So Tuesday we start off the new school year. My classes are full to bursting this year - which is kind of exciting. We are even having to add extra computers to fit every one.

One of the things I did for the online Algebra class I taught this summer was a discussion board entry where students introduced themselves to the class. Since the course is online it is easy to feel disconnected from everyone. This year I am starting off each of my computer science classes with a similar intro.

Since we do lots of groups/partner work I figure it cant hurt to know a little more about the folks around you. Plus, I think we all make the assumption as teachers that the kids all know each other. That assumption can make someone feel pretty alone in a crowd. I start off by answering the questions myself, just to set the tone.

For the CS Principles class well start next week on how to do effective discussion board postings.



Discussion Board Topic:

Introduce yourself to everyone.

Make sure to tell us:

1. I am in the __ grade
2. The favorite thing I ever learned in a class is ...
3. I am excited about taking computer science because...
4. The biggest question I have about this class is...
5. One thing people would be surprised to know about me is...

To get credit for this assignment you must answer all of the questions, and ask a question of one other student. Make sure to answer any questions folks ask you.

Do you do anything similar?

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Yahoo , company at that about everyone has email , succeeded to leave on hand hackers passwords over 450.00 accounts . All are advised to change their passw
ord . Below is the official statement of the from Yahoo .
“We are currently investigating the claims of a compromise of Yahoo! user IDs. [We encourage users to] change their passwords on a regular basis.” – Yahoo Spokesperson”

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Hi folks! Were trying to streamline the membership list for the Central Virginia CSTA Chapter. Our first goal building a teaching community to support computer science education in Virginia. That means getting as many people to the table as possible.

Please take a second to fill out the form to become an official member.

Click here to Join CSTA Central VA

• Who can join?
  YOU! Anyone passionate about computer science education in Virginia is welcome. Our members include K-12 teachers, parents, college faculty and folks from the business community that all believe in the power of computer science education.
• Why Join?
  Because there is power in numbers. There are a lot of issues facing computer science education, from training in curriculum and instruction to advocacy for equity and access. The CSTA is on the front line.
• I am already a member!
  Please fill out the form anyway - we are trying to centralize to one list.
• How can I help?
  There are a lot of ways to become involved. Local chapter meetings are the best place to start. By meeting other people working to improve computer science education you become a part of a great community working to improve the education of our kids.

And if you prefer a QR code:

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This will be the last week that you will be allowed to work on the Internet Safety project.  It will be due at the end of the hour on Thursday.

Additionally we have another list of vocab words this week - list #5 (it is the first of 3 Internet lists).  As usual the vocab definitions need to be completed by Tuesday night and we will have our quiz on Friday.

Lastly, I have printed out new missing assignments lists - if you havent checked Skyward recently you may want to look at the new sheets posted on the wall.

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You will get a few minutes at the beginning of the hour to review for the vocab quiz.  Do not go to Classmarker until I say it is ok to do so.

Again...once you complete your quiz get with your partner and keep creating videos!

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Teaching can be like a field trip back to 1982. Phone access is limited and the web is filtered (if it is working at all that day).

So trying to stay productive in a web 2.0 world can be a challenge.

1982 called - they want their technology back

One of the best tools I have developed over the past few years is adapting the principles of David Allens GTD to the classroom.

The system is pretty inclusive, and you can read about it in lots of details in his books. For me there are two parts that have worked especially well in the classroom.

The first is changing how you tag your to do list. I used to keep it by noun- or topic. So it was sorted by APCS, Intro class, or Website. In other words I listed things by what part of my job they were related to.

Which had nothing to do with WHAT I actually had to do.

So now I keep the list by verb. By what I actually need to do. So I have a phone call category and a errand school category. And grade and email categories, you get the idea.

As you all know just getting to the phone or to the office to check your mailbox can be a real challenge. I want to make sure when I get to use the phone I have a full list of ALL the parents I need to call. If I am going to make the 5 minute trek to the front office (my lab is in the absolute back corner of the school) I want to make sure I have everything I need with me.

To support this I built a binder specifically for my planning period where I stick all the paperwork that fits these categories, so everything is in one place when I actually get planning time. That typically is about 30 - 45 minutes a day, so that time is pretty valuable.

I use Remember the Milk for my list. It makes filtering by activity super simple and I can add things on my phone. There is a free version of the app.

The second part I really use is the weekly review. The idea is you regularly go through all of your inboxes - email, mailbox, papers to grade, all of it, and you build and capture what is there and what needs doing. This year I am managing these reviews about every other week due to my limited planning time.

Again, there are tons of web resources out there describing different takes on this. I keep it pretty basic. The idea is everything you touch (or open in the case of email) gets planted somewhere. For me it is either a to do, something to store and reference later, or trash/recycle.

Included in this is a review of the calendar. I look over the past few weeks to see if there is anything unfinished still hanging out there, and look ahead and cross check my lesson plans so I am not tying to do a class discussion on the day of the senior picnic.

Anyhoo, I keep getting asked this year how I get everything done. Frankly I dont, but having this system in place lets me really concentrate when I need to without worrying that I am forgetting something. And sometimes the appearance of efficiency is almost the same thing.

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By: Ricardo

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