Option for the Remaining Three Weeks, and Fourth Six Weeks

If you get all of the Photoshop chapters done and have a blog entry for every day of class by the end of this six weeks, you will have a 100 for the third six weeks. Be sure to get my signature for each chapter.

In the Illustrator book, you need to work through chapter 11.

In the Flash book, you need to work through chapter 15.

In P-shop you need to complete chapters 1-8, 10-12.

Most chapters should take you about a day (there are 32 total chapters to get through). We have about 40 days of class between now and the end of January (excluding test days and breaks).

When you finish the lessons in Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash, you get to move on to your project.

The project involves creating a logo in Illustrator, a display with your logo and "product" in P-shop, and then a small animation with your product and animation in Flash.

Your project is due at the end of the fourth six weeks.

If you want to plan the next 9 weeks now, you can create a grade sheet with a column for each chapter, a column for the date, a column for my signature and a column to check off your blog.

If you complete all of the chapters and a blog for every day of class, you will have a 100 for the fourth six weeks.

If you bring a three-ring binder (two inch) to donate, I will make a full copy of the book for you to use (exclusively) until you finish the book.

EXAM TODAY

Your mid-term (mid six weeks) exam is due today.

It is located in the CApps shared folder.

Be sure to use Firefox to open the exam (go to the File menu, and choose Open File, then drill down to the right folder).

If you submit your exam more than once you will receive a 50.

Information for the end of six weeks exam

There is so much information on the internet, it is important to understand that not all of that information is reliable. Anyone can post anything they want to, but there are criteria that you can use to determine if the information is reliable.

Sources – Fact Checking
The article lists its sources AND you can find those sources on reliable web sites.
There are links or websites mentioned that lend credibility to the article.
You can verify the facts on other reliable web sites
You can follow the links given AND find the subject of the article mentioned on other reliable sites.
You can find a similar article on another reliable site.
You can find an article on another reliable site that has the same information, with no significant differences.

Website - Domain
The top level domain is (web site ends in) .gov .mil or .edu.
The top level domain is the website between the “www” and the “.com” or other ending, like www.utexas.edu - this gets reliability points simply because the domain ends in edu which stands for “educational institution.”
The web site has extensive “about,” “contact” and “mission” information.
If you look around the site, usually at the very top or very bottom of pages you will find links to information about the site and the group that owns the site, information about how to contact the owners of the site, and information about why the organization exists and what its goals.
The site is referenced by other websites as a source for factual information.
When website A links to website B it tells us that website A believes the information on website B to be truthful and well-founded. It doesn’t mean that website A has really researched the reference, but there is a good chance that they did. It is less likely that a reference to site B is well researched if website A is otherwise unreliable.

Author
The author has personal information and/or a curriculum vitae (resume) on the same site, including contact info specific to the author.
When an article is well researched, the author is usually proud of their work – they should at least list their name with the article if they believe in the information. But just a name alone doesn’t make a website reliable. You should also be able to find information about that author and what the author’s qualifications are. If none of this is available, then you can’t rely on the author.
Spelling and grammar are correct.
A professionally written and edited article is spell-checked, and edited for correctness and grammar. If the article is quickly dashed off without being edited, its veracity is much lower.

Format
Information is posted in a discussion board or comment section.
Discussion boards and comments are totally unreliable because anyone can write anything and doesn’t have to use their actual name or contact info. Diccussion boards and comments sections are frequently used by businesses to promote their product covertly (it is often done in user reviews as well).
Information is posted in a blog with no references.
Like discussion boards and comments sections, blogs can be posted by anyone with fictitious information. If there is not information about he author and there are not references to the information, then it is likely opinion, not fact.
Information is posted in a blog with references.
Blogs with references are more reliable, but still blogs. The same holds true for discussion boards and comments, which may be reliable if there are references listed and you can verify those references, but the sources should then be listed as what was linked to, not the original blog, discussion or comment.

Objectivity/Current
The article is well-reasoned, objective and plausible.
Read the article, and think about it. Does it make sense? Does it sound like fantasy? Do the supporting details fit well with the thesis? After you read the article are you left wondering if it could be true, or do you believe it?
Article is dated and the date is within the last two years
At one time, we could read something in a magazine or newspaper and know that it was the most current available information. With the internet, you need to check you information every day. It is not uncommon for big news stories to be proven a fraud in a day or two.

Art - ASCII

ASCII is a really long abbreviation for "letters only."
Before computers could display pictures of any sort, they displayed everything in letters.
This is art, created with letters only: link

Student Photo

This photo was posted by a student in one of my classes.
She would appreciate your vote if you like the photo.
She may receive a scholarship if her photo gets enough votes.
See and vote here.

Sound Booth

Sound Booth meets today at 4:30 PM.

Oooh, oooh, lots of stuff...

You also need to show me your grade sheet today, be ready five minutes into class. I will come by and check it off.

Model Blog

If you are not sure what your blog should look like, take a peek at Juliet's.
This is exactly what your blog should look like.

Daily Work - Tables

Today during the first 10 minutes of class, you need to email your PowerPoint created from your table. Without this, you will receive a progress report indicating that you are failing.

You Are a Snowflake (Project Students)

Though the instructions for snowboard say place random snowflakes, you need to match the example. Each snowflake extra or missing or significantly misplaced is 10 points .

Semester Exam Option

Instead of a multiple choice Semester Exam, you can choose to make a presentation from the list of topics below. Your presentation must be at least ten minutes long, technically correct and must include a paper, outline and handout submitted as a pdf. Only one student from any class may choose a topic. You must schedule your presentation before the two last days of the semester because we will be taking tests both days.

1. Document Standards in Academics and Business - Ben Z.
2. Email Standards in Academics, Business and Informal Use
3. Computing Power - Moore's Law and the Evolution of Processing - Wyatt C
4. The Largest Carbon Producers and Their Contribution to Global Climate Change - Lauren G.
5. Eliminating Hunger with Technology - Mohammad
6. Green Building, Affordable Housing and Innovative Architectural Movements - Juliet Team
7. Online Math Resources
8. 3D Studio Max, Maya and Lightwave
9. Internet Service, Access and Bandwidth - An Introduction and Analysis of Current Issues
10. Electronic Privacy - An Introduction and Analysis of Current Issues - Heidi K.
11. Creating Dimension, Texture and Transparency in Computer Graphics
12. Computer Science and Innovation
13. Technology and Humiliation - How a Lack of Understanding of Technology Has Resulted in Embarassment for Individuals, Companies and Governments - William D.
14. Web Innovations

Essay and Presentation Option

In lieu of a six weeks exam, you can give one presentation about a topic from the list below.
Only one person can present on each topic.
In order for this to be accepted instead of your exam, you must submit an MLA perfect paper, MLA perfect outline, MLA perfect handout, and a presentation that meets ALL of the standards for presentations in this class. You must also have a 90 or better for your second six weeks grade.

1. The History of Printing
2. Four Color Process Printing - In Depth
3. The Development of Computer Attached Printers
4. The Development of the Inkjet Printer - In Depth
5. The Development of the Laser Printer - In Depth
6. Twelve Great Tips for Adobe Illustrator
7. Technological Answers to Environmental Problems
8. Autodesk's AutoCAD
9. Personal Computers - An In Depth History
10. Alan Turing - A Biography
11. Exploring and Researching Your Post-Secondary Choices - Online Resources
12. Reliable Sources - Evaluating Sources of Information on the Internet
13. Scalable Vector Graphics - Standard and Software

Presentations must include three reliable sources minimum, pictures sized appropriately for your presentation (not stretched or visibly pixelated).

The Documentation Manager will track the assignment of topics.

Managers - DUE TODAY

Documentation Managers, Duty Managers and Accountants need to prepare a report by end of class on Monday, 11/26 with a record of positions, students and verified service.

Concepts you need to know

You should understand the following terms and concepts for the third six weeks three weeks exam.
If you do not know or understand these concepts, you should consult your notes from class or find information online.
As with any vocabulary words, you need to be sure that you understand the context of these words. The first definition that you find may be insufficient or may use the word in the wrong context.

CMYK .
four color process printing .
RGB .
additive color .
subtractive color .
vector image .
raster image .
pixel .
path .
Adobe Illustrator .
swatch .
mask .
laser printer .
inkjet printer .
toner .

These terms and concepts will be on your three weeks exam which will be made available and is due on Friday, November 30th.

Check this list all week to see if more terms are added before Friday's exam.

_____________
What is hidden?
_____________

Project Students - Snowboarder

The Snowboard image is due at the end of class Tuesday.
Your Final post about the snowboarder should be titled: Snowboard-Final
and should contain your final image.
You will receive a quiz grade for your final image based on how similar it is to the tour_done.ai model.
For each significant difference, you will lose 10 points from a base of 100 points.
A significant difference is:
Placement - an object is more than half of the width of a text character off
Color - color is visibly different from the original
Other - tracing, cutting, pathfinding, alignment, letter shapes are significantly/visibly different

Classroom Supplies (optional assignment for everyone)

We are well into the year, and finally settled into our new lab.

I thank every one of you for being flexible and patient while we have pulled this lab together.

We still have a few things to do, and a few supplies to get, which I will be working on over the next few weeks before winter break.


For extra credit, you can bring any or all of the supplies in this list.
1 - one-and-a-half inch binder
1 - box (kleenex) tissue
1 - package 9"X12" construction paper

If you bring one thing you get 10 points, if you bring two things you get 25 points, if you bring all three you get 50 daily points.

Project Students - Extra Credit?

For Extra Credit, you can take the snowboard image, make several changes using techniques you have just learned, document those changes in detail, and submit the image with the explanation by posting on your blog and noting on your grade sheet. I will check this extra credit (optional) assignment at the end of next week.

Grades Today

Every student is required to have a grade sheet ready today.
Without this grade sheet, you cannot receive my signature for your weeks work.
Without this grade sheet you cannot pass the six weeks.
You need to be prepared to show your week's work and have the grade sheet ready 10 minutes into the period.

If you need to know how to create this grade sheet, check the post titled:

Third Six Weeks

Why Can't I make this Work?

Toilets Beware, Germans Follow Directions to the Dot

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: For the next toilet, please drive up the first staircase!

GPS navigation systems are beginning to get a bad rep in Germany. That's probably because Germans are actually too good at following instructions. Even when they are told to crash into a toilet shack.

If car navigation systems could have their rathers, they would probably all want to be working in Germany. Not only because the German Autobahn is a speed-racer dream come true, but because Germans are very good at following instructions. If the system tells them to turn right, they turn right. If it tells them to turn left, they turn left.

And although one or two Germans will find themselves asking philosophical questions about what it means to turn right or left at any point in their life, most will happily oblige and surrender to that bizarrely infantilizing feeling we all know from looking at the assembling instructions for an Ikea cupboard. It's called total dependency.

It is nice, from time to time, to surrender one's control. To feel there is a gentle digitalized voice to guide you through the winding, curving, meandering roads of life. To know that you can will a virtual pat on the shoulder every time you do something right. Navigation systems are low-maintenance life companions: they never get tired and they don't need anything for Christmas.

Taking things literally

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: No toilet booth is safe any more

A 53-year-old German driver recently took the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system all too literally. 30 meters before the crossing he was meant to take, the excessively obedient driver from Freiburg drove his SUV off the road into a nearby construction site, drove it up a stairway and crashed it into a poor, unsuspecting toilet shack that had never seen this type of action before.

Police in the eastern German town of Rudolstadt said the incident had caused 2,000 euros ($2,500) in damages to the stairway, 100 euros to the car and that the driver was also fined accordingly. The ongoing fine for extreme obedience is 35 euros.

Earlier this month another German ignored the sign "Closed for construction" on a Hamburg highway and followed his navigation system into a pile of sand. No injuries were reported.

A navigation system is, it seems, the new dominatrix: virtual whip in hand, it tells you what to do. It is up to you to decide how much pain you're willing to take on.

Was it the GPS system's fault?

Project Students - Illustrator

Confused?
This is probably your first experience following directions at this level of technicality. When something doesn't work for you in a lesson, the best way to solve your problem is to step backward in the steps to where you last knew everything was working right, and step your document back by pressing Ctrl+Z (I always call it "Control-Zed"). Control Zed is like "Undo" in Microsoft Word. If you go too far back, you can use Control-Shift-Zed to step forwards again.
The more that you learn key strokes, the faster you can work in Illustrator. For example, if you press the "V" key to get the selection tool (if you point the cursor to the tool on the tool bar it will show you the letter shortcut). The ONLY time that you can't use the keyboard to select tools is when you are typing in a text box. Try it.

Daily Work Students (not Project)

If you complete your table, paper, handout and presentation and the documents are perfect, you will get a 100 on your six weeks exam.
You can consult with me twice (when you are nearly finished) to find corrections before you submit your work to try to skip the exam.

Project (Not Daily Work) Students: A High Goal

If you can finish the Illustrator book (the entire book, not just your packet) you will get a 100 for your six weeks exam.

Project (Not Daily Work) Students: Illustrator

Sometimes when working through the lessons, even though you feel confused or muddled, finding your way through is the best way to learn the tools.
If you have questions, you can ask me or search the web for forums and FAQ's.

CMYK - what is it?
Additive versus Subtractive color, what is it?
Why is the transform pallete/toolbar one of the most important toolbars in Illustrator?
What is a vector graphic and how is it different from a raster graphic?
What is a path?
What is a Bezier curve?

Do you think that these might be questions on your exam?

If you answer them in your blog, and discuss them with me, you will get 10 extra exam points.

Project Students

If you are working on projects during this six weeks (not daily assignements), you need to post a before and after picture every day in your blog.
On days where you start something new, you simply state "new project" and do not post a before.

Assignments and Schedule for Third Six Weeks

November	Daily Assignment Students	Project Students
13	Table	Read and Blog about Illustrator
14	Table	Start Illustrator
15	Fill in table with Sentences	Illustrator CiaB
16	Finish sentences and format properly	Illustrator CiaB
19	copy and strip to word document	Illustrator CiaB
20	format word document to MLA paper	Illustrator CiaB
26	strip word document to sentence list	Illustrator CiaB
27	export sentence list to PowerPoint	Illustrator CiaB
28	design and check template	Illustrator CiaB
29	format slides and fix template	Illustrator CiaB
30	add pictures to every other slide	Illustrator CiaB
December
3	chop sentences	Illustrator CiaB
4	polish presentation	Illustrator CiaB
5	create handout	Illustrator CiaB
6	finish handout	Illustrator CiaB
7	finish cards	Illustrator CiaB
10	practice	Illustrator CiaB
11	practice	Illustrator CiaB
12	deliver	Illustrator CiaB
13	deliver	Google Sketch-up
14	Excel
17	Excel	Sketch-up
18	Excel	AutoCAD
19	test	test
20	test	test

Third Six Weeks

If you received over a 90 for the second six weeks, you will be working on a project.
If you received under a 90m you will have daily assignments.

Everyone must track their grades for this six weeks.
The days of class this six weeks are:
November 13, 14, 15, 16; 19, 20; 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
December 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 17, 18, 19, 20

You need to record your assignment and progress or grade for every day of class.
You also need to record that you have completed your daily blog.
You will need to create this record on paper so that I can sign off every assignment or every week.
This assignment record will count as an exam grade, which will be added in to your average at the end of the six weeks.
There will be THREE tests this six weeks, the mid-term, the six weeks, and the semester test.

This grade sheet is an assignment. You cannot pass the six weeks without completing one or more assignments or tests.

Third Six Weeks - Your Blog

During the third six weeks, you must blog every class day.

Your blog must cover something you learned in class.

Your blog must include the text and number of a TEK that applies to what you learned. You cannot use the same one every day.

If you do not blog every day (make-up days you have an excused absence), blog about something you learned in class, and include the text and number of a TEK, you will not receive credit for your blog and you will not be able to pass the third six weeks.

Computer Sciences Roadshow - November 14th

Are you interested in...
Robotics?
Computer Games?
Computer Graphics?
Computer Programming?

The University of Texas Computer Sciences Roadshow is coming to McCallum on Wednesday, November 14th.
They will make two presentations, one during A lunch and one during B lunch in room 153.

Everyone interested is invited to attend.

This year will cover some of the competitions that have participated in and will include both young men and young women who are fired up (no really!) about Computer Science. Their presentation is interactive.

To receive credit if you do not have my class fourth period, you will need to blog about it in detail. You may want to plan to take notes.

Your Study Guide is Posted

A study guide for the six weeks exam, which will be given tomorrow, is on the shared drive.
Be sure to open with Firefox.

The questions are identical to those that will be on the test, though they will be in a different order.

Plan to get started on your test as soon as you walk in the door as it is 127 questions.

Project Work or Daily Activities

If you pass the second six weeks with a 90 or higher, you will be assigned individual projects for the third six weeks. You will work each day on your project, and blog about your progress, post a picture and list two TEKS. There will only be one daily activity that you will have to complete, a spreadsheet and chart in Excel.

If your grade for the second six weeks is 89 or lower, you will have daily activities to complete for the third six weeks.

Are you passing?

You can NOT pass this six weeks without turning in every assignment.
Have you completed 30 blogs with a statement about what you learned and TEKS in every entry (except Out Friday, Recycling and Quiz Time)?
Have you completed the quiz?
Have you given your presentation?
Have you turned in an MLA paper with all errors corrected?

You will not pass unless you have turned in all work and finished your blog entries.

You will pass if you have completed every assignment.

If there is anything missing on the progress report that every student received, you need to complete those items before you can pass.

Did you return your progress report? That was an assignment also.

Next Project - First Step

This table is due by the end of class Wednesday, November 14th (new date).

Choose any topic that it appropriate for school. You will give this presentation to the class.
You get 10% bonus for choosing a topic related to technology, recycling or the environment.

First, create a table. It should have twenty-two rows and twenty-seven columns.
The columns should be labeled in the first row as follows:
column 1: (leave column 1 blank)
column 2: "Item"
columns 3-27: number consecutively from 1 to 25
Label the rows in the first column as follows:
row 1: (leave row 1 blank)
row 2-22: number consecutively from 1 to 21
In column 2, enter the information from below:
row 2: Name, Class Period, Date
row 3: Topic (what) - 1 title (less than 25 words)
row 4: Introduction - 1 sentence
row 5: Why is this important - 1 sentence
row 6: Who does it affect - 1 sentence
row 7: What is the most important theme or concept - 1 sentence
row 8: When did it start - 1 sentence
row 9:Where is it located (how to get to it) - 1 sentence
row 10: How did it get started?
row 11: Hook* - 1 sentence
row 12: Vocabulary One - 1 word and definition
row 13: Vocabulary Two - 1 word and definition
row 14: Vocabulary Three - 1 word and definition
row 15: Detail One - 1 sentence
row 16: Detail Two - 1 sentence
row 17: Detail Three - 1 sentence
row 18: Unknown fact** - 1 sentence
row 19: Conclusion - 1 sentence
row 20: Insight - 1 sentence
row 21: Bibliography - 3 website addresses
row 22: Contact - email and blog address

* Why we should be interested or why we should care?
**Some fact you don't think that most people would know.

The cells in columns 3-27 (the same ones that have 1-25 at the top) can contain only one word.

Word will automatically capitalize each word in each cell, you need to ask or figure out how to change the case.

When you start entering the information (not the labels) ENTER ONLY ONE WORD OR NUMBER IN EACH CELL.

An example is posted in the shared folder titled "Breakdown Example Picture."

Presentation Checklist

q Template designed and used on every slide

q Contrasting colors chosen

q No more than 25 words on any slide

q Sans-Serif font used

q No full sentences

q Legibility:

o Contrast

o Margins

o Font

o Size

o Placement

q Continuity

o Layout

o Colors

o Focal Point

o Balance

q Professional Appearance:

o No animation

o Slide transitions – one style maximum

o No Fill Effects (gradient, word art, fills)

o No more than one or two “features”

Structure: › Intro, › Hook, › Details, › Conclusion, › Insight

Nightmare Film Festival

The Nightmare Film Festival will be held November 17th and 18th at McCallum in the Theater!

16 films will be shown including Night of the Living Dead, Scared to Death, The Amazing Transparent Man, Teenagers from Outer Space, The Last Man on Earth, The Brain that Wouldn't Die, White Zombie and 9 more!
Two Day passes are being sold and are $20 for adults, and $12 for students ($24 and $15 at the door) in the main hall during the week before the festival.

Students in my classes can get 10 daily points for each blog review of each movie and 100 points for a signed ticket. The ticket is required to receive credit for the reviews.

Marines Presentation

On Wednesday, November 7th, the Sgt. Daniels of the Marine Corps will give a multimedia presentation about careers and technology in the Marines in room 153.

There will be three presentations:
during A lunch
during B lunch
and during 7th period

If you are interested in attending, please let me know if and be sure you have permission if you plan to attend during 7th period. I will limit the attendance to 60 students.

As a part of career exploration, if you attend one of the presentations the Marines will be giving Wednesday, and blog about it, you will receive credit for one daily grade (100 pts).

MAKE UP WEEK - NEXT WEEK

If you need to make up work, need help on your presentation or paper, or are assigned to attend morning tutorials you need to plan to attend morning tutorials next week from 8:00-8:50, Tuesday through Thursday.

You must attend if you receive a note from me or your progress report showed an average of less than 80.

You must also attend if you did not pass the first six weeks.

By attending and participating in these tutorials, you will raise your grade to passing.

Blog Entries

Your DAILY blog entry must contain:
1. something you learned in class
2. TEKS that apply to what you learned.

You CANNOT pass this six weeks without 30 blog entries which contain the two elements above.
You have just about TWO weeks to get these done.

No Exceptions.