Time is limited!

At this point you have only 3 school days left to get any work completed that you have not yet finished and handed in.  However, each class period this week is shortened, so being a diligent worker (for those who have missing assignments) will be important in order to get any missing work completed and handed in.

FA12 - several of you have submitted FA12 to me by email.  This assignment (it is the "Project Estimate" assignment in Excel) is to be printed out and handed in.  You should have 3 pages when you are done - 1 page that shows only numbers, then when you change the document to show formulas (control/~) and print that out you will have 2 more pages.

Pay attention to the "Missing Assignment" board in the room - I will update it daily with missing assignments (just as I have been doing for the last 3 days).  If your name is on the wall in the room for an assignment get it done and handed in.  As we've talked about - 50% on an assignment is much better than receiving a 0.

Alice Project #1 due today

I would encourage everyone to check their Gmail in case I have sent them a message.  Several people have sent me either the wrong link, the wrong assignment, etc. and you will need to resend something to me in order to get credit.  Don't confuse this type of email with an email that explains a grade you received on an assignment - these types of emails are just telling you what mistakes were made on each particular assignment so you know what you did to earn your score.

Your Alice Project #1 is due today by the end of the hour.  Once you complete that you can finish your crossword puzzle or you can complete your discussion entries into Edmodo (remember, you must create an original entry that answers the discussion prompt, then you must reply to at least 2 of your classmates' original entries).

Once you have completed all of this work you need to work on completing any assignment(s) that you have not yet completed.  Check the board in class to see an updated list of missing assignments.

If you are done with all the above, then I want you to begin work on creating a new Alice World.  With this Alice world, I want you to incorporate several things:

1. One character must be "glued" to one prop, and you must be able to use the arrow keys to move the prop.
2. You must use at least one "Do Together" command (located at the bottom of the Methods section). 
3. Add at least 3 characters and 3 props to your world.
4. You need to move body parts on each character at least 3 times (that will be a total of 9 movements, and one of those must be a character walking or running).  
5. At least one character must spin completely around twice, but it must be at different times in the world.
6. 2 characters must move to at least 2 new places within the world (that's a total of 4 moves).
7. Include at least 2 sounds.
8. You also must include 3 camera-angle changes.

This last Alice project will not be for a grade - but is given to you to enjoy as we complete the semester.  Be creative - I'd love to see what you can create by next Wednesday!

Finish work

Most of this week (and what little we will have next week) will be spent tying up any loose ends.

Today, work on finishing your Alice Project #1.  Let's say for now that this will be due tomorrow - I need to gauge in all of the classes how far everyone is in order to make a determination on when this should be due.

Once you are done with that Alice project you need to work on posting your discussion to Edmodo (remember you also need to reply to at least 2 of your classmates' postings), or finish your crossword puzzle (these are both due on Friday, but you are welcome to complete them/hand them in anytime before then).

If you complete these tasks then you need to work on any missing assignments.  The missing assignments on the board are updated through last week (I do not have FA11 or FA12 in Skyward yet) - please get done what you have missing!

Last full week!

Today you need to begin by finishing FA12.  We started this last week - the instructions can be found on the blog from last Thursday.

You have several other assignments that are due this week.  The Alice project #1 will be due this week, and you also will have another Alice project that you will be allowed to start tomorrow.  In addition, you have your last discussion on Edmodo (I'll explain that below), and you also have a crossword puzzle that you need to finish and hand in by Friday.

For Edmodo, you need to post a discussion on the following topic:
List at least one thing you have learned this semester from this class.  Additionally, explain why you think learning what you have learned is important (one way to explain its importance would be to explain it in terms of how it will help you in the future).  Post your original entry and your 2 responses to your classmates by this Friday, Dec. 16th.


The crossword puzzle takes the place of the vocab words.  The crossword puzzle you will be completing covers all of the vocab lists that we had this semester (in other words you'll need to look at all of the vocab lists to find the words for the crossword puzzle).

Lastly, remember that school ends a week from Wednesday.  If you have missing assignments you need to get them handed in to me as soon as you can so your grade reflects the work you have done.

Vocab quiz; FA12; Alice project

We have several things we will be working on today.  First, we will take the vocab quiz at the beginning of the hour like we normally do.  After finishing the vocab quiz you will be given class time to finish FA12 (Project Estimate in Excel).  I am going to show you a couple of other important things you need to know in Excel, then you will be allowed to work on the formatting activity.

When you get this formatting activity completed you will need to print it out, and you should have two copies that you print out.  One copy will have all numbers; the other copy will show the formulas (or functions) that you included in your spreadsheet.  Staple them together and hand them in.

If you complete FA12 in class today you still have Alice Project #1 to finish.  It will be due Tuesday.  The grading rubric for this Alice project can be found by clicking here.

I also want to remind you that we are nearing the end of the semester.  Any assignment that you do not hand in will be graded as a zero.  If you have missing assignments you may need to work on those to get those handed in so that you avoid having a zero put in the grade book.

More Excel; Photoshop

Today we are going to go back to Excel and add to our knowledge base.  We will cover how to insert the date, insert new rows and columns, format numbers, learn about functions and how to insert and use them in a worksheet, write a formula using the keyboard, drag and copy, and learn what the formula bar is for.   This should not take the entire hour, therefore when we get done we will start working on FA12 (embedded below).

Don't forget tomorrow is the last vocab quiz of the semester.

The Alice project that was on the blog (from earlier this week) will probably be due towards the beginning of next week (Tuesday?).
Activity 12 -

Catch-up day

This is a video that should help you to understand what Java (a programming language) is:

This video explains Flash - an animation software.



After watching this video you should have a much better idea of what Flash animation software can do.



Reminder:  your podcast is due today!  

Please make sure to post it on your blog then send me an email with a link to your blog.  You may want to listen to the podcast first before you copy the HTML code and paste it into your blog to make sure that it sounds ok.

Also, if you are responsible for defining words on Wikispaces that has to be completed before you go to bed tonight.

For today, complete FA11 if you have not yet completed it and handed it in.

Otherwise, you will have time to work on the Alice project - the instructions are below.  Click here to get to the website that houses the rubric for this assignment.  Also, I think I originally said this project would be worth 24 points - that was incorrect; it will be worth 16 points.



Alice project #1 -

Finish FA11; Alice

Today you will need to finish FA11 - the instructions on how to finish it can be found on yesterday's blog post.  Once you have completed FA11 you will need to start on the following Alice assignment (this will be graded but will not be due right away, but I will let you know well in advance when it is due).

Alice project #1



Here are a couple of videos for today that will help you to understand the vocabulary for this week:

This first video will help you to understand bitmap images



This video will help to explain what pixels are


Don't forget to get your vocab words posted on Wikispaces if it is your responsibility to do that this week - this should be done by tomorrow.

Also, your podcast is due tomorrow!  Please remember that you need to embed this on your blog, then you need to email me with a link to your blog.

.jpg vs. .gif; Excel

Vocab for this week:

3rd hour:  ChaseB, JacobG, BrookeL, AlexisP, RyannT
4th hour:  SavannaA, MaddieA, AnthonyB, GracieM, KelseyO, AlexS
6th hour:  RossC, LindyC, KelseyM, CamarieM, AndrewP, ReneeT
7th hour:  KayseyB, SethN, TravisR, CassieT, JacobV
8th hour:  NikF, LucasH, DwightM, DestinyO, PaigeS


Don't forget, your podcast (using Vocaroo) is due Wednesday!

I can't stress enough the fact that many of you have missing assignments.  There are only 2 1/2 weeks of the semester left, and the last week is going to be crazy busy.  Please complete as much work as you can.  Turning in your work is the easiest way to help your grade; zeroes absolutely destroy your grade.  If you need help, please let me know so we can figure out a way to get your stuff done.

cropped with SnipSnip


After watching the video we are going to start working in Excel. Today we are going to learn some of the basic formatting capabilities of Excel.  In many ways what you have already learned in Word will apply to Excel, so that part should be easy.  However, there are some other capabilities that you have access to in Excel that are much different from Word.

Formatting Activity 11is embedded here:

FA11

Vocab Quiz #9 (Multimedia); FA10

As usual, today at the beginning of the hour you will have a couple of minutes to review for the vocab quiz.  We will then go to Classmarker to take Vocab Quiz #9 on Multimedia and Graphics.

Once you have completed the vocab quiz you will want to start working on FA10.  This formatting activity requires you to insert Clipart into a Word document and resize it.  You will only be working with Clipart, but remember actual images (those you could take with a screenshot or with a digital camera) can be formatted and manipulated in the same manner as the Clipart images.  Please remember from yesterday that in order to move your Clipart image freely throughout your document you must go through the following series of steps while formatting your picture:

1. Click on the Layout tab
2. Choose your Wrapping style (usually either Square or Tight)
3. Click on the Advanced button at the bottom of the window
4. In the Advanced Layout window deselect the box under Options next to "Move object with text"
5. Click OK twice to exit

Formatting Activity 10 is due at the end of the hour today!!  This is a simple assignment and should not take you long to complete.

Activity 10 -

I am going to encourage each of you to check your Gmail - I have sent many of you emails regarding FA8, which was the Movie Plot Summary activity that you turned in on Monday of this week.  Many of you still have not yet handed this in, and several of you who did turn this in did not send me the correct information in your email.  You were supposed to send me a link to your blog AND the Word document you used to type in your movie summary.  

Next, check the Late Board in the classroom.  If you have missing work please get it handed in as soon as possible!  We only have 2.5 weeks left in the semester, and many of you have poor grades because you are not turning in assignments.  Having missing assignments is by far and away the biggest reason students do not do well in any class - if you turn your assignments in, even if they are late, your chances for good grades dramatically increases!

If you are done with everything, I'd like you to start working on this Alice tutorial:

http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/alice/aliceInSchools/workshop08/tutorialTopics/tutorial1/methodsSlides.pdf

This will be in preparation for next week's graded Alice assignment.

As a reminder, your podcast is due next Wednesday.  The website to use is Vocaroo.  You need to plan accordingly - if you don't have a microphone on your computer at home you need to figure out the best time to come in to one of the computer labs (my room, 7th Grade Computer lab, or Library) to complete this assignment.  Your speech must obviously be school appropriate.

When you complete the assignment state your name first, then state the speech that you are giving.  You do not have to read the entire speech!  Reading about 1 minute of the speech will work great.  Here are a couple of websites that you can use to find the text to a speech, but you can use any website that has the text to a speech (if you find a different website on your own that is fine).
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/presidential-speeches/index.htmhttp://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.htmlhttp://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htmhttp://www.famous-speeches-and-speech-topics.info/famous-short-speeches/

Have a great weekend!!

Creating a screenshot; Podcasting

For some reason we have too many people who are not doing their jobs when it comes to posting the definitions for the vocab words on the Wikispaces webpage.  This is an important part of the class, and when you don't do what you are asked to do it doesn't just affect you it affects everyone else in the class.  If you are responsible for defining 2-3 words you MUST get them done by Wednesday so everyone can use these to study.  This is what being part of a team is all about - you need to pull your weight and do your job so the team can be a success.  Screenshots -  this is the taking of a picture of what you have on your screen.  You can either take a screenshot (or what is sometimes also called a screen capture) of the entire screen (Command/Shift/3) or of what you select (Command/Shift/4). Inserting Clipart will be covered today in class - this is very similar to inserting objects so you should have no problems figuring this out.Today we are also going to cover how to create a podcast using Vocaroo.  Once you get to the website you are going to click on the button that says "Click to Record".  

Next, you're going to see a window that pops up and asks to have permission to your microphone - choose "Allow".  You will then immediately be able to record your podcast - when you are done, click on "Click to Stop".

Once you have clicked on that you will see some information that comes up below (shown here):

You need to copy the HTML code by first clicking in the bar where you see "<object width=...."so that it is highlighted.  Once you have it copied, you can now go to your blog to "embed" this html code into a new post.Next, open your blog and start a new post.  Click on "Edit HTML" in the top, right corner, as shown here:

Then paste your copied code into the message area of your new post.  Publish your post.  You should now have a Vocaroo icon on your blog that you can click on to start listening to your podcast!Once you have your podcast up and running, send me an email with a link to your blog so I can hear your podcast.  Here are a few websites you can use to help you decide on a speech that you can do for your podcast: http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/presidential-speeches/index.htmhttp://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.htmlhttp://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm
Your podcast will be due by next Wednesday, December 7.  It can be sent after school on that day, but it is due that day.  If you need time to come in here at school to complete it then please make arrangements to do so!

FA9; streaming video

Today we are going to start by watching another video - this one explains streaming video.





After watching the video I want to quickly cover a couple of other items on inserting objects and formatting them.  After that you will have the rest of class to work on FA9, which is embedded below.


Activity 9 -
When I grade this formatting activity you will be graded based on 2 factors - inserting the correct shape, and then following the formatting instructions for each shape.  For each correct shape you include you'll earn .5 pts (10 shapes X .5 = 5 pts); you'll earn 8 points for the correct formatting of the shapes (each shape has 4 formatting instructions for you to follow, if you get all them correct you'll earn 1 pt - I'll give you .5 points for every 2 instructions you follow); you'll also earn 1 point for including the filename and path in the header, and the filename should be Activity 9 (that will also count as another point).  Total amount of points possible for this formatting activity = 15 points.

When you get done with this in class (it is due today), then you can work on one of the tutorials in Alice.

Also, please remember that if you are scheduled to do vocab words this week that you need to have your words posted by today. If you do this tonight at home that is fine.

Multimedia/graphics

The theme for most of the rest of the semester will involve multimedia and graphics.  In many ways, we've already incorporated much of multimedia and graphics into the class in a variety of ways.  However, over the course of the last couple of weeks we are going to dig even deeper and look at various other ways that we can use and incorporate multimedia and graphics.

To begin on that front we are going to watch a video today covering podcasting.  Here it is:


Podcasting in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo

Today we are going to learn how to insert autoshapes, text boxes, and WordArt into Word, and then learn how to format those objects.  We are going to cover in class today the following aspects of formatting objects:

1. Changing the size of objects
1. using the mouse
2. using the format menu and popup window
2. Changing the color of objects
3. Adding border to objects
4. Inserting WordArt into Word
5. Formatting WordArt
6. Moving objects freely within Word

If you are responsible for completing the vocab list on Wikispaces this week this must be done by tomorrow - please get this done quickly!

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It may seem hard to believe, but we only have 18 days of school left before we leave for Christmas break (that's assuming we don't have any snow days).  It will go by fast!  My hope for each one of you is that you end the semester on a good note - work hard to improve your grade in the last 3 and a half weeks!

We are jumping right back into our routine - this week we have vocab list #9 (Multimedia/Graphics) - the quiz over these words will be this Friday (Dec. 2nd).  Remember, you created your account on Wikispaces and should have your username and password saved in Google Docs.  If not, I can find out what your username is, but I don't have any clue on what your password is.  Here is this week's list of students who are responsible for defining the 11 vocab words on Wikispaces:

3rd hour:  KatieB, AustinG, TristanJ, AlexaM, ElizabethP
4th hour:  BenettE, AllyssaF, LillyH, AndrewL, TateN, PiageO
6th hour:  DaltonC, SethC, BenC, DevonM, MarshallR, ReneeT
7th hour:  ScottF, FrejaH, AJM, AutumnS, AlexW
8th hour:  SydneyH, LukeJ, DavyenM, KeeganM, ReneeR


For today, if you did not complete FA8 (check back to Thursday's blogpost for the directions on completing this assignment), you need to get it done first.  It should be emailed to me.  Once you have completed this, check the board to see if you have any missing assignments.  If so, get them done in the remaining time.

If you are all caught up on your work, then I have several things I want you to work on.  I will give you a handout that you can type.  You'll need to type the entire handout in Word - this will give you some review practice in keying.  Then, I want you to grab the green, keypad practice sheet and key it in Excel (there is no need to save either one of these - you are doing this for practice).

Once you complete these I will allow you to work in Alice.  What I would like for you to do in Alice is try to include the "Do in order" or "Do together" or one of the other methods that are located at the bottom of the Editor area.  These allow you to make some very interesting actions for your characters.

Vocab Quiz #8 (Technical); FA8

At the beginning of the class you will have opportunity to review for just a couple of minutes before we take the vocab quiz.  

Once you are done with the vocab quiz you will need to finish FA8 (the instructions are on yesterday's blog post).  

When you complete FA8, if you haven't made your entry on Edmodo you can do that today during class.  Please remember that you should post your original response to the questions, then you also need to reply to at least 2 of your classmates.  Here is the writing prompt:

What does FREEDOM mean to you? In what way do you thank a veteran to let them know that you appreciate their willingness to make the supreme sacrifice for you? If you don't do anything, explain why.

If you have completed all of the above work, you should work on any missing assignments that you have.  You can look at the board to find out what you are missing - it is up to date.

If you are done with everything, you can finish the Alice tutorial we started earlier this week (click here to get to the website), or if you have finished that tutorial you are free to experiment in Alice.  If you are experimenting in Alice try some of the things that we have not yet worked on to see if you can figure out how they help you create a world - then incorporate them into your world.

Finish keypad; FA8

At the beginning of class today you will need to complete the last keypad sheet (this is not the last time we will do this - it is just the last sheet in terms of using sheets to learn the keypad).  Do this sheet just as we have done the other sheets - Drill 1 in Column A, Drill 2 in Column B, and so on.

Have you posted your discussion entry to Edmodo?  If not, it needs to be completed by tomorrow at midnight.

Remember - tomorrow there is a vocab quiz!

This video below explains the differences between a byte, a kilobyte, a megabyte and a gigabyte.  The only ones you need to worry about for the quiz tomorrow are byte and gigabyte, but understanding all of them would be beneficial.



After completing the handout, you have Formatting Activity 8 that you need to complete.  It is embedded here:

FA8

Continue in Alice; Keypad work

For today, there are several things you need to accomplish. They are as follows:

1. You need to type the keypad handout that I have left with substitute first. You will be learning 3 new keys today, and you need to type the handout just like we typed the other handout on Monday (Drill #1 in Column A, Drill #2 in Column B, and so on).
2. Complete the Alice tutorial that we have been walking through in class the last 2 days. You will do the rest of this on your own. In order to do that you will need to go to this website. Once there you will want to scroll down to slide #52, open up the spaceworld file that we have been using the last 2 days, and complete the work. Make sure to save often, and save at the end of the hour.
3. REMINDERS!!!
1. If you are on the list this week for vocab words this needs to get done today! Make sure that you are getting your words defined and posted to the wikispaces page!
2. Despite the fact that I have not said anything in class, I have posted the last 2 days on the blog a discussion requirement for you in Edmodo. This needs to get done by Friday (midnight)! The discussion prompt is as follows:

What does FREEDOM mean to you? In what way do you thank a veteran to let them know that you appreciate their willingness to make the supreme sacrifice for you? If you don't do anything, explain why.

3. The video below is for you to watch concerning one of the vocab words for this week.  Hopefully it will help you with understanding a little more of what cache is.  The narrator gets a little off-track, but does explain what cache means.

Firewall video; Intro to Alice

Yesterday I forgot to mention in class that you have a discussion assignment on Edmodo.  I did post this on the blog, but in the midst of completing our work yesterday I forgot to remind you in class.

This week's discussion prompt is as follows:

What does freedom mean to you? In what way do you thank a vet to let them know that you appreciate their willingness to sacrifice their life for you? If you don't do anything, explain why.  If you'd also like to include any Veterans that you have in your family and when they served that would also be interesting.

This is homework (do not plan on class time to work on it), and it is due by Friday, Nov. 18th.  You are welcome to post up until midnight of Friday, but I would highly recommend that you get it done before Friday because it is highly unlikely that you will go home after school on Friday and complete this assignment.  If you need to come in before school, during lunch recess, homeroom, REAL, etc. then please make arrangements with me to do so.

Today, we are going to watch a short video on what a firewall is.  The guy presenting uses a little bit of techno-babble, but I think you'll be able to understand what he is saying.

After watching the video, we will continue with working in Alice.  Today we will discuss how to change camera views, create new methods, and play a world.  It should be fun!

Start learning the keypad

In our normal tradition, this week will include a vocab list and a vocab quiz on Friday.  Below are the culprits (ok - that was a joke!) for this week's vocab list.  This week is list #8 - all of our words have to do with the TECHNICAL side of using a computer.

Please make sure that you have your words defined by Wednesday night - if not you will not receive credit for defining your words.  Remember, if you include a link or a video or a picture you will earn extra credit.

3rd hour:  ChaseB, LoganC, BrookeL, IsaacR, AndrewR, DakodaV
4th hour:  MorganH, MorganM, KelseyO, HannahS, AlexS, ShelbyW
6th hour:  MayaE, MackenzieK, KelseyM, KimberM, KendraS, SamT
7th hour:  EmmaA, JordanA, KaylaJ, BrittanyL, LoganW
8th hour:  ColeC, DylanD, JacobH, CalebP, McKenzieW

Today we are going to start with the learning of the keypad.  I will have handouts for you to work on while we learn to use the keypad.

After learning the first part of the keypad we are going to start working in Alice.  Alice is a great tool to help you learn about programming.  This is an "Object-Oriented" programming module designed to help you understand programming through a drag and drop process.  It is easier than Logo, and probably will be a little funner as well.  Today we are going to start working on this astronaut tutorial as a class.

You also have an assignment to post on Edmodo.  This week's discussion prompt is as follows:

What does freedom mean to you? In what way do you thank a vet to let them know that you appreciate their willingness to sacrifice their life for you? If you don't do anything, explain why.

This is homework (do not plan on class time to work on it), and it is due by Friday, Nov. 18th.  Since you can work on this at home it would be possible for you to do it after school on Friday, but as we've talked about before you're probably not going to want to go home on Friday and do homework.  Therefore, it is in your best interests to get this completed as soon as possible.

Get caught up today

Today you will be allowed to get any missing work completed and handed in.  Therefore, if your name is on the board with a missing assignment you will need to be working on whatever you are missing in an attempt to get it done and handed in.  Realize that not all of what we have done has been entered in Skyward.  Today's crossword puzzle, for example, is obviously not listed on Skyward because it hasn't been graded.  Same goes for Activity 6 and 7 - neither of those Formatting activities have been graded and won't show up on the list on the wall.  Therefore, if you haven't completed them, get them done today!

If you are done with everything the first thing I'd like you to do is add a widget to your blog.  The steps to do so are listed below.  After adding the widget, you have several choices:  you can work in Logo (I'll give you a handout), you can work in Alice using this tutorial , or you can work on the practice websites (your speedskin must be on your keyboard!).

Here are the steps to adding a widget to your blog:

1. Click on the "Design" button in the top right hand corner of your blog.
2. You should have several areas where you can click on "Add a Gadget" (see picture below).  You'll want to click on the "Add a Gadget" link where you want your Gadget to be added on your blog :




3. After clicking on the Gadget (many people usually call these Widgets, but we'll stick with Blogger's name), you'll get a window that pops up that looks like the following picture:


4. Choose the Gadget you want to include on your blog by doing a simple search.  Click on one of the four choices on the left - Basics, Featured, Most Popular, or More Gadgets - then click on the blue plus sign to add it.  Or, in the top right-hand corner of the window there is a search box - search for something that you want to add.  REMEMBER!!!! - everything added to your blog must be school appropriate!

Finish FA7; start Alice

You will be given the entire hour today to finish FA7 - it is due at the end of the period!  When you are done you will have 2 pages to print out and hand in.  Make sure you are following the directions on yesterday's blogpost - you need to have filename and path included in your documents.

Once you have completed FA7 you are going to start working with Alice.  This program shows you how you can manipulate objects in a program - something that computer programmers do while working on software with characters that move within the software program, or something that movie makers do while working on a movie project like Cars or Toy Story.

In order to learn how to use Alice you'll need to go to the following website to learn how the Alice interface is organized and what the 5 different areas on the interface are for.  To access this Alice tutorial click here.

Also, don't forget that your crossword puzzle is due tomorrow at the beginning of class!  If you have it completed you may hand it in now.

At this point I'd also like to remind you to check the board in the room for missing assignments.  If you are missing assignments it is your responsibility to come in and get them made up.  Remember, earning 50% on an assignment (what you get if you turn an assignment in late) is much better than getting a zero.  Let me know when you plan on coming in (before school, homeroom, REAL, lunch recess, or after school).

Find and replace

To start the day you will be reviewing all the keys we have learned so far.  Go to the Free Typing Game website and practice on any of the lessons listed here:  8, 9, 17 - 23, 25, 27 - 29.  Make sure your speedskin is on your keyboard!

For those who have not yet downloaded Alice (from yesterday's blogpost), please do that first before beginning on the above warmup!


Next we will be working on the next Formatting Activity.  In this activity you will be learning how to find and replace text.  This can be a useful tool in a large document when you want to find something that has already been typed in (usually multiple times), and replace it with something different.  The actual process of finding and replacing the text is very simple - you just need to learn how it is accomplished.

The instructions for FA7 are listed here:

FA7


This formatting activity will be due at the end of the hour on Wednesday, Nov. 9th.


Lastly, don't forget that you have a crossword puzzle due on Thursday.  You may turn it in at anytime before then, but you'll need to have it done when you walk in the room Thursday to get full credit.

Finish Friday's work

Remember that today is a shortened day with Student-Led Conferences occurring this evening from 4-8 pm.  The day's schedule is written on the right side of the board (in green).

This week's vocab word of the week for LA is also on the board (in red).

There is no vocab list for Computer Applications for this week - yeah!

As for today....

If you have not already done so complete FA6 from last week.  The instructions were posted on Thursday's blog post.

Also, if you have not yet completed the reflection post for last week please get that done during class today as well.  This should be written on your blog as a post, then you need to email me a link to your blog.

I also will be passing out a Crossword puzzle for this week.  It will be due this Thursday, Nov. 10th, at the beginning of class.


Next, you need to go to the following website and download a program called Alice.  This is another program we are going to use to learn to be a computer programmer.  However, this is a program that teaches you how to manipulate objects (in computer terms it is called Object Oriented Programming - or OOP; basically it means that you are using visual objects to move around in a program, like you would do with most video games).  The website can be found by clicking here.

Once on the website, you'll need to click on the download link, shown below:

This may take several minutes, so please be patient.  Once it is downloaded, double-click on it in the download window.  It should then automatically be posted on your desktop.  Once on your desktop open Finder and click on the Alice 2.2 icon in the top left.  You then should see the following icon:

Click and drag this icon into your account on the server (this is the one that has the little house as an icon).  Once this is accomplished it should be saved in your account, and you can click on it to open it.

Vocab quiz 7

I'll give you a few minutes to review for the vocab quiz, and then we will take the quiz in class over Internet #3.

After the quiz, go back to yesterday's blog post and read the instructions for FA6.  FA6 is due today at the end of the hour!  While working on this assignment you should have your speedskin on your keyboard!  Also, this assignment needs to be printed out and handed in, so make sure that your filename and path is in the right-hand side of the header (this is in the directions).  


After completing FA6 you need to create a new post on your blog.  As you did last week, you need to explain in your post what you have learned from this week.  What successes did you have in Computer Applications?  What failures?  What did you learn?  What questions did you have that were not answered in class?  Include anything else you feel is important about what happened in class this week.  This is called a reflective post, and we will be utilizing this in class regularly throughout the rest of the semester.  It is a great way for you to reflect on and synthesize (that means bring together, or remember) what we have learned in class over the last week.  


Once you complete your blog post, publish it, then send me an email with a link to your blog so I can read what you have written.  If you are unable to get this done in class today this should be completed at home over the weekend.  Several of you forgot to do this last week - make sure that you get this done.

SLC Folders, FA6

First, you'll need to get two assignments from Computer Applications and put them in your SLC folder.  If you have assignments that I have passed back and kept, you can choose from those.  Another option is to print out a vocab quiz or two from Classmarker.  Still another option is to print out one of the Correct Finger assignments we did on Classmarker.  Whatever you choose, make sure that you have 2 assignments from Computer Applications that you have in your folder and you can talk about in your SLC.  I also get to choose one assignment, and I'll choose last week's vocab quiz (Quiz #6).

Next, print out your SLC folder cover.  Staple it to your folder so the tab is on the left side as you are looking at your printout.

Do you have vocab definitions that you have not yet completed?  If so, get them done ASAP!  Also, don't forget you have a vocab quiz tomorrow!

After getting your work for the SLC folder completed you are going to be working on Formatting Activity 6.  In this activity you will be learning how to insert commonly used symbols and special characters into a Word document.  These symbols and characters have a wide range of uses - learning to use the symbols can be convenient in the right circumstances.  The instructions are embedded below, and your FA6 is due at the end of the hour Friday, Nov. 4th.  Pay special attention to instruction #4!!

Activity 6 -

Creating a folder cover for SLC

What we are going to do today is create a cover that you will staple to your SLC cover for next week.  This folder should be a reflection of you rather than a just a bunch of images.  For example, you may choose to include an image of the rainforest animal that you did research on.  You might also want to include images of an activity that you are involved with - Builder's Club, Football, Cross Country, or Student Council (these are just examples - there are obviously others that you may be involved in here or outside of school that you want to include).

In order to create your cover page, you'll need to first open Word.

The first thing that I want you to include is a WordArt with your first and last name.  In order to do this, go to the INSERT menu, then put your cursor on "Picture" and choose WordArt (about halfway down the sub-menu list - see below):

Inserting WordArt

You'll then need to select a style to incorporate into your document.  Be careful here!  You'll want to select a style that allows you to be able to read what you have written - some are difficult to read!

Once you select a style a box will pop-up in your document - double click in the box and then a window will open up - type in your name, change the font style, and change the font size as you please.  When you are done, hit ok.  You'll end up with something that looks like this:

WordArt example

You'll be able to click and drag the circles in the corner to change the size of your WordArt.  If you want to edit what you have, double click on the letters of the WordArt and the WordArt window will open up again.  

Next you'll be inserting images into your document.  This is a little more difficult for a couple of reasons.  First, you'll want to do some research (probably on Google) to find the pictures you want.  Second, these images must be school appropriate.  Third, you'll need to find pictures then save them to your account (save them in your Computer Application folder we created earlier in the year).  Fourth, I highly recommend that you choose pictures that have very little dark background or dark colors to them - the reason for this is that we are going to be printing in black and white (sorry - no color printing anymore!) and if you have a bunch of dark colors the image will not look very good once it is printed out. 

I am including a visual description of how to save pictures from a website to your computer, then insert the saved images into your document next:

1. Go to Google.  Select "Images" in the top-left corner so that you are only searching for images.
   


2. Find a picture on the Internet (if you hav pictures saved in your account from another class and you want to use them, you will not need to do this step;  this is only if you are getting picture(s) from the Internet).  Once you find the picture you want, put your cursor on th picture, then hold down the Control key and click on the picture - you'll get a menu that pops up (shown in the picture below on the right of the picture) - and then click on "Save Image As...".  Save the image into your Computer Applications folder that we created earlier in the year (give it a name you can remember!).
3. The next step is to insert the picture into your document, so we now need to go to Word.  In Word, go to the INSERT menu, put your cursor on Picture, and click on "From File".
   
4. Once your picture is in your document, you're going to want to change the formatting on the document so that you can "freely" move your picture anywhere you want within your document.  To do this, first double click on the picture so that you open the following window:
    
   Just as you see in this picture, select "Layout" in the bottom left, click on Tight under "Wrapping Style", and then click on "Advanced" 
5. In the Advanced Layout window, on the bottom-left side under "Options", make sure that the box next to "Move Object with text" is NOT! checked (see the blue arrow below).  This will allow you to move your picture freely within the document.  You may also want to change the size of your image - in order to do that click on the image once, then grab and drag one of the circles in the corner of the image to resize it.

More blogging techniques

For those who are responsible for defining words this week on the Wikispaces website you should be working to get your words defined ASAP.  Remember, there can only be one person at a time editing the website.  You should have decided who was defining in what order when you met yesterday in your small groups.  All words should be defined by the end of class tomorrow!

To start off today open Microsoft Word and turn to page 42.  Type lines 1-3 on 18A, at the top of the page, once.  Then, in 18B, type lines 1-6 twice.

Vocab help for this week:
HTML - "View source" in Safari or "Page Source" in Firefox
IP Address - What is my ip address

We will continue to discuss how you can further design and create using your blog.  As a reminder, this is a school associated activity so you must keep everything on the blog school appropriate.

Blogging

This week we have another vocab list.  This is the 3rd list that deals with the Internet.  Here is the list of students responsible for this week's vocab words:

3rd hour:  ElizabethB, EthanK, EmmaL, AlexisP, ElizabethP

4th hour:  MaddieA, BenettE, CaysonF, DestinyL, GraceM, PaigeO

6th hour:  RossC, HaleeG, BrileyK, DevonM, CamarieM, ReneeT

7th hour:  ElliottM, AdamN, TravisR, CassandraT, JacobV, AlexW

8th hour:  BritnyB, NikolasF, LucasH, DwightM, PaigeS, RyanW

To start with this week we will be learning the at sign - @ (right shift + left ring/3rd finger); the left parenthesis - ( (left shift + right ring/3rd finger); the right parenthesis - ) (left shift + right little/4th finger); and the asterisk - * (left shift + right middle/2nd finger).

Next we will begin learning how to manipulate and design your blog.  Creating a blog can very much be a creative experience for the blogger.  There are several things that you need to keep in mind as you create your blog:

1. Remember your audience.  If you are trying to reach adults, then you don't want to design a blog that would look like something you find in a Kindergarten classroom.  Your audience is who you are trying to attract to the website - make it appropriate to your audience.
2. Use colors and backgrounds that make what you have on your website easy to see.  
3. Use Fonts that are easy to read.  Sometimes the coolest font is a terrible web font because it's hard to read.  You want your audience to be able to easily read what you write on your blog - not become confused because the information was read incorrectly.

Here are some of the things that we will cover in designing your blog:

New posts

HTML vs. Compose

Modifying text entries

Edit posts

Labels/tags

Publishing/Saving/Preview

Creating Pages
Changing your Settings

Designing your blog

Vocab Quiz; Creating a blog

First thing's first - take a few minutes at the beginning of the hour to review for the vocab quiz.

After completing the quiz, you can watch the video below (turn off the volume).  As you are watching it, follow along and complete the creation of your blog.  You should have no problems following along without the narration - watch and do as the narrator does.  The website that we used to create the blog was Blogger.

Once you are done with watching the video you need to complete your first post to your blog.  Title the blog post "Oct. 28th weekly summary".   In this blog post you will write a reflective summary in which you will share what you have learned this week and write any questions you may have about what was covered in Computer Applications (KEEP YOUR SPEEDSKIN ON YOUR KEYBOARD!).  Write the "A-Ha" moments you had, and write about what was frustrating.  You may need to go back and look at the other posts that I have made this week on the blog to help remind you of what we covered this week.

Once you have completed this assignment, send me an email from Google with a link to your blog so I can read your Weekly Summary post.  Remember - when you send an email you should have a subject line, an introduction ("Dear Jimmy" is just one example), a message to tell the person you're writing to why you're sending the email, and you need to include your name at the end of the email.



Here are a couple of reminders about the blog:

1. Everything posted on the blog must be school appropriate.
2. No adding games of any kind as widgets to your blog - this is not an arcade!
3. Use what we have learned about Internet Safety while being creative on your blog!  You can be safe and create a fantastic blog at the same time!

Vocab videos

Here is today's first video we will be watching.  It is on RSS feeds.  Basically an RSS feed (RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication) is a free online subscription to a website that frequently posts new articles; or in the case of blogs new blogposts.

The second video for today will discuss what a blog is.  You have been accessing my blog for most of the semester, so you should have a basic, beginning understanding of what a blog looks like and what you can do with a blog.  The video below explains blogs:

We will continue our learning of new symbols on the keyboard in an effort to try and get all of the symbols done.  Today we will cover the % (right shift + left index/1st finger), < (left shift + right middle/2nd finger), > (left shift + right ring/3rd finger), # (right shift + left middle/2nd finger), & (left shift + right middle/2nd finger).

After completing those symbols we will be working on creating your own blog using Blogger.  Creating a blog is relatively easy to do.  It also requires the use of an email address (you have a Google account so that will work perfectly).  We will use the blogs we create for several different purposes in class, but I want you to remember that since this is used for school everything must be school appropriate that is posted on your blog.  There will be no games on your blog while you are in this class - after this semester is over you can add whatever you want to your blog.

HAVE YOU CHECKED THE BOARD FOR MISSING ASSIGNMENTS??!!! If your name is on the board then you need to get the assignments that are missing completed and handed in.  Before school, Homeroom, lunch recess, REAL time, and after school are all available for you to use to complete work.

Logo Practice 4

To begin with we will be doing our blank keyboard assignment.  I'll give you just a little bit of time to review the keyboard.  Remember, you need to know all of the letters, the numbers, the tab key, the Caps Lock key, the shift keys, the return key, the space bar, the semicolon, the comma, and the period.

After the assignment you will have the rest of the hour to work with your partner in completing the Practice 4 page that requires you to write a procedure, then create the design on the page.  We will go over these at the end of the hour today.  Here are some hints:  #1 - use a procedure called a rectangle; #2 & #3 - use a procedure called a triangle; #4 - draw the crooked line then trace back over the line; #5 - use a procedure called a hexagon; #6 - use a procedure called an octagon.

Once again I need to remind people to get their vocab definitions done for this week.  You will need to get that done during class today if you haven't done this yet.

Also, as another reminder, get your Edmodo discussions done before midnight tomorrow.  If you need to come in during lunch recess, before school, after school, or some other free time then please do so.  Just check with me before you come in.

Logo Procedures

I have several reminders to give you as we start today:

1. After we watch the video below, if you have not yet defined your words on Wikispaces you need to get that done ASAP.  
2. You have a discussion in Edmodo that you need to have completed by Thursday, Oct. 27th at midnight.  The prompt is as follows:  What was the importance of learning about the Rainforest?  In addition, discuss what animal you did your research on, and what you learned about "your" animal.
3. If you did not complete the REPEAT assignment that was due last Friday, get that turned in as soon as possible.  I have started grading those, and it will take some time as I have to write each one in Logo to check to see if it works, so it may be later this week before I get everyone's graded.
4. Tomorrow we will have a "blank keyboard" assignment. This assignment will require you to fill in all of the numbers, letters, return key, tab key, shift keys, Caps lock key, space bar, period, and comma on a blank keyboard.  At this point you should know where each of these keys are and be able to label them.

To begin today we are going to watch a video on what phishing is (phishing is one of the vocab words for this week).





Logo - we will learn how to create a PROCEDURE in Logo today.  Basically a PROCEDURE is like a small program that you are going to create in Logo.  There are some rules that must be followed when creating a PROCEDURE, and they are as follows:

1. Every PROCEDURE starts with the word TO, and then you give the procedure a name
1. The name cannot have any spaces
2. Numbers and letters are acceptable
2. After giving the PROCEDURE a name, hit return and write a statement of instructions
3. Every PROCEDURE must be completed with "end"

A PROCEDURE allows a programmer to save time while writing instructions for the program.  Obviously, when writing extremely large programs, this can save lots of time.  The drawback is that a programmer may have a hundred or more different PROCEDURES they are using for a program, so they must keep track of how they name PROCEDURES and what those PROCEDURES do.

Connections Day!

Today is a Connections day, so our class periods will be a little shorter than normal.  Here is my Connection:

We will have another vocab quiz this week.  This week's list (we are on list #6) is related to the Internet (just like last week).  Those who are responsible for the vocab list this week are as follows:

3rd hour:  JacobG, TristanJ, AaronL, AlexaM, IsaacR, RyannT
4th hour:  SavannaA, AllyssaF, LillyH, AndrewL, PayneO, CharlieW
6th hour:  DaltonC, SethC, MackenzieK, KatelynM, AndrewP, DylanV
7th hour:  EmmaA, ChristosA, KayseyB, KaylaJ, BrittanyL, AutumnS
8th hour:  DylanD, DavyenM, KeeganM, AvaM, ReneeR, McKenzieW


If your name is on the above list you should get with your group immediately and decide who is going to define what words (there are 12 words this week).  The first person on the list needs to get on the wikispaces page immediately and define their words - when that person finishes they need to tell the next person on the list, and so on.  This should get done by the end of class tomorrow.

Today we will begin learning the symbols that are on the keyboard.  We will cover the diagonal or forward slash (right little/4th finger), the dollar sign (left index/1st finger), and the exclamation point (left little/4th finger).

We will also continue our work with Logo by reviewing the REPEAT command.  We will have a handout on using the REPEAT command to create regular polygons and circles.  This should not be a difficult handout to complete as we've already completed an assignment on this.  Instead this should act as a review sheet.

Vocab Quiz #5 - Internet #1

Take the first couple of minutes today to review for the vocab quiz.  When we are ready to take the quiz, we will go to www.classmarker.com.  If you haven't bookmarked this website yet, please do so now.

After we take the quiz you can get back with your partner and complete the Logo work with your REPEAT statement assignment.  This is due today!  Please make sure to have everyone's name who is in the group on the sheet of paper when you hand it in!

If you are done with the Logo assignment, you have three choices:

1. If you haven't handed in the crossword puzzle yet get that done and handed in now.  It is late so you'll lose 10% (or .5 points) - but losing 10% beats getting a zero on the assignment.
2. Complete the discussion board assignment on www.edmodo.com (again, bookmark this website if you haven't already done so).  Answer this prompt:  What was the importance of learning about the Rainforest?  In addition, discuss what animal you did your research on, and what you learned about "your" animal.
   
   
   This discussion post will be due on Thursday, Oct. 27th at midnight.
   
   
   Remember that you must post your original response and then you must also reply to 2 of your classmates.  Your responses should create more discussion and should not be something like - "I agree", "Great post", "I like the way you think", etc.  
3. Practice websites - these are located on the blog by going to the Website resources page on the blog, then choosing the practice website of your choice.  

Thursday, Oct. 20

Get back with your partner and spend the day working on completing the Logo practice 2 page.  Remember, each design needs to be completed using a REPEAT command in your statement.  When you are done make sure that everyone's name who is in your group has put their name at the top of the paper and then hand in the tray.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE IS DUE TODAY!