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?

November 18th, 2014 Blog #1

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Today you are going to post your final MS Word Assignment - Your Brochure for the Age of Reason.  For this blog post, please complete the following:

1. Please post an image of your final brochure using the snipping tool on your computer.
2. Please respond to the following questions about your assignment:
1. What new tools did you learn by completing this project?  Be sure to list at least 3.
2. What challenges did you run into while completing the project?  Is there something you could do next time to avoid these problems?
3. What other types of documents could you create using the columns, shapes, text wrapping tools that you might commonly see in our society?
3. Please discuss your experience with Microsoft Word:
1. How confident are you with Microsoft Word?  Would you consider yourself very good at using the different tools within the program or not?  If someone were looking for a function, where would you tell them to search?
2. How important do you think that understanding the Microsoft Word program is to your future?  Feel free to refer to this article for an idea of how it could help you!
3. What types of jobs/careers rely on Microsoft Word?  Regardless of the appropriateness of the article, an article recently stated that Microsoft Word is necessary for "Engineering jobs, teaching jobs, broadcasting, just about anything declared 'white collar'."  What does that comment mean to you?

Thanks for your write-up.  Please refer to the next blog post for today next.

Mr. Rubin

Microsoft Word Assignment #6 Posting.

Good Morning - today is Friday November 7th. Our agenda today is as follows:

1. One lesson of Edutyping - Lesson 13.2
2. Completing and posting Microsoft Word Assignment 6 on your blog.  This will require the following:
1. An image of the assignment (take a screenshot of your project)
2. In your blog you will discuss 
1. The purpose of the assignment (what did you set out to do?)
2. What new tools you learned and/or what tools were you able to practice from completing this assignment?  
3. Any challenges you faced? You might want/need to look at the assignment handout to pick these things out.
4. How will you be able to use the tools you learned in this assignment to help you create better work in High School?
3. After completing this assignment on your blog, be sure the assignment is correctly submitted as a Microsoft Word document in Schoology.  This will allow me to be able to see each of the steps you took to complete the assignment and ensure your links work correctly.
4. After all of that is done, you may continue your work on the Age of Reason Brochure for Ms. Bradbury and I.

Hey, thanks!!