Intrepid Classroom

Hello members of Intrepid Classroom and first time readers. We are up to twenty-six members, and while I am waiting for school to end to present a few big project ideas, many of you are already getting started by doing a variety of exciting things. I have been receiving some questions lately, so I think this is a good time to address some concerns some of you may be having.

The first comment was referring to the Ning:

I don’t get this site =(
Well, kinda…I don’t know what i should do and what I really can do in here..,a little help will be nice =D plzzz

Here is another comment:

I can see that Intrepid Classroom is growing and more members are joining. I have one question and I thought that I should ask it now since I saw you were online. What should I do to get part of Intrepid Classroom? I know that technically I’m in it but how do I really get accepted in Intrepid Classroom´s society? I just don’t know where to start. I hope you can help me Mr. R. Cya later in Intrepid Classroom and good night!

A quick review of what a Ning is used for would be a great place to start, but in short the Ning is a place to meet people. I would suggest that if you are not sure what to do simply reach out and talk to someone. If you click on any member’s picture it will take you to their page. Read what they have said already. Most members have a separate blog, while some people are using the blog feature on the Ning itself. Listen to their music, read their words, and introduce yourself. You can send people messages or leave them comments on their page.

We are trying to learn how to build a network of people you can learn from and teach at the same time, so first you must get to know each other. It would also be a great idea to work on your own page as well. Share some music or videos and write why you have chosen that music. Share some of your thoughts on life, school, and the world around you. Invite people to connect.

Once you have done made a few connections you can join one of the many discussions already happening. Simply click on the title of the discussion under the forum section and see what people are saying. The What Makes A Book Worth Reading already has 63 responses. If you don’t find something that interests you, then start your own discussion about anything you like.

It was also brought up that perhaps there are too many pages:

I almost already feel like we have too many different pages. Sometimes I think that a post was on Ning but it was on Edublog and then I spent 30 min searching the wrong site.

But trust me, I feel each page serves a purpose. We will be using many other tools soon, so let’s make sure we all feel comfortable with the ones we are using now. After you have mastered the Ning, you can begin working on some of the projects we are working on at the wiki The first is the design of a logo. Do you have any ideas? Can you draw some sketches? Then go to the wiki page and leave your thoughts here. (If you have not already done so, ask for a request to join. There is a link that will send me the request.) Once you have joined then simply click on the Edit This Page link at the top of the page and insert any text, video, or images you need. Hit save and you have edited our wiki. This logo can be hand drawn or use photographs and text. We will all have to work on it together.

You can also get involved with the latest writing project tentatively called We Are One. Simply follow this link and add your part to the story. If neither one of these wiki projects is for you, then think of another project you would like to work on and present it here. See if you can get one or two people to work on it with you. Some ideas can be: creating a video about a topic you are interested, or maybe record a pod cast, or simply write a poem or blog post with another person. Perhaps we could all take pictures or video of where we live and share them with the group.

I will present more formal “assignments” soon. In the meantime, I want to see what you guys come up with yourselves.

That should keep you busy. Please feel free to contact me again if you have any questions. I know I can get wordy, so here is a list if things to do if you don’t know where to start.

1. Meet at least three new People in the Ning.
2. Work on your Ning page
3. Join a discussion.
4. Work on Logo
5. Work on We Are One
6. Create new Project

Final note for the people involved in the book discussion, my question to you is now what? You have done an amazing job creating a dynamic and rich conversation about books, but how can we synthesize the information? Can you perhaps take what has been said and write a concise, coherent blog post about adolescence reading habits? See what you can you do. Students are always complaining that they don’t like being told what to do…well here is your chance to whatever you want. But do something!

Great job everyone. Keep up the good work!