Cycle 15: Feb 5 - 12

2010-02-04T08:58:00.002-05:00

Working with Zamzar.
What is Delicious (besides lasagna from Spaghetti Warehouse)?
What is TinyURL?
Do you dig DIGG?
Ottobib vs Easybib

Of course there'll be a quiz - on either Feb 12 or Feb 23

Planning our IHOP trip.

Cycles 13 and 14: Jan 25 - Feb 4

2010-02-02T12:50:00.004-05:00

Set up Gmail accounts for those who don't have them.
Find my website.
Finding my handouts.
Talk about the difference between a URL and a general website address.
US three-letter domains and two-letter country codes.
Guessing general website addresses using some common sense.
Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and Stalking 101.
File conversion with Zamzar!

Our first QUIZ: Thursday, Feb 4.

On The Drunkard and Paying Attention In Class

2010-01-22T12:57:00.000-05:00

Many years ago my 8th grade class from East Orange, NJ took a trip to Greenwich Village in NYC to see an Off-Broadway musical called The Drunkard. It was a small production in a tiny theater, and the only musical accompaniment came from one guy, with curly blond hair, sitting at the piano.

The pianist was almost more interesting than the show itself, because as the show went on, he sat there at the piano reading The Godfather between songs. I was amazed that he could follow the book and then be ready to play without missing a cue, but he did it perfectly.

I found out years later on that the pianist in that little theater was a guy by the name of Barry Manilow; a guy who had gone on to great fame as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and pianist. This guy was good, and obviously was good enough to read a book and accompany a show at the same time.

What does this mean?

It means that there are some of you in this class who can do Facebook, YouTube, or PhotoBooth while I'm talking about Microsoft Word or Gmail, and not miss a thing. I know, I was one of those kids. There are also some of you who will struggle to keep up even when your full attention is focused on me.

Many teachers will say that they make the Barry Manliows in the class put down their books to prevent the students who can't pull it off from trying and failing. I'm not so sure that I like this model. I figure that if you already have a firm grasp of what we're doing, and are able to do something else while I explain it to your classmates, I shouldn't hold you back. I also figure that it's the responsibility of those of you who can't walk and chew gum at the same time to realize that about yourselves, and give me your full attention.

I'll be keeping track of who's "reading The Godfather," and how well they do on the quizzes.

Mr G's Info Studies Class

Cycle 15: Feb 5 - 12

Cycles 13 and 14: Jan 25 - Feb 4

On The Drunkard and Paying Attention In Class