May 6, 2013 - LAST CLASS 44 minutes Internet Moment: Students had a chance to explore FreeRice.com today. This website, created by John Breen who also created Poverty.com, gives students and others a chance to practice their vocabulary skills while helping to support the United Nations World Food Programme.  After having time to use the site students were asked to prove whether or not this website was bogus or real. After doing some research we learned that though it is a legitimate website (according to snopes.com).  Students are always reminded to be very skeptical of what they find online and to always independently verify the facts themselves. Make-up Time: Since this is our last class all students have time to make up any work they may have missed. All projects were handed back and students could submit anything they missed or re-submit a project that they hadn't finished for full credit. Technology Survey for 3rd Grade Students:  Mr. Karnoscak's 3rd grade class will be participating in TECH 2013 at the Illinois State Building in Springfield on May 7th.  Before they went they wanted to collect some data from students around the world about how they use technology.  You can view the online survey they made here.  After our students  completed the survey we discussed some of their answers. Closure to Computer Class: Students were reminded that computers are constantly changing and that they had to learn to adjust to new programs, new hardware and new ways of using technology all the time. We are all constantly learning to adapt to new technology.  May 2, 2013 91 minutes Student Presentations: After some time to prepare and practice each group presented their slide shows to the class.  We also broadcast the presentations to several other teachers elsewhere in the world using ustream.tv.  We were fortunate that Mr. Karnoscak's 3rd grade class at Willowbrook Elementary School in Illinois was able to watch our presentations.  During the presentations all students in the audience completed an online survey to give the presenters immediate feedback about their performance.  Feedback appeared as bar charts at the bottom of this webpage.  In the images below you can see a screen shot of some of the groups as they presented online.  Unfortunately we have very poor quality video for this class.  Notice the difference that high contrast and a large font makes for an online audience.  Review of Peer Feedback:  After we completed the presentations we reviewed the peer feedback as a class and talked about ways they could make their next presentation even better. Student Technology Use Survey:  All students participated in the annual NMS Student Technology Use Survey.  We then reviewed results from previous years.  All results going back to 2006 can be viewed here. Technology Current Event Video:  At the end of class we watched a short video from the Today Show about Google Glass. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy April 30, 2013 104 minutes  Technology Current Event Video:  In preparation for our PowerPoint presentations next class we watched part of Don McMillan's famous presentation: Life after Death by PowerPoint. April 26, 2013 87 minutes* Internet Moment: Today we explored Bing Maps and Google Maps. We started by finding our school on the map and experimenting with getting directions. Next we headed to Las Vegas, NV to check the street views and 3D views of the city. We then used the 3D directions to see what a trip to Zion National Park in Utah would look like.  We also visited Singapore and looked at street views there as well as the 3D building views in Google Earth.  Finally, students had some time to explore the world on their own. Evaluate and Turn in Day at School Slideshows:  Students had one more opportunity to finish adding narration to their shows.  We then did a final peer evaluation activity and then turned in their slideshows using the school network today. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from the NBC Nightly News about the use of video games to detect vision problems in children. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy *Class time was shorter today due to report card distribution. April 24, 2013 91 minutes   Office Yoga Stretch:  As part of our break today we practiced a simple shoulder stretch.  After the stretch everyone had a chance to get up and move around.  Students are always reminded to limit their screen time and take breaks and get some exercise every 30-40 minutes. Technology Current Event Video:  We watched a short video about some new 3D transparent flat panel TVs that were displayed at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. April 22, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment: Today students were introduced to the idea of online education by exploring the Open Course Ware that is available from the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. Students were shown a presentation about college that included vocabulary terms such as major, syllabus, and different higher education degrees (associates, bachelors, masters and doctorate). We then went to ocw.mit.edu and students selected a program to explore from the courses by department. As an example of a college level lecture we visited Physics I: Classical Mechanics by Professor Walter Lewin. We tried a sample exam and watched part of Lecture 11: Work, Energy, and Gravitation. You can view the segment of the lecture that we watched in the video above. Each student then had some time to explore the website on their own and they were encouraged to check it out at home also. Office Yoga Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time in front of computers and to take breaks every 30-40 minutes. Today we practiced a simple yoga stretch for the back and spine. After the stretch all students had an opportunity to take a short break and move around. Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today. April 18, 2013 44 minutes Internet Moment:  As an example of how to use the the internet to learn independently we went to DrCalculator.com to learn about some basic money concepts and vocabulary. Students experimented with the compounding calculator to learn about interest rates and did an activity to see how much money they could save up for their graduation. We also attempted to experiment with the Loan Calculator but it wasn't working.  Finally we used the Cost of Living Calculator to experiment with the  effects of inflation over time by comparing the current cost of a school lunch to what their parents and grandparents might have paid. Students were then given some time to explore other calculators on their own. Day at School PowerPoint:  We continued to add additional features such as animated gifs to make this the "greatest PowerPoint" our students have ever made.   Images and words were turned into hyperlinks to the internet so 6th graders could find more information on their own.   Click here to enlarge the project description.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video about the use of a robotic pharmacist at a hospital in the Netherlands. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy April 16, 2013 0 minutes* * Class was cancelled today due to PSSA Testing April 12, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment:  Students explored Google Books as a resource for free ebooks and they were shown how to search the text of a book. The legal controversy surrounding the Google Books Project and copyright laws as well as the settlement to date was also discussed. Downloading ebooks from Google Books to various devices such as ebook readers, tablets, computers and smart phones was also discussed.  Students were also shown what a book scanner looks like. PowerPoint Introduction: Almost all students identified that they had suffered through some bad PowerPoint presentations in the past. As a catharsis activity we made a list of all the bad & ugly things our students have seen in PowerPoint. We then prepared a short list of good things to do in PowerPoint. View a sample T-chart here. A Day At School PowerPoint Presentation: Students started a 6-9 slide show about a topic that they are all experts at, being 7th graders at Newtown Middle School. These shows are made for 6th graders who will be transitioning to our school next September.  Students were shown how to access the background templates in MS PowerPoint 2010, how to find backgrounds at office.com and how to find additional backgrounds on the internet.   As part of this project students were also shown how to use Google Images to find free images that they could even use for commercial purposes.  After making the first 6 slides students were shown how to add the NMS master schedule to their showing by dragging & dropping the slide from another PowerPoint.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  Office Yoga Stretch:  For our break today we practiced a Flexible Shoulder Stretch Exercise and then everyone had an opportunity to get up and move around.  Students are always reminded to take breaks and avoid spending too much time in front of a computer. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from TechnoBuffalo.com about the gadgets and technology shown by Samsung at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January. April 10, 2013 64 minutes* Internet Moment: Our students watched a presentation about how VOIP and webcams are combined to make video chatting possible. Streaming video from the internet was demonstrated and we watched live video from Cocoa Beach in Florida. The increased use of security cameras was discussed and we also discussed privacy rights and exactly where people should not be video recorded. We also visited EarthCam.com to view some online webcams from all around the world. Description of How the Internet Works: The example of phone conversations using VOIP was used to describe the differences between the old dedicated line communication system (circuit switching) and the internet system (packet switches) that has replaced it.  The development of an emergency communication system within the United States (ARPANET) to today's worldwide internet network was also described.  We also discussed how webcams work by sending 30 pictures per second through the internet.  Finish Final Word Project:  All students had time to finish, print out and turn in  the Gettysburg Address project that we started last class.  Click here to enlarge project description. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with an interview by Dave Malkoff from KTLA Channel 5 News in Los Angeles, California about the birth of the internet in 1969.  In the interview internet pioneer Leonard Kleinrock talks about how the internet was first created. *Class time was shorter today due to PSSA testing this morning. April 8, 2013 91 minutes Internet Moment:  Students were shown Weather.gov (the National Weather Service) as an example of a huge online database that's full of real-time and archived information. We checked our local weather and spent a few minutes checking the satellite images and Doppler radar for the whole United States. Students were also shown how to access the hourly weather graphs for our area to get precipitation predictions. Finish Internet Treasure Hunt Project:  All students had time to finish the Treasure Hunt project that we had started last class.  Students added images and hyperlinks to their project and saved it as a single fine webpage.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  Word Logo Project: To get more familiar with the drawing and graphics tools in Word students were asked to create a unique logo as if they were starting their own business. A slideshow of corporate, athletic and national logos was presented to help students understand what a logo was and what visual  communication and graphic arts is all about.  Students shared their completed logos with the class in a gallery walk activity.  Click here to view the project description. Final Word Project: The overall   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a promotional video from the Corning Corporation about some of the uses for their products that they anticipate in the future. April 4, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment: In continuing with the theme of protecting yourself online students were shown the website OnGuardOnline.gov and given an opportunity to try some of the games in the Video & Media section. Some of the games were:  Phishing Scams,Invasion of the Wireless Hackers, Cyber Criminal & Invest Quest. Finish Business Letter Project:  All students had time to finish and print their second business letter project today.  Click here to view the project description.  Office Yoga Break: Students are always reminded to not spend too much time in front of computers and to take breaks every 30-40 minutes. Today we practiced a simple yoga stretch that helps prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.  Before the stretch the causes and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome were explained to the class.  After the stretch all students had an opportunity to take a short break and move around. Technology Current Event Video:  To finish class today we watched a short videos from OnguardOnline.gov/media about the dangers of using public WiFi networks and how to protect yourself when you are online. April 2, 2013 44 minutes Class Blog:  Students were shown TodayInComputerClass.com and told that they can check here anytime to review what work was done in class.  We also discussed what a web log or blog was, how blogs developed into microblogs like Twitter and how this website is a blog for our class.  Students were also told that their parents will be sent an email with a link to this website so they can also review what we are doing in computer class each day.  Business Letter #2: Students practiced professional communication and typing by making a second block format business letter. To make this letter students have to copy text from Business Letter #1.  They have to set-up a table, merge cells and copy and paste text. They will also be using the header and printing their letters using one of the network printers in the room.  We will finish and print this project next class.  Click here to view the project description.  Technology Current Event Video:  Today we finished class with a video from a TED Conference. The concept of TED (Technology Entertainment Design) was introduced to the class and the background of the presenter, Pattie Maes (an instructor at the MIT Media Lab), was also discussed. March 25-29, 2013 No classes, school closed for Spring Break. March 22, 2013 91 minutes  Internet Moment:  Google News - Students were shown how to use this popular news aggregator to find current event stories and how to search the news for topics that interest them or might be required for another subject area.  Students were also shown hoe to access the Google News Archives and we did a search to find out about a major snow storm in 1964 that resulted in 250 students being snowed in at our school overnight.  Assigned Seats: All students have an assigned seat/computer in computer class. Students have a responsibility to report any problems with the machine they have been assigned. In this way we all participate in maintaining our school computers. Typing Test: All students took a typing test using http://www.typingtest.com. Each student had 10 minutes to take the 1 minute test multiple times. Their best adjusted speed was recorded and graphed in an Excel spreadsheet. The average typing speed for this class was:  34.8 WPM  Click here for more information about typing speeds at Newtown Middle School.  We also discussed this graph: Online Typing Activities: As a follow up to yesterday's typing test we looked at the typing speeds for the whole 8th grade in Excel and looked at a bell curve of the speeds. students were given some time to find at least 3 online typing activities (tutorials or games) that they enjoyed. They were to then add these typing activities to their favorites or bookmarks list so they could go back and practice their typing skills in class when they finished their projects. March 20, 2013 104 minutes Introduction to Basic Computer Skills Class: Basic rules and classroom procedures were explained. Students were specifically reminded that because technology is constantly changing they should get into the habit of helping each other out and demonstrating the ability to learn new computer skills through experimentation. All students reported that they had helped an adult with computer skills but they also need to get used to helping each other.  An overview of the 7th grade computer class curriculum was also explained.  Log On & Explore: All students were given time to explore the start menu and the various programs available to them at school. MS Paint Project: Students were shown how to open and use MS paint to make a simple drawing. Students then shared their drawings using various district network resources and basic skills such as saving to a network drive and using drag & drop. The best use of the H: & X: drives was also explained and students were reminded to never leave the only copy of an important file in the X: drive as it may be deleted by anyone at anytime. Computer Class Survey: All students take a computer class survey. The results of this survey are used to guide the instruction for the class. You can view the survey to the right.  Click to enlarge. We then used the survey as the outline for the following presentation. Introduction to Computer Class Presentation: Technology Current Event:  Most classes end with a current event video. Today's video was inspired by an original presentation created by a high school teacher in Colorado, Karl Fisch. Here is a link to his blog:  THE FISCHBOWL for more information. |
