It's been an interesting 5 weeks.

I started out with less than 10 students in each of the three classes.  We have severe behavior issues, and they sure didn't want another study hall.  Neither did I.

Then I woke up and there were over 20 kids in each class.  ARGH.  I got smart and asked that the class be closed and I haven't had any more.

Oh, and I ended up in the principal's office over one child's behavior.

There is no way on earth I can have these kids work in groups and work independently.  They can't sit still in a chair for 5 minutes.  Some of them can't do it without hitting the person next to them. 

My first bright idea was to have them make a movie.  I think 10 of have been turned in (yeah, do the math).

I finally decided to have them do Alice and started it today.

The good news, once I kicked one kid out for 10 minutes, 2nd period was absolutely quiet.  7th period had moments of pure silence, and 8th period wasn't bad, but at one point I yelled at one group and said I was sick to death of them acting up.

Yes, some kids drifted off to the internet occasionally, I drifted them back, but we did something without driving me nuts.

First assignment -- have two characters talk about a math assignment.  I picked the husky and the wolf for my example, and made a version with some talking and some bubbles.  You can talk in Alice by recording sounds in Alice though some times it crashes.  You can also have your characters 'say' something and they come in bubbles.

The best part, if you don't do the tutorial right, it won't go forward.