Let's Do This!

This is the start of something beautiful.  The primary goal of this website is to provide students with a permanent resource site for the topics we cover within our classroom.  Over time, it will grow and develop as I integrate these resources, and students and parents provide input on what other functions would be helpful.  These will be considered carefully, and those which are approved will be added as time permits. Building a website takes time, and I want to do it well for it to be the biggest help to you all. I will only add what I know I can maintain.  I value all of your input, and will gladly take polite suggestions. 

​As this site is designed for my students and their families, the language and subject matter of comments must be appropriate and on topic, or comment functions will be removed.  

Last week, I asked some students to provide input via an anonymous survey on what features would be helpful.  What's gonna work?...Teamwork! 

Below are some of their suggestions and my responses:

• Simple layout, easy access, colorful and fun to read  - 1st priority DONE! (I hope, but let me know if improvements can be made). Things may be rearranged occasionally as the site grows, and I appreciate your patience!
• Topical explanations and links - 2nd priority once the site is up and running. I'm already working on it!
• Walk-through examples of problems, basic knowledge, vocabulary, and notes - 3rd highest priority!
• Different types of ways to do something so we can choose which one is the most helpful to us - Gladly!!! I plan on having homework "menus" to choose from at some point in the future.
• Provide practice sheets - Absolutely! See above.
• One or two little games of chemistry - Yes, Ivan, I'll be adding these as I find them.  I'm taking suggestions, though, so let me know if you find any!
• Answer sheets to check answers - This may be provided in the future for some assignments, but to prevent the temptation of cheating, probably not all of them.
• A Calendar including assignments, warm-ups, homework due dates, and upcoming tests/quizzes or labs - Medium priority; in class announcements are made when these dates are known.  Schedules change with the needs of the students as a whole, and school events. This blog may include that information at some point in the future. As far as knowing if you can "dress cute ahead of time" (student quote), labs which require protective clothing have always been announced ahead of time.
• Evening homework help from Ms. Salvatore - Currently, I have scheduled tutoring time on campus, but my family (and my personal well-being) deserves my evening time, and for me to be off work when I'm off work. This is one of the reasons homework is not frequently assigned (students need "off" time, too!). If homework difficulties arise, email me at [email protected] or inform me first thing in the morning and help/extension arrangements can be made as appropriate. Also, see "Group Chat."
• Group chat for real-time interaction - Will be carefully considered at a later date.  Posting is already permitted for students in Google Classroom and will continue to be as long as it is used wisely. Helping each other with homework would be a great time to use this capability. There are some student safety and district policy aspects to consider and research, as well. While I can definitely see the potential helpfulness this could provide, I am currently in the "no" camp on this one. 
• "My name in Italics" - I don't know for sure (Lendy?) who said this, so here you go: "my name."
• Being able to see scores right away - Some linked websites used for assignments already do this. If assignments require teacher grading, this takes time, sorry!
• Make it as simple as possible to understand - This is a huge part of what I try to do every day: make concepts understandable to everyone.  That is the reason for all the little weird analogies (I'm looking at you, Financial Guru Joel) and in-class student volunteer interactions (reaction types and relationships, anyone?). However, at the high school level, some concepts are hard, and will take repetition and deep thinking for students to make those connections.
• ......and energy points!!!! - see www.khanacademy.org if you want these- However, I'll give you three lifelines if you can beat my energy point score ;) Currently sitting at 1,300,494.  Good luck, Elias, you've got this!