May 3, 2013 - LAST CLASS 91 minutes Student Technology Use Survey:  All students in this class participated in the annual NMS Student Technology Use Survey.  We started class today by reviewing the results from previous years.  All results going back to 2006 can be viewed here. 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) another website called the Daily Cow claimed that FreeRice.com does not donate exactly 10 grains of rice for every correct answer. We then looked at a website about the 1993 Velcro Crop Failure in California. This bogus website and others like it serve as a good reminder to students that they have 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. 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 1, 2013 94 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.  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:  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 29, 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.  We also looked at an edited version of Wikipedia that is intended to be used by students.  The Wikipedia Selection for Schools which was created by the SOS Children's Villages which is a not for profit group in the United Kingdom.   During the project our classes shared a Google Hangout so we could communicate.  Finish First Aid Posters:  After completing the online collaboration project all students had time to finish their first aid posters, print them and turn them in.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today by watching the first part of a tutorial by Anson Alexander, of ansonalex.com, about how to collaborate online using Google Drive.  Next class we will start an online collaboration project. April 25, 2013 104 minutes  Online Survey for a 5th Grade Student:  Our class participated in an online survey about environmental issues that was created by a 5th grade student at Mary Harris Intermediate School near Ft. Worth, Texas.  You can view the actual survey here.  Office Yoga Stretch:  As part of our break today we practiced a simple stretch for your spine. 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 finished class today with the second part of a video from the Corning Corporation about the possible future uses of their glass products. April 23, 2013 33 minutes* Internet Moment:  We stared class today by exploring a website from Microsoft called PhotoSynth.net which automatically makes 360 degree images from a collection of individual digital photos.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today by watching the first part of a TED presentation by Blaise Aguera y Arcas about the development and the possible uses for seadragon and photosynth technologies. *Class time was shorter today due to the PSSA testing. April 19, 2013 91 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 Inventor of the World Wide Web and HTML: As a follow-up to our work today in HTML we watched the first part of a TED presentation by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.  Students had a chance to hear him speak about why and how he developed HTML. The World Wide Web in Plain English: We watched a short video about how the world wide web works: April 17, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment: Today we explored Google Sketchup which is a great example of a free CAD program.  CAD, or computer aided design/drafting, has become very common across many fields and students should have some knowledge of what 3D designing looks and feels like on a computer. Though it is available at school, Google Sketchup is a free download that students can download at home so they can continue to learn more about this important skill on their own.  Finish the Full Page Ad Project:  Today all students had time to finish the project we started last class.  Students were also shown how to copy and past images into either MS Word or PowerPoint and use that program to remove the background in a picture.  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.  Click here to enlarge the project description. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today by watching  parts of a TED presentation by Deb Roy from the MIT Media Lab.  In this presentation he explained how he used digital video recording technology to analyse how, when and where his son learned to speak.  He then described how he and his team of researchers at MIT were using this same technology to discover how people were interacting with current news events online. April 15, 2013 44 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 and the United States.  Students then had time to explore the website on their own. Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today. April 11, 2013 92 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.  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 by watching the first part of a TED presentation by Cynthia Breazeal about the development of personal robots. *Class time was shorter today due to PSSA testing this morning. April 9, 2013 104 minutes Internet Moment:  Today we looked at two online resources for fonts.  DaFont.com offers almost 19,000 fonts that are either freeware, shareware, demo versions or public domain.  These fonts can be downloaded and installed but students were also shown how they can use the Snipping Tool to get images of the fonts they might like.   Students were also shown how they could use a website like YourFonts.com to make their own font.  Technology Current Event Video:  We watched part of a TED Presentation by John Maeda, the President of the Rhode Island School of Design.  In the video he talked about how different font choices can be used to convey meaning (4:00 to 7:20).   April 5, 2013 38 minutes* Mr. McNulty is out today:  In his absence the class will be doing the following activities. 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. Video - The Google Boys - The development of the computer technology we have today has involved countless innovators.  Students will follow the journey of this unique American company from it's inception to it's meteoric growth to today.  While watching the video all students will complete these questions online. *class time is shorter today due to the March for Babies Assembly April 3, 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.   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. All students had time to finish this project today. Font Conference Video:  As a follow-up to our last activity (the Font Guide Project) we watched a short video from College Humor about a fictitious "Font Conference": April 1, 2013 104 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. 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.  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 graphs of past speeds for NMS students.  Students were then 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.  Publisher Logo Project: We started with an introduction to MS Publisher 2012 and a  Technology Current Event Video:  To finish class today we watched a short video from the Wall Street Journal about various tablet/laptop hybrid computers that are currently available including Windows 8 machines like the HP Envy and Microsoft Surface. March 25-29, 2013 No Classes - School Closed for Spring Break March 21, 2013 94 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.  We also explored the news aggregators from Bing and Yahoo.  Students were also shown how 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 the computer lab. 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 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:  37.4 WPM  Click here for more information about typing speeds at Newtown Middle School.  We also discussed this graph:  Technology Current Event Video:  We watched a short video about some recent internet landmarks.  Twitter is 7 years old and Youtube is getting 1 billion visits a day. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy March 19, 2013 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.  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.
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.  We will finish this presentation next class. 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. |
