As we all know, it has been a stressful and confusing 2-3 weeks as we have waited for our institutions to make decisions about how the school year will look moving forward. As promised, on Friday we got lots of information from ISD and IEA about “Phase II” of online or remote learning. That is a big help, as it is now clear that teachers can start putting up new material online for students. AP College board also on Friday finalized how testing would look this year. This is also a big help because we now know what materials will be covered on the test and how testing will take place this year.

Sorry if my communications have seemed minimal these few weeks. I’ve been updating the website weekly encouraging students to use the AP classroom resources and answering students question via email. I have been a little reluctant to put too much out there, as we waited for the district and union to come to an agreement, and for AP College board to give us a target to hit. Now that we have those things in place, you can expect a lot more communication from me as we prepare for this modified AP test.

I spent the weekend turning my dining room into a studio classroom and learning some basic video editing. Even stole the microphone from my daughter’s karaoke machine. I went to school and grabbed some whiteboards and equipment to start making lecture and demonstration videos. My plan is to put them on YouTube and link them on the website. So, start expecting those to start coming out as soon as tonight but mostly likely tomorrow. Then almost daily after that. I was also thinking it would be helpful to post videos of me doing WebAssign problems. My plans is to pick the ones that I think lend themselves to focusing on the main ideas. If you want to email me specific questions you want me to go over, I’ll start keeping a list of them and give those priority. I think it will also be useful to cover old AP problems that are similar to the style suggested in this years modified AP test.

I would love to be able to do some live streaming or video conferencing to answer your questions. Advice from my admin is to be careful of that to limit liability. Students taking over meeting, muting the teacher, posting inappropriate comments in the chat, etc. Also equity issues for students who can’t participate. I feel like a group of AP Physics students would not have most of those issues. The school does have a Teams class already set up for us to use. I just need to activate it. I’m going to do that today, just so it is an option moving forward. At least there in the Posts you all can communicate in the post or start your own meetings? Maybe? That’s all still very new to me. However, for now the best way to get your questions answered is to email me directly.

As I’m typing this up, the governor has just closed schools for the rest of the year. Which is invoking lots more feelings. I miss all of you. I miss the daily grind. I miss all the good and bad. Mostly I am sad I will not see most of you before you head off to pursue your futures, to see you walk at graduation or dance at prom. All the little things that seem to matter a lot more now.

On a practical note, the result of school closing for the rest of the year is that grades will go pass/no count. That is my understanding from the ISD message from Superintendent Thiele on Friday. So stay engage in the online process for all your classes. My main goal for the next month is to try my best to prepare for the AP test on May 11. We have some rotational stuff to get through and then reviewing as much as possible.

So stay home, stay healthy. Start checking the website more frequently. I plan to start online videos tomorrow, then almost daily after that.

Keep working through the AP Classroom Progress Checks. At this point you should be doing one unit a week. Any feedback you can give me would be great, as I dont have a student view.

Also keep working on the Unit 6 WebAssign. Feel free to email me questions.

Keep checking your email and the ISD and IHS eNews for updates as more changes are coming after spring break expect to be more engaged online with your classes.

Be sure to check the updates from College Board. Links are below, and expect a bigger update from them on Friday 4/3.

AP Central and College Board have released their plan for AP testing this year.

Read all the details carefully here.

Main points are

1. Students will be able to take the test online at home
2. Students will only take the Free Response section of the exam
3. Tests will be modified to accommodate the lost of instructional time. For us that means only units 1-5, not 6-7. As defined by AP. Or basically up until the unit on Rotation we were currently on.
4. Students will need to download the LockDown Browser to access the test and practice test materials. How to Guide
5. More details to come on April 3

I spent the weekend working on AP Classroom to push out Progress Checks for each unit, and to give you access to all the practice test they have available.

Its a little weird cause I dont have a student view. So, i cant see what you see. If you have time this week check it out and try some of the resources. I dont know what is working and what isn't until i get some feedback.

I will also be putting up all the normal Webassign assignments for you to practice on.

• Disclaimer: The activities I'm posting here are non-graded. The purpose of this is not to move on in our curriculum as much as it is to prepare students for success on the AP exam. I encourage all of you to do this if you plan on testing. For the few who may not complete this, I will not rely on this as foundational knowledge when we return to school