January 30, 2020 - LAST CLASS 91 minutes
Internet Moment:Â Â We were unable to do an internet moment activity today due to a prolonged internet outage.
Final Project: Students used MS Word to demonstrate basic word processing skills by recreating an original document that demonstrated knowledge of several text formatting and graphics features. Students also answered two journal questions about the class.
 Technology Current Event Video: Unfortunately, due to the prolonged internet outage, were were unable to view a current event video today.
January 28, 2020
44 minutes*
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. Â
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. After the activity everyone had a chance to get up, move around and check out each other's Scratch creations.
* Our class time was shorter today due to the half day schedule
January 24, 202012 minutes*Business, Computers & Information Technology Classes at the High School: Students were reminded that this class is the basic computer skills class that every Council Rock student is required to take and that any future computer classes that they take at the high school will be elective classes. We specifically discussed the Business Department courses at our high school. Specific classes that were reviewed included:  Computers for College & Careers, Personal Finance & Investing and Entrepreneurship. All students were reminded to check the High School Program Planning Guide for more information. Students were also reminded that they could join the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) once they get to the high school. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.2.8.E, 15.2.5.J, 15.2.8.K)* Class time was shorter today due to the High School Arts Presentations rotation schedule
January 22, 2020
91 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)
Break:Â Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers. Breaks should be taken every 30-40 minutes.
Soft Skills Video: We finished this activity with a short video about the importance "soft skills" in group work. We also discussed the difficulties involved in developing soft skills when working in online virtual groups.
January 17, 2020104 minutes
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. Students could also try signing inot Khan Academy using their school gmail accounts.  (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.6.8.M, 15.4.8.A, 15.8.8.K) (ISTE Standards: 1d, 3b, 3c)Â
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.
January 15, 202044 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)International Kahoot Game: We played a Kahoot game with Ms. Xynta's English language class in Skydra, Greece. The questions were about identifying foods in English. Mason came in third place, Sam came in second and first place went to Jimmy at Holland Middle School. We then played the same game again in Greek. This time Barbara in Greece came in third place, NeroGreco came in second and first place went to Emma at HMS. During the game we used a Google Hangout so we could see each other.Â
Technology Current Event Video:Â Â Unfortunately we ran out of time for a video.
January 13, 202044 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.
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).
January 9, 2020
91 minutes
January 7, 202044 minutes
Exploring the CRHS-South Website: As a follow-up to the presentation today about 9th grade course selection Assembly today students were given an opportunity to explore the CRHS-South website. Students were asked to explore the Student Handbook and the Program Planning Booklet. Students were also shown how they can search these resources using CTRL+F. Everyone then had some time to explore the high school website on your own.
Finish Publisher Font Guide Project: Everyone had time to finish the Font Guide in MS Publisher. When finished students printed and turned in their work using the network printer in the room.  This project gave students an opportunity to get familiar with the program's features.  They also had to demonstrate the ability to make something very specific. Click here to enlarge the project description. Everyone had time to finish this project in class today. (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 today with a video about some of the new gadgets on display at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
January 3, 202091 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)
Font Presentation:Â 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.
Publisher Font Guide Project: Students made a Font Guide in MS Publisher. When finished the student version should look just like the original. We also discussed the concept of WYSIWYG in graphic design. This project gave students another opportunity to get familiar with the program's features.  They also had to demonstrate the ability to make something very specific. Click here to enlarge the project description. Everyone will have time to finish this project next class. (PA-BCIT Standards: 15.3.8.E, 15.4.8.G, 15.4.2.K, 15.3.8.X)
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".
December 20, 201949 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)
International Flip Grid Project: Our students had an opportunity to participate in a Flip Grid project with students from Ilanot School in Jerusalem, Israel. Students in Mrs. Peretz's 6th grade English class and our students shared short video messages about what they were planning on doing over the upcoming holiday break. Â
Technology Current Event Video:  We finished class today with a video from Danny Winget about the best technology gadgets from the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
* Class time was shorter today due to an adjusted schedule for the afternoon basketball game.
December 18, 201944 minutesInternet 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)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)
Email Etiquette Video:  We finished this activity with 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)
December 16, 201991 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.
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.
Online Game: Our class played an 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. We played a quick logo identification game.
Technology Current Event Video:Â We finished class today with a video from PBS OffBook about logo design.
December 12, 2019104 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 Bing 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)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. Students were also shown how to download the Microsoft Office programs on a device at home for free.  This activity also gave us an opportunity to find out who was having problems with their Office 365 accounts.
December 10, 2019
104 minutes
Introduction to Basic Computer Skills Class:Â 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.
Break:Â Â Students are always reminded to not spend too much time sitting in front of computers. Â For our break today students had a chance to get up and move around some.
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)
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.
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.Â
Technology Current Event Video:Â We finished class today with a short video about some of the newest drones at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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Dialect Quiz: 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)
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)
