Update on Science Blog (Week 1)

This is the end of the first week with the Science Blog. I'm surprised by how many posts I've received so far. I've tried to make the blog questions simple at first just to encourage responses from the students. As the students become better at posting comments, I'd like to make the posting more involved. So far I've used the blog on 3 occasions:

1. The first post was an extra credit assignment. The students posted a comment about what they were doing for Thanksgiving and what plant products they were eating. I received 12 comments out of 15 students.

2. The second post involved the students looking at picture and answering questions with their own input. So far I've received only 5 comments. However, today is the last day for comments and we are on the computers today.

3. The last post is in regard to the project we are currently completing. I'm having students post comments and questions about the project. So far over half of the class has responded.

One Note for Indicator 13

Yesterday I assisted our department transition coordinator with Microsoft One Note. In the Special Education Department we have experienced an increased amount of paper work, especially with regard to post high school transition. The most recent of which is called Indicator 13. Basically, it's a data collection tool that indicates what transition services students with disabilities are receiving.

Our transition coordinator wanted to share with our department how the Indicator 13 worksheet worked. Also, he wanted to convey the correct way to fill out the sheet, as well as, the basic requirements.

Last Friday, we scanned the worksheet as a PDF file and created Transition Notebook for this and further paperwork. One of the sections is dedicated to Indicator 13. Our coordinator inked in the requirements while he presented during a revolving faculty meeting. Also, in the section we included the PDF file. This way teachers will only print out the number of Indicator 13 sheets they need.

First Day of the Science Blog

On Wednesday I created a Science blog for my General Science class. This is the first time I've ever used a blog with a class or ever personally posted a comment on a blog. I was first surprised by the students reaction. They couldn't believe we would be using a blog for classroom purposes. Overall, they were excited to get on and make a post.

The students gave me their email addresses and I sent them an invitation. The entire process took anout 15 minutes. By the end of the 15 minutes I had 4 posts. It was cool to see some of my less vocal students get on and post comments.

I did have to lay a few ground rules down and I'm sure I'll have to come up with a few more as we go on. Here is what I came up with:

1. Don't use your last name when you post.
2. Don't share personal info when you post.
3. Treat your post as a classroom conversation. Don't post anything uo shoudl say in class.

I'll add some more thoughts as I figure more things out.

First Post

This is my first post on this or any blog.