Before we do ANYTHING else in this class, you need to understand how you to get help when you need help. The information below will walk you through how to use our class PARKING LOT to both ASK QUESTIONS and get ANSWERS to your questions - especially for all those times when we are doing asynchronous learning activities.

As we move forward, everyone needs to understand a couple of key terms: asynchronous and synchronous. You'll be hearing those terms a lot and we need to make sure you are comfortable with the meaning of those terms and how they apply to your different learning environments this school year.

In terms of learning, a synchronous environment is when we are all doing the same thing at the same time - like when we are all together in a classroom. We are in "sync." You can ask a question and you can get an answer immediately.

In an asynchronous environment, we are "out of sync." Homework would be a traditional example of asynchronous learning. You get assignment during class, and you work on it sometime before the next class begins. If you have a question, you need to contact me. Sometime later, when I get your question, I'll respond. Depending on when you send it, when I respond to you, and when you actually see my response, you may or may not get the answer in time to help you with your assignment.

This school year, we will have both asynchronous (work you do outside of class) and synchronous (work we do together during class) assignments. Additionally, with the current state of our every changing global pandemic, it is still possible (albeit, unlikely) that at some point in the school year we may have to switch once again to remote learning. Or, more likely, at some point in the school year you (or I) could be in quarantine.

We all need to be prepared to seamlessly transition between on-campus learning and remote learning as the situation dictates.

Time is your enemy in an asynchronous environment - especially when you need help.

When we are in class, you only need to raise your hand to get your questions answered. Additionally, if someone else asks a good question, you are in the room to hear the answer.

When you are away from class, you are typically working alone. If you have a question, you will have to post your question digitally and hope that you get an answer in a timely manner. In order to keep everyone on the same page, we have two primary systems in place to help you get answers to your questions:

1. The Daily Announcements (which are posted EVERY SCHOOL DAY)

2. The Question Parking Lot (which is our class method for posting questions (and answers) when away from the classroom.

We will tackle the Daily Announcements in our next activity. Here we are going to tackle the Question Parking Lot.

The Question Parking Lot is available 24/7 for you to post any questions (or comments) you have about the class. Do NOT send your questions via email (takes too long) or Schoology (we don't use in this class).

You can post a question to the Question Parking Lot by filling out and submitting a simple Google Form. When you submit the form, your question/comment populates into a spreadsheet. There is an embedded version of that spreadsheet on the home page of this website.

Names are hidden from view on this spreadsheet so all questions/comments post anonymously (but I can still see who posts the question/comment). During each school day I will periodically review the spreadsheet in order to give brief answers to the questions/comments that have been posed. More detailed answers to those questions will be posted in each day's Daily Announcements OR we will discuss them at the beginning of the next class.

While the QPL doesn't perfectly simulate the classroom experience, it does offer these advantages over sending email requests:

1. Since the spreadsheet is publicly viewable, every student has the benefit of seeing every questions/comment that has been posted (just like you can hear all the questions of your classmates in a classroom). Plus, from a teacher standpoint, I only have to answer each question once and everyone has access to it.

2. If you notice that someone has already asked the question you were about to ask, you don't need to submit another post. You can just check the spreadsheet for the answer.

3. Since questions post anonymously, some students feel more comfortable asking certain questions here rather than in pubic during a regular class session.

You should submit any questions/comments to the Question Parking Lot Form as soon as they come up. You should interact with the Question Parking Lot Spreadsheet multiple times per day. Before you start any work, you should always check to see if any new questions (and answers) have been posted. It will save you a lot of headache in the long-run if you do.

To help you out, a link to the PARKING LOT SPREADSHEET is always on the home page of our class website. Ideally, though, you should bookmark this spreadsheet document and add it to your browser tool bar for quick and easy access.

Brief answers to questions will be posted in the Question Parking Lot Spreadsheet. When appropriate, a more detailed answer will be posted in the Daily Class Announcements - so that the question and answer can be shared with everyone.

Note: Read through all the directions in this section before you start doing any of the work.

In order to get you comfortable using the Question Parking Lot, we are going to post something right now.

When you post, keep in mind a few things:

• Obviously it should go without saying that you need to keep your comment/question school-appropriate.

• For this first interaction, you can post:

  • a question (if you have one already)

  • a comment

  • a hello message

This assignment serves three main purposes:

1. It gives you practice accessing and using the form so that you HOW to post your questions and, maybe more importantly, WHERE to find the answers to your questions.

2. It allows me to double-check that both the form and the spreadsheet are working correctly (both on your end and on my end).

3. Finally, it gives me just a brief little window into what kind of student/person you are. Make it fun . . . or, do something boring. Surprise me. It's your choice. Either way it gives me a little insight into your personality . . . so, have at it.

Complete the following four steps:

1. Post a question or comment to the Question Parking Lot Form

2. Bookmark the form in your browser so that you will have easy access to the form for the rest of the school year.

3. Review the PARKING LOT SPREADSHEET to make sure your answer posted correctly.

4. Bookmark the spreadsheet so that you have easy access to it in the future.