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November 19, 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.  We also discussed how this program will be used by students in their 7th Grade Technology Education Manufacturing Unit to develop and market a product for mass production. 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.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.6.8.M, 15.8.8.K, 15.8.8.S, 15.9.8.F)

Finish Day at School PowerPoint:  Everyone had time to make any final adjustments to their shows.  We did a final evaluation activity at the end of class today  everyone submitted their finished shows.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.M, 15.2.5.L, 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.G, 15.3.8.H, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.8.K, 15.3.8.X, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U)

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November 15, 2013
94 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. (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.3.8.U)

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.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.4.8.F)

Formal Interviewing Using Skype:  Our students practiced formal interviewing techniques by Skyping with Mrs. Zablatnik, an English language and History teacher at HLW in St. Veit, Austria.  She was also the 2013 winner of the European Language Label.  Our students asked many questions and learned about her school and school day.    We learned about Austrian food and famous Austrians such as Mozart, Wolfgang Puck and the former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Our students then had a chance to ask her some questions about her school.  We learned that in Austria education was only compulsory for 9 years and that after that many students went to a college, trade or professional training school.  Mrs. Zablatnik's school specializes in preparing students for the hotel and hospitality industry.  We were surprised to learn about the length of their school day (7:50 AM to 5:30 PM) and the length of their school year (mid-September to the beginning of July).  Mrs. Zablatnik also talked to our students about places they have traveled to in the United States and Europe.  Before the interview we talked about the differences between web chatting with friends and participating in a formal video conference.  As a group we prepared a list of things to do and not to do in a formal interview.  We also prepared our questions in advance so we could learn more about Mrs. Zablatnik and her school.  After the interview we reviewed what went well and what we could improve next time.  (PA-BCIT: 15.2.8.H, 15.3.8.K, 15.3.8.M, 15.7.8.I, 15.7.8.J)

Finish Day at School PowerPoint:  Students finished up their shows today.  They were given time to  add voice narration to at least three of their slides.  Unfortunately there were lots of technical difficulties with the sound recording process. Everyone had time to make any final adjustments to their shows.  We will do a final evaluation activity next class and then everyone will submit their finished shows.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.M, 15.2.5.L, 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.G, 15.3.8.H, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.8.K, 15.3.8.X, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U)

Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video about how to participate in an online job interview using skype.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.8.H, 15.3.8.M, 15.6.8.M, 15.4.8.A, 15.8.8.M)

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November 13, 2013
91 minutes

Internet Moment:  As a followup to our last Technology Current Event Video students had an opportunity to explore KhanAcademy.org and view some of Salamon Khan's video lectures.

Day at School PowerPoint:  We continued to add features to our PowerPoints today to make them "the greatest slideshows our students have ever made."  Today students were also shown how to remove the background from a picture and we made an interactive quiz question at the end of the slideshow.  We also set everyone's show in kiosk format so it can only be navigated by using the action buttons and hyperlinks we made.  Students also made a custom start button on the first slide using the edit points feature. All students participated in a peer evaluation activity so they could watch each other's shows and give meaningful feedback to each other. Students were shown how to insert a video into their shows.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.B, 15.2.5.J, 15.2.5.L, 15.2.8.E, 15.2.8.F, 15.8.8.K)

Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from the Wall Street Journal about Edx.org which is a collaborative project between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to bring the best of higher education to the whole world through online education. 

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November 11, 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 last 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.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.B, 15.2.5.J, 15.2.5.L, 15.2.8.E, 15.2.8.F, 15.8.8.K)

Day at School PowerPoint Shows:   After finishing the first 6 slides students were shown how to add the NMS master schedule to their show by dragging & dropping the slide from another PowerPoint.  Students were also shown how to access and use the Slide Master and how to turn words and images into hyperlinks to the internet so 6th graders could find more information on their own.  We also added action buttons and a table of contents to their shows so they would be set-up in a kiosk format.  Near the end of class students participated in a fictitious Computer Class Survey.  How the survey works was explained and the computer term "infinite loop" was also introduced as part of this demonstration.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.M, 15.2.5.L, 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.G, 15.3.8.H, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.8.K, 15.3.8.X, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U)

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 for your shoulders and back.  After the break everyone had a chance to get up and walk around.

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November 7, 2013
44 minutes

Check Grades:  Since we are at the halfway point in this class students were asked to log into the Home Access Center and check their computer class grades.  Students were also reminded that if they could not log in their parents had to go to the Newtown Middle School website and follow the directions at the bottom of the webpage to create a student account.  All students were shown how to access the directions online.

Internet Moment:  We looked at zoom.it today which is a free screen zooming service that is owned by Microsoft.  Students were then shown two other online examples of the  screen zooming technology:  The NMS Mosaic Project and the Deep Zoom image of Yosemite National Park.  Students had time to explore these websites.

Work on Day PowerPoint Shows:  All students had time to work on the slide shows. Students were shown how to use Google Images to find free images that they could even use for commercial purposes.  Searching for animated GIF images was also demonstrated.  Click here to enlarge the project description. (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.2.5.M, 15.2.5.L, 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.G, 15.3.8.H, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.8.K, 15.3.8.X, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U)

Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from Boston Dynamics that shows their most recent creation.  As part of a government funded DARPA project they created a robot called Wildcat that runs like a cat.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A, 15.5.8.J)

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November 4, 2013
91 minutes

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October 31, 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.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.4.8.A, 15.6.5.M, 15.6.8.M, 15.9.8.L)

Final Word Project:  The overall   goal of teaching Word in computer class is to make sure that when students have an idea for a project they are able to make it in word and print it so it looks just the way they imagined it.  For the final Word project students are supplied with a specifically laid out version of the Gettysburg Address and they have to make one that looks just like it.  The concept of public domain vs. copyright protected was also discussed. Everyone had time to finish this project today.  Click here to enlarge project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.B, 15.3.8.E, 15.4.5.G, 15.9.8.M)

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.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.5.D,)

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. We just started this project today before we ran out of time.  Click here to enlarge the project description.

Technology Current Event Video:  At the end of class today we watched a video from OnGuardOnline.gov.  Sharing Information:  A Day in Your Life details how much information about us and our use of technology can be collected and sold in just one average day.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.4.8.A, 15.6.5.M, 15.6.8.M, 15.9.8.L)

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October 29, 2013
44 minutes

Internet Moments:  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.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.5.8.K, 15.7.8.K, 15.9.8.M, 15.8.8.C)

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.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.5.G, 15.9.2.I)

Technology Current Event Video:  As a follow-up to today's internet moment about Google Books and copyright law we watched a news video from the BBC from 2009 about the controversy and the details of the evolution of the settlement between Google and book publishers.  This video also highlighted some of the differences between how this issue was handled in Europe as apposed to North America.  (PA-BCIT Standards:  15.4.8.A, 15.5.8.F, 15.5.8.H, 15.5.8.K, 15.8.8.C, 15.7.8.L, 15.9.8.L, 15.9.8.M)

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October 25, 2013
82 minutes*

Internet Moment:  Students explored PhotoSynth.net today which is an online service from Microsoft that allows you to "knit" digital photos together to make large 360 degree images that you can pan and zoom into.  

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October 23, 2013

91 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 skills 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/paste text.  They also used the header and printed the finished letter using one of the network printers in the room.  Click here to view the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.B)

Typing Test:  All students took a used TypingTest.com to find their typing speed today.  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:  32.1 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 7th & 8th grades in Excel.  Students were also shown the graph below so they could see how student typing speeds have been increasing over the years.   Students then 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 finish projects.