Classmarker account; create a Google doc with passwords; review all keys learned

Today we are going to check to make sure your Classmarker account works (this is the online website we will go tomorrow to take the vocab quiz).  I will give you your username and passwords so you can gain access.

Next we will create a new Google document that will hold all of your usernames and passwords - this way you will have 24/7 access to the usernames and passwords and you won't have to memorize them or carry around papers to help you remember what they are.

After we get that accomplished we will review all of the keys we've learned so far.

Google Drive folder; FA2

To start today I want to have everyone create a folder in their Google Drive for this class.  I don't really care what you call it, but just like a folder on a computer works the folder in your Google Drive will help you stay organized - you'll be able to keep all of the formatting activities in this one spot and then know where your information is in case something happens.

We will then start working on FA2 - the purpose of this formatting activity is to help you understand the difference between Save and Save As.


Activity 2

Vocabulary; Google reminders; new seating chart; Learn Left Shift Key and period

At the beginning of the hour we will move to our new seats.

Once at your new seats you can log into your Google account.  We are going to look at how the vocabulary for class works.  This involves using information that is on the class blog and setting up reminders in your Google account (I'll show you how to do this today).  We have our first vocab quiz next week, so some of you will need to get definitions right away.  The only thing we won't be able to go over today is how to use Wikispaces, the website we will use to post definitions on.  We will cover how to do that tomorrow.

After going through the vocabulary information we will learn 2 new keys; however, today's keys are not letters.  Instead we will learn the Left Shift key (L4) and the period (R3).

First assignment

Today you are going to receive your first assignment.  But, before getting it we are going to make a small change to your Google account.  Additionally, we are going to add a contact in your Gmail as well.  So, let's sign in to your Google account and I'll show you how you can add a signature to your account and how to add a contact.

The purpose of the signature, in terms of an email account, is that you can automatically add your signature to every outgoing email message that you send.  This is useful because you should always include your name at the end of every email.

Here is how you create a contact in Gmail:

1. Click on "Gmail" in the top left.
2. Choose "Contacts"
3. Click on "New Contact"
4. Fill in appropriate information
5. My school email address is dpardoe@dist228.org

After including your signature in your email we are going to talk about your first assignment.  The name of the assignment is "10 things about me".  You will need to send to me by Friday 10 facts about yourself (this is a homework assignment - you will not be allowed to complete this during class).  However, the 10 facts are going to be a little unique.  I'll explain this part in class - here's an example of what you would need to include:

1 - I have 1 sister
2 - I have golfed at the John Deere TPC twice
3 - I have 3 kids
4 - 4 is my favorite number
5 - I have been to a Chicago Bears game 5 times
6 - I started playing the piano at age 6
7 - The address of the house I am currently living in is 707
8 - I have been to Lake of the Ozarks 8 times
9 - The zip code of the town I grew up in is 80759
10 - One of the cars I own is a 2010 Toyota Highlander

When you send me your email you will need to make sure that you include the 5 parts to a correct email.  They are listed here:

1. Email address
1. Username (what comes before the @ symbol)
2. the @ symbol
3. email server (gmail or yahoo, for example)
4. the period
5. the top level domain (.com, .net, .org)
2. Subject line
1. explains to the reader of the email what the email is about
2. not typed in all caps
3. Greeting
1. include the name of the person you are sending the email to
2. depending on your relationship with the individual, it may be "Dear Mr. Smith" or you might enter "James"
4. Body
1. Write in complete sentences
2. if you want your email to be professional, avoid texting language (LOL, OMG, etc.)
3. spell check!!
5. Signature
1. create a signature using features in Google (done!)
2. eliminates having to remember to type your name at the bottom

Email signature; 10 things about me assignment

Today you are going to submit your first assignment electronically - or in other words by email.  Before you actually send your email we are going to talk about the various components of a correct email.

There are 5 parts that you need to have with every email you send (you can have more, such as Cc or Bcc or an attachment, but you should have at a minimum all of the following):

1. email address of the person you are sending it to
2. subject line
3. greeting
4. body of the email
5. signature

There is a proper way to enter information for each of these five components.  Let's take a look at what needs to be done for each of the five:

1. an email address actually has 5 sub-parts to it - they are:
1. username (whatever comes before the @ symbol)
2. @ symbol
3. the email server ("gmail", for example)
4. period
5. top level domain (or TLD) - com, org, net, etc.
6. THE EMAIL ADDRESS MUST BE SPELLED CORRECTLY!
2. subject line
1. explains to the reader of the email what the email is about
2. not typed in all caps
3. greeting
1. include the name of the person you are sending the email to
2. depending on your relationship with the individual, it may be "Dear Mr. Smith" or you might enter "James"
4. body
1. Write in complete sentences
2. if you want your email to be professional, avoid texting language (LOL, OMG, etc.)
3. spell check!!
5. signature
1. create a signature using features in Google
2. eliminates having to remember to type your name at the bottom

Here is how you create a contact in Gmail:

1. Click on "Gmail" in the top left.
2. Choose "Contacts"
3. Click on "New Contact"
4. Fill in appropriate information
5. My school email address is dpardoe@dist228.org

10 Facts About Me Assignment:

You are going to complete your first email assignment.  This email requires you to write 10 facts about yourself, but in an interesting way.  You will need to come up with a fact about you that is related to the number you put it next to.  Here is an example:

1.  I have one sister

2.  I have golfed at the John Deere TPC twice

3.  I have 3 kids

4.  I have been to Great America- Chicago 4 times

5.  I have 5 different email addresses that I have access to.

6.  I started playing the piano at age 6.

7.  My sister's name is Janelle - it has 7 letters in her first name.

8.  I have been to Lake of the Ozarks 8 times

9.  The zip code of the town I grew up in was 80759

10.  One of the vehicles I own was built in 2010

When you are done with this assignment you will need to email it to me.

Vocabulary; Review H and E; learn I and R

We are going to begin by talking about the vocab words and vocab lists for the class.  This will start next week, and we will need to get several things done in order to get this accomplished by next week.  The first of those is to get you access to the wikispaces page so that you can submit vocabulary definitions (that's already been done by me - you will need to verify by checking your gmail, and we'll do that in a little bit).

The vocabulary for this class is really split into 2 parts - on one hand you will be responsible for knowing all of the vocabulary words for any given week, and you will demonstrate your knowledge by completing a vocab quiz.  On the other hand you will be required to find definitions for the vocab words and post them to the wiki for everyone to study off of.  This "research process" will be graded, just as the vocab quizzes will be graded.

When you post a definition to the Wiki, your definition should be easy to understand.  Sometimes, after finding a definition, you will see that the definition that you have found doesn't help you to understand what that vocab word means (or is).  Therefore, find definitions that are easy to understand, and if you can't find one that makes sense please see me so I can help you write an easy-to-understand definition.

Additionally, if you have a vocab word that is an acronym (GPS, WWW, or FAQ) then please include what the letters stand for (for example, WWW stands for World Wide Web, and when you enter your vocab definition on the wiki make sure to include that).

This will seem a little foreign to begin with, but we will be talking about this every day between now and the end of next week, which is when your first quiz will be.

You may want to set up a calendar reminder so that you receive an email - this way you will be reminded several days in advance of when you need to have a definition posted on the wiki.  And, since you already know the words that you will be asked to define, you could find a definition for each of your words and save those definitions in a Google Doc - then when it is your week all you have to do is copy from your Google Doc to the Wiki.

Once we get done with this we will go back to the book and review the H and E, and if we have time we will learn the I and the R.

Google; Review keys; Learning to format in Word - FA1

We are going to start in Google, and I am going to show you how to create a contact in Google so you can start saving email addresses (rather than trying to remember everyone's email address).  I also will show you how you can save a document in an email and then access that document at home - all of this without even sending an email.

After going over what I want to show you in Google we are going to review all keys learned.  To do this we are going to go to Typing Web Tutor, and I will show you where I want you to be on that website once everyone gets to the website.

After using this as our warmup, I will be covering some very basic formatting features in Word.  You will pay attention as I go over this information, and then using the information that I cover you will complete the Formatting Activity below.  The assignment below will not be due until tomorrow, but you can turn it in today if you get done.

First vocab quiz week; signatures in Google

This Friday you will be taking your first vocab quiz.  As with any class it will probably take you one quiz to get acclimated to how I ask questions and how to prepare for our quizzes.

Our quizzes are taken online, and can only be taken here at school.  If you miss a quiz you must come into the room to retake the quiz - therefore makeups can only be done before school, during homeroom, at lunch recess or after school (unless we happen to find some extra time in class to complete it - but you'll need my approval to do that).

In order to take the quizzes online you must have an account at the website that houses the quizzes.  The name of that website is Classmarker - the website is www.classmarker.com.  My suggestion is that you go to that website and bookmark it so you don't have to remember the website.  The nice thing about this website is that it grades your quizzes immediately - therefore as soon as you submit your quiz you will know exactly what your grade is.  However, you will not know which questions you missed because I don't want 3rd hour students telling 7th hour students the answers to the questions.

The login procedures here will be fairly easy...your login will be your first name and the first 3 letters of your last name (and some people may have a number that they will have to include after their last name).  There are no spaces to your username.   The password is congo and then the hour you have Computer Applications (for example, 3rd hour's password is congo3).

I want everyone to log into Classmarker, Google, and also your Wikispaces account.  The Wikispaces pages for each class can now be accessed by clicking on your class hour on the Vocabulary page.  That will take you to your class' Wikispaces page, but you will still need to log into your account so that you can access the Wiki and then edit the page with your definitions.

I will be gone the rest of this week and possibly next Monday for a minor surgery so I want to make sure that everyone is capable of accessing their accounts.  Mrs. Glazier will be here and can help, but I want to try to get any problems out of the way today.

While I am gone my expectation is that you will be on your best behavior.  It's hard enough with as many people as there are in here, but for someone who is coming into the room from the outside it is even more difficult.  Please help to make Mrs. Glazier's week enjoyable.

Google Accounts and Wikispaces pages

Today we are going to double check and make sure that our Google accounts are active and working.  Additionally, you should have an email from Wikispaces regarding being signed up for a new Wikispaces page - we will be logging into that account as well so we can make sure that you can access this page for the vocab.

Google - you will not be allowed to chat during class time.  This is a violation of the computer lab policy and you will suffer consequences if you are seen talking with someone else on chat in Google.  If you don't know how to chat, then you don't have to worry about this!

Continue creating Google accounts; Learn B & Y

3rd and 4th hours will be learning the W and Right Shift keys.

6th and 7th hours will be creating their Google accounts.  Depending on how many people we have create accounts in these 2 classes we may be able to have 8th hour create their accounts, but it will be doubtful.

If it is not possible, 8th hour will be learning to key the B (L1) and the Y (R1).

Setting up Google accounts; Learn W and Right shift key

Today, during 3rd and 4th hours, we will begin our process of creating a Google account.  I will need to have from you, once you have created your account, your Gmail account and password.  I do this not to invade your privacy, but instead to alleviate having to recreate accounts in case you forget your password information.

For those not creating accounts we will learn 2 new keys today.  They are the W (L3) and the Right Shift Key (R4).

U & C (new keys); vocabulary and wikis; creating Google accounts

Today we have several things to accomplish.  We are going to start by discussing the vocabulary and how it works in class.  I will show you using 3rd hours' example that is posted on the blog (I don't have any other classes done at the moment).

However, in order to complete this as necessary you are going to need a Google account.  We will be working on that tomorrow through Friday.  You will need a cell phone, or the cell phone of a friend, in order to receive a text message and verify your information.  So, if you have a cell phone we will be using it in class one day this week to get signed up in Google (keep it in your locker - I'll let you know when you can go and get it).

We also will be learning 2 new keys today - the C (L2) and the U (R1).

Vocab Quiz #2; Gmail

You'll have a few minutes at the beginning of the class to review for the vocab quiz.  Make use of the time given you!

After the quiz, log in to your Google account but DO NOT start searching in images...just be patient until everyone is done with the quiz.  

Gmail - we are going to set up a signature in Gmail today.  I think for some classes we have already done this, but I want to get everyone set up so when I receive an email from you I can tell who the email is from.  A signature is simply going to add your name to end of every email you send out without you having to do type your name in every time you send an email.  In other words, every time you send an email you won't have to type your name in BUT your name will be included.  

Then, you will have your first assignment with your email account.  You are going to send me 10 Facts About Yourself (that's the name of the assignment...and what you are going to do).  But, the catch is that you have to organize the assignment in a specific way.  You need to send me 10 facts about yourself, but each fact has to be related to the number you put it next to.  For example:

1 - I have 1 sister

2 - I have been to Walt Disney World twice

3 - I have 3 pets - a dog, a cat, and a parakeet

4 - I have been to the Ozarks 4 times

And so on.  When you are working to complete this assignment, you MAY NOT! tell me you have 10 fingers, or 5 toes on your left foot.  The facts you include must be facts I would not normally know about you.  

When sending an email you need to do 5 things:

1. Include a valid email address
2. Always! include a subject line so your reader knows what the email message is about
3. Write the name of the person you are sending the email to at the beginning of your message ("Dear Yoda:")
4. Write a message - and then reread it and spell check it before you send it.  Remember what you learned with Internet Safety - what you send and how it looks is a direct reflection on you!
5. Include your name at the end of the message (not a problem if you have a signature all set up!).