Today we get to test out making student blogs. The districts IT department has created an entire location where students can create their own blog and all of the information will stored within our district servers.
http://blogname.studentblogs.sd62.bc.ca/ 
We will start at the address above and I will walk you through creating!!
The class and I are going to be focusing on Inquiry as a framework for learning and engaging with educational materials and online resources.
This course will focus on 4 themes or units: Agriculture, Forensics, Personal Technologies, and Transportation. As a class we will work our way through these topics and each student will do an Inquiry within each unit. I will be introducing each theme/ unit as well as have the students explore and understand the basics before developing an Inquiry question of their own. There will also be presenters invited in to present on high interest topics and topics that are part of the Prescribed Learning Outcomes, to make sure we are discussing and engaging in the learning process for all Ministry prescribed materials. We will also be taking breaks from the classroom to go out and explore the real environments of our themes to further develop an understanding of course materials.
As for assessment, each student will have their own blog where they can present their learning as well as final projects. Summative assessments will be determined as students demonstrate proficiency/mastery toward particular learning outcomes. Students will work collaboratively with the teacher to determine summative achievement on assignments and letter grades based upon dialogue, and evidence of learning which can be demonstrated in many ways and determined by the student: interview, video, blog, project presentation, paper, or exam format.
Question: How are you going to know what to inquire on within the following units: agriculture, forensics, personal technologies, and transportation?Plan: What interests you about each topic?
Retrieve: Find information, review it, evaluate resources.
Processing: Establish focus, choose resources, record, make connections, review and revise your plan for inquiry.
Creating: Organize info., create a product, consider audience, revise and edit.
Sharing: Present new understandings
Evaluating: Evaluate the inquiry process, product, plan. Revise personal inquiry model. Transfer learning to new situation beyond school.
Assessment: Rubric and Project Reflection
*This is an exploration into the four units. We are gaining a little more knowledge/ understanding about each of the four so that we can take our studies further as we move through this course.
There are a lot of valuable resources that students can use to research
their interests and curiosities. The links posted below are a great place to start your inquiry:
World Book (see Dawn for Log In)
Google: Fusion Imaging: Gamma Camera and CT scanner Combination.
Forensic Investigations Canada
Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions. Inquiry-based learning is a complex process where students formulate questions, investigate to find answers, build new understandings, meanings and knowledge, and then communicate their learnings to others. In classrooms where teachers emphasize inquiry-based learning, students are actively involved in solving authentic (real-life) problems within the context of the curriculum and/or community. These powerful learning experiences engage students deeply.
Research suggests that inquiry-based learning increases student creativity, independence, and problem solving skills, and it improves student achievement.
Above is the Inquiry model that we will be using within our course to explore our learning. We will navigate this model as a class and will develop the skills to confidently explore learning and our curiosities.
– http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/aisi/themes/inquiry.aspx
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