Welcome to Smithville ISD's 8 Things program! To get started with the course, please review the information below.
Course Format
The course is divided into 8 learning activities or "Things." You are alotted one week to complete each Thing, and you may choose when and where to work on the activities. Each Thing should take you one to two hours to complete; however, as you begin to immerse yourself in the different activities, you may find yourself spending more time just "playing" with the various tools. You are, of course, welcome to spend as much time as you would like on each Thing, and the more time you spend with each one, the more comfortable you will become using these technologies and navigating their sites.
Each Thing consists of the following:
- A brief introduction to the tool, site, or resource being introduced (often including pictures or videos to view)
- Some "Discovery Resources," which are a list of links designed to make you more familiar with the tool or site. These may include links to other websites, blog posts, videos, documents, articles, podcasts, or slideshows. Spend some time exploring these and thinking about how they apply to you or how you can use them.
- A "Discovery Exercise," which is essentially your assignment for each Thing. Here you'll find step-by-step instructions detailing what you must do to receive credit for the course. Don't worry--once you've explored the Discovery Resources, the Exercises are fun and easy to complete!
- A "Bonus Exercise," which offers an extension of the Discovery Exercise. You don't get any additional credit for completing these, but if you're having fun with a tool or are interested in a concept, the Bonus can help you to extend your learning.
District Requirements and Registration
By completing all 8 Things in this course, you are eligible to receive district credit hours toward your 2010-2011 personalized staff development day. In order to receive credit, you must have registered for the course on the district's Eduphoria page, and you must have registered with the 8 Things Facilitator.
In order to register on Eduphoria, please click here.
To register with the 8 Things Facilitator, you must first create a Google account. You will use this account for various activities throughout the course, and it will serve as a way for the instructor to contact you and to keep track of your blog. You are not required to obtain a Gmail accout to set up your Google account; you may use an existing email address. You will need access to an email address in order to receive important emails from the Facilitator. Please choose an email address other than your school address. Once you have set up your account, please fill out this Course Registration Form and submit it.
When you have registered on Eduphoria and have submitted your Course Registration Form to the 8 Things Facilitator, you are ready to begin!
Creating a Google Account
Create an account in Google. To do this, go to http://www.google.com and click on Sign In or click here. You’ll see a login window and just below that you’ll see a link to create a new account. If you already have an account, there’s no need to create a new one, just use your existing login information and sign in.
More Information on Taking This Course
If you have more questions about how the course works, check out the FAQs page for answers to some Frequently Asked Questions.
Also, be sure to read the Tips For Success page for ideas on how to work through the course requirements.