Rain, Heat, and Curtains

My Plan for the week:

There are numerous different web 2.0 programs that can be introduced to a class of scientists. As a general rule, many of the web 2.0 applications on the internet focus greatly on the younger crowd - those in elementary school or young middle school. I have been researching ways that I can use web 2.0 applications in my classroom but mostly by using student cell phones. I will be researching ways in which I can create a BYOD document to be used at the school in which I teach. It is almost necessary to use this when computer access is at a minimum.  Currently, there isn't a BYOD document in use and cell phones are practically taboo in the classroom. I do believe, in some manner, that administrators just want to be sure that technology in the use of cell phones doesn't border on inappropriate usage.  I am researching new ways of incorporating this in my classroom and must present my ideas to the principal at my school the second week of August. 

What I did/Where I went:

This week, I have been focusing greatly on creating lesson plans to begin my school year. I have created a new syllabus for my students and turned it in for approval. Although school doesn't start for another three weeks, I need to get my print orders turned in before others (there is a full time employee that does all print work at each school). 

The month of July was the first month in my new place. I have been working on getting it feeling and looking like home. The heat coming through the windows in my living room has been outrageous. My electric bill was over 100 dollars, which seems like a lot considering the apartment is so small. I have added curtains to four different windows and as of today, I can definitely feel the difference in the heat - either that or its the rain that has fallen on the desert floor. Did I say rain? In Vegas?  Yes! The temperature outside hasn't reached above 90 today. It's been fantastic. One of my favorites, and one I have used before is readwritethink. Readwritethink has many resources that can be used in any grade level of education. One favorite I found on this website is teaching about literacy and vocabulary regardless of the content. I don't believe enough reading comprehension is pushed in the science classroom and my goal every year is to teach this to my students. 

What I learned:

This week, I learned how to use Weebly a little more. Originally, I was trying to figure out how I was going to follow along with my original plans for my website. During our weekly meeting, I realized I could make pages that were secondary to my original pages. Because of this, I am able to create a website that resembles my original idea. 
Tech integration in the classroom is very difficult in my school. Because I work in a school that receives no Title 1 money, it is difficult to provide a technology integrated classroom. As I discussed earlier, I am working on ways of using BYOD in my classroom. When researching tech ideas, I loved this website, http://edtechideas.com/2012/06/01/49-cool-summer-sites-for-kids-and-teachers/.  I believe that if we offer the assistance and guidance to further content learning while students are out of the classroom, students will take advantage of it. 

What I decided for my website: 

It seems impossible that I will be able to use as many links as I originally planned for my lesson plans. I am going to need to separate each lesson as I go. Because I have more than 2 G's of lesson plans for the year, I am going to add these as I progress through the year. I am, however, going to add the lessons for the first few weeks of school to my website. I don't want my students confused by the enormous amounts of material that I "could" put on the website. 
In addition, I am going to create another page that speaks of the rules in my class and the procedures my students must follow to be successful in the class.