Welcome 2017!

Happy New Year to all of you!   I hope you found some time to relax, enjoy, and unplug over vacation.  I most certainly unplugged.  I did do a bit of "pinning" and remained active on my social/personal side of my technological life.  I did take a vacation from my professional side and hope you did the same.  I must say I was disappointed to not have a white Christmas, but on the flip side I was happy to not spend any time shoveling the white stuff.  I spent a lot of time with my family.  I ended up dog sitting for my two "grand puppies" over the weekend.  It was a lot of fun! The cousins certainly loved to wrestle. What is your best memory from vacation?
This week we will start off with a review of the "Two Sides to Your Technological Life."  You will have an opportunity to check out a Kanoot Jumble; a new feature.  You will also complete a study guide or review as you will (I'm sure you know what is coming next) be having an assessment shortly.
During class two you will make the final revisions to your first blog posts, blogger profiles and finally get them uploaded!!!!
Welcome back and let's get going!!!

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Welcome Back and Hello 2015!

Welcome back and Happy New Year to you all!  I hope you had a great break and are back ready to go!  I'm sure it will take a couple of days to get back in to the swing of things, but I must say I'm not ready to wait!  If you read my New Year's Day blog post, you will know I am very excited to get started on your Genius Hour projects.  I guess I am getting a little bit ahead of myself.  Before we go there, we need to do a little reviewing, reiterating, and cleaning up!
We will start off our first class back in 2015 with a Kahoot to review our blogging and commenting guidelines.  So get your iPads out and find your Qrafter app.  The QR code for Kahoot is at your workstations.  I will have the PIN code up on the board for you to join.
Next I will need you to find the resources for creating blog posts and using Google's advanced image search.  They are in your Workstation Resource Folders and in my post, and in my old post, Blog Post Two for Some.  You can use the search widget at the top of my blog to find it.  After you have reviewed these resources, I would like you to create your first post of 2015.  Remember to have a classmate edit your work before publishing.  Don't forget a post title and labels as well.
If you should finish publishing before class is done, work on your template and adding those widgets and gadgets.
During class two this week you will do some cleaning and organizing.  Please be sure to use the "Clean It Up" resource I have created for you.  It is important to stop and organize your digital life periodically, just as you need to clean out your lockers in school or bedrooms at home.  Please don't just stuff everything under your bed or in your closet!!!  You will want to be sure you have created and shared folders with all of your teachers.  I know we have done this earlier, but I also know there are still some of you who have not completed this task.  Our iPad workflow will depend on your organization!!!  There are resources for this in your Workstation Resource Folders as well.

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Gearing Up For A New Year

   Although I have not been blogging over the summer, my mind has continuously been thinking about my old students, and my new ones.   I took some time to read through the feedback letters my students wrote for me at the end of the school year.  I am making some adjustments based on their suggestions.  So thank you so much to all of you for your thoughtful feedback.  
     As for this year......hold on to your hats!!!  I am so excited about the start of the new school year!  The format of our classroom will be changing drastically.  The year will begin with preparation for the iPad 1:1 rollout which will be taking place at the beginning of October.  We will also be taking a look at Google and how we use it.  After getting ourselves Google and iPad ready, we will be moving in to our Genius Hour format.  I am going to ask my students to help me determine a new name for this concept as we will not be limiting it to one hour, or maybe it will be.  Hmmmmm something to talk about.
     Anyway....my head is spinning, and my heart is racing.  I am sure there will be some mistakes made along the way, but that is how we learn.  Get ready to explore your passions and share your finding with the world!!  I cannot wait to meet you all.  See you soon.

Welcome Back!

I know for many of you it seems as though we just left this building, and yet here we are once again starting a new year.  I am sure you had some amazing summer days, and had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.  I hope you are excited about 7th grade and all of the great things we will be doing in technology this year.  The technology will not be limited to the two times a week you come to class with me.  You will be using technology in all of your classes.  We have some exciting things planned for this year and you will play a very important role in how things happen.  So get ready to experience an amazing year!  I can't wait to see what you have to teach me!!