What ever happened?

Hello blog! It's too bad there hasn't been much action lately... We should think of ways to get more students involved and using this blog for.. uhh.. blogging.

I just had this realization. We don't have last years yearbook! It seemed like everything was set and everyone was working so hard taking part in collecting information and fun stuff. Has it just been dropped? I thought the yearbook would be such a great thing for iQ students to have.. So, I think we should take action! I don't know how... but we should.

I really hope we can form a more interactive, fun, joyful, connective atmosphere among classmates and help our school grow into a better school than it already is.

Spring Freeze

Anybody around? Only person I have seen put anything up on the blog in awhile is Henry. The Phoenix seems to have frozen up and nobody else has joined Henry's new forums or anything. If we want to keep these things up we've got to participate! Also, spring is finally here! The snow is melting everywhere. It's not even as cold now. Enjoy!

Wait, what?

May this post serve as an expression of the collective exasperation of all those perplexed by the lack of sense in their daily happenings- an ode to the bemused. A hail to those of us who don't do things that just "might" actually need to be done...

Remember the yearbook? No? Neither did I, until an email dropped in to remind me of the deadline for submissions and suggest that we, the yearbook students charged with collecting the content, get a move on.

All I can say is Aarrrggghhh. After the initial introduction, we've heard absolutely *nothing* about this, and yet it's suddenly obvious that it hasn't been dropped, and we're expected to get everything done in a timely fashion.

Maybe I'm just an exception, but who else tends to forget to do things when no one reminds them for several months? I had begun to have serious doubts about the yearbook plan still existing, so my frustration from this unexpected reminder is substantial. Guess I'd better go start interviews with all the social studies teachers...

...It's always like this, isn't it?

-H²

Presenting the iQSF

With great pleasure, I would like to officially announce the iQ Student Forums. The initial setup is completed and ready for your enjoyment. Stop on by, register, and don't forget to bookmark it! A quick note: If you don't register with your iqwisconsin address, please send an email to iqa.students@gmail.com from iqwi to validate your account.


Here are a couple of selling points for the doubters out there:


Personalization.

The appearance is customizable and flexible. You can upload your own avatar, create a signature and even request a custom member title. By default, you're placed in an appropriate iQ Student user group, but if you think of a group you'd like to establish, we'll make it happen.

Ease of use.

The Student forums are powered by the popular IPB forum system, making it easy for users to navigate, subscribe to topics, and participate efficiently. Even bookmark threads and send them via-the built in Personal Message system to your friends.

Security Without Hassle.

Instead of waiting for an admin to validate your registration, you can get a feel for the forums right off the bat as a member without unnecessary hurdles. All the same, no one will have access to the whole thing (including member lists and the calendar,) until they've been validated by an administrator. What does that mean? No worries for you.

A Blank Slate.

As difficult as it is to sustain a new forum, this experience is yours to define. Let your friends know, and dive in. Start something new.


Above all, what have you got to lose? (A whole lot of fun, that's what.)

-H²

iQ Student Forums Continuation

Since the Student Forums idea has a bit of support, I registered for the boards. The bare bones of what could one day be a bustling community of virtual students can be found here: http://z15.invisionfree.com/iQa_Students/index.php

Feel free to register/bookmark it- the address won't change, but as you will see there is much work to be done...

If anyone would like to help out in the development process, hop on over and have your say.

I'll have a post there with things to be done; in the meantime, check here for major(ish) updates.

-H2

Unified forums concept

Hi Folks,

Been a while, hasn't it? As much as I doubt many are still around to read this, I simply must get this idea out in the open... Read away, thou much-beloved visitor:

Throughout the history of the school, forums have played a significant role in the inter-socialization of iQ's students. Forums are fun, and a good one can consistently provide enjoyment to all involved. Nonetheless, efforts to establish a successful alternative forum have always been mediocre. The original Commons forums had huge participation, but the format was terrible (Every section took forever to load unless you hid half the topics.) The Phoenix's Roost, a forum I started somewhere during iQ's 3rd year, was fairly active for a while, but tapered off, in part due to a lack of extensive participation. Currently, the Place of the Phoenix has some active members, but is bound by low membership, the lameness of Phpbb, and lack of a proper skin.

I don't mean to rule out the current commons forums or PotP, but I think we can do better. I don't want to create yet another forum for the sake of having control over it, nor because I think the current ones are inadequate, but simply for the sake of getting it right. A last hurrah, so to speak. What I believe we could have is an interconnected system of iQ-related sites that, with a lot of luck and ultimately even more effort, could actually grow to a sustainable size.

What we have now, that we didn't have in the past two years of trying to get students together online, is more than 1 iQ Acadamy. The forum I propose would attempt to replicate this Blog's theme and integrate with it, but it would go a step further, by being a forum for all iQ Students. Not just WI, our small group of ambitious iQers, but students from around the country. I can get the Staff involved (I've talked with Lisa McClure about getting some communication going between the various iQ's, and she's definitely interested...) and with enough of you on board, we could make this happen.

If this gets off the ground, I would propose we use Invisionfree (which I find the most efficient and customizable forum system,) and name it simply the 'iQ Student Forum.' I can help with administration and the skinning of the forum, but something like this would require a number of dedicated students to succeed. Anyone have real interest in making this work? Would you even care to join if such a thing were created?

I mentioned an interconnected network- with this, it would be the blog and forums, but are there other methods of communication you think would be fun? What about iQ Radio, video, or a secure chat room?

Forever attempting the impossible,

-H²

Saving Our Unique Style of Learning

Dear Parents and Students,

As you know, last month, the courts announced a decision against Wisconsin Virtual School that may impact their ability to operate.  In order to ensure the continued operation of all Wisconsin virtual schools, our state legislature is going to be writing and enacting legislation that clearly defines virtual schooling in Wisconsin.

As I indicated earlier, iQ Academy Wisconsin and the District of Waukesha are continuing to work with our legislators and the DPI around these issues. 

What can you do to help? 

This Wednesday afternoon, January 16, there will be a large Capitol rally of virtual learning parents and students on Wednesday afternoon.  The rally is in conjunction with a hearing on a bill written by Representative Brett Davis (Wednesday, January 16, 1:00 pm). 

The rally and transportation is being organized by the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families. For information about the  rally, busses to get there, and more, see http://www.wivirtualschoolfamilies.org/news/newsletter.cfm?ID=722

There will also be a hearing for another bill written by Senator John Lehman on Thursday, January 17, at 10 am.

If you value the education your student is receiving, if you believe families deserve the choice of public virtual schooling, then find a way to attend the rally in Madison and contact your legislators to support legislation that defines and supports virtual public education.

Hope to see you in Madison! 
Kristine Diener
Principal
iQ Academies at Wisconsin
1-866-468-6472

Okay, I think this is totally important and my family and I are actually going down to Madison, even though it's 3+ hours away to give our support to iQ, WIVA, Monroe and other virtual schools around the state. Is anyone else going? If so, we should make plans to meet up and get some school spirit going. (My mom wants my little brother to wear a sign saying "I want to get my diploma at 15" and she's usually not like that.)

I actually contacted Ms. Diener and was able to get an extension (*shock*) for saying I would be going down there, and I'll get it while I'm there. If you're not going because of school, contact Ms. Diener, because you might get a couple more days... (I just have until Monday 8 a.m.)

If anything, just pray that this will work out, because I hate to see a ton of kids left without this alternative form of education.

A call to the Readership

What is the essence of iQ? How would you define the community, the system and/or the principles? How could the problems students and staff deal with be solved? (Falling behind, lack of communication/interest in events, connectivity between students, etc.) Most important, what should we as students focus on to make our unique school as good as it can be, for us and those to follow down the long and winding road of virtual education?

We at the Student Blog would like to hear from you! Post your comments (or email them if you'd rather,) and make yourself heard.

~ The Blog

A Helpful Hack

Many of us may find ourselves using the Dashboard built in to our Macs. It's really handy; with all this Widgets that can do some many different tasks. In fact, you may find yourself using them a lot sometimes, and its an annoyance to constantly press F8 or click the Dashboard icon in your Dock.

Wouldn't it be better to move the Widget to your desktop sometimes? Its very possible.

Now, don't be weary because its called a hack. In fact, its perfectly safe. Apple, which you should all know is the company behind our magnificent laptops, designed this handy trick for testing Widgets.

Simply type the following line exactly as it appears in the the Terminal, which you can find by using Spotlight, that blue magnifying glass in top right corner.

defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES

Then hit enter. Next the Dashboard needs to be reset, and the easiest way to do that is to log out and then back in again.

To get a Widget off the Dashboard and on to your desktop, open up Dashboard, click and hold on the Widget you want, and then get away from Dashboard. Since you're already using your mouse, you're going to have to use the keyboard shortcut, which as I said before, is F8 by default. When it disappears, the selected Widget stays with you, and you can put it back by clicking and holding it, opening Dashboard, and releasing it.

Hope his helps!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Virtually News has put out their 2nd Quarter issue! Check it out!

http://my.highschooljournalism.org/wi/waukesha/iqhigh/index.cfm?eid=10207

What Next?

First read this:

--Flatulent kangaroos could save the planet.--

Australian scientists plan to isolate, and possibly transfer to other species, the 'roos digestive bacteria, which unusually produce almost none of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

One of the primary sources of atmospheric methane is the digestive tracts of millions of cows, sheep, pigs and, um, humans. It's the byproduct of trillions of bacteria, properly called digestive flora, without which no mammal could get nutrition from starches and plant fibers.

With each belch and colonic gaseous emission, large plant-eating livestock contribute a bit more to global warming.

"Fourteen percent of [greenhouse-gas] emissions from all sources in Australia is from enteric methane from cattle and sheep," Queensland state government research scientist Athol Klieve told Agence France-Presse. "And if you look at another country such as New Zealand, which has got a much higher agricultural base, they're actually up around 50 percent."

But kangaroos, which eat plenty of plants, appear to have different digestive flora, emitting almost no methane. If those bacteria could be substituted for those of cows and sheep, it could drastically cut down on the amounts of methane pumped into the atmosphere.

source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315586,00.html
----

Wow. That's my first reaction. Second reaction: That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. For those of you who read the last issue of Virtually News, you might have read my article on Global Warming. If you didn't read it, go read it, and read the counterpoint by Alex Dunn.

Questions that come to mind regarding this research: How much methane is put into the atmosphere? How much does it contribute to the greenhouse effect compared to carbon dioxide emissions? What about all the methane the ocean gives off? Is this a natural thing that we should just leave alone???

Thinking out loud,

Em

Poll Archive: Events & Sci-Club

We asked, and you answered. Question and results below:

-----

In other news: Not exactly a historical tour or an exhibit, but it's worth mentioning that the first (finally) Madison sci-club trip is coming up next week: BioTek lab at UW.

It should be a blast. I'm sure it'll be reviewed in at least several places, but I'll try to remember to write about my experiences here afterwards.

-H²

Christmas or Winterfest?

It's finally Christmas. The time most people love. There is controversy, though about if it should be called Christmas. Should it be called Winterfest instead? I would have to say personally that it should be called Christmas. It is about the birth of Chirst. People also say that saying X-Mas instead of Christmas is taking Christ out of Christmas. Did you know that X stands for Christ in Greek? So, technically you're not taking Christ out of Christmas.

The second batch of Motivational Inspiration

Not a whole lot going on lately, in terms of the blog; I'm sure most of us are busy with the relentless onslaught of assignments. I've sure got plenty to do, and more than just schoolwork.

Needless to say, I feel it's important to make an effort to post occasionally... A little activity goes a long way, and there's nothing like a couple funny images to emphasis that point:

Latest Poll Results

In a recent poll asking which media types offered the biggest new-thing adrenaline rush, you said Movies. Only *one* poor, hapless soul didn't vote for movies...

In second, with under 50% of the total vote, came Video Games. You didn't vote for Used Car Dealerships, but then again, I really didn't anticipate anyone would.

While we're speaking of movies, Brit Lit's taking a field trip to Milwaukee and Madison to see Beowulf. We'll have a review here sometime next week on how the event turned out!

-H²

Yearbook Initiation

As Week Eleven rolls in, the Yearbook project has at last sprung into being. In an effort to provide you some insight into what the final product may be, here's an excerpt from the "Welcome to the Yearbook team" email (Sent to us by Lanette Strong, who's spearheading the operation):

...I have taken the information you sent to me and I've put together a guide line as to who will be working in each area....The Community Coordinators will be acting as "Student Captains" and each coordinator will have a list of the students in their area who are working on the year book staff... As the announcement stated, this yearbook is going to be in DVD form and will be available to all students at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. We are going to have a deadline of 12:00 midnight, Friday, May 2, 2008 for all information submitted....

Also within the introductory email was a long list of topics and students covering those topics. These include things like teacher interviews, a student map, area events, outside of school student exploitations, and the like. It's quite a long list, actually. Should be interesting to see how this all turns out. My opinion so far is actually very favorable. The organization seems well thought out and properly executed, for the time being. If properly managed, and if all the students complete their tasks proficiently, this could turn out quite nicely.


I'll post updates on developments as it progresses. For the time being, I'm quite curious as to how it is going to differ from our friends at Virtually News (who've just released their latest edition by the way,) and I've made an inquiry to that end.

Would love to hear your take on this,

-H²

Revenge of the Pencils

Well, the old WKCE testing strikes again! Poor little sophomores get their nerves all hyped up and then after it's all over, let out a huge sigh of relief. I had the pleasure of sitting in a chair at the Madison Public library for about seven hours today. After waiting for a few minutes for a group of people to clear out of the room we were going to use, (I occupied my time with straitening shelves which I have gained the habit of after volunteering at our local library. Where are those silly Madison library volunteers anyway?) I found a seat and couldn't wait to get started!! heh.... yeah. So, the wonderful teachers, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Pease, (that we are so grateful for for spending most of their day watching high schoolers take a test) went through the instructions and handed out our number 2 pencils (remember, ONLY number 2 pencils) and other helpful things including calculators and a nice little cardboard ruler. Then we were off! We had around 35 minuets to complete each "session" or test. The first three contained around three types of stories and then we had to answer a few multiple choice problems. After completing each session we would quietly show one of the teachers that we had in fact completed it. They would write down the time we had completed the session and we would then move on to the next.

After going through three sessions of reading, three sessions of mathematics (which I will confess, I don't think I represented our school to well. I hope I got at least a couple right...) and around two sessions of science, I started to get a little tired of it. This was the first booklet. While I sat there at the table, almost becoming hopeful that I would finish this wonderful booklet of questions, Mr. Wright announced that it looked like some of us were rushing through the test (not I) and that there was still another to come! That definitely made me excited. I eventually made it through the first booklet and decided to keep on going without stopping to take a lunch break. Who needs energy for this magnificent test anyways? Once again I found myself trying to make it through a couple sessions of social studies and writing. I actually almost feel confident that I did close to alright with writing. I wrote about the Age of Technology! Fun stuff... I even mentioned online learning. I think I should get an award for that! After a few more grueling hours of multiple choice questions and filling them in with my number 2 pencil, I was done! All I can say is, I'm glad this does NOT count toward our grade and that it is not our lovely school alone making us poor kids do the test. I also would like to say, those who have this wonderful experience ahead of them, try to at least think of doing your best and representing our school! And that's about it. I can't think of any other reason to be thankful for the test at the moment... Oh, I know. I won't have to use a #2 pencil to take a test again for the rest of the year!

Six Hours Later...

While some of your jaws may have droped to the floor, thinking I had worked 6 hours straight on the blog revampment, such was not the case. (This is not to say I didn't want to...)

Check it out! The tabs do what the tags do, but they look so pretty, and the extra space allows for other functionality. (Hence, RSS button as well. Maybe I'll put another button or two in there as times goes by...)

You like?

-H²

New iQb Template to undergo development

Having stumbled upon several resources for modifying Blogger templates, I find the prospect of such modifications very enticing, and will be working on enhancing our very own Student Blog in the coming weeks (potentially months.) Stay tuned for more news as I relate my experiences!

-H²

A Replacement iQ Commons Discussion Board

We all know the discussion board is broken. And it hurts your eyes to look at.

So to continue talking amongst each other in a more civil place, Hilary Siebring, a Senior at iQ, has created a replacement forum. You can get there by clicking the title of this post.

The iQ Blog is a wonderful idea and its done very well. But its not meant to be a replacement for discussion boards. When it comes to really getting in there and holding a conversation, it doesn't hold up well. Its use lies somewhere else.

To join the forum, you're going to need to sign up as you normally would, then post your username here as a comment, so it can be verified you are an iQ student. Anyone other than iQ students will not be able to see what is posted on the forums.