Virtual 2x4

One of my "virtual 2x4" strategies is to use an image or video clip to get students' attention at the beginning of the class period.

I might give them a handout or have them write on a scrap of paper the answers to such questions as:

- What do you think this object is?
- What attributes does it have that make you guess this?
- What other terms might you use for the word "object"?

This could lead to a lesson on searching, a study of the location where this object was found, or many other things.

To kick off the annual 3-day Summer Institute, several members of the Oregon Online staff took a jet boat dinner cruise that traveled downriver from Grants Pass, Oregon into the famed Hellgate Canyon on the Rogue River. In addition to the scenery of the canyon itself, participants had an opportunity to view wildlife including bald eagles, osprey, great blue herons, Canada geese, and several varieties of ducks. There were several opportunities to get soaked when the boat was spun 360 degrees, an event not soon forgotten by a few fortunate members. Oregon Online staff are in the back two rows in the photo on the left.