December 6, 2018 - LAST CLASS 44 minutes
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) December 3, 2018 91 minutes Online Game: Our class played a Kahoot game with some 8th grade English language students at Boglári Altalanos Iskola, a Primary School in Balatonboglár, Hungary. It was a 20 question quiz about how holidays are celebrated around the world. Logan from our class came in first place, Alyssa came in second and Bori in Hungary came in third place. We used a Google Hangout to share the Kahoot questions with the other school. We also shared video so our students could see each other:   The view of our students at Boglári Altalanos Iskola in Hungary Video Interview Practice: After the game we had some time to talk to the students in Hungary and ask them some questions. We asked about the weather and what their school day is like. We also asked them about their favorite foods and sports. One of our students wanted to advertise his twitch channel. The students in Hungary also tried to teach our students some Hungarian words. We prepared our questions in advance so we could learn more about school in Hungary. (PA-BCIT: 15.2.8.H, 15.3.8.K, 15.3.8.M, 15.7.8.I, 15.7.8.J, 15.3.8.X, 15.4.8.A, 15.4.8.B) (ISTE Standards: 1d, 2b, 2c, 5a, 5b, 5c) Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some and share their project ideas.  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a video from Code.org about why schools should teach computer coding. November 28, 2018 94 minutes   Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some and share their project ideas. Poster Voting: Our class looked at the Poster projects from all three 8th grade classes and voted on their favorites. Students were reminded to look for things like good color choices, easy to read fonts and good graphics when making their selections. The best posters will be printed in full color and posted around our school.  The Winning Poster Designs 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 PBS News Hour about the effects of screen time on teenage brains. November 26, 2018 91 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) FIRST AID PROJECT DIRECTIONS: Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some and share their project ideas. Finish Full Page Ad Project: All students had time to finish the advertising project that we started last class. Finished projects were turned in using a shared Google Slideshow. Students also printed out a final draft in class.  Click here to enlarge the project description. (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 video from The Henry Ford Innovation Project about the development of 3D printers and 3D printed body parts. November 19, 2018 60 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)  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a short video demonstrating various robotics projects. * Class time was shorter today due to the half day schedule and Pep Rally November 15, 2018 44 minutes*  Full page Ad Project:  We continued working on the project we started last class.  Each student selected a full page, full color magazine advertisement to recreate in MS Publisher. The student version of the ad must advertise something different than the original but it should look very similar to the original.  Click here to enlarge the project description. Several students finished this project in class today. (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 video from PBS OffBook about careers in graphic design.  *Class time was shorter today due to the early dismissal schedule November 14, 2018 91 minutes  Internet Moment: Students were shown Weather.gov (the National Weather Service) as an example of a huge online database that's full of real-time and archived information. We checked our local weather and spent a few minutes checking the satellite images and Doppler radar for the whole United States. Students were also shown how to access the hourly weather graphs for our area to get precipitation predictions. We also discussed how federal government publications, such as the NWS website, can not be copyrighted and are therefore in the public domain. Students were reminded that the NWS is the original source for most of the weather information they receive on the internet, TV, and their phones. This website was also used as an example of "unbiased" information on the internet. Students were also told how predicting the weather motivated early computer pioneers. Finally, students were shown an old video about how early computers were used to predict the weather. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.3.5.V, 15.4.8.A, 15.6.5.L)We also discussed some of the advances that have taken place in the last 65 years:   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a short video from Pond5 about how public domain works. In the video the three ways content enters the public domain is explained (through government, through dedication and time). November 13, 2018 91 minutes   Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some. Sharing Blog Posts with Mrs. Smith's Class: We used a shared Google Drive folder to give the students Mrs. Smith's 4th grade class at Glenbrook Elementary School in Illinois access to our responses to their essays. Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a Channel 4 News interview of Hans Rosling in the U.K. He is the creator of GapMinder.org and in the interview he discusses how the world is actually much better off than you think. November 9, 2018 110 minutes   Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a TED presentation by Margaret Stewart about how copyright issues are handled by YouTube.  November 5, 2018 44 minutes  Finish Font Guide Project:  All students had time to finish the MS Publisher project that we started last class.  Everyone printed and turned in their finished font guide.   Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a video from the Corning Corporation about some of the potential uses for their glass products in the future. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) November 1, 2018 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 Slideshow. (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.
Student Blogging Activity: Our students prepared a one paragraph blog comment for Mrs. Smith's 4th Grade students in Illinois.  October 30, 2018 110 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.  We also discussed that changing location settings on your mobile device doesn't necessarily mean that location data isn't being collected. 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:  33.2 WPM.  We also reviewed the typing speed graph below and discussed what a bell curve is.  Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today 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. October 26, 2018 44 minutes Internet Moment:  All students went to GeoGuessr.com and tried the online geography game. It drops you off in a Google Street View picture and students had to guess where they were in the world.  Students had 5 minutes to see who could get the highest score possible. Alex was the winner in this class with over 9,000 points. Finish MLA Paragraph Project: Everyone had time to finish typing and print the project that we started last class.  Click here to enlarge the project description.  (PA-B.C.I.T. Standards: 15.3.5.A, 15.3.8.A)  Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from Google that takes a look inside one of their data centers. In the video our students could see one of the possible locations of their Google Drives. October 24, 2018 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.  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 workstations. 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) 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) Break:  Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers.  For our break today everyone had a chance to get up and move around the room some.  Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a video about a new typing technology called the tap strap. October 22, 2018 110 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. 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. Students were also shown a collection of generic profile pictures that they could use. We discussed the difference between your professional and personal persona 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.  Technology Current Event Video: Today's video was inspired by an original presentation created by a high school teacher in Colorado, Mr. Karl Fisch. Here is a link to his blog: THE FISCHBOWL for more information.  This remix of the original presentation was done by Katy Scott in July 2018.  (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.A) |
Font Conference Video:Â Â As a follow-up to the Font Presentation we watched a short video from College Humor about a fictitious "Font Conference".
