CALCULATION ASSIGNMENTS: HOW TO HANDLE THEM

 

Students:  some homework Assignments involve calculations, as modeled in class.   

For those Assignments, different versions are assigned to different students.  You will randomly assigned to an email thread for the purpose of distributing such an Assignment.   

From time to time, you will receive an email with the words 'CALCULATION THREAD' as part of the heading.  There will be a document attached to this email,  that can only be opened by the full version of Microsoft Word which should be installed to your computer as part of Office 365. 

 

NEVER REPLY TO THIS THREAD.  INSTEAD, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW:

#1  DOWNLOAD the document to the folder on the computer where you keep your class work.

#2   Complete the work using the version of Microsoft Word installed to that computer as part of Office 365.

#3   Send a NEW EMAIL to Scott.Hatfield@fresnounified.org, that has your completed document attached.

DOWNLOADING ASSIGNMENTS FROM TEAMS

 Here's a link to where you can watch a brief video that shows how to download an Assignment from Teams, rather than open it online!

Remember, the main purpose of Teams is to share and collaborate with others.  For example, I share an Assignment in Teams with each student, BUT that doesn't mean I want students to collaborate on individual work.

Instead, DOWNLOAD it.  Open it on your own computer with the Office 365 version of Word installed on the computer!  Follow the instructions, then upload YOUR work to the Assignment folder within Teams.

USING 'OFFICE 365' TO CREATE DOCUMENTS

Many students have become confused when attempting to complete Assignments with Microsoft Teams.  

These students may have become so used to using applications like Teams or Zoom online that they naturally assume that ALL activities or communication with their instuctor should be done through a single online platform.

But in the real world, there are always MULTIPLE platforms for doing different things.  Because this is true, 21st Century citizens have to develop a GENERAL skill set that is helpful on all platforms!  

Students, for example, should know the basic control functions common to most word processing programs, like Microsoft Word:

Yet, it's clear that some students are unsure!  They may be unsure about what software to use to create their document, or they may be unclear about how they should save their documents, or have trouble figuring out how to attach those documents to email. They might not understand that Teams, while very useful for working in groups and sharing materials, is not always suitable for individual work:

This post attempts to address all of these problems.

Mr. Hatfield recommends that his students use the program Microsoft Word to create electronic documents.   This program is part of a group of programs sometimes called 'Microsoft Office', but more commonly-called Office 365.

Not only is Office 365 available on all FUSD-supplied computers, FUSD students can get up to five FREE copies for their home computer or mobile device.   However, some students are either not aware of this, or they do not know where to go to obtain their free software package.  

And it's important that you have an actual copy of Microsoft Word on your own computer!  Not only are online options like Teams and 'Word Online' not as powerful, but they will not be accepted if discovered.  On many assignments, you need to show you did the work on your own computer, with your own copy of Word.

The good news is, many of you already have laptops with Office 365 installed.  But if you don't, here's what you do . . .

  Click HERE!

Now, a key point about all of this, is that once you have a word processing program on your home computer, you need to be able to save and email the documents you create.   The GREAT advantage of electronic documents is that they can be easily reedited in any way you want without either destroying the original or completely re-doing the assignment!   

So, on your home computer (NOT a cell phone!) dedicate a folder where you store your classwork, so you can easily find previous work when you need to edit it, or attach it to an email.

And as far as emailing goes....look for one of these:

OK, actually not a literal paper clip.  But virtually all email programs use a "paper clip" icon as a means of attaching documents to an email.   I'm going to share some screen shots of some of the most popular email services below to make that point.....

So, if you've created your document....and you know where it's at on the computer you're using...look for the word 'attach' or a 'paperclip' icon in your email, and click on that item.   A window will open that will allow you to select the location on your computer where you've saved your document.   Find your document, select it, and it should be attached to your email.

PERSONALIZE YOUR TEAMS CIRCLE

 This short video snippet shows how students can click on their 'circle' within Microsoft Teams, and upload an image to represent themselves---a selfie, an avatar, a Bitmoji, et cetera.   This is MUCH better than being a circle with a letter and a number!   Like the song says, 'Express Yourself'.

You can also find a written description on how to do this HERE.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: BEIRUT and DARVAZA

Click HERE to see a video shown in class on August 19-20. It's been placed here so Chemistry students can view the video as often as they need. This will be a common practice in this course.

Students are asked to compare and contrast two natural phenomena: a violent recent (8/4/2020) event in Beirut and an ongoing geological curiosity in Turkmenistan:

How are they SIMILAR??

How are they DIFFERENT?

What chemical processes might be at work?

Interestingly, while both the Beirut event and the Darvaza crater are natural phenomena, the choices of human beings were involved in producing what we observe in the video. Click on the links to learn more about these events!

WELCOME TO MR. HATFIELD'S CLASSROOM

Students, my name is Scott Hatfield, and I will be serving as your Chemistry Instructor in the 2020-2021 school year.

                                   

We live in interesting times, in a world of unexpected challenges.  

In our case, the most obvious challenge is that of creating a virtual school environment to support students as they attempt to gain an education through what we are calling 'distance learning.'

To help support you, I've created a virtual classroom page that has built-in links to supporting materials and important information that you would want at your fingertips:

I've also begun setting up our individual classes, and when you go looking for them on Teams, I hope they'll be easy for you to find, and even FUN for you to use!

We'll use MICROSOFT TEAMS to access our individual classes and to attend class meetings.  Many assignments and class procedures will be handled through Teams, as well.*  

We will also have a new textbook created for California students, Experience Chemistry.   While you will receive an actual student text to work with, we will often access the digital version of this curriculum, on-line.  To do this, you will need to access this through the Clever app.  Log on HERE, using your FUSD student account:

Once you are in, you will find the 'Saavas Realize' link, that will take you to where you can log onto the digital curriculum, as shown below:

Just like Microsoft Teams, the online version of the text will be organized around classes---and your student information should already be imported into those classes.  Pretty convenient!

NOW, ALL OF THESE RESOURCES are important.  You will need to be able to access and use all of them.  

But, in addition to all of that, the main way you'll receive information about events in my class is through the virtual classroom page and this blog, 'Chemistry Knights'.   

I encourage you to explore both!  WELCOME TO CHEMISTRY!

* So, if you don't have Teams on both your personal computer and your cellular device, click on one of the links provided!  Watch the video!  Download and install whatever versions of Teams you need!  Have questions?  Write them down, and send me an email:  Scott.Hatfield@fresnounified.org