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Channel Islands Briefing
For the Week of September 20-24
Please print ( from list email or web ) and add to your workbook
Recap of previous week
During the last week, classes were asked to get logged-on to the student listserv at camp99-outposts-l@rain.org. Please continue to have your students post their introductions on the list if you haven't been able to post yet. Any questions about log-ins and passwords can go to camp@rain.org. This is their chance to see their own words online, and to be shown how important thoughtful communication is when it will be viewed by many other people - especially their own peers.
If you have had students post to the outposts-l list, then make sure they have time to read what a few of the other students have posted to help them realize the breadth and scope of becoming a part of a virtual distance learning community. We will also be posting the student weekly briefing for the coming week there, so they should read that on Monday the 20th via their own class account. You have the option to have one student print the message out and read it to the class ... or if in a lab they can each read it.
Please also have the students look at the interactive calendar link from the left side bar. It is filling up with subjects and activities through the end of October.
This Week for Channel Islands
Check out the new Teachers Base Camp from the left side bar. Your access log in is camp99, password is keys99. This is where you will find a non-email version of the briefings, including this document, the key to the Passport, and other teachers materials for your use. Only teachers have access to this area.
We now begin our full expedition program and have activities in all tracks for you to enjoy. In Social Studies we will begin our 2-1/2 month unit on Native American life on the Channel region. This week we will look at the span of prehistoric life in the Channel - it is the first selection on the Social Studies site. Over in the reading section you can continue the Island of the Blue Dolphins reading activity. And in Science, we are going to jump right into Paleontology where we will learn what a Paleontologist does, what fossils have been found on the islands, how fossils are found, and more.
A special event for this week and next is a live Internet Dig. You will need to reserve a one-hour block of time for the class to participate between Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 1st of October, between 8am and noon. We will use Internet searching to uncover answers to posted questions in a guided environment. Send your reservation to camp@rain.org. Many teachers have been finding Dig partners using the listserv at camp99-teachers-l@rain.org. As soon as we get confirmations, we are entering them in the interactive calendar. At your scheduled time, join us in the chat room and all instructions will be provided. They will be reading challenging questions that include an imbedded BUTTON that links them to a site where the answer is. They will then read through those materials to dig-out / find the answer and then use the back button in the upper left of their browser to come back to the chat room and post their findings.
Upcoming Preparation
Next week, Sept 27-Oct 1st, the Internet Digs continue, and the new activity is for teachers-only. The Islands track teachers will be meeting online on Wednesday the 29th between 3-5pm for a professional development chat. Theme for this chat is Engaging in Dialogue Online. The session will provide suggestions for opening productive, educational exchanges between students, and between students and Trail Guides, that promote learning in a supportive distance learning environment. Please join us at 3pm in the chat room September 29th. RSVP to camp@rain.org.