January 29, 2018 - LAST CLASS 104 minutes
Website Demonstration:  Students were shown how updates are made to websites.  The use of Google Sites to quickly edit a webpage was demonstrated. Using a web hosting service to update a website was also demonstrated. Editing website online by accessing a remote web server was also demonstrated. 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. 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 deltoid muscles. 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) January 25, 2018 22 minutes*  Technology Current Event Video:  We ran out of time for a video today. * Class time was shorter today due to the half day schedule January 23, 2018 91 minutes   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.January 19, 2018 104 minutes Video Conference:  For our internet moment today we visited orientation night for 4th graders and their parents at the Stadtischen Realschule Sundern (a middle school in Germany) using a Google Hangout.  We could see the presentations that Mr. Marx was making to the groups and they could see our class.  We searched for their school on Google Maps and checked out their school webpage.  We also talked about the differences in the middle school to high school transition that our students are experiencing right now.  We also communicated with them directly using Padlet and Google Translate.  Asynchronous Online Collaboration Project: We completed the project we stared last week with 8th grade students from the computer classes at Richboro Middle School & Holland Middle School.  This project was an example of asynchronous online collaboration. Students printed and turned in their completed collaboration project today. 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.T, 15.3.8.U, 15.3.12.W, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.D, 15.4.8.F)  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.  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 Minecraft Tutorial to write JavaScript.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from Code.org about why schools should teach computer coding. January 17, 2018 30 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)  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a promotional video from Google about collaborating online using Docs, Sheets and Slides. January 12, 2018 91 minutes Internet Moment: Today we explored the online version of  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 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)  A sample project:  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) January 10, 2018 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. Technology Current Event Video: Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today. January 8, 2018 0 minutes* * Class was cancelled today due to the weather related early dismissal January 4, 2018 0 minutes* * No class today due to snow January 2, 2018 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 thigh. Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class with a video of Hans Rosling talking about the changes in statistics over the last 200 years. December 21, 2017 44 minutes  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a TED presentation by Margaret Stewart about how copyright issues are handled by YouTube.  December 19, 2017 91 minutes     Font Conference Video:  As a follow-up to the Font Presentation we watched a short video from College Humor about a fictitious "Font Conference". December 15, 2017 104 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. English Dialect Activity: 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.  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.  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.  Logo Design Video:    We finished class today with a short video from Vox about the basics of logo design. December 13, 2017 44 minutes  Online Game: Our class played an online logo quiz game from Kahoot. All students should be familiar with how to play these kinds of online educational games. Josh came in 3rd place, Julia came in 2nd and Dani took first place. Next class we will start using MS Publisher to make some graphic arts projects.   December 11, 2017 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 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.   Email Etiquette For Students Video:  We finished class today with a short video about how to email a teacher.  (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, 15.4.8.G)  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)Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a TED presentation by Eli Pariser about the use of "filter bubbles" online.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.L) December 7, 2017 104 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.  Log On & Explore:  All students were given time to explore the start menu, Cortana and the various programs available to them at school. 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) 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 was also 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 that you can read about here. Everyone was asked to get up and find the other person in the room who shares their birthday to see if there was a match. 
Student passwords must fit the following parameters: Upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers and symbols. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.F)  Students were also reminded to not use their school email for anything inappropriate. Google Drive: Students were shown how to access their Google Drive today. We created folders for all their classes and students were reminded that they will have access to their google drive until they graduate from high school. Students were also reminded that they can access their Google Drive from anywhere in the world where they have internet access.  Everyone had time to make some folders and organize their Google Drive. Profile Pictures: Students opened up their school Google Accounts and we talked about how their profile picture works and that it is public. They were then shown Cartoonify.de and students had time to make a custom profile picture. We discussed the difference between your professional and personal image and what online "personal branding" was all about. Students were reminded of the importance of learning to manage what they looked like online. Students then shared their images using network drives. Sharing files by using drag & drop and the district Swap Drive was demonstrated. The best use of the H: & X: drives was also explained.  Everyone then had an opportunity to set their school profile picture.  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video about ten future projects that Alphabet is working on. |
