Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Setting up ABI (Aeries) Gradebooks for our Work Ethic scoring

To make scoring efficient, set up your gradebook for easy recording. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Log on to Aeries.

2. Click on the Grades tab. Then click on the Gradebook sub-tab.

3. You'll need to add your students to each class, if you haven't already done so.

4. Click on Edit Assignment Type.

5. Choose a number code and a name, e.g. Work Ethic.

6. Choose percent. I chose 50%. Apply changes.

7. Next, click on Edit Assignment.

8. Choose Assignment Type. Enter discription, e.g. Week One. Enter 100 for Max Score. Choose Date Assigned (Monday of that week) and Due Date (Friday of that week). Click Add.

9. You can add all six weeks (approx.) for the grading period at once, with different names (Week One, Week Two, etc.) and different Date Assigned and Due Date and then click "Grading Completed" each week as they're completed, or you can add an assignment for each week. When you do add an assignment, you'll need to enter "100" for the score of each student, and then subtract 5 points for each performance, behavior, attendance, and tardiness infraction.

10. I recommend counting the tardies and unexcused absences each Monday for the previous week. This gives students a chance to clear absences and tardies. If they don't do it by then, it's on them. Self-responsibility!

11. After I have a weekly score on Monday, I post the results each Monday by printing the grade report, so kids can know where they are. To print, place mouse over "Scores by Assignment" and click on the assignment you want from the menu. Then, click on "Print Preview." It will display a nice chart, which you can print from the browser's print command on the File Menu.

I hope this guide helps. If you have any questions, post comments. I'll read them (or others can and answer, too!) and try to offer advice. Let me know if I made any mistakes in my explanation.

Good luck!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Happy School Year! Resource Updates

Hi, everyone. As you know, I've placed a resource page for each of you in my EDblog.org educators' blog, and I've placed a link to it here at the VOA blog in the Links. With time, some of these links get old. Also, sometimes you have a favorite website you've found for your class, and I don't know about it. Please let me know, by commenting on this post, if you'd like any changes, deletions of bad links, and any additions. I'll edit the pages and make them whole again.

Happy blogging, team! (enough with the cheerleading, Calvin...okay)

Hot tip: You can access your NVUSD email from the link I've place in the Links. Look down in the previous posts list and you'll find a training post that explains how to use the NVUSD Web email logon. Good luck. Let me know by comment if you have trouble doing it.

Friday, August 04, 2006

A successful meeting and a final VOA contract!

A special thanks goes out to Susan for hosting a fabulous dinner, which we all enjoyed so much. During the pre-dinner work session we hammered out the several changes needed, and I for one really feel strongly about the contract. I know it will be a valuable tool for each of us in managing our classes. I include a link to it here, as well as over in the links area.

Congratulations to us all, and see you around school (only two more weeks, cringe!).