March 7, 2017 - LAST CLASS 91 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.   Closure to Computer Class: Students were reminded that computers are constantly changing and that they have 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. Students were also reminded that this was their only required computer class here at Council Rock and that should they wish to learn more about computer technology they should look carefully at the High School Program Planning Guide for the many elective classes that incorporate computer skills. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M, 15.2.8.E) 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) March 3, 2017 44 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) Turn in Travel Itinerary Project:  All groups finished this project in class today and turned in their finished travel itineraries using Google Classroom.  Finished slide shows can be viewed here:  Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, & Group 4. Technology Current Event Video: As a followup to the Google Earth activity at the beginning of class we watched a 2010 TED Presentation by Jane McGonigal about her ideas about Online Computer Gaming and it's potential for the future. We only had time to watch the first 10 minutes of the video. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.M) March 1, 2017 91 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)  Online Collaboration Project: Each group worked on 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 using Google Classroom.  For this project our students are planning a 7 day trip to Cape Town, South Africa where they will participate in some tourism activities of their choice.  Click here for the project directions and here for the project rubric. Using Google as a currency converter was also demonstrated.  Click 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)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 sides. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a 2011 TED presentation by Eric Whitacre about his virtual choir project.  This was an example of asynchronous online collaboration.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.3.12.W, 15.6.8.M) February 27, 2017 104 minutes   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 forearm.  A sample project:  Online Collaboration Project: Today we started a group project in which students will use online collaboration tools to plan a travel itinerary. Students will work in groups of 4-5 and they will use a shared Google Slide Show to create a travel itinerary. For this project our students will be planning a 7 day trip to Cape Town, South Africa where they will participate in some tourism activities of their choice. Click here for the project directions and here for the project rubric. Using Google as a currency converter was also demonstrated and students were reminded to use the calculator on their computers to total their travel expenses. Click here to enlarge the project description. (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)Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video about tourism & vacations in Capetown, South Africa. February 23, 2017 94 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.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 calves. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from PBS OffBook about graphic design.  February 21, 2017 91 minutes Online Survey:  Our students participated in an online survey about gender and jobs. The survey was created by students at Lakeside Middle School in the U.S., Özel AtaÅŸehir AK Ortaokulu in Turkey and St. Claire, Canada as part of a Global Classroom Project. Internet Moment:  Students were shown GeoGuessr.com today and we spent about 5 minutes playing the game at the beginning class today.  The highest score in our class today was Ben with over 17,000 points.  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 short video from Freeze List about some innovations that are being worked on to enhance the video gaming experience.  New technology such as Microsoft's new HaloLens were demonstrated in the video.  Some of these technologies could also be used as new ways to interact with computers outside of gaming. February 15, 2017 104 minutes  Live Online Interview: At the beginning of class today our students had an opportunity to enter into an ongoing live interview with Mr. Pinchas Gutter who was a survivor of the Holocaust who now lives in Toronto, Canada. The interview was conducted by Mr. Sherman of LivingMaths.com in Cape Town, South Africa and there were participants from Brazil, Illinois, Hungary, Lithuania, New Jersey, Trinidad and Pennsylvania. In the interview Mr. Gutter described his experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto during the uprising as an 8 year old boy, his families relocation to Treblinka, and their deaths there. He also told us about being held in other concentration camps and his experiences as a forced laborer during World War II. We were able to ask him questions about his experiences and at the end of the interview he offered to answer any of our questions via email. This was a great opportunity to use free video conferencing technology in a learning environment. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.2.8.D, 15.2.8.Q, 15.3.8.M, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.M, 15.5.8.A, 15.5.8.D)  Internet Moment:  To start our class today Mr. McNulty demonstrated how Google and other companies use GPS data from cell phones to track the locations of individuals.  In the demonstration Mr. McNulty showed the class a detailed map prepared by Google of exactly where he and his family were in August of 2014. Using location history (now known as timeline) students could see that he was riding Dumbo the Flying Elephant at precisely 1:08 on August 10, 2014. Everyone then had a chance to open their own Google Accounts and check their timelines.  Students were also shown how to access location history on an iPhone.Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a TED presentation by Margaret Stewart about how copyright issues are handled by YouTube.  February 13, 2017 44 minutes  Finish Font Guide Project:  All students had time to finish the Publisher project that we started last class.  Everyone had a chance to print it out and turn it their finished font guide.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.2.K, 15.3.8.X)  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class with a video of Hans Rosling talking about the changes in statistics over the last 200 years. February 9, 2017 0 minutes* * No class due to the snow day February 7, 2017 81 minutes* Technology Impact Discussion:  We started class by discussing some of the impacts of technology on today's students as a follow-up to the 8th grade assembly about Respect, Responsibility and Relationships.  As part of the discussion we watched the first part of an Interview of Simon Sinek on Millenials in the Workspace to see some of the issues that technology has created in recent years.  We also discussed how we are still developing norms around new technology.   Font Presentation: In this presentation the development of the two basic font families (serif & sans serif) as well as the best uses for each was discussed. Students were also shown how they read primarily through identifying sight words and why it's so hard to spell check and grammar check your own work. 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. Font Conference Video:  As a follow-up to the Font Presentation we watched a short video from College Humor about a fictitious "Font Conference". February 3, 2017 44 minutes Internet Moment: Today we looked at two online resources for fonts. DaFont.com offers over 31,000 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)  Shared Google Slide Show about the Ryazan Region:  Our students had a chance to view a slideshow that was made by students in Russia about the Rayazan Region in Russia.  We hope to be using this slide show in a project with Mrs. Volina's English Language students sometime in the future.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from PBS Digital Studios about the art of logo design.  February 1, 2017 91 minutes  Internet Moment :  To help our students understand cultural diversity on the internet we investigated what our own accents sound like by taking the NY Times Dialect Quiz. Students then had an opportunity to compare the dialect heat maps from all the students in our class using a shared Google Doc.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.3.8.J, 15.3.8.K, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.D)Language Differences Video: As a follow-up to the dialect activity we watched a short video from The Atlantic about the various dialects in the United States.  Our students were asked to demonstrate appropriate internet communication skills and paragraph writing skills. Students were reminded to use the spelling and grammar checking features in Google Docs to help them. Our students also demonstrated using the MLA format in Google Docs as part of this project.  Everyone was also reminded that whenever they post anything online they should make an effort to make sure it will reflect positively on them. This activity gave us an opportunity to  talk about the differences and similarities between cultures and schools around the world.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.G, 15.3.8.M, 15.4.5.A, 15.4.8.B) 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 sides 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 conceptual video from Microsoft about potential uses for technology in the future.  The video was based on the original ideas of Pranav Mistry's 2009 TED presentation. January 30, 2017 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.  Unfortunately Microsoft is discontinuing Photosynth.  (PA BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M)   Assigned Seats: All students have an assigned seat/computer in the 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. Everyone should use the same computer every time they come to the lab. Students were also reminded to adjust the keyboard, mouse, chair and monitor to meet their ergonomic needs when they come to class. We then visited the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) website and searched for their recommendations concerning computer use. We also discussed employment laws in the workplace.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.2.8.I, 15.4.5.D, 15.4.2.B, 15.4.8.F) 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:  52.9 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 students were given some time to find at least 3 online typing activities (tutorials or games) that they enjoyed. They were shown how to add these typing activities to their favorites or bookmarks list so they can 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 an alternative way to type using the SwiftKey Tilt typing app on a smart phone. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) January 26, 2017 44 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.  Students were also asked to explore their own digital footprint by searching for themselves on various news sites.  (PA BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.6.5.L)  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) January 24, 2017 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 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. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.F, 15.4.5.G) Unfortunately we ran out of time to complete this project. Students 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 will also be explained. Click here to enlarge the project description.  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. Setting up Student Passwords: All students were given some suggestions to help them develop good passwords. Some suggested good password practices were: Come up with a collection of passwords to rotate through instead of just one, make a pass phrase instead of a password, mix number, letters and symbols together. Student passwords must fit the following parameters:Â
   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a TEDx presentation by Rob Brown about the importance of personal branding and it's implications online. |
