Announcing...

My new site page! My audience is my 7th period freshmen class, who has just started Romeo & Juliet. I created the site expressly for them--I am hoping that this will make my 7th period feel more entitled, which may also lead to the completion of homework from this particular class (they are my lowest). The purpose is that students will become comfortable blogging and utilizing the class website to keep up with classwork and the play as a whole. With any luck, integrating technology will help keep the students motivated and excited. We'll see!!


http://sites.google.com/site/jcuillier/Home

Freshmen Blogging?

Alright, I am going to do it. My freshman class is taking the plunge and we are going to begin blogging on a regular basis for the rest of the year. I figure I may as well, since I only have 74 more days to use the excuse, "Oh, I didn't know. It's my first year teaching. Sorry!" Also, I would like to work out the kinks now. My 7th period class is the first class that will blog, and they are actually the focus of my ARP for TIPS. I am hoping that while improving the blogging experience I can inspire these low achieving students to work a little bit harder (basically, this may kill two birds with one stone) while learning about the internet.

Recently we filled out ESLRs school wide, and the request was that we do this electronically if possible rather than in blue or black ink. It was during this activity that I realized my classes had been faking their technological savvy. The whole process gave me (and probably the students too) a headache--very few students were able to visit Communicado, log in, and download the necessary document on their own. I feel that basic internet/computer/typing skills should be taught to all freshmen, and I am hoping that next fall I can integrate computer usage alongside language/reading/writing skills.

Thinkfinity

So, I am a bit behind with the homework, but my students did research for mythology lessons that they are going to present to their classmates, and they used Thinkfinity for their research. Most of my students enjoyed the website and were able to pull information off to utilize in their lesson planning.

We did a quick, overview of how to properly analyze a website for legitimate information, and most of the students appeared to have a handle on what sorts of websites would help them and which ones would simply be a waste of time. I was impressed with how well the students were able to gather information and surf the internet, but would definitely like to do a more in-depth activity together examining websites. This will definitely take some through planning on my part, though! Anyone have any suggestions?

Troy Fight Recut from Jack Bauer on Vimeo.

Mmmm...cake

My Life in Pictures

Mohawks and Model Arms