Below, you will find some of the basic guidelines, links, and codes that you'll need for the year. (I may edit and add to this Tutorial as the year progresses, and as needs arise.) Topics covered:
Keep scrolling down to look for what you need.
Always use your school Gmail to contact me & to log into the tools, sites, and services described in this Tutorial.
From your Gmail account, you can access your GoogleDrive, which will be very important this year.
My email: snygaard@marshallschool.org. I do check email frequently, but you can't count on my checking it before 7 am or after 9 pm. (I might, but you can't count on it!)
You can email me with questions about assignments, but please make sure you read the directions and all the information in the relevant Tutorials first.
I will ask you to email certain assignments to me, but most of the time, I'll ask you to upload your work to Turnitin or send it to a Schoology Dropbox.
I expect you to follow all school policies regarding technology use (see the 1:1 Handbook).
Do your very best to make sure your laptop is charged when you come to class. I will not be happy if you need to charge during an online quiz or timed essay! (But, if you must, there will be a power strip by the Big Dictionaries--use it, and get back to work!)
There are a number of free low-battery warning apps available that will warn you, rather dramatically, when your battery is getting low, and I recommend using one. (I like Low Battery Saver, myself).
When I want you to use your laptop and/or phone, I’ll tell you.
If you think you have a good reason for using tech when we’re not doing so as a class, tell me about it, and I’ll consider granting your request.
If you forget to bring your laptop, or if you use technology inappropriately in my classroom, you will incur an automatic penalty (of 2, 5, 10, or 15 points, depending on the incident), and I may limit you to “old school” methods for the rest of the class.
Usage Signals
“Lids down!” = close laptop
“Phones in the basket!” = put phone in basket up front
“Old School!” = get out paper & writing instrument
“Battle Stations!” = move desks into Battleship formation (I'll show you what that means)
Create Bookmark folders in the bookmark bar/menu of your favorite browser. This will keep you organized. Create a Bookmark folder called "English" (I recommend you do this for each of your classes). Then, add bookmarks for the links/sites we use for this class to that folder.
Open a second browser & import your bookmarks from the first: then, if you can’t open a link in one browser, you can quickly switch to another.
You should also set up an account with an RSS Reader (I recommend Feedly or the Blogger Reading List, which I will show you in class when we set up our blogs) so that you can subscribe to blogs--mine and your classmates'. With such a reader, new posts are automatically delivered to your RSS feed, so they're all in one place. That way, you don't have to subscribe by email and clutter up your inbox.
I highly recommend that you use a personal cloud storage service, in addition to your school GoogleDrive to store all your documents.
Dropbox is among the very best, & I will occasionally post links that allow you to create your account & earn extra-credit! (You won't earn extra-credit unless you use MY link during the appointed time-frame.)
Both GoogleDrive & Dropbox can be used on a smartphone. Download the GoogleDrive app onto your phone now, if you haven't done so already!
Beginning this year, you’ll see the Honor Code Pledge on many of your assignments, and I’ll ask you to copy and paste it into most of the documents you create yourself.
So below is the text of the pledge. After you copy and paste it into a document, fill in the blank space between the commas with your full name.
I, [your full name here], vow to uphold and protect the integrity of Marshall School by being a respectful and honest student who refrains from lying, cheating, and stealing, not only academically but in the Marshall School community as a whole.
If you're turning something in on paper, you can also write the words "I vow," or "I pledge" on it. On most online assignments, I will include a copy of the pledge with a check box or a box where you can type in your name. You can also include the word "Pledged" as part of a heading.
Most course materials will be posted on Sophia.org in the relevant Course Group, in various Tutorials.
Create an account & join the relevant group, either
AP Lit (Duluth Marshall), enrollment code: 2e8701, or
English 12 (2013/2014), enrollment code: b18d2f.
I will occasionally post messages on the group wall, so check there now & then.
Remember to scroll all the way down in a Sophia tutorial, & to use the fullscreen feature & the +magnifying glass icon (sometimes, you have to click it several times) to display PDF files in their proper format.
Most of you already have accounts at Turnitin.com. We’ll be using Turnitin a great deal this year, & not just for formal, finished papers. Enroll in one of my courses there.
English 12 folks, make sure you enroll in the proper section! I may count your assignments as late if you don't!
Enrollment codes:
AP (6547431),
Eng 12 1A (6673674) or
Eng 12 2A (6673677) or
Eng 12 2B (6673681).
Password for all my classes is F109.
Tip: The best way to preserve your formatting (italicized titles, font sizes, & paragraph indentations, for example) is to save your file in PDF format & then upload it to Turnitin. If you don't do this, you may lose points for Unforgivables!
You must always use Word (or Word for Mac) for word processing. Pages & OpenOffice are not acceptable.
Set one-inch margins; use Times New Roman or Cambria fonts in size 12, & unless I say otherwise, double-space your work.
We will use NoodleTools for research, and many of you already have accounts there. When we use it, the Librarian will give us a refresher lesson, so you can create an account then, if you need to.
We’ll also use Elm4you.org, which gives you access to lots of databases. If you are prompted for a barcode, you can use this one: 22510011784933.
You will always need to use MLA style. When quoting the primary text, remember that all you need to put in your in-text citations is the page number.
When you are using more than one primary/literary text/source to do your work, I will expect you to create a list of Works Cited.
All images and embedded media need to be properly cited as well.
As with papers, presentations require in-text citations and a complete list of Works Cited.
For most presentations, I will let you choose the program/tool. PowerPoint & Prezi are probably familiar, but the native Google presentation tool is fine. I am not fond of Keynote. I do find all of these a bit boring, though, so if you can find even more interesting/creative ways to share your work, please do so!
It can take some fiddling around to preserve your formatting within these tools, so remember that sometimes inserting a PDF file is your best option.
Always share or send a link before the deadline! In some cases, I will require that you upload a text-only version of your presentation to Turnitin.
I keep track of class participation in many ways. Sometimes I may use the Harkness App for charting discussions. But I plan to use ClassDojo quite a bit. You should create an account there with your schoolmail.
Many of you are familiar with Socrative, which we will use from time to time for quizzes & other exercises. You don’t need an account; just enter my room number: marshallf109.
Socrative has a free phone app, so if you have a smartphone, you should get it!
I will also use a number of backchannel tools, TodaysMeet and micromobs among them, along with Padlet & lino. I will post links to conversations when I use these tools. Micromobs may require an account--I'll let you know.
I will always require you to use your real name (usually just your first name & last initial), and to be respectful! I can keep records of these conversations.
Grammarly Handbook (Grammarly also offers a free web-based grammar-checker called "Grammarly Lite." It's browser-specific, so search for it and download it into each of our favorite browsers.)
Public Domain images (You can use these images for free, as long as you give credit. Lots of Collections here to choose from.)
Logical Fallacies: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/strawman
http://www.birdsong.fm--a lovely free streaming audio service--all birdsong, all the time.
Folks with Macs can try OmmWriter, a writing app that unclutters your screen and adds calming audio tracks to the experience of writing.
http://www.fotopedia.com: you have to make an account, but this is a good place to find images.
Foter.com: another good source of images, with an instant citation tool!
My Web of Trust, a browser add-on that helps you avoid virus- and malware-infected websites: http://www.mywot.com/en/download
Another great source for images: http://openglam.org
Audionautix offers music files in a fairly large selection of genres for use in your creations, as long as you say "music by audionautix.com."
