Info Tech 2 End of Term

Info Tech 2 has had a good term of learning how to use technology at a high level.  We have had 14 MOS Microsoft Certifications earned in Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint.  Students have also demonstrated their learning with video tutorials.  The class is now finishing up a project for multi-application interaction.  They did a technical writing exercise creating a manual for a game they have not played before using a wide array of programs, and importing the content into one document.  All work projects need to be turned in at the end of class Wednesday so I can get things graded and entered into the grade book before the window closes.  This term has been a lot of fun, and I'm glad to have gotten to know the kids in this class.

Info Tech 1 Final Week

It is the final week of the term.  Students have finished with their emerging technology work, then have done some desktop publishing.  Students now have their review sheets and should be ready to take their final exam on Wednesday, December 16th.  It has been a great term, and I know these kids will all do a great job ending it on a high note!

Emerging Technology and Hour of Code

Next week we will get into emerging technologies, and will also be participating with the world-wide initiative of Hour of Code.  Some of the things that we will be learning about are text-to-speech synthesis, Google Maps, Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLense, and mobile device application development.  This is always a good section as it shows what upcoming technologies are on the horizon and how they will impact our daily lives.

Here are some videos that show what we will be learning about.

Text-to-speech article and video:
 http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/17/4596374/machine-language-how-siri-found-its-voice

A Day in a Life with Google Glass Demonstration:

Microsoft HoloLense, Transform Your World:

Hour of Code:  What Most Schools Don't Teach:

Some of the coding activities we will use along with many other learning opportunities can be found at this link:  http://code.org/learn .

Access and Databases

Info Tech 1 students have started their section on Microsoft Access and databases.  We will be creating databases over information about colleges, retail business, and movies.  Students will then create a final database over their choice.

Info Tech 2 students will be finishing up their presentation section and will take the MOS Microsoft Certification Exam for PowerPoint.  Once this is finished, they will create their video tutorial to demonstrate an essential skill, then will be moving on to advanced features of Microsoft Access.  At the conclusion of this section, students will have the opportunity to get certified in Access if they choose to do so.

Below are some basic tutorials on how to get started with Microsoft Access...

Introduction to Microsoft Access:  https://youtu.be/FYWwzdnydFw
Microsoft Access Forms:  https://youtu.be/5-P7LIv5Lng
Microsoft Access Reports:  https://youtu.be/iVoqN6n7tL4
Microsoft Access Queries:  https://youtu.be/l3pbFqhY1rI
Microsoft Access Pivot Tables:  https://youtu.be/Cs9FddQFMuU

Professional Presentations

Info Tech students have been working hard at finishing up their spreadsheets.  In Info Tech 2 we even had 2 students become MOS Microsoft Certified in Microsoft Excel 2013!  As we move through the term, we are ready for our next section of study which involves using presentation applications as a method for professional communication.

Students will start off creating a non-linear PowerPoint, then will research and evaluate an online presentation application of their choice.  To finish the unit, students will collaboratively put together a presentation using their Google Drive accounts.

Info Tech 1 & 2 Spreadsheets

In Info Tech 1, students are being introduced to Microsoft Excel and the creating/manipulating of spreadsheets.  Here are some tutorials of things we will be working on these next few weeks.

Introduction to Formulas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_e0EOy1Ydo

Introduction to Functions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=yZvrHvspMok&x-yt-ts=1421914688

Introduction to Fill Button
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=8cHeQTgcz3k

Introduction to Charts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPf8cPP2CJw&x-yt-ts

Info Tech 2 students are still learning advanced features of Excel.  This week we will be preparing for our test that we will be taking at the end of the week.  Next week we will take our examination to get Microsoft Certified for Excel 2013.

Cyber Citizenship/Information Literacy Project

We finished up with our cyber citizenship/information literacy unit in information technology 1 class for term 2.  All we have left to do is demonstrate our level of understanding of the information with our final project.  Students will be making a digital product of their choice that brings awareness of cyber citizenship.  The project will be graded on the following criteria.

The project is worth 50 total points.  Right now students are hard at work gathering and organizing their information they have been collecting all week and are off to a really good start on their projects.

Cyber Citizenship

Students are finished with their word processing unit, and we are now ready for the next Information Technology topic.  Students will spend this week learning about information literacy and cyber citizenship.  In other words, students will be learning how to use technology in ways that help them instead of hurting their futures.  The topics will include information literacy, social media, cyber bullying, online safety, and digital footprint.

At the conclusion of the unit, students will create a product that promotes awareness about information literacy and cyber citizenship.

Above is a video of some of the tools we will be learning how to use this week.

Spreadsheets

This first week in Info Tech 2 has been learning to use the video software we will be working with to create our video tutorials that will show our understanding of necessary computer app skills.  These video tutorials will also be a resource to other students who want to learn to use software, or to get caught up on instruction if they were absent.

Next week we will jump right in to Microsoft Excel.  We will be learning to use advanced features of the program with the intent to make ourselves more marketable in a technology-reliant world.

Word Processing

Info Tech 1 students have been introduced to Microsoft Office 2013, which we have in our business labs for the first time this year.  The first program we are using is Word.  Students have done a few introduction activities including making a human timeline of technology history, and using various sources to put together a page about themselves.

We finished up by looking at essential skills for Microsoft Word and demonstrated which of those we are able to do.  Next week we will be doing some word processing, editing assignments, and business letters.  These will allow us to demonstrate how to use features of Microsoft Word, as well as show how it can be used in many every day situations.

Info Tech 2 term 2!

My first group of info tech 2 kids...ever!  I'm excited for some deeper learning about technology and have some exciting things for this class to be working on this term!  We will start off with some introduction activities and getting familiar with some video editing software we will be using to create tutorials to demonstrate our learning.  Stay tuned to this blog all term long!

second term!

The second term has started, which means all new students for me this nine weeks!  We will be doing some introductory activities, getting to know each other and becoming familiar with the technology we will be using this term.  We will finish the week up with some word processing.  Stay posted to this blog for updates weekly this term!

Final Week!

Final week for the term!  This week we doing some creative multimedia work, then we will take our final exam on Wednesday.  Make sure we have all of our work in for the term, and be sure to study and prepare for the final to finish with the grade we want!

Emerging Technologies

After finishing some intensive database work, we are now ready for some emerging technologies.  Students will be seeing trends, and finding application of emerging technologies in today's world.  Students will start off learning ins and outs of Google Maps.  After Google Maps, we will be working with some coding.  Students will get an introduction to code, block-based coding, and some Java code.  Students will do some activities, and game creation, and will finish up with an interactive design for a web page.  We will end the week by looking at some other technologies such as text-to-speech synthesis, Google Glass, and Microsoft HoloLens.

Students will turn in a research paper reflecting on emerging technologies, and how they see them evolving the next 5-10 years.

Microsoft Access and Databases

As the week comes to an end, so does our unit over digital presentations.  Students have done a nice job with their non-linear PowerPoints, their web 2.0 presentation, and their cloud computing presentation.  Students should be able to use these skills in other classes through their academic careers, and further into various jobs they will be doing after school.

Next week we will start learning how to create and manipulate databases using Microsoft Access.  Below are some tutorials that demonstrate what we will be learning to do.

Introduction to Access

Access Reports

Access Forms

Presentation Software

Last week we were able to finish up our spreadsheet unit and took our final at the end of the week.  Overall, the students did a real nice job on the assignments and the test.  This week we will be learning how to put together presentations using a variety of software.  Our first presentation will be a non-linear PowerPoint where students will learn to troubleshoot their way through a project to make a presentation of non-sequential slides.

Excel and Spreadsheets

We have finished up our cyber citizenship / information literacy unit and turned in our projects.  Those projects are the last scores entered in for mid-term grades.  It's hard to believe we are half-way through the quarter already!  We are now working with spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel and Google Drive.  Students will be working on a wide variety of spreadsheets individually and collaboratively.  At the end of next week, we will take a final over spreadsheets.  It is a performance-based assessment where students will be demonstrating their levels of understanding by creating spreadsheets from scratch on their own.  Below are some tutorials to show some of the things kids will be learning.

Introduction to Formulas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_e0EOy1Ydo

Introduction to Functions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=yZvrHvspMok&x-yt-ts=1421914688

Introduction to Fill Button
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=8cHeQTgcz3k

Introduction to Charts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPf8cPP2CJw&x-yt-ts

Cyber Citizenship Project

We finished up with our cyber citizenship/information literacy unit in information technology class.  All we have left to do is demonstrate our level of understanding of the information with our final project.  Students will be making a digital product of their choice that brings awareness of cyber citizenship.  The project will be graded on the following criteria.

The project is worth 50 total points.  Right now students are hard at work gathering and organizing their information they have been collecting all week and are off to a really good start on their projects.

Information Literacy

Students did a great job finishing up their word processing activities this week. After working with professional communications and business letters, we evaluated some Microsoft Word 2013 tutorials. We finished with a Cloud Computing activity where students collaboratively put together newsletters that evaluated technologies using Google Drive.

 Next week we will learn about information literacy and digital citizenship. We will talk about online google search techniques, cyber-bullying, online safety, digital footprint, and social media. When we are finished with our learning, students will put together a project that allows them to demonstrate their learning from all the different areas listed above. Below is a link to a video that shows one google search technique we will be using with Google Scholar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5rLGnnPyw

Business Letters

As we continue to brush up on our word processing skills, we are applying them to professional business communication. We are learning how to take information and organize it into a block-style business letter. The two assessments we will be turning in include a business letter for professional communication, and a cover letter for career-related fields. These assessments not only measure their learning of state standards, but are also applicable to necessary real-life skills.

What is information technology?

Information Technology classes are off to a great start early this term! We have been spending time getting to know each other and becoming familiar with classroom procedures with the technologies that we will be using. We have made a working definition of what information technology means to us, and have been learning where it fits in today's world. Students will be researching a specific technology of their choice, and we will create a human timeline to identify trends and evolution in technology. Friday we will be learning the basics of Microsoft Word 2013 and word processing.

Welcome All!

Welcome everybody to the 2015/2016 school year! My name is Mr. Petersen and I will be teaching 5 sections of information technology this year! This blog will be used as a way to communicate what exciting things happen in class, and to post resources to help students be successful in info tech. There are many things I'm excited about this year. We will be using Microsoft 2013 in class (updated this summer). We also have nice new computers for students to use, and the structure for class time allows for plenty of work, enrichment, and intervention time. This week we will be getting to know each other, become familiar with technology we will be using, and learning how information technology as a field impacts us every day. Look for a course syllabus that will be sent home on Tuesday, and I look forward to meeting you all, and for this coming school year! Be sure to follow me on twitter at @np_techbiz

Finish Strong!

We are nearing the completion of the term and school year.  This week I think students enjoyed learning different ways to code and create interactive applications in a variety of settings.  Next week we will do some video editing, then will take our final exam on Wednesday.  Thursday we will clean out our IT folders, transfer anything needed to our google drives, then will reset our passwords.  Even though there is only a week left, it is important to finish strong.  I cannot emphasize that enough!  Our video project next week will be 20 points and our final exam will be 35 points.  That's 55 points to really demonstrate your skills and help you put your grade where you want it!

I have really enjoyed my info tech classes this term and am excited to see some of them again in advanced courses down the road.

Emerging Technologies

The exciting thing about technology is how fast it evolves.  It doesn't take long for new cutting-edge trends in technology to become obsolete.  Next week we will get into emerging technologies.  Some of the things that we will be learning about are text-to-speech synthesis, Google Maps, Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLense, and mobile device application development.  This should be a fun unit where students can explore trends in technology, and develop some skills to use these technologies, as well as develop an ability to adapt to future technologies that have not yet been invented.

Here are some videos that show what we will be learning about.

Text-to-speech article and video:
 http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/17/4596374/machine-language-how-siri-found-its-voice

A Day in a Life with Google Glass Demonstration:

Microsoft HoloLense, Transform Your World:

Hour of Code:  What Most Schools Don't Teach:

Some of the coding activities we will use along with many other learning opportunities can be found at this link:  http://code.org/learn .

Database

Next week Information Technology class will be moving on to Database.  Databases are tools used to input, store, and manipulate different types of information.  They are used everywhere in the business world, and having database skills makes people be very marketable down the road.  We will start off with an introduction to Microsoft Access.  Students will then create a series of databases to learn how to use the various features of the program and see how it can benefit them in their future.

Online Presentation Software

Next week students will be putting together two presentations using free resources that are available online.  The first project will be utilizing our google drive to allow students to collaboratively put together a presentation from different computers around the room.  This allows them to use a program similar to powerpoint so they can compare and contrast the two programs.  It also allows them to utilize electronic communication and collaboration skills that will be necessary in their future.

The second presentation will be utilizing a web 2.0 presentation application.  We will learn what web 2.0 means and come up with a definition of it.  Students will then spend time online researching the different online presentation apps that are available.  Once they see what is available, students will select which program they will use and then will put together a short presentation demonstrating the features of the service.  To wrap things up, students will write a reflection about their experience with their web 2.0 program to evaluate it's effectiveness and ease-of-use.

Non-Linear Powerpoint

Tomorrow we will start our unit over presentation software.  The first part will be a review over powerpoint, but with a different spin.  Generally we make powerpoints as sequential presentation visual aids.  You click on a slide, it takes you to the next, you click and that slide, it takes you to the next.......  For this project, students will be creating a non-linear powerpoint.  Appropriate slide layout rules still apply, and the difference lies in the presentation being interactive for the user.  An example could be the first slide being a map of a place you want to visit.  You can click on the name of a location, it takes you to a slide telling you information and showing pictures, then you can click back to return to the map.  You can then find another location to choose.

Students non-linear powerpoint is over a school appropriate topic of their choice, and should have a minimum of 15 slides.  One of the slides needs to be a work cited page that shows where you got information and pictures.  I will help you with any questions you have on the project EXCEPT you will have to troubleshoot to figure out how to link the non-sequential slides.  Remember that google.com is NOT a source, so don't try using it!  Be as creative as you can, and have fun with this project!

Finishing Spreadsheets

The next few days we will be finishing up learning spreadsheet skills.  We will work on charts, then learn how to carry over our Excel skills over to google drive spreadsheets as students will collaboratively work together on a few short projects.  After we come back from the weekend, Monday will be a catch-up/review day and Tuesday we will take our exam over spreadsheets.  It is a performance-based assessment where students will demonstrate what they have learned by creating and manipulating two different spreadsheets.  Let's keep up the good work, and finish this unit strong!

Spreadsheets

We will start this week off by turning in our digital literacy projects in for grading.  Students have been working hard on them, and there was even an article in the local paper about the project.

Next, we will be working with spreadsheets.  Students will get experience using both Microsoft Excel, and Google Spreadsheets.  Below are some simple tutorials of activities that we will be doing early on in the unit.

Introduction to Formulas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_e0EOy1Ydo

Introduction to Functions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=yZvrHvspMok&x-yt-ts=1421914688

Introduction to Fill Button
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=8cHeQTgcz3k

Introduction to Charts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPf8cPP2CJw&x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534

Digital Citizenship Project

We are finishing up our digital literacy unit!  Students have started working on the Digital Citizenship Project.  They will be making a digital product of their choice (poster, video, brochure, slide show, etc...) that promotes awareness of digital citizenship.  Their project must contain the 5 topics we discussed.  These topics are digital literacy, social media, cyberbullying, online safety, and digital footprint.  Each category must contain the following information Definition/explanation of topic (3 points each), information we learned from our activities (4 points each), and sources where information was found (3 points each).  That equals to 10 points for each topic, and 50 points for the whole project.  This is a BIG grade, so it is important students show all that they learned, and are as creative as they possibly can be!

Digital Literacy

Next week, information technology class will be learning about digital literacy.  Digital literacy is about being savvy on the web.  We will talk about how to tell if web pages are valid sites for research, cyber bullying, social media, online safety (being safe with your identity), and digital footprints.  Each day we will be learning about a new topic and will have various activities that will reinforce our learning targets.  When we complete the unit, students will create a product that promotes awareness for all the areas of digital literacy that we learn about.

One of the tools we will learn about early on is Google Scholar.  Below is a link to a short overview and tutorial to get you started with a great resource that Google offers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5rLGnnPyw

Cloud Computing, Collaboration, & Google Drive

Thursday we will be finishing up with our business letter portion of the word processing unit.  The last activity we will do in this unit is our cloud computing document.  Students will be using their school google accounts to collaboratively put together a news-letter that reviews technology that they are familiar with.  We will look at some examples of technology reviews in class to see what they all have in common.  Next, students will be told that they will work in groups putting their news-letter of reviews together, but they need to all be working on the same document at the same time.  We will then look at our google drive and create/share a document with each other so they can accomplish this task.

Google drive is great for our students because it allows them to access their work form anywhere, and they can also share files so they may work with group members even if they are not in the same room as each other.  We will be using google drive so students can collaborate together on various projects throughout the term.

Above is a video that explains how google drive works, and why it is so beneficial in today's day and age.  Check it out!

Word Processing

We will move on to word processing basics using various applications (Microsoft word, google docs, etc...)  From then, we will use those skills to help us with business communications and business letters.

Tomorrow we will be using wordle as an introduction activity to go with our lesson.  Here is a tutorial how to use wordle.

To see how we use our header/footer sections on our assignments, review this tutorial....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMj7IlVUbI

4th Quarter

Final quarter of the school year, but information technology classes are just starting!  We are getting familiar with classroom expectations, rules, and procedures.  Next we will be learning about the field of information technology and finding out the role of technology in today's world, as well as how it has been impacted by past technologies.

Wrapping Things Up

This is the last week of the term, which means last week for this term's information technology classes.  We will be finishing up our digital video projects and get them published by the end of class Tuesday.  Wednesday we will review for our comprehensive final exam, then Thursday we will take our final test to measure our overall learning from the term.

Friday will be the last day of class for this term, and will be used to check our final grades for the course, clean out our info tech folders, make sure everything important is in our school google drive, and then will reset our passwords to have them ready for the next group of kids.

Although the end is near, it's important to finish strong through the finish line.  Make sure you earn the grade you want, and not settle for what is easier.

Digital Videos

Tomorrow we will be starting our final section for the term.  Students will be getting an introduction to digital video.  We will start off with a TED talk with Chris Anderson, who discusses how online video accelerates world-wide innovation and creativity.  After we discuss his theory, we will jump into creating digital videos.  If students have a strong interest in this, they should talk to their guidance counselors and get signed up for digital media for next year.

Emerging Technologies

Next week we will be learning about emerging technologies.  We will watch a few short clips about trends in mobile devices, then will go on to learn about different ways students can create apps on their own.  With only 10 days left for this course, it's important students stay on top of their work and don't let their grades slip.  We need to take advantage of every opportunity to learn as much as we can with the time we have left!

Here are a few short clips about some of the emerging technologies we will be discussing next week.

Databases

Today we have finished up presentations in Information Technology class.  Students really demonstrated a strong amount of background knowledge with Powerpoint, which allowed us to move quickly onto web 2.0 presentation software and cloud computing.

Next week we will start learning about databases.  We will use Microsoft Access for this unit, and students will be able to create and manipulate various databases.  They will then learn to create forms and reports to go along with their database.

On another note, parent teacher conferences are Thursday the 19th at NPHS.  I look forward to meeting parents and having conversations about their children's learning.

Presentation Software

We are now finished with our spreadsheet unit, and are ready for presentation software.  Students will be creating 3 presentations in this section, one non-linear powerpoint (we will start this on Monday), one web 2.0 presentation, and one collaborative presentation using google drive.

The non-linear powerpoint requires students to troubleshoot their way through creating a non-linear powerpoint.  That means there is no real order for the presentation.  An example could be creating an interactive map that allows people to click on cities to learn more information, then click to return back to the map.  Students will need to use creativity and problem-solving skills to figure out how to achieve this.  One slide will need to include sources of where they got information, pictures, etc...

Spreadsheet Tutorials

This week we will be learning how to create and manipulate spreadsheets with Excel and Google Spreadsheet.  Here are some tutorials you will need to watch before Tuesday.  This is a "flipped classroom" assignment where you are expected to have this as background knowledge for class discussion.

Introduction to Formulas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_e0EOy1Ydo

Introduction to Functions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=yZvrHvspMok&x-yt-ts=1421914688

Introduction to Fill Button
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=8cHeQTgcz3k

Introduction to Charts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPf8cPP2CJw&x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534

Information Literacy/Digital Citizenship Project

Thursday we will be finishing up our Information Literacy/Digital Citizenship unit as we will be learning about online safety and digital footprint.  I will also introduce our project which students will be working on in class Friday and Monday.

The project itself can be any digital product a student chooses to turn (digital poster, video, presentations, podcast, brochure etc...) in as long as it meets the necessary information requirements.

Required Information:

You will need a definition (3 points), general information (4 points), and properly listed sources (3 points) for each of the 5 areas that we learned about in class.  Digital Literacy, Social Media, Cyber Bullying, Online Safety, and Digital Footprint.  This comes to a total of 50 total points.

Remember to list your sources correctly.  Listing google, or google images as a source will count as 0 points for your sources.  If you get information from your class notes (your word document we added to each day), then be sure to list that as well.

The last important thing to remember is to be as creative as possible.  Make these projects fun to work on, and fun to look at!  Good luck!

Information Literacy

Today we will be all finished up with our basic word processing/communications lessons that we have been working with.  We finished up with a cloud computing activity where students collaboratively worked in groups from different computers to put together some reviews for various forms of technology that they have worked on.

Starting tomorrow, we will start learning about Information Literacy and will also tie this in with digital citizenship.  We will cover topics in information literacy, social media, cyberbullying, online safety, and digital footprint.  Each day, we will go over a different topic, then students will put together a project that demonstrates their learning from the unit.  This unit has a lot of important information that is essential for students to think about as it is such a big part in their world.

Here is a tutorial and introduction to google scholar, one of the many things we will be learning about it this upcoming unit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5rLGnnPyw

Week one finished already??

Had a great week to start off this third term!  We finished up our introduction to word processing, and students have demonstrated a solid amount of background info and were fast learners on new features they were introduced to.  Next week we will learn about business letters and how to communicate professionally, and will tie that in with skills to help students to be college, career, and community ready.

Word Processing

We will spend the next bit of time reviewing and learning new features of Microsoft Word and Google Documents.  After we are familiar with these programs we will be working on some business letters, cover letters, templates, etc....

Here is a tutorial for an example of how we will be changing our header and footer for our assignments...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMj7IlVUbI

We will also be using wordle as a way to be introduced to word processing for our first assignment which is about ourselves.

What is Information Technology?

We have our seating arrangement finished, our user-names and passwords set, and are ready to roll in Info Tech classes.  We started off with a working definition of what we think Information Technology is, why it is important, and it's role in today's society.  We watched a short video clip (included below) that illustrates how important it is to be able to learn to adapt to new technologies and discussed it as a class.  We also researched individual technologies of students' choice, printed them out, and created a human time-line to illustrate how technology has changed through time and how various technologies have influenced others.

Happy New Year (and Term)!

I hope everybody had a good break!  Tuesday starts the third term of the year so all new Info Tech classes will be ready to go.  This week we will be getting our syllabus, learning classroom rules, procedures, and expectations, and will jump into what Information Technology is all about.  Make sure you bring your school planners and a pencil each day to class, and be ready to learn.  Skills in this class are essential for you to be prepared for the future that awaits you!