IV. Implementation

Managing the Daily Routine - Back

Facilitator as Leader and Learner

If possible, please try to learn physics along with your students. This will enable you to offer them guidance and assistance. Please stay in the classroom with the students. From time to time I will discuss issues in class that are important for you to hear. Also, with so much time spent on individual group work, students may need help keeping on task. Please contact KET as soon as a question or concern arises. We are here to give you the support and information that you need.

Communication Between the Teacher and Students

You will find that the Physics Companion is interactive in its own way. I have even worked out a way to be present in a sort of virtual sense with a feature called "The Chuck Guy". But students need some of the real thing too. In a regular classroom, students attitudes tend to go through stages. As teachers, we learn to pick up on this and attempt to "make adjustments." This is especially important in the distance learning classroom. We need to encourage students to keep in touch with me. There are several ways of doing this.

Please make a phone available for students to call me or for me to call them. Also be sure to have as many of the classroom computers as possible connected to the Internet. We have our own message system that is easier to use than regular e-mail. You will be getting messages from me and I encourage you and your students to send me messages. I try my best to answer them immediately, but please be patient, particularly at the start of the school year.

When you have messages from me, a little mailbox pops up on your agenda page. The name of the person getting the message is beside the mailbox. If you click on the name, you will be asked for your password and then you can read your message. When you want to send me a message, just log in and click on "Message Center" and enter your message.

Please note that I am at my desk awaiting your calls, by phone or computer, as much as I can be. But on some days I will be taping from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and lunch is from 11 a.m. until noon, often at my desk. For some of you, this will be a conflict. Please feel free to give me a call, anytime. Hopefully you will catch me at a good time. If you give me a little advance notice, I can usually change my schedule to fit yours.

Student Motivation

Many facilitators have found that delegating some of the classroom duties to students is great for their morale, and sense of partnership in this unique learning environment. Checking and printing out the daily agenda and homework, keeping an eye on the suggested pace of the class, communicating with the teacher, making sure that the correct lecture tapes are available and cued up to the proper lecture, and learning how to use the technology are important jobs that can be delegated.

Discipline

Maintain a relaxed but controlled classroom atmosphere. Help students with their work and make sure they are focused on the task at hand. You will notice that I encourage the students to talk with one another when appropriate. I think you will also notice that this atmosphere of collaboration, and the nature of distance learning, will spawn an unusually close-knit class.

Videotapes

For some reason, humans have a lot of difficulty with videotapes. Hopefully some day we will find a breakthrough technology that lets us just look at a tape and see what's on it, how long it runs, etc. For now, making sure that you have the right lecture tape ready is probably one of your biggest challenges. This problem is often made worse by the fact that many of you have someone else doing the taping. I have seen an amazing number of cases where the tape was picked up and contained X-files or Barney or whatever. While that might be an improvement over what was supposed to be on them, it does tend to bring things to a standstill for several days.

Don't forget to "spring forward" and "fall back." by adjusting your VCR's clock when Daylight Savings Time kicks in and out.

By sending you the first chapter of lectures on tape, I am trying to help you get into a routine that will work. I would suggest a system where you tape for as long as possible on a given tape before you start to use it in class. On the first day of taping, label it with that first lecture number. On the last day of taping, label it with that lecture number. When it is transferred to the classroom, replace it in the recorder with another tape ready for the same treatment. Also, try to have someone look at the TV during the taping each day to make sure that the correct program is being taped.

If you miss a broadcast, let me know immediately so that I can rebroadcast it later. These rebroadcast days are limited, so try not to miss days if possible. If you are going to be using the program on a block schedule in the spring, you will need to keep copies of all these programs for later use. If you are using a block schedule in the fall, you will need to purchase a set of class tapes.

Video Lectures

Students should take notes during lecture. If I remove a screen of information before they have had a chance to finish note taking, they can use the "clicker" to stop the tape. Note that all these screens are available on the web site.

There will be times when students will need a clarification about something I say. If it requires immediate attention, you could let the class stop the tape and call me. Otherwise, they might just continue and see if I clear it up on the tape. If not, please have them call me later. If necessary, I will put something on the web page to clarify the matter for everyone.

Missed Lessons

If the whole class misses a lesson due to weather, a school assembly, etc., it should be no problem, as our course is designed to allow each school to be on its own schedule. Pick up where you left off and continue.

If a student misses a lesson please try to let him/her make it up. As the course is on tape and the lecture screens are on the web page, this should be manageable. Students who are equipped with VCR's and computers at home should be able to take the tape home, as well as the CD-ROM.

Testing

Tests in Physics are given "as we go" rather than at the end of chapters. Please give students the time they need to take these tests. This should probably be about 2-3 minutes per question, but it can vary.

When a student misses a test, please allow him/her to make it up as soon as possible. Although it will be the same test taken by the other students, this should not be a big issue, as each test is only a small part of the overall test grade. Please keep these tests, after students have had a chance to review them after they are graded. I reuse some of the questions from year to year.

Record Keeping and Grading - Back

Attendance

Please keep roll each day as you would in a traditional classroom. You will need this information to decide whether missed work is allowed to be made up. There is an attendance program on the web site under Facilitator Login if you'd like to use it.

You will also need to keep a record of when each lesson was covered. You could put notes on a print out of the daily agenda or "Big Picture" for this. This information can be used to decide which students have missed which work.

Grading and Recording Grades

Labs, tests, and other activities are always accompanied by a detailed description of the grading criteria. These descriptions usually look like the student copy, but with the word KEY attached to it. For example, a lab key will be a copy of the lab with suggested answers listed in the response areas provided for the students.

As this course allows each school to work according to its own calendar, the scheduling of assignments is not connected to calendar dates. Generally, students will be asked to turn in homework on the day after it is given. The specific assignments will be listed on the Physics web page, not during the broadcasts. A typical assignment might say: "Turn in WorkA03 on the day after you watch Lecture 5.5." You will probably need to translate this by saying "Since we're watching Lecture 5.5 now, WorkA03 is due tomorrow."

This system makes it imperative that you visit the web page every day. You will be able to see exactly where you are in the sequence of activities and where you're going next.

I use a lot of abbreviations in assignment lists. These correspond to the books' naming procedures. Others will surely evolve for the PC.

• PP: Practice Problems
• CR: Concept Review
• RC: Reviewing Concepts
• AC: Applying Concepts
• P: Problems
• PC: refers to the Physics Companion.

If you or another teacher would like to grade the Type A homework more closely and feel comfortable doing so, please feel free to. I am sure the students will respond positively.

Each graded activity is given a unique name such as MathA01. A form is included (in the Forms section) with this guide for recording these grades. A grading program is provided on the Physics web page under Facilitator Login for electronically recording these grades and computing totals and averages over any time interval. This is for your use in assigning grades; it also lets me see how our students are doing. The paper form also includes directions for computing grades, but please use the computerized method instead. This system allows you, the student, parents, and me to know exactly where students stand at any instant, by logging in with an appropriate pasword

The percentage assigned to each type of assignment is listed in the Student Guide. It is also built into the grading program. Please use your own discretion in dealing with late work. I feel that students should be expected to get their work in on time. A few exceptions, with warnings, should be allowed; students have lives, even though we teachers don't.

Detailed instructions for the use of the grading program are found in the Technology section of this guide and on the "Technology Resource Guide" videotape.

Three Grading Components

Tests ...................................50%
Labs and Activities ..............25%
Homework ..........................25%

Student Duties and Responsibilities - Back

This is a copy of what appears in the Student Guide. Please go over these with your students

Great care and attention to detail have been given to this course. In order to gain the maximum possible benefit from it, you as a student have certain duties and responsibilities:

1. Remember: This is not entertainment television. To learn physics, you need to observe and discuss real events and ideas. It is important that you, as the student, be involved in the discussion of what we observe. You will spend about half of your time working in small groups. Express yourself. If you don't understand something, talk about it. If you have trouble, call me. I am expecting you to have some questions.

2. If you miss class for any reason, you should ask your facilitator for a tape of the lesson you missed and find out about any assignments missed. You also should try to borrow notes from one of your fellow students. In addition, most of the visuals used during the class each day can be seen on the Physics web site. You can recreate much of what went on in class by viewing these. Just right-click on the lecture number in the agenda and choose "Open in New Window." You must have the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in installed. You can install this most easily from the Physics Companion CD-ROM.

3. You must have your textbook, writing materials, and calculator for all class meetings. Everyone must have a calculator. Sharing one is not a good idea. Get a calculator that has trigonometric functions on it. It's sure to have all the functions you need. From time to time I will make suggestions about how to use your calculator most effectively. Graphing calculators have great advantages, but they are a bit expensive. I would recommend one if you can afford it, but I won't be giving specific assignments for them. We have plenty of nice tools on our computers. When doing graphing, be sure to bring graphing paper.

4. In studying physics, you are learning to think, to analyze, and to solve problems. The only way to do this is to practice. Understanding someone else's answer is not the same as being able to find your own. For this reason, it is essential that you do all assignments. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security if the initial assignments appear simple. It is easy to get lost quickly if assignments are not completed as given. You should correct any mistakes you have made on the exercises as we go over them.

5. Your Type B homework problems are your own responsibility. They are not graded by your facilitator, but they have a due date like any other assignment. My allowing you to try again at these problems after the due date should not be confused with a lack of a due date. By having some problems that you must do on your own, we are maximizing the learning process. Putting these off until past the time when they are due will do the reverse. Beware.

1. Complete the Student Photo and Information Form and return it to your facilitator.

2. Read the Student Agreement Form in Section II of the Student Photo and Information Form carefully. You and your parent/guardian need to sign the form. Signing the agreement shows that you accept the responsibilities as outlined.

3. Gather together the materials needed for this class:
   1. Calculator with Trigonometric Functions
   2. Metric Ruler
   3. Graph Paper
   4. Pencil
   5. Notebook and Paper

Virtual Yearbook - Back

With your agreement and consent, KET will feature your Physics class on the Internet. This helps to establish a sense of community in our virtual classroom. In order to accomplish this, we will need information about you, your students, school, and community that other members of the class might find interesting.

For this feature, the facilitator and the students should consider sending print material or photos of school realia (caps, picture of mascot, T-shirts, etc.), students participating in activities, community events, local geography, etc.

Things to Do ASAP - Back

Here are some things the facilitator needs to do as soon as possible:

• Call KET for facilitator ID and password for Internet access (1-800-333-9764)
• Enter the names of students and their data on the Internet. Choose "Roster" under Facilitator Login. For help, refer to "Using the Grading Program" found under Site Information on the KET distance learning home page. Call KET for the student passwords. If you are unable to do this, please fill out the Enrollment/Attendance Form with the names of the students enrolled at your site. Send this form to me immediately.
• Visit the KET Distance Learning Web Site at www.dl.ket.org. Click on the Physics class icon and bookmark the page.
• Complete your Facilitator Photo and Information Form (See Forms.)
• Have the students fill out their Student Photo and Information Forms/Consent Agreements. Send them to KET along with your information form. (See Forms.)
• Maintain a substitute's folder providing general information about the KET classroom and schedule, the class roster, and the KET hotline numbers.
• Check the list of materials in Read Me First Section I to see whether you have everything needed for your site. If you do not, contact KET as soon as possible.
• Set up a notebook of all class activities, assignments, and exercises. This notebook is mainly for your use in dealing with students who have been absent, but I also would encourage you to post this information in your classroom for your students' reference.
• Contact Arbor Scientific to order your lab kits. See Read Me First.