Monday, October 19, 2015

MY BIO / PIXLR / High School Choice 2015 (8th Grade)

 OBJECTIVE & STUDENT OUTCOMES
All students will complete a short journal (constructed response) entry about the technology article at the bottom of the post prior to beginning other assigned tasks.
8th-grade students will learn about the High School Choice procedures for the School District of Philadelphia.  They will use research tools and websites to help them complete the application process in class.  They will then present their choices to their parents for final submission before the deadline.  6th and 7th grade students will continue to use online collaboration tools (Google Drive) to create a 10-slide multimedia presentation.  Students will follow directions and use photos, text, and color to highlight specific facts about their topic.  Students will be able to understand the difference between a written report and how writing for a presentation requires bullet-style sentences.

STUDENTS MUST READ ALL DIRECTIONS ON THIS WEBSITE PRIOR TO STARTING ANY ASSIGNED TASKS.  PLEASE FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS AS GIVEN FOR FULL CREDIT!
  
8th-grade students will participate in a presentation and workshop about High School Choice.  Other
students will log into their Google Drive and open a New PRESENTATION.  Students will learn the basic tools used to create a presentation.  Students will create a MY BIO Presentation about themselves.  Students will use Google Images to select pictures for use today.  Students will Copy the pictures selected to the desktop of the computer they are working with.  Students use PIXLR.Com to upload, manipulate, adjust, save and add pictures to their project.  Students must complete the steps below to CREATE and SHARE a MY BIO Presentation for credit.
EVERYONE:
Today you will start by reading the story at the bottom of the page.  Please Open your Google Drive Document "TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL" and create an entry for today as listed below:

JOURNAL ENTRY ACTIVITY:
Today's Date (15 October 2015)
Topic:  3D Heart
Please write 3-4 sentences on how you felt after you read the story from CNN below.  What do you think about a 3D Printer creating a device like that?  What impact did it have on the girl's life?  What changes in technology could help you in the future?
 
8th GRADE STUDENTS ONLY  (All Others See Instructions Below):
Today Everyone will be discussing the High School Choice Process for the School District of Philadelphia.  Mrs. Cohen will be presenting how to apply to high schools, how to get your parents to approve your choices, and how to access the School District of Philadelphia website.  Please use the following links to help you along the way:



Are you ready to apply?  Click Here To Log Into SchoolNet and Get Started!
You will need to get your parent/guardian permission to finish the application process.  Tomorrow we will go over your transcripts!  Most of the staff here at Crossroads are willing to write a Letter of Reference, but you need to ask.  You need to make sure you are finishing your work, coming to school on-time and every day.  Your transcripts from last year mean a lot, but a letter from us may help get you in.  Do your best, stay out of trouble, and let us help you help yourself!
6th and 7th GRADE STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS:
When you have completed your Journal Entry you may work on finishing your MY BIO Project.  When that is complete, and turned in correctly, you may then work on PIXLR.COM or Typing.com for the remainder of the class.  Please look in the APPLICATIONS FOLDER on your computer and see if you have a program called INSPIRATION 8 or 9.  We will be using this in class over the next couple of weeks.

Have A Great Day!

- Mr. S


How a 3-D-printer changed a 4-year-old's heart and life

Mia Gonzalez spent the first 3½ years of her life missing out. She had to skip day care and dance classes because she constantly had colds and pneumonia. When Mia could go out and play, she was easily winded and took multiple asthma medications to try to help her breathing.
After about 10 hospital stays, doctors realized that Mia had a malformation in her aorta, the vessel that pumps blood from the heart. The 4-year-old would need an operation to close off the part of her aorta that was putting pressure on her windpipe and making it hard to breathe, swallow and get rid of phlegm when she got a cold.
"We freaked out to go from thinking she had asthma to being told she needed to have open heart surgery," said Katherine Gonzalez, Mia's mom.
But Mia's malformation was complicated. The surgeons at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, where Mia was treated, might have been apprehensive about the procedure were it not for a new technology: the 3-D printer.

No longer 'inoperable'

Earlier this year, the hospital got a 3-D printer that makes exact replicas of organs that doctors can use to plan surgery, and even do practice operations. The printer uses images from patients' MRI or CT scan images as a template and lays down layers of rubber or plastic.
Dr. Redmond Burke, director of pediatric cardiovascular surgery at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, meditated on the model of Mia's heart for a couple of weeks. He showed it to colleagues for their input and even carried it around in his gym bag for quick reference.
Burke finally had the "Aha!" insight. Instead of making an incision on the left side for this type of heart defect, called double aortic arch, he should cut into Mia's chest from the right.
Doctors used a 3-D printer to make a model of Mia Gonzalez's heart.
"Without the model, I would have been less certain about (operating on Mia) and that would have led me naturally to make a larger incision that could possibly cause more pain and a longer recovery time," Burke said.
Using the model, "there was no doubt, and surgeons hate doubt," he added.
He attributes the model with saving the team and patient about two hours in the operating room because he was able to have a clearer plan to do the surgery.
Burke and his colleagues have created models for about 25 young patients with congenital heart defects. In the past, they might not even have operated on some of these patients because the surgeries seemed too tricky, but "it's very unlikely I will ever call someone inoperable (now) without holding a model in my hand," Burke said.
About 75 hospitals in the United States, and around 200 worldwide, have a printer such as the one used to make a model of Mia's heart, said Scott Rader, general manager of Stratasys, which sells the printers.
Although 3-D printers have been used clinically for the last 20 or 25 years to make prototypes for surgical tools and other uses, they only started churning out simulated organs in the last few years, Rader said.
Doctors have used the simulated organs to prepare for all kinds of tricky operations, such as surgery to remove a brain tumor or to correct a severe cleft palate, Rader said. Doctors can operate on them with regular surgical tools "again and again and again until you think of the optimal way to do surgery," Rader said.

'The biggest secret that nobody knows about'

The models can also help train medical students and explain complicated procedures to patients such as Mia and her family.
Eventually, the printers could be used to produce actual organs that can be transplanted into patients; just replace the rubber and plastic printer "ink" with human cells.
"We are going to see massive advances in the next five to 10 years of how to take the technology to this point," Rader said.
Mia's surgeon carried around a model of the girl's heart for weeks.
Simulated organs are "a disruptive technology which radically changes how we talk to patients, how we prepare for an operation, how we do the operation and how we teach," said Dr. Daniel B. Jones, professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Simulation and Skills Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
However, the technology is not widely in use in hospitals or medical schools yet.
"This is like the biggest secret that nobody knows about," said Jones, who has done research on surgeons' impressions of using simulated organs. Even those who do know about the technology might feel uncomfortable showing patients a model of their tumor, for example, and discussing it with them in depth.
Hospitals are starting to invest in the technology, which is more realistic now that prices have come down, Jones said.
The printer and software usually cost in the range of $100,000, which is less than a CT scan or MRI setup, Rader said. He predicts that interest in the technology will continue to grow as research shows how using simulated organs leads to better surgical outcomes and shorter operating times.
The models have also been invaluable in helping patients and their families feel confident that they are doing the right thing, said Burke, who operated on Mia.
Seeing the model "made it seem like a simple surgery, it put you at ease," said Gonzalez, Mia's mom. "(Mia) was used to hospitals and IVs, but to explain that you're going to have surgery and be in pain, that is all different," and the model helped put it in perspective, she said.
Four months later, the surgery seems like ancient history to Mia. She has forgotten all about her surgical scar, her mother said, and had little pain. Although she has had some minor colds, none has landed her in the hospital. A month later, she was even able to participate in her dance recital.

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Integrity (13 Characteristics)

13 Characteristics of People Who Have Integrity

1. They Value Other People's Time: They value their own time so they also value the time of other people. They know you have plenty of other places you need to be and won’t hold you up. If you spend time with them, it is likely they will thank you for that as well.

2. They Give Credit Where It Is Due: They do not take credit for things they did not do. They will always credit those who deserve it. If you help this person with a project he or she will likely mention your name so you can take credit for your work.

3. They Are Authentic: They are their truest forms. You won’t catch them in a lie or being fake.

4. They Are Always Honest: They are honest people that feel no need to lie as it is important for them to get to where they need to get in life honestly.

5. They Never Take Advantage Of Others: They are not the kind of people who will take advantage of someone else. They love to build people up and help them get where they need to be. Taking too much from someone else will never be an issue with someone who has a lot of integrity.

6. The Do Not Argue Over Disagreements: They will talk through things in a civil manner or not talk at all. You cannot and will not force this person into arguing over something completely ridiculous. I find this to be a very respectable trait.

7. They Give Most People The Benefit Of The Doubt: They try to see the good in everyone. I think this is because they feel like maybe there are more people in this world that also have integrity. That being said, if you take advantage of them too much they will get rid of you.

8. They Know When Something Is Bothering Someone: They have a great intuition that lets them know when something is going on. If someone is down in the dumps they will notice. Chances are they will actually do what they can to cheer you up.

9. They Believe In Others: They accept your word as truth until it is dis-proven. That being said, they do not take lying well. And once you lie to them, it is unlikely that they will ever take your word again.

10. They Apologize First: If they have done something wrong they will come to you and apologize. This is just how they are. They own up to their mistake and try to make things right.

11. They Are Humble: They do not quite know their own worth. While they are very important and do so much good they don’t quite see it. You should remind them of it.

12. They Do Good When They Can: They are always helping other people. They love to know that they have improved someone’s life. It gives their lives meaning.

13. They Are Always Kind To Those Who Need It: Giving kindness can go a long way. When someone looks like they need a little pick me up these people deliver. They can brighten up almost anyone’s day.

If you are someone who has true integrity, thank you for being who you are and thank you for all that you do. You really do actually make a difference in society, please keep up the good work. If you feel no one else is proud of you, know that I am.

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