News:  27 May 2008: The final countdown has begun. Counting today, we have only eight days left of this school year. We finished the last rotation unit just over a week ago, and we spent last week finishing up details on the nine weeks grades. Everything is now turned in, and I'm happy to say that all of my students are passing my classes. Semester Exam reviews were given out last week, and the students even used some of the time we had last week to work on their Semester Exam Essays. The only thing left is to take the Semester Exams next week.

On Monday of next week, June the 2nd, 7th period will have their Final Exam. We will also be going to all our other classes that day, just on an adjusted bell schedule. Tuesday is a half day, where the students will go to 5th period, then 6th period, and will be released at noon. Wednesday will work the same, but with 3rd and 4th period classes, and Thursday will be the same with 1st and 2nd periods. Noon on Thursday marks the beginning of summer break.

Study for those tests, now is the time.

News:  28 April 2008: Only six weeks left in the school year, and we're still having to change up the planned schedule. We took the full two weeks on the projects, and today I am taking all my classes outside to demonstrate the big trebuchet we have here at Polk. The rest of this week is going to be spent on TAKS testing, and Thursday and Friday classes will be meeting in the library. I have two other teachers that I need to compare notes with, as their classes will be in the library at the same time as mine. Once we compare notes we will know what we're doing those two days.

If all goes well, we will start our final rotation unit on Monday of next week. We will have to crunch on it if we want to complete any other project after we finish the rotation. With testing this week, we only have three more good work weeks of school left. The last two weeks will be spent working towards the semester exams.

The clock has started, counting down to the end of this school year. June 5th is just around the corner...

News:  14 April 2008: It's as if we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but we're not sure whether it's that or an oncoming train... We all seem to be focusing on the fact that we are close to the end of the school year, even though it's eight weeks away. There's talking going on in the classrooms, too much visiting in the halls, talk about plans for different things happening other than class, and that's just the teachers...

Getting serious here, we only have a few weeks left to do a LOT of stuff. My classes are going to be shifting our focus to a couple of different projects for the next two weeks. My 7th and 8th graders are going to be building trebuchets, and my 6th graders are going to be building hover cars.

It's been a couple years since I've had any classes doing the trebuchets, but these 7th /8th graders will find the project a fun challenge. Over the next two weeks we will be looking at the history behind the machine, some of the physics that make the machine work, then we will be applying that learning to actually building a working model.

My 6th graders will be working on a project that I've never done before. The hover car is a project that I've known about for years, and recently I was able to get my hands on several kits for my students to build. Over the next two weeks we will be learning about the history and physics of hover cars, how they work, and by the end of next week each team should have a decent working model of a hover car.

It's going to be interesting to see how all of my students meet the challenges that these two projects will pose. I think it is going to be a joy to see when the "light bulb" goes off and they get what they're doing. Plus, there's always some brainstorming at the end of the project, where the kids ask themselves what they could have done to make it a better project. This is going to be fun.

News:  31 March 2008: Okay, if you're curious about what we're doing in class, please call. It's obvious that I'm not keeping this up to date.

We finished the Bridges and Towers, though we had to take an extra week to complete them. We also finished Rotation #6 just before Spring Break. This past week we started working on the GIS unit, and have spent a couple days in Google Earth and a few more in ArcMap 9.2. We will be having a unit test over the ArcMap program next week, just not sure exactly when at this time. Either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the weather.

Yes, that's right, depending on the weather. The reason for this is because later this week and part of next, we will be taking GPS receivers outside and learning how to use them. We will be recording data while outside and will bring it into the computers for all the students to see. My classes will also get to experience a game that I enjoy playing, called "Geocaching", or a GPS treasure hunt.

We didn't get to Rotation #7 yet, so we will be working on it after we get done with the GIS unit. That's going to be in a couple weeks...

News:  31 January 2008: Here I go again, taking more than three weeks to update what we're doing in class...

We started a new rotation (Rotation #5) on Wednesday of last week, and almost all of my Tech classes will be finishing the unit tomorrow, Friday February the 1st. We are planning on starting the next unit on Monday of next week, and that unit will be either Tower Construction (for my 7th and 8th graders) or Bridge Building (for my 6th graders). The current plan is to finish these units by February 22nd at the latest, depending upon how much time we will need.

Spring Break is fast approaching,  though it still looks like it's a long way off. Long term plans right now are for us to finish Bridges and Towers by the 22nd, start Rotation #6 on the 25th and end it on March the 7th, and have the full week of March 10th to 15th to work Rotation #7 before we leave out for Spring Break. We will come back from this vacation on the 24th of March, and should finish Rotation #7 by the 28th.

This semester is going to go by fast, and there's plenty of excitement going on that will make it go even faster. Hang on for a fun, wild ride.

News:  7 January 2008: Happy New Year! We are back from vacation, and are getting into the Semester Exam. I have just finalized the Tech Ed Semester Exams Essay Question, and will have the PNN Semester Exam Essay Question finalized later today. We are also reviewing for the Semester Exam, which is next week.

Jan 15th: 1st period test, then adjusted schedule for the rest of the day.
Jan 16th: 2nd and 3rd period tests
Jan 17th: 4th and 5th period tests
Jan 18th: 6th and 7th period tests

The 21st is a district holiday, and the 22nd is a teacher work day, so school will resume on the 23rd at our regular schedule.

Good luck and study well.

News: 18 Dec 2007: Christmas is almost upon us, only three school days left before the holiday break begins. Several students are very close to getting Rotation #4 completed, and all of my students are looking forward to enjoying the time off from school. We will have the 4th rotation finished by Friday of this week, easily.

We will return on the 7th of January, and immediately get into the Semester Exam Review. We will also be working on the Tech Ed Semester Exam Essay Question. My PNN class may not be that happy with me, as I will have a PNN Semester Exam Essay Question also. I expect that they will each want to get it done quickly so that they can prepare for their other classes' tests.

One more thing... I would like to wish each and every one of the students, parents, teachers, administrators, and staff, of Polk Middle School, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

News:  10 Dec 2007: Can you believe that it's Monday again? This school year seems to be progressing very quickly. If you're like me, you're having a major challenge just keeping up.

We finished the Magnetic Levitation Unit this past week. All the kids seemed to enjoy it, and they especially enjoyed racing the cars during class. Click the following links to see pictures of the projects and results of the races for 1st Period, 2nd Period, 4th Period, and 6th Period.

Today we start Rotation #4, and we should finish it by Friday the 21st, just in time for the Christmas Break. Ten activities total, and by completing one activity a day there should be no problem at all getting everything done. The big challenge is going to be making sure the students know the CORRECT answer before answering a question. :)

After we get back from Christmas, we will be getting into the Semester Exam time. We will be returning on the 7th of January, and exams are the following week. Somewhere in there we will have our Semester Exam Essay Question, and as of this moment I haven't even considered what the question will be.

News:  28 Nov 2007: Where is the time going? It seems that just last week we were nearing the end of our first rotational unit, but as I look at the calendar (and my last entry below) it's been over a month since I added any information here. Let me catch you up on what we've been doing in class...

We had finished the Introduction unit, which I will be calling "Rotation 1" from here on in, and the last time I wrote any new in here we were about to finish "Rotation 2". Since then we have completed Rotation 3, and are currently working on Magnetic Levitation. The project is a vehicle similar to a Pine Wood Derby Car, but with an added twist. There are no wheels. The vehicles actually float on a magnetic field. To see them in action, you can go to my Mag Lev web page and check out the pictures and videos.

We have just enough time before our next holiday break to finish Mag Lev and also complete Rotation 4. Our last day in Mag Lev will be Friday the 7th of December, and on the 10th we will begin Rotation 4. The completion date for this rotation is the 21st, the same day we get out for the holiday.

When we return on January 7th, we will begin reviewing for the Semester Exam, as well as working on the Semester Exam Essay Question. More on this soon.

News:  26 Oct 2007 - I can't believe that I haven't kept my news information up to date. Please forgive me. Now, on to the class information...

In my Tech classes, almost all of my students have finished our first major rotational unit. Just in time, too, as Wednesday the 31st is the last day of this nine weeks. Next week we will take a day or two to investigate the different work stations that are available to work at, then each student will be required to submit a list of the work stations that they would like to work at during the rest of the school year. I like doing this because the students have the choice of what they learn about in class. Once this is done, we will begin our next rotation unit, which will last two weeks.

My PNN class, or "Network Broadcasting", has had some interesting challenges this past couple of weeks. They've been managing to produce special episodes relating to the different events that have been occurring for "Red Ribbon Week". Before Red Ribbon Week started, we set up a list of students who were going to be on each of the given days, which gave each of them time to prepare for their special day's event. Today's event was the silly slippers, and when we recorded the episode yesterday, two of my students brought in silly bedroom slippers to have in front of the cameras. Today we recorded the episode for Monday, which is "nerd day". Two students came in and put on their nerd outfits, then got in front of the camera for Monday's episode. Of course we had to watch it during class, we couldn't wait till Monday. :) They also have a writing assignment, a self evaluation over the past nine weeks, which can be accessed by clicking here.

I had promised earlier that I would explain what a "Rotational Unit" is. Here's what happens:

Two students sit down at a computer work station in the Tech Ed Lab. They log into the software together as a team, then proceed to complete ten different activities on that computer. The activities are related to a given topic, or subject, called a "Unit" (note the "Units of Study" near the top of this page). The students complete one activity each day, so that at the end of two weeks the team has completed all ten activities. Now, at the end of this two week time period, the students "rotate" from this work station to another, where they will team up with a different student in the class and study a different subject.

One advantage to this system is that all the activities are relatively consistent from one computer station to the next. "Activity One" is an introduction into the given subject, where the students will go through a few multimedia presentations that give an overview of the subject. The presentations give some technical information (including terminology) as well as some historical information about the given subject. They also give some information about what the students will accomplish while working at this station. "Activity Two" has a simulated problem that the students solve. There are several choices that can work, so the student must decide which solution they think best solves the problem they are given.

Activities three through six are where the meat of the subject is at. These lessons are where the students get hands on with the given subject, whether they are using the given equipment or using the software related to the subject. Activity three will have some basic information and introduce how to use the equipment or software, and by the sixth activity the students will be getting into some detail about the given subject.

The students have some written work to complete during this process. In "Activity Seven" the students will read at least two different news articles related to their subject, and they complete what we call two "Current Event Reports". In "Activity Eight" the students will get into some of the history of their subject and complete at least three "Timeline Reports". All of these are done on the computer so that there are no papers to be graded. Instead, the students record their work in a database system, then I can go through all the different reports and grade them according to given criteria. (The main advantage to this is that there are no papers for me to misplace or lose.)

Activity Nine is, in my opinion, one of the most important activities the students need. This is where the students get to see several possible careers related to the given subject. Included in the career information is the main purpose of the given career, the education required to get into that particular career, and also the salary of that career. In most cases the salary information will include possible first year earnings as well as earnings for someone with several years of experience in that field.

Activity Nine also has the "Review", or study guide for the unit test. The review will include every possible question that can be on the unit test, and will allow any student to go through the review any number of times. I require all my students to go through the review at least three times, then more if needed. This helps to better prepare the student for the unit test in "Activity Ten". The unit test is a major grade, and is worth 60% of the nine weeks average.

Okay, so I didn't expect to go into this kind of detail. But now you know how the Rotational Units in my class work. If you are on Parent Connection, you may see grades listed as "R2 A1" or "R4 A8". The "R" number is the Rotation number during the school year, and the "A" number is the activity number during that rotation. This means that the term "R2 A1" means that this is the grade for Activity One of the second rotation of the year, and the term "R4 A8" is the grade for Activity Eight (the timeline) for rotation four. I keep a list of rotation stations for each student, and will be happy to share it with you if you like. Unfortunately, it's one of the few documents that I do not put on my teacher web site. Call, email, or come by and visit, and I am happy to give you the information off this document that you would need for your child.

News: 2 Oct 2007 - We're halfway through with the Introduction Unit, which "introduces" the students to the computer system we use in class. It's called "TechCenter21" and very easy to use. In this particular unit the students are learning how to use the software to go through multimedia presentations, and to use different programs within the software (including a "System Simulation" program that always has great information). Students learn how they will be entering current event reports and timeline reports into the grading side of the software, and they also learn how the grading software manages the questions that are given during the different activities.

Oh, and I can't leave out a very important part of the software, which relates to the unit test. The last activity in any workstation unit is the unit test, which is a major grade. (As you know, all major grades average to be 60% of the students final nine weeks grade.) The really cool part of this is that the students will get to complete a review activity before taking the test, and this review covers every single question that could be on the test. There is no limit to the number of times a student can go through the review, which obviously should help each student prepare for a successful unit test.

The Introduction Unit has five activities, each with its own grade. Activity One gives the students an overview of the program, and explains how to get into the program and system. Activity Two takes the student through the System Simulation, and gives them all the details to come up with successful solutions to the problems given. Activity Three has details on how to complete two Current Event Reports, and Activity Four Details how to complete Timeline Entries. Activity Five includes the Review for the test, as well as the Unit Test.

At the rate we are moving in class, we should be able to finish this unit completely by Friday of this week, and on Tuesday of next week (when we return from our vacation weekend) we will begin our first real Rotation Unit. I will talk about the Rotation Units more next week.

News: 19 September 2007 - We've taken a little longer to get through the Drafting Unit than what I would have liked to, but all the classes have a much better understanding of the concepts, making the past week worthwhile. We will be having a unit test (I have a practice test here) over the Drafting Unit objectives this Friday, the 21st.

On Monday of next week we will be getting out into the computer lab. The software that my classes will be learning about is called "TechCenter21", and is a product of AES, Applied Educational Systems, Inc. It is a very powerful and versatile program that the students can go through at their own pace, and I like it because of the immediate feedback the students get from it when answering the questions on the computer. If you're interested in knowing more about the software, you can check out the AES website by going to www.aeseducation.com, or you can come by the classroom some time and I'd be happy to show you how the software works.

News: 6 September 2007 - It's hard to believe that we're already half way through week two of the new school year. Welcome back to Polk, and welcome to the new school year. I have two classes of 7th and 8th grade Tech Ed, or I should call it by the new name, "Technology Exploration". I heard another teacher the other day call it "Tech Ex" (yes, as the letter X), which to me sounds pretty cool. I am also teaching two classes periods of 6th grade "Problem Solving". This is a much different name for a class that will be very similar to the Tech Ed that we've had in the past here at Polk. My last class of the day is "Network Broadcasting", and is the class that produces the PNN television news broadcast. We will be recording during 7th period on one day, then running the tape for campus viewing on the next day.

Right now my Tech X and Problem Solving classes are starting Drafting, and should finish by the 21st of this month. We just finished Safety, though a few students still need to finish up some of the documentation.

Currently I expect we will be getting into the computer lab as soon as we finish the Drafting unit, and we will begin working in the Introduction Unit of the TechCenter21 software. It's a really neat program that takes the students through ten different lesson on a given subject... Well, you just have to come in and see it to believe it.

News: 22 June 2007 - My GIS class has spent the past week creating presentations about different countries around the world. Click here to see the GIS Exploration Academy information.

News: 19 June 2007 - Okay, so I've caused a few people to panic, my apologies. In my news for the 18th of June I said that I am working at Blalack. That is correct, but ONLY for the summer program, called Exploration Academy. I will be returning to Polk in August for the regular school year. I have no plans (or intentions) to be anywhere but Polk Middle School when the fall semester begins.

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

News: 18 June 2007 - Hope you're enjoying your summer break. I've enjoyed the past two weeks working at Blalack, teaching GIS Mapping for the Exploration Academy. So far we've looked at the ArcGIS mapping program by going through a couple lessons that helped introduce the software, and last week we learned how to use some gps receivers. On Thursday of last week, we even marked some waypoints outside Blalack and then brought them into the mapping program during the same class period. I enjoyed getting to see my students playing with the equipment and the expression on their faces when they each saw the map that they put together.

This week we are looking at making a presentation about a country of the student's choosing. Each student will be choosing a country to investigate, and will be making a presentation about that country. They will be producing maps about the chosen country, and the goal is that the maps will show off some of the information they've discovered. My goal is to be able to include their presentations here on my teacher site.

I've been taking a lot of photos during class time the past two weeks, click here to see them all.