Thing 6

Thing 6. Teacher Guide to the Research Project Calculator

I have gone through many ups and downs with learning about the Research Project Calculator. Right now I am at an "up" with it because I finally feel like I know enough about it and understand it enough to effectively use it in my classroom. I was daunted by the idea of using it with all of my classes, but finally came to the conclusion to just use it with my Pre-AP class for their History Day projects. The RPC will be such an asset to the History Day project for several different reasons. I am excited about my ideas to incorporate assignments about each step on the RPC. I was really helped out by last week's MILP meeting and the handouts given by the teacher who already has incorporated the RPC into his classroom. Thanks!

Thing 5

Thing 5. Create and Maintain a Teacher Web Page

On November 7, Leslie came to Humboldt to help us set up our Urban Planet teacher web pages. I really like that the teachers can have web pages. I have seen them be very effective in helping out the students, especially those who have a lot of absences. I am excited to become a teacher who has a very nice and useful website. I have a website now, but it does not have a lot of information on it. Leslie will be coming back to Humboldt again to give us time and help with making our website even better.

Even though I want to have a useful website, I know that it will take some time to get to that point. Right now there isn't a lot of time to work on it. I know that once I put some time into it it will be extremely easy to update and will save me time in the end. Some day!

The link isn't up on the Humboldt website yet. It will be soon, however.

Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3, Thing 4

Thing 1: What Are You Talking About?Understanding Information Literacy
Begin the project by thinking about information literacy & what it means to you and your students.
Check out the Standards we keep talking about and learn our vocabulary.
* Check! Done at Orientation and thing a lot about the 3 R's.

Thing 2: Create Your Blog & Post About It
We want to know about your discoveries, your ideas, your thoughts on the project, and more.
Weekly posts will do all this. And remember--at least one post a week will get your name in our monthly drawing for door prizes!
* Check! You're lookin' at it!

Thing 3: RSS & Newsreaders
Keep up with your fellow MILI bloggers by setting up a Bloglines account.
Add a feed to your blog.
* Check! I used Google Reader because I have a Gmail account (and P.S., I LOVE it!) and I found it to be surprisingly easy! I just followed the directions in the email we got from Ann and all new postings pop right up for me! Yay!

Thing 4: Get to Know Your Public Library
Public libraries are a wealth of information resources both in person and virtually. And they are there when you can't be. Take time to learn more.
Introduce your students to the world of the public library. That library card really is a key to knowledge.
* Half of a check! I am a user of my local libraries (the Rondo Community Center being my favorite). The are so helpful for teachers and have a great selection of social studies materials for my classroom. I am excited to utilize them to help me pull resources and to use their bookmobile! I still need to talk to my students about the wonders of the library, but I will wait a couple of weeks until we get deep into the research process.

Pre-test

I administered the pre-test to all of my students on Monday. I used the online version and I think that that was helpful. I tried to carefully explain to my students that the test would be hard and they aren't expected to know any of the answers. Because the students like to use computers, none of them shut down and stopped taking the test. A few began to quickly check "I don't know" for each one, but most of them read each question carefully and considered each answer.

Just by looking over shoulders at their work, I was able to see that we all have a LOT to learn! I will be so excited when the students pass this test at the end of this project!

Installing the projector

A colleague of mine has a projector just like the ones we all have, but she got it from a different source. She mounted hers onto the ceiling by replacing a ceiling tile with a panel of plywood and screwing it to the plywood. An extension cord runs across the ceiling and down the wall to complete the set-up!

I love my equipment!

I LOVE my new equipment! My first Powerpoint Presentation in the classroom was very successful. I was able to use visuals and show websites...things I was never able to do with my overhead projector!

Rekonen's First Blog

As a member of the Metronet Information Literacy Project, I will be blogging about my experiences in the project for the purposes of accountability and information sharing.