I have made the jump back to the classroom once again. I will now be a kindergarten teacher at Westhaven Elementary instead of the TRT. I am excited to again be back in the classroom with kids and to be bringing with me the knowledge I gained as a TRT. I can’t wait to apply many of the things I learned. Now if I can just get my room set up I’ll be good!

AR Widgets

Thanks to Nancy Butler’s help I was able to add the AR Widgets for both of my schools to my blog as well as to each schools’ home page. Take a moment and see what the students at the schools are reading. I love to see that some of my favorites are their favorites also!

We are off to the start of a new year which brings Gradebook into our lives. Many of you have been banging your heads and tossing up your hands in frustration over the program. All I can say is breathe in, breathe out and we will get through this together. I will do my best to post some helpful tips, tricks and documents here for those of you who may need them.

FAQs & some Tips/Trick

1. Where can I find my grade averages if I am a K-2 teacher? Click Here to view or print a document to show you step by step how to find the Strand grade averages.

2. How do I print a blank class roll? Here is what you should do:

1. Go to Reports
2. Click New
3. Click on the Grading category
4. Find the report titled Empty Class Grade Sheet
5. Print a copy

3. Where do I find my core area objectives? To find your core area objectives:

1. click on a core area tab
2. Click new to create a new assignment
3. Click on the Objectives Tab and you should see the core area objectives showing

4. If I am a K-2 teacher, how do I know if I have objectives linked to my assignments?

5. How do I print my Progress Reports?

1. Sign in to gradebook
2. Click on the reports tab
3. Click the New button to get a new (updated report)
4. Open the Grading category
5. Find the report titled Student Detail- Quarter
6. Make your setting choices (show attendance infractions – yes/no, etc.)
7. Click the Run button
8. When the report comes up, give it a look to make sure your grades are showing properly and all of your students are included
9. Print the reports to your printer

6. If I am linking more than one objective to an assignment, how do change a grade for one objective and not the others and still have it calculate correctly?

When you link more than one objective and need to change one score within the group, click and open the “+” and change the grade under just that objective. See the picture below!

7. If I am a PPS ENCORE teacher what steps should I take when creating an assignment to save myself some time? Here are the steps you should take:

1. Log into Gradebook
2. Open your Gradebook Grid
3. Click on New
4. Add the Title or Description of the assignment
5. Set the Max Value to “100″
6. Set the Weight to “0″
7. Click on the Objectives Tab
8. Place a check mark in the objective
9. Click the Add button
10. Click on the Classes Tab
11. Place a check mark in the box in front of all the classes for that grade level (Do not try to assign the assignment for every class you teach. Do each grade level separately since the objectives are done grade level by grade level)
12. Click Save
13. Check to make sure the little “+” is showing on the assignments you’ve made for grades K-2 and that there is no average showing in the end column on the far right.

These steps should save you some time and frustration.

8.Why don’t my comments fit? You are only given 255 character spaces for comments. I have shown several teachers how to cut & paste the comment into a Word document to change the size of the font to an 8, which in most cases allows the whole comment to fit. In extreme cases they had to shorten their comments.

If you are thinking about applying for a Promethean board any time in the future, you need to take a few moments and check out the Foundations Level course they offer for free. It will give you a beginner’s look at the tool bars and some of the basic features. You will need to create an account, but it’s not difficult. If you need help, please let me know. I would love to see more of our students have the benefits offered by the use of the Promethean equipment & software.

*whispering* Pssssssssssssttt Did you know you could have what is close to a Promethean room with just a laptop, the software (which we already have) and a data projector?

http://prometheanlearning.com/

Please share how you use your MCPS or Promethean systems in your classroom by telling us what works or even what doesn’t with your students. Help start a conversation to share ideas with other teachers usiing the equipment!

Well, we have had a chance to have a Users Group meeting at each of my schools now. It was great to share some things that teachers are using and hear how well they work. I was a little disappointed and the number of people who could make it to each one, but I understand we all have a million and one things on our plates. I am hoping that maybe more of you can make it the next time. I will send out an email to let you know when the next meeting will take place. I plan on continuig to use the PTA night uless I hear from you that it doesn’t work well for you. Feel free to leave feedback here for all of us to see.

I am in the process of trying to organize a MCPS & Promethean User Group, at each of my schools, to share ideas, best practices, tips, and tricks. I am finding it difficult to find enough days in the week to do it all and still do it right. I would love to be able to do this in an online manner, but unfortunately we were told it has to be done in a face to face manner. I would love to hear your input!

Teachers… now is the time to apply for an MCPS or Promethean room for next year. Please follow the directions carefully and print a hard copy to write up your rough draft application. Next, allow both the Principal and myself to look over it before you submit it online. The deadline is May 15th and I am not in the building full time so please don’t wait until the last minute. It is NOT a first come first serve process so don’t panic and submit before you have met with us. Good luck!

If you haven’t taken a moment and checked out the Resource Sites Tab, now might be a good time to do so. I just added several new resource sites under most of the categories.