Moodle

MOODLE EXPLANATION "Life in the 21st Century!"

 Throughout the year, we will be using an on-line class system known as Moodle. Each student will be required to enroll in my English 3 CP class. Many of our discussions, chats, journals, quizzes, and tests will be completed on-line. Some will be done during class time, while other assignments must be completed on the student's own time. Please pay attention to the class calendar for complete details on unit assignments.

__ Student Accounts: __ Every Parkland student has a Moodle account that can be accessed by using his/her student ID number and personal password. (It's the same stuff you get on your directory with at school.)

__ How to Log-In: __
 * # Click here to go to the [|Moodle Site]
 * 1) Scroll down to where it says HIGH SCHOOL and select "English".
 * 2) Scroll down to Parkland's listings and enroll in the "English 3 CP class - Mrs. Spence."
 * 3) If this is your first time, you will need to type in " awesome " as the enrollment key.
 * 4) Your user name is your STUDENT ID #. || [[image:Screen_shot_2010-09-01_at_1.41.47_PM.png]] ||

 __The Moodle Site: __ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;"> Here is a general layout of what the Moodle will look like when you log in.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">On the left column, you will see several links. The one labeled " <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Participant <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">" is where you can edit your own profile and look view the profiles of other participants in class. The links labeled " <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Activities <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">" are where you will find links to assignments and assessments used during the unit. (You can also find links to the those same assignments and assessments in each weekly outline.)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">In the middle you will view the current week for the unit of study. This is where you will find all of the assignments and assessments specific to the week. You will see a weekly layout of assignments and activities, as well as links to the activities and assignments themselves. You will also see a link to " <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Shout Outs! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">" This is a link to class announcements and general discussion forums.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">In the right hand navigation menu, you will find news, events, and logs of recent activity to help you keep as up-to-date as possible with changes/additions to the Moodle.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;"> Basic descriptions of what each activity entails.
 * [[image:moodle_options.png caption="moodle_options.png"]] || <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**CHATS**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: A chat room will be available for set groups to have live on-line discussions during class.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**FORUMS:**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A forum is a platform to have group/class discussions on-line. They are not live. Students typically will respond to a given prompt or questions and then go back and respond to two classmates.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**JOURNALS**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: This is an area to type and submit a journal entry, essay, or short answer question. No other students can view submissions.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __**QUIZZES**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: Here, you can take on-line tests and/or quizzes. The quizzes/tests could come in the form of multiple-choice questions, true/false, chronological order, short answer, among others.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**RESOURCES:**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> The resource page is a link to find all of the uploaded documents used throughout the course. ||  ||

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;"> *Detailed descriptions of each activity's time frame and point value.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> With our Moodle, we have the option of conducting on-line chats. For chat sessions, each student will be assigned a group to conduct his/her in-class chat session. That means you will not be able to chat with everyone in the class, but only with classmates assigned to your group. In your chat session, you will have roughly 25 minutes to discuss the given prompt with each other. You should be respectful to each other's opinions, but, at the same time, challenge each other to have a detailed, insightful discussion. You must stay on task and use appropriate school language.
 * __<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">GROUP CHATS __**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> At the end of the allotted chat time, have one person in your group print out a copy of your groups chat BEFORE closing your screens and logging out. You must put all of your names on the printout and hand it in to Ms. McQuillan before you leave class. Each individual student will use the last 10 minutes of class to hand-write a brief summary of what was discussed and decided in your group chat.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A forum is a platform to have group/class discussions on-line. They are not live. Students typically will respond to a given prompt or questions in a thoughtful and detailed paragraph (6-10 sentences). Then, by a given date, students will also have to go back and respond to two (2) classmates. You will be graded on your initial response (10pts.), as well as your responses to your classmates. You are required to reply to two (2) classmates in an insightful manner, so make sure you check back in to see what others commented on about your initial response. These responses are worth 4 pts. each.
 * __<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">FORUMS __**

__**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">JOURNALS **__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Students also have an opportunity to work on and submit journal entries through the on-line Moodle as well. The prompt and/or specific information about the journal’s requirements will be located in the introduction to the journal assessment. Keep in mind, journal entries are private and no other students will be able to view your journal entries.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> There will always be an “open” and “close” date given for each journal entry. You may not work on the journal until the date it is opened. On the given close date, the system will shut you out at 11:59pm. If you do not finish the journal in the given time frame, you will receive a zero.

__**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">READING CHECKS (under Quizzes) **__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A reading check consists of a few basic questions based on the assigned reading to check for completion and comprehension. The questions are almost purely plot-based or focused on discussions from previous classes. You will have 25 minutes to complete the reading check once you’ve started. You only have 1 attempt to take this reading check and you may NOT log out of the reading check once you’ve started.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> There will always be an “open” and “close” date given for each reading check. You may not take the reading check until the date it is opened. The reading check will typically be available to take for 5-7 days. On the given close date, the system will shut you out at 11:59pm. That means, you must complete this reading check BEFORE COMING TO CLASS. If you do not take the quiz in that time frame, you will receive a zero.

__**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">TESTS (under Quizzes) **__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> The unit test will be available to take on-line. Even thought it is on-line, it may consist of all types of questions, just like in class (multiple-choice, short answer, matching, essay, etc.). There will always be an “open” and “close” date given for each test. You may not take the test until the date it is opened. The test will typically be available to take for 5-7 days. On the given close date, the system will shut you out at 11:59pm. That means if you do not take the test in that time frame, you will receive a zero.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> You will have 60 minutes to complete the test once you’ve started. You have two (2) attempts to take tests. That means, if you don't do well on the first attempt, you have can go back, study more, and take the test again. The second attempt will not open for one (1) hour after completing your first attempt.