So You Have an iPad......Now What?

Brrrrrr.....What a change in the weather!!  Fall most definitely arrived this weekend.  The leaves are still green, but the red on the thermometer is dropping.  We may still have a couple of warm days, but the early morning will very consistently be chilly for sure.  I have been wondering if the drought conditions this summer would impact the fall foliage show.  See what New England Today has to say about "Leaf Peeping" in New England.

By the time you read this, you should have your iPad which means you should have it with you right now.  We are going to take a look at your devices, do some organizing, and do some reviewing.   I hope the experience so far has been positive.  This is the first time we have used this MDM (multi device management system.)  I would like to know what your first impressions are about the process.
We will put your apps in some folders and get your iPads ready to roll.  We will end class by using one of the shortcuts on your iPads.  I wonder if you can figure out which one?!!!  I have also created a Kahoot iPad review for us to work on together.

You will work on a pre-assessment during class two this week (except for my Monday peeps!!)
You will take the first part of the 21st Century Skills Assessment.  It is a pretest. This will not be a content grade on your report card, but it is very important.  Please take your time and read each question carefully.  It should take you the entire class to finish.  If you do not finish by the end of the period, don't worry.  If you should be done before the bell I expect you to sit quietly and read.

Please use the resource link below to get you to the site.  If you have any trouble logging in, please raise your hand and I will come over to help you.

I would like to repeat; this will not appear on your report cards.  There was no study guide and I did not want you studying for this.  This is a baseline; showing me where you all are right now.  It will help me plan for our year so you are ready to take this assessment again in June.  Take a deep breath and do your best!!!

Please click on this link:  21st Century Skills Assessment Resource  

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!

21st Century Student End of the Year Clean Up

Ending the school year looks very different when you are a 21st Century student. If you ask your parents and grandparents what they did at the end of a school year, they will probably tell you it involved throwing out papers, erasing marks in textbooks, wiping down chalkboards, and cleaning out desks. I am pretty sure the words, "delete" and "unshare" were not a part of their end of school year routine.

This week you will work on the "manage" theme in class. You are going to need to clean and organize your p-drive and your Google apps. I have provided you with a resource to get this job done.

I will admit, I am going to ask you to wipe down your workstations, but that is probably the only similarity you will have with how your parents used to end their year.

Before we get started, I would like you to take a moment and take the following survey.

You will need to use the End of Year Checklist located next to your workstation. Be sure to read carefully and follow the directions. Everything you need is there. Ms. Sweeney worked very hard on this checklist.

 




image link: http://www.sodahead.com/living/how-often-do-you-clean-up-your-computer-internally-and-physically/question-3293499/