Developing Good Skills

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

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

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...

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.