I have had a lot of requests from other teachers wanting to use resources/assignments/etc from this site. Please feel free to adapt anything you find here for your classroom – I am happy to share. If you have a chance, do let me know what you end up using. I may begin to share more resources online so knowing what you find useful will help me know what to share.
Attn: Teachers
Sep 2
Virtual France Trip
May 19
I wish all of you were coming with us to France, but since that’s not possible – I’ve put together a bit of a France Trip of your own…
Virtual France Trip via YouTube Videos
Also, we will be attempting to keep you updated while we’re away, so keep an eye on my twitter account (it’s in the sidebar on the right hand side of this website or visit http://www.twitter.com/ms_e_a ). If you have a twitter account, you can send us messages @ms_e_a
If I have the chance to post anything else while we’re gone, it will be here on this blog.. so stay tuned.. if not during the trip, then definitely once we get back.
Second Semester Begins…
Feb 1
Is it already that time of year?!?!
I am busy getting this page organized and updated with new info for second semester courses. Bear with me as I get it all up and running – there may be a few kinks to work out in the meantime.
If you are a student or parent visiting this page for the first time – a few things to note:
- I do my best to save paper by posting information (course outlines, assignment descriptions, etc) here – if you prefer a hard copy, feel free to print your own. This way too, we don’t have to worry about losing your one paper copy.
- Detailed grade information is included on this website. Last semester was my first time trying this out and I was not able to keep it as up to date as I would have liked. I hope to do better this semester. Students are listed by “code names”, which will be distributed at approximately the same time as interim report cards.
If you have any questions or concerns at any point… students, the best way to get answers is to see me after school in room 21… parents, email me at glchsarmstrong@gmail.com at any time.
Lest We Forget
Nov 11
On this day, we took some time out of our typically busy school schedule to reflect on our freedom and remember the important sacrifices others have and continue to make for us.
To help remind us, we watched a powerful video called “A Pittance of Time”. Some have asked me where this video is from and so I post this now to give you this link:
Yearbook staff wanted!
Oct 28
Interested in helping to produce this year’s HEMSO? HEMSO is Great Lakes’ yearbook and we need your help to make it happen. We’re looking for people who love to write, love to take photos, love to design, love to edit, love to manage money, love to solicit advertisers, love to be creative, etc, etc, etc!
Come to our first meeting Wednesday, October 28th at lunch time (bring your lunch). Can’t make the meeting? Talk to Azel Peralta or me, Ms. Armstrong as soon as possible!
Google Wave, that is! Google Wave will revolutionize how we communicate and collaborate online and invitations to the preview have just started to be distributed to 100000 early adopters, who will each be able to invite more users. Ever since Google demonstrated the product at a conference earlier this year, I have been so anxious to start using it and exploring its potential to change the way I teach and the way we all learn.
Have a look at what Google Wave is all about:
The most obvious application in education is the potential for collaboration in partner/group assignments. No need to wait for one person to be done before the other can contribute – work on two parts of the same document at the same time, or proofread and edit while one person still types.
What if an entire class contributed to a group document? Where before such a task would have been a logistical nightmare – our school servers are designed to keep other people out of our documents and block them from editing our work – it is now completely possible.
As a teacher, I can pose a question to my entire class and allow all students the chance to simulatenously answer and contribute to a discussion. Add a gadget and all the sudden I can conduct a live poll to see, at a glance, the opinion of my entire class within seconds.
Google Wave would not replace a good class face-to-face discussion – but is certainly fabulous for distance education or even for keeping a good record of sorts of key jumping-off points of a class discussion. Teachers could glance at student answers and call on particularly interesting responses to have those students explain and expand their thinking aloud.
Imagine also that students who are away sick could still be participating in your classroom lessons with your entire class – from anywhere in the world!
The robots and gadgets that can be added to Wave expand its usefulness even further. One I am most excited about is context based spell checking. It can now tell the difference between to/too/two and there/their/they’re!
And what about live translation? I have so many english language learners in my classes that often can struggle with the concepts in my classes – not because they are not very intelligent – but because the language itself is a challenge. What if they could be joining in on our discussions – using their own native tongue, while the rest of us see what they are saying in english? How would their classroom engagement and learning improve?
With the code being open source and Google being eager to have developers create new applications, I wouldn’t be surprised if great new things come along that haven’t even been imagined yet.
I’m excited to get my hands on it and discover the possibilities…. patiently awaiting my invite!
Welcome Back to School
Sep 9
Classes have started and the school year is officially underway. It’s so nice to see returning students again as well as meet all the new students – welcome back!
Posting from my iPhone
Aug 2
Seeing as it was time for a hardware upgrade with Rogers, I decided that it was my chance to go big or go home! I splurged for an iPhone (albeit not the latest version and a refurb model at that). Let me tell you – I am officially addicted!
I’m also excited about how this tool can help me with teaching. The most obvious benefit is that I am constantly connected to the Internet. A world of knowledge just a few taps away. With that I am able to update Twitter and even this webpage from anywhere! I’m not certain how useful this will be in everyday situations but it will certainly be great on the France trip.
My hope this year that I will be more connected with parents in letting them know how their student is progressing and what is happening in my classroom. Admittedly this is an area of weakness for me. Using the phone to call regularly is not my forte. I have a limited window to make and receive calls and it’s just not possible to touch base with everyone. This website is my attempt at improving and stepping towards solving that problem. I hope parents will embrace this site and visit it regularly and that in turn it will provide them with all the info they need to help their students be at their best. But I digress.
Anyways, I’m excited to have a new toy and a very powerful tool at that. If only I could type faster on the touch screen keyboard!
I have been absolutely engrossed in the most absurd fundraiser I’ve ever witnessed. Absurd, but genious. And only made possible through the beauty of social media.
Yesterday at some point, I was on twitter and I glanced at the trending topics – a short list of the most popular discussions on twitter at that moment. Listed there was #mariomarathon. It caught my attention enough that I had to find out more. Turns out what was happening was a live event streaming via ustream. I tuned in to watch a group of people huddled in a living room somewhere in the USA – playing mario video games. How this ordinary event turned into something so unique is what really what grabbed me. They were doing so many things right.
Firstly, they were raising money for a great cause – Child’s Play. Added bonus is that this charity has an international presence, making this a relevant fundraiser for a very large audience.
They made donations easy. Through a simple and easy to use widget called ChipIn, people could donate using PayPal or any major credit card. The widget displayed a running total and the percentage of their target currently raised.
The video setup was sweet. Through the use of multiple cameras views all neatly displayed on one stream, we could see a view of the living room and those in it as well as a constant view of the game. An added view coming in once in a while was used as a “dog cam”, “baby cam”, to showcase a guest musical artist or to show close ups of prizes to be drawn. The stream also featured a counter showing how long they’d been playing, a donations total and contact information.
They also had a great website that was being updated live – www.mariomarathon.com. Visitors could contribute fan art, keep track of game progress, see a list of people who had donated as well as view the video and twitter streams or donate money. Everything was right there in one spot.
But the best part was just how interactive, immersive and natural the whole thing felt. Through a constant twitter stream and an irc chat, there was always a dialogue happening between the internet at large and the people in the room. The banter was amusing but never contrived or over the top. The whole thing was broken up at various donation milestones with the “Mario Dance” performed by the gamers… and a rick roll or two thrown in for good measure. People gave the people and animals in the nicknames. You saw the glamorous (cheers and victories) and the not so glamourous (babies crying and things spilling). You felt like these people were friends and you were right there with them. They made you believe in their cause and root for their success.
They have now raised over $27 000 and counting. Great job to all involved and kudos for all the planning and thought that went into pulling off a great event. Looking forward to next year’s event!