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:

• 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.

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.

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:

• 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:

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.

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)