Project 2

A few project notes:

1. You need to read directions. A lot of your questions are answered in the textbook.
2. In student govt many of your backgrounds are not appropriate. They are way too busy. In addition some of you are creating multiple pages, but with different themes and backgrounds. A website should have a unifying theme.
3. Structural issues are paramount. Naming files, creating websites, moving images, etc...are the foundation of building a site. Be careful as you do these steps.

I have progress reports due. I will grade Wednesday. Be ready. Your grade is your responsibility.

Welcome Back

I hope you all had a happy and healthy vacation. I spent the first weekend in Pennsylvania visiting my mom and sister. We were delayed as all the roads were closed due to the Valentine's Day storm and ice on the roads. We spent most of the rest of the time playing with Claudia.

I think we have the basics of Dreamweaver down at this point. You all should be able to create a new website, create pages within that website, import links, and do basic manipulations to the page. We have done this fairly fast but I think you are doing well with it. Remember, I am not trying to teach you Dreamweaver, but how to use software. If you could walk into any publishing environment and use their software then we have done our job.

This is the first time I have taught this class. The hardest thing when teaching a new class is pacing. In my old job as a band director I could plan almost to the minute how much class time it would take to learn a piece of music. Figuring out how long it takes us to learn a chapter is challenging, especially since we have such diverse abilities. At the moment I think a chapter (with extras) takes us about a week. I think that will come down as we get better with the program.

I do feel strongly that our higher achieving students can do more, especially with helping our lower achievers. I have encouraged you to plow through the book. If you can finish it tomorrow, great. I would love if those of you who really "get it" would do one of two things:

1. Take the time to help some of our students for whom this is a challenge. Peer-to-peer instruction is far more valuable than teacher-to-student.
2. I will begin to provide more and more "extra challenges" for those who are moving fast. But I already have provided you with a blog, wiki, and a world of readers. Do something with your skills that is productive. Find something you are passionate about and write about it.

CAPT testing is approaching. We will have shortened periods and other various interruptions. What I will set up is a serious of activities as I know you will be a bit frazzled. I expect to start the Flash and Fireworks program work and do it concurrently with the Dreamweaver. This will give each of you more options as you come into class each day.

I will also be making the blog a higher percentage of your grade. You must show evidence of reflecting upon the reading assignments.

I would love to set up workshops for senior citizens, teachers, parents, or little kids. We could teach internet basics, email, and other items. I did a survey of parents during web1 and 100% of them asked for this type of thing. Please let me know if you are interested!!! Its a great project for a group of students to get community service credits (Hope Club??), teaching experience, and possibility a subject for a college essay. I have always tried to give future teachers a chance to actually teach as this gives them a huge edge when interviewing for schools. Here is your chance....

Ethics

Currently SHS bans iPods, cellphones, etc...

But we all know they are being used.

This postby Will Richardson highlights the ethics dilemma. Also read the NY Times article.

How can students use technology more effectively? Should ethical use of this technology be taught in the classes? How should SHS manage this issue?

Currently you can run Powerpoint and watch movies with your iPod, blog and access the internet with your cellphone. We know that in a few years the "phone" will be as powerful as the Dell Computer you are using right now. You will be able to take pictures, record voice, edit movie, post to web all in the palm of your hand. This could be a very powerful classroom tool.....or students could use this power unethically (pictures of girls, fight scenes, etc...).

Please write a post that addresses these issues. I worry about students recording conversations or taking inappropriate pictures. Often these situations dissolve into violence.

Technorati Tags: WillRichardson ethics web2.0 Seymour

Obama

Read this post by Will Richardson (probably the leading educational blogger, thousands of people subscribe to his blog on bloglines) about Barack Obama's push into the web. Obama is a leading Democratic candidate for President and he has made a big leap forward from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.

As we teach web design I hope you realize that it is a moving target. What was "new" four years ago when Howard Dean splashed onto the scene has been replaced by much more powerful technology. Notice the "conversation" aspect of the website. Its not about Obama giving you information, its about Obama supporters providing each other with information. That is a much more powerful web design concept and one we are trying to work on every day here in class.

Another note. The blogmeister is in China. Follow his exploits on his blog. I encourage you all today to make a bloglines account and subscribe to David Warlick and Will Richardson.

If you are going to operate in a modern environment you have to be able to use and understand these tools.

Finally, technology doesn't always mean computers. Click here. You should put cooltools in your bloglines account as well. I'd like to see all of you use this tool at lunch.

Technorati Tags: Warlick WillRichardson Obama Dean web2.0 seymour webdesign

Paper

On the blogmeister we have been estimating how much paper Seymour High School uses in 1 year. Seymour High School has about 900 students.

I received the answer yesterday afternoon:

In the 2005-06 fiscal year (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) SHS used 450 cases of paper, with 10 reams in each case. Total reams of paper is 4500, which equals 2,250,000 sheets of copy paper (500 sheets per ream).

Today's assignment will involve applying this knowledge and preparing a response.

Step One:
If each piece of paper is connected end to end (assume each piece is 1 foot long) how many miles long would my paper train be? A mile is 5,280 feet.

Step Two:
Using routebuilder answer the following questions:

• Is my paper train long enough to reach Canada from Seymour?
• Is my paper train long enough to travel the circumference of Connecticut?
• If my paper train was a bridge could I travel from Canada to Greenland?

Step Three:

• If you could only travel as far as this train which city/town/event would you go to? Find a web link about this item. Why would you choose this item?

Step Four:

• Using blogmeister please answer these questions. Be sure to use proper style, links, etc... I encourage you to include other links that might be appropriate (about the places you visit, paperless classrooms, google maps, etc...). Format your entry correctly (paragraphs, grammer, etc..).

I am looking to see:

• Can you follow directions?
• Can you use the internet to find information?
• Can you do the simple math?
• Can you write about it in an interesting way?

Technorati Tags: googlemaps paperless blogmeister Schneider

Survey 1

Here are the results of todays survey:

1. Dreamweaver is...

Easier than HTML 85%
Same difficulty as HTML 12%
Harder than HTML 2%

2. Have you read or edited your blogmeister from home?

Yes 67%
No 33%

3. After only two weeks with Dreamweaver I would like you to respond to the sequence of Web Design. Would you prefer...

Learning HTML first and then Dreamweaver 61%
Learning by task (i.e. learning image maps in Dreamweaver and HTML at the same time) 13%
Learn Dreamweaver first then incorporate HTML knowledge 26%


4. Are you producing your best work?

Yes 69%
No 31%


5. Five years from now we will...

Be in a new world of possibilities because Americans rose to the challenge 57%
Be in deep, deep trouble. 43%

6. Does using Dreamweaver help you understand HTML language better?

Yes 52%
No 48%


7. Do you feel comfortable creating and editing a basic webpage?

Yes 98%
No 1%
Whats a webpage? 1%

8. Choose One

Chocolate 54%
Vanilla 33%
Strawberry 26%

Survey 1: Web 2

Please complete this feedback survey today. I value your opinions on how we are doing and like to collect data in a systematic way. Please feel free to look back at surveys from Web1 (you can click on the blog label to find them).

We will have a lengthy discussion today about class, bloglines, technorati, teacherease, tags, and other items. Pay attention!

Technorati Tags: survey technorati blogline teacherease

Blogging

Your recent blogs about Ayiti were picked up by the makers of the game. Click here to see the post.

A reminder that you are part of a global community. People read what you are writing and this information gets connected through the web. Write well, write something of value, and write often and you will build readers. I believe you all have something to share.

We will work on tagging your posts so these entries can be found. Tagging is how the web software searches for information.

After checking technorati.com 75 blogs link to the Ayiti entry about our students. You have a voice! Use it!!

I can also help you put a clustrmap on your blog so you can see where people are reading your blogs. Ask for help if you need it.

On Monday please go through the practice test a number of times. Remember, you will not be able to use notes during the quiz. Please let me know if there are any questions that you have trouble with. Sometimes the questions are kind of awkward.

Technorati Tags: Ayiti blogging K12

Extra Credit

Extra Credit:

Watch a talk from the TED conference. Jeff Han was a TED talk. I just watched the talk by Hans Rosling which was fascinating. I write about it on my technology blog. I hope all of you take the time to watch Jennifer Lin. What an amazing 14 year old. And how she talks in front of the audience is almost as impressive as her music.

After watching do a summary on your blog. Be sure to link to the talk and any important related sites. Find other bloggers (using technorati) that are talking about the information. Use technorati tags. Anyway, its extra credit so just have fun with it.

Some of these talks are VERY well done.

Technorati Tags: TED HansRosling

Site management

A few issues I am seeing:

1. In Web1 the largest issue was by far typos. People would make entry mistakes. I am seeing direction skipping as the issue in Web2 so far. Slow down and read.
2. You must define the new site when you start a new project. When you start "BB Lawn Service" you must define the site!! It will screw everything up later if you don't. It should not be in your parks folder. When you finish Project 1 you should have sites/folders named Florida Parks, Lawn Service, Plant City, and School Trips.
3. The end key and the enter key are not the same thing.
4. Quiz Tuesday.

Dreamweaver Projects

As suspected many of you are flying through the Project. Take it at your own pace. A few things you must do:

1. Make daily blog posts or comments. Demonstrate evidence of thought, readings, and growth. Add to the discussion. "Hi John, I can't wait for lunch" is not an acceptable comment.

2. Finish your outline.

3. Start using the practice test. There are no notes in the quiz so study!

Since some of you might finish today I am rushing to get the extras set up. I will ask you to do the following (we will all do the same assignments this time). I encourage you to work together on these parts of the project. Sometimes it helps to talk through the steps with a partner.

1. Apply Your Knowledge (Lawn Service)
2. In the Lab 3 (Plant City)
3. Cases and Places 5 (student trips)

Technorati Tags: dreamweaver

Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver is the primary text for this class.

Before you start create a new folder in your WDrive-Dreamweaver folder called "Project 1".

Please check the following:

1. What number book you have. Please double check this every day. You are responsible for this book. It is shared with the five other classes.

2. Our book work follows this sequence: read-outline-project-quiz.

• First, read the chapter. Get a general understanding of what you will be learning.
• Outline the basic concepts and terms. Save each outline in your Dreamweaver folder.
• Do the project for each chapter. Follow the directions.
• Prepare for the Learn it Online quiz.

3. This book is more advanced than the HTML book. The author will show you how to do something once, than expect you to know how to do it. For example, the first time they will go through all the steps for adding images (click here, drag here, etc...). During the next chapter they just say "add images". Pay attention!

4. Use the resources provided. Powerpoint, Learn it Online, the blogs, classmates, etc... We will learn a lot over the next few days.

5. The files you need are in the UDrive--WebSchneider.

Note: pages 1.12 through page 1.20 will require some network navigation. Create your "parks" folder in your WDrive-Dreamweaver-Project1 folder. Read carefully and ask if you are not sure.

Good luck.

What's next?

Today we will finish our pre-assessment. I want to see how you write. Being able to process information and communicate effectively is essential in today's information revolution.

I ask that you do a few things first:
1. Watch the Jeff Han video (use headphones). Han is a leader in the technology world and his use of the touch screen is very cool. How would this impact web design?
2. Go to the Don't Click It site. How does "not clicking" change your experience? Can you see how the technology on this site might be related to the work Jeff Han is doing?

Additional ideas (you may have seen these before):
1. Simulations. Many of you play online games and simulations. You might play with someone who is across the world. This collaboration is a great Web2.0 example. But what about education games? Pilots use flight simulators. Why can't we use simulations in school? Check out Ayiti. Would you rather play the game to learn about the problems in Haiti and other 3rd world countries or do a worksheet?
2. Baby Names. Do you want a book of 1,000s of baby names or use this website? A great example of how web design makes searching easier.

Today's assignment:

• Go to your blogmeister.
• Write an article that reflects on the websites you visited. Talk about these websites (and others) in terms of our web design concepts (usability, accessability, etc...). How does this technology improve how we use information? What does a website made in 2007 need to look like?
• Be sure to include links in your post. Don't say "this article". Make it clickable so people can visit the link.
• Include a link to this post.
• Post a substantive comment on another students blog. Reflect on what they say, add a link to an idea, or any other way to increase the collaboration amongst us.
• Be sure to follow protocal for comments and posts (ethical, no last names, include links, include URL, no email).

It is my goal that by June you are able to create websites that look like they were made in 2007, not 1995. This will be a lot of work. But you MUST agree to some things first (I suggest you write about some of these ideas):

• Understanding usability is everything. Does your website add value to the world?
• Read/write web. You must get used to the read/write concept where as you are reading you are already thinking of your response. This is different than if you are reading the newspaper or a novel where there is no conversation. Modern web design is about collaboration (blogs, wikis, etc..).
• You are part of a new generation that will have incredible power of technology and machines but faces incredible battles (war, oil, global warming, cancer, etc..). How can America and its students compete as the "Shift happens".
• You will communicate in this new world with video, read/write blogs, email, etc...Most of you do this already. Assignments and strategies in education from even five years ago are invalid now. You must insist that resources are provided that teach you to be preared for 2017, not 1987. For example, its great to know how to write a paper, but you REALLY need to know how to make and edit a movie to survive in this new age.

Technorati Tags: Han read/write web2.0 Ayiti dontclickit

HTML Pre-Assessment

We will finish the HTML pre-assessment today. I have been impressed that almost all of you have had no trouble with this assignment. Todays assignment is about adapting to code changes.

There are always changes with any work order. Your web design boss has seen your draft and wants you to make the following changes:

1. She wants the background color to match the blue heading on this blogspot page. Coded Color Slider (put this in link in your favorites!!)
2. She really likes the two news links that are visual (the Newsmap and the Daylife). She wants you to find one other site that has a very high usability factor (mix of visual and text, obvious focus, easy to use and find information). Use google, technorati, the class wiki, or this blog to find the "coolest site ever". Include link on your website.
3. She wants an email link so people can leave comments. Email address is comments@isp.com
4. She asks that you take a few minutes and view the source of some of these pages. Please ask a classmate if you don't remember how to do this. See if you can include one element or idea (such as a specific code or design principal) from these pages in your HTML page.

I will be working today to get the blogmeisters assigned to all the new bloggers. Be patient.

Students with blogs should all leave a reflection today about the first three days of Web2.

Day2

Today we will take a tour of several items. For students who took my Web1 class much of this will look familiar, but I ask that you look at everything with new eyes.

Blogs:
This is a blog. A blog is read/write web device that allows a writer to communicate directly with his/her audience. The blog can incorporate pictures, video, sound and many "widgets" that are Web 2.0 based. Myspace is a blog. In addition to your classmates blogs on blogmeister please look at the following blogs:

Senator Blog
TV News Blog
MTV Blog

Wikis:
A wiki is a program that allows collaboration on the web. Members are allowed to create, edit, and improve information in real time. The classic example is wikipedia which is updated constantly. How wikis are better? For example, your science textbook still says there are 9 planets, even though Pluto was declared to NOT be a planet in August. One minute after that announcement the entry on wikipedia was changed. In a world that moves at incredible speed, can we afford to still be textbook based?

Wikis incorporate video, images, and sound as well. But the most important aspect is that they are collaborative.

These examples were created by Web1 students:

Ballet Wiki
Cheerleading Wiki
Obesity Wiki

Web 2.0 Stuff:
Take a moment to look through these sites. Put the ones you like in your favorites. We will explore throughout the class. Each website has something "new" to offer.

Newsmap
Daylife
Tall Buildings
Typing Test

You will now create an HTML website using notepad. You can use the HTML book or any of your old files. This is a pre-assessment for this class. I want to see what you can do.

Your website should:
--Summarize the Web 2.0 applications you looked at. Include links to at least 4 websites. Include all aspects of the web site design (title, heading, frames, links, etc...) that you feel are needed to summarize the information. You are basically recreating this blog entry in notepad using HTML.
--Include at least one clipart image (use link from this page).
--Show evidence that you understand todays discussion of accessability, usability and bias.
--Save your file as web.htm in your "other" folder in the WDrive.

This should take you maybe 15-20 minutes. I'm just looking to check that you have basic computer/HTML skills. I will grade complete as long as you give a strong effort.

Web Design 2

Welcome to Web Design 2! I know we will have a great time this semester. As I already talked about, we will cover many new things during this semester. We will move out of the world of notepad into the program world of Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks. We will continue to work on our blogs, wikis and other aspects of the read/write web. You will do a lot of writing, reading, analyzing as we aim to improve our communication skills.

Over 99% of the information in the world is digital. Can you find this information, process it, interpret it, and reproduce it in a thoughtful way. That is what this course is about.

We will move faster than Web 1. However, this pace will not be the same for all. I will expect some leaders to emerge shortly who move VERY fast on our projects. This speed will allow us time to work on some exciting things.

Today is grunt work. Please do the following.

1. Go to your W:drive
2. Create a folder "web2"
3. Within the web2 folder create four more folders: Dreamweaver Projects, Flash Projects, Fireworks Projects, Other.

Create an MSWord document. (Web1-Schneider students answer these questions on blogmeister).
1. Save as "Day1" in your Other folder.
2. After watching the Did you Knowmovie please write a 1-2 paragraph reflection. How does this movie relate to your life here in Seymour, CT?
3. What about the future gets you excited? What scares you? Write 3-4 sentances on each question.
4. Bloggers, include 1-2 links in post.
5. Save file.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: DidYouKnow WebDesign Schneider

Exam Summary

Exams are over. I have 1-2 student taking exams tomorrow. Grades are on teacherease.com

Summary exam averages:
Period 1: 84.6
Period 2: 79.4
Period 4: 82.4
Period 5: 82.2
Period 6: 81.5

A few notes:

Memo: The number one problem was not following the format. This made your memos very unclear. Some of you turned in an entire page without using paragraphs. Second, how long should a one page memo be? Why would you turn in a second page?

Those of you who included evidence from readings, thank you! I was surprised more of you didnt talk about the $100 laptop we read about.

HTML: Some very good websites. Some of you get too creative with colors. Less is more. But overall you understand this very well.

Vocab: Some of you nailed it. Some of you needed to study.

Final Exam: Web1

Today we will begin our final exam.

Rules for exam:

1. Do your own work. No questions, or outside assistance.
2. You may use your book and code files for the memo and HTML section.
3. You can only use your printed outlines for the HTML section.

Be sure to follow directions and turn work in properly.

Stay quiet for the entire exam period.

Click here to visit the exam. The vocabulary link will only be active during the exam period.

The end of Web1.....

Today is the final day of regular classes for Web1.

Today:
1. Be sure you have submitted a grading sheet and all your work for the final project.
2. Have your outlines complete and printed out for use during exam.
3. Study and review one-page memo, HTML, and vocabulary.

Wednesday:
1. Regular class period. Memo and HTML sections of exam will be posted. Can use book and files for assistance.

Thursday:
1. Exam periods begin.
2. Vocabulary part of exam during these periods. May only use printed outlines.
3. All parts of the exam must be completed by end of designated exam period.

Remember, no assistance from teacher or classmates during exam.

Good luck!

Video

I have talked a lot about how traditional ways of assessment aren't always productive. Here are two examples of video that are truly outstanding by high school students.

1. AP Psychology: Sleep Disorders. This is a youtube video, which is blocked here at school. I urge you to watch it at home, especially if you are taking AP Psych.

2. Sweatshop Video. By a student in California. Put on headphones as the music is essential. After viewing this powerful movie I think you will have a better idea of the potential for video and what superior work looks like. As you can see, this video is about the STORY, not just about stringing images together. (this doesnt seeem to be playing right now in school, I'm working on it)

Encourage your teachers to allow you to use alternative assessments. Then impress them!

I am adapting the HTML assignment: Your quiz will be on Chapter 8. You still must be able to talk about each chapter and the techniques, but I realize we ran out of time and need to make the quiz thing easier.

Technorati Tags: sweatshop APPsych youtube video assessment