Proposal

On Monday, we create surveys.  With the rest of the week, you must complete your proposal. Your final deadline for this proposal is 4/29/16 since we do not have much time left in the school year and the week of 5/2 will not be conducive to completing large tasks.  This means you might have to work outside of class to get this finished.  Please meet your deadline.

Project Completion

This week's update is short and sweet.  You have assigned responsibilities for the project.  You will finish your project by the end of class on Thursday.  I have two simple requests of this project:

1. Each of you will get on camera and state your reasoning for why you feel we should change this procedure at NWHS
2. Each person should find a different source that supports why this procedure should change.  With this source, you will compose a short summary of the effectiveness of the change and get at least 30 signatures (30 x 8 = 240 total signatures) from students who agree with your proposal.
**Think about which 30 students you will get to sign this petition.  It can go a long way if the right people get behind your cause**

You have your work cut out for you.  See you Monday!

Don't Like It? Change It!

Standard 5 states:

Demonstrate creativity and innovation: Use idea-generating techniques to explore divergent and atypical questions and perspectives to develop original ideas for products or solve problems – such as a constructed object, proposal, presentation, solution to a problem, service, system, work of art, writing sample, invention, event, or an improvement to an existing product. Exhibit insight into the particular needs and interests of the target audience that are driving the process of innovation.

I really like how this standard is worded, and I want us to dive into this standard as much as possible this week, and, based on how involved our action plan is, next week as well.

The title of this week's blog will guide us toward our end goal of changing a school policy, but accomplishing it will not be easy.  The first thing we have to do is figure out which policy/rule we think needs to be changed and then determine exactly how to change it.  Once we've accomplished this, we're going to have to put together a compelling argument for why it should be changed; whether we present it in video form, in a multimedia presentation, or in a written proposal.  Putting everything together will require you to divide and conquer, and you'll need your best presenter to try to influence school leadership to make the change.

Before we get started, understand that there are some things, like graduation requirements, that just can't change.  I suggest sticking with a simple regulation, like acceptable use of technology (phones), dress code (some policies can be flexible), or tardiness.  Please refer to the student code of conduct to identify which process you would like to change.  Of course, if there is a process or other opportunity for change you have in mind (I'll share one with you on Monday), feel free to do that.  See below for a simple breakdown of what we'll do in class this week:

On Monday, as a group, we will search through the student code of conduct and discuss which policy to improve.  I'll share my idea during this discussion and we'll see what comes of it.

On Tuesday, in my absence, you will break down how you plan to attack this project.  Divide up responsibilities and begin working on your share of the duties.

On Wednesday, you'll email me a short message about what your responsibilities are and how you plan to complete your part of the project.

With the remaining time in class on Wednesday through Friday (I'll again be out on Thursday on Admin Duty), you will complete your project.  I assume your research should be finished by that time and we might even begin working on your proposal/video/presentation.

There aren't really concrete tasks to be completed this week, and I realize you might want some more structure for this project.  I'm available to assist and guide you as you need me, so don't hesitate to ask.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Accountability

This week, anyone not editing and uploading the interview tutorial will focus on two big projects and then help with Mock Interview Competition.  

On Monday, we’ll read this article and discuss elements of personal accountability, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.  

On Tuesday, we’ll write a 200+ word blog post about what we’ve learned and our discussion in class.  I find this exercise especially helpful when preparing for our future, as managers can always appreciate when employees take ownership of their mistakes and look to learn from them.  

Wednesday, we’ll read a short article about the right way to ask for help in the workplace, focusing on how to seek out answers before asking and the right way to go about making your request.  After this, we’ll write another blog entry and post it online.  

On Thursday, we’ll help prepare for Mock Interview competition by making sure all the preparations are in place (binders, schedule, bring finished binders to library, etc.).  Once finished, we’ll be able to view our YouTube tutorial in class and evaluate our finished product.  

Finally, on Friday, you will all report to the library and assist as needed with Mock Interview Competition. You can help escort students from the waiting area to their interviews, get guests refreshments if they need any, and run completed score sheets to Ms. Kirkland so we can compile our results.  

That’s it for this week.  I look forward to our discussions and making Mock Interview Competition a success!

Last Week Before (Most of) Your Last Spring Break!

 

OK, so I guess I overestimated what we could do in a 25-minute period.  Worry not, I’ve really enjoyed our time discussing employability skills, proper ways to conduct yourself in public, how to handle difficult life situations, and other matters in which adaptability and flexibility really matter in life.  I truly feel we have made the most of our shortened class periods even though we have not completed our project. 

Now that we’ve established our tutorial will be broken down into multiple parts, my editors will need to work together to be as efficient as possible in completing their work.  As I always suggest, you should divide and conquer on this.  Maybe one of you can work on parts 1 & 2, another can work on parts 3 & 5, and both of you can collaborate to complete part 4.  This is just a suggestion, but I feel it will be the best way for you to make the most of your time.  

During this time, the rest of you will get onto our social media sites and discuss some of the things we've learned.  Share your expertise with the world but do it right.  Please show me your posts prior to hitting the "send" button.  Last week the tweet and Google+ posts you sent were wonderful.  Let’s make this week just as productive.  We should send out at least one correspondence/post daily, and by Thursday (Remember, we do not have school on Friday) the video should be ready to load.  

**Please understand these videos take time to load.  You should start loading at the beginning of the period and some of you might need to stay after class to ensure the finished product successfully loads.  This is why I suggest you start uploading tutorials on Wednesday**

Finally, on Thursday, you will write a blog post about what you plan to do with your final high school spring break.  Why am I asking you to blog about this?  I feel as if this will allow you to learn about proper planning, positively broadcast the responsible things you will do, and appreciate the fact that your high school careers are coming to a close.  I expect this entry to be at least 150 words and just break down a few of the things (obviously not everything… that would take a long time to complete) you plan to do.  Here’s an example of how I’d lay mine out:

Over Spring Break, I plan to do a lot of fun things, but in this post, I’ll describe three of the more exciting activities:

Take my kids to St. Bethlehem Park for a day:

Do you remember when you were in Kindergarten and your parents would take you to the park?  Was there anything better than spending a warm Spring day climbing the monkey bars and swinging on the swing set followed by a trip to the ice cream parlor?  Well that’s what I plan to do on the warmest day of my Spring Break…

I think you get the picture of what I’m looking for.  This should be a fun assignment as long as you have fun with it.  I really look forward to hearing what you have to say.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll see you Monday!

Tutorial Edit and Reflection

Now that we've finally finished shooting all the parts to our interview tutorial, it's time to edit the project into a polished finished product that is adequate for loading to our YouTube channel and all our social media outlets.

The first task you need to complete is to come to an agreement on whether to split the tutorial into 5 different parts or make one long video.  I have a preference, but you will need to research what the perfect length for a video is and whether a series or one large video.  This will help you arrive at the correct decision for what to do.

After this, our editors will cut, splice, and polish our videos into the best possible video(s) that can be loaded to YouTube.  During this time, the rest of you will get onto our social media sites and discuss some of the things we've learned.  Share your expertise with the world but do it right.  Please show me your posts prior to hitting the "send" button. 

Finally, on Friday, you will write a blog reflection about our project.  Discuss your contribution, how efficiently you feel you were in completing the project, and how the finished product came out.  Since we'll have very short periods a majority of the week, this is all we have.

See you on Monday!

Finish the Shoot and Edit the Video

Before you read this blog entry, please watch the following video and ask yourself this question:

In order to finish our videos AND edit the content into a YouTube ready product, EVERYONE in class has to pull his/her weight.  That means we need to:

• Know how we want to shoot each segment
• Complete talking points for the remaining portions of the tutorial
• Shoot the video in the fewest possible takes 
• Edit the tutorial efficiently

This requires you to do some advanced planning.  I'm going to need each of you to contribute in your own way to the best of your abilities.  Sitting and watching the video being recorded is inefficient and will prolong the process.

That said, please work on recording voice-overs this weekend and be prepared on Monday to begin class by hitting the ground running.  I intend to have this video uploaded by end of business Friday.

Let's CHOP! through this week as efficiently as we can!