Friday's Challenge and an extra video

Pre-Calc Kids:

Your wiki-Challenge:
Dragon to Marine
Challengers:
Kelsi vs Jordan

Also:

We're back!

Welcome back to the new 2011-2012 School Year!

If you're looking to "Like" the class on Facebook you need only look here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mr-R-Osterman-Math-Teacher/190134860999203

It's also important to note that if you're not a FaceBook user you can still bookmark the fan page and visit it for updates and notes.  As a rule, the Facebook page is used for short updates (quiz dates and the like) while the blog is used for longer notes regarding things like study strategies, commentary, news bits, and the like.  Using an app called RSS Graffiti all of my blog posts are pulled into FaceBook making it a valuable tool in the flow of information.

I will be updating this page in the coming days with my revised syllabus and other key files.

Links for Review

As promised:

UStream:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/osterman-review

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ROsterman92?feature=mhee

Geometry Review Link Dump

There is a test on Block 2 this week for Geometry.  Here is a collection of links and embeds that you may or may not find interesting:

1)  Class notes:

Please send an email to RobertOsterman (at) WLCSD (dot) org if you need (and I mean ~need~) a copy of class notes.  Most of them are electronic now and can be emailed out as a Powerpoint Presentation (which should be openable in most Powerpoint like software).  If you need a different format please ask in the email.  This applies to all classes at all times now.

2)  YouTube:

You can start at the main channel or you can look around for the specific video you need.  There is also a tutorial video posted with explanations of all the YouTube Features.

3)  UStream:

You can point your browser at the web address I listed in class or simply come back to this page this evening.  The review is going to run from 7:30 until 9:00 pm.  If there are no students with questions I may take a break or end early but check the channel and see what's there.  I'll post when I need to go AFK.

4)  Online Textbook

Just head to the Holt Website and enter the log in information (listed earlier on the blog) to get access to some solid chapter 9 review.  Remember we focused on 9-1, 9-2, 9-3 and 9-6

5)  Facebook Page

Nearly all this information is also available on the Facebook Page for my classes.  Just scroll down through the various posts to the video or link you need.

Off Topic: The Speed of Light and You

A friend of mine is a fan of No Ordinary Family and was asking about how the speed of light works with the effect of time.  Since this is a fun topic I thought I'd write something over here and point him at it rather than just doing it in an email or a Facebook Page.

Moving to Facebook

While having multiple places to post information for students is a good thing, I am trying to also streamline the process of getting information out to students and parents as the year goes on. In many ways I feel like this was a year of experiments, and learning with good ways to use Social Media and Web 2.0 to really connect and share.

To this end I am going to be posting more and more information on the FaceBook fan page for my classes. It is probable that next year I will have a separate fan page for each course I teach, but that remains to be seen. With RSS Graffiti, everything from this site gets pushed to FaceBook and often ideas appear there twice. SO I am going to advise students and parents to check the Fan Page first, then follow links back here as you need to.  This site will be used for longer thoughts, the static list of useful links (on the right side of the page), and for dumps of multiple related links.

FaceBook will be the primary source of test dates, extra credit, the weekly Friday Fun video and other short but time sensitive tid bits.

Here are some things that I want to be sure are out there regarding the Facebook Page:

1)  I am not asking to friend any student or parent on FaceBook.

By "Liking" the fan page, you will recieve updates to your news feed when the page is updated.  However, they are not updates from my personal FaceBook, nor does this grant me access to anything of yours (student or parent) that is locked as Friends Only or Friends of Friends Only.  In short, becoming a fan of "Me" does not make us friends any more than I am friends with Micheal Bolton, Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga and Niel Patrick Harris.

2)  You do not need to have a Facebook Account to access the page.

Simply going to the URL: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-R-Ostermans-Page/190134860999203  will take you to the page and you can see everything there posted.  You are welcome (and encouraged) to bookmark the page and access it that way.

3)  I will not be in direct contact with any students through Facebook.

This is a personal assurance.  All interactions on the page are done in the open with me posting important information.  At no time do I, or will I, contact a student directly on Facebook.  My personal policy is also not to Friend anyone who is a current student in Walled Lake Schools.

All dialogue should still take place through my WLCSD email:  RobertOsterman (at) WLCSD (dot) org


4)  Some news might not appear on your own FaceBook news feed.

FaceBook prioritizes your news feed by the people you interact the most with.  When you comment on people's statuses and post on their wall, the system puts a priority on that interaction and works to bring you more of it in your news feed.  Since there is not much interaction with class updates, it is likely that the system will consider it a low priority.  You may need to access "Recent News" instead of "Top News" at the top of your news stream to see updates.  Also if you have many active friends, even then an update from Tuesday could have dropped off the first page of stories by Thursday.

5)  All postings on the page are open to comment and will remain so as long as it is properly used.

Students and parents are invited to share thoughts on relevant news articles, updates, test reminders and the like through the comments feature on the website.  So far students have shown that they understand the permanence of the Internet and that the Facebook page is considered a public extension of the classroom.

Online Textbook

For those that need it here is the login information for the online book:


First:  Login:  gfirst5  PW:  z5f9v
Third:  athird  PW:  p5j4j
Fourth:  gfourth3  PW:  z5f9v
Fifth:  afifth1 PW: z9s8r
Sixth:  asixth  PW:  e4p3p

MACUL Conference Day Two

And my adventures continue.

My presentation went off without a hitch and I talked to an absolutely packed (standing room only) room.  It was a blast, and everyone was interested and engaged.  It was some of the most fun I've had as an educator outside of watching you guys learn.

As to the rest of my day.....

MACUL Conference day one

Okay kids, here's where I'm going to dump all the interesting links and videos I get to see and find at the MACUL conference.  I do sincerely hope you're being good for the sub and that you're staying on top of the stuff we covered before I left.

All the goodies are under the break:

Thursday and Friday

As I've mentioned I'm going to be out for a professional conference.  I'll be off talking about how Video Gaming provides an insight into how people learn "stuff" and what questions teachers need to ask themselves about how to use this in their own classroom.

For you guys, all assignments are posted in Skyward and are to be completed by Friday at the end of class.  My sub will be picking up all work at the end of each period.  No Exceptions.

Here are the plans that are left for him:

1^st Hour: Geometry

This class is taking a BA test. Please pass out the scantron sheets to the appropriate students, then the exam.  There is a set of trig tables for students without graphing calculators and the sin/ cos/ tan of an important angle is written on the board.  This should stay there for the test if they need it.

When they are done with the test, they are to work on the “9-1 9-2 Packet” which will be next to the test.  This is due at the end of class on Friday.

3^rd, 5^th, 6^th: Algebra

Students are to use class time to work on “Riddle Collection 1”.  This will be in a stack on the podium as well, and notable by the first page being “Why Couldn’t the Chicken…”.  This is due at the end of class on Friday but students should note that they will get another packet on Friday.

Friday: 

1^st, 4^th: Geometry

Students are to finish the 9-1/9-2 packet that they got last class meeting.  4^th hour got theirs on Wednesday.  Please collect at the end of the hour.

3^rd, 5^th, 6^th:  Algebra

Students are to finish the Riddle Collection 1 worksheet if it is not done and complete Riddle Collection 2 (one sheet, 2 sided).  This is notable because the first page is titled “Why are babies…”  Both assignments are to be collected at the end of class.