The CyberEnglish Class

This is the End

2012-01-20T09:17:00.001-05:00

We have finally come to the end of the semester. This is the time to assess our work and to bring it all to a graceful and confident conclusion. Be proud of the work you have done because much of it is superb. And as always have fun.

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

We will begin the new year discussing choice and the choices you make. You have made resolutions that are about the choices you plan for this new year, so let's explore the idea of choices. Have fun and make the right choice to come to class every day and to do the best you can with this project which is due January 23.

Final week of Satire

2011-12-19T08:02:00.001-05:00

You should be finishing the Satire project by the end of the week before we take the Winter Break. Work hard now so you have more fun during the Winter break.

Cycle 3 Begins with Satire

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

We are beginning the third Cycle today with a project on satire. This project will be due December 23. We have a good run up to the Winter break, so use your time wisely and well. Have Fun!

Nov 30 End of Cycle 2

2011-11-15T09:05:00.002-05:00

The end of Cycle 2 is Nov 30. Be sure that the two projects, Metaphor and Irony, are completed by Nov 30. Be conscious of the break and inconsistent school schedule. Keep working from home to insure you fulfill your class expectations.

That so Ironic!

2011-11-07T07:45:00.002-05:00

What does that mean, "That's so Ironic" ? You will find out soon enough. Your next project is on Irony. Have fun, and I mean it.

Concluding the Metaphor

2011-11-01T08:14:00.002-04:00

This is the last week for the Metaphor Project. We will begin a new project next Monday. Bring the Metaphor Project to a close and have fun.

Metaphors begin the new cycle

2011-10-18T09:16:00.001-04:00

As we end one cycle and begin a new cycle, we will concentrate on the Metaphor. Have Fun!

Rethinking our lives

2011-09-21T09:26:00.001-04:00

Many of us have had to rethink how we live and do our lives in the past decade and it is still changing. Your first assignment is going to have you reflect on just how you and your parents have had to rethink how things are done. Have fun.

Great Start!!

2011-09-15T09:18:00.002-04:00

Now that you have created your own webpage and started your journal, take a look at your classmates' work by using the links to the left. Have fun and learn.

Welcome to the new School Year

2011-09-05T18:21:00.001-04:00

Welcome to your new English class. You will be online. You will make a webpage. You will use the Internet to learn. Have fun.

Who are You?

2011-06-07T08:15:00.000-04:00

We will conclude the year with a discussion of who you think and know you are. We will start from the premise "that all students are genius." Have fun.

Why is April the cruellest month?

2011-04-04T08:20:00.001-04:00

April is poetry month and we will spend some time with some verse.

Cycle 5 Begins Ironically

2011-03-21T10:48:00.003-04:00

Ironically, today, March 21, the first day of spring and the beginning of Cycle 5, it was snowing during second period. Please make it a strong Cycle.

Coming to an END

2011-03-14T14:40:00.004-04:00

This cycle is ending on Friday the 18th. Please be sure that your main.html, linear.html, and democracy.html are designed with color and graphics to complement the text of these pages. Also be sure to make links to your sources in both the Linear Text and Democracy in Egypt essays.

Democracy

2011-02-28T11:06:00.003-05:00

Democracy is all the rage in our vocabulary, in our lives, and around the world. Our next project will have us exploring this fascinating idea, DEMOCRACY. Power to the People!!

This project will be due March 11.

Webspace access

2011-02-07T16:24:00.003-05:00

I know we are having some issues around accessing our webspace. I have located a secondary free web hosting site, 0catch, and we will use it in the meanwhile for the 3rd period class. 2nd period will continue with FreeWebSpace for now. Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm trying to figure this problem out from help at support.

We are also starting our vocabulary study with VETY.

Problem may have been solved with FreeWebSpace.

Beginning Cycle 4

2011-02-02T13:40:00.001-05:00

We are undertaking a new cycle. Webpages will be built and decorated. Have fun and good luck this cycle.

Compare and Contrast

2010-12-13T09:32:00.002-05:00

For your midterm you will be doing a Compare and Contrast essay using Richard Wright's "The Fight" and Raymond Barrio's "The Confrontation." In addition we are continuing with VETY. See me if you need to make up any missed VETY quiz.

Beginning Cycle Three

2010-11-29T08:59:00.004-05:00

We are beginning Cycle Three. Many of you did very well last Cycle and began showing what you can do when you put your mind to it. Keep it up and complete Cycle Three better than you ended Cycle Two. For those of you who didn't get started in Cycle Two, please make every effort to make Cycle Three the cycle you begin to complete your academic requirements.

You can do it, some have shown that and should serve as models to those who need to start. Make it a good cycle.

You have another fresh start. Please use it.

We will study Short Stories this cycle.

How are you Learning?

2010-11-17T10:36:00.002-05:00

As you conclude the Cell Phone radiation project, you will write in your journal about the process of learning you just experienced. More than what you learned. Discuss how you learned. Investigate the processes you went through in the learning process that resulted in the final project. Explore the kinds of decisions you had to make and what kinds of questions you had to ask yourself as you navigated the research. What did you learn about yourself and more specifically how you learn?

Fact or Fiction?

2010-10-21T11:45:00.002-04:00

Is cell phone radiation dangerous or not? Can a cell phone make popcorn? What are the facts about cell phone radiation? We will spend some time researching cell phone radiation.

Great Start

2010-09-14T13:42:00.001-04:00

Everyone has done very well in beginning their webpages. Now we want to see how you do in designing and customizing your page. Have fun!

Welcome to a new school year.

2010-09-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Summer School 10

2010-07-08T11:40:00.002-04:00

We are embarking upon a summer of fun making webpages. Let's have fun while we learn.

Home Stretch

2010-06-02T09:03:00.002-04:00

We are now in the last couple of weeks of classes. Please complete all work, review all work, edit all work, maintain homepage, use desktop publishing tricks to enhance all pages, do your best, and be in class everyday on time.

Going through Literary Terms

2010-05-18T12:05:00.001-04:00

We will be studying symbol and irony in the next couple of weeks. We will explore the terms and see how they are used in poems, short stories, essays, and cartoons. This is so much fun.

Welcome to Cycle Six

2010-05-04T14:38:00.002-04:00

This is the final cycle for the school year. We will be studying short stories. In order for you to earn credit for this cycle your attendance is crucial as well as the work you do. Let's make this cycle better than your earlier cycles.

Happy Birthday Shakespeare

2010-04-23T10:44:00.002-04:00

Today is the day William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and the day he died 52 years later in 1616.

You Tube is also five years old.

Welcome Back from Spring Break

2010-04-06T21:31:00.002-04:00

We will now spend some time with poetry and the occasional short story to develop different themes. The first theme will be about parents with a hypertext poetry project.

Welcome to Cycle 5

2010-03-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

This cycle we are going to have fun with poetry. April is poetry month so we will be spitting the verse. We will start with the metaphor.

End of Cycle 4

2010-03-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

We are coming to a conclusion to Cycle 4. Please make it a strong ending.

What are your Civil Rights?

2010-02-22T09:56:00.001-05:00

We will begin a project that outlines how we have our civil rights. What are your civil rights? How did you get your civil rights?

Adding graphics and links

2010-02-08T12:24:00.002-05:00

As you work on the "My Favorites" page, you will be learning how to make links and to add graphics from the HTML style sheets page. Spend some time reading the directions so you can be more flexible. Have fun and make your file beautiful and reflective of who you are.

Making a Homepage

2010-02-03T09:15:00.002-05:00

Today you will begin building your Webpage that will be the beginning of making a web presence and publishing your work in this English class. Make that webpage reflect who you are by using color and graphics.

Welcome to Cycle 4

2010-01-29T13:37:00.004-05:00

As you make your webpages, please celebrate the producer aspects of this class. You will consume information and then you will produce a product on the web that you will share with your classmates. Have fun.

Developing Good Skills

2009-12-18T13:28:00.002-05:00

The scholars have been developing great writing skills and even very good HTML skills as they continue to publish their essays.

As we work with both content and form, the scholars' pages are using multimedia and publishing tricks to create their pages. Much was learned from the video we used to introduce the importance of content and form. Learning to decorate the pages has added a great deal to the pages and has enhanced the content because the scholars are learning to pay better attention to the details of their pages which improves the content.

Another fun project is about Wikipedia and why it ain't so bad.

Free Web Space

2009-10-15T09:43:00.004-04:00

Getting free Web space for my scholars has been a real adventure. We have used Geocities for years and suddenly they closed down this service. Then I found FreeWebPages and they have become very flaky as of late. Now I'm using FreeWebSpace, which advertises itself as a replacement for Geocities. So far so good.

Why is it so hard to work with webpages now in schools and technology with so many hurdles in a world so dependent on technology? Once again schools lag behind with the most important tool in world when it comes to employing it in education.

I started out as a hacker and still I need to use my hacker instincts to make the tech work in an environment where it should be easy, and it is not. And we wonder why our students are so far behind. We love to hamstring schools.

Welcome to the new Fall 09 School Year

2009-09-10T09:32:00.001-04:00

I hope you plan on making the best of this opportunity that is possible. I want you to be inspired and directed by your president as it relates to your obligation to your education. Make it a good experience.

First two days...

2009-07-02T14:26:00.003-04:00

I am impressed with how you have begun this class. The work you have done after the first two days is very good. You have helped each other. You have figured things out. You have made your pages reflect who you are. Well done. Keep up the good work.

Welcome to Summer School

2009-07-01T11:29:00.003-04:00

I hope this summer will be a productive and fruitful one for you. Please do the best you can and enjoy yourself as we make webpages for you to write your essays. These webpages are yours and represent who you are.

Enjoy.

Job Well Done!

2009-06-15T13:47:00.006-04:00

The work done this semester has been admirable. I hope you take away some good feelings about yourself, knowledge about yourself, and positive outlook for college.

Good Luck.

Home Stretch

2009-05-30T13:41:00.002-04:00

We are in the home stretch, the final month of school. Make every day count, make every effort to complete what you have begun so beautifully. End the year with grace. We will be concentrating on choices, good choices and learning from bad choices. Be sure you make the correct choice that makes your future brighter and better.

Welcome to Cycle 5

2009-03-23T11:59:00.001-04:00

Today is the beginning of Cycle 5. You are now aware of how this class operates and what you need to do to succeed. Daily attendance is crucial. Make every effort to be here everyday. Use Lunch to makeup or to continue work. Work from home or the public library. Your success is all about you and what you do or don't do. Make this cycle better than the last one.

End of the Cycle

2009-03-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

You should be proud of the work you have done for Cycle 4. The development of your webpages has been a wonder to watch as you discover your skills and make your pages attractive. You have discovered the power of good "Form." In addition, the "Contents" on these pages is very very good. You should be proud of how hard and how well you have developed these webpages and the content on these pages.

Be sure go to your online Journal and attend to expressing what grade you believe you deserve for the work you have done this Cycle. I am proud of your work this Cycle and so should you be proud of yourselves.

Well done!

Peer Review

2009-03-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

Now that you have posted work on your webpages, it is time to review your classmates' pages and to comment on them. It is called peer review. You will select the 2 classmates that follow your name on the list and any other classmate's page to peer review. You will do three peer reviews of the Irony essay. If there is no Irony essay, go to the next classmate.

We will use the following peer review protocol: I heard, I noticed, I wondered.

One way to avoid the pitfalls of peer review is to use the "I heard, I noticed, I wondered" method. With these prompts, you can provide useful feedback to a writer without being too biting in your criticism.

I heard...
As a reviewer, first try to summarize what you think the piece was about. This is the easy part. Tell the writer what you saw as the story or the main idea. As a writer, listen to this section, and try to hear whether or not you communicated what you were trying to communicate.

I noticed...
As a reviewer, tell the author about some of the things that attracted your attention. What worked well? What details seemed especially vivid or striking? What will you remember about this paper? As a writer, think about why the reviewer noticed these things, and how you can make all your writing as effective.

I wondered...
As a reviewer, did you have any questions when you finished reading? Did you not understand what something meant, or why it was included? Did something bother or disturb you? Did you suspect something might have worked better another way? This section is your chance to ask the writer all these questions. As a writer, try to answer the reviewer's questions. Look at your writing again, and see if there is any way to make those points clearer to a reader.

You will be writing your comments in WORD and then copy and paste them on this blog as per Ted's instructions.

Welcome to The Spring Semester

2009-01-28T10:05:00.003-05:00

You will be making webpages in this class. Those webpages will represent all of the work you do in this class. Since you have passed the Regents, we will be working on more college oriented essays. Your attendance is crucial and being on time is very important for you to succeed in this class and then in college and beyond. You will be the center of the work we do and your success is in your hands. I look forward to working with you, assisting you, and watching you shine in this class.

Mid Cycle

2008-11-06T09:17:00.003-05:00

The list of scholars on the left has increased. Some scholars are done, they finished last cycle. Some are new and began at the beginning of this cycle. And I can get a new scholar at any time. Today, I got a new scholar. Reviewing the assignments the scholars are to do on ToDaY's MeNu, will provide what was to be done as I review each scholar's webpage. I'm impressed with those scholars who have excellent attendance as that fact reflects on their webpage. I'm impressed with how they help each other. I am impressed with how the scholars have risen to the task of making these pages, understand how to do it, and have generally speaking enjoyed the projects as demonstrated in how they continue to proofread their work and edit it. We are at the halfway point in the semester and the second cycle and I am very pleased with the progress being made by the scholars and the seriousness with which they construct their pages. I am also pleased with how our individual conferences are going and how the scholars respond to them. Their in class folders also reflect on their progress. Great work so far, keep going.

End of the First Marking Period

2008-10-17T09:22:00.002-04:00

The scholars have done very well with making their webpages using HTML. They have accomplished much in design and tackling a difficult assignment like the Hypertext Haiku. They have achieve much in this first marking period and generally speaking I see us as being on track and proceeding beautifully.

Scholars are doing well

2008-09-24T14:44:00.004-04:00

I am impressed with how the scholars at West Side HS have come along and have developed their webpages. Attendance is good! Everyone is engaged. As scholars finish and accomplish a task, they move ont help another. The cooperation is good and healthy. They are using the Style Sheet well and beginning to make decisions about their page without conferring with me. They are beginning to not rely on me for every step. The use of the Smart Board is very important so that I can use their pages as models to lessons about HTML, writing,and design. I'm glad I decided to teach this class and to get back to CyberEnglish.

Welcome to a new year

2008-09-15T12:27:00.002-04:00

This year, 2008-09, marks my return to using the Internet in my class. I plan on having my scholars obtain a Google account and then make a webpage using HTML on sites. I plan on having them use Blogs and docs as well. I'm hoping to have their final projects, webfolios, be multimedia. The class can be found here. I'm looking forward to this class.

Summer School is over!!

2008-08-12T14:05:00.002-04:00

I had lots of fun this summer with my scholars. We built Blogs. I gave them assignments and they built their blogs around them. I was very impressed with how quickly they took to blog writing. Their pages are to the left under the Scholars Summer 08 heading. I was very happy with their final piece, self assessment. In it they speak about their experience with the blog. They speak well about their successes and failures. They provide context for the reader before reading the blog posts. I was most excited by their love of the Habits of Mind. I like blogs, but their has to be more as Earl said. There is and this fall I plan on playing around with them again and for the first time in some cases. I'm jazzed about this fall.

The first alpha list of scholars by first name are those who did the self assessment, the second alpha list are those who did lots, but not self assessment, the third are those who started but didn't make it past midterm.

My Favorite Quote

2008-07-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

Imitation is Suicide.

Copying someone else and giving up my identity to be like another is the death of me, suicide. It is important for me, to be me and not to imitate another because I think that person has a better life or is smarter. I can use the qualities of another to help me understand myself better, but I should move on and develop my own skills. Using another as a model so I can shape myself is fine, but I do not want to imitate that person, become a clone of that person, because then I lose myself and that would be like suicide. It is good to admire others to help me know myself better, but I do not want to become them, I want to become myself, with their help.

What is peer review?

2008-02-13T13:43:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of peer review? Do you know what it is? What do you think peer review is?

What is an essay?

2008-02-06T09:04:00.000-05:00

When you see or hear an assignment that has "in an essay" describe, explain, analyze, discuss something, what are your thoughts or ideas about writing that "essay"? What is your definition of an "essay"?

What does that quote mean?

2007-02-02T08:56:00.000-05:00

Briefly explain the quote:

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.
Vince Lombardi
1913-1970, American football coach

Harrison Bergeron

2006-10-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

Are we equal? Can equality ever be achieved? Do we really want true equality? How are each of us "differently abled"?

How do you write a paragraph?

2006-09-19T09:50:00.000-04:00

Explain how you write a paragraph. What is the process you follow? What do you do first? What aspects of the paragraph do you consider? What do you know about the paragraph?

Ted