You Have Mail.....

   What an amazing weekend!!!  It felt more like "summer" than "fall!"  I am sad to say it was probably the end of our warm weather for quite a while.  I hope you all were able to take advantage of it and were outside for at least some of the weekend.
   We are moving along with getting our Student Apple ID's created.  Your families should be receiving an email from Apple.  Those of you who are 13 will be creating you accounts in school with me this week.
    This seems like a great time to review emails and proper email etiquette.  You will need to use an email from Apple next week.  So get ready to learn the way to send a "professionalish" email.  This is a skill you will be using for the rest of your school career and life!!  I have created a resource which you will find in your workstation resource folders, but it is also available for you to access on line!
Check it out:  Parts of an Email Resource.
    Have a super first full week of FALL!

BIS Website Scavenger Hunt

Today you will be going on a virtual scavenger hunt.  There are many resources on our BIS website and what better way to check them all out than to go on a scavenger hunt.  I will not be in today to go on the journey with you so please read my instructions below and do a great job for the substitute.  I know many of you need to finish creating contacts and folders.  Some of you also need to share folders.  We will finish doing these things the next time we meet.  So for today you will be working on agenda item #5.
Scavenger Hunt Instructions:
You will need to go to the BIS Website.  The substitute will give you each a copy of the scavenger hunt.  Please be sure to read carefully and take your time.  Make sure you write your first and last name and your ILT# on the top of the page.  I would like you to try to do this independently.  If you get "stuck" you may ask a computer neighbor for help.  Please do not move your seats or wander around the lab.  You will need to click on different tabs on the website to find the information you will need.  Use the words in the questions as clues to help you determine which tabs to click.  At the end of the class your substitute will stop you, ask you to log off your workstations and then review this scavenger hunt with you.  You will be correcting it together so please raise your hands and contribute to the discussion.  You will need to turn in your completed scavenger hunt at the end of class.  I know you will do  a super job in my absence today!
To get to the BIS Website click here.

Reminders:  You should not be listening to music or watching any videos!  If you should finish early please check out Cool Math Games.

Special Message for ILT # 13 and ILT #16 (Periods 3 and 5):
You have already done the Scavenger Hunt, so you will be working on Agenda items 1,2,3, and 4.  All of the resources you need you will find in your workstation resource folders.  The blue one is the list of all your teachers' email and sharing addresses.  It is  online as well.  You will need the green resource for agenda items 2 and 3.  Please be sure to name your folders correctly:
                                        Subject Lastname,FirstInitial. Class ___(A,B,C, or D)
For example if Jennie Lopes was creating a math folder it would look like this:
                                        Math Lopes,J.  Class B
Once you have created a folder you will share it with your teacher.  Be sure to share it to the correct address; the one that ends with "@mybps.us" NOT the "@barnstable.k12.ma.us" one.
You do NOT need to create a "Technology" folder; you've already done that with me.
Your final resource is a white piece of paper with the events you will need to put in to your Google calendar.  Hint:  It is one of your Google Apps so use the grid to find it.
I will check all of your work on Wednesday next week.  Please be careful and do a great job!!

Reminders:  You should not be listening to music or watching any videos!  If you should finish early please check out Cool Math Games.

Managing Your Digital Life

Summer is quickly coming to a close and Fall is arriving bringing warmer weather than we've had in a while.  I am noticing the change of color in leaves and other subtle signs.  I guess we are in for a true "Indian Summer" here on Cape Cod.  I hope my students were all able to take advantage of some of the great weather this weekend.  Many are involved in football, hockey, cheering, gymnastics, and other activities I haven't discovered yet.  Hopefully they found some time to relax and enjoy "unstructured time."  I updated my Apple devices to iOS 8 have you?  What do you think?
This week we will finish working on organizing and managing our digital lives.  We have been immersing ourselves in Google so I thought it might be interesting to take a peek in to the work atmosphere there.  We will start our first class viewing, "Inside Google Offices."  Do you think you'd like to work for Google?  We will check out some other interesting work places throughout the year.
Students will need to complete creating contacts in their Gmail address books, then create and share folders with each of their teachers; "digital in boxes."   You will need the Grade 7 Teacher Email/Google Share Resource to complete these tasks.  Once these tasks have been completed, creating events in Google calendar is next on the agenda.  Please use the Google Calendar Events doc to complete this task.
If you have completed all of the above items, I would love some help mounting and hanging up our "passion" word clouds.
Have a super start to your week!

All Things Google...

Just a little bit of information to get us started this morning.  We will be setting up our Google Drives.  You will need the following resources:
Grade 7 Teacher Email/Google Share Resource
Creating Your Folders in Google Drive

Passion

I am so pleased to have a full week of school.  Now we can really get down to the business of learning! We will work on our "Passion Word Clouds" during our first class; something we did not get to last week.  This is such a great way for me to get to know my students.  You will be doing so much with your passions in our lab this year.  Passions are so powerful and can push people to amazing places.  Check out this video, "Famous Failures"  What does this video say to you?  You will use the Passion Assignment doc to help you create your word cloud.  Once you have formulated you ideas, you will copy and paste them in to either Tagxedo or WORDLE.  I cannot wait to adorn the walls of our lab with your Passion Word Clouds!!!  Have a super first full week of school!!

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Here We Go......

Today was our first day of school, but I did not get to see my classes.  Instead we were given the time to get to know the students on our "Connecting" team.  I really appreciated having the whole day to spend with these students.  We have some amazing students attending BIS this year!!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will begin meeting and "teaching" my classes.  I am so excited for this year.  We will be having a totally different approach to learning in Room 231 this year.  I have taken my inspiration from so many places; my students, bloggers, tweets, books, classes, conferences, Suggestions from my students being implemented include students working in groups or with partners some times, changing seats, and resources displayed on both front and back boards to name a few.  In addition I will be sharing the map for our entire school year with my students.  Of course, this is just a draft and my students will help me make the adjustments as we chart our course together.

First order of business is to discuss "passion."  What does it mean and what are the passions of my students?  You will be completing the Passion Assignment and then be using Wordle, WordItOut, and Tagxedo to create word clouds displaying their passions.  You will be printing out your word clouds and hanging them on the walls of the lab to continue inspiring us throughout the school year.

That's all for now (another piece of feedback suggested I make my posts shorter).  I can't wait to meet you all!!!

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