Curriculum and Technology: Class 1

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to "Curriculum and Technology". I'm so glad to be teaching this
course and it's going to be nice to see some familiar faces as well as get to
know some new ones.

Welcome to our first class. I hope that you'll find it low stress, enjoyable, and that you'll take much useful information away with you during and after the class.

IMPORTANT: Carefully record all usernames and passwords that you create today (and every day actually) so that you don't find yourself wasting time looking for files that you need!

Please bring a flash drive or some other portable digital storage device to class each week for your work.

This blog is going to be one way that we stay in touch, given the fact that most of the classes will take place in class, while one session might be synchronous and online. An overriding concern of mine has always been the comfort level of my students, since I believe that it has a direct correlation to how readily and enthusiastically the technology will be transferred to the classroom. To that end I will reiterate what we do in the course here and in my office at a virtual professional development center called Tapped In (http://tappedin.org).

Please make sure to check both sites during the week. After we have spoken today, and before our next class, we'll set aside a regular time to perform that checking each week. In asynchronous classes, assignments get viewed by classes over the course of the week-and sometimes in an untimely way that does not allow enough time for thought and responses.

I'm acutely aware of the incredible demands on every classroom teacher. I think that you'll see that in the flexibility of the way in which I conduct my courses. We do need, however, to touch base a couple of times each week, no matter how briefly. In addition, please let me know as soon as necessary if anything I can control, is causing you undue stress.

This afternoon, we'll do brief introductions, discuss our schedule of classes, trade email addresses, (mine is egroves@comcast.net), visit my office at TappedIn and set up accounts for you there.

Please be patient with our pace whether it be, in your view, too slow or too quick. I'll try individualize it and tailor the material covered to each of you as best I am able.

Second Caution. IMPORTANT: Carefully record all usernames and passwords that you create today (and every day actually) so that you don't find yourself wasting time looking for files that you need!

Then I'd like you to access our blog again and sign on as a public follower by clicking on the "Follow" button at the top of my blog page. In that way each time our class blog is updated you'll see the link when you access your own blog.

Next I'd like you (we'll all go there together) tappedin.org. Login as a guest. You'll be asked to give a username for yourself and then to check their user policy. You'll then find yourself in the reception lobby. Look up to your left under the "Reception" link and click on "In this building." At the next screen, locate "6 Tapped In Offices Floor" and click the link to the right. At the next screen, click on the link (upper left) "On This Floor."

Next click on the link "Tapped In: Places" then "Search Rooms" at the next screen. In the next search box type in "ericg" and then look for the blue link to my office. That will take you there. Later when you've set up your own account and reenter my office, you can pull down the "Favorite Places" menu and add my room. That way you'll have quick access each time you go to Tapped In.

Your next assignment is to back out as a "Guest" and go back in and set up a permanent account for yourself. When asked, please list me as a sponsor.

When you get back in as your new self please (no stolen identities please just a bit of humor), navigate to my office and set it as a "Favorite Place", sign in on the whiteboard and date your visit. We must discuss two small windows (time) each week that we can at least briefly check both places (our class blog and Tapped In). Please be sure to remind me to iron this out before you leave class today!

Next on the agenda-accessing the syllabus for this course. I've posted it in my office. It will remain there so don't feel the need to print it out. In the spirit of conservation, we'll try to leave as many documents as we can in digital format.

This post is essentially a dry run, but it is only one of a number of ways
that we will communicate during the next 10 weeks or so.

The class will meet at 4:00 PM on 10 consecutive Tuesdays. Our last class should meet on May 15th, leaving the 22nd as our snow/makeup day. I'm going to try to have one class will online; therefore you can break out the snuggies and the hot chocolate and never leave your couch.

In addition to our actual class time in MT's lab, we'll be meeting virtually in
my office in TI's virtual professional development center (more about that
later) or via blogs (yours and mine) and email.

During the beginning of the first session, I'm going to try to learn about your
interests for your project and which directions you might want to proceed in with regard to it.

Before I forget, I want to give you my email address. It is egroves@comcast.net
and you'll find the addresses of your fellow students in my first email's header. The address (URL) of this blog is the following: http://egroves-curriculumandtechnology.blogspot.com/ and I will be using it to communicate with you between classes and as a fairly accurate chronicle of what we cover in each class.

Eric

BTY 5 bonus points or a trip to the prize closet to whoever reads this first and reminds me to append the additional resources twice (two stages)!

FYI or Interest Only:

If you are so inclined and wish to learn more about educational blogs for teachers or students, please feel free to take a look at the following sites related to finding and using educational blogs:

Blog by Carol; 38 Ways to find Edublogs

http://cooper-taylor.com/blog/2009/02/38-ways-to-find-great-edublogs/

Take a look at the entry entitled Concerns over teen blogging continue, by going to http://www.bloggersblog.com/cgi-bin/bloggersblog.pl?bblog=112505

Blogging with pseudonymous and protecting student identity: http://blogsforlearning.msu.edu/blog/archives/2

Also see the entry, Blogs and Kids-Staying Sake and Having Fun, http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/031606.htm

High Tech High Overview Videos and Files:

Wikipedia Article about HTH

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_and_Jerri-Ann_Jacobs_High_Tech_High_Charter_School

Where Everyone Can Overachieve

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/1011/080.html

High Tech, Higher Learning: A School Grows Its Own Teachers

http://www.edutopia.org/high-tech-high-graduate-school-video

Transformed by Technology at High Tech High

http://www.edutopia.org/high-tech-high-collaboration-age-video

Project Based Learning at HTH

http://www.hightechhigh.org/projects/

High Tech High Students Learn Art Of Storytelling With Sound