Pretty simple task here: just want you to comment to this post a ‘hello’ of some sort. I need to ensure that navigating this blog site is something you’re comfortable with, and that you know how to leave a comment, as often times that will be the method of submission of a task.
1. Go to bobbyletter.edublogs.org (Hey! You already did that!)
2. Read the “Say ‘hi'” blog post (appears you’ve done that as well…)
3. Leave a comment that simply says ‘hi’ in some fashion.
It might feel like 1986 doing it, but I am asking you to go get a small pocket sized notebook like this one (and I’m not saying get exactly this one; get one similar to this. They’re usually in the $.75 range.) Having the actual notebook will assist you in the completion of the semester long project of expenditure tracking, and there are a lot of points riding on that. Keeping the data in your smart phone is perfectly fine, but a 10 point bonus if you just simply do this.
1. Find or purchase a small, pocket-sized notebook that you intend to carry with you at all times (basically) from now through Thanksgiving.
2. Show it to me in class by August 25th for the 10 points.
Yeah, we’re doing the stocks. Lots. A great place to learn the ins and outs of running a portfolio that includes stock ownership is the “virtual stock exchange” run by the website marketwatch.com. If you follow the link, it’ll take you to our game that I’ve set up. There, you’ll discover you’ve been granted a $100,000 pile of cash to invest. We’ll do plenty of discussion on what to look for in what you invest, what the companies are, what puts them on the NYSE in the first place, and how to find their stock ticker name. For now, you just need to sign in to the game itself. Once you’ve done that, I (the game administrator) will be able to see your credentials on the master page, and you’ll receive the 20 points! Then, we’ll play! For the entire year, you will run this portfolio, with the champion receiving a $20 gift card to some establishment (TBD). How do you win? Largest % gain over the course of the year.
1. Go to this page
2. Create an account and username that is school appropriate.
3. Navigate the game site and ensure that you can participate in the game as successfully as you desire.
When I first signed on to Twitter in 2009, I thought to myself I’d utilize it in my classroom as a communication technique. But, my brother-in-law Brian, the tech-savvy poetry editor of “the rumpus” advised against it, telling me it’s too difficult to dig through for something that would be important for a student. After ‘surfing’ through Twitter for a few days, I realized he was right. If you’re following 10-20 posters, the volume of tweets gets overwhelming. So I decided Brian was right, and just used it for social commentary amongst friends and family (which has proven to be quite fun in its own right).
Now, Im enrolled in “edtech 537 Blogging in the Classroom”, and we needed to tweet as an ongoing class activity (I opened a different Twitter account for this), and I’ve found myself desiring to implement Twitter in the classroom yet again. But now I have some experience under my belt, as I’ve done it in this class! And I want more. So I found a website (teachhub.com) with a list of 50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom. My 5 favorites:
#2 Provide the class with a running newsfeed- I’d love for my stats classes to be following Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com and using some of what they do for discussions and possibly reenactments of their projects.
#10 Live tweet field trips- or maybe our projects as we do them. I do a lot of “hands-on” activities to engage statistics. Live tweeting them might be entertaining.
#15 Sync with blog- I like this a lot. We needed to do it for the course, and I found it a great way to jump to someone’s blog quickly when there was something that interested me.
#35 Teach probability- Or just use the Twitter handle for statistics that we gather in some fashion.
#36 Go on a scavenger hunt- This sounds cool, something that students are tied to through Twitter while they’re searching? I often have geometric hunts for my geometry classes, could definitely see an application here.
Lots of other good ideas on the list. Any tickle your fancy as an educator?