TIME OUT TO BE THANKFUL TODAY! TRELLO, TWITTER & ONLINE SCAVENGER HUNT

I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYS THEIR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND!  TRY TO REALLY REMEMBER TO REFLECT ON WHY YOU ARE THANKFUL THIS TIME OF YEAR.  THINK OF OTHERS, IN OTHER PLACES, WHO DO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM, OPPORTUNITY, FAMILY, OR RESOURCES YOU HAVE AS A PERSON FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES!  PEACE TO ALL OF YOU DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

WARNING:  Students have had a tough time signing up for a Twitter Account on the School District Internet.  If you cannot sign up today, you must sign up for an account over the weekend and follow @CAA_TechGuy and @MrScribner by Monday, December 2nd, 2013.  This will count as a quiz grade for the 2nd Marking Period.  We will be using Twitter in future classes.  This Twitter account should only be used for class.  YOU MAY ONLY FOLLOW AND POST TO APPROVED SOURCES AND TWITTER FEEDS.  PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT ON THESE PAGES.   Your Gmail and Twitter accounts for Crossroads should be considered your Personal/Professional accounts and you should use them for schoolwork only.  Any items posted to these will be reviewed and inspected and should meet or exceed School District of Philadelphia Computer and Internet Use Guidelines at all times.  SEE OPEN LETTER TO PARENTS BELOW!

You will notice an email in your inbox (GMail) for Trello.com.  Please sign up using your Crossroads@Meade GMail account.  This is an organizational tool that I found from a friend.  I thought we might be able to use it somehow in class.  Check it out and tell me how you might use it, now or in the future (High School, College, Workplace, etc.)  Thanks!!

Today we will be creating Twitter Accounts and going on a Scavenger Hunt.  Please go to www.Twitter.com and create an account with your Gmail Email account.  Sign In and add @CAA_TechGuy and @MrScribner to your following list.  As you add me, I will add you.....Then The Fun Begins!

YOUR TWITTER USERNAME SHOULD BE @(First Initial)(Last Name)caa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

SCAVENGER HUNT 
(This Counts As A Quiz Too!)

Copy the following questions into an email and add the answer and the weblink you found it at:

1. Find information about a new Baskin Robbins Ice Cream flavor.

2. Where can you find information on how people without computers can access “Welcome to the White House”?

3. What are the Italian and Chinese names for Mickey Mouse?

4. Who won the 2002 White House News Photographers’ Association photographer of the year award?

5. What college did WNBA player Diana Vines attend?

6. Find a site with the daily feature ”On this Day in TV History.”

7. When was Pluto the dog first seen and in what movie?

8. Find a band with “guava” in its name.

9. What player appears first on the College Football Hall of Fame New Members site?

10. Where is the Red Feather Lodge located?

11. In season 3 of “The X-Files,” what was the name of episode 3X12, which aired January 5, 1996?

12. How many Beanie Babies are there?

13. Which college team holds the 1997 USILA Club championship?

14. Where is Camp Lachenwald located?

15. What happened to Bill Cosby on November 11th 2004?


OPEN LETTER TO CROSSROAD'S PARENTS/GUARDIANS ABOUT TWITTER USAGE:

Dear Crossroads@Meade Parent/Guardian:

I am writing to request permission for your student to create a Twitter Account for class use only.  Your student has already created and begun to use GMail email accounts, Weebly.com E-Portfolio Websites and many other online tools.  As a Computer Science teacher it is my job to teach our students how to use digital tools for the 21^st Century.  In this regard, it would not be responsible of me to leave out Social Media Platforms.  While the School District of Philadelphia does block Facebook, Twitter is allowed and in use throughout the district.  I use Twitter to have the students post updates on current events in class, opinions on articles, and links to projects and webpages.  They also learn how to “Tag” items so they can be searched for easily, by others, using Keywords.   I try to teach them about their digital footprint, online responsibility and Internet Safety & Security while they are in my class.  They are required to keep these accounts (Gmail, Twitter, etc.) as a Personal/Professional account and only follow appropriate sources (School District of Philadelphia Appropriate Use Policy).  The information is on the open web, but we use it sparingly and for academically social networking.  Many of the students will ultimately be exposed to Social Media applications, if they are not already, and I want to teach them to use them responsibly.  They are already being taught to make sure they verify information they view and to question and double-check their sources.  Identifying sources of comments and verifying accuracy is an important skill to learn at this age for the research portion of my class.  You should know that your students have already demonstrated a high level of responsible behavior with both the physical equipment we use in class and the websites they are allowed to use.  I have been very impressed with their projects in my class this year!

Thank you for your support of this endeavor!

Sincerely,

Harvey Scribner

Teacher / TTL

Crossroads@Meade

hscribnercaa@gmail.com

HISTORICAL FIGURE FACEBOOK PROJECT - SAMPLE PROJECT (5)

Thought you might like to see an example of how to make sure you fill in your blank worksheets:

(HAVE FUN WITH THIS PROJECT, I DID!)

DON'T FORGET:  RandomActsOfLiteracy.org

HISTORICAL FIGURE FACEBOOK PROJECT - PROJECT DETAILS (4)

Please read the following details for each page so you understand what I am looking for:

Main Page (Page 1)

1.  Profile Picture should be the same throughout the project
2.  Person's Name - Your Name should be same on all pages.
3.  SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL EVENT:  You must base this page and all contents on a specific event from history.  This event will give you a base time and date for making decisions about critical information.
3a.  POSTS:  All conversations / posts should have some historical significance.  There should be a logical order to the posts and all information listed.  You will have to "make up" some of the information based on your research.  All of your "made up" information should have historical context and be as accurate as you can get from your research.
4.  Basic Information should be as exact as possible. Please try to maintain the Facebook Effect if you do not have specific information.  What would your best guess be.  Make sure you can back up anything you put on the page with some historical fact or reasoning.
5.  Friends / Enemies can be anyone from the same period of time in history.  Anyone who lived during the same time could be a friend or comment on your Historical Figure's wall.
6.  Make sure that the Historical Event information is copied on all pages where applicable.

Information Page (Page 2)

1.  All Basic Information should be the same as the column on the left.

2.  GROUPS:  You should create / make up historical groups that your Historical Figure might have been a part of.  Some should be from the historical record if possible (College Alumni, Political Parties, other groups), but others can be created in context (George Washington might have been interested in the Virginia Farmers Guild).  Be creative and have fun!  Just be able to back up your group names with some logical reasoning.

3.  Photo Album Preview:  Use two pictures here that would represent two five-picture albums associated with your Historical Figure.  Try to think of albums that would exist for your person.  Family, Friends, Places Visited, Etc.

4. PERSONAL INFORMATION:  Based on your research, what music, movies, books, interests would your person have.  You may use period items if they have something listed in the historical record, or you may INFER what your person might have liked from today.  You may use some latitude for this, but be able to explain your answers.

5.  Contact Information should be as accurate as possible and timely.  Based on the day of the Historical Event that this page is focused around, what would the address and phone number be?  You can make up specifics, but you must use correct area codes for phone numbers and zip codes / cities for addresses.

6.  BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  This section can be taken directly from an online source.  You must list your source directly at the bottom.  Make sure you find a description that is complete and as accurate as possible. 

 Photo Page (Page 3)

1.  There are two rows of Photographs that should have a common theme.  Row 1 is one theme and Row 2 is another.  Each album below should be a different theme as well.  Some themes could be Family, Friends, Vacations, Places To Visit, Causes, etc.

2.  Make sure that your information at the top is the same as other pages.

Timeline / Source List Page (Page 4)

1.  Person's Timeline should include at least 10 items.  These items should include birth, death and anything else that is significant about your person's life.  Dates should be as accurate as possible.

2.  Source List / Bibliography:  Your sources can be copied and pasted here.  There is not specific citation requirement.  I will check these sources and if they are not accurate, you will lost points.  YOU MAY NOT USE WIKIPEDIA, WIKIANSWERS, OR ANY SEARCH ENGINE AS A DIRECT SOURCE.

Older Posts / Historical Events Page (Page 5)

 1.  Older Posts should be an extension of the POST section of Page 1.  Make the conversation historically accurate and have people who were alive discuss something relevant to the Historical Events of the Day.  Try to have some logical / explainable order to your Posts here.

2.  Other Historical Events of the Day:  This section should have no less than six other events that happened while your Historical Figure was alive.  They should be relevant to the conversation in the POSTS and have something to do with any other Friends / Enemies listed.  Try to tie things together in historical context.

Friends / Enemies Wall Page (Page 6)

 1.  Make sure you fill up this page with anyone from the same historical time as your Historical Figure.  You can stretch the imagination with who would have known you if Facebook was around then.  Anyone with similar dates will work, but be careful to check the ages of the people you list against each other.  Do not have someone famous say hello if they were in diapers at the time of your historical event.

I hope these tips help clarify some of what I am looking for.  You have done an amazing job so far with this project.  I see a lot of time and effort in your research and in your presentations.

Thanks,

Mr. S

 

HISTORICAL FIGURE FACEBOOK PROJECT - DOWNLOAD/START DAY (3)

Today you will be learning how to do Online Research using the Internet.   Click this link to see an article from About.com on how to make Internet Research easy and effective.
 
After reviewing the article above, please click on this link to download the blank Facebook Page Template:

  (FB PP Page) 

Make sure you fill the information on every page completely and accurately.  I would suggest you upload this document to Google Drive for safe keeping and continue to update it as possible.  You will have to upload it each day you work on it, and download it again the next day to keep changing it.  You could also email it to yourself after each class, and just open the most recent one to continue working on it.  I will post the list of students and the people they are working on.  Make sure that you are specific on the items posted to the Timeline and Sources you listed on your Google Drive Document.

Your Facebook Page for your Historical Figure will include a "Conversation / Post" Section on the Front Page.  This section must be historically accurate and have posts from people from history that lived at the same time as your Historical Figure.  We will go into this section in more detail next week.  If you are confused, you need to have all of the information for your Facebook page listed like the example below (There are additional items in this year's project that are not listed in the example, pay close attention to the template you downloaded or ask for help):

Try to have fun with this project!
Good Luck!

-  Mr. S

HISTORICAL FIGURE FACEBOOK PROJECT - TIMELINE AND SOURCE DAY (2)

Today you will expand your knowledge of the Historical Figure (HF) you choose yesterday.  Please find three sources of information (No Wikipedia, Wikianswers, or Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, etc)).  You must find specific sources about the life and times of your HF.  Please find as much information as possible about your HF.  You will need to focus on a specific event or date from the history of your HF to create a Facebook Conversation around.  Only find Friends for your HF that would have been alive at the same time.  You will have to "Create" a meaningful and timely conversation on your facebook page that is relevant to a historical event.  All of your posts should be historically accurate.

Today's tasks are to create a Timeline of the life of your Historical Figure and add it to the bottom of your Google Drive Document (Shared with MR. S).  Make sure that you have named your Google Drive Document in the following way:  (Name of your HF) - (Your Last Name)  My example would be (John F Kennedy - Mr. Scribner).

You will also have to identify your additional three (3) sources of information at the bottom of your Google Drive Document.  Good Luck!!

Mr. S

HISTORICAL FIGURE FACEBOOK RESEARCH PROJECT - BACKGROUND DAY (1)

All:

Today you will begin to build a body of knowledge about a Famous Historical Figure of your choosing.  You may not choose anyone that someone else is working on.  Please (Click Here) for BIOGRAPHY.com's list from A to Z of famous people. 

All selections are subject to approval from MR. S.

 (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SELECTION LIST ON SCRIBNER'S G-DRIVE)

CLICK HERE TO SEE AN EXAMPLE OF JFK-Mr. S's Basic Research Page

You must list at least THREE (3) SOURCES for the research and find pictures of your person as well.  YOUR SOURCES CAN NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

WIKIANSWERS, WIKIPEDIA, or directly reference any Search Engine (GOOGLE, YAHOO, etc.)

I suggest you do your basic research at Biography.com, but you must find 3 additional sources of information and list them on your final project. Once your initial research is finished, I will show everyone the Powerpoint Template in class and teach you how to fill it out.  You will be PRESENTING YOUR FACEBOOK PROJECT TO THE CLASS when it is completed, so find as much information as possible on your person!


Good Luck!

Mr. S

You will need to copy the following questions into a Google DRIVE Document and SHARE that document with me to get started:

HISTORICAL FIGURE BACKGROUND HISTORY:

Your Name:
Computer Science Period:
Date You Started The Project:
Why did you pick the person you picked?



Person's Name:
Time Period when they lived:
Place they lived (Best Known For):

Write a brief description of their background including where they were born/grew up, who their parents were, and about the early years of their life (4-5 sentences):





List 5-6 Personality Traits They Are Known For (Brave, Courageous, Funny, Angry, etc):



Describe what was significant about their lives (What are they famous for)?




List and explain at least two OBSTACLES they had to deal with during the time they growing up, and two more while they were at the height of their fame:



List at least two IMPORTANT QUOTES from them.  Explain what they mean.  If there are not specific quotes, describe what they might have said if they were to have given a presentation to a crowd during the time they were most famous.


List 4-5 people who would have been their friends during the time they lived:


List at least two people who would have been against them and why:


List a famous event/day that they would have been alive to see or be part of:


Describe the society they were a part of and what it was like to live during that time period:

Catch Up Days MP I (2013-2014)

Everyone:

Prior To Working On Outstanding Work:  You must follow the instructions for CODEHS.ORG on the post below if you have not yet created an account.  Once you have created an account (with your full name, gmail address, password you can remember and the Class Code on the board) you may then complete the following Journal Entry:

Read the article about "Arrest Made In Relation To RATS215 Website" (CLICK HERE) .  Open your Weebly.com Journal Page and Create a NEW Post.  Label the Post "RATS215 Response" and drag a Text Box into the screen below.  Write 5-6 Sentences about your feelings about the student who posted the information online, and about how he should be treated for using social media and websites to post sensitive information.  Describe what you think was right or wrong with his actions and why you think that way.  When you are finished, please press the POST button and add this Journal entry to your site.  If you are not comfortable posting about this topic online, you may choose to email me your response instead.  When you have completed this Journal Post/Email you may work on the opportunity below:

You have the unique opportunity to complete any work you owe me for the First Marking Period of 2013-2014.  Make sure that you fill out the Student Progress Self-Evaluation Checklist completely.  This form will help me to help you.  You must make sure that you include the dates you emailed (GMail) or shared (Google Drive) assignments with me.  You also need to share the information on the completed sheet with your parent/guardian and have them sign and date the form prior to turning it in.  The forms are due NO LATER THAN Friday, November 15th at 4pm for credit.  On the back of the form, please take some time to write a brief (2-3 paragraphs) essay on the grade you think you deserve and outline the reasons behind your belief.  You may include reasons for absences and missing assignments as well as a description of the effort you put into the projects that were turned in.  Defend your statements well and it will go a long way to helping me decide your final grade.  This process will show you what a quarterly or annual performance review might be like in college or the workplace someday.  We will repeat this step for each marking period this year.

Here is a list of the assignments for Computer Science (Scribner - 216) Marking Period I 2013-2014:

Project / Assignment Description (Point Value)    740 Points Total For All Assignments

Final Grade = (Your Point Total) / 740  Expressed as a percentage.

• Syllabus/Class Rules Signature Form (20)
• GMail Setup (10)
• Weebly.com Setup (10)
• Journal Entries (6 Each - Email or Weebly.com) (20)
• Left/Right Brain Survey (10)
• Learning Style Inventory (10)
• Technology Survey (10)
• Tackk.Com #PeaceDay2013 (20)
• Autobiography Google Document (20)
• Autobiography Google Presentation (20)
• Autobiography Oral Report (20)
• Internet Safety & Security Quiz (72)
• lol...OMG Chapter Questions (7 Sets) (78)
• GarageBand MP3 Song (20)
• IMovie Personal Marquise Video (20)
• IMovie Public Service Announcement (50)
• StampPass Application & Card (20)
• Anti-Bullying Survey (20)
• Inspiration Venn Diagram (30)
• Inspiration Family Tree (30)
• Inspiration Personal Timeline (30)
• Inspiration City Web Map (50)
• Veteran's Day Interview Email (50)
• Tackk.com #CityWebMap2013 (50)
• MPI Self Assessment Checklist (50)

YOU HAVE THE NEXT THREE CLASS DAYS TO FINISH ANY OUTSTANDING WORK.  I am also available most mornings from 8:00 am to 8:55 am if you want to come up and work on items you owe me.

PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME I AM GIVING YOU IN CLASS TO BE PRODUCTIVE.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT UP IN MY CLASS, YOU MAY USE YOUR TIME TO CATCH UP IN ANOTHER CLASS AS WELL.  DO NOT WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY!

- Mr. S

CODEHS.ORG Account Sign Up

ALL:

Please go to http://codehs.com/register?plan=school. and sign up for an account for our class.  You will need to use the access code I give you in class.  Make sure you sign up ASAP, as we will be starting the training this week.

Good Luck!

- Mr. S

Inspiration 8/9 - City Web Project Capstone Project (Tackk.com)

Now that you have created a City Web Map in Inspiration 8/9, please open your document in Inspiration and you will have to EXPORT it as a GRAPHIC FILE.  Please save this new file as a JPEG Picture File to your desktop.  Once it is there, you will need to create a Tackk.com webpage for your city.  SEE MY EXAMPLE BY CLICKING HERE

You must include a picture of your Inspiration 8/9 City Web Map, Headings For Each Item, Working Links for ALL ITEMS LISTED, and a Picture of your city at the Bottom.  The header information must include the Name of your assigned city, Your Name (First Initial, Last Name), Your Email, and Crossroads@Meade.

Everything listed on your City Web Map must also be listed on your Tackk.com website!

Make sure that you include all the same data that you have on your CITY WEB MAP and all of the links need to work.  I will update my MAP as an example.  Take your time with this project and make sure you use the keywords #caatech and #citywebmap2013 in the search bar.  When the project is finished, send me an email with a link to your map so I can grade it.

YOU MAY USE PART OF CLASS TODAY TO TYPE AND EMAIL YOUR VETERANS DAY INTERVIEW TO ME AS WELL.  SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Good Luck!

Mr. S

Veterans Day 2013

As you finish up your Inspiration9 projects for the week, please take a few minutes to watch the Veteran's Day Video (CLICK HERE).  There will be a homework assignment for the weekend regarding this holiday.  See below for details.


Enjoy your weekend!

- Mr. S


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT for Veterans Day 2013:

Please talk to a veteran that you know.  Find a relative or friend that has served our country in the armed forces and interview them.  Find out when and where they served.  Write a one-page summary of the interview.  Make sure to include how long they served, why they joined, what was the hardest and easiest part of their service, and what they feel about others serving.    Try to include a picture of the person in uniform if possible.  Please email this interview to me so I can print them and post them.  End your summary with how you feel about service in the armed forces and why it is important to serve your country in any capacity.

Thanks for your input on this project.

Inspiration 8/9 - City Web Map Project

City Exploration Research Graphic Diagram.

City Web Map CITY LIST by Student

Over the next two days you will create a web for a city in the United States. Click on the picture to the right to see my example.  You will be assigned a city today.  You  will be responsible for creating an identical web to the one described.  Please include the following data:

City Facts:  Year Founded, Longitude, Latitude, Population, Area, Time Zone, and Mayor's Name.
Also include major industries, professional sports teams, colleges, historical places, museums, and weather information.  Each place you list will need to have a link to the website that corresponds to it.  HYPERLINK can be found in the TOOL Heading of the Toolbar.  Weather can link to any local news station, but other links must be the official sites for those places, not some other site or advertisement.  You can use all of my formatting, or create your own diagrams.  You must include the same headings and topics.  You must also use different colors for each section.  You must also include a box at the bottom of the page with a list of all the resources you used to find your information.  This is not an official bibliography, but it must be accurate when checked by me.

YOU MUST SAVE YOUR DOCUMENT AS A PDF (File, Print, PDF Button, Save As), and send it to me as an ATTACHMENT on an Email.  DO NOT UPLOAD TO GDRIVE AND SHARE IT!  If you have any questions, just ask or email me a question.  This project is worth 50 points toward your Marking Period grade.  

Good Luck!!  Mr. S

GRADING RUBRIC

5 pts - USA Symbol/Name Connection
           Title Block:  Student Name, ID#, Class Period, City Exploration Project, Date
5 pts - STATE Symbol - (If Available)
10 pts - At Least Two Colleges and Two Historical Places
10 pts - At Least Two Industries
10 pts - Two Companies Per Industry
10 pts - Information Sources Box - Cannot use Wikipedia or Google as Sources
10 pts - At Least Two Museums
10 pts - At Least Two Professional / Amateur Sports
10 pts - Weather Information: Average Annual Temp & Avg Annual Rainfall
10 pts - Overall Neatness, Completeness, Spelling, Layout and Appropriate Linking
10 pts - WebLink Bibliography Included in Email
             Bibliography Box must include links for every site you use.
_____

Total Points / 2 = Your Final Points Total Score