Helpful Hints

Hello grade 7 students at GWMS.  I know that you all have something to say about each of the rotations you are at in this class. I hope that you are willing to share some of thee great ideas with the rest of the grade 7's.

At the bottom of each of the rotation links you are able to leave a comment.  Please leave a helpful comment for someone to use in the future.  It could be a tip that you discovered, a great site for information, something that helped your understand what to do next . .  . anything positive that will help someone else out.

I would like these pages to be always changing with new and exciting hints.

Please be a positive influence for others and start leaving a good digital footprint for yourself.

Thanks for all your help and for supporting your fellow classmates.

Mr. Bonnici

Rotation #1 - Class #1

We have gone through an overview of each of the rotation stations already.  It is time to start the rotations. When I went through the outlines I showed them how open ended each of the tasks are.  The instructions allow the kids to have a lot of creative control over the final product. Some students asked some great questions and you could tell that they were already thinking of what they are going to do when they get to that station.  It was great to hear their questions.

Everyone will get 6 classes at a station. During those 6 classes they must complete all the required elements of the task.  This is easier said than done . . . especially on the first rotation.  The rotations are set up so student need to use all the classes they are given to do a great job.  They will need to start right away in order to produce work that meets the requirements.  Most students start the first rotation off a bit slow and end up rushing at the end. When they do their reflections you usually see that they realize that they need to get to work right away in order to have time to review their work before they hand it in.

On the 7th class we watch all the videos and play the games.  We go over them as a class for the first rotation.  We talk about their good/amazing aspects and then we go over areas that they could improve on for next time.

Then on the 8th class the students will do their reflection of how they worked, how they could improve,  and what they did that was successful.

I am looking forward for having the world see the students work when I post it on YouTube, Flickr and the Mit.Scratch.edu website.  When I told them that this is what we were doing some of them flinched.  They became worried about what people might think and say.  One student even said, "So . . . my mom is going to see my work? That's not gonna happen!"  I really liked this.  This will hopefully get them to really look at their work before they hand it in so all they are handing in is their best work (which they should be doing all the time), work they are proud of.

I will be back to tell you how the first rotation is going with all my grade 7 classes.  I am excited to see what they will produce.

Welcome Grade 7's

Welcome everyone to the Grade 7 VEST Blog.  This Blog is going to be used by you, the students, to acquire your classroom tasks, reflect on those tasks, and help other when they are working on their tasks.

This is part of our classroom, even though it is on line, it is to be treated as if you are in our classroom when you are on the Blog.

Goals of VEST:
- Explore aspects of technology through the designing, producing and marketing stages of a project
- Incorporate employable skills such as: teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, decision-making, and presentation skills
- Reflect and build on skill development using technology
- Create a positive digital footprint
- Discuss, share, and reflect on technology using social media and blogging
- Help with integration of technology into students' other subjects

Thanks and enjoy.

Carmen Bonnici