2019-20 8-C.1

October 17, 2019 - LAST CLASS
104 minutes

Online game to end hunger 
Internet Moment: Students had a chance to explore FreeRice.com today. This website, created by John Breen who also created Poverty.com. It gives students and others a chance to practice their vocabulary skills while helping to support the United Nations World Food Program. After having time to use the site students were asked to prove whether or not this website was bogus or real. After doing some research we learned that it is a legitimate website (according to snopes.com). We then looked at several bogus websites such as this one about the California Velcro Crop, DHMO Awareness, All About Explorers, the Bureau of Sasquatch Affairs, and the endangered Tree Octopus. We also watched videos about being a Google Autocompleter and West Jet Airline offering child-free flights. These websites and videos serve as a good reminder to be skeptical of what we find online and to always independently verify the facts. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.I, 15.4.8.A, 15.6.8.L)

Started Basic HTML: Students learned about computer coding by creating a website in basic HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Students typed the HTML into Notepad to create a simple webpage. Students were shown how to change the background color and add images.  We also changed the font color, and the font style. We also practiced inserting images.Click here to enlarge the project description.(PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.S, 15.4.8.H)

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. Students were also reminded to check out the eSchoolPLUS app that's available from Google Play and the iTunes Store. 

Technology Current Event Video: We watched a short video about how Florida's Orange County Public Schools and local police using a service called SnapTrends to monitor student's social media accounts.












October 15, 2019
44 minutes

Internet Moment: Today we started class by researching people who are computer coders.  We started by visiting Marcos Weskamp's Blog.   He is 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.  Students also had a chance to search for other famous coders online as well as Mr. McNulty's Great Aunt, Kathleen Antonelli who was one of the world's first computer programmers.  Students were reminded that all of the digital technology that they experience every day was created by ordinary people.  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)

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. 
https://scratch.mit.edu/help/videos/
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.













October 11, 2019
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)

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/FullPageAd.JPG
Finish Full Page Ad Project: All students had time to finish on the Full Page Ad project using MS Publisher that we started last class. Everyone had a chance to print a black & white rough draft and review it with the teacher before printing their final draft in color.  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)

Online Game: Our class played a Kahoot game with Mrs. Bovino's Computer class here at HMS and Mrs. Gershman's Computer Class at Newtown Middle School. We were also joined by Ms. Anh Van Le's English Language class at Ngo Quyen Secondary School, ĐăkLăk, Viet Nam.  Molly at NMS came in first place, second place went to Mia at NMS and Kerry at HMS came in third place. We used a Google Hangout to share the Kahoot questions with the other schools.  Below you can see images of the different classes that were playing the game.  The topic was Asian geography.

Kahoot Game

Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video.











October 8, 2019
93 minutes*

https://www.khanacademy.org/
Internet Moment: Everyone had a chance to explore Khan Academy and look for video lessons that relate to what they are currently learning in 8th grade. Students were reminded that this resource can help them with their homework here at the middle school and at the high school next year.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M, 15.4.8.A, 15.8.8.K) (ISTE Standards: 1d, 3b, 3c) 

Video: We watched a short CNN video about Salman Khan and his creation of Khan Academy.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M, 15.4.8.A, 15.8.8.K)


Online Collaboration Project:  Students finished working on their group travel itinerary. For this project our students are working in groups of 4-5 and they are planning a 7 day trip to Cape Town, South Africa where they will participate in some 

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 everyone had a  chance to get up and move around.

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/FullPageAd.JPG
Full page Ad Project: Today students started a classic graphic design project to help them continue to develop their own sense of design and their skills in MS Publisher. 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.  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 video from PBS OffBook about careers in graphic design.  


* Class time was shorter today due to a scheduled drill and an afternoon assembly.









October 4, 2018
44 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)

Online Collaboration Project:Students worked on their group travel itinerary. For this project our students are working in groups of 4-5 and they 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. All groups will be turning in their finished slide shows using Google Classroom next class. (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 from Google about online collaboration using Docs, Sheets and Slides. 










October 2, 2019
91 minutes

Internet Moment:  We looked at eBay.com today and discussed buying and selling things online.  Most of our students have bought things online and some of them have sold items online.  Using auctions to find the true value of something was explained.  Students shared the names of various e-commerce websites that they have used.  We discussed the development of internet commerce and ways students can get involved with buying and selling online.

Printing Brochures:  Everyone had some time to finish and print the brochure project that we worked on last class.  Click here to enlarge the project description.   (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.1.5.B, 15.3.5.A, 15.3.8.B, 15.3.5.D, 15.3.8.D, 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.G, 15.3.8.U, 15.6.8.L)

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/images/onlinecollaboration01.jpgOnline 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.  We started this project with a short video about tourism & vacations in Capetown, South Africa.  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.











September 26, 2019
104 minutes

http://www.gapminder.org/
Internet Moment: Today our students were introduced to the "joy of statistics" by viewing Gap Minder.org which is a free online resource where statistics from all around the world are presented in an easy to understand visual format. We looked at the "Wealth & Health of Nations" chart. As a demonstration of how the website works we tracked the life expectancy and income changes in the USA and Japan over the last 200 years. Students were shown the effects of major events like the Industrial Revolution, the Spanish Influenza pandemic, and World War II.  We also looked at how 8th grade math scores had changed in Japan, Canada and the United States. Student were also shown that countries where students have poor dental hygiene also tend to have higher math test scores as an example of a spurious correlation. Everyone then had time to explore the website on their own. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.4.8.A, 15.7.8.A, 15.7.8.F, 15.7.8.H, 15.7.8.L, 15.8.8.A, 15.9.8.J)

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/Brochure.JPG
Finish Brochure Project: All students had time to finish typing this project today.  Students were reminded to use Google Images and Bing Images to find free images that were in the public domain.  Students were shown how to print on both sides of a sheet of paper and how to trifold a brochure.  Unfortunately we had problems with printing the projects in class today.   Click here to enlarge the project description.   (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.1.5.B, 15.3.5.A, 15.3.8.B, 15.3.5.D, 15.3.8.D, 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.G, 15.3.8.U, 15.6.8.L)

Copyright Video:  We finished this project with a TED presentation by Margaret Stewart about how copyright issues are handled by YouTube.  


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 everyone had a  chance to get up and move around. 

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/Collaboration.jpg
Finish & Print the Asynchronous Online Collaboration Project: Each student used a Google Drawing to make a Venn Diagram that listed their favorite foods. Their partners for this project at Newtown Middle School finished the project today. Our students then printed out the finished Venn Diagrams. This project was an example of asynchronous online collaboration. 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)

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.












September 24, 2019
94 minutes

Internet Moment: Today students had an opportunity to play a financial education game from Visa called: Financial Football. Everyone had about 5 minutes to experiment with the financial literacy game. Students were also reminded that they can go back to PracticalMoneySkills.com on their own. We also checked out the Personal Finance & Investing class which can be taken as an elective at our high school. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.B, 15.6.8.G, 15.6.8.H, 15.6.8.I, 15.6.8.K) (ISTE Standards: 1c, 5c, 5a)

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/Collaboration.jpg
Asynchronous Online Collaboration Project: Each student used a Google Drawing to make a Venn Diagram that listed their favorite foods. Their partners for this project are 8th grade students from the computer classes at Newtown Middle School.  This project was an example of asynchronous online collaboration. All students finished their part of the Venn Diagrams and then emailed their partners to ask them to do their part. 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)  A sample project:

Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class with a short video about the importance "soft skills" in group work.







September 20, 2019
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.


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 everyone had a  chance to get up and move around.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lyceum+%E2%84%961/@56.8160885,60.8852024,3z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5cded225b5a9e7ed:0xa41d3b469fb17978!8m2!3d56.2191225!4d95.7257688
Student Blogging Activity: Our students prepared a one paragraph blog comment for students in Ms. Golubeva's class at Lyceum 1 in Kansk, Russia.  Our students were asked to choose one blog entry to comment on:  

 
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)

Video Conference:  We finished class today by participating in a live interview with Dr. Don Thomas, a NASA Astronaut who flew on four space shuttle missions.  The meeting was organized by Mr. Sherman of LivingMaths.com in Cape Town, South Africa and there were participants from around the world.  Unfortunately we were unable to participate in the interview due to some technical difficulties with the live Skype feed.


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)











September 18, 2019
104 minutes

Internet Moment: Today we looked at three online resources for free ebooks and audio books. We started with the Gutenberg Project (Gutenberg.org) which offers free access to 54,000 ebooks and over 100,000 additional free ebooks from other resources. We then looked at Lit2Go which is a free online collection of audio books in MP3 format that is available from the University of South Florida. Finally we visited Google Books (books.google.com) and discussed how to access and search the text of the free ebooks available there. We also discussed copyright laws and how these books came to be available online or in the public domain. Students were also reminded to search for free ebook reader apps for their phone and tablet devices. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.1.5.B, 15.2.5.L, 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.B)

MLA paragraph project description
Finish MLA Format: All students had time to finish the MLA Paragraph project that we started last class.  Last class we also we practiced uploading a Word doc from our network drive to Google Drive and this class we practiced downloading a Google Doc as a Word Doc.  Everyone had time to finish and turn in their finished projects in class today.  Click here to enlarge the project description. (PA-B.C.I.T. Standards: 15.3.5.A, 15.3.8.A)

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.

kahoot game

https://kahoot.it/
Online Game: Our class played a 15 question online logo quiz game today.  Many teachers at the middle school and high school use online games such as Kahoot, Quizlet and Quizizz for review activities and all of our students should be familiar with how to use them.  Students were reminded that these games can also be played on smart phones and they can even be assigned as homework.  The concept of gamification in education was also discussed.  In our game today Breanne came in third, Ruhshana came in second and Mike came in first place.

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/PublisherLogo.JPG
Publisher Logo Project: We started with an introduction to MS Publisher. Publisher was described as a graphic design program which is used to express your ideas visually. The field of graphic design was also explained. Students were reminded that learning basic graphic design skills will help them to communicate their ideas effectively. Students then became familiar with Publisher by making a simple logo. We then shared the finished logos in a gallery walk activity. Click here to enlarge the project description.(PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.S, 15.4.5.G, 15.6.5.M, 15.3.8.X, 15.9.8.A, 15.9.5.L)

Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class by watching a speed art video of a graphic artist designing a vintage logo using Adobe Illustrator.

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.

TED Video: We watched part of a TED Presentation by John Maeda, the President of the Rhode Island School of Design.  We only watched a few minutes of his presentation in which he talked about the relationships between content & form and 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)











September 16, 2019
44 minutes

https://www.dafont.com/
Internet Moment: Today we looked at two online resources for fonts. DaFont.com offers over 43,000 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)

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/MLAparagraph.JPG
MLA Format: All 8th grade students must demonstrate the ability to use the MLA format in MS Word and Google Docs (which is the format used at Council Rock and most colleges). Click here to enlarge the project description. Students were shown how to set-up their Word Documents in the MLA Format. This project involves several skills including: double spacing, changing fonts and sizes, changing indentation settings and accessing the header. As part of this project we practiced uploading a Word doc from our network drive to Google Drive. We also practiced downloading a Google Doc as a Word Doc. 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 short video from Tech Insider about some of the coolest gadgets at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.












September 12, 2019
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. (PA BCIT Standards: 15.3.5.V, 15.4.8.A, 15.6.5.L)

Online Typing Activities: As a follow up to the typing test students were given some time to find some 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 finish projects.


https://crsd4-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jmcnulty_crsd_org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?guestaccesstoken=D48bfZc9rBpsoW0b2rFaAwmxfOLAw%2fanausEglhHvRw%3d&docid=0253d2fd0a106497e86c2680a76982f42&action=view
Basic Email Etiquette:  All students logged into their Google accounts and accessed their school email.  We discussed the importance of being able to use email for formal communication.  Students were also reminded that the emails they send using their school account are not private in any way. We also discussed what CC: means (carbon copy), what should go in the Subject line of an email and how to start writing a formal email. Each student then practiced good email etiquette by sending a formal thank you email to a Council Rock faculty member of their choice. The directions for this project can be viewed here. (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:  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.

Log on and Check Grades: All students were asked to log into the Home Access Center and check their grades. Starting in 7th grade all Council Rock students have their own HAC username and password. All students should be able to log in and check their grades routinely. Students were also reminded to check out the eSchoolPLUS app that's available from Google Play and the iTunes Store as well as other free apps.

Basic Computer Knowledge Presentation:  This presentation covers some basic computer concepts everyone should be familiar with such as:

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)











September 10, 2019
104 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.

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. We also discussed how Google continues to track a mobile devices location even when the settings are turned off by using WiFi and cell towers. 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.

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 of manage what they looked like online. Students then shared their images using network drives. 

Profile pictures

http://www.todayincomputerclass.com/8th/pixlrproject.JPG
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) 

The finished pictures can be viewed below.

photo editing project

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:  32.7 WPM.  We also reviewed the typing speed graph below and discussed what a bell curve is.

HMS Typing Speeds

Technology Current Event Video:  Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video today.









September 6, 2019
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)

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/positions.htmlAssigned 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)

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.

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.











September 4, 2019
53 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.

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: Upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers and symbols. (PA-BCIT Standard: 15.4.8.F)

Log On & Explore:  All students were given time to explore the start menu, Cortana and the various programs available to them at school. We also talked about the importance of time management and the many distractions that students face because of technology.  All students are encouraged to avoid online distractions and games while in class.

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=https://mail.google.com/mail/&ss=1&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&emr=1&osid=1#identifier
Gmail Accounts: Students were shown how to access their CRSD Google Gmail today. Students were reminded that they will have access to their google accounts and school gmail until they graduate from high school. Students were also reminded that they can access their Google email from anywhere in the world where they have internet access. Everyone had time to experiment with sending and receiving emails. 
Students were also reminded to not use their school email for anything inappropriate. 

Office 365
Exploring Office 365: All students logged into their Microsoft Office 365 accounts and had some time to explore it. We discussed the use of One Drive to store files online and the similarities and differences between Office 365 and Google Drive.  

Technology Current Event Video: We finished class today with a short video about some of the newest drones at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

*Class time was shorter today due to the extended homeroom schedule