Final Blog Post Semester 1!

Good Morning!!  We did it.  Together we made it through all of our Microsoft Excel Tutorials in record time!!  Today I am going to ask you to please do the following ... ensure that each of your Excel Assignments are posted in Schoology and that you have posted Excel Assignments #2 & 4 together as part of this blog.  Again, this means that it is very important for you to do the following:

1. Please make sure that your project is complete and looks exactly like the example we did together in class AND like the one on the handout you have access to in Schoology.
2. Post your project as an excel file in Schoology (very important so I can see the functions you used!)
3. Take a screen shot using the snipping tool and post an image of your document here on your blog.  Be sure to also respond to the following questions:
1. What were a couple of cool features you learned that Excel is capable of doing?
2. What was challenging for you when it came to completing these assignments? 
3. What are some ways you believe an excel table, chart, etc could be beneficial for you?

That's it!  Once you have completed your project and this blog post, please check School Loop for any missing assignments you might be able to complete along with making sure you are done with lesson 17.2 in Edutyping!  Done with all of this?  Take care of some work for your other classes!!

Thank you!!!

Blog Post for Friday 12/5

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!!!  Today (hopefully) you will be able to finish your second project on Microsoft Excel!  Before working on that assignment, please complete one lesson of edutyping - lesson 17.1.  Then transition to excel - remember, we are on excel assignment #2 which can be found in Schoology.  While we did not work on this assignment together, be sure to read the instructions carefully, ask your neighbor a question if you get stumped and ensure that you have completed the task successfully.  Once you are done ...

1. Please make sure that your project is complete and resembles the examples on the handout you have access to in Schoology.
2. Post your project as an excel file in Schoology (very important so I can see the functions you used!)
3. Take a screen shot using the snipping tool and post an image of your document here on your blog.  Be sure to also respond to the following questions:
1. What were three things that you learned that Excel is capable of doing from completing this assignment?
2. What was the most challenging aspect of this assignment?  Did you have any trouble with any aspect of the project?
3. What company is responsible for coming up with the Excel Program?

That's it!  Thank you!!!

Blog Post for Thursday 12/4

Good Morning and Happy Thursday -

Today (for 4th period) and tomorrow (for 0 period) we are going to the Microsoft Store at Stanford Shopping Center.  The idea behind this trip is to participate in the hour of code.  Either in preparation (or reflection) of our trip, please respond to the following questions:

1. Explain what is the "Hour of Code."  You can do this based on your experience or by looking it up on the internet!
2. Some really famous people are involved in marketing the "Hour of Code." These people include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Black Eyed Peas founder will.i.am and NBA star Chris Bosh. Why is it so important to them (and others) that you learn computer programming? Having trouble finding the answer? Here's a fun video that might have some answers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC5FbmsH4fw
3. Why is getting introduced to computer science so important?  Within this question, be sure to explain the job opportunities available in the Computer Science field.  Need some help finding data?  Check out this article (there's a video too) at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-five-fastest-growing-jobs/

Thanks for your thorough, thoughtful response.  Once you complete this blog please complete lesson 16.2 in edutyping.  After completing lesson 16.2, please go ahead and begin working on Excel Lesson #2 which can be found in Schoology.

Thank you!

Mr. Rubin

Excel Assignment #1!

Good Morning!!  Now we are back in the swing of things!  Today (very exciting) we finished our first project on Microsoft Excel!  Great!  So that means that it is very important for you to do the following:

1. Please make sure that your project is complete and looks exactly like the example we did together in class AND like the one on the handout you have access to in Schoology.
2. Post your project as an excel file in Schoology (very important so I can see the functions you used!)
3. Take a screen shot using the snipping tool and post an image of your document here on your blog.  Be sure to also respond to the following questions:
1. What were three things that you learned that Excel is capable of doing from completing this assignment?
2. What was the most challenging aspect of this assignment?  Did you have any trouble with any aspect of the project?
3. What are some ways you believe an excel table with the functions we explored could be beneficial for you?

That's it!  Once you have completed your project and this blog post, please complete lesson 16.1 in Edutyping!  Thank you!!!

It's December!!

My goodness!  How in the world did that happen?!?!  Today is December 1st!  Yes, it's Cyber Monday - a dirty trick by retailers to get you to spend your hard earned money - I guess if it's still so popular, it must work :)

Today, we are going to kick off the morning with a reflection on our Thanksgiving Weekend.  How was your weekend?  Talk a little bit about what you did, where you went and who you spent most of your time with.  Be sure to discuss what your favorite part of the weekend was and what made that event/activity so much fun!  Now that we are back on campus, describe one reason you are excited to be back at school.

The second part of your blog is to set one concrete goal to accomplish between now and the end of the semester (2 weeks of classes and 1 week dedicated to final exams).  What is that goal and how do you plan to accomplish it.  While I would imagine this would be an academic goal with the semester quickly coming to an end, that is not a requirement.

Thanks.  Please complete lesson 15.2 in Edutyping after you complete the blog.  We will begin our lesson for today (you can find it in Schoology) shortly.

Monday, November 24th!

(can you name this university) - clue: it's in California!

Good Morning Sophomores and Happy Thanksgiving (almost)! We are going to continue with the theme we were focused on before our mentor breakfast Friday. There are three parts to today!

• Please complete Edutyping lesson 14.2
• Please respond to the following blog post:
• Below are three quotes about college. Please take a moment to read all three of these quotes. Then, please choose one quote and write 5 sentences describing what the quote means to you and how you feel it represents the importance of a college education to you! 
• A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad. --Theodore Roosevelt
• A liberal education... frees a person from the prison-house of class, race, time, place, background, family and even his nation. --Robert Maynard Hutchins
• A liberal-arts education is supposed to provide you with a value system, a standard, a set of ideas, not a job. --Caroline Bird
• Take a moment to share out on the following:
• The two colleges you chose last week and the requirements for entry
• A discussion of the quotes listed above
• A success brainstorm - What are the three most important characteristics or habits that will help a student to be successful in college?

November 18th, 2014, Blog #2

Now that we are awake, we are going to complete a second blog for the day!  Think of this as a brief break in our Microsoft Office Curriculum for you to look into how Thursday at Canada can be beneficial for you!  To do so, please respond thoughtfully to the following questions!

First of all, to respond to the first 2 questions please visit collegeboard.org and click on the College Search tab at the top of the page.  You can be taken directly to the college search by clicking HERE.

1. With no filters selected, how many colleges does this site say are available to you?  What does that number make you feel?
2. On the left side of the page are a number of filters you can select.  Select as many (or as few) as you would like and please find the following:
1. 1 x 4 year college/university located in California that you would be interested in attending following high school.
2. 1 x 4 year college/university located outside of California that you would be interested in attending following high school.
3. How did you choose these schools?  Explain 2 reasons why these schools are desirable to you and 2 reasons why you would ever hesitate to attend these two schools?
4. On Thursday, we will be attending Canada College.  What is concurrent enrollment?  Is that something that could ever help you attend one of the universities that you chose above?

Final thought - I have been teaching for a long time now.  I have worked with a lot of students, met with a lot of parents and had many experiences of my own.  Why do you think so many people encourage you to go to college - especially those people who have a college degree already?