Special Assignment Mr. McClung's World

The following Q&A explores an intensive look at the blog entitled, Mr. McClung's World. This innovative blog is the ownership of Mr. McClung, an 8th grade teacher at Woodland Jr. High located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His blog was nominated for the Best Class Blog Award in 2009 by EduBlog Awards. You can visit his blog here Mr. McClungs World

Q1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog?
A1. I have found Mr. McClung to be a very organized and structured teacher whose talents allow his students to be innovative and creative.

Q2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator.
A2. As an educator, I see Mr. McClung as energetic, and able to try new things and integrate new processes of teaching and learning. His ability to do transform the classroom into a dynamic learning environment versus a boring lecture environment is inspiring to me and blows me away.

Q3. What do Mr. McClung's rules say about him, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an inspiring teacher?
A3. Mr. McClung's rules (Stay Positive, Talk in Class, Listen) translate: I enjoy teaching and encouraging young people. In turn, students will enjoy learning in this class. These rules encourage me to bring the same kind of rules to my future classroom.

Q4. What was the first thing under Everyone Needs? Why do you suppose this is the first requirement?
A4. Day Planner. I suppose a Day Planner is essential for staying current on assignments since there is a drop of a letter grade penalty for each day a student is late on an assignment.

Q5. Note the penalties for being late (under homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment.
A5. As I stated earlier, a student in Mr. McClung's class receives one letter grade reduction for each day he is late on an assignment. The maximum days late you can be on an assignment and still receive credit is three days. As of the fourth day late, you have received an F. In contrast, Dr. Strange requires us to color code our assignments-green for on time, pink for late, red for uncompleted. Dr. Strange has given us the unique ability through a google docs spreadsheet to grade ourselves. He has stated very clearly not to give up on any assignment, it is not too late to be successful in this class. I like the fact that we keep up with our own grades. It makes me feel accountable and produces an ownership mentality of my work. It is a picture of the real world. Suppose your boss asks you for a report; he or she expects the report to be on time. If something comes up (as it often does in life), and you are unable to produce the report by the due date, your boss still expects you to finish the report. Late or not, you are still held accountable. You do not get an option to not turn in the report.

Q6. Read Carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher.
A6. Mr. McClung uses his class blog as an informative newsletter, a host of additional resources and a technology enhancer for his students and parents. I plan to use a class blog for the same reasons.

Q7. Which two useful links did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClungs list?
A7. I reviewed the USGS site because I enjoy geography and follow USGS on Twitter. I am from Little Rock, Arkansas and just moved to Alabama in October of 2010. My sister lives in Greenbrier, Arkansas where most all of the current earthquakes are originating. Arkansas is on the New Madrid Fault line and has been in the news a lot lately because of all of the recent earthquake activity they are experiencing. It is not uncommon for Greenbrier to have a 3.5 earthquake every other day or so. I am sure Mr. McClung has this information for his students to see since they are in Arkansas and he teaches social studies. In addition, I reviewed the Arkansas Runner website. One of my old neighbors started the Little Rock Marathon. It is on the website. I also lived by Three Rivers Park and had lots of running trails in my old neighborhood. I imagine Mr. McClung has this link since he is an avid runner and coaches cross country. The students could use this link to enter local marathons to help train for their sport.

Q8. Under Internet safety, I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safety using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract?
A8. Mr. McClung is wise to post his internet safety rules on his class blog. I think parents will appreciate the fact that Mr. McClung is aware of the dangers of the internet and addresses that. The rules help reassure the parents about their children's use of the internet, since maybe not all of them are familiar with the use of blogs. I would not add or take away anything away.

Q9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which your assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me.
A9. My post was on Lessons Learned, Pay Your Lunch Bill. It was a humorous, but straightforward note about how the lunch ladies will hound you for every last cent you owe in no less than one day after you charge your lunch! Moral of the story-Don't expect free lunch perks at your new school even if you are the teacher!

Q10. Is there anything that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do with Blogger?
A10. I can see where the toolbar on Mr. McClungs blog would be a very useful way to sort and incorporate a lot of material when you are a teacher. However, at this point, I do not necessarily have any use for the toolbar.

Q11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others?
A11. Mr. McClungs blog would be useful to parents in order to keep up with their students assignments, see their students work posted and to see what a technology class can do. I am sure it is very interesting to some because it is not the traditional classroom they grew up in. I believe Mr. McClungs blog is a role model for the new classroom experience. I believe teachers, administrators and students like myself are all well served to familiarize ourself with this blog as a way to incorporate it's ideas into our own classrooms and schools.

Q12. How does Mr. McClungs 8th grade blog differ from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think?
A12. I believe Mr. McClungs blog gives a better description of the total classroom experience and expectations. His blog is set up similar to a company website. It is very user friendly and has a lot of extras, insights and ways to get involved in what is going on in his classes. It is a very well rounded, one stop shop for all things McClung. I think Mr. McClung's website is different because he is very well organized and very passionate about his work.

Q13. Any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClungs World in depth?
A13. I would like to watch a video about Mr. McClung's class responding to him with the speaking and hand gestures. I am very interested in this, but I could not find the video. I read in a comment where a former student thought this was copied from the military.