning "verse"?


During class two this week you will be creating your "professional/school" Apple ID. Before getting started with this process, I need you to enroll in the VPP (volume purchasing program). This membership will allow us to send you Apps. It is going to be very important for you to carefully type in your information. If you make a mistake in your email address, you will never receive the invitation. We will check you Gmail accounts next week to acceptance this invitation. Please complete the VPP Invitation Form. I will be walking you through creating your professional/school Apple ID accounts.