April 27, 2017 - LAST CLASS 58 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) April 25, 2017 58 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) 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 Moana Tutorial to write JavaScript.   Introduction to Scratch: As a follow-up to the Blockly Maze Tutorial the class was shown Scratch which is a free online code editor that was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Students who enjoyed using Blockly, were told that Scratch would be the next step for them to try. All students had about 10 minutes to experiment with Scratch and to view some featured student projects. Students were also encouraged to check out the Scratch Tutorial Videos page on their own and consider joining Scratch. We also watched a short video by the MIT Scratch Team about some of their latest developments.Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from Code.org about why schools should teach computer coding. April 21, 2017 44 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 the design process.  We also discussed what working in careers that involve technology might be like.  (CRETS:  4a, 4c, 6c, 6d, 7c) (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 British video about the development of graphene.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A, 15.5.8.J)  (ISTE Standard 1d) April 19, 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 week 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) Travel Video: As part of our online collaboration project we watched a short video about tourism & vacations in Capetown, South Africa. 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.  Online Collaboration Project: Each group worked on planning their travel itinerary today. Click here for the project directions and here for the project rubric.  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)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) April 17, 2017 104 minutes 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 Brett with over 11,000 points.  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. 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)Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video. April 6, 2017 30 minutes*  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 location history.  Students were also shown how to access location history on an iPhone.Full page Ad Project:  Everyone had some time to work on their project in class today.  Click here to enlarge the project description. We will finish this project next class.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.A, 15.3.8.B, 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.D, 15.4.8.G, 15.9.8.A) Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short promotional video about a a new hovering skateboard developed by HUVr Tech.  Many students identified it as a fake commercial for a non-existent technology, but it was still fun to watch. April 4, 2017 58 minutes*   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from PBS OffBook about graphic design.  March 31, 2017 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 with a video of Hans Rosling talking about the changes in statistics over the last 200 years. March 29, 2017 104 minutes   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a TED presentation by Margaret Stewart about how copyright issues are handled by YouTube.  March 27, 2017 91 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)  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". March 23, 2017 104 minutes Internet Moment: We started class today by visiting some online logo quizzes and students had some time to test their knowledge. Students were reminded that we live in a very graphical world and that they are routinely exposed to thousands of corporate logos every day.  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.  Everyone had a opportunity to share their Google Doc with another student and have it proofread before we posted the comments online.  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.  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.  Logo Design Video:  We finished this activity with a short video from PBS Digital Studios about the art of logo design. March 21, 2017 44 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.  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a conceptual video from the Corning Corporation about the possible used for their glass products in the future.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) March 17, 2017 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 now mobile phone based apps like Instagram. This website is the blog or web log 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.    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 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, 2017 0 minutes* * Class was cancelled today due to the snow day March 13, 2017 46 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) 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.   Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today. * Class time was adjusted today due to the World Languages Assembly March 9, 2017 Mr. McNulty was Absent:  Students did the following activities: Seating Assignments: All students were assigned their seats when they arrived. Log on and Explore:  All students had time to log on and explore what's on the computers. The machines in the computer lab are the only ones in the building that have Windows 10 installed on them.  Students had time to explore the start menu, Cortana and the various programs available to them at school. Internet Moment: All students went to GeoGuessr.com and spend 5 minutes playing the game at the beginning class.  Student Technology Use Survey:  All students in this class participated in the annual NMS Student Technology Use Survey.  After the survey students had an opportunity to view the results from previous years.  All results going back to 2006 can be viewed here.   Computer Class Survey: All students completed the computer class survey. The results of this survey are used to guide the instruction for the class. You can view the survey to the right.  Click to enlarge. The survey will also be used as the outline for a presentation next class. Online Typing Test: When instructed to do so all students should went to typingtest.com/ and took the one minute typing test.  Everyone had 10 minutes to get their best "ADJUSTED SPEED" We will review the average and highest speeds for the entire 7th & 8th grades next class and students will be given some strategies to improve their typing speeds. Technology Current Event Video:  There wasn't enough time for a technology current event video today. |
