Posted August 11th, 2009 by Mr. Gabor
I’m so depressed.   I have less than two weeks of vacation left. Some districts have already started! The time sure did fly by. I didn’t quite get through my summer to-do list, but I’m not giving up.  As you’ll see in the sidebar, I have uploaded my lesson files for Unit 1.
You may need to make more changes than usual to make them work for your classroom. For example, I treat my toolkits differently than described in the manual. I used to have Ziploc bags for every kid.  It was OK, but now I have a few sections of third grade math students, and now a section of SECOND GRADERs.  I’ve moved to tubs of materials. It worked pretty well last year. It’s all about setting those expectations high and stress showing respect towards the materials.
I also ignore the Length Of Day project. After doing it for a couple years, I really can’t say all the work and effort was worth it. I can pull out an old chart and the kids get the idea pretty quickly.  We practice elapsed time through the year as well, so I don’t think I’m taking away from the experience. Anyway, you might need to add a few pages to lesson 1-13 if you do the project.
Remember, I make no claims that my Math lessons are the greatest thing in the world, or even what you should be losing. I just know it is time consuming to create them, especially if you are not comfortable using the Smartboard. I hope if you all have files to share, you will add them to the forum. It would be nice to have a big library.
Hope you all have a great start to a new year!
Posted August 1st, 2009 by Mr. Gabor
The hosting switch is complete. There were many more hiccups than I would have liked. Not everything is right. There are problems logging in and out at certain places on this blog, but I don’t get many comments so I’m not too concerned. The login on the left sidebar works just fine. The forums were the only thing that switched over perfectly. I’m glad, there are a ton of files in there.
My biggest reason for switching was to install Mahara. I looked through a few forums and noticed it was possible to install it on Host Gator. I am SO happy I changed. Their customer service is outrageous. I have called and chatted numerous times and they have taken care of every issue I had. And they are totally green! Their servers are run by wind power. Somewhere in Texas there is a windmill farm and it produces the energy to run everything. Pretty cool!
Well, installing Mahara proved a challenge-but I did it. Not only that, I have it connected to my Moodle site. This might not sound like much, but it is awesome. Now my kids only need to have a user name and password for Moodle. When they click on the Mahara link, it automatically logs them in and transfers all their settings and info-even their pictures! I don’t have to do a thing!
Mahara is an open source Eportfolio software. It allows the kids to set up a “view” (a webpage) to display their work and make a quick blog post about it. They can upload files and pictures to accompany it. And most of it is drag and drop or “type and hit post.” I’m excited to play around with it.
Well, it’s August and I’m way behind on getting ready for this school year. Help me fill up the forum so everyone will have a great start when the madness begins.
