January 30, 2013  -  LAST CLASS 104 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) we also found other websites that would independently verify that FreeRice.com was real. This activity is a good reminder to students that they have to be very skeptical of everything 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.  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. January 28, 2013 44 minutes Internet Moment:  Today we explored Google Earth and discussed how a 3 dimensional virtual environment can be used to augment human memory.  We talked about how the most popular video games that students play are so engaging because of the 3 dimensional visual imagery that is used in them.  Students were introduced to the memory palace or method of loci as an effective way to use 3 dimensional visual imagery to help you remember large amounts of information.  Students then opened Google Earth and we began a tour of the earth, the sky, Mars and the moon. The whole class followed a specific list of locations.  Finish First Aid Posters:   Google Earth Tour Quiz:  As a follow-up to our previous tour on Google Earth students were challenged to list everywhere they had gone and what they had seen on their tour of the 3 dimensional visual imagery in Google Earth. This activity helped to demonstrate the effectiveness of using 3D spatial references, such as the virtual environment of Google Earth, to augment memory.    QUIZ:  Where I went on Google Earth Today Technology Current Event Video: To wrap up this activity we watched a video about how to improve your memory using the memory palace technique. January 24, 2013 91 minutes Internet Moment: Today our students were introduced to the "joy of statistics" by viewing GapMinder.org which is a free online resource where statistics from all around the world are presented in an easy to understand visual format. We looked at the "Wealth & Health of Nations" chart. As a demonstration of how the website works we tracked the life expectancy and income changes in the USA and China over the last 200 years.  We also looked at how 8th grade math scores and changing in Japan, Singapore, Columbia and the United States.  Students then had time to explore the website on their own.  Start First Aid Posters: This is the final 8th grade project in MS Publisher. Students are to use all the skills they have learned in Publisher to create a series of three first aid Technology Current Event Video: As a follow-up to the internet moment we watched a segment of video from the BBC about GapMinder.org. In the video Hans Rosling, the creator of Gap Minder demonstrated how you can use the resource to learn about important trends in 200 years of history in just 4 minutes. January 22, 2013 104 minutes Mr. McNulty is out today:  In his absence the class will be doing the following activities. If the video doesn't work don't worry, we'll watch it next classInternet Moment: Today you will be exploring an huge online resource that every student should find useful:  Books.Google.com where you can use the search box on the left to look up books you have to read for school, magazines you might enjoy, even your own favorite stories.  Video - The Biography of Bill Gates:  The development of the computer technology we have today has involved countless innovators.  Certainly one of the most famous computer pioneers is Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.  Students will follow the journey of this American icon from college drop out to tech entrepreneur to becoming one of the richest men in history.  While watching the video all students will complete these questions online. Break:  As usual, our students are reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  After the video there will be a short break and time to get up and move around. Flyer Project:  Each student must pick an event from the list below and make a unique flyer for that event using a flyer template in MS Publisher 2010.  We'll finish and print all the First Aid Posters next class.
Technology Current Event Video:  At the end of class you can enjoy this 5 minute TED presentation by Marco Tempest about techno-magic. January 17, 2013 44 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  Finish the Full Page Ad Project:  Today all students had time to finish the project we started last class.  As they finished their work students were encouraged to print a black and white rough draft on scrap paper to review with their teacher.  Final drafts were printed in full color. 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 15, 2013 91 minutes Internet Moment:  Today we discussed what a wiki is and visited the largest wiki in the internet: Wikipedia. Students were shown how easily a wikipedia article can be edited and we discussed some of the reason it can't be used in academic work.  However, students were shown what parts of a wikipedia article they could use to help them when they are doing research for school projects.  Technology Current Event Video: We watched a short summary from of the DNewsChannel about the top 5 gadgets at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. January 11, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment: Students had an opportunity to experiment with VirtualPiano.net today. Online instruments like this give anyone an opportunity to learn to play some music.   The World Wide Web in Plain English & The History of the Internet:  To wrap up the HTML activity today we watched a short video about how the world wide web works and another video about the history of the internet: January 9, 2013 94 minutes  Finish Brochure Project:  All students had time to finish and print their brochure project in Publisher.  Duplex printing was demonstrated for the class. 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:  Today we watched a TED presentation today by Juan Enriquez.  In his presentation he considers the question of whether or not the combination of various technologies might be creating a new species of humans. January 7, 2013 91 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. Font Conference Video:  As a follow-up to our last activity (the Font Guide Project) and to start class moving on this Monday morning, we watched a short video from College Humor about a fictitious "Font Conference":  Technology Current Event Video:  As a follow-up to our previous two internet moments (zoom.it & photosynth.net) we watched a 2010 TED presentation by Blaise Aguera y Arcas about how Microsoft is combining and integrating these technologies to create "augmented reality maps". January 3, 2013 104 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.  Start Publisher Font Guide Project: After a presentation about the origins of fonts, the two main categories for fonts (serif & san serif) and the best uses for each category students proceeded to make a Font Guide in MS Publisher. The final student project should look just like the original. We also discussed the concept of WYSIWYG in graphic design on computers.  Click here to enlarge the project description. Everyone finished and printed this project in class today. Technology Current Event Video:  We watched a short video from the Corning Company that highlights what computer interfaces might look like in the future. The video depicted a collection of technologies that already existed or were under development. December 19, 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. 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.  Gallery Walk Activity:  To make sure our students routinely take  Publisher Logo Project: We started with an introduction to MS Publisher 2012 and a description of why learning basic graphic design skills is important in communicating your ideas effectively. Students then became familiar with Publisher 2010 by making a simple logo. We saved this project and will share them next class.   Click here to enlarge the project description. Technology Current Event Video:  To finish class today we watched some excerpts from a TED presentation by Vijay Kumar of the University of Pennsylvania about the work his team was doing with autonomous flying robots. December 17, 2012 104 minutes Internet Moment:  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.  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:  39.8 WPM  Click here for more information about typing speeds at Newtown Middle School.  Online Typing Activities: As a follow up to the 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.  Technology Current Event Video: Today we watched a video that was a follow-up to a TED Video shown to most 7th grade classes last year about 6th Sense Technology. In this new video the ideas of MIT Media Lab student Pranav Mistry are developed further. December 13, 2012 44 minutes Internet Moment:  Today we looked at Bing News, Yahoo.com & Google News. Students were shown how to use these popular news aggregaters to find current events, search for specific news stories, research their archives and find news videos. Finish the Basic Computer Knowledge Presentation:  Today we finished the second part of the presentation based on the student computer knowledge survey. This introductory lecture covers basic background information that every student should know about computers such as the development of desktop computers (Apple, IBM & Microsoft), internet connection options and speeds, and protecting yourself online.  We also discussed identity theft and how to avoid it.  See the video below for a summary of the entire presentation. Computers/Seats Assigned:  All students are assigned a specific computer to use during class.  This is done for attendance purposes, especially if there is a substitute teacher.  Students are also reminded of their responsibility to help maintain the computers in the lab by reporting any problems with the computer they have been assigned.  In this way everyone participates in caring for our hardware. 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. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy December 11, 2012 91 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.  Log On & Explore: All students were given time to explore the start menu and the various programs available to them at school. Pixlr.com Project: Students were shown how to use the online photo editor http://www.pixlr.com to edit a photograph. Students then shared their modified photos using various district network resources and demonstrated basic skills such as drag & drop. The best use of the H:, S: & X: drives was also explained.  Computer Class Survey: All students take acomputer class survey. The results of this survey are used to guide the instruction for the class. You can view the survey above.  Click to enlarge. We then used the survey as the outline for a presentation about basic computer knowledge. We did not finish the presentation today.  Basic Computer Knowledge Presentation:  Today we started the first part of a presentation based on the student computer knowledge survey. This introductory lecture covers basic background information that every student should know about computers such as the development of desktop computers (Apple, IBM & Microsoft), different computer operating systems, internet connection options, developing computer devices (like smart phones and tablet computers) and protecting yourself online.  Technology Current Event Video:  At then end of most computer classes we watch a current event video about an emerging technology or trend.  Today's video was inspired by a presentation that was created by a high school teacher in Colorado, Mr. Karl Fisch. Here is a link to his blog:  THE FISCHBOWL for more information. |
