Mendon Physics

How To Edit Your Blog Posts Offline

2008-03-02T18:08:00.002-05:00

I originally suggested using MS Word or other similar software to create your blog post project on Light and Color, and then copying to Blogger when you were ready to post. Many students have been struggling with this, especially around the issue of graphics and images.

I ran across one solution that helps a little, and I'm using it to create this post. It's an application called Windows Live Writer that you need to download and install on your computer. You will also need a Windows Live account, if you don't already have one.

Once you have it installed, you can use the "Add Weblog" function to add your class blog as the publishing destination. Stop by for help if you are interested.

Here is a simple cut and paste inserting an image:

Here is an example using one of the other features of Live Writer - The insert map function, locating our school

UPDATE: Here is a link to several other offline blog post editing tools

Slideshare Example

2008-02-28T12:54:00.001-05:00

For those who have created a ppt show for your Waves and Light blog post assignment, I've attached an example of how you can transfer your file to the class blog. It uses a service called Slideshare. You need to sign up for an account in order to have access to the "embed in blog" feature.
I'll provide more detailed instructions soon, check it out for yourself or or see me for help.

| View | Upload your own

Check this Out!

2008-02-24T15:49:00.002-05:00

Hey Physics Students,
Here is a great description of the educational basis for our physics class blogs, pulled from a recent NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) governing statement:

Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts

Click here for more......

2nd Semester Starts Now!!

2008-01-25T19:19:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone was well prepared and as successful as possible on the midterm. I have just begun grading the exams and I will have your score ready on Monday. Also, on Monday we will be kicking off the second semester, and our first topic will be "Waves".
See you soon, and thank you for all of your hard work in the first semester!

PS: To get us started thinking about waves, here's a short video describing big ocean waves:

Great Start!!!

2008-01-14T17:07:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all MHS Regents Physics students who have given us a great start on the blogs. We will put the formal scribe posts on hold until after the midterm, but feel free to create new posts on anything related to Physics, and continue to explore and comment.

Roller Coaster!!

2008-01-11T14:47:00.001-05:00

Here's the short video we didn't get to see in Thursday's class. Think about how and where the energy is changing form - potential to kinetic and back to potential.....

Maintaining Your Focus

2008-01-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

There have been a few comments related to class behavior and student focus, and I just posted the following comment on the P8 Blog. Please read it and take it to heart:

I'll toss another comment in that applies to all students (not just mine), in all classes - if you plan on heading off to a challenging school after you graduate from MHS, remember - it will require all the energy and focus you can muster. Getting IN to a college is the easy part, staying in, doing well, and graduating is the difficult part.
Graduation rates for a bachelor's degree vary from about 1/3 to about 2/3, depending on the state. And that's a six-year rate - that fraction finish a four year degree in six years.
Right now would be a great time for all students in all of their classes to get over the myth of "Senioritis" and focus on the upcoming mid-term and second semester, so you can finish your MHS career strong, and hit the ground running when you head off to college in August.

Tips for Posting and Commenting

2008-01-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

We're getting a great start but I wanted to add a few tips:

Be sure to maintain the distinction between posts and comments.
New posts will be reserved for the daily class scribe posts, or special assignments I may give.
Add your thoughts as comments related to a specific post - it makes it easier to follow the conversation and you don't have to flip back and forth between posts.
The sequence of comments is our conversation.
If you want to create a distinct conversation with a new post, on a physics related topic, you are free to do so at any time.
Be sure to give any new posts a title.
Be sure to check the "Home Base" and your class blog on a regular basis.
Check the other class blogs if you can to see what they are up to.
Add labels to your posts, including standard labels like "ScribePost" for Scribe Posts (duh)

Keep up the good work!

Answering a Question

2008-01-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

One of the period 5 students, Alexis, asked a very fundamental question about the blogging effort we have begun. Please take a look at my response to her question in the comment to her post.

Please continue to question me on this effort - you might recall the poster that I believe is in all the classrooms at MHS:

"What Am I Learning?"
"Why Am I Learning It?"
"How Can I Use It?"

It's part of my job to be sure you can answer those questions for everything we do in the physics classroom.

Scribe Posts

2008-01-01T16:13:00.000-05:00

In the previous post, I mentioned that much of the inspiration for the process we are beginning comes from the class blogs of Darren Kuropatwa, who teaches math in Winnipeg, Manitoba. One of the first key steps we will take, that Mr. Kuropatwa and others have found to be a powerful learning tool, is to begin the use of "Scribe Posts". A Scribe Post is simply a brief summary of what we learned in class on a particular day, and here is how it will work, again with thanks to Mr. Kuropatwa and his students who paved the way. Parts of our methods are taken from a post titled "Distributed Teaching and Learning", a phrase which well describes one of the goals of this effort - to take our learning beyond the classroom walls.

Key Elements of "Blogging About Physics at Mendon"

1) We will all be reading and commenting on posts from the "Home Base" blog - Mendon Physics. At this time, I will be the only author of these posts, but students will be authoring comments, which are welcome at any time. Occasionally, comments will be required as a class assignment.
2) Each physics class will have their own blog (Period 1, Period 5, Period 8, Period 9), and students will author both posts and comments.
3) Each class day, except for test days, and the day prior, a "scribe" will author a post that describes, explains, and illustrates what we did and learned in class that day. The goal for each scribe post should be to provide enough explanation so that a student who missed that particular class can easily catch up on the learning that took place. You may use and include any resources, including posted notes and solutions, or links to those materials.
4) The scribe list will be updated daily by me, and will be located on each class blog in the "Important Links" section. I will simply cross out the names of those who have authored their post and are not eligible to be chosen. We will cycle through the class, then begin again.
5) The scribe of the day will choose the scribe for the next day, and will do so by naming them in their post.
6) The first scribe of each cycle will be a volunteer.

Here are two high quality scribe posts that will give you an idea of what other students your age are creating on their class blogs. There are both from a wiki called "Scribe Post Hall of Fame":

AP Calculus Post - good use of graphics, color and detailed explanations
Another AP Calc Post - again, lots of detail, graphics, and color

More soon!

Blogging Policy

2007-12-19T15:52:00.000-05:00

Blogs set up and used by students at Mendon High School should adhere to the following rules and regulations to protect privacy, show respect for all, and contribute to learning.

These guidelines were taken from Darren Kuropatwa and Bud Hunt, who provide the inspiration for the Physics Class blogs.

Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.
Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.
Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

Setting Up Your Blogger Profile

2007-12-19T15:38:00.000-05:00

Your next step will be to set up your Blogger.com profile. Since safety and security is of utmost importance, you should NEVER have any personally identifiable information publicly available from your blog posts or from your profile, except for your "Display Name", which should be your FIRST NAME and LAST INITIAL (Such as LARRYW). This means when you "Edit User Profile" in Blogger, DO NOT SELECT "show my profile", "show my real name", or " show my e-mail address". Those checkboxes should NOT be checked.

AGAIN

Your Display Name Should Be Your First Name and Last Initial ONLY!!!!
DO NOT SELECT "show my profile", "show my real name", or "show my e-mail address" when you edit your profile.

I will check each profile to be sure your personal information is secure.

What Is This??

2007-12-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

To All Mendon High School Regents Physics Students:

One of the most important individual responsibilities we have as citizens of the world is to strive to become educated citizens, and a critical skill of any educated citizen is that of effective communication. Scientists must be able to communicate about science, and physics students must be able to communicate about physics. We must be able to speak, listen, read, and write about physics. We cover speaking and listening about physics for the most part in class on a daily basis, but I want to provide the opportunity for you also to read and write about physics . This blog will provide a focus for that opportunity. As students who are members of a learning community, you have a responsibility to contribute to this effort. We will work at whatever pace is best for all of us, and use our class blogs to increase everyone's learning and achievement.

We will be using Blogger.com as our blog platform, so everyone will need to sign up for an e-mail account (if you don't already have one) which will allow you to log into Blogger.com. After you have set up your e-mail account, send an e-mail to me at lawrence_wirth@pittsford.monroe.edu. Shortly, you will receive an e-mail from me with an invitation to your class blog.

We will help each other with these first steps until we really get the hang of what we are trying to do.