Week Two of Our Crazy Schedule

What a crazy weather weekend.  I felt like Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind.  One minute it was raining and the next it was sunny.  I was on my walk Saturday afternoon and about half way through it started pouring.  All I could do was laugh.  Not sure if I ever remember a Spring as wet as this one. Check out the Weather Channel's report. Did you get rained on this weekend?
During our first class this week, which will only be 25 minutes long, you will create your accounts for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.  I will give each of you a teeny tiny strip of paper with your username and password.  Both of these are crazy.  I will give you instructions to change your passwords.  Unfortunately you cannot change your username.  I will share a document with you via a Google Classroom assignment.  This document will be a place to record your final Scholastic log in information so you will be able to access it this summer; just in case you forget.  After we have updated your log ins, you will have some time to explore the site and try to come to up with some books to read over the summer.  Have some fun!!
Stay tuned for what's up for class two this week!

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Back in Action......

Last summer it was intentional, but this summer it was purely accidental.....no blogging!!  My life became so busy and I did not have any "large" screen time.  What do I mean by this?  The only connection I had to technology most of my days was my iPhone.  I spent my summer Instagramming (new verb).  My Instagram account is part of my social/personal technology life and not one I share with my students.  I have thought about creating a "school" account as I have done with other aspects of my on line life.   I will give this some more thought and get back to you on it.  It has been brought to my attention some young people are making poor decisions with their Instagram accounts.  This makes me realize I need to add it to my lesson plans this year.  There are so many new any exciting things I want to share with my students.   I hope my students have some new and exciting things to share with me as well.  I hope you have all had a restful and enjoyable summer.  My readers who do not have summers off, I hope you had some enjoyable moments in the past couple of months.  Well here I am .....back in the saddle again.  I will be blogging, teaching, and learning full swing.  I would like to share a photo with you.  This is one of my launch customers.  For those of you who don't know, I drive a launch in the summers.  It is like a water taxi, taking "people" out to their moored boats.  It is a lot of fun and I get to meet some really interesting "people."  The one below happens to have his own Instagram account!!!

@bobbythepig on the way to his sailboat

Saying Goodbye.......

It has been over a week since my last post.  Anyone who is involved in education, whether you be an educator, parent, or student, knows what the last couple of weeks of school are like.  "Bedlam" could be a word used by some, but I prefer "excessive energy."  Students and teachers alike are experiencing a wide range of emotions.  Yes, we are all "done" and ready for summer to begin, but at the same time we are feeling a sense of sadness.  One of my student bloggers said it so well in her most recent post,

"I have made amazing friends and have formed incredible bonds with my teachers. I can hardly believe that I am on to saying good-byes! It feels like just yesterday when we were meeting for the first time."

Rachel and my many other amazing students have taught me so much this year.  They have far exceeded any expectations I had for them and our class.  I am sad to see them leave and yet I know they must move on.  I will definitley be keeping an eye on this bunch.  I know they will be making amazing contributions not only to our high school community, but to the global community as well.  This week I have asked my students to give me feedback in the form of a friendly letter.  Much to their surprise, I have asked them not to "share" their Google docs with me (a virtual assignment to which they have become accustomed), but to actually print out a piece of paper and turn it in to me.  They have been honest and very inciteful in their comments about our course and technology in our school.  I will be taking their recommendations seriously and have already thought of ways to modify my curriculum to better suit the needs of my future students.

So it is with a somewhat heavy heart, I say "good bye" to the class of 2018, and congratulations on a job well done this year! They have definitely left a positive mark in our school, and I am very proud to say have made positive contributions to their digital footprints.  I am sure you will be hearing from many of them for years to come!!
                                                  Happy Summer!!!

image link:  http://www.liquidbreaker.com/blog/take-a-hike-green-ideas-for-summer-fun/