April 27, 2016 - LAST CLASS 97 minutes*
Make-up Time & Checking Grades: Since this is our last full class all students had 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. All students were asked to log into the HAC and check their grades for this class. The few students who could not log in to check their grades were reminded, one more time, that they have to talk to their parents about getting their email address registered in the system.  FIRST AID PROJECT DIRECTIONS: Technology Current Event Video: For our last current event this year we watched a TED Presentation by Gary Kovacs, the CEO of Mozilla, about how internet users are tracked. He demonstrated how many companies were following him and his daughter when they were online during a typical day. During the presentation he demonstrated how a free download for Firefox called Collusion (now called Lightbeam) can be used to find out who is tracking you online. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.5.8.J, 15.9.8.L, 15.9.8.M) * Class time was longer today due to the half day schedule April 25, 2016 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.  Finish Online Collaboration Project: Each group of students finished planning their travel itinerary today. Click here for the project directions and here for the project rubric.  Once finished all groups turned in their finished slide shows.  Click here to enlarge the project description. Click here for the project directions and here for the project rubric. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.M, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U, 15.3.12.W, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.D)(ISTE Standards: 1c, 2a, 2b, 2d, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4a, 4b, 4c, 6a, 6b, 6d) Log on and Check Grades: All students were asked to log into the Home Access Center and check their grades. Since January 1st, 2015 all HAC accounts have been updated so that students can accessed their grades using their regular district log in and password. All students should be able to log in and check their grades routinely. Students were also reminded to check out the free eSchoolPLUS Family app that's available from Google Play and the iTunes Store. Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a trip to the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV to see some of the new technology that was on display. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) April 21, 2016 90 minutes* 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 last class. 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 (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.M)  Office Yoga Break: For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room and review each other's work. Then, before getting back to work, we practiced a simple yoga stretch for your neck.   Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a short video that highlights some of the features that are available to our students in Google Drive. April 19, 2016 30 minutes* Internet Moment: Today we explored Google Earth and discussed how a three dimensional virtual environment can be used to augment human memory. We started by discussing what spatial memory is and how it is used to make modern video games so engaging. Students were then introduced to the memory palace or method of loci as an effective way to use 3 dimensional visual imagery to help a person remember large amounts of information. We then went to Google Earth and began a tour of the earth, the sky, Mars and the moon. The whole class followed a specific list of locations. Next class all students will take a quiz to see how much of the Google Earth tour they can recall. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.M) Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a short video about using the memory palace technique. April 15, 2016 63 minutes*   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from How Stuff Works about Tim Berners-Lee and the invention of the World Wide Web. * Class time was shorter today due to the PSSA testing schedule April 13, 2016 91 minutes*  Hour of Code: Today our class participated in the Hour of Code. We started by viewing the source code for this webpage. Students were told that this code, a mixture of HTML and JavaScript, was the list of specific instructions that tell your web browser how to display the webpage. We then watched the tutorial video below to introduce the online coding activity. Students then went to the online Blockly Star Wars Tutorial to write JavaScript. Scratch Games: Students had some time to explore some games that Richboro Middle School Computer Class students had created using Scratch from MIT: Tennis, Maze Flapper, Supernatural Game, Cat Jump & Bird-Catching Basket-Cat.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from WSJ Video about using free resources such as KhanAcademy.org to learn how to code. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.2.8.B, 15.2.8.C, 15.2.8.D, 15.2.8.E, 15.2.8.Q) April 11, 2016 30 minutes* Internet Moment: Today we explored NewsMap.jp which is a graphical interpretation of the top news stories on Google News. It was created by Marcos Weskamp, a self described software architect. He was also part of the team that founded Flipboard which seeks to bring the design experience of magazines to web and tablet technology. As part of this activity we discussed the important relationship between internet technology and design. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.2.8.B, 15.2.8.C, 15.2.8.D, 15.2.8.E)  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video about copyright and fair use rules.  * Class time was shorter today due to a scheduled fire drill April 7, 2016 91 minutes  Office Yoga Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  Breaks should be taken at least every 30-40 minutes.  For our break today we practiced a simple yoga stretch for your back and then everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some. Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a logo design video from Przemyslaw Jakub Wolosaczonek, a graphic designer in London, England. April 5, 2016 104 minutes   The Code TV Show:  After participating in the video conference with Prof. du Sautoy we watched a short clip from his BBC television series The Code about the mathematics of probability in the game Rock, Paper, Scissors which was filmed in Philadelphia.  Finish Font Guide: Students had time to finish the project we started last class. Everyone printed the completed project.(PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.2.K, 15.3.8.X) Office Yoga Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today we practiced a simple yoga stretch for your ankles and then everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some. 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 he became a graphic designer and how he used technology. He also did a presentation about content & form that demonstrated the use of different fonts to convey meaning. Students were encouraged to watched the rest of the video on their own. (PA BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A, 15.8.8.K, 15.9.8.A) April 1, 2016 44 minutes Internet Moment: Today we looked at two online resources for fonts. DaFont.com offers over 29,000 fonts that are either freeware, shareware, demo versions or in the 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 make their own font using a website like YourFonts.com. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.6.5.M, 15.4.5.A)  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today by talking about future careers in technology.  With the increasing use of internet search engines there will be a continuous need for skilled Autocompleters. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.2.8.B, 15.2.8.D, 15.2.8.E, 15.2.8.Q) March 30, 2016 91 minutes Internet Moment: Students explored PhotoSynth.net today which is an online service from Microsoft that used their Silverlight technology. It allows you to "knit" digital photos together to make large 360 degree images that you can pan and zoom into. We also looked at examples of 360 degree streaming video on Youtube like this one of surfing in Tahiti.  (PA BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M)  Favorite Links Project: Students started this project today. Each student used Word Online to make a list of six favorite websites. They then turned the names of the websites into hyperlinks.  They hyperlinks were then laid out on a table and we talked about using and formatting tables.  We also discussed appropriate websites for school.  Everyone had time to finish and turn in this project today using a shared Word Online document.  Click here to enlarge the project description. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.4.5.G) 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. As part of our break today we practiced a simple office yoga stretch for your thigh.  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a short video from The Verge about the development of Google Cardboard for virtual reality in education. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) March 28, 2016 104 minutes Mr. McNulty is absent today.  Students will be doing the following activities: Internet Moment:  All students should go to http://geoguessr.com/ and try this online geography game that uses Google Street View pictures.  Students will have 5-10 minutes to get the highest score possible. MLA Format Quiz:  As a follow-up to the MLA Paragraph project all students will be taking an online quiz about the MLA Format.  Click here to take the quiz.  (PA BCIT Standard:  15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.B) Flyer Project:  Each student must pick an event from the list below and make a unique flyer for that event using a built in Flyer template in MS Publisher.  Refer to the image below to find the flyer templates.  Refer to these directions for additional assistance. 
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. 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. Technology Current Event Video: At the end of class students should watch this 4 minute long video of a professional designer using Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create a concert poster. March 17, 2016 94 minutes Internet Moment: Students were asked to compare three popular news aggregator websites: Google News, Bing News and Yahoo. We looked at their home pages, their features and their overall appearance. Though the results were split, a plurality of our students said they preferred Google News when looking for current events online. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.6.5.L)   Using OneDrive in Office 365: Students started organizing their OneDrive by creating folders for all their subjects.  They were also shown how to upload and download files from their OneDrive.  (PA-BCIT Standards 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.A, 15.4.8.D, 15.4.8.F) Office 365 Mobile Apps: Students were reminded that they could download mobile versions of the Microsoft Office 365 Apps for their phones and tablet 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:  44.1 WPM. Click here for more information about typing speeds at Newtown Middle School. We also reviewed the graph below:   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. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video about email etiquette tips for college students from Dr. Tracy Brown at California State University in San Marcos.  (PA-BCIT Standards 15.3.8.E, 15.3.8.M, 15.3.8.O, 15.3.8.Q, 15.3.8.R, 15.3.8.S, 15.3.8.U, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.D, 15.3.8.M, 15.4.8.F) March 15, 2016 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 were reminded that it's important to also get used to helping each other.  Pixlr.com Project: Students were shown how to use the online photo editor pixlr.com to edit a photograph. We also discussed professional digital photo editing with Adobe PhotoShop.  All students had time to create a unique image and we used various network resources to share their modifies photos. Basic skills such as drag & drop were demonstrated and the best use of the H:, S: & X: drives was also explained.  (PA BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.F, 15.4.5.G)  Break: Students are always reminded to not spend too much time working on computers and to take breaks every 30-40 minutes. For our break today we conducted a probability experiment about matching birthdays.  You can read about it here.  Everyone was asked to get up and find the other person in the room who shares their birthday.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from cNet about the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A)  |
