Atomic Learning

Have you ever thought I wish there was a video I coul watch to figure out how to use this computer?

Well now there is.  If you go to https://www.atomiclearning.com/login/kellerisd this is a website were there are thousands of tutorial style videos that you can watch to know how to use a variety of compuer programs and systems.  All the way from google earth to IPads. 

When you go to the website to login you will use:

Username: your student's ID #
Password: your student's intials and birthdate

When you get to the homepage of Atomic Learning you can either click on "Find an answer to a Tech Question" or browse through available training.  It breaks down the videos into very specific features of the applications to help you get a quick answer to you technology questions.

A very useful tool that we just wanted to share with you.

Megan Hull

Library Books

A note from Mrs. Wilson…

Please keep an eye on when library books are due!  Each time your child checks out a book, he/she receives a receipt with the due date printed at the bottom.  Late books are ten cents a day for each day they are late!  Students are responsible for their books, but may need a reminder now and again!

Thank you for your support!

StudyWiz Tips

After hearing many questions about saving things in StudyWiz from many of the students and also from you, I wanted to take this time to give you a quick tutorial about how to save and submit work.  I do want to thank all of you for your patience and willingness to work with us as we all learn how to best implement StudyWiz into your child’s learning.

Starting an assignment

When an assignment is put up on StudyWiz we will tell your child about it but we will also send out information in our week-at-a-glance in the newsletter. 

·         Logon to StudyWiz

·         Go to the Learning team and then to the class they have an assignment in

·         Click View Folders on the left hand side of the screen to see all folders listed

·         Next click on the folder they have the assignment in and then on the assignment

·         They will need to then click on the link to the assignment to open it on the computer.  Then they can begin to work on the assignment

Saving into the E-Locker

The E-Locker is a good feature to use when a student is working on something and doesn’t get it done but can come back later.

·         First the student needs to save the document that they are working on into their documents on the computer

·         Next they will go to their StudyWiz account

·         They need to click on the E-Locker tab at the top center of the screen

·         Once you are in your e-locker you need to scroll down to the bottom and on the left there is a link that you need to click on that says “upload new item”

·         A screen will come up with two buttons.  You need to click browse and find the document you want to upload into your e-locker.

·         Double click on the document you want to upload into your e-locker, and then its name will pop up in the window on the upload screen.

·         Then Click upload and it should be uploaded into your e-locker

Finishing assignment that is already in E-Locker

When your student has not finished their work at school and have already saved their assignment to their e-locker.  It is very important to put it back into the e-locker once they are finished

·         Go into your student’s e-locker and download the assignment that needs to be finished.

·         Once you are finished with the assignment you need save it into your documents

·         Then go back to your student’s e-locker and upload the document you were working on into the e-locker.  It is VERY important that you re-upload the document into your e-locker so that it will be there when your student comes back to school the next day.

Submitting an assignment

·         Once you have finished the assignment you were working on and have uploaded it into your student’s e-locker it is time to submit the assignment.

·         You have to go back to the assignment that you were working on by clicking on the learning tab, then the class tab the assignment was in, and then click on the assignment.

·         Now you should see the link to the assignment and a button that says submit assignment

·         Click on the submit assignment button.

·         You have to do two things.

o   Fill in a description – it can really be anything but there just has to be something written in that text box.

o   Then click on import from e-locker.  This will take you to your student’s e-locker, you will need to click on the grey box on the right hand side of the assignment that you want to submit.

·         Last click on save at the bottom left of the screen and you are finished!

There are also detailed explanations of how to do these things with pictures on the StudyWiz website.  Click on the help at the top right hand side of the page.

Hope this is helpful
~Miss Hull

What is a Glogster?

Glogster EDU is the leading global education platform for the creative expression of knowledge and skills in the classroom and beyond. They empower educators and students with the technology to create GLOGS - online multimedia posters - with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments and more.

I asked students to create a Glog over one of the five regions of the United States. They had to use their knowledge of the Five Themes of Geography and apply them to their region. What the students created was above and beyond what I expected. Many groups added music, a feature I didn't know existed, and some even added their own videos. The used of this on-line resource is a great example of how we can put something in the hands of our students and they are able to teach their teachers something new.

I think this project was a great example of how I am able to teach my students the basic concepts of a topic during my class time and they are able to create a product that applies what they have learned.

Here are just some of great Glogs your students created.

http://punishers.edu.glogster.com/the-best-glog-in-the-west/
http://punishers.edu.glogster.com/group-number-20/
http://punishers.edu.glogster.com/group-16/
http://punishers.edu.glogster.com/group-13/
http://punishers.edu.glogster.com/glog-group-1/

Studywiz

Today I introduced your students to a new program called StudyWiz. This is an online program that can be accessed from any computer that has internet access.




What it can do….

• This website will show you and your students assignments they are working on.

• Allows them to take quizzes or tests

• Participate in chats. For example I can set up a homework chat every evening from 6-7 if your student has questions and wants to speak with me. Also, if they are working on a group project they could chat about ideas with their team mates.

• Elocker - This is where they should keep all of their assignments until they are ready to be turned in. This way they can start something at school and finish it at home. Its like a flash drive.

• Assignment Submission – When finished with an assignment they can turn it in online. I can grade and leave comments for them.



Now Im not expecting them to be experts yet but ask them to log you on so they can play around. If you have questions I can help out.



The website is studywiz.kellerisd.net

Click on the lady at the end (blue) and login

User name = student ID

Password = fml(firstmiddlelast initials)monthdayyear(whole year)



I would definitely bookmark this site.



Please go on and play around on the site. We will be using this site a lot this year in all of our classes.

What does a real scientist’s journal look like?

At the beginning of the week I asked every student this question. Many students described a real scientist’s journal as a messy, well used, leather bound book that you might find in a museum. I love getting to see what student think and helping them to open their minds to what is beyond the box. This year I hope to show every student that they are each real scientists. We will be going on a journey together of inquiry and discovery. The beginning of this week we have been getting some items of business taken care of so that we can get started on our road to discovery. On Monday, we set up our science journals. We made a table of contents in the beginning so when your student needs to review their notes they will know exactly where they can find what they need to study. Then today, we discussed lab safety procedures. These procedures are all thing that I am sure your student has heard before in their other science classrooms but it is always good to start off with at the beginning of the year.


I am excited to see each student this year step into their role in discovery as a scientist.

Keep checking our blog for more updates from the purple punishers!

What does $1 million dollars look like????

Today in mathematics we looked at patterns in multiplication and found the rule for echoing numbers. Be sure to ask your kids what a four digit number looks like when it is echoed and better yet what the rule is for echoing all 4 digit numbers. We also began our first project based question for the students to collaborate and problem solve. They even had access to the net books to search for information and do mathematical conversions. I was super excited to see all the students engaged in using the technology to solve the problems. They were asked to answer 4 key questions: Can 1 million one dollar bills fit into a suitcase? How much would it weigh? (use both customary and metric measurements) How tall would it be if stacked? (again both metric and customary units) Could you pick up the suitcase with the money inside???

This open-ended project was an introduction to working in groups and using the technology to help you solve a problem. Some students just googled the questions and wrote down the answers without reasoning out mathematically if the answers were accurate. NOT GOOD. We really want the students to use technology responsibly and as a tool for figuring out the answers and ALWAYS show why they believe their answers to be accurate. Yes that means showing the math :)

This was a great project for them to work out all the kinks as a group and learn along the way. Some even told me they would bring in the one million dollars to show as an example. I'm jealous!! I look forward to seeing what the student group came up with and sharing with them a student who actually cut 1 million pretend 1 dollar bills and stacked them up and placed them in a suitcase.

Social Studies Day 1

Today I wanted to reintroduce maps and was pleasantly surprised by what the students were able to create and contribute to the class discussions. I gave my students the task of creating a map of an imaginary place, but they had to include things that are typically found on maps such as a compass, longitude and latitude lines, and legends. I was most impressed by the students' ability to work independently but still accomplish the tasks given to them in all four content areas. Many students were able to finish the majority of their map, and spend plenty of time working with their group on their math assignment. They showed great maturity  for the first day in a non-traditional setting. I can't wait to see the final products my students create and I am even more so looking forward to the rest of this year.