Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Tuesday
Today, attended group meeting with the Director.
Several emails regarding getting calendars for the directory - and changes to the listing of board members. Would be good to empower people to make their updates themselves - perhaps when a change is made a note could appear at the bottom of the list to let people know something was changed.
I can see that HTHB went ahead and made a calendar using the time consuming method I did - it'll work - just so much time.
Several emails regarding getting calendars for the directory - and changes to the listing of board members. Would be good to empower people to make their updates themselves - perhaps when a change is made a note could appear at the bottom of the list to let people know something was changed.
I can see that HTHB went ahead and made a calendar using the time consuming method I did - it'll work - just so much time.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
NEW USE for this Blog
Now I am going to try to blog when I do tasks for HTH-PA.
Today - had meeting with programmer for the System. There was a lot of time spent discussing terms. Categories vs Folders vs Displays.
In the end, he is working on three major upgrades:
1. Enable editors to copy existing entries so they appear in a different location. There is already a way to remove an entries from a particular display. If something is displayed in 5 places, then a change only needs to be made in one place for it to affect the other places.
2. There will be a fourth way to define a page order - we haven't decided what it will be called. Other, Custom, Arbetary. (the existing sorts are: showing most recently edited on top, alphabetical and calendar)
An editor will be able to click on a category/display/folder and see all entries. then the editor will be able to click to determine the placement on the page. We are thinking five levels of placement will be possible (but if requested it could be more precise). There was also discussion on having a sort of split page too so a few items could be coded as being top level- then a horizontal rule would appear and then the rest of the entries would show in one of the sorting types defined above. Then a graphic of a calendar could appear at the top and the rest of the dated entries could be listed below that. He did not want to make it so there could be clumped listings throughout the page with rules or headers to divide things.
3. (I think) making it so events could easily be displayed so only one particular month will show. I did this for the first school manually and it took up a lot of time.
He also made it so the day of the week is displayed while in calendar mode.
He pointed me to place so I can display both the initial date of a posting and the date lasted edited. Currently the system does not store information on WHO made the last edit, just that it was changed.
I need to make it easy for people to upload images and docs - he said there were free places where that could be done - need to get that from him.
I also sent emails to all executive assistants asking for latest calendar for their school - and I have been working on the HTH PA listing for the directory.
Today - had meeting with programmer for the System. There was a lot of time spent discussing terms. Categories vs Folders vs Displays.
In the end, he is working on three major upgrades:
1. Enable editors to copy existing entries so they appear in a different location. There is already a way to remove an entries from a particular display. If something is displayed in 5 places, then a change only needs to be made in one place for it to affect the other places.
2. There will be a fourth way to define a page order - we haven't decided what it will be called. Other, Custom, Arbetary. (the existing sorts are: showing most recently edited on top, alphabetical and calendar)
An editor will be able to click on a category/display/folder and see all entries. then the editor will be able to click to determine the placement on the page. We are thinking five levels of placement will be possible (but if requested it could be more precise). There was also discussion on having a sort of split page too so a few items could be coded as being top level- then a horizontal rule would appear and then the rest of the entries would show in one of the sorting types defined above. Then a graphic of a calendar could appear at the top and the rest of the dated entries could be listed below that. He did not want to make it so there could be clumped listings throughout the page with rules or headers to divide things.
3. (I think) making it so events could easily be displayed so only one particular month will show. I did this for the first school manually and it took up a lot of time.
He also made it so the day of the week is displayed while in calendar mode.
He pointed me to place so I can display both the initial date of a posting and the date lasted edited. Currently the system does not store information on WHO made the last edit, just that it was changed.
I need to make it easy for people to upload images and docs - he said there were free places where that could be done - need to get that from him.
I also sent emails to all executive assistants asking for latest calendar for their school - and I have been working on the HTH PA listing for the directory.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Internship Blogging
Author: June Dodge
Summary: Each semester, juniors at the high school become interns to various businesses. One of the standing assignments is to keep a journal of experiences during the internship. The internship coordinator has mentioned several times that each term there are students who do a wonderful job, get rave reviews by their mentors, get offered jobs and other opportunities... however. every cycle some of these same students do not receive passing credit for the internship--simply because they have not kept the journal. This project attempts to use a blog based system to encourage students to complete the assignment, to make it easier for teachers to follow-up on student work, and to make it more difficult for students to slip thru the cracks.
Context: All students and teachers at the high school have access to computers, and the internet. This project would be set up for one of the supervising teachers to have easy access to student journals. It would also enable the internship coordinator to have access and to make comments.
Duration: One semester.
Goals: There would be no student who would not receive credit simply because they had not completed the journal requirement. The system would make it easy for the supervising teachers and the internship coordinator to monitor student experiences in their internship. More feedback would be given. Also, the other students would have a way to check to see how the internship of others are proceeding.
Participants: Supervising teachers, actually 11th content area teachers who are (randomly) assigned this task. Their task in this system would be to check the student blogs. Either using email, comments or face-to-face the teacher would remind students that they need to make their entries. The internship coordinator would use the system to post information for supervising teachers as well as students.
Process: What needs to happen before participants begin to interact with your system? What will you do first, second, third... etc. to make it happen.
Resources: What readings, web sites, other sources of information will you need to line up for this project to work?
Policies: The school already has an Acceptable Use Policy. This particular project would be designed so students would keep on topic,
Products: What will result from your system? What products or other outcomes?
Evaluation: How will you know that this was effective? How will you evaluate learning and other outcomes?
Summary: Each semester, juniors at the high school become interns to various businesses. One of the standing assignments is to keep a journal of experiences during the internship. The internship coordinator has mentioned several times that each term there are students who do a wonderful job, get rave reviews by their mentors, get offered jobs and other opportunities... however. every cycle some of these same students do not receive passing credit for the internship--simply because they have not kept the journal. This project attempts to use a blog based system to encourage students to complete the assignment, to make it easier for teachers to follow-up on student work, and to make it more difficult for students to slip thru the cracks.
Context: All students and teachers at the high school have access to computers, and the internet. This project would be set up for one of the supervising teachers to have easy access to student journals. It would also enable the internship coordinator to have access and to make comments.
Duration: One semester.
Goals: There would be no student who would not receive credit simply because they had not completed the journal requirement. The system would make it easy for the supervising teachers and the internship coordinator to monitor student experiences in their internship. More feedback would be given. Also, the other students would have a way to check to see how the internship of others are proceeding.
Participants: Supervising teachers, actually 11th content area teachers who are (randomly) assigned this task. Their task in this system would be to check the student blogs. Either using email, comments or face-to-face the teacher would remind students that they need to make their entries. The internship coordinator would use the system to post information for supervising teachers as well as students.
Process: What needs to happen before participants begin to interact with your system? What will you do first, second, third... etc. to make it happen.
Resources: What readings, web sites, other sources of information will you need to line up for this project to work?
Policies: The school already has an Acceptable Use Policy. This particular project would be designed so students would keep on topic,
Products: What will result from your system? What products or other outcomes?
Evaluation: How will you know that this was effective? How will you evaluate learning and other outcomes?
Draft Project Policies
Blogger software will be used for this GROUP project.
Guidelines: This project is being invented as it is being implemented. Additional guidelines or rules or laws will be added and posted and enforced from time to time as they are conceived.
Respect: We are all learners and teachers. Our role is to be respectful of each other’s contributions, but to encourage each other to stretch outside of the boundaries of the status quo
On-target: Entries to this blog should be about the project. Email should be used for comments to individuals.
Un-rigid: All participants in the project need to be flexible and to change based on growing guidelines.
Pre-plan: During the course of the project, students should be aware that postings are immediate. So they should take advantage of using a word processing program or the save as draft option available in Blogger.
Guidelines: This project is being invented as it is being implemented. Additional guidelines or rules or laws will be added and posted and enforced from time to time as they are conceived.
Respect: We are all learners and teachers. Our role is to be respectful of each other’s contributions, but to encourage each other to stretch outside of the boundaries of the status quo
On-target: Entries to this blog should be about the project. Email should be used for comments to individuals.
Un-rigid: All participants in the project need to be flexible and to change based on growing guidelines.
Pre-plan: During the course of the project, students should be aware that postings are immediate. So they should take advantage of using a word processing program or the save as draft option available in Blogger.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Self-Organized Learning Using the Web
Some General Attributes:
Recording completed close in time to the event.
Chronological organization.
Systematic retrieval.
Open ended and measurable chunking of topics/meaning.
Editable.
Private or public posting options.
There are several online systems to assist people thru their journey.
One example is http://fitday.com. This free system allows users to track their food intake, exercise, weightloss and goals online. There are tools that can be used to monitor calories eaten or spent, etc.
Recording completed close in time to the event.
Chronological organization.
Systematic retrieval.
Open ended and measurable chunking of topics/meaning.
Editable.
Private or public posting options.
There are several online systems to assist people thru their journey.
One example is http://fitday.com. This free system allows users to track their food intake, exercise, weightloss and goals online. There are tools that can be used to monitor calories eaten or spent, etc.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Internships and Blogs
Our son is an intern this semester and has the assignment of keeping a journal to document his experiences. So I am using the time in class to see if there are internship programs that have kids use blogs to do this. I haven't found anything yet, but I did find a guy who hires interns and he had some interesting comments about standing out to those doing the hiring...
I also found a juicy article in the Washington Post about person who thought they were writing an anonymous blog who got found out and fired. As she left the office she gave her work to some interns to finish up.
Here is an article praising the summer interns that come to this guys business each summer and how they add spark and life to everyone's lives.
Other links:
http://runkles1.tblog.com/
http://runte.blogspot.com/2003_01_01_runte_archive.html
I also found a juicy article in the Washington Post about person who thought they were writing an anonymous blog who got found out and fired. As she left the office she gave her work to some interns to finish up.
Here is an article praising the summer interns that come to this guys business each summer and how they add spark and life to everyone's lives.
Other links:
http://runkles1.tblog.com/
http://runte.blogspot.com/2003_01_01_runte_archive.html
Saturday Morning
Saturday usually is a day to be lazy and sleep in - to stay close at home but to also think about things to do...
But today is different as I am actually doing something outside of the house! Bernie is presenting a class on educational blogging and he invited me to attend!
The morning so far has been very eye-opening and interesting.
We have solidified general concepts of blogging and have looked at eight different blogs - he had a list of criteria to consider while looking at these blogs. It was very interesting to see how different people have interpreted blogging.... There are also common themes in the blogs.
But today is different as I am actually doing something outside of the house! Bernie is presenting a class on educational blogging and he invited me to attend!
The morning so far has been very eye-opening and interesting.
We have solidified general concepts of blogging and have looked at eight different blogs - he had a list of criteria to consider while looking at these blogs. It was very interesting to see how different people have interpreted blogging.... There are also common themes in the blogs.
