Where's My Homework?

So your student came home and they don't remember where to find out what's due in Mr. Rezac's class.

Problem solved. They can go to my teacher page at this link. The calendar for homework is on the right. If they haven't viewed the calendar before, it will tell them to put in the Time Zone. That time zone is Central time.

The only thing most students needed to have in to me is the class Participation Contracts and the Internet Safety contracts. You can see those were due on September 2nd and 3rd in the image below.

As for other homework, in my class, we are working on ongoing projects. The calendar will reflect the due dates for elements of the projects. Not all of the work is done in class, so students will have to do that work at home. Student journal writing prompts are mostly to be done at home, not at school. So the most homework students will have is the Online Journal entries.

I haven't put all of my due dates yet into the calendar, but I'm almost there. For students that struggle with organization, I would hope this calendar would be a Godsend. The ultimate goal, I think, would to have all of their teachers use it so that students can check for due dates for all of their classes in one simple place. 

Hope this helps!

DR

Using the Firefox toolbar for search.

This week we logged in for the first time! This is probably the most frustrating time, but the kids really swept through the lesson and got into their environments. We're also learning that we have to memorize our passwords because we don't want other folks to use them.

The main them for the week was that we explored some new things with the Firefox Web browser.

Did you know that you could do a search directly in the Firefox address bar? 

Here's an example:

• instead of going to Google.com or Ask.com, simply type in the search you're trying to do right in the address bar at the very top of the page.  

• What happens?

It goes directly to the most popular page for that search item!!! This works great for historical items like:

Martin Luther King
Napoleon
Civil War
Babylon

This may also work in some versions of Internet Explorer (I haven't checked them all). But since Firefox uses Google as their top search, it will use Google's method of searching. Since wikipedia.org is the most popular place on the Internet for doing searches on historical figures this is what often comes up, so it can be a good thing (mostly) or a bad thing (sometimes). Always remember to get more than once source of course!

Anyhow that's the theme for the week. See you on the Internets!

DR

Curriculum Night!

Hey Parents!

I hope you make it to curriculum night, but if you can't be there, I hope to offer it via streaming video! Remember that the time is 7pm Central Time, so check back here, and we'll see if it's a go! If you miss it, you can always watch the streamed video recording. Thanks for playing.
Free TV : Ustream

Parent Homework- Week 2

Hey Parents!
Welcome to a new year! If you made it here, you must have followed the directions right! I gave you a little homework, but I expect you'll all do fine.

1. First, please Subscribe to my blog. There's a blue subscribe button on the far right of the address bar. That works best. You can also "follow" my blog.

2. Please fill out the secure form below so we can connect easy this year.



Thanks! Check back often!

Wow! Thanks Parents for Your Feedback!

Parent teacher conferences were this week, and I have to say that I was impressed with the quality of work that Semester One students have done. It was nice to hear parent feedback, and it looks as though parents are visiting the Tech Blog more, so that's a good thing.


I welcome feedback from parents, and I urge you all to check back with the blog, check www.edu20.org for your student's work. As long as you're checking the blog for updates, parents should have no question about what is happening in technology class here at Fremont.

It's About Sharing

This past semester, our sixth graders created maps of the world through place and time, and I was impressed with all of them. They ranged from science tours to history tours, math and language arts- each kid chose their favorite subject and taught us something about the world.

These maps helped other students learn about, in this case, coral reefs. Over the year, we'll create a database of these map tours, to help other students at Fremont learn from each other about any subject. Perhaps, when a student is learning about American history, then can use the Map Tours to supplement their learning. Students teaching students- what a concept!

Hope you're enjoying the technology program so far, and that any question you have are answered quickly.

Mr. R

Image Atribution: Creative Commons Share Alike 2.0 Generic, http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2971294143_5e8890677e.jpg?v=0

Semester Two Begins!

If you're reading this, then you've done your homework. You found my secret Fremont blog post. I just wanted to welcome you to my tech class. So far this year, we've made films, created online digital stories, mathcasts or math movies, Google Maps Interactive Tours, and podcasts. We'll also be working more with the interactive whiteboard this semester, as I'll be using a new online interactive tool called www.scriblink.com to create interactive graphic organizers.

I don't know what class that you're in, but if you're here, you probably want the secret word, so that you can hand that in on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The secret word is:

Bullying

As in, we don't tolerate any of that in technology class. So when you come in next week, I'll show you how to hand in your homework, your secret word, and you'll get some points for that. Good work!

Fremont 79 Goes Green!

I can't believe how proud a moment this is! Could it be that I'm teaching in one of the greenest school districts in the state? While I don't have trouble showing my environmentally green colors, my own Fremont District 79 is planning to power itself using sustainable wind power! This is Illinois, right? While we do have some green initiatives, we are no California or Vermont. One could probably count the amount of wind turbines in Illinois on one hand. Just to offer some evidence, this picture from Lee County, Illinois proves that turbines do, actually exist here.

The original report from the Chicago Tribune states that a recent "study of area wind patterns presented to the School Board... determined the breeze blows strong enough to provide energy for the school district, confirming what many had suspected. Estimates suggest the district would tap only 80 percent of the electricity generated."

You mean we'd actually have power left over? That means that Fremont would be able to sell that power back to the grid, and actually make money off of this initiative.

The economy is having troubles, if you haven't heard. While I'm excited that this district is reacting to economic issues in such a positive way, I wonder: is this the beginning of a "green economy" in America? I mean, instead of us worrying about whether or not we go into another depression, is it possible that, instead, we emerge from this economic stress utilizing green technology as a way to help us cut costs and save money?

This is certainly evidence that one district is taking matters into it's own hands, and leading a charge that could definitely cause a domino effect. How much does the Chicago Public School system pay in electric bills? Could we soon see the completely underutilized Lake Michigan as a haven for wind or water turbines? Wisconsin has been trying to build wind turbines on the lake for about 5 years, and that plight is highlighted in this Washington Post article. They still won't see any action on their plan until 2009.

Whether it be because of global warming or economics, the fact that Fremont and other districts are finally turning to alternative energies is a good, positive reaction from this economic stress. Now, maybe the lowly consumer can get a break- soon- with these alternatives.