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Here's what's new, colleagues. Check this out! It's really something fantastic! It gives you a great overview of a Wiki. Enjoy!

Wiki youtube video link: [|//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY//] **
 * NEW!!!

Hey, colleagues! Click on the link below to access the Timeline link. Please provide your suggestions to the times and the possible activities. Remember ... these are only suggestions. I need YOU to tweak this timeline! Also ... I'll be seeking your input on the agenda as soon as I hear from you regarding the timeline.

Timeline for Seventh Grade Cross-Curricular Alignment (First Six-Weeks Planning)

Update, update, update ... Yes, now you can click on the link below to access the Agenda link. Please provide your suggestions for our agenda. Yes, of course, we did discuss quite a yesterday as we were formulating our timeline. However, our collaborative effort is needed again to truly create an agenda that fully addresses every need and every area, including the purpose, objective, and activities. So ... click the link below and provide your valuable input and expertise. As usual, I'll edit and save ... and you can edit and save. Hopefully, by the end of the day, we'll have a perfect agenda that meets our professional needs ... and will assist us in planning an amazing scope and sequence, which will truly benefit all of our students. Happy editing!

Agenda for Cross-Curricular Planning

POLC (Professional Online Learning Community): Becoming Techno Savvy ... and More Seventh Grade English, Reading, and Mathematics teachers Henderson Middle School Henderson, Texas

Professional Online Learning Community (POLC) Members:
 * Lisa D. Lybrand, Seventh Grade English-Language Arts teacher
 * Jana Wylie, Seventh Grade English-Language Arts teacher
 * Yvonne Clark, Seventh Grade Mathematics teacher
 * Cristie Read, Seventh Grade Mathematics teacher
 * Robin Svatek, Seventh Grade Read 180 teacher

Purpose of the Professional Online Learning Community (POLC):

The purpose of this Professional Online Learning Community (POLC) is to promote the improvement of technology use and integration among Henderson Middle School's (HMS) seventh grade English, reading, and mathematics teachers, as well as to provide an avenue for Henderson Middle School's seventh grade students to respond to various English, reading, and mathematics prompts. After all, according to the lastest research, online learning is an essential component for Texas's students because it provides real-world learning experiences, allowing students the opportunity to overcome geographical barriers while participating in rich, content-based communication with their teachers and their peers. Yes, Texas's students (aka: HMS's seventh grade students) are more engaged and better understand the relevance of living, functioning, and communicating in the 21st Century (Vision 2020). This means that Texas's educators (aka: HMS's seventh grade English and mathematics teachers) must continually serve as facilitators, mentors, and co-learners and that Texas's students (aka: our students) must engage as active participants in the learning process (Vision 2020). Hence, this POLC has been implemented to facilitate the engagement of HMS's teachers and students in technology use and integration, especially cross-content engagement through teacher-assigned and/or student-created writing prompts and activities, especially those specifically related to the course content being studied.

Food for Thought Questions:

1. What technologies do you feel are lacking in your classroom that would help promote your students' academicsuccess? Be specific to your core-content area. 2. How do you think we can improve the integration of technology into our English, reading, and mathematics lessons this school year? 3. What technological professional development activities do you feel would most benefit you as a teacher? 4. Are there any areas of support that you feel are necessary for you to more effectively integrate technology into your particular core-content area?