Sorry to miss another day of school ladies and gentleman.  It seems whatever Olivia had last week she was nice enough to share with me.  Parents love it when their kids share with them!  You guys know what to do and how to behave.  I appreciate the fact that you can continue to work independently with me not there.  Help each other and be kind to the substitute.  I have the Quest Quizzes and you can take those when I am back tomorrow.  You can certainly move onto the next Quest without taking the quiz.  Keep going back and revising your work and leaving positive digital footprints!  I have been reading your websites and I am very impressed with the effort and historical thinking you are showing.  I am proud of you and your work.  You are showing me, and the world the great things you are capable of when given the chance to bring your own creative voice to your academic work. 

CMS students please download the document below.  These revised WebQuest directions will help you complete the remainder of the Middle Ages WebQuest.

Yesterday I was out with a under-the-weather Olivia (my 2 year old).  Several students sent emails and blog comments saying hi and wishing Olivia well.  I appreciate the comments and must also say that the substitute left excellent notes concerning all of my classes.  Thank you for leaving a positive legacy with the substitute and being the outstanding people that I know you all are.

Besides a sick little girl, the Pennington's also gained a new family member.  We picked up Lakota Blue, an eight week old Siberian Husky yesterday evening.  If there are any parents reading this; I think raising a child may be easier than raising a puppy!  We are pretty excited about the challenge and welcome any puppy raising suggestions.

I am out today everyone...as you can see by the substitute.  Continue to work on your Quests today.  Tomorrow is career day.  You will go to your regularly scheduled homeroom and then they will make an announcement as to where you should report for the first session.  The entire 7th grade will eat at the same time Friday.  If you have any questions please just comment on this blog post and I will answer it asap.  Behave, no games on the computer, make sure you are putting your best historical work on your blogs.

The wall is getting close to being finished...Still waiting on the Frame (it is in black).  Need to know if we should color all the letters in or leave it alone.  Vote and let me know what you think.  Mr. H

Today I want every to do a few things to make sure they are leaving the best digital footprint they can.  What do I mean?  I want you to look at other blogs, your neighbor or blog buddy perhaps, and compare/contrast your blog with theirs.  Maybe yours is better; then you can help that other student improve their blog.  Maybe the blog you look at is better than yours; then you need to think about what your blog is missing.   These blogs entries should be following the rubric (Available on the webquest page) but also have a nice flow.  Remember you are creating an historical person and writing their/your life story.  Other people are reading these blogs!  Not just your blog buddies, but perhaps teachers and professors from around the world.  When Mr. Holman and I present at conferences, we share the very best sites with teachers to help them create opportunities for their students. 

If you really think about it, your blogs are changing the world!  It is your work that not only gets laptops in the classroom, but influences other teachers/schools/states to allow students the freedom to publish their knowledge to the world.  Below is a quick outline of what you should do today and tomorrow.

1. Read some other blogs
    -Your blog buddy
    -Someone else in the room
2. TALK with another student in the room..or use Skype and talk to a BMS student
    -Discuss your blog and the blogs you have visited
    -Allow critical feedback: collaborate and talk about ways to improve your blog
3. What do you want your blog to say about you?
    -Does your writing reflect your knowledge/ability/creativity
    -Is there a better way to organize/design/structure your information
4. Look at the rubric
    -On the webquest page right below the questions & answers word document download
        -Must have 1 blog entry for every Quest
        -Must use images in every blog post
        -Must include the questions and answers from the webquest...First
            -The blog entry is where you take what you have learned and apply it to your historical                 person's life.  Synthesize the information from the questions, Be empathetic learners.
 5. Make changes
    -Everyone is allowed to make mistakes
    -Learn through trial & error
    -BE CREATIVE!

I have no doubt that the majority of discussion today in class and on the news will be the voluntary blackout on the internet.  Companies such as Wiki, Minecraft and Google are all taking an active role to raise awareness about two pieces of legislation concerning internet censorship, protection of digital intellectual property and "economic creativity".  Below are a few links to follow to learn more about SOPA and PIPA.  These links are hosted by the United States government and are meant to help people track the United States Congress.  On these sites you can read entire pieces of legislation, see the associated costs and some other fascinating information as well.  Remember the best digital citizen is an informed citizen.

It seems that several students are choosing to ignore my advice about completing their work.  I entered "o" in TeacherEase for any student that has not completed their MovieMaker project.  The grading period ends Thursday.

ALL OF THE WORK WE HAVE BEEN COMPLETING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS CONCERNING THE MIDDLE AGES WEBQUEST IS ONLINE AND AVAILABLE 24/7 FOR YOU TO WORK ON.  THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE EXCUSE FOR NOT COMPLETING YOUR WORK BY THURSDAY.     

You need to take responsibility for your work ethic in this class.  I will do everything I can to help you be successful, but I refuse to stand behind you and watch you work.  If you are truely having difficulties and have not talked to me, emailed me, or somehow informed me of your issues then I cannot help you.  It is very frustrating that there are students failing my class because they are not completing work.  I want everyone to be successful, but it takes both of us (me and you..the student) for that success to be realized.

I am always available to help: before school, during the day and after school.

We started to use the blog buddies today in class.  Students were able to find the website, login using a password and seeing the students work from Chardon or Beachwood.  However, we were having problems posting a comment to the blog. A Beachwood student found a trick to post comments.  The 1 minute tutorial will show you have to post your comment to the buddies blog. 

Also, what are your thoughts on the "live" skype window to Beachwood or Chardon?

Next week is the end of the grading period at CMS.  Please be aware that several assignments are due in Social Studies by next Thursday.  If you check TeacherEase and notice that their is an assignment without a grade, it is because you have not turned it into Mr. Pennington.  These assignments are not late, but will be marked as "0" if they are not turned in by Thursday!!!
What do you need to have done?
1. Your MovieMaker Project
    -Done and posted to your blog with an introduction and reflection statement
2. Middle Ages Vocabulary
3. Quest 1
    -Computer-side chat
    -Blog with questions and answers
4. Quest 2
    -Computer-side chat
    -Blog with questions and answers AND blog entry (historical fiction/who you are)