The Day You've Been Waiting For!!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!  Today is the day we will print our final Resumes!  Of course, we will go over it together first so don't click the print button yet!!

Before we get into that, please take a moment and reflect on your resume writing experience.

• What do you think of your resume?  Would you consider what you are about to print out "outstanding" work?  Would you hire you based on what you see on paper?
• What did you learn from this experience and what are some things you could do in the next year that would help you "fill out" your resume and make you a more desirable candidate for future jobs?  How does taking advantage of different opportunities presented in class create more opportunities in the future?
• What is one thing you see in your resume that you could improve right now?  Is there anything in the formatting?  Spelling/Grammar? Content?  Be specific!

After completing your blog, please double and triple check your resume.  It must be:

• Well formatted as demonstrated at the beginning of class.
• Checked and double checked for spelling/grammar errors
• It must include each of the sections highlighted and be outlined in the 3 bullet system
• Must only be one page

You can print using the 2050/2055 printer.  After printing please place your resume on the back counter and sign the roster stating you have submitted the final copy of your resume.

Thank you!

It's Thursday!! 2/26

Good Morning!  Happy Thursday!!

Today we are going to continue with our resume.  For your blog post today please think about the Objective section of your resume.

• What is an objective?  (You can do a quick Google search)
• List 3 objectives that you could put on your resume
• Have one be a short term goal/objective that is easily within your reach
• Have one be a short term goal/objective that would be a stretch for you
• Have one long term goal/objective that you hope to explore as a career
• What do you think the purpose of listing the objective on your resume is and do you think it will change each time you apply for a job?

In addition to the above, I'd like to continue with the discussion of opportunities for you.  Here are a couple that you could explore right now:

Learn how to code this March - it's a 3 day course on March 14th, 15th and 28th!!

codenow.org/apply

Be a role model, earn community service credit and build your resume!

Email Mr. Rubin Today at crubin@seq.org with Questions or If You Want to Sign Up!

Transportation is provided and you can choose the dates and times that work best for you!

Want to go to Electronic Arts for a Fieldtrip on Friday March 20th?  Email Mr. Rubin at crubin@seq.org and discuss in one paragraph why you would like to join this trip.  Your response should also include whether your grades reflect your ability to miss your classes on that date.

Remember - in the past 2 months alone we have had opportunities to apply for Girls Who Code (closed now), an internship at Facebook (paid - $1,500), the opportunity to apply for a new computer, the chance to step inside a multi-million dollar business on the top floor of a business district company, the chance to tour a California State University, the chance to receive extra support after school at our Academy Homework Center, etc.  What are you doing to help yourself?  How are your grades?  What opportunities are you taking advantage of?  How are you going to ensure you are successful?  Remember - nobody is going to do that for you - you have to do that for yourself!!  I am proud of those of you taking advantage of all of these opportunities and hope you know that!!

By the end of today you should have an outstanding, perfectly done, double/triple checked resume ready to be printed!!

You've Got the Skills!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!  Today we are going to continue working with our resume - this time we are working with the skills portion.  Before we even touch on that, I need you to make a list on your blog,  Your list should include 3 skills you have.  Skills, simply stated, are the abilities that one possesses.  In other words, what are you good at?

Attempt to think of 3 different things that you are particularly good at ... some skill you have that the person right next to you might not have.  You could even do a quick internet search for skills at http://www.quintcareers.com/job_skills_values.html.  Perhaps that will help you brainstorm a few things.  

The second part of your blog will be to explain how that skill would be helpful to your future employer and/or how it would make you a more desirable person to hire!  You might be a really good BMX biker which is an awesome skill but if you are hoping to work at Jamba Juice that might not be the skill they are looking for ... get it?

After you have completed your blog post, please complete Unit 2, Lesson 2.1.  THEN ... open up your resume and keep making progress ...

By the end of today you should have your contact information updated at the top of the page, your education updated and complete, 1 example under Experience of a responsibility you have held and a minimum of 3 skills listed under the skills portion of the resume.  You can look at what is listed on the resume I shared as well but make sure you only list what is pertinent to you!

Thanks ... 

Monday 2/23

Good Morning and Happy Monday!  We are into the final week of February!!  What better way to kick off the week than a blog post and a lesson of edutyping?!?!  Before we get into my class, please take a moment for your blog this morning and address the following questions:

• Can you believe it!! Although second semester is undoubtedly longer than the 1st, grades are already posted for the 1st quarter progress period and we are less than 4 weeks from the end of the quarter!! In SchoolLoop, check all of your progress grades.
• What grades did you receive in each course? (make a list) 
• Next to the grade you received, list one thing you could have done to improve your grade in each class. If you received an A, how would you explain your success to a classmate?
• Finally, what is your current term GPA?  In addition, how are you feeling about this GPA? About school? About finishing off the 2014-15 school year strong?

Thanks for your thoughtful response.  After completing the blog today please complete Unit 2, Lesson 1.2 in Edutyping.  Now that you're done with that, the rest of the time is all about building your resume.  Remember, we began this task Friday and discussed it for the majority of the period.  Today I would like you to finish the following:

• Complete the Education part of your resume
• Add at least 1 job or responsibility you have had under the "Experience" Category.

Please remember to be short and concise.  Please also refer to the handouts in Schoology for suggestions.  We will continue with this assignment tomorrow and your final draft needs to be complete on Friday!

Thanks!!

Let's Talk About a Resume 2/20

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!  Even though it was a short week, it still always feels good to make it through the week and feel like it was a productive one!  Hopefully you are feeling really good about your progress in the class and were able to submit a lot of work yesterday!  A lot of people brought their grades up a full letter grade, maybe even more!!  If you still see that something doesn't look right with your grade, you need to talk to me - but that conversation should happen today!! Don't be shy!

Today we are going to take a moment to discuss what a resume is and the importance of having one!  While some of you are probably familiar with this,  I am going to ask that before we have this conversation you do a brief internet search and respond to the following:

1. What is a resume?
2. What is it used for?
3. What are some of the details that are listed on a resume?
4. Why would it be really beneficial for you to have a resume at this point in your life?
5. Lastly, why is it important that your resume be good looking, well organized and full of interesting information?

Thanks for your thoughtful post - also - it's been a little while!  Let's sneak in a lesson of Edutyping!  We are on Unit 2, Lesson 1.1!

Did I mention ... Happy Friday :)

2/19!! You Gotta Do It

Good Morning and Happy Thursday!  Today we have a block day!!  The theme of today's block day is JUST DO IT!!

On Tuesday we watched a great TedX talk by Andrew Williams.  We ran out of time near the end of class but I really wanted to get your opinion on the video.  What was your reaction to this video?  When you reflect back on watching the video what does it make you think about the various opportunities available to you right now and what is the importance of you taking advantage of them?

Today is a work day for you.  For my class and for your other courses!  Here's the deal:

1. You need to make sure you have completed all assignments for my class.  The good news is that some of you are smooth sailing with REALLY HIGH A's!  Others of you are a little behind!  You absolutely must turn in any missing or late assignment by the end of class today.  After today we are moving on and I will not accept them.
1. To receive credit for an assignment you must complete it and email it to me at crubin@seq.org! 
2. If you complete your edutyping through lesson 22.2 you must email me and confirm what lesson you completed.
3. The one thing I will not accept is people making up missed blog posts.  Only if it says missing will I accept your link so I can get a grade in the gradebook!
2. You need to confirm you are ROCKING your other classes!  Check Schoolloop, check your planner, check your brain - what can you be doing in your other classes to ensure you are getting the highest grade possible!!

The bottom line is I typically hear from your other teachers that the reason you are not doing well is you are missing work...the same is true for my class.  It's why I believe high school is all about building responsibility. It's also why the UC's and CSU's give you a break and don't look at your grades during your Freshman year - they give you a chance to get adjusted ... BUT YOU'RE SOPHOMORES NOW - NO EXCUSES - JUST DO IT!

Monday 2/17

Before posting your blog, please complete this link:

• http://goo.gl/28VXSW

Good Morning and Welcome back from what I hope was a nice, relaxing 4 day weekend!!  I hope you enjoyed it!  We are about to hit the toughest stretch of the school year with no breaks for the next month.  For today's blog, please respond to the following questions:

1. How was your weekend?  What did you do that was fun?  Did you do anything productive?  Did you have to work?  Was anything not fun?
2. How can you stay motivated through the end of the 3rd quarter, exactly one month from this Friday?  What would you describe to someone as the 3 keys to success in staying focused on your education?

Thanks for a quick, but thorough and thoughtful response!  Today we are going to take a moment to watch a TED talk. Ever seen one? Dr. Andrew Williams speaks at TEDx and shares a surprising revelation Steve Jobs made about the number of black engineers at Apple and his determination to make a change. As you know, just last week we were discussing opportunities that are being created right now by large corporations for women and men who are underrepresented in the field. Dr. Williams also shares his journey and the journey of the SpelBots and how they overcome obstacles in technology. It shows the importance of being creative and persistent if you want to be successful!! This is an inspirational and positively encouraging TEDx talk and I hope you enjoy it.

As you watch the video, please complete the following worksheet: http://goo.gl/HqFcNb

You can find the TED talk at http://youtu.be/Xv544iQi1GE

Tuesday 2/10

Good Morning!! It's Tuesday!!  Today your sole focus is on finishing your PowerPoint Presentation!  A reminder that you will have time to fine tune everything; add pictures, check for spelling and make it beautiful after I run through how to create your Table of Contents with links.

To maximize your time, there is NO blog post today ... I am only posting here to remind you there are two forms you MUST complete by the end of the day today:

Please complete this form: http://goo.gl/HwYQJQ (it literally takes one minute and helps us with your course schedule)

and

http://goo.gl/q6Xojg (your updated blog site so I can give you credit for your posts - remember, it should have .blogspot.com in the address!)

After that, your task for today is to finish your PPT. To be on track, today, Tuesday, you should be done gathering all of the information for your project and have 12 slides.

Happy Monday - 2/9

Good Morning! Happy Monday! It's a block day!! Today we are going to continue working on our College PowerPoint Project. This assignment is due Thursday so you will want to make sure you are making great progress each day this week!!

For today's blog I would like you to write a 5-8 sentence summary of your experience at San Francisco State on Friday.  Be sure to discuss the following:

• What did you take away/learn from the speaker and panel at the start of the tour
• What did you take away/learn from the tour of the campus
• What was your overall impression of San Francisco State?  What did you like and what did you not like?

After completing the blog, there is no edutyping today.  Please make sure you completed this form from Friday:

Please complete this form: http://goo.gl/HwYQJQ (it literally takes one minute)

and, I need you to complete this form as well

http://goo.gl/q6Xojg (your updated blog site - remember, it should have .blogspot.com in the address!)

After that, your task for today is to simply focus on your PPT. To be on track, today, Monday, you should be finishing slide 11.

Block Day - 2/5

Good Morning!  Happy Thursday!  It's a block day!!  Today we are going to continue to make progress on our College PowerPoint Project.  This is such an amazing opportunity for you to look at the many opportunities that are available to you!!  I mean, look at the picture, there are 3,899 colleges to choose from!  Could you even name 20 off the top of your head??!?!?  Seriously!!

For today's blog (and since we are going to SF State tomorrow please answer the following questions:

1. What are 3 things that would be AWESOME about going to SF State for college?!??!
2. What are 3 things you would like to know about SF State (or other State colleges) that you don't feel like you quite understand!
3. Finally, here's the million dollar question, WHY do a lot of people say it is better to go to a 4 year college than a community college straight out of High School?!??!?

Thanks for a great blog response.  Please focus on the following today:

1. Please complete this form: http://goo.gl/HwYQJQ (it should only take you a minute ... literally)
2. Finish Unit 1 of Edutyping - that means you are done with lesson 22.2 (I'm grading these next week)
3. Watch 2 quick Lynda.com videos - they're actually about 10 minutes combined but will help you as you put together a visually appealing presentation!!  These videos are: 
1. Working with Slide Layouts
2. Working with Slide Masters
4. Back to your College PowerPoint - by the end of today you should have completed slides 3 - 10. That means next Monday we will work on slide 11, Tuesday slide 12, block day final touches, table of contents and title page and Friday DONE!  Make sure you stay on track and remember that while this is an assignment, it's also an OPPORTUNITY to learn about some great options for YOU to explore after M-A!

What Can I Say ... I Like Sports!

Good Morning and Happy Monday -

Our blog today relates specifically to the "discussion" we had on Friday!  A huge thank you to any of you who have taken the initiative to help yourselves!  Today I would like you to take a look at the following quote and take a moment to analyze exactly what Michael Jordan (one of the most respected NBA players of all time and star of Space Jam) means with the following quote.

To receive ANY credit for this post you must discuss the following with a minimum of 6 sentences:

• What does the quote mean to you
• What effect does this quote have on you and your life
• What does this quote motivate you to do (if anything)

Thanks!  Lets start this week, and the month of February, on a positive note!  We will be working on the following today:

• Edutyping Lesson 22.1
• Watch Lynda.com, PowerPoint 2007 Essential Training, Using Font Schemes & Creating Your Own Themes.  Here is a link that should take you there: http://www.lynda.com/PowerPoint-tutorials/Using-font-schemes/257/25065-4.html
• Continue your work on: PowerPoint Assignment #2 - Looking at College!! By the end of the class period today you should have completed slides 4, 5, & 6 which focus on the 3 colleges you have chosen (you do not need to be done with slides 1, 2, & 3 as we discussed last week.