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

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!).

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!

First Day of Computer Services Camp (or, as AJ would say . . . OOOO DaNG!)

The Juniors straggled in from their first morning of their internships to find . . . . EVERY COMPUTER IN THE LAB WAS UNPLUGGED! Lejia, our intrepid intern, had come in before the session to unplug the computers . What was the purpose of this activity? One student (whose name I do not yet know, but I promise to learn very, very soon) was quick to realize that it was part of the lesson plan: Students had to solve the mystery of what was wrong with the computer. AJ asked the students HOW they thought about solving the problem. Did they think "First I'm going to make sure that there is power, then I am going to make sure there is an internet connection" or did they just grab a cord and look to see where it fit and plug it in? One student pointed out that the cords were also color coded.

The next part of the lesson was about "What is a system?"
AJ showed a video called "Fish Love" to get the students thinking about how the ecology is a system, how food is a system, and how systems relate to computers as a whole.

AJ then moved in to discussing how computers work in a very basic manner, describing that they all need power to transfer data and that therefore computers also have lots of fast-moving, heat-generating parts. This lead to the first discussion of troubleshooting methods and techniques for isolating problems with a computer.

Eliza took over after break. She let AJ become "Ed McMan" for the hours to follow, sitting in the fun desk at the back of the classroom. This happens to be the first time Eliza has worked with the class of 2012! She had them all write their names on the placards, which belong to PTE, but that we'll use just this one time, so that she can learn the students' names.

After giving a small introduction, Eliza jumped to a brief overview of the actual parts of a computer system.

"This is the motherboard, it connects all the parts and data. You can call it the Mama!"
North bridge, south bridge, Random Access Memory, etc...

It's LIVE BLOG TIME:
2:13PM
ELIZA: And when you save a file, where does it go?
STUDENTS: The Hard Drive.

2:15 to 2:24PM
We messed a around a lot with files and saving PPTs in the right spot.

AJ THOUGHTS: Students seem to not do so well creating their own folders and understanding the network. Also, we were confusing. By this time in ITA, we need to do a better job of having the students independently create folders in the network so that they are comfortable with their own file organization.

2:28
NOTE: Core 2 is like generation 2... DUO or QUAD refers to the number of cores in the processor.
NOTE: A slash in the specifications means there is an option! (Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo)

Last Day!!!

Today was a bit of a patchwork, what with it being a shortened session and Elizabeth being gone. But, she was here in spirit, partly because she made brownies for the class and dropped them off early. So, yay! Nummy brownies!!! And they were, in fact, particularly nummy.

Several of the students were finished with everything expected, including their BTWs and Showcase projects, so we rewarded them with a movie day, showing a film that AJ picked out called "Talk to Me." It's a docudrama about a DJ in the 1970s. The students liked it, but what's not to like about a movie and brownies?

The students who still had things to do were able to work in another room, and there was plenty to get done. Some had road tests or permit tests to take, BTWs to finish, or Showcase projects to work on. A lot got done--the perfect way to end an ITA session.

Thanks to everyone for a great semester!

Digital Audio - day 2 to final!

Elizabeth's last day of digital audio for the semester . . . tear :(

Students entered the room in spurts - Jose asked about Elizabeth's birthday and everyone wished her a happy birthday, which included a big birthday hug from Anny!! Thanks Anny - you're awesome!

To celebrate/start the day off, Elizabeth showed the class a funny youtube video about getting your wisdom teeth out - this girl, obviously strongly affected by the drugs, starts talking about riding a magical unicorn and eating papyas! It was pretty awesome and the class had a good laugh, and immediately suggested another video in the same vein - Dave after the dentist. We watched this one too (this one of a cute little 7-8 year old boy) as he tried to process through what was happening to him!

After these fun interludes, Paul launched the class into work time, explaining the results of the BTW grading and responsibilities on the showcase. The class worked diligently (basically :) we know how to enjoy one another's company) Jaylah and Carrie went to a separate conference room to record a few more lines, Alli, Ninah, and Taylor McDonald finished everything up quickly and were able to spend time relaxing, and Anny, Tenzin, Jose, and Diana's group soon finished things up and worked on their showcase projects. (and made funny feedback noises accidentally with their skype accounts . . . ;) We were without Taylor Hill today sadly, so Keke diligently worked by herself to finish their project, editing away!

At 1:50, it was time for the final show - the road test!!

Acid Session 7

The 7th session of the Sony Acid Unit this semester is about to commence! ..in exactly 3...2...1...0...-1...-2...-3 ...NOW!

Today's session was a very worktime-oriented one, with a short continued lesson from the previous session on mastering with Audacity, and the second Permit Test attempt at the end of the session. The majority of the lab time was used for the students to work on their BTW and Showcase projects.

Chris, starting the day off with the Mastering with Audacity lesson, covered topics such as rendering, normalization, and compression--and shortly following the lesson, the students were given a small challenge which allowed them to directly apply the terms and skills they were just introduced to during the Mastering lesson.

After the lesson, challenge, and first break, the students got right to work, either working on their BTWs or their showcase projects. The students were making great progress on their Acid BTW projects, however, when it came to the showcase projects, a lot of them were far behind and needed ideas on what type of project they wanted to create with this year's showcase theme of "Fun with Numbers." So a lot of the questions and session time ended up revolving much around the showcase projects, seeing as how mostly everyone was in pretty good shape with their BTW progress; they were either just about finished, finishing up, or already done with them.

Finally, with about half an hour remaining in the session, the students began taking their second attempt at the Acid Permit Test and the little time they had after they completed the permit test was used as additional worktime for BTW and Showcase projects.

Overall it was a pretty productive session.

The Final Conquest: BTW

Welcome back to another fine Saturday and another ITA session! Paul having recently gotten his wisdom teeth out, Elizabeth began the day with short clip from the Red Green show (on how to take old appliances, namely stoves and refrigerators, and turn them into office furniture for teenagers. Riveting!) The class got a bit of a laugh to start off the day :)

Following, the class got to listen to Radio Lab, a show similar to this American Life. The show was on Numbers, featuring stories about babies' concept of numbers (according to an awesome French scientist who does experiments by putting sponges with electrodes on babies' heads - crazy!!) as well as how crime can be investigated using the natural patterns of numbers by looking from deviance from those natural laws. Afterwards, the class talked about the use of sound effects and the splicing of the lines - everyone agreed that it was a little hard to follow sometimes, but it kept the audience's attention! (quack, quack, quack!)

After a short break, Elizabeth gathered the class with a learn@uw quiz, including questions on the due date of the BTW :)

And then the work began in earnest! Groups set off to complete and polish up their BTWs. Tenzin, Anny, Diana, and Jose were pretty much finished, but spent some time polishing and getting more sound effects. Keke was gone again today, so Taylor was joined by Michelle and Jose to record the lines for their project and then finish editing. Alli, Nina, and Taylor M also spent a little time completing and polishing. Great work today everyone!

The class ended with blog time and Elizabeth continuing to encourage work on the showcase projects. Hurray hurray! It's the end of the day!