firstclasswstudents

=First Class(r) with Students= toc

Premise of Safety
First Class is a secure communication system that has features built in that by default protect students.
 * Only students and teachers can access content within conferences(although, permissions can be set to allow internet access if they know the specific URL)
 * Only students and teachers can view resumes within First Class
 * Search Engines do not by default index pages within First Class(however, they can index them if there are links on external pages in)

Inquiry
First Class was designed as a communication tool. Inquiry is about communication too. Textbooks are not the only sources of information to inquire from. Students can use First Class to inquire to each other or to communicate with experts in the classroom, school, community or the world. A starting point for student inquiry can be sharing questions within a conference. Students can learn from others the types of questions being asked and possibly find 'birds of a feather' in inquiry (if projects of choice or other classrooms / schools are involved.)

Creating
To communicate requires something be created to communicate. Students as digital authors has many benefits. Creating their work digitally allows for freer editing. In a Surrey school, teachers commented that students were sometimes doing seven drafts of their work.

Communicating
Communicating with First Class is easy to do since it was designed with this purpose. The communication tools built in include Resumes, Email, Conferencing, Calendaring, Voice Recording, Web Publishing, Contacts and Bookmarks. The tools are provided, we just need to be creative in integrating their use.

One of my favourite integration aspects is using voice. Voice can be used
 * To send email to parents that do not read English very well
 * To record students reading ability at various times. A primary student could read a passage in September, October, and November. These recordings are stored in First Class and can be shared with other staff, or parents.
 * To record class activities such as songs. A Kindergarten class might record their morning songs for parents to learn and sing with their children. With a little bit of setting permissions on a conference, these recordings are made available on a website. An intermediate class learning another language could record themselves singing the new song and listen / practice at home. Weekly **Dictée** or Spelling Lists could be shared through voice recordings. The list is endless for possibilities.

Blogging and Podcasting concepts have been available in First Class for years. The company has recently tweaked what they could already do and make it look like the current styles of Blogging and Podcasting. (See below for details on accessing these features.)

Critical Thinking
Assessing web resources is one aspect of critical thinking; however, First Class can be a vehicle for students to investigate theirs and classmates thinking as well. A personal experience of mine is with two grade seven students doing an online Literature Circle. The first was a top student and articulately wrote their opinion of part of the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The second student was one who did not speak out in class and rarely made positive contributions. In this case, he very articulately challenged the thinking of the other student.

I love this example as it brought a low contributing student into a class activity and allowed the student to have the time to process the ideas, and present them in a way I did not even know was possible for this student.

Blogging and Podcasting
One of the features built into FirstClass 8.3 is basic blogging and podcasting.

To find these options, you must be running version 8.3 of the client and at least 8.3 of the server.

Go into WebPublishing and select New WebPage instead of New Document Special - HCK 3 Page.

Now you have the option to choose what type pf page you want including a blog or podcast. You are also able to link to these pages like you would with any other webpage.

With Version 8.3 these are basic tools but they provide the tools built in within FirstClass. You maintain your safe and secure environment while exploring writing and producing for an audience through new technologies.

Documents
Email • Asking questions of teacher or students • Communicating with parents or outside experts • Sending voice messages ** see below • Sharing learning with their peers directly or by sending to a conference • Peer-editing by sending email back and forth Documents • Word Processing (including formatting, tables, spelling) • Logs or Journal entries Stationery • Teachers can create template emails for students to complete. Could be questions for an assignment that are automatically sent to a shared conference Presentations • Similar to Powerpoint but with less features Resume • Student resumes are a location to identify students and provide opportunity to express their individuality. Upload / download • Images or documents can be transferred between home and school Use of Voice in FirstClass® • Create a new mail message then use the Edit > Insert > Insert Voice option • Students can record themselves reading every month to self assess improvement over time • Groups of students can record radio drama type presentations to share • Teachers can send home class recordings of songs or language activities to practice at home. • Students can use the voice recording to share reflections on their writing or learning without being hindered by typing ability. • Conferencing Conferences are special use storage containers. You control what is stored in them. If you create a new message using the new button in the conference, messages are automatically addressed to the conference. This is a good way to organize students sharing by subject or groups • Some teachers do online literature circles this way Conferences can be set up to share between different grades and schools • Folders Students can create folders in their mailbox to keep themselves organized. • Calendars Students can organize themselves by planning for upcoming assignments Teachers can create class calendars to keep students informed of upcoming events. • Bookmarks Students or teachers can bookmark internet sites. These bookmarks are available anytime they are logged into FirstClass® • Web design Students and teachers can create websites to share learning. • Many teachers maintain a class website with general information, classroom policies and a homework page • Chat – voice and text This is not enabled by default for students. You can request either unmoderated chat access or chatroom style access where you can open and close the room at your discretion Chat can be used for home support, literature discussions, group tutorial etc • Coming Soon Blogging • Students will be able to post and respond to each others journals in a blog format PodCasting • Students will be able to record and post audio podcasts Shared Documents • Students can work together on documents for group projects.