This morning’s session was Elizabeth’s first session in a month, so she had a bunch of stuff to do in catching up with the students. We talked about what we did between sessions, and what our plans were for the Thanksgiving holiday. Anny is participating in a Hmong New Year celebration, but she’s not sure if she should sing or not (of course, she should.)
Then, once that was finished, Elizabeth led the class through a review of what we studied last session. Also, she brought cookies! In honor of the last day of Excel. Since we’re working on the Excel Game, which can be really, really complicated, (but also really, really fun) there were A LOT of fires to put out. Add in the network problems we were having (dropped connections, no available connections, etc.) and everything was slow-going, but the students did a great job of rolling with the punches and getting everything done. There were some really interesting issues, such as naming the right columns the right thing, and remembering to SAVE OFTEN, and everyone did a great job of helping each other out. Since Elizabeth and Paul had their hands full, that kind of team effort is really important to make sure everybody gets to where they need to be!
Eventually, and with a lot of hard work, most of the class got to where they needed to be. The game was played, and many battles were fought and lost. Keke and Jose came out winners, as did Tenzin and Jaylah. More importantly, it was a blast seeing the culmination of everyone’s hard work. Way to go, team!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Spreadsheets B106, Session 3
It's Homecoming, but that didn't stop students from showing up to their ITA session, and everyone was excited to get to work. We started by sharing stories about our past two weeks, and Carrie shared a story about rehearsals for her performances, and Elizabeth talked about her orchestral performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
After that, we moved onto a review of what we've learned so far in Excel--conditional formatting, formulas, and the projects that we've done. Elizabeth then launched into some new stuff, showing them a great video of a Swedish professor explaining a world population chart he made, including the animations that went into it. Motion charts are a great way to add visual flair to data, and so Elizabeth showed Google Docs, in which you can make them. As a great way of explaining Google Docs, she showed them the "Google Love Letter" video. It went over very well, everyone getting a laugh, and at the same time they learned the advantages of using Google Docs.
Elizabeth then showed them how to link data from one spreadsheet to another, leading the students into the Football spreadsheets. It took a little explaining for the students to realize that they didn't have to know anything about football in order to do the exercise--they had to link data :). That led them into other projects, such as the Jungle Book sheet that Kevin made. Everyone did a great job! Anny and Carrie were sure they couldn't do it, but in the end, they figured it out on their own, getting functions like COUNTIF and OR to work exactly right! Great job!
Here's what Anny did in Google Spreadsheets:
After that, we moved onto a review of what we've learned so far in Excel--conditional formatting, formulas, and the projects that we've done. Elizabeth then launched into some new stuff, showing them a great video of a Swedish professor explaining a world population chart he made, including the animations that went into it. Motion charts are a great way to add visual flair to data, and so Elizabeth showed Google Docs, in which you can make them. As a great way of explaining Google Docs, she showed them the "Google Love Letter" video. It went over very well, everyone getting a laugh, and at the same time they learned the advantages of using Google Docs.
Elizabeth then showed them how to link data from one spreadsheet to another, leading the students into the Football spreadsheets. It took a little explaining for the students to realize that they didn't have to know anything about football in order to do the exercise--they had to link data :). That led them into other projects, such as the Jungle Book sheet that Kevin made. Everyone did a great job! Anny and Carrie were sure they couldn't do it, but in the end, they figured it out on their own, getting functions like COUNTIF and OR to work exactly right! Great job!
Here's what Anny did in Google Spreadsheets:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Excel Day 2: Sabado Gigante
The day kicked off with a Learn@UW quiz as students trickled into the lab on this fine September morning. Kevin followed up the quiz with demoing different functions such as SUM and making a checklist. Students were on task, proving that they are well on their way to becoming true spreadsheet nerds. End of first period.
Upon returning from first break, Kevin demonstrated more ways to effectively use Excel to make life easier. With the NFL season in full swing, the most obvious reason to use Excel is to create fantasy football teams. These fantasy teams come fully loaded with players' stats for the football-savvy. Richie took Drew Brees, one of the leading quarterbacks in the league, and the Green Bay Packers receiving core, a fine pick with success guaranteed. All the while, Maddy and Jamarra made spreadsheets that rank quarterbacks' good looks. They followed this activity with entering their blogs for the day.
In the third period, Kevin introduced the "Excel Your Skillz" game. Many students recalled seeing the older students perform a skit with this game. Excitement grew as they continued to reminisce their past experience with EYS, which, in turn, fueled anticipation for battling one another next session. The end of the day came with finished blogs and more fantasy football team building, a victorious end for all.
Excel B106 2nd Day!!
Everything started off a little rocky today, what with the outer doors of the building being locked, probably due to the President coming into town this week. So, I had to stay by the doors and make sure students could get in. After that, the day started with a quick review of our previous session, and then we got to work! The students took their Learn@UW quiz, and then Elizabeth went over the questions. Everyone did very well, getting some of the harder questions without trouble. Then, Elizabeth discussed functions and how to use them as well as find new ones on the internet. Carrie did a great job with the Order of Operations exercise, figuring out the complicated math problem that was put on the board.
After the break, Elizabeth covered conditional formatting, rules, and sorting/filters. The students looked at the document showing city populations and had them figure out which were the largest and in which countries, giving them an idea of how Excel can be used to keep track of information. Then, she introduced the assignment of having them make a list of things in their refrigerator, and using conditional formatting in order to keep track of the items in their fridge, making sure that they know when they get low on something. AJ stopped by and reminded everyone to keep track of the moldy stuff in their fridge.
After that, Elizabeth had to leave because she wasn't feeling well. Get better, Elizabeth!
Here's Alli's fridge list:
And here's Tenzin's:
Lastly, the students finished up their fridge list, and then blogged. All in all, it was a great day for ITA!!!
After the break, Elizabeth covered conditional formatting, rules, and sorting/filters. The students looked at the document showing city populations and had them figure out which were the largest and in which countries, giving them an idea of how Excel can be used to keep track of information. Then, she introduced the assignment of having them make a list of things in their refrigerator, and using conditional formatting in order to keep track of the items in their fridge, making sure that they know when they get low on something. AJ stopped by and reminded everyone to keep track of the moldy stuff in their fridge.
After that, Elizabeth had to leave because she wasn't feeling well. Get better, Elizabeth!
Here's Alli's fridge list:
And here's Tenzin's:
Lastly, the students finished up their fridge list, and then blogged. All in all, it was a great day for ITA!!!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
B106 Excel, First Day!!!
After a long and eventful summer, the students returned for their first day at ITA! It was great to have all of the students back for their first session, and a lot has changed.
We started with a homeroom meeting in 3139, to explain to the students how things have changed. We went over the new structure of the sessions, as well as the homeroom concept and the integrated class groups, which are no longer restricted by age. The students were really interested in that, and a lot of them raised the point that it will add a good deal of variety to their ITA experience. They'll have the chance to interact with students in different grades, and get to know people outside of their normal range.
After the orientation, students went to their first real session, coming to B106, for their first lesson on Excel. The very, very first thing they had to learn was how to use the network setup, which has changed since before the summer. That ran very smoothly (a lot smoother than it did for several of us instructors).
Following that, we started for real on Excel. Elizabeth explained how Excel can help with a whole host of different things, such as making lists, organizing information, and doing math. She started with formulas, having everyone take a look at a sort of trick equation to illustrate the order of operations. Marleny went up to the board to show how it was solved, doing a great job with the answer. After that, Elizabeth showed an example of a spreadsheet she made this summer, explaining how Excel can be used for keeping track of different kinds of information (dollar amounts, contributor names, etc.) all in one spreadsheet.
Because everyone was so attentive, we ended up ahead of schedule, giving everyone plenty of time to work on their Excel projects. Students were given the option of creating spreadsheets based on what's in their garage, their favorite songs, books, movies, etc. Everyone got right to work, putting together their lists and ranking things with as much information as they could.
Here's an example of Allie's spreadsheet:
And here's Jaylah's:
All in all, it was a great day for ITA, and it's good to be back!
We started with a homeroom meeting in 3139, to explain to the students how things have changed. We went over the new structure of the sessions, as well as the homeroom concept and the integrated class groups, which are no longer restricted by age. The students were really interested in that, and a lot of them raised the point that it will add a good deal of variety to their ITA experience. They'll have the chance to interact with students in different grades, and get to know people outside of their normal range.
After the orientation, students went to their first real session, coming to B106, for their first lesson on Excel. The very, very first thing they had to learn was how to use the network setup, which has changed since before the summer. That ran very smoothly (a lot smoother than it did for several of us instructors).
Following that, we started for real on Excel. Elizabeth explained how Excel can help with a whole host of different things, such as making lists, organizing information, and doing math. She started with formulas, having everyone take a look at a sort of trick equation to illustrate the order of operations. Marleny went up to the board to show how it was solved, doing a great job with the answer. After that, Elizabeth showed an example of a spreadsheet she made this summer, explaining how Excel can be used for keeping track of different kinds of information (dollar amounts, contributor names, etc.) all in one spreadsheet.
Because everyone was so attentive, we ended up ahead of schedule, giving everyone plenty of time to work on their Excel projects. Students were given the option of creating spreadsheets based on what's in their garage, their favorite songs, books, movies, etc. Everyone got right to work, putting together their lists and ranking things with as much information as they could.
Here's an example of Allie's spreadsheet:
And here's Jaylah's:
All in all, it was a great day for ITA, and it's good to be back!
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Road Test... Dun Dun Dun!
As 1:00PM approached, the students mingled and mashed in the hall getting their daily dose of sugar. Unfortunately, as they filed into the room, they were informed by AJ that no food or drink is allowed during this road test!
After AJ directed each student to their prospected seats, they read the instructions together and then moved right onto the test~
When the allotted time was over, the students were on break! Except.. they stuck to their computer so much, it didn't seem like a break so AJ said, "At least do something that looks like you're on break!" Nevertheless, the student's break resumed.. on either Facebook or their projects.
As the students came back to their work-mind set, AJ introduced his favorite treat to the class, chili-powered dried mangoes. It was tried by many and liked by some.
Anny even mentioned "Baby Lucus (at least I believe that's what she said)" and the similarities of it.
After the student's were giving time to finish up their projects, Jose went up to give his presentation.
Jose: PowerPoint was very interactive and quite simple and clean! Your organization skills were really put to use in this project. Good Scratch project! The class enjoyed seeing your starfish get eaten~ =X
Marleny: Although you didn't seem that enthusiastic to go after Jose, your computer was very still good! Or as Eliza would put it -- she remarked, "I like the way your computer is VERY blue! All color coordinated and whatnot~" Loved your Scratch project! Very humorous and true. Girls running from random guys! ;)
Maddie: Very thoughtful when creating your computer. Especially when you bought the headphones!
Jaylah: Very humorous PowerPoint! Liked the title page. Loved the transitions to different slides. Never seen that kind before! Liked how slick your your PowerPoint was.
KeKe: Loved the intergalactic, glow-in-the-dark PowerPoint and computer! Gamers would be intimidated to see you at their LAN parties! =) Cute Scratch project. Loved the Pac-Man like game!!
Anny: Great PowerPoint (and especially getting the internal hard drive! ;D). Great Scratch project concept: The Booboo stalking the furry little Monkey! Very, very humorous!
Last but not least, Jamarra: A different approach to your PowerPoint (making other students guess what the component is)! I like it! Getting your audience to interact with your PowerPoint and your presentation as a whole. Like your clever use of South Bridge and North Bridge schools! You're an alumni in doing and creating presentations!
Loved it when you said, "It's about what's inside the case that matters."
Your Scratch project was very ... deep. Connecting our confusion with your character's.
The rest of the time was spent on being free~
After AJ directed each student to their prospected seats, they read the instructions together and then moved right onto the test~
When the allotted time was over, the students were on break! Except.. they stuck to their computer so much, it didn't seem like a break so AJ said, "At least do something that looks like you're on break!" Nevertheless, the student's break resumed.. on either Facebook or their projects.
As the students came back to their work-mind set, AJ introduced his favorite treat to the class, chili-powered dried mangoes. It was tried by many and liked by some.
Anny even mentioned "Baby Lucus (at least I believe that's what she said)" and the similarities of it.
After the student's were giving time to finish up their projects, Jose went up to give his presentation.
Jose: PowerPoint was very interactive and quite simple and clean! Your organization skills were really put to use in this project. Good Scratch project! The class enjoyed seeing your starfish get eaten~ =X
Marleny: Although you didn't seem that enthusiastic to go after Jose, your computer was very still good! Or as Eliza would put it -- she remarked, "I like the way your computer is VERY blue! All color coordinated and whatnot~" Loved your Scratch project! Very humorous and true. Girls running from random guys! ;)
Maddie: Very thoughtful when creating your computer. Especially when you bought the headphones!
Jaylah: Very humorous PowerPoint! Liked the title page. Loved the transitions to different slides. Never seen that kind before! Liked how slick your your PowerPoint was.
KeKe: Loved the intergalactic, glow-in-the-dark PowerPoint and computer! Gamers would be intimidated to see you at their LAN parties! =) Cute Scratch project. Loved the Pac-Man like game!!
Anny: Great PowerPoint (and especially getting the internal hard drive! ;D). Great Scratch project concept: The Booboo stalking the furry little Monkey! Very, very humorous!
Last but not least, Jamarra: A different approach to your PowerPoint (making other students guess what the component is)! I like it! Getting your audience to interact with your PowerPoint and your presentation as a whole. Like your clever use of South Bridge and North Bridge schools! You're an alumni in doing and creating presentations!
Loved it when you said, "It's about what's inside the case that matters."
Your Scratch project was very ... deep. Connecting our confusion with your character's.
The rest of the time was spent on being free~
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The New Ghosts
So, the day before, the students were all asked to enable SATA 0 and disable SATA 1 before they powered down their computers so that the computers can be newly imaged.
And when the time came for the new images to be discovered, the Dropbox was a topic that was discussed between Eliza and Anny. Unfortunately... that wasn't the only thing that was discovered today...
When Eliza decided to show Anny how to use the Dropbox via desktop, she linked her Dropbox to the desktop... and every single computer in that room (or.. just all over the network!)!
Distressed, the first thing that came out of Eliza's mouth to AJ, who later came into the room was All About The Dropbox -- forget the Pentium, Weird Al!~
After some researching, rebooting of the computers, and reinstalling, AJ wrote to Brad and those guys and then proceeded to ask everyone in the room to turn off all of their computers.
As the students turned off their computers, they headed out to break. During this time, AJ turned on one computer to see if the Dropbox problem was fixed. It wasn't.
As each student came into the room, they were instructed to turn on their computers and resume work on their projects. When Krystal turned on her computer, everything was ENLARGED! "I'm not blind, you know!" stated the very frustrated Krystal as Jose goes, "Whoa.. that's giving me a headache." Indeed, her icons were large... Cristina attempted to help, but the problem was unsolved. Luckily, Tenzin walked into the room. The two sought Tenzin out for help but... the problem remained unsolved. Once again, Krystal rebooted her computer and this time around, everything seemed normal... right?
Earlier in the day, AJ had mentioned something about a password... that is, the new network drive requires the user to log in with a username and a password. Well, after several failed attempts, Cristina sought help from AJ and his email. Hidden deep within was the username and password. Unfortunately for Krystal, when a password was entered (instructor's), her computer wouldn't stop loading... so once again... She had to reboot her computer.
"By the time I open my project, class would be over!" Krystal remarked as she was instructed to reboot.. one last time.
After she got onto the network drive, without the prompt of a password or username, she began working contently on her project.
And when the time came for the new images to be discovered, the Dropbox was a topic that was discussed between Eliza and Anny. Unfortunately... that wasn't the only thing that was discovered today...
When Eliza decided to show Anny how to use the Dropbox via desktop, she linked her Dropbox to the desktop... and every single computer in that room (or.. just all over the network!)!
Distressed, the first thing that came out of Eliza's mouth to AJ, who later came into the room was All About The Dropbox -- forget the Pentium, Weird Al!~
After some researching, rebooting of the computers, and reinstalling, AJ wrote to Brad and those guys and then proceeded to ask everyone in the room to turn off all of their computers.
As the students turned off their computers, they headed out to break. During this time, AJ turned on one computer to see if the Dropbox problem was fixed. It wasn't.
As each student came into the room, they were instructed to turn on their computers and resume work on their projects. When Krystal turned on her computer, everything was ENLARGED! "I'm not blind, you know!" stated the very frustrated Krystal as Jose goes, "Whoa.. that's giving me a headache." Indeed, her icons were large... Cristina attempted to help, but the problem was unsolved. Luckily, Tenzin walked into the room. The two sought Tenzin out for help but... the problem remained unsolved. Once again, Krystal rebooted her computer and this time around, everything seemed normal... right?
Earlier in the day, AJ had mentioned something about a password... that is, the new network drive requires the user to log in with a username and a password. Well, after several failed attempts, Cristina sought help from AJ and his email. Hidden deep within was the username and password. Unfortunately for Krystal, when a password was entered (instructor's), her computer wouldn't stop loading... so once again... She had to reboot her computer.
"By the time I open my project, class would be over!" Krystal remarked as she was instructed to reboot.. one last time.
After she got onto the network drive, without the prompt of a password or username, she began working contently on her project.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
BTW Work Time and OS TEST!
The students started the day with diving right into one of their two projects! Whether they wanted to finish their scratch project or begin building their own computer was up to them. Many of the students started off with the more familiar scratch project because the Build Your Own Computer was recently introduced at the end of the day yesterday~
Nevertheless, many of the students jumped right into newegg.com and began finding parts for their virtual computer as soon as they finished their scratch games.
After the first break, Maddie was the only one working on her Scratch project, but she was also the only one who dived into this project with a mindset of making a complete game.. with all the levels and everything. Before the break, Cristina had worked with Maddie as she came up with a goal of making her dog chase her cat through this maze... but once all the other students started working on their Build Your Own Computer again, Maddie decided that she wanted her dog to chase the cat throughout the house. This required a background changing variable which Cristina did not know how to do. As she explained to Chou the problem that they were dealing with, he goes, "Oh.. I haven't done that before." But after 10 minutes or so, Maddie was well on her way to finishing off her project.
Hope it turns out the way you wanted it to, Maddie! Good luck, girl~ =)
As the students were supposed to head out to their next break, Chou kept telling them that they needed a break away from computers (they've been staring into the monitor intensely for a while now)... so he wasn't going to help them with any of their projects until the allotted time was done.
When they came back, the class had a Q&A session about operating systems, more work time, and then began their long awaited operating system permit test.
Nevertheless, many of the students jumped right into newegg.com and began finding parts for their virtual computer as soon as they finished their scratch games.
After the first break, Maddie was the only one working on her Scratch project, but she was also the only one who dived into this project with a mindset of making a complete game.. with all the levels and everything. Before the break, Cristina had worked with Maddie as she came up with a goal of making her dog chase her cat through this maze... but once all the other students started working on their Build Your Own Computer again, Maddie decided that she wanted her dog to chase the cat throughout the house. This required a background changing variable which Cristina did not know how to do. As she explained to Chou the problem that they were dealing with, he goes, "Oh.. I haven't done that before." But after 10 minutes or so, Maddie was well on her way to finishing off her project.
Hope it turns out the way you wanted it to, Maddie! Good luck, girl~ =)
As the students were supposed to head out to their next break, Chou kept telling them that they needed a break away from computers (they've been staring into the monitor intensely for a while now)... so he wasn't going to help them with any of their projects until the allotted time was done.
When they came back, the class had a Q&A session about operating systems, more work time, and then began their long awaited operating system permit test.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Permit Test?! Hardware?!
After shortly discussing DR3 -- a type of ram and Dance Dance Revolution, AJ ask the students if they had a question (one of the three that they were supposed to have written down over the weekend) and Krystal wondered whether a virus would effect both operating systems once it's caught. Jamarra answered with.. "not really" and AJ confirmed that even if you have two operating systems, you won't spread the virus because "they don't share needles." A perfect leeway to the Weird Al video about being White and Nerdy.
After the video, the students were to write a joke that Weird Al had in his video (must be about computers) and the majority of the students wrote about Weird Al making a web page for his dog... but couldn't exactly explain why the joke was funny!
"You better do better on this next test," said AJ as he played "All About the Pentium" by Weird Al.
After break the students were sent off to researching an answer to one of the questions that they compiled before the break. As AJ left for the day, he had the students answer the question via blogs!
As he left, Chou came into the spotlight with Antivirus and Spyware. After debating whether or not worm, trojan, rootkit, and phishing were either Anti or Spy, Chou told them the answers and explained to them the reasons.
The next activity was reviewing for the hardware permit test. Cristina lead the group on a competitive 2 team Jeopardy game focused on hardware. At the end of the game, Chou asked Gates: Windows, Jobs: Mac, [blank]: Linux. The first team's score, for getting the wrong answer, depleted to 0. The second team's score, for cheating (Googling the answer), was also depleted to 0. They're ALL winners!
As the students were getting done with their permit test, they finished their blogs. As each one of them finished up and published their blogs, they rebooted their computers and got to working on their projects!
Hope you 8 did well on the permit test!!
--- Eliza ended the day with the introduction to the student's BTW.
After the video, the students were to write a joke that Weird Al had in his video (must be about computers) and the majority of the students wrote about Weird Al making a web page for his dog... but couldn't exactly explain why the joke was funny!
"You better do better on this next test," said AJ as he played "All About the Pentium" by Weird Al.
After break the students were sent off to researching an answer to one of the questions that they compiled before the break. As AJ left for the day, he had the students answer the question via blogs!
As he left, Chou came into the spotlight with Antivirus and Spyware. After debating whether or not worm, trojan, rootkit, and phishing were either Anti or Spy, Chou told them the answers and explained to them the reasons.
The next activity was reviewing for the hardware permit test. Cristina lead the group on a competitive 2 team Jeopardy game focused on hardware. At the end of the game, Chou asked Gates: Windows, Jobs: Mac, [blank]: Linux. The first team's score, for getting the wrong answer, depleted to 0. The second team's score, for cheating (Googling the answer), was also depleted to 0. They're ALL winners!
As the students were getting done with their permit test, they finished their blogs. As each one of them finished up and published their blogs, they rebooted their computers and got to working on their projects!
Hope you 8 did well on the permit test!!
--- Eliza ended the day with the introduction to the student's BTW.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thrilling Windows 7 with Chou!
The day started off with a little Michael Jackson -- can you guess which song? ;)
The connection of Thriller and computers is if the computer doesn't have an operating system, then they're just like zombies!
So.. in order to de-zombify their computers, the students will be installing Windows 7 with Chou~
After discussing operating systems, the students are to restart their computers hitting F12 to enter the Boot Device Menu
But before that, Chou showed another video to the students: iPhone 4
And discussed what the iPhone 4 would be without the operating system.
Next,they all got to work on installing Windows 7~
As the students were waiting for Windows to finish installing, Maddie states that she's glad that "Jose isn't the president of the world." Jose quickly retaliates and says, "Hey, I would be a great president.." and then he trails off into a story about how he and Krystal was waiting for the bus and some lady approaches them and greets them with, "Hi! I'm the laid off mom, can I sing you a song?" It was a song about losing her job and how she cannot get it back.
Soon after that, their installation was completed and they proceeded to download Mozilla Firefox and Google chrome, Malwarebytes and the Microsoft Security Essentials, and then they went and downloaded Google desktop. What came next was finding themes that interested them.
After the students came back from their break, Chou set out to teach the students about Scratch, a simple programming application that can create games for the students to play. DIY games? How fun is that!
The connection of Thriller and computers is if the computer doesn't have an operating system, then they're just like zombies!
So.. in order to de-zombify their computers, the students will be installing Windows 7 with Chou~
After discussing operating systems, the students are to restart their computers hitting F12 to enter the Boot Device Menu
But before that, Chou showed another video to the students: iPhone 4
And discussed what the iPhone 4 would be without the operating system.
Next,they all got to work on installing Windows 7~
As the students were waiting for Windows to finish installing, Maddie states that she's glad that "Jose isn't the president of the world." Jose quickly retaliates and says, "Hey, I would be a great president.." and then he trails off into a story about how he and Krystal was waiting for the bus and some lady approaches them and greets them with, "Hi! I'm the laid off mom, can I sing you a song?" It was a song about losing her job and how she cannot get it back.
Soon after that, their installation was completed and they proceeded to download Mozilla Firefox and Google chrome, Malwarebytes and the Microsoft Security Essentials, and then they went and downloaded Google desktop. What came next was finding themes that interested them.
After the students came back from their break, Chou set out to teach the students about Scratch, a simple programming application that can create games for the students to play. DIY games? How fun is that!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Computer Parts Apart!
The second day began with an addition of Jele, a student from the class of 2013.
After everyone introduced themselves to Jele, Eliza began the lesson plan with a memory game where the students had to memorize a set 20 words from cat to ice cream and zebra!
Then Eliza had the students write down names of friends and family (as many as they can remember!) then asked the students which activity was easier.
Krystal and quickly hit the nail on the head and connected the activities to RAM and hard drives (because they ARE in ITA!).
The next portion of the class included a Hardware Review that Cristina quickly went through. The students were reminded to pay attention to the images because they'll be needing it in a bit ;)
Once the review ended, Eliza handed out worksheets of components that the students had to compare. Each pair/group of student was to compare a certain component and choose which was better.
The next activity was similar to the last one, but required a component that fit a certain motherboard that Eliza had posted up on the screen.
Each student was to report their findings...
Krystal's attempt to find a RAM that fit the motherboard didn't quite match the specs, so Maddie quickly offered her findings... After she explained why her RAM fit the motherboard, Jose stated, "for two dollars less, you can get mine!"
Next.. The class went through the steps of what to do before you open your computer and then proceeded to opening their computers. After Cristina showed the class how to open their cases and carefully take out a couple of pieces, the students cleared their desks and lined up to grab their computers from the pile of computers.
After their break, AJ entered the class to present his "Famous Motherboard PowerPoint" that landed him his job at ITA! The students attentively listened and gave good feedback to fully understand what AJ was teaching about the motherboard.
Next, the students blogged to AJ everything that they know about computers~!
After everyone introduced themselves to Jele, Eliza began the lesson plan with a memory game where the students had to memorize a set 20 words from cat to ice cream and zebra!
Then Eliza had the students write down names of friends and family (as many as they can remember!) then asked the students which activity was easier.
Krystal and quickly hit the nail on the head and connected the activities to RAM and hard drives (because they ARE in ITA!).
The next portion of the class included a Hardware Review that Cristina quickly went through. The students were reminded to pay attention to the images because they'll be needing it in a bit ;)
Once the review ended, Eliza handed out worksheets of components that the students had to compare. Each pair/group of student was to compare a certain component and choose which was better.
The next activity was similar to the last one, but required a component that fit a certain motherboard that Eliza had posted up on the screen.
Each student was to report their findings...
Krystal's attempt to find a RAM that fit the motherboard didn't quite match the specs, so Maddie quickly offered her findings... After she explained why her RAM fit the motherboard, Jose stated, "for two dollars less, you can get mine!"
Next.. The class went through the steps of what to do before you open your computer and then proceeded to opening their computers. After Cristina showed the class how to open their cases and carefully take out a couple of pieces, the students cleared their desks and lined up to grab their computers from the pile of computers.
After their break, AJ entered the class to present his "Famous Motherboard PowerPoint" that landed him his job at ITA! The students attentively listened and gave good feedback to fully understand what AJ was teaching about the motherboard.
Next, the students blogged to AJ everything that they know about computers~!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Systems and Service: The First Day
The first day of camp started out with Kiki and Maddie coming in early -- which lead to AJ and Cristina kicking them out to create what the students call, "a setup," where the students must figure out their first test: turn the computer power on.
"Are these computers working?" were the first words that filled the room when the students sat down. After a few chatters about the computer's inability to turn on, a loud "EVERYTHING is unplugged!" flew from Jamarra's mouth.
After discovering this, the students all helped each other whether it was physically helping Maddie with her problem (the powerstrip was turned off so she had more work than anyone else!) or verbally advising Krystal.
As Cristina lead the first discussion on, the students realized that even though plugging everything in wasn't AT ALL difficult, finding the problem was harder than they thought (they all just sat there wondering what was wrong with the computer).
AJ's next question about systems and services "opened their minds" about technology and the service that can come from their computers. They verbally brainstormed the different services that a computer can do for them and their community. AJ went down the rows asking each student. Then shared two comic strips about today's technology.
AJ's next joke (shown below) striked up crickets in the audience... until the short Matrix clip was showed -- I think they got it then! He IS the one ;)
Silence swept the room as AJ played his "Radiolab: Making Radio Lab" and continued as the "Fish Love" video played on for a couple of minutes. The discussions which followed applied the two video/audio to computers.
Each of the student pairs went up to the front of the class and introduced themselves and explained the relation between the video/audio and computers.
AJ wanted the students to all be like Neo, but someone stated, "I want to be like Miguel (who was the farmer who had a self purifying ecosystem)."
To overview the systems, AJ had everyone come up with some sort of system. His examples included pushing the shutter button on the remote and having the projector's shutter on and off and water which enters the body and leaves as urine. Somewhere along the line, AJ mentioned getting energy by drinking and a few moments later, Jose says, "Water has no calories... (therefore you can't get energy!)"
Some of the examples that the students came up with included cars, doors, facebook, the passing of a bill, bodily functions, jumping into water, and basically EVERYTHING!
-- During break, Maddie and Jamarra called the help desk to find out what their passwords were. Jamarra had called and was transferred about three or four times. When she finally talked to someone who knew about ITA, she said, "You know what you're doing because other people were just transferring me around." It turns out... she was talking to Marquis Stern, a 2009 ITA graduate! When AJ heard the name, he darted to the front of the room (from the door) and asked to talk to Marquis. The problem was solved and the two had their passwords reseted. --
After break, AJ jumped right into clarifying systems and lead to a preview of the workings of the computer... the motherboard, RAM, etc.
Next, AJ discusses binary, or takes "A Trip Down Binary Ln." which is "just like math class!" says a voice in the audience. After a short explanation and example, the students succeeded in converting their first binary number, 1001, to a decimal number, 9!
The class takes a new turns towards hardware and software. After running through the hardware, AJ informs the students that when they bring in their hard drive, they can update to Windows 7! He then quickly recalls a story about Maddie getting mad when he took out her hard drive during Freshmen Orientation. Though Maddie denies ever getting mad, AJ stands firm on his recollection!
The software discussion leads to viruses... and takes a jump to the history of viruses (which will be covered in exactly 7 days...)!
After introducing operating systems, AJ concludes his portion of the day with "Tough Concluding Questions" and informs the students on their PLC dates and expectations.
Eliza starts her portion of the day immediately with... hardware! She introduces what is "Inside Your Computer!" with an illustration of exactly that (what is inside our computers [from the motherboard to the power supply]).
Next, Eliza briefly runs through each of the hardware parts and what they do. One question which stumped everyone was, "What does PCI stand for?" After AJ quickly Googled it, he announced that it stood for, "Peripheral Component Interconnect!"
Soon after the Googling, the students took a 10 minute break.
When they came back, the students began their task of deciphering a Newegg page and comparing different computer parts based on their specs. They are to identify each component and decide where they go. Then to compare and evaluate which component is better and explain why. The students jumped into their assignment and started sorting which component is better than the other! They then filled the red lines on the image above.
Eliza lead the class comparison and answered questions which the students had. 4:00PM, the time to leave came quite fast... and the students all tidied their space and flooded the hall.
"Are these computers working?" were the first words that filled the room when the students sat down. After a few chatters about the computer's inability to turn on, a loud "EVERYTHING is unplugged!" flew from Jamarra's mouth.
After discovering this, the students all helped each other whether it was physically helping Maddie with her problem (the powerstrip was turned off so she had more work than anyone else!) or verbally advising Krystal.
As Cristina lead the first discussion on, the students realized that even though plugging everything in wasn't AT ALL difficult, finding the problem was harder than they thought (they all just sat there wondering what was wrong with the computer).
AJ's next question about systems and services "opened their minds" about technology and the service that can come from their computers. They verbally brainstormed the different services that a computer can do for them and their community. AJ went down the rows asking each student. Then shared two comic strips about today's technology.
AJ's next joke (shown below) striked up crickets in the audience... until the short Matrix clip was showed -- I think they got it then! He IS the one ;)
Silence swept the room as AJ played his "Radiolab: Making Radio Lab" and continued as the "Fish Love" video played on for a couple of minutes. The discussions which followed applied the two video/audio to computers.
Each of the student pairs went up to the front of the class and introduced themselves and explained the relation between the video/audio and computers.
AJ wanted the students to all be like Neo, but someone stated, "I want to be like Miguel (who was the farmer who had a self purifying ecosystem)."
To overview the systems, AJ had everyone come up with some sort of system. His examples included pushing the shutter button on the remote and having the projector's shutter on and off and water which enters the body and leaves as urine. Somewhere along the line, AJ mentioned getting energy by drinking and a few moments later, Jose says, "Water has no calories... (therefore you can't get energy!)"
Some of the examples that the students came up with included cars, doors, facebook, the passing of a bill, bodily functions, jumping into water, and basically EVERYTHING!
-- During break, Maddie and Jamarra called the help desk to find out what their passwords were. Jamarra had called and was transferred about three or four times. When she finally talked to someone who knew about ITA, she said, "You know what you're doing because other people were just transferring me around." It turns out... she was talking to Marquis Stern, a 2009 ITA graduate! When AJ heard the name, he darted to the front of the room (from the door) and asked to talk to Marquis. The problem was solved and the two had their passwords reseted. --
After break, AJ jumped right into clarifying systems and lead to a preview of the workings of the computer... the motherboard, RAM, etc.
Next, AJ discusses binary, or takes "A Trip Down Binary Ln." which is "just like math class!" says a voice in the audience. After a short explanation and example, the students succeeded in converting their first binary number, 1001, to a decimal number, 9!
The class takes a new turns towards hardware and software. After running through the hardware, AJ informs the students that when they bring in their hard drive, they can update to Windows 7! He then quickly recalls a story about Maddie getting mad when he took out her hard drive during Freshmen Orientation. Though Maddie denies ever getting mad, AJ stands firm on his recollection!
The software discussion leads to viruses... and takes a jump to the history of viruses (which will be covered in exactly 7 days...)!
After introducing operating systems, AJ concludes his portion of the day with "Tough Concluding Questions" and informs the students on their PLC dates and expectations.
Eliza starts her portion of the day immediately with... hardware! She introduces what is "Inside Your Computer!" with an illustration of exactly that (what is inside our computers [from the motherboard to the power supply]).
Next, Eliza briefly runs through each of the hardware parts and what they do. One question which stumped everyone was, "What does PCI stand for?" After AJ quickly Googled it, he announced that it stood for, "Peripheral Component Interconnect!"
Soon after the Googling, the students took a 10 minute break.
When they came back, the students began their task of deciphering a Newegg page and comparing different computer parts based on their specs. They are to identify each component and decide where they go. Then to compare and evaluate which component is better and explain why. The students jumped into their assignment and started sorting which component is better than the other! They then filled the red lines on the image above.Eliza lead the class comparison and answered questions which the students had. 4:00PM, the time to leave came quite fast... and the students all tidied their space and flooded the hall.
Friday, June 25, 2010
last day of lab :-(
For our last day of lab, we started out with a HUGE road test. Students entered the class room to discover a dismantled computer at each of their desks. They were a little shocked to have to wait in the hallway until exactly when class was going to begin. But once they saw the computer parts everywhere, they knew what they were going to have to do . . . or they THOUGHT they did! AJ gave them detailed instructions about preparing their computers for the customer, who would be coming in an hour. They had to fix the computer, get any missing parts, and then make a lot of changes to the software and the appearance of the operating system. They dove in to it with some trepidation, but by my observations, they stayed determined and did their best. Way to go 2012!
Then we had some work time to finish our BTW while Eliza corrected yesterday's permit tests and she and AJ told each other jokes.
After that, students presented their projects.
Allie went first and gave an impressive presentation of her home computer and her computer of the future. She wants to make a computer that will read people's thoughts and show them on a screen so the speaker/teacher can see if everyone is understanding. It will be able to read people's word thoughts and picture thoughts.
Then David presented. He gave a good presentation, first talking about each of his computer components in a very relaxed and funny way.
Taylor presented next. Her computer was meant to be a computer that she can use to watch movies at home.
Her second project was a blog entry about a computer that designs and creates ice cream flavors. (That would sell millions!)
Ninah told us about her fantastic computer, and about her future computer that creates a virtual 3D image of any clothes you want to try on.
Brandon talked about his different components for the computer he built for programming. His dream computer helps catch wanted criminals, it will identify them no matter what their disguise and no matter where they are hiding.
Richie showed us a cute picture of puppies before he told us all about his computer and its various components. He bought some candy for Chou so he would spend enough money. (Very Funny!). His computer of the future reads thoughts of people who are handicapped and can surf the internet for them.
Jon has built himself quite an impressive computer (although he confused RAM with hard drive memory when explaining it). He has such a good sense of humor that everyone was laughing during his presentation. He created a game in Scratch where a cat would run around maze.
Bronson's computer was impressive, with a case that lights up (wow!). His mouse is shaped like a car! He also made a Scratch game, but it wasn't working. In his game, built with Garrett, the roadrunner and coyote were chasing each other through a maze.
Dhondup's computer components were nice, with a motherboard with on-board sound. His Scratch game was a pong game that knocked out bricks. It was built together with Diana.
Diana also built a nice computer, and she and Dhondup did a great job on their game!
Malibu's computer looks great! and her project was a game that had three objects: a person, a cat, a ball. She made a self portrait cartoon for the person in the game.
Garrett wanted to build a computer for making videos.
Everyone did such a great job! It was an amazing camp and everyone learned a lot! I am so glad I got to be here with these amazing students.
Then we had some work time to finish our BTW while Eliza corrected yesterday's permit tests and she and AJ told each other jokes.
After that, students presented their projects.
Allie went first and gave an impressive presentation of her home computer and her computer of the future. She wants to make a computer that will read people's thoughts and show them on a screen so the speaker/teacher can see if everyone is understanding. It will be able to read people's word thoughts and picture thoughts.
Then David presented. He gave a good presentation, first talking about each of his computer components in a very relaxed and funny way.
Taylor presented next. Her computer was meant to be a computer that she can use to watch movies at home.
Her second project was a blog entry about a computer that designs and creates ice cream flavors. (That would sell millions!)
Ninah told us about her fantastic computer, and about her future computer that creates a virtual 3D image of any clothes you want to try on.
Brandon talked about his different components for the computer he built for programming. His dream computer helps catch wanted criminals, it will identify them no matter what their disguise and no matter where they are hiding.
Richie showed us a cute picture of puppies before he told us all about his computer and its various components. He bought some candy for Chou so he would spend enough money. (Very Funny!). His computer of the future reads thoughts of people who are handicapped and can surf the internet for them.
Jon has built himself quite an impressive computer (although he confused RAM with hard drive memory when explaining it). He has such a good sense of humor that everyone was laughing during his presentation. He created a game in Scratch where a cat would run around maze.
Bronson's computer was impressive, with a case that lights up (wow!). His mouse is shaped like a car! He also made a Scratch game, but it wasn't working. In his game, built with Garrett, the roadrunner and coyote were chasing each other through a maze.
Dhondup's computer components were nice, with a motherboard with on-board sound. His Scratch game was a pong game that knocked out bricks. It was built together with Diana.
Diana also built a nice computer, and she and Dhondup did a great job on their game!
Malibu's computer looks great! and her project was a game that had three objects: a person, a cat, a ball. She made a self portrait cartoon for the person in the game.
Garrett wanted to build a computer for making videos.
Everyone did such a great job! It was an amazing camp and everyone learned a lot! I am so glad I got to be here with these amazing students.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Almost to the Finishing Line!
Start to 2:10 Work on BTW
2:10-2:20 Break
2:20 - 3:00 Permit test re-take, silent work time
3:00-3:10 Break
3:10-4:00 Finish BTW
Tomorrow:
Road Tests
Present Projects (Scratch and BYOCOPU)
Here is a snapshot of what is happening right now (1:36):
Everyone is quietly focused on working on his or her BTW. All you can hear are a few whispers, mouse clicks and some typing. AJ is kneeling next to David's computer helping him look over his BTW to see how he is doing with his computer purchase. He is encouraging him to maximize what he can get for his money. They are talking about why his optical dive is SO EXPENSIVE! And Chou mentions "Do you guys know that if you are making a gaming computer, sometimes Linux won't all the games you want?"
During class today, some students went with Michelle to talk to some incoming high school students about the importance of science. Here is a quote from an email from Michelle describing the experience:
"I just took a group of 4 ITA students to the PEOPLE Science Prep class. Alison was telling me how they totally lacked motivation and I figured our kids could talk about their own experience and maybe help out a bit. After 10 minutes in that room, I want to hug every one of our students [...].
We are all so LUCKY!!!!!!"
It is true that we ARE lucky: lucky to work with great people, including Michelle!
While everyone was working on projects, I met with most of the students to talk about their blogs, mentioning what they are doing well and what they can improve. It was interesting (for me at least!) and I hope it helped. The general advice was to add more details and to stay on top of proper English. Some students have a handle on both of those things already and we were able to talk about features of Blogger that they could use to enhance their blog or to create a personal blog for their own use.
Then we talked about how the most important part of a project is right at the end, when you are working really hard and finishing up. AJ played a song for us to wrap up the day, and everyone headed out in to the lovely weather.
Have a nice day, everyone!!
Scratch and Sniff!
We started off making a short little game in Scratch. It was cool and fun, fun, fun! I couldn't get the ball to chase my cat, but the kids were doing great. I can't wait to mess around with it some more and I bet the students feel the same way. Then we had some work time in Scratch and some time to work on the BTW.
A.J. gave us a quick demo about purchasing online by talking us through his thinking process as he looked at different components on Newegg.
Things to remember when purchasing:
Then we played Review Jeopardy and took a permit test.
A.J. gave us a quick demo about purchasing online by talking us through his thinking process as he looked at different components on Newegg.
Things to remember when purchasing:
- get the best you can afford to have a working system right now
- keep in mind the ability to upgrade
- maximize what you purchase
READ THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Then we played Review Jeopardy and took a permit test.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Weird Al, a magical mystery tour, and some chili-covered mango
We started our day with a couple of Weird Al videos that were making fun of the world of computers. The we took a Learn @ UW quiz on the videos and talked about the videos. Funny! It is cool that we all get most of the jokes now, and we wouldn't have got a lot of them just a week ago.
Then Brad stopped by to take us upstairs to RADS for a tour. We learned about the different services provided by RADS and saw the workshop where they do their magic. AJ and I were joking before we went in that it was like entering the Chocolate Factory . . . (Everything you see is eatible, I mean edible) . . ..
Apparently, there were too many people for the whole group to then tour the DoIt Tech Store, so the class returned to the lab to continue working on their BTWs.
We worked on our BTWs for the rest of the day. AJ shared some chili powder covered mango with everyone. The class seemed to like the unusual treat, although they drank a lot of water afterward!
Everyone worked on the BTW and chatted until it was time to take the permit test, which proceeded in silence.
And that was it! All in all, a pretty darn good day.
I am enjoying my role as supportive instructor: reading and composing blogs, making comments and asking questions that keep the flow going, and generally acting like Ed McMahon on the Johnny Carson Show.
Then Brad stopped by to take us upstairs to RADS for a tour. We learned about the different services provided by RADS and saw the workshop where they do their magic. AJ and I were joking before we went in that it was like entering the Chocolate Factory . . . (Everything you see is eatible, I mean edible) . . ..
Apparently, there were too many people for the whole group to then tour the DoIt Tech Store, so the class returned to the lab to continue working on their BTWs.
We worked on our BTWs for the rest of the day. AJ shared some chili powder covered mango with everyone. The class seemed to like the unusual treat, although they drank a lot of water afterward!
Everyone worked on the BTW and chatted until it was time to take the permit test, which proceeded in silence.
And that was it! All in all, a pretty darn good day.
I am enjoying my role as supportive instructor: reading and composing blogs, making comments and asking questions that keep the flow going, and generally acting like Ed McMahon on the Johnny Carson Show.
Second Monday: we know a lot already, we're ready to learn some more!
It was great to see everyone ready to go today!
We started with a series of questions regarding operating systems:
We started with a series of questions regarding operating systems:
- What are the differences between the different types of OS's that there are? (different programs)
- Do you need and OS to make an OS? (don't know!)
- When connecting to another computer can you get all the information from one computer to another? (yes, but not automatically. Depends on the operating system)
- How much information can an OS hold? (complicated question: doesn't really hold information, but it can control information, have information programmed in to it, take up certain room in the computer, like the way Windows included Internet Explorer in previous versions. The less things the OS uses, the fewer resources it takes up within the computer. It can take up a lot of hard drive and it can use up a lot of RAM too.)
- How do you make an OS? (don't know! look it up!)
- What makes one OS more expensive than another? (market, supply and demand)
- In general, how expensive is it to install a new OS, as compared to upgrading/dating? (Depends, look it up!)
- What makes one piece of software more effective than another similar piece? (personal preference)
- What are the basic functions of an OS? (too complex to answer in this class)
- UBUNTU: Why no search box in Google Chrome? (different program for each browser)
- Is there an OS that is better for home computers? (depends on what you are doing, there are some OS specifically built for servers, for simple devices, etc)
- Are there any OS other than the ones we have covered? (yes, there are tons)
- Is a newer hard drive better than an old one that's been wiped clean? Even if the specs are the same? (tricky question, very possible that it could be better/worse, depending on a lot of factors)
- What does BIOS stand for? (Basic Input-Output System)
- What besides a computer is need to make an OS? (don't know)
- How does a computer translate between decimal numbers and binary? (codes for each letter, codes for each number)
- What pieces of hardware are necessary and what are optional? (great discussion question, do extra research: power supply, motherboard, memory (hard drive/ram), processor,
- Why do we need a BIOS? (basic input/output system = start-up sequence program before OS, software that is hardcoded in to the motherboard. You can reconfigure it, but it is hardwired in to the motherboard)
- Why is upgrading necessary? (not 100% necessary, helps with security
- Is there a program that helps you to create an OS? or do you need to know binary? (don't know for sure, probably written in a language called machine code, which is different)
- What makes the flavors of Linux different from each other? What are they? (there are a ton of them! Look them up and read about them.)
- What was the hardware called to uninstall and reinstall an OS? (???)
- How do you use binary with words? (codes for letters)
- Are certain OS better for certain programs? (issue of preference)
- How is video written to binary? (many types of formats, depends on how it is rendered, you can look it up and learn more)
- How is antivirus software made? (not 100% sure, but probably similar to a spell checker, programmed to look for certain things and then remove it)
A.J. proceeded to answer the questions that he knew the answers to, (but then there were some that he didn't know about). It was a long discussion, but we got a lot of our questions answered!
Virus Information:
Students were given a few minutes to look up information about their questions and then about various kinds of viruses. Each row had a different virus to research: worms, rootkits, phishing, trojan horse. We also took a few minutes to talk about how to evaluate sources on the net.
Worms
- can replicate themselves
- can travel from computer to computer w/o human interaction
- subclass of a virus
- file dependent and can be reproduced
Rootkits
- sneak in to system and make themselves an administrator and can control the computer for whatever they want
- you have to download it yourself
- attach to BIOS or other targets of basic system
- they hide within the system, sometimes cause erratic behavior
Phishing
- tricks you to get personal information out of you
- mimic original sites
- it is us that get fooled
Trojan Horse
- It is like a virus rootkit that looks like an innocent or useful program
- keyloggers, etc
- have to be deleted instead of cleared because it is a file attached to something else
- it appears to be doing something you want it to do, but it is really doing something else
How do you prevent these things getting on to your computer.
- Do not use Limewire.
- Don't download everything you see.
Research on individual questions:
- Carrie
- Different flavors of Linux: which is best?
- They can't tell you what is best for you, because it depends on your computer and on how you use your computer.
- Bronson
- For creating an operating system:
- Linux from Skratch is a program you can use to make your own flavor or app for Linux.
Software on the Cloud
like Google Docs
Introduction to the BTW project:
Monday, June 21, 2010
Binary and Networking
We started with a lesson on binary brought to us by A.J., who helped us transfer numbers back and forth between binary and decimal. He said is isn't like learning another language, but more like just learning to use something you already know in a new way. (So, maybe it is like learning new vocabulary?).
Then Chou talked to us about networking. We looked at some photos of of different cords and cables to see how they can connect. Crossover cords are connected in a way that allows the computers to know that they are sending information back and forth to each other. Or, you can use a hub to connect computers through Ethernet cables. A "Switch" works like a hub, but you can connect even more computers to it. We also learned that "LAN" stands for Local Area Network and "WAN" stands for Wide-Area Network, which is often wireless. A "router" is the most advanced way to create a network, and you need that for a wireless network. Each computer that is on a network is called a "node". Each node has it's own very special and very private address, just like a home, called an IP address. The router has probably has and IP address, but it assigns various IP addresses temporarily to each computer that is active on the network. The "subnet mask" tells you what type of network you are connected to you, and it also tells you how many computers are or can be on that network.
We then took a short break, during which, as usual, the vending machine owners made quite a profit!!
After the break, we began by turning off our monitors and talking about domain names. Chou says that the actual domain name equals the IP address of a particular server. If you know the IP address of a website, you can type that in instead of the domain name and the browser will take you to the correct website.
Then we worked on establishing a series of 4 networks within the classroom. Some rows had a bit of trouble at first. Garret was still working in Linux, so he had a difficult time until he switched to Windows. Then we tried to set up a network within the whole classroom and everyone "pinged" each other to see if the computers were reading each other.
The students then rebooted their computers and then left for a break. Chou wanted the students to ping every single other student to make sure that EVERYONE is on the network.. Some of the students couldn't "ping" each other because they had forgotten to turn off their firewall. We weren't able to get the network working, so we weren't able to play a game together, which is unfortunate. It seemed like everyone learned a lot though, and hopefully we will be able to network and play games on another day.
Then Chou talked to us about networking. We looked at some photos of of different cords and cables to see how they can connect. Crossover cords are connected in a way that allows the computers to know that they are sending information back and forth to each other. Or, you can use a hub to connect computers through Ethernet cables. A "Switch" works like a hub, but you can connect even more computers to it. We also learned that "LAN" stands for Local Area Network and "WAN" stands for Wide-Area Network, which is often wireless. A "router" is the most advanced way to create a network, and you need that for a wireless network. Each computer that is on a network is called a "node". Each node has it's own very special and very private address, just like a home, called an IP address. The router has probably has and IP address, but it assigns various IP addresses temporarily to each computer that is active on the network. The "subnet mask" tells you what type of network you are connected to you, and it also tells you how many computers are or can be on that network.
We then took a short break, during which, as usual, the vending machine owners made quite a profit!!
After the break, we began by turning off our monitors and talking about domain names. Chou says that the actual domain name equals the IP address of a particular server. If you know the IP address of a website, you can type that in instead of the domain name and the browser will take you to the correct website.
Then we worked on establishing a series of 4 networks within the classroom. Some rows had a bit of trouble at first. Garret was still working in Linux, so he had a difficult time until he switched to Windows. Then we tried to set up a network within the whole classroom and everyone "pinged" each other to see if the computers were reading each other.
The students then rebooted their computers and then left for a break. Chou wanted the students to ping every single other student to make sure that EVERYONE is on the network.. Some of the students couldn't "ping" each other because they had forgotten to turn off their firewall. We weren't able to get the network working, so we weren't able to play a game together, which is unfortunate. It seemed like everyone learned a lot though, and hopefully we will be able to network and play games on another day.
Learnin More and More (Day Four)
We started with a series of questions about operating systems. We talked about different versions of hardware and software, using the example of the soon-to-be-released new iPhone (which we were all drooling over).
A.J. wrote some questions on the board: What is the difference between Installing and Upgrading an operating system? What are the differences between different versions/types of operating systems? What is the power of an operating system? The Eliza added: What are the advantages/disadvantages of having different types of OS? and What is the difference between ordinary software and and OS? None of these questions have necessarily been answered yet, but that isn't the point right now, since we are thinking about what we want to understand.
The students then came up with questions.
Alli: What goes in to making an OS?
Bronson: Do they do it in teams?
David: What are all the different OS in use and what are the advantages of each one?
Richie: What ARE the different OS? What's different about them?
Everyone shut off the monitors to prepare to listen. A.J. said that they would get different pieces to the answers as they go through the lesson today.
GUIs . . .
Graphical User Interface
We looked at a lot of images of older and newer GUIs and identified which one they were. ( I felt old because I had used the oldest of the Mac GUIs from 1984!!)
After a short break, during which we raided the vending machines, we looked at the schedule from the rest of the camp. Then, we booted in to Windows 7 and installed Chrome, Rocket Dock, Firefox, and Cool Iris.
A.J. talked to us about drivers and how to install them.and we played with the different software we could download to enhance our computers.
We then booted in to Ubuntu and used the free office software to make a presentation to answer one of the class questions. After finishing the presentation, students had some free time to play around with Linux and see what they could find and use. Most students went right to the games! A.J. then showed everyone how to use the terminal and type in commands in Linux. It was very different from what students are used to!
Then . . . Permit test time! (And Students took it through Linux!).
A.J. wrote some questions on the board: What is the difference between Installing and Upgrading an operating system? What are the differences between different versions/types of operating systems? What is the power of an operating system? The Eliza added: What are the advantages/disadvantages of having different types of OS? and What is the difference between ordinary software and and OS? None of these questions have necessarily been answered yet, but that isn't the point right now, since we are thinking about what we want to understand.
The students then came up with questions.
Alli: What goes in to making an OS?
Bronson: Do they do it in teams?
David: What are all the different OS in use and what are the advantages of each one?
Richie: What ARE the different OS? What's different about them?
Everyone shut off the monitors to prepare to listen. A.J. said that they would get different pieces to the answers as they go through the lesson today.
GUIs . . .
Graphical User Interface
Game: Name that GUI! What is that operating system!
We looked at a lot of images of older and newer GUIs and identified which one they were. ( I felt old because I had used the oldest of the Mac GUIs from 1984!!)
After a short break, during which we raided the vending machines, we looked at the schedule from the rest of the camp. Then, we booted in to Windows 7 and installed Chrome, Rocket Dock, Firefox, and Cool Iris.
A.J. talked to us about drivers and how to install them.and we played with the different software we could download to enhance our computers.
We then booted in to Ubuntu and used the free office software to make a presentation to answer one of the class questions. After finishing the presentation, students had some free time to play around with Linux and see what they could find and use. Most students went right to the games! A.J. then showed everyone how to use the terminal and type in commands in Linux. It was very different from what students are used to!
Then . . . Permit test time! (And Students took it through Linux!).
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Computer Service Camp (Day Two)
Today we took apart and then put back together a computer!!
Everyone approached the task with what seemed to me to be a mixture of fear and excitement. Everyone seemed to have a good time and learn a LOT. Carrie was diligent and worked slowly,. but methodically. Malibu was the first one done, and said she had done it before with some old computers of her fathers.
Before taking apart the computers, we played a memory game to compare our short-term memory to the RAM and our long-term memories to the hard drive. Then Eliza talked to us about each of the components of the computer and what they do. That made it so we were able to more easily identify the parts when we took apart the real computer.
Once we got the machines all put back together, AJ talked to us about data storage and input-output devices, as well as universal design.
We were busy and involved so, forgive us for the boring entry!
Everyone approached the task with what seemed to me to be a mixture of fear and excitement. Everyone seemed to have a good time and learn a LOT. Carrie was diligent and worked slowly,. but methodically. Malibu was the first one done, and said she had done it before with some old computers of her fathers.
Before taking apart the computers, we played a memory game to compare our short-term memory to the RAM and our long-term memories to the hard drive. Then Eliza talked to us about each of the components of the computer and what they do. That made it so we were able to more easily identify the parts when we took apart the real computer.
Once we got the machines all put back together, AJ talked to us about data storage and input-output devices, as well as universal design.
We were busy and involved so, forgive us for the boring entry!
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