Wednesday

Today we will do the following:

Turn in project three.
1. Copy whole project three folder from the W;Drive to your folder in the U:Drive--WebSchneider folders.
2. PROOFREAD your files. Make sure that they work.

Start Project Four:
1. Copy the data files from the U:Drive into your W:Drive--project 4 folder.
2. Start reading chapter.
3. Assignments: Project (surfing), Apply 1 (money), outline, Learn it Online.

Project Four is about image maps. We will not spend that much time on this for a few reasons. First, its pretty simple to do if you understand links. Second, its unlikely you will ever have to create image maps in this way, but you MIGHT need to edit them. Finally, the rest of the book requires some understanding of this concept.

Think of image maps as hotspots (like a link). You are creating clickable regions on the image that will send you to another page.

Transition

Today will again be a paperwork day as I try to assign the rest of the blogs and check everyone's grades. Remember, I am giving this time so ALL students get a chance to catch up.

Please answer the question on the blogmeister in your blog today. Be sure to add a link to the podcasting article in your blog entry.

Most of you understand that I am testing and transitioning to the new technologies. I am revamping most of what we do and asking for feedback through the blogs and surveys.

1. Be patient. Ask questions politely. I will work hard to answer them.

2. I repeat that I will not stand in front of the class and say "Please turn to page...". We will not all do the same thing at the same time. Why? Because each one of your needs is different. It would be unfair to push you all into the same box. I am trying to let you choose your path. I have given you all many things to choose from the last few days as everyone catches up. You can be working on media programs (fireworks, flash, etc..), wikis, blogs, or helping classmates.

This web article is a good summary of teaching styles. All the modern research suggests the student centered models are best. I am trying hard to develop this model. As we start doing more and more projects it will make more sense to you.

3. I am trying many new things with the technology. The technology will constantly change. I would expect you to demand that I use the newest technology.

4. These classes have very high achievers, and some fairly slow learners. I am asking for feedback after each project to judge our pacing. I will begin to incorporate more of the problem based learning. This will enable our faster learners to move much quicker. The blogs and Wikis are designed to keep track of this progress. I need the time at the end of the projects to help some of the kids who need extra help.

Be an independent learner.

This will be a bumpy ride. I will not do everything right. I will continue to try new thngs and make mistakes. The one thing I can guarantee is that come the end of January you will ALL understand how the web works in the modern world.

Monday

Don't turn in any work to the U:Drive yet. Again, some people have used the U:Drive to copy work. I'm tracking them down.

On that note we are testing two software packages that allow us to work in groups and chat about our assignments. I can view your screen and I can get on your screen and help you with things. Its a pretty cool way to collaborate. I will ask for feedback on your blogs about the experience. I know some of you aren't used to someone looking over your shoulder. Again, don't use the computer for anything or type anything you don't want me to see.

I'm going to use the next few days to collect and grade everything for marking period one. As I do that I will start adding people to the new blogging service. Please check it out at classblogmeister.com.

The Wiki work is progressing. I have given some of you assignments on either your wiki page or your blog.

One thing that might be new to some of you is that you have a copy of my grade book (as do your parents). Be warned that I can't and won't boost grades up. You will get what the computer determines.

Friday

Quiz on Project Three today.

I think you have all figured it out. I've had a few questions about rowspans that I had to look up, but most of you understand. I urge you to read the chapter (I don't want this to be a class where I read it to you or we go around the room reading a paragraph each). That would solve many issues. A good page to look at is HTM 3.12 and HTM 3.13. That page gives a good explanation of the table structure.

If you need extra practice try the table tutorial.

Some of you were having trouble with cases and places (dont forget to do this part!).
A good tutorial is at this site.

Learn it online has some good pages in the "More About" section. I urge you to check them out.

You should have completed:
1. Project
2. Apply
3. Lab2
4. Cases and Places 2 and 3
5. Outline

My guniea pigs must have completed at least the project and show evidence of applying their knowledge in their blog.

New Technology

We have been experimenting with the wikipedias.

A few notes:
1. Seymour History.
2. Wikipedia only allows 6 new accounts from the school per day. Please start an account at home.
3. Learn about the process. The first few days weren't fun.
4. Absolutely follow proper etiquette when posting. Some of you didn't and I had to spend half of a day on it.

Tables and project notes:
1. Quiz on Friday. Be ready.
2. You all seem to get it. Yet, we are all having typos. I haven't figured out how to stop the typos. Typos are 90% of our problems. Another 8% are U:drive vs. W:Drive types of issues. And finally there are 2% of "content" issues.
3. The guinea pigs are working hard (I hope) and I will need their input for designing the next unit. They are being graded through their blog and wiki entries. You can see their blogs on classblogmeister.com . The initial thought is we will all move to that blogging. I jsut need to figure out the best way to do it.

FAIR WARNING::::Grades are closing. Turn in any missing work. It is your responsibility to make it happen.

WIKI!!!

Those of you were working on the Wiki. It got hijacked. Read the discussion. Its interesting....

You need to read some more about the wikis and what information should be posted. Too many links were added when we only needed the one link to the regular SHS page.

There should be much more internal links to other wikis and information about SHS. Look at wikis of other high schools. Do some reading on the wikis pages. There is a lot of help there. Use the sandbox link for lots of info. Make sure you start an account, otherwise I can't track your work and give you a grade.

If you have no idea what we are talking about, finish your project.

I am testing the new blogs for the students with a few guinea pigs. I hope to have that up and running soon.

In case you haven't guessed already we are going to be moving fast and changing technologies, procedures, and tasks as we go. THIS IS JUST LIKE THE REAL WORLD!! The technology of last spring is dead!!!

However, we have some core values and beliefs that remain true:
1. Our websites will be accessible to all.
2. Our websites will be as unbiased as possible.
3. We will work hard and be honest in our work.

CECA Conference

Monday I attended the CECA conference. I enjoyed many discussions including the keynote by David Warlick which focussed on the new literacy and how we must redefine how we approach technology. He made several points that made me reflect on my teaching practice.

Education must be student driven, not teacher driven in order to survive in this flattened world where technology is changing by the month. The technology and modes of communication that were new six months ago are already dead. The fact that Google searches are going to disappear soon is amazing. I am curious to know how many of you use aggregators or know what RSS stands for or if you make your own podcasts. If you don't, you better catch up, because that is what the rest of the world is doing.

I am working hard to make this class relevant to todays technology (I think you have figured that out). I will be developing processes for you to be starting your own blogs for class and working on your own wikis.

There are many of you ready to help me try these technologies out. If you have been nailing the work so far I'd like you to try doing these alternative assignments. See me if you want to try some of these new technologies.

Technorati Tags: warlick redefine literacy

Monday I am at the CECA Technology Conference. My expectation is that you will have the bulk of the reading/outlining/creating done for the chapter when I return on Tuesday. that will require very focussed work. Yes, my expectations are high.

Some notes about the survey. 96% of you are comfortable with making and editing a page. Thats pretty good news. You seem to overwhelmingly favor the Web Olympics so I will try to incorporate more group work.

1. Which project was the best project?
Textbook Work 12%
Web Olympics 74%
Learn it Online 14%

2. Are you comfortable learning the topics addressed in class?
Very comfortable 14%
Pretty comfortable 66%
Kind of comfortable17%
Not at all 3%

3. Do you feel comfortable adding links and images to your web pages?
Very comfortable 29%
Pretty comfortable 35%
Kind of comfortable 33%
Not at all 3%

4. I know the Seymour High School mission statement.
Yes 33%
No 67%

5. Do you feel comfortable creating and editing a basic web page?
Very comfortable 31%
Pretty comfortable 56%
Kind of comfortable 9%
Not at all 4%
Total

6. The Mets...
Too bad they lost. 59%
Glad they lost. 35%
Who are the Mets? 27%

Many of you are producing work which is of the FINEST quality possible. I appreciate all of your hard work. I am very impressed by the focus many of you bring to these projects.

I will be meeting with each of you individually over the next few days to go over your work. Please contact me if you need any help after school or during study halls. It is obviously MUCH easier to give you the attention you might need when there aren't 24 other students calling my name....

Project Three is about tables. It is not a difficult project, it just about learning new coding and reinforcing the coding we just learned. I urge you to read and outline the chapter first. Many of our problems result from students trying to take short cuts.

Assignments for Project Three:
1. Outline.
2. Project Three (Theater Club)
3. Learn it Online
4. Apply1 (HTM 3.58)
5. In the Lab 2 (HTM 3.59)
6. Cases and Places 2 and 3 (HTM3.62)---Use microsoft clipart online for images--link on blog.

I will be attending the state technology conference on Monday. When I return on Tuesday I will expect that most of the Project is done and you are working on the Labs and Cases. I want to move through this unit fairly quickly. We started 12 school days behind the other web classes and I estimate we are about 7-8 days behind now.

I forgot to mention yesterday how much Claudia and I enjoyed attending the NVL Cross Country championship on Wednesday. As you know, I left coaching this year when I came to Seymour and I was very impressed watching the Seymour team. They have come a long way. We had several web designers run very well (Jocelyn, Craig, etc...). And Joe Paulsen is the first 2006-07 Champion from Seymour. Congratulations. I hope to make states next week. If you have never been to a XC meet you would be very impressed. You dont often see 2500 high schoolers competing on the same day, and over 4000 spectators (they line the course for 3 miles). I also think some of you would be amazed at how FAST some of these kids run. Try running around the track in 75 seconds. Then try doing it 12 times in a row without stopping. Up and down hills. In the rain. Thats XC.

Survey

Please take the survey. Click here .

Project Two Quiz

Quiz today on project two.

I will also use this day to have any remaining project two folders copied to the U:Drive.

Please check the Web Olympics folder in the U:Drive. Give me any suggestions. You asked for more group work so I am trying to create fun activities for you.

After I grade the quiz I will convert any missing work from Project One to zero. Please check teacherease and get any missing work in. Last call for Project One!

Turn in Project Two

Today we will turn in project two. Please follow these steps:

1. Follow the checklist from Friday to check all of your work

Assignments for Project Two:

1. Project Two (resumes)
2. Apply 1 (Family Reunion)
3. In the Lab 1 (Blood Drive)
4. In the Lab 2 (After-School)
5. Cases and Places 4 (Resume)
6. Chapter Outline

Confirm that all files are in your book chapters-project two folder.

2. Right click the Project Two folder in your W:Drive. Click copy.
3. Find your named folder in the U:Drive--Web Schneider. If you need to create a folder, do so.
4. Open your named folder and paste your project two folder inside it.
5. Confirm that all the files moved and that they all work.

If there is work that you need to complete, then do so. Otherwise study for tomorrows Project Two quiz.

I saved my idea for Web Olympics in the U:drive. If you have any ideas, let me know. Teams will be drawn from a hat.

Here is your checklist for Project Two. This is how I will grade it:

1. All files completed and in correct folder (dont save them there yet, we will do that together).
2. Obvious typos, color errors, format errors. All pages should look the same.
3. Your webreshome page should have two samples links on it. One is Marie Santos, one is your resume.
4. I will check the bookmarks links on the resume pages.
5. I will check your resume briefly to see that you completed it (i.e. that you did more than just replacing the name at the top) and that you did things like replace the Purdue picture and links with SHS. I will check that the ALT text for the picture is different on each page.
6. I will check the bookmark links on the family reunion page and the blood drive page.
7. I will briefly check the school picture page.
8. I will check that you closed HTML and closed BODY on all of your pages.
9. I will check your outline.

If you have any questions about the above, please let me know.

Next week we will clean this up, take the quiz and do a group project/assessment. I am thinking of doing a Web Olympics. If you have ideas for "sports" in this Olympics let me know. We will randomly draw for teams of 3-4 students. We will then compete head-to-head in competitions. For example, one competition might be fastest to be a computer genius in Learn it Online. Another competition, might be fastest to fix a code (kind of like the family reunion assignment). I know its a bit silly, but I think it will be fun. Again, let me know any ideas for games. There will be some peer pressure to be prepared so you score for your team. So be prepared.

I am sure most of you saw the tragic story yesterday about the plane crash in New York City. Click here for a CNN story on the subject.

This is an amazing story. You have several elements: plane crash, NYC, a famous person, etc...

Take a moment to reflect on the story. If you were in the newsroom when this story broke what would be your headline? How would you design your page to get the information out in an unbiased manner?

Would your headline be different today? Don't write anything up. Just take amount to think about it.

Some issues we are having with project two:

1. Some of you can't get the Purdue University picture to display on the sample1 page. I don't have an explanation for it.
2. One or two of the computers won't display the greyback background. If you think this applies to you, check your work on a different computer.
3. The two errors I see most often are direction skipping and typos.

A note about Cases and Places 4. You are creating a web resume about YOU. Instead of a picture and link to Purdue University you should have a picture and link to SHS, etc..... You will add a link on the WebResHome Page once you complete this. There will be TWO SAMPLES to link to. One sample will be the one from the book, one will be your resume. I really hope that made sense.

I warned you this project wasn't easy to do because of the focus required. Keep up the good work. Help each other. If anyone can solve #1 or #2 above that would be great.

I've noticed that those who read and outlined the chapter first plowed through the work MUCH faster than those who dove right into the project without reading.

The next few days will be quiet typing days as we plow through Project Two. Please continue to assist each other as we learn these new skills. I strongly believe your peers our your best teachers through collaborative learning.

After school time is fine for extra help, but I have bus duty and dont get back until 2:10pm. Thursday is best when I can stay until around 3pm to give any assistance.

After this unit you should feel comfortable:

• Adding links to within a page (bookmarks), outside a page, or to images.
• Explaining the network and how to save things.
• Adding ALT text to images. Aligning images and sizing them correctly.
• Adding background images.

All in all I think you are doing a great job. Your surveys indicate about half of you feel the pace of assignments is good, but many of you have to rush to keep up. That's fine, as long as you are working hard I will give you all the time that you need. Those of you who are flying through this, please be patient. I'm trying hard to find a middle ground. I ask that you use any "extra" time to help your classmates. That will only serve to reinforce your knowledge ( a win-win situation).

And I guess fifty percent of us don't know what we are talking about as the Yankees will not be winning the World Series this year......

1. What is your favorite teaching style?

Teacher Directed (lecture, oral directions, etc..) 18%
Class projects (multi-day assignments, integrated learning) 16%
Independent Learning (student/task centered, learn at own pace, etc..) 23%
Group Work (projects, collaborative learning, etc..) 43%
Total 100%

2. Are you comfortable with the instructors teaching style?
Very comfortable 9%
Pretty comfortable 43%
Kind of comfortable 37%
Not at all 12%
Total 100%

3. Did you have enough time to finish all the assignments?
I had time to spare 11%
Just right 44%
I had to work fast to finish 45%
Well, I would have finished if I stopped talking... 0 0%
Total 100%

4. Do you feel comfortable analyzing your new websites for bias, usability, and accessability?
Very comfortable 5%
Pretty comfortable 63%
Kind of comfortable 26%
Not at all 6%
Total 100%

5. The Yankees will win the World Series
Of course 48%
No way 35%
Who are the Yankees? 17%
Total 100%

6. Do you feel comfortable creating and editing a basic web page?
Very comfortable 28%
Pretty comfortable 52%
Kind of comfortable 13%
Not at all 6%
Total 100%

Project Two

Assignments for Project Two:

1. Project Two (resumes)
2. Apply 1 (Family Reunion)
3. In the Lab 1 (Blood Drive)
4. In the Lab 2 (After-School)
5. Cases and Places 4 (Resume)
6. Learn it Online
7. Chapter Outline

There is an error on page HTM 2.36. You need to add a step to close the bold and italic tags. See me if a problem.

Two essential things for this unit:
1. The media files must be copied to your Project Two folder or the links will not work.
2. Read the whole thing!! Direction skipping could be a big problem if you are not careful.

Here is the survey for project one.

Possible coolest site ever. Baby names.

Today we will finish Project One. As you know, I have gone back to school this year to study education and possibly get my doctorate. As part of this process I will be videotaping some of my classes and some administrators will be in to watch me over the next few days.

I am available for extra help every day after school, but Thursday is the best day when I can stay from 2:10-3:00. If you are behind, remember that you can access the work from home or another computer in school.

Today:

1. Confirm that the movie page is completed. Have a partner proofread the code.

2. Open an MS Word document (save in class projects: moviebias).

3. Answer the following two questions after reviewing the article on gender bias and usability. Remember, organize your thoughts and check your spelling, etc...

Does your movie page show gender bias? Give three examples from your page to support your argument.

Is your webpage geared towards adults, teenagers, or kids? Give three examples from your page to support your argument.

4. Print the MS Word Document. Print the CODE for your page. Staple them together and put in your periods slot on my desk.

Wednesday Notes and Assignment

Thanks for your good wishes yesterday. I am not back to full strength, so go easy on me today.

A few notes about your folders that you turned in;
1. A major issue is saving to the correct place on the U:Drive. Make sure you save in the correct folder.
2. A second issue is closing the container tags (/HTML, /HEAD, etc..). Many of you neglected to do this.
3. The third issue is proofreading. I think if you proofread each others work almost all the errors could be prevented. This is an ESSENTIAL part of the design process; how you work with others to ensure accuracy.

All in all, you produced excellent work on this project. Almost every one of you demonstrates a high degree of understanding on this unit. I have been working ahead on the Project Two. Those of you who are "directions skippers" will have a very difficult time---so be patient AND READ THE PAGE!!!!!!!!! The coding will become more and more precise and the number of lines of code will greatly increase.

Todays assignment:

1. Open a notepad file. Save it in class projects as googlehtml

2. Using google please answer the following questions:

a. What were the five highest grossing movies of 2006 in America?
b. What were the five highest grossing movies of 2005 in America?

3. Design and Create a webpage in Notepad that answers the above questions. Your page should include:

a title
headings
lists
color
correct information
citation (can be parenthetical, noodletools style, or in paragraph---"According to movies.com....")

4. Save file

Extra credit: What is the major problem with todays blog posting?

I will be out sick on Tuesday. I have a cold and it hit me fast.

Your substitute has a project for you that involves group work and the Fireworks program. Your surveys indicated 50% of you wanted group work, so am working on providing these opportunities. Good luck with the project. I will ask for feedback when I return.