WEEK OF DEC. 17TH

This is the last week of school, and I am going to give you directions today on what you need to accomplish this week.  Most of this you already know, but some of it will be new (we will in fact have one more Formatting Activity and we will cover what needs to be done for that today in class).  Here are the activities you need to complete this week:

1. Formatting Activity 15 (embedded below)
2. Send me an email with a link to the journal page on your blog.  You should have 3 weeks of journal reflections that have images embedded on them (Nov. 26, Dec. 3rd, and Dec. 10th). 
3. There is a crossword puzzle for this week - it is due on Thursday.
4. Your podcast is also due Thursday - make sure you email it to me ASAP.
5. Any missing assignments should be completed and submitted to me as per the instructions for that particular assignment.
6. If you are completed with everything you are to work in Alice.  If you complete the most recent set of instructions I can give you additional problems to solve in Alice.

FA15 -

Lastly, in light of the recent tragedy in Connecticut I am including the link below in case you feel so compelled to help the families affected by what has happened.  Please do this on your own time (in other words at home), but helping others in small ways is a tremendous way to demonstrate giving to others during the Christmas season.

Sandy Hook help

Vocab Quiz #9; reflection; Alice

This will be a fairly normal Friday.

We will start with reviewing for the vocab quiz.

After reviewing and taking the quiz, you will need to write this week's reflection on your blog - remember you also need to include an image in your reflection blogpost.

Once you have completed the reflection you can continue to work on creating the Space World in Alice.  If you get done with the instructions for the Space World in Alice, I want you to incorporate 2 more pairs of objects into the world (that's a total of 4 objects).

After adding the other objects, you need to create a new method for each pair of objects (that means that you will create 2 new methods).  For example, if you added an astronaut and a humvee you could have the astronaut ride the humvee (this should sound familiar - it's what you've already done, so you'll need to create some other method for the other pairs of characters).  Be creative - I'm not asking you to make this make sense, just add objects and create methods.

Now, once you have created a new method for each of the new pairs of objects you have included, you need to create an event for each of these new pairs of objects.  For example, if you added an astronaut riding a Humvee you could control the Humvee with your arrow keys.

Vocab quiz 8; reflection with image; ALICE

Take a few minutes at the beginning of class to review for the vocab quiz (list #8).  We will take the quiz in a few minutes.

After completing the vocab quiz you need to create another reflection on your journal page on your blog.  However, we need to make sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing when writing a reflection.  Here are some guidelines:

1. What you write should be in complete sentences with correct grammar and spelling.  
2. The reflection should explain what you learned in Computer Applications this week, what you liked about what you learned, and/or what you didn't like about what you learned, and then why you either did or did not like it.  
3. You should only discuss Computer Applications - you are not reflecting on Geography, Math, or any other class.  
4. You need to insert an image that is related to something we did in class - this also should be discussed in your reflection (for example you may want to include the same image you used for your movie summary, and then explain in your reflection that you learned to insert an image to a blog and that this is an image of your favorite movie). 
5. Write your reflection in the following manner; 

WEEK OF NOV. 26

A;SLDKFJ;LJ

AS'DLKJAS;DLFKJASDF

AS;DLFKJASDFL

ASD;FLKJASDF;LJ

QWERPU

QWEPROIU

IMAGE

If you get done with all of this, you will start working with ALICE.  In order to open ALICE, go to your Finder, click on Applications, and then look for the ALICE program.  When you find it, open it and complete the 2 tutorials below in order

BEGINNING ALICE TUTORIAL

ALICE TUTORIAL 2

Numbers; Edmodo post; Reflection from last week on blog

Vocab words - URL, Netiquette

You will have another post this week in Edmodo.  As we always will do when you post in Edmodo, you need to post your original response and then post 2 replies.  Remember, you need to create discussion when you reply in Edmodo!  Many of you posted replies that did not create discussion.  Here are some poor examples from our last assignment that people posted that did not create further discussion:

"The bells are annoying"
"Being able to chew gum is great!"
"Good point!  We do use use computers more often."
"I agree with you about having more homework."
"Yeah...math is hard."

None of those replies requires a further response from the person you are replying to, thus they stop the discussion.  Remember, you want to create more discussion.  Here are some examples of good posts that people posted to create further discussion:

"What class has more homework than 6th grade?"
"If they expect a lot from us now, what do you think it will be like in 8th grade?"
"Do you like the bells or would you prefer the teacher telling you when to leave to go to the next class?"
"What is your favorite class?"
"Who is your favorite teacher and why?"

Your Edmodo discussion board assignment will be due on Monday, Oct. 22nd, and your post for this week is as follows:
List one new vocab term you've learned and how, why, or in what way it will be important to you as you continue to live in a world dominated by computers.  

Reflection for week of Oct. 8th - enter your reflection on your blog for last week - I would assume many of you would include your thoughts on the Rainforest and Brookfield zoo activities we did.

Open Microsoft Word - we will warm up before we start learning the numbers on the keyboard (these are the numbers across the top of the keyboard).  Start with warming up on page 20 in the book (use all lines to warm up).

Vocab quiz #8; reflection; Finish Alice tutorial

You will be given several minutes to quickly review for Vocab quiz #8.  After reviewing we will go to Classmarker and take the quiz (you will not go to the website until I direct you to do so).

After the quiz, write your reflection on your blog.  Remember that you must include an image with your blogpost (this could be a time where you take a picture of your world and include your screenshot as your image on your blogpost).

If you get done with your reflection and you are done with the tutorial, see if you can add the following into your world:

1. After having already added the lunar lander from yesterday, have the astronaut drive the humvee to a far away location in your world to where there is a small "space community".
2. At this community, have the astronaut pick up an individual and transport him or her back to the lunar lander.
3. Before entering the Lunar Lander, have both the astronaut and the community individual wave goodbye, and then have them both climb the ladder of the lunar lander and enter the lunar lander (have them climb in one at a time).
4. Have the lunar lander take off as if it is leaving the space world you have created.

Vocab quiz; Finish FA8; reflection

1. I'll give you a few minutes to review for the quiz, then we'll go to classmarker and complete Vocab Quiz #7.
2. After completing the quiz, you need to finish FA8 and send it to me through Gmail (the instructions are still on Wednesday's blogpost) - this is due today!  Your speed skin will be on your keyboard as you complete FA8.
3. Complete your journal reflection for this week.  Remember to include an image of something that is representative of what we have done this week.
4. If you get all of the above done you can go to 10 fast fingers and post your best time on the blog.  The instructions for doing this are also on the blog for this week.  

Think Spring Break!!

Today is obviously the last day before Spring Break!  I want to wish all of you a rejuvenating week off!  Hopefully you'll come back with a desire to work hard through the last 8 calendar weeks of the school year!

The only thing you need to get done today is your reflection on your blog.  Remember...you need to have an image in your blogpost that should relate to something we did this week...and that could include the Wounded Warrior assembly.  Once you get that done you can go to the keying games on the blog, unless you have work that you need to complete, in which case you should be working on it.

Keep your speedskin on your keyboard!!


See you in April!

Reflection #6; Logo; Crossword Puzzle due today!

Hand in your crossword puzzle for a grade - make sure your name is on it!

Today we will begin with checking the Logo handout that I gave you yesterday.  This will not be for a grade, but it is important that we check to make sure that you did these correctly.  Again, you should have the opposite turn (for a RT the opposite turn would be LT, and vice versa); then to find the angle of the turn you need to subtract the angle listed from 360.


A couple of additional and important pieces of information are as follows:  the sum of the interior angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees, and the sum of the interior angles of a quadrilateral equal 360 degrees. This is important to know as you create your "Total Turtle Trip" in drawing your shape!
The next handout will be your assignment, which you will work on today and Monday in class (you may work with the people sitting near you - but no moving seats).  In this handout, you will be given several shapes in which you must give Logo instructions on how to draw the shape.  If you want to open and use Logo on your computer to help you draw the shapes that is perfectly OK! 

On the handout that I will give you in class, we will go through #1 and #7 as a class.  Your assignment will be to complete the instructions for shapes #3, #5, #6, #8, and #10.  



Also, today you will be entering your reflection on your Journal page on your blog.  This is week #7, and we covered learning how to set tabs, Logo programming, an Edmodo post, and the crossword that is due today.  We will talk about Logo first, then complete the reflection, then work on the Logo Exercise 2 handout.

Vocab Quiz #4; reflection

Today, we will accomplish several things.  First thing you need to remember - KEEP YOUR SPEEDSKIN ON YOUR KEYBOARD!

1. Review for the vocab quiz on Wikispaces.  As I said earlier in the week, I think the easiest way to get to your vocab list is to use the link on the Vocabulary page on the blog - remember, your class hour is the link to the Wikispaces page.   Do NOT! go to Classmarker until you are told to do so.
2. Take the vocab quiz on Classmarker.
3. After the quiz, complete FA3 if you haven't done that yet (the instructions can be found on yesterday's blogpost).  When you are done you are to email it to me.
4. Write your reflection on your Journal page for this week.  Please make sure this is on your Journal page - do not create a new post on your blog.
5. Learn new keys - type all lines 1-9, 8D, P. 18 once. 
1. Apostrophe ( ' ) - use the R4 finger
2. Hyphen ( - ) - use the R4 finger
3. Quotation Marks ( " ) - use left shift key + R4 finger
6. When you complete the book work, raise your hand so I can see that you have it done.  Then, you can go to the Website Resources page and continue practicing on any of the websites there.  
7. If you have missing work, now would be a good time to get it done.  This does not include your Edmodo assignment - it is not yet missing!

Vocab quiz #3; finish FA2; Reflection; Create an avatar

You will have several minutes at the beginning of class to review for the vocab quiz, then we will be heading to Classmarker to take the quiz.  You are not allowed to be on Classmarker until I give you permission, and when you take the quiz your vocab list on Wikispaces is not allowed to be open on your computer.

After the quiz is completed, if you still have not finished FA2 you will have as much time as you need to complete it.  It is due today, so you need to make sure that you finish before you leave.

You also must post your reflection for this week - make sure that you label it as Week 5, and it should be entered on your Journal page.  As you think about this week's activities you may want to go back through the blog posts to jog your memory about what we have done.

If you get done with both of these, then you can create an avatar.  This is not a required assignment, so this is something you can do for fun.  After you get it created you may want to upload it to Edmodo (we haven't used Edmodo yet, but will start next week).  Here are two websites that you can use to create an avatar:

Build Your Wild Self
Planet Creation

There are instructions in a video on the How To page that will help you to upload your avatar from these websites.  For the Planet Creation website you'll have to create a screenshot and then upload your screenshot to Edmodo - the process is a little easier from this website than it is from the Build Your Wild Self website.

Complete Journal entry for last week; finish FA1

Today we are going to fix your problems with the journal page on your blog.  What you should have is a separate page on your blog titled "Journal".  When you first go to your blog, this is what is called your "Home" page.  Then, you should have an additional page called "Journal".  The only thing on your Journal page should be your weekly reflections.  Your home page, at least so far, should only have your Xtranormal video.

Every week when you are adding your reflection to your Journal page you will need to go to your Journal page and then click on the pencil at the bottom of the page post.  This will open up the "editor" window so that you can change, or edit, what you have on your Journal page.  Last week was Week 4, so you will want to enter that at the top of your paragraph(s) that you enter for your reflection.

After completing last week's reflection, if you have not yet finished FA1 you need to do so now.  Remember that you need to send it to me via email.  If you are unsure on how to attach a file to an email you can go to the How To page and view how to do it.

**REMINDER**

When you send an email you need to always include a subject line.  Too many of you are forgetting to do that - please remember to include that from now on when sending an email.

When you have completed that you need to open Word and start reviewing on pages 11, 12, and 13.  On page 11, type 5C, lines 1-10 once.  On page 12, type 5E, lines 1-10 once.  On page 13, type 6C, lines 1-10 once.

If you get that done, raise your hand and I will come check it.  Then you can go to the following website to practice:  TypingWeb.

If you are responsible this week for vocab words you need to have your words posted by tomorrow.  If you need to get with the people in your group do that today so that all of the group members can get their definitions posted.  Please see me if you need help!

Vocab quiz

At the beginning of class I will be giving you a few minutes to review the words for this week.  You may go to your class' wikispaces page and review the vocab words that your classmates have entered for the quiz.

Once you have been given several minutes to study, you'll be taking the quiz.  Do NOT go to Classmarker until you are told to do so!  Once you get to Classmarker, login, and then you may begin taking the quiz.  When you are done you must make sure to click on the Finish Now button.  You will then be asked to confirm that you are ready to finish, so you will need to click on Confirm Finish Now if you want your test scored. 

After completing the quiz you need to go to your blog and post on your blog your reflection for this week.  Remember, a reflection is your thoughts about what has occurred in class this week - good or bad.  You should have at a minimum one paragraph, but with everything that we have done this week it should be very easy to come up with 2 or 3 paragraphs of information.  This is to be entered on your Journal page, and I am suggesting that your format for your journal looks as follows:

"Week 1:

I really enjoyed this week - we were able to create our own blog ......

Week 2:

This week I learned about Internet Safety and how to .....

 Week 3:

We registered on two new websites this week and learned that in Google Docs....."

If you haven't entered a reflecton for Weeks 1 and 2 now would be a good time to get those done (you can always go back to the class blog and look and see what we did those weeks).  If you haven't created a blog yet you will need to do that ASAP (if you want to ask a person sitting next to you to help you that would be fine - but no moving around the room.  When you create your blog make sure that you write down the web address to your blog so that you know where it is located.). Then you'll need to create a new post and enter your journal reflections for weeks 1-3.  If this is too confusing, see me Monday morning and I'll help you get it off the ground and running.

Once you are done with the quiz and the posting of your reflection on your blog, you need to close the Internet and open Word.  Key the following while remembering the technique skills we have already discussed:

1. Type lines 1-10 once in Section 4C on page 9.
2. Type lines 1-3 twice in Section 4D on page 10. To type the U key you will use your right index finger and reach from the J key to the U key.
3. Type lines 4-6 twice in Section 4D on page 10.  To type the C key you will use your left middle finger and reach from the D key down to the C key.  Remember, when you reach down to the bottom row you are reaching down and to the right; also if you move your fingers on the left hand down to the bottom row you will see that your middle finger rests on the C key.  That's why you use your middle finger on the C.
4. If you complete those lines choose 3 lines from Section 4E on page 10.  Hold down the Command key and hit the F3 key - now try and type those 3 lines perfectly while the document is off of your screen. 
5. If you get all of this done you can go to the following website:  Typing Tutor.  Continue practicing your keying.

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.