Mr. Lane’s Computer Applications/Web 2.0 Blog

We are fast approaching the Winter Break and the end of the calendar year. With this in mind I thought I would review some of the information you provided to me in November, introduce blogs (which will be our major focus of the month and the upcoming months).  I also figured this would be a good time to share with you the major/minor changes that will occur in January when we will return from break. So here is what I have:

November’s Poll of the Month

Last month’s poll asked “If you could only do one of the following extreme sports, which one would it be?”. The results were as follows:

It is clear that almost 40% of you would like to try bungee jumping, almost 20% like the idea of giving hang gliding a try, and a solid 16% of you are not interested in any of the options.  So for those  16%ers, is there an extreme sport you are interested in?

As a side note, I found it fascinating that three of the four lowest ranked extreme sports, I was avid participant in one (rock climbing); have tried one more than once (spelunking (caving));  and would love to give the third (ice climbing) a try.  What does that say about me…:)  Interestingly, they all have something in common – what is it?

Pre-trimester Survey

The Pre-trimester Survey (this was the survey you completed online that asked you about your computer use and habits) provided the following interesting tidbits of information:

• 72 total students completed the survey (28 students in 4th period, 22 students in 5th period, and 22 students in 6th period)
  • 41 were male and 31 female
  • 66 students have computers at home
    • 62 of these 66 have Internet access at home
• when asked how they use computers…
  • 25 students said they use computers almost daily to play games
  • 26 students said they use computers almost daily to complete school work
  • 53 students said they use computers to access the Internet almost daily
  • over 30 students use social networking (e.g., My Space, Facebook, etc.) to communicate on an almost daily basis
  • almost 30 students never use social networking (e.g., My Space, Facebook, etc.) to communicate
• when asked if they perfer to use “computers to do school work instead of using pencil and paper” – 53 students (out of 72) agreed or strongly agreed
• when given the statement “I generally enjoy school work.”
  • 33 students disagreed or strongly disagreed
  • 25 students neither agreed nor disagreed
    • this means that 58 of 72 students are ambivelant (do not care) about their school work
      • Does this seem like a lot to you?

There is so much more information available through the actual report which you can find here: http://safe.mn/1Kj

December’s Poll of the Month

This month’s poll is a result of the very interesting weather we have had this past week.  By the way, I have a funny story about the weather, hanging Christmas lights, and Mr. Lane that you can here.  Please take a moment to complete the poll (found to your left); you have until December 31, 2009 to submit your vote.

Upcoming Changes to Success Wednesday

When we return from Winter Break we will be making both major and  minor changes to our Success Wednesday schedule.  First, we will be moving the location we meet - no longer will we be in the Computer Lab (Room 3) – we will now be in the Project Room (Mr. Waldo’s PLTW class will be moving to the Library).  This will allow us to use tables rather than computer work stations to complete our work. 

Secondly, we will be using the first part of each Wednesday to work on different areas of your core curriculum (math, English, history, and science).  For example, we might work on reviewing how to find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) or we might review how to identify adjectives in a sentence.  We will also be providing those of you who have mastered certain skills enrichment activities to expand your knowledge base.  We will also be going over test-taking strategies in preparation for the upcoming testing (yes, I know it is scheduled for April – but time does fly when you are having fun).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WOW!!  Apparently I had a lot more to cover than I thought…  Maybe next time I will plan this out a bit better and split up my thoughts and create two posts.  Anyhoo… Now I would like to hear from you. Please do the following:

1. Complete December’s Poll of the Month.
2. Tell me:
   1. if there is an extreme sport you would like to try that wasn’ t included in November’s Poll of the Month or
   2. what the three extreme sports I have either done or want to do have in common (you will have to think this one through on your own) or
   3. if there was a particular statistic from the Pre-trimester Survey that stood out in your mind (you found it interesting) - this could be one of the stat’s I shared with you or it could be one that picked out from the survey link or
   4. what response you chose for December’s Poll of the Month or
   5. your thoughts about the upcoming changes to Success Wednesday.

Please remember you are writing to more than just me - the whole world is watching. I, and the world, look forward to reading your comments…

Today, effectively, closes this trimester for us. It is hard to believe that 12 weeks have already passed by since we started school. It has been an interesting trimester…   I feel like I have learned so much more from you than you have learned from me.  Thank you!!

I had some ambitious plans for this class and we definitely did not get to everything I wanted to cover — in fact, I am confident that we got to less than 60% of what I wanted.  I attribute this to two things: 1) a trimester is much less time than I thought and 2)  not having computers for a couple weeks at the start of the year hurt more than I realized.   However, this trimester certainly was not waste — I feel like many of you will walk out the door with a better sense of:

• how to read and understand a Term of Service (TOS)
• how to set up e-mail accounts (address books, folders, etc.)
• how to send attachments in an e-mail
• how to use AR BookFinder (which will help you as we begin the school-wide use of the AR program)
• how to use an Excel workbook, spreadsheet, and some basic formulas
• the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technology
• the layout of a keyboard (and, as a result, better typing skills)

Before we call it quits, though, I have three items I would like your help with:

1. Please complete the Poll of the Month (I promised Kalei A. (4th period) that I would get the Poll of the Month up and running before the trimester ended – I am sorry it took so long!).  After you make your selection you will be able to see the results.  Come back in a few days and see what the final tally looks like…
2. Please go the Post-Trimester Survey (this is a work in progress).  Follow the instructions and complete the survey…
3. If you feel comfortable doing so, please leave one last comment letting me know what I did well, what I need to improve upon, what should I cover that I didn’t, and/or what I covered that I shouldn’t.  All feedback is welcome — your thoughts are important as I want to make this class better for this year and the years to come.

Thanks again for everything!!!  Have a wonderful 2nd & 3rd Trimester!!!

Photo attributed to prasan.naik.

Yesterday I noticed that many of you were interested in watching the clip of Today’s Show Lester Holt revisiting his junior high — Mitchell Middle School. What I found intriguing was that the website you were watching it through (Edline/W.E. Mitchell Middle School) is the perfect example of Web 1.0 technology.  You can view the clip but you cannot share your thoughts of what is appearing before you with anyone not sitting right next to you.  Your audience is very limited!! However, if you watch the video clip that appears below (which is the exact same one found on Edline and the Today Show website), you can share your thoughts with anyone in the world because it is an example of Web 2.0 technology.  

Please know that both types of websites have their place and purpose.  Being able to tell the difference between the two is important as it can help you determine the purpose and the reliability of the site (but not always).  To see how well you can tell the difference between the two I would like you to:

1. Choose a topic of your choice (for example - bears, 49ers, colleges, cancer, soccer, etc.) and then
2. Find a website that that relates to the topic you chose using Web 1.0 technology and a website uses Web 2.0 technology
3. Copy the URL from each into a comment (indicate if it is an example of Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 technology).  Make sure you submit the comment with your name..

If you need a refresher on what Web 2.o technology looks like I recommend you use the videos found here.

For many, using Microsoft Excel (or any similar spreadsheet program) is either incredibly easy or incredibly difficult.  With this in mind I thought we should start using Microsoft Excel in a manner that keeps it’s use simple so we could figure out where everyone’s skill set resides.   Additionally, I thought we should add something entertaining to the project so I went with a zoo-based Internet Scavenger Hunt. 

1. Set up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you can use to record your answers (we will work on this together on Monday (9/28)).
2. Use the chart found on the Internet Scavenger Hunt page on Mr. Lane’s Computer Applications/Web 2.0 Wiki to determine the animal being asked about, the zoo where the answer can be found, and the link to the zoo’s website.  
3. Follow the link provided for each animal and search each site to determine where the animal is originally from (often referred to as their “habitat” or “range“).
4. Record the location (answer) in your spreadsheet.
5. When done remember to save your spreadsheet and send it, as an attachment, to me via e-mail (we’ll go over how to do this on Tuesday (9/29)).  

Happy zoo-hopping!!!

Special thanks to nasmac for providing use of the Green Tree Python photo.

Click on the image to be taken to a larger version...

I found Friday morning's tribute to be amazingly moving - until that moment I had not spent any time with a large group of people recognizing the events and the people it has affected - which is most of us - whether we know it or not. The fact that the event was put together by students and for students made it even more special.

Thinking about the events of eight years ago got me to thinking about other important events in my life - graduating from high school and college, my grandparent's deaths, my wedding, the birth of my children - just to name a few. Each of these have a special place in my heart and memory. I figure that each of us has at least one special event or memory that we have experienced that we hold dear (close to the heart).  What is yours and why is it so special?