Infinite Campus Master Grade Login *DO NOT SHARE WITH STUDENTS!
It then links students to a Web page that reads:
Your Infinite Campus ID has been logged with AITKIN HIGH SCHOOL.
MR. PAUL KARELIS, PRINCIPAL will be contacting you shortly.
If students scroll down far enough, they are met with an April Fools’ Day image.
I don’t know if this is the most important thing I have done. After all, I have students journaling, reading a book, answering daily questions, and interacting with their classmates in a Daily Discussion that usually involves jokes or something else lighthearted. The prank isn’t all that elegant and students should quickly ferret out that it is a joke, but hopefully it will add some excitement to their day with the fear that they were caught trying to infiltrate the AHS grading system. Or at least it will get their hearts racing for a bit (Cross-curricular instruction with Health and Phy Ed)! Even if I wasn’t planning on changing any grades, I would have a hard time resisting the urge to see if the teacher really screwed up THAT badly.
As could be expected, things are different. During a normal school day with students, there are times either during lunch or prep when I shut my door simply to have a quiet moment to gather myself and prepare for the barrage of questions that can often come our way. As I sit here in an empty classroom doing this thing called Distance Learning, I would gladly welcome students and their questions into my room. I miss the energy they bring. I miss the interactions and conversations. We are trying to replicate that as much as we can using all of this technology at our disposal with some success, but it is different.
The questions now come in the form of e-mails. Students who have avoided using e-mails (it’s what OLD people use, like Facebook) are finding that it is a handy way to ask questions, get information, and send files. I spend much of my morning answering e-mails and reassuring students that I will work with them to make sure their work will get to me and will count, whether it is done digitally or in paper. Interestingly enough, our students who are native to the digita
I am one of the teachers going into school every day because I need the routine to keep grounded. I think our students feel the same way and many of them seem to relish the opportunity to do something with a purpose. I also think they appreciate the opportunity to interact with their classmates, not just their friends, that they wouldn’t normally interact with outside of a classroom setting. I can’t wait to have a Google Meet with my classes to find out how many of them got suckered in by my prank. I think my students might feel the same way. So maybe my April Fools’ Day prank is the most important thing I’ve done.
