January 29, 2013 - LAST CLASS 44 minutes Internet Moment:  Today we looked at PlaneFinder.net which is an online map of the world where you can see the location of every commercial airplane and it's flight path.  Excel Pie Chart Project: Students created a data table of the different elementary schools we all went to and the number of students that attended each school. Then each student created a pie chart of the data and formatted it for printing in black and white.  Click here to enlarge the project description. January 25, 2013 91 minutes History of Computer Presentations:  Students had 10 minutes to practice their presentation at the beginning of class today.  Then all slide shows were saved to a network drive so they could be displayed for the entire class on the SMARTBoard.  There was a demonstration about how to use the SMARTBoard to present and the students in the audience were shown how to access the online surveys so they could give feedback to the presenters.  Students were also advised that their presentations would be broadcast over the internet using Ustream.tv so a select group of educators in other countries could watch them present and give them some feedback. Herr. Reinhard, a teacher at Statdtischen Realschule Sundern in Germany contacted our class via skype after watching our shors to give our students some feedback about their presentations. Using Google Drive to Collaborate:  To make this slide show our students used an online Google Presentation that was set-up by their teacher in advance and then downloaded to PowerPoint for final adjustments.  Students were shown how they can easily make their own online Google Presentations (if they have a Gmail account and access to Google Drive).  Sharing presentations with others was also demonstrated.  Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today. January 23, 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.  Continue the History of Computer Slide Shows:  Students continued to work in groups of 4 to create a 7 slide show about the origins of computers.  There was also a demonstration about how to use easybib.com to create a correctly formatted works cited slide.  One person from each group also downloaded the finished Google Presentation to PowerPoint.  Next class we will move the completed shows to PowerPoint and begin the presentations.  Technology Current Event Video:  We watched a short video from the Wall Street Journal about a work space where start-up technology companies can gather together, collaborate and develop their ideas. 94 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. 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. 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 shoulder stretch.  After the stretch all students had an opportunity to take a short break and move around. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from OnguardOnline.gov about what exactly malware is and how to avoid it. January 16, 2013 91 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.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class with a CNETTV about wearable technology that was displayed at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. January 14, 2013 104 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. Continue Day at School PowerPoint:  Today students finished their shows and then we added some additional features.  Images and words were turned into hyperlinks to the internet so 6th graders could find more information on their own.  Students were also introduced to using action settings and internal hyperlinks by taking a survey that was made in PowerPoint. The computer term "infinite loop" was also introduced as part of this demonstration. Students then added a table of contents and action buttons to the shows so 6th graders could navigate through the finished shows on their own. This is known as a kiosk or self-running PowerPoint presentation set-up.  Students were also shown how to adjust the colors of their hyperlinks and action buttons.  We also inserted a video into their shows and used edit points to create a unique start button on the title slide.  Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to watch this video about highlights from the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. January 8, 2013 44 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.  We even saw Elmo in Times Square. Continue Day at School PowerPoint Presentations: Students had time to finish the 6-9 slide presentations that they started last class. Technology Current Event Video:  We watched a short video from the Wall Street Journal about telecommuters using a robot to communicate and interact with their co-workers remotely. January 8, 2013 91 minutes   Finish Gettysburg Address Project: All students had an opportunity to finish and print this project today.  Click here to read 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. 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.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  Technology Current Event Video:  At the end of class we watched a short video about job interview techniques using webcams. January 4, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment:  Students looked at a website from Microsoft today called PhotoSynth.net. They were able to view 360 degree, high resolution images, from all around the world. Finish Internet Treasure Hunt Project:  To complete this project today students inserted images, turned images into hyperlinks, laid everything out on a table, added color to the table and saved the project as a single file webpage.  We then did a gallery walk to give students time to get up and move around and an opportunity to share their work with each other.  Technology Current Event Video: We ran out of time for a video today. January 2, 2013 39 minutes* Internet Moment:  Today our students had an opportunity to view zoom.it which demonstrates how Microsoft is using some new internet technology to create very large images that you can easily pan and zoom through. As an example of a zoom.it project students checked out the NMS Mosaic Project and the Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Image Project. Internet Treasure Hunt:  We continued to work on this project today.  Students finished sharing their answers with their partners and began editing their answers individually. Technology Current Event Video:  We ran out of time for a video today. *Class time was shorter today due to an afternoon assembly December 20, 2012 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. Finished Business Letter #2:  All students finished typing this project today.  Specific skills regarding tables, merging cells, copying, pasting and using the header were demonstrated by the teacher.  All students printed and submitted their finished letters.  Internet Treasure Hunt: Students began using Word to make a simple webpage that is made up of hyperlinks to the internet. Working with a partner in the class, students found the answers to 6 questions and then shared the web addresses using either the X: drive, email or an etherpad website. Students were shown how to use primarypad.com as an example of an etherpad. This project checks for internet searching skills, inserting and editing hyperlinks and introduces web based collaboration.  Click here to enlarge the project description. December 18, 2012 104 minutes As Seen on Facebook:  We started class by reviewing the "As Seen on Facebook" slideshow in the cafeteria.  Students were reminded to check their privacy settings and to "Think before they Post".  Many of our students also use Instagram and they were reminded that Facebook, the new owner of Instagram, changed their privacy policy so they could start selling user's photos without their permission. Internet Moment:  Students were shown TodayInComputerClass.com and told that they can check here anytime to review what we did in class.  We also discussed what a web log or blog was 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.  Finish the First Business Letter Project:  Students had time to finish the project we started last class.  There was also a demonstration by the teacher about how to change line spacing, fonts and make bullet lists. Typing Test: All students took a typing test using 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:  30.1 WPM  Click here for more information about typing speeds at Newtown Middle School.  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. Office Yoga Break:  During long classes like this one students are always reminded to take breaks and get exercise. Students shouldn't spend more than 30-40 minutes in front of a computer without taking a break. For our break today we practiced a simple office yoga stretch.  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.  Click here to view the project description.  We will finish this project next class. Technology Current Event Video:  As a follow-up to our initial class discussion about posting pictures online we watched a video from the Wall Street Journal about the privacy policy changes recently made to Instagram. December 14, 2012 44 minutes Middle School Technology Use Video: Information about the Council Rock School District Acceptable Use Policy, and a quick review of the Facebook Privacy Policy. 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.  Technology Current Event Video:  Today we finished class with a short news video from NBCNews.com about a new contact lens that is being developed in Ghent, Belgium that incorporates a tiny LCD screen. December 12, 2012 91 minutes
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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 
