Final Exam - Computer Applications

For the Final Exam


1. Create a New Blog (not a post, but a new blog) using your account.


2. Name the blog something that includes your name and the words final exam.


3. Add a photo from the R drive. Try "June14Final.jpg" Make the photo look good; make it fit the template.


4. Answer the following three questions.

A. What did you do well this year during Computer Applications?

B. What could you have done better?

C. What did you learn?

5. Send the link to my nusd email when you are finished.

Computer Applications 101

This is our last post before the final exam. To help you prepare for the final, I want you to reflect on the large themes of the class. I will probably ask you about them on the test. I might ask you to post a reflection or answer a survey.

There are many correct answers to the next question. I want you to choose the three best answers and provide arguments for your choices.

The question:

What did I want you to learn this year?

Write a blog post with your three best answers and supporting comments.

BF

Blog Post 100 - What is your score out of 100?

This is my 100th blog post for the Computer Applications Course. (The Multimedia and Video Productions Classes has about 90 posts.)

Today's post is related to the final and 100 posts. I want you to grade yourself in this class.

Reply to this post.

How would you grade yourself in this course? Out of 100 possible points, what score would you give yourself? What would you give as your final grade?

BF

Preview Final

For The Final you will do something similar as I have done to the header BUT MAKE THE PHOTO STRAIGHT!
Create a New Blog
with a new Photo
Edited using Photoshop. (find photo named "practice final-header" in R drive)

Student Created Surveys

Our students split into two groups and designed surveys about the upcoming final. Each group created a survey that will be taken by the other group. After the surveys have been taken, the students will evaluate the surveys data.

Survey Created by Kassondre group

Click here to take survey
Survey Created by George's group

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Time Tracker Reflection

What are three things you did well with your time tracker?

What are three things you could have done better with the time tracker?

What are three things you learned while doing the time tracker?

Post your response to your blog. After you are done, practice with Survey Monkey.

Finish Old Assignments

1. Finish the Practice Final. In your new blog, create five separate blog posts. You will also be graded on how your site looks.
If you have finished the assignment, help others.

2. Create a Survey We will create another survey tomorrow. In groups, four people will create a survey together. Then, we will collect information and analyze information. Complete your last survey and analyze the information.

3. Finish any old assignments.

Last Block Day of the Year

This is our last block period of the year. For most of us, this is our last block class of the 2010-2011 school year. To prepare us for our final, write a reflection about block schedules.

What do you like about Block Schedules?

What would you improve about Block Schedules?

What did you learn by having Block Schedules?

Provide three responses for each question.

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Practice Final

Today you will prepare for your practice final.

To do so, go to this site.

Reflections, Surveys and Interviews

Reflections, Surveys and Interviews are very similar. Today you are going to complete a survey about your survey and interview assignments. While taking the survey ask, reflect about how well you did with your project.

Take the survey

After you take the survey, post a reflection about this week.

BF

Survey - Computer Application

On Monday, we practiced interview questions. If we have more time today, we will finish the exercise. Today, we are exploring something very similar. We are looking at online surveys.

You will take an online survey that I created and you will create your own ten question online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/

You can start by taking the survey at the link I have provided below.
Click here to take survey


Please be somewhat serious with the survey. Take your time and answer the questions seriously, even though some of the questions are a little silly. What do you notice when you take the survey? How would you improve the survey? What do you want to know about other people?

We can post the answers later or keep them anonymous. I will show you how to collect answers on Thursday or Friday.
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Time Tracker Update

Some students are submitting multiple trackers with identical titles and confusing subject lines. For example, some students will send me a tracker called tracker.xls for each week. Other students will send a tracker for May 20 called May6tracker.xls.

To help yourself stand out, use the subject line to describe the email message. Use a simple title that explains to the reader what he or she will see. This also helps the sender communicate their message. 

To help you have your assignments graded, Rename each spreadsheet to coincide with the assignment. For example, change the title to your name and the date of the spreadsheet. I would call my assignment BFarleytrackerMay20.xls

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Interview Questions

Pretend you search for a job. You find one available and you send a really good cover letter and resume. Even though more than two hundred people submit resumes, you are selected for an interview. You are excited. You start imagining how much you will enjoy working at Company X or Organization Y. You imagine spending your paycheck and meeting new people.

Then during the interview, your new boss asks you about your biggest weaknesses. You have answered every question really well so far, and you want to tell your new boss as much as possible, so you tell him or her ALL OF YOUR WEAKNESSES. 

What is a better way to answer this question?

Here is one example. 

Find a partner or two, and practice asking and answering this question. When you are done, write your response and send me the message from your gmail.

Here is more from Mauri Schwartz, the blog author to both links.

BF

New Finals Schedule Affects Weekly Tracker

We are taking our final exam on Tuesday June 14th. 

Friday June 10, 2011	Monday June 13, 2011	Tuesday June 14, 2011	Wednesday June 15, 2011
P4    8:20 –   10:15 Brk  10:15 – 10:30 P8/9   10:30 – 12:30	P3    8:20 –   10:15 Brk  10:15 – 10:30 P7   10:30 – 12:30	P2    8:20 –   10:15 Brk  10:15 – 10:30 P6   10:30 – 12:30	P1    8:20 –   10:15 Brk  10:15 – 10:30 P5   10:30 – 12:30

You may wish to include this date in your weekly tracker. Today, I want to see that you have completed your MS Excel spreadsheet through the end of the year. If you complete the form now, you can track your time much easier during the rest of the year.

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Career Day at San Marin

Today is Career Day at San Marin High. What did you learn?

1. Post something about your morning. Who did you meet? What do they do? Does the person work for a company or an organization?

2. How does someone find a job? What are some online job boards? Search for a job using a job board. Try monster, indeed or (if you are not at school) craigslist. What are some other online job boards?

3. Write a cover letter and send to me. Do you know how to write a cover letter? What are some basic cover letter rules? Here are some basic rules. Search the Internet for more help. Ask me!

Have someone proof the letter.

Computer Companies For Teens

Finish yesterday's post and the weekly tracker.

For an example of a company designed for youth, try this one.

Computer Companies for You

This week we have learned about Common Sense Media. Was Common Sense Media created for you? Was it created for your parents? Was it created for both you and your parents?

What would you want from a company? How would a company support you? How would a company provide you reliable information?

Find five computer, media and/ or technology companies that were created for you. Post a blog with the links to their About Us pages.

For those students who want to go the extra step, send an email to someone at one of the companies. You can cc me if you wish.

Work in groups.

TV, Video Games or Computers

In an article posted on Common Sense Media, Caroline Knorr asks,  "What's Better for Kids: Computers, TV, or Games?" 

What do you think?

Read the article. Debate with your group and then share with the class. Which is best? Which is worst? Why?

After our break, read the list about the top ten video games of last decade. Which are your favorites? Can we play any in class? If so, play them your self and write a review.

BF

Online Manners

Most students learn how to behave in elementary school. Teachers spend a great deal of time instructing appropriate rules and expectations. Students learn to raise their hand before speaking; students learn to arrive on time and listen when others are talking. Most students learn to keep their hands to themselves. As students become older, the lessons become more complicated.

Failure to learn these rules has tremendous consequences.

When students move to online environments, the lessons could be more important, because an online conversation could follow a person for the rest of their life.

Common Sense Media posted 7 Rules for Online Etiquette. Please read the list, and write about the seven rules in your own blog post. (Include a link to their post.) For each rule, explain why it is important... or why it is not important. In a complete sentence, write, "It is important to __________ because ___________ ." Do you have any of your own rules?

On Wednesday, we are going to explore some of the other sites listed on Common Sense Media, including the Best Websites. See which sites you can access if you have time.

Friday May 6 Design and Schedule

Change the Layout of your Blog.

Make it look good. Do you know how to do this?

and send your time schedule for the week.

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Excel Again

We graphed the mile record for men and women.

What was difficult last time? Evaluate the problems and post the answers in a MS Word Doc.

Then graph the womens record progression in a line graph.

Vans!

Today is the last day for the Vans Culture Contest.

Look at all the shoes and (if you wish), vote for a school in each region.

Whether you vote or not, post a review about your favorite contestant in each category. If you wish, we can create our own shoes tomorrow. Let me know what you want to do.

BF

MS Excel Graphing Final

Take two series of information and make one graph.

Test. Working in pairs, you will send me one Spreadsheet with three tabs.

Tab 1. Men's Mile time
Tab 2. Women's Mile Record
Tab 3. Combined Mile Run Record
Use these two links for references

Link 1

Link 2

FAQ's, Graphs and Minimum Wage

Today we are graphing the history of the minimum wage in the United States.

Use MS Excel to create a graph. Make the best graph that you can, because tomorrow you will have a MS Excel test on graphing.

Know how to

• Insert a graph
• Format a graph
• Select the correct type of graph
• Insert data

Time Tracking Application

Part 1

Beginning today, we will use a "time tracking computer application." You will continue submitting the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet but today you will also use Toggl (http://www.toggl.com/)

Go to the website and use your GMail account to create your own account.

Part 2

Today, we will also create a graph for the cost of gasoline for California. After you have created a graph for California, you will be able to create one single graph that compares the national cost of gasoline and the cost for California.

You may need to research the price for California and provide a link to your source. I will help if you have questions. Please try to solve the problem first.

BF

Charting: Using MS Excel to Chart Gas Prices

When I bought gasoline at the beginning of the school year, I paid about one dollar a gallon less than I did today.

How much has gasoline changed during the last twenty years?

Go to the R drive/ Excel folder and create a graph for the national averages. Notice that the national averages are much less than Bay Area gas prices.

Perhaps we will graph Bay Area gas prices Wednesday and then compare our graphs with the national prices.

For more information about the resource, please visit this link.


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Excelling at Excel

Friday. The End of the first week.

1. Finish your first week of time tracking. Send me the spreadsheet.

2. Research Excel Graphs for at least five minutes.

3. Create a graph and include the sheet with your spreadheet. Call it graphing1. Go to the R Drive, Excel Folder. Graphing 1 Spreadsheet.

For my students and parents who want more information, see my post at my other class blog.

Formatting MS Excel

In the Farley R Drive, there is a Folder called "excel." In this folder, there is a spreadsheet named 4-21.

Open the file.

There are 25 cells numbered 1 through 25. Today you will format those cells.

I want each row to have a border. I want you to color the entire 25 cells, and the border. I also want you to resize the columns and rows.

Send me the file and tell me what size you have made the rows and columns. Include this spreadsheets with your timesheet. I only want you to send one MS File today, so you may need to learn how to "Move and Copy" spreadsheets.

Send to my school email at the end of the class.

BF

Tracking Time in MS Excel

On Monday, you began tracking how you spent time in class. You also began using a new computer application: Microsoft Excel. 

Today, you have three activities.

• Answer the questions at the bottom and post in a blog.

• Two, Build your spreadsheet for the remainder of the school year. Try to create formulas that calculate total time spent on each category daily and weekly.

• Third, as required for the rest of the year, send the spreadsheet to me at the end of class completely filled out. Please identify the assignment and class period in the email subject line. 

Questions to consider:
How should the form look?
What categories should be included?
How will you track your time?
How can you be accurate?
What are the obstacles to being honest and accurate?
Is this difficult?

Tracking your time

Beginning today, students are going to track how much time they spend working on projects. This is a standard activity in many professions. For example, lawyers bill clients in six minutes increments. Accounting firms also bill clients based on an hourly rate, but rarely work a complete hour. Computer consultants bill clients too. Many visual artists also track their time, even if the artist is not billing a client, so that the artist knows whether a project is potentially profitable.

You will begin using a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to track how you spend your time in class each day. At the end of each class, send the MS Excel spreadsheet to me. Use the same spreadsheet for the rest of the year.

What categories should be included? How should the form look? Do you organize by week? How can you calculate the amount of time? What are the obstacles about being honest?

BF

Re-Do Large Group Photoshop

On Monday, we worked in groups of 3-5. We chose a photo and filter. Created layers, and often lost our work.

Today, see if it helps if you save your work as soon as possible.

Group Photo Shop

Four People

One Photo

Assignment. Sit in groups of four. Each person chooses a different photoshop effect (filter, transform, et al).

Your group chooses a photo.

Create a background layer. Rename layer to the person and filter.

Continue the process until there are five layers.

Save psd file in your drive.

Describe process and attach jpg to blog with description. Save all work.

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Group Photoshop

By the end of the day, post your before and after photos that you created yesterday. Send me the link.

Also, finish the post from Wed and include the link with the group photoshop post.

Explain how you changed the photos.

BF

Before and After, Pt 2

Choose three photos.

Post the Before and After photos, with an explanation. Grab the photos from the R drive, Farley folder, DC file.

Make the new pictures look different, but similar, so that I cannot tell that most people would not be able to tell that I took the photo.

BF

Washington D.C. Images

In my "Read Only" file (Farley, R drive), I have added two photos from last weekend while I was in Washington, D.C. for the National Walk for Epilepsy events. 

There is a photo of the Washington Monument and the White House. You can also see The Capitol Building in the background of one of the photos.

Use Photoshop and create two separate images, so that both monuments are recognizable. However, change both images so that the photographs do not look too similar to my photographs.

Post all four photos to your blog and describe the before and after process.

Wednesday March 23-25

I will be away from class.


While I am away, you have three projects. 


MS Word
MS Powerpoint
Adobe Photoshop


Create three separate documents
1. Five Pages (due Wednesday)
2. Five Slides (due Thursday)
3. Five Layers (due Friday)


Send an email each day. Do your best work, combine everything you have learned from previous lessons. Each assignment will be graded.

Weebly

This morning I created a Weebly website for my Multi Media and Video Production students.

Here is the quick website.

This afternoon, I want you to experiment with the weebly site.

Is this a product that you want to use? Is this better than Google Sites? Do you like it better than Blogger? Would you pay extra to upload video?

BF

Photoshop From Scratch

1. Open Photoshop

2. File New

3. Preset Photoshop Size (Notice all the dimensions)

4. Change the name once the dialog box opens from "Untitled-1" to "Student's Photoshop From Scratch"

5. Save File

6. Begin work! (Suggestions: Add text, import photos, change and cut other photos, experiment with adding new files that have transparent backgrounds."

7. When finished, save as jpeg and add to blog. Send me the link to the blog post.

8. Save photoshop file (psd extension) so that I can see your changes.)

Sharpen Up Your Assignments

Tonight is Open House.

Please catch up. Check your email. See if you have any notes from me or old assignments due. Read old blog posts too.

Also, check out the blog layout and design features. Make your blog look sharp.

Lastly, if you think you have finished everything, please research "photoshop, photography, sharpen, over-sharpen." look for examples where photographers used the sharpen tool too much.

BF

Microsoft PowerPoint again

The last time we tried to work with MS PowerPoint, we had trouble, because our Macs did not have the recent version of MS Office... or they did not have MS Office at all.

Currently, we are adding MS Office 2011 to the Macs. If you are a "Mac person," you can log on to a Mac and see if MS Office 2011 has been installed. Look in the applications folder.

Today, I want you to create a slideshow. Experiment. Use at least five slides, and four transitions. See if you can import sound and audio.

For advanced students, use photos from the R drive and import a photoshop file... maybe create your own template. Check out this resource too.

Anyone have suggestions for making this assignment more fun?

Since we have some new students, I expect that students will be at different levels today. 

For more Photoshop practice, view this site too, perhaps at home.

Facebook Comment Changes

Not that you can do anything with Facebook from our school computers (and if you know a trick to access Facebook from school computers, DON'T DO IT),

but I thought you might want to read this article about some new changes.

Photoshop Blur and Sharpen

Why would we want to make a photo blurry?

Why would we want to make a photo more sharp?

Using the photo "the-trail-1733" from the Farley R Drive, experiment with Photoshop effects that allow you to make a photo more blurry and more sharp.

Create a blog post with two examples. We will discuss how to do this in class. In case you miss the beginning of class, go to the Menu Bar and select Filter/ Blur and Filter/Sharpen.

When finished, send me a link to your blog post.

BF

Photoshop Filters and Fonts

1. Choose a Photo.

2. Add a New Layer

3. Experiment with Filters.

4. Find the Text tool.

5. Add a new Layer

6. Add Text. Write Something. Experiment with Text.

7. Save jpeg and post to your blog.

8 Send me the link.

We have Adobe Suite CS3. Adobe released CS5 last April. CS3 is a decent product. Adobe improved some tasks, for example edge detection which helps isolate subjects. (A student asked me about this today in class.)

Julieanne Kost, the Digital Imaging Evangelist at Adobe, is an excellent resource for Photoshop. She has an Adobe Blog too.

Russell Brown, the Senior Art Director, might overwhelm people with his ethusiasm. If his energy does not impress people, his knowledge most certainly will. Watch Russell Brown TV or read his blog.

You can also try Photoshop Tutorials. There are also sites on YouTube and many other locations.

Photoshop Composites

Three tasks today:

1. Send me your link from yesterday. (email message)

2. Include in your email message a link to a website that shows photo composites or explains them (for example Ralph Clevenger's site (see the iceberg and the bee) or Layer's Magazine
3. Research composites.

Photoshop Quiz

Using two photos from my R drive

bryan-farley-photos-0765 and bryan-farley-photos-0260

1. Open both photos with Adobe Photo Shop
2. Combine photos to create a new Photo. Save the photo and call it PSQuizYourName
3. Crop the Photo three ways using whole numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and so on)
4. Save the new files as JPEG's. Title them PSQuizYourName1, PSQuizYourName2, PSQuizYourName3.
All three cropped photos must be 50MB or less each. 
5. Send all four JPEG's to me at bfarley@nusd.org
6. Post photos to your blog and write how you combined them and what dimensions you used to crop them.

BF

Photo Shopping

In class today, we started using Adobe PhotoShop, CS3. Students learned how to open the program, sort files and use the layers palette.

Students also experimented with different photo effects.

In future lessons, students will watch tutorials and learn advanced techniques. For some previews, please view Julianne Kost's website.

Assignment 14

I am glad all of you made it to class before vacation. Today, we have an easy assignment.

Research "podcasting." I recommend that you open Google or another search engine and enter the words pod cast or podcast.

Send me a link about Podcasting. In your e-mail, write in the subject "Assignment 14 - Podcast"

Include one web link and a short description in your message.

BF

Assignment 13 - Email Links

Using email is probably more important than talking on the phone. Some students already knew how to send messages before taking this class; others are using email for the first time.


Today, students who know how to use gmail will work with those who are unfamiliar with the email application. Students will send links and messages to me at bfarley@nusd.org


1. Send the link to your last reflection. In the Subject, title it Assignment 11 - Reflection.
2. Send me another message. I want the subject to read Assignment 7 - Business Cards. Attach your business card.
3. Send me another message. I want the subject to read Assignment 8  - Greeting Cards
4. Send me another message. I want the subject to read Assignment 9 - Newsletter
5. Send me another message titled "Assignment 2, Four Folders," and send the names of the four folders in the body of the message. See this post for more information. When I reply to your messages, where will you put them?

Reflections about First Grading Period

Post a Reflection about the First Grading Period. The Reflection Questions can be found at this post.
You should have three responses for each question.


After the reflection, we will review the first grading period, and look forward to Assignment 10; Assignment 10 will be renumbered... probably to 13

BF

Assignment 12 - Email and Copying and Following

Earlier this semester, many students learned how to send electronic messages in Assignment 3. You may want to review this assignment now.  Students learned how to send or compose a message; students also learned how to "copy" a message. When someone "copies" a message, they use the "Cc" section. Cc is named after carbon copy.

The next part of the assignment is to send your parent or guardian an email asking them to follow your blog and our class blog.

Then, your parent or guardian is to send me an email confirming that he or she is following both blogs. I also want your parent or guardian to "copy" you on the message so that you have a record of the message. Keep this message in one of your email folders.

Work on this during the second part of the day. Some of you have already completed this assignment, because you realized that my post for Assignment 3 was unclear. If you do this assignment again, I would be grateful. It is also worth 100 more points.

If you are not experienced with sending email, please work with a student who is experienced.

By the end of this assignment, you are responsible for having a parent or guardian follow your blog and my blog AND for having a parent or guardian send me a message confirming that he or she is following both blogs. You are also responsible for keeping the record of the cc'ed email.

BF

New Grading Period

Today is the first day of the new grading period.

Tomorrow morning, I send grades to the office.

If you wish, you may begin the first assignment for the next grading period. Otherwise, please look through all your work and verify that you have completed the first nine assignments.

BF

Assignment 10

In your group,

Use MS Publisher and create a document about the first 9 graded assignments for second semester. You can choose any appropriate template.

Should you use a business card? Newsletter? Gretting Card?

How do you list the highlight the first 9 assignments? Do you describe them? Explain them?

BF

Wednesday February 9

Hopefully, you may have realized that I am not at school. 


Today you are working on Publisher; continue working on the three Publisher projects listed on Monday's blog post. 

You chose to work in group of two or three on Monday. Work in the same groups. So that I know you are on task, log into a computer with your log in. Every twenty minutes, send me an e-mail from a classroom computer telling me something about Microsoft Publisher. Also, in every email, tell me who is in your group for this week.

If you are not logged into a computer, I will not know that you in class.

This will be a graded assignment. I will use your emails along with feedback from the substitute.

Enjoy your afternoon.

BF

MS Publisher Week

This week we will have three assignments with Microsoft Publisher.

In groups of two or three students, you will create three projects. The projects will be numbered as follows

Assignment 7 - Business Cards
Assignment 8 - Greeting Cards
Assignment 9 - Newsletter

In my network "read only" file on the "R" drive, you can find basic examples. You can open these three files to begin the project after I have approved youy groups of two or three people.

For the Business Card Assignment, create a fictional business for your group. Every group member will have a title. Describe the template, font, color scheme and process in your blog post. If possible, post the business card in your blog post. Save the business card in your network student drive. If you do not have internet access, send me the card as an attachment.

For the Greeting Card Assignment, your group may create a similar card. Complete the assignment as you did the business card assignment.

For the Newsletter Assignment, create a combined two-page newsletter using the MS Publisher templates. You may insert photos from the R drive/ Farley folder. Feel free to be creative. You may write a newsletter about the Super Bowl commercials or Farley's love for blogs and fonts.
Also, I expect that you will finish your first six graded assignments too.


Thank you welcoming the substitute on Friday.

BF

S2A6 - Reversing Expectations

Do your peers' expectations influence your behavior? 


Research suggests teens are more likely to behave differently when they are around their peers. Most people already know that they behave differently depending on the situation. People know that there is a "time and place" for certain behaviors. People often behave differently when alone, with family and with friends.


In Assignment 5, you wrote about 


Your expectations for yourself
Your family's expectations for you
Your friends' expectations for you


Some of you provided detailed answers. For some of you, completing an assignment to the best of your ability is probably one of your expectations. You almost can't help it. You must do the assignment. You expect that you will do it. Your family expects it. Your friends expect it.


For other students, the expectation was different.


In assignment 6, write a detailed blog post that answers these three questions.
1. For you to go against your expectations, what would you do?
2. What would it take to go against your family's expectations? How would they treat you? Better or worse?
3. What must you do to go against your friends' expectations? Would you become a better student? Would you become a worse student? How would your friends treat you? Would you lose your friends?

S2A5 - Expectations

Yesterday, students responded to my blog post about expectations. In class, students sent an e-mail to my NUSD e-mail account.


In class today, students will go to their e-mail account and find their "Sent Mail" folder. In the folder, students can retrieve all sent messages, including the expectations message. If you are satisfied with the content, copy and paste the content into a new blog post and title it Assignment 5 - Expectations.


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Expectations

Yesterday, was my anniversary.


During dinner, my wife asked me a question about how I manage my classroom. She wanted to know about my expectations for my students.


My wife was a very good student; she is also very smart. She works hard. She is a good parent. We expect a great deal from our children. My parents expected a great deal from me.


Today, I want you to consider how expectations influence your decisions and send an e-mail to me at bfarley @ nusd.org.


The message will include three topics.


What are your expectations for yourself?


What are your parents and family's expectations for you?


What are your friend's expectations?


BF

iMovie

How many of you want to make movies?

videos?

how many applications are available?

http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/

Sem2-Assignment 4 Organizing Email

I might receive more than one hundred messages each day?

How do I organize them in my Inbox?

If the person who sends the message creates a useful Subject, I can often find the message by the subject. If the person has an identifiable email address, I usually can find the message, but what happens if I want to save the message?

What do I do with messages that are two years old? Where do I put them?

I put them in folders.

In Google, I use the Move To section and create folders.

Create 4 folders in your e-mail section that are useful for storing school work, personal work, and two other topics.

Then send me an email with the folder names. In the email subject line, remind me that you are completing assignment 4, and that you are in my 6th period class.

BF

Second Semester Assignment 3 - Parent or Guardian Communication

Teaching adults how to use computer applications is a valuable tool. For some of you, this will be easy, and for others, this will be more challenging. Welcome to teaching.


Before you can teach your parent or guardian how to follow your blog and my blog, you must learn how to follow blogs. So, learn how to follow blogs again, if you forgot... learn the first time, if you never learned.


For this assignment, perhaps the largest assignment all semester, do the following.


1. Send me and your parent or guardian ONE E-mail. List your parent/ guardian in the TO section. List me AND your counselor in the "cc" section. Just to remind you, this is an official assignment, and you might want to review the NUSD policies for plagiarism.


2. In the subject area, type something relevant to this class and assignment.


3. In the body of the message, list the "url" of my class blog and your blog. Your blog will probably be private, but I still want you to send the web address.


4. Also in the body, explain the purpose of the message. For example, "This is a graded assignment where I will be showing you how to follow my class work and provide the e-mail address to my teacher in case you have any questions. My instructor also wants me to learn how to teach what I have learned."


5. You will also let your parent or guardian know that he or she will be following up later with me to verify that you have completed the assignment.


If you have questions, please post them in the comment section.


Also, send your parent or guardian an e-mail

Note: The first task was for students to create a g-mail account that was identifiable, professional and appropriate. This account will be used to send messages to the teacher at bfarley@nusd.org. By creating a gmail account, students will also have access to many other google applications.

To demonstrate that students have accomplished this task, students will send me an e-mail to my school e-mail with a proper subject line. I would prefer that students identify the assignment and class period for all assignments. 

Second Semester - Assignment 2

Review 

Continuing with review, I want our students to create a blog, invite me to their blog, and "follow" my blog. These are separate parts of the assignment.


I also expect students to have a private blog, at least until students have a parent or guardian following their blog. Students will have their parent or guardian follow their blog and my blog in one of the next assignments.

When students invite me to their blog, they will invite me to two places. First, they will invite me to mrfarley2010@gmail.com. Secondly, students will invite me at bfarley@nusd.org.

bf 

Second Semester - Assignment 1

Review

To begin the second semester, I want our students to review some basic tasks that will help them in the future business world. These basic tasks will also help our new students become familiar with our class, and help me become more familiar with the students and families.

The first task is that students create a g-mail account that is identifiable, professional and appropriate. This account will be used to send messages to the teacher at bfarley@nusd.org. By creating a gmail account, students will also have access to many other google applications.

To demonstrate that students have accomplished this task, students will send me an e-mail to my school e-mail with a proper subject line. I would prefer that students identify the assignment and class period. 

Computer Applications: twenty five years ago

What happened twenty five years ago today?

How did computer applications make this event possible?

Were there any application mistakes?

Research computer applications used from this event. Provide links and video if possible. How are computers different twenty five years later? How were computers different twenty five years before this event?

BF

Basic Movie Applications

Yesterday, we watched a video. In this class, we have watched several online videos.

We have also manipulated photos in Photoshop and with other online computer applications. 

Today, we are going to begin learning how to use a movie making application.

Working in pairs, find a PC (not a Mac) that works. One of the people, must have network access. In the R Drive, you will find the Farley Folder. In the Farley folder is another folder called "Movie Photos."

Using these photos, make a movie with Windows Movie Maker.

Computers and Math

What does Computer Applications class have to do with Math?


Please answer this question with three supporting responses before we watch this video as a class. Your answer will look something like this:


Computer Applications is related to math for the following three reasons. 
First, ________ .
Second, _____ .
Third________ .


After we finish our responses, we will view this video of Conrad Wolfram from the TED Conference. (Go to this link and get the code to embed video below the parenthetical phrase.)


Once we have finished watching the video, respond to the following question. 


From the TED Conference video, I learned ___________.

Assignments Through January 18

Since we have new students, I want to post all of the graded assignments that are due before students arrive on Wednesday, January 19th.

1. All students are to have a blog
2. All students are to invite me to their blog at mrfarley2010(at)gmail.com and  bfarley(at)nusd.org. I will only send e-mails to students using my school e-mail. I use a google blog the same as the students. I keep track of all communications on my school provided e-mail, so please send me the blog invite at my school e-mail.
3. All students are to follow this blog. The website (or url) is at this link .  It looks like this.  http://smhscomputerapplications.blogspot.com/

4. Create a blog post with the three reflection questions. Just the questions.
5. Post ten Google Applications that interest the students. These can be found from the drop down menu under the word "more" after students log into their Google e-mail.
6. If students have not done so, students must create a google e-mail for this class that is professional and identifiable.
7. Google Site Project.

Google Sites

1. Create a Site

2. Clear Topic

3. Choose consistent template

4. More than one page

5. Link to other google sites with similar topics

6. Link to other pages with similar topics