Introduction

Digital Literacy Class: We are going to learn about so many incredible ways to be creative, collaborative, and to communicate. We will focus on computer skills and applications. Some topics you already know about, and you will know better, and other topics and applications will be new to you! Either way, we will work together to find the ones you are able to use best. This class consists of Project-Based-Learning. You will be given plenty of time to learn the skills and applications that you will use for a lifetime. I hope you enjoy the material we will cover. - Mr. S

Sunday, February 23, 2014

MLA Biography Project (300 points) (Worksheet 100 points)






Today you will begin to learn to do real research.  We will start slow
and I will show you MLA and APA formats for reports.  We will learn step
by step.  Below is a listing of links to help you.  We will reference
these links all the time.  Good Luck and Move Slowly.



- Mr. S



MLA CITATION FORMAT CREATOR

http://www.easybib.com/



HISTORICAL FACEBOOK ASSIGNMENT LIST

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjY9jTFcLEUWdEF0Q2duelVXRmdTVUxWMHlWWEM3V2c&usp=sharing



APA Format

http://apastyle.org/



MLA Format

http://mlaformat.org/



Classroom PowerPoint Presentation on Basic Research

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzY9jTFcLEUWM1MxUG1xQlBCVW8/edit?usp=sharing



Sample Research Scaffold - Color Psychology

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1155/example_scaffold.pdf



Sample  Research Paper - Color Psychology

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1155/example_paper.pdf



http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html#form



http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/749/1/



http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~shumow/iit/WriteRsrchPaper1.pdf



http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson983/organizer-form.pdf



HERE IS A LINK TO THE YOUTUBE VIDEO FROM CLASS:

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




 MLA HISTORICAL FIGURE RESEARCH REPORT

This week everyone will be creating an MLA Biography Report for the same
Historical Person you did your Facebook Project on.  Please use the
research you already did to complete the report by the end of the week. 
The format for your report is as follows:



All papers will be 3-4 pages in length.  (My Sample is 4).  You must use
the Historical Figure that you were assigned during the Facebook
Historical Project. (See List Posted In Class Or Ask Mr. S).  You will
use the MLA Short Form (See Example Below), but the report will be Times
New Roman, Font 12, Single-Spaced (Except for Header) and must include
at least four (4) sources in MLA Citation Format.  You must also turn in an MLA BIOGRAPHY PLANNING SHEET and a CITATION SHEET with your
report.  The Planning Sheet may be hand-written, but the report itself
must be SAVED as a PDF from MS WORD and sent as an ATTACHMENT on and
EMAIL.  You may also EMAIL AS ATTACHMENT from Google Drive if you wish.  DO NOT SHARE IT!  No other forms of turn in will be accepted for credit.  See
below for the Grading Rubric.



You must use the MLA Short Form (Click Here)



President John F. Kennedy MLA Biography Planning Sheet Example (Click Here)



President John F. Kennedy Report Sample (Click Here)



GRADING RUBRIC (300 Points):



  10 pts     All Text:  Times New Roman, 12-Font

  10 pts     Page Number Right Justified in Header

  10 pts     MLA Heading Left Justified, Double-Spaced, Correct Information

  10 pts     Title Line Bold, Underlined and Centered Correctly

  15 pts     Body of Paper Single-Spaced, Correct Indentation for Paragraphs

100 pts     Proper Spelling, Grammar, Sentence Structure

  40 pts     Enough Material:  3-4 Pages Properly Structured

  25 pts     Turned in Correct Format With Planning Sheets

  40 pts     Properly Cited Bibliography:  At Least 3 References

  40 pts     Overall Impression and Complete Story



This is a major project for the Third (3rd) Marking Period.  You will
have at least four class days to work on it.  Please ask questions and
use the skills you have learned for research and writing correct
citations.  You will use these skills for the rest of your life.  Be
proud of what you are about to turn in, and on the off chance you might
learn something new, really do your best to understand why you are being
asked to create this report.  I am proud of the work each of you are
doing so far!!  Keep it up!!



- Mr. S




SAMPLE MLA BIOGRAPHY PROJECT BELOW

















Thursday, February 20, 2014

Internet Research Primer Project (200 points)



Make sure you understand how to do research online.  You will need to
prove that you can find and cite sources on the next BIOGRAPHY Project
at the end of the week.  Good Luck!

Everyone must use the link below to complete the INTERNET RESEARCH PRIMER ACTIVITY. 



http://mrsoshouse.com/ext/feb.html



YOU MUST COMPLETE AT LEAST 3 (1-12) OF THE QUESTIONS BELOW FOR TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT!!  ANY ADDITIONAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE WORTH EXTRA CREDIT!



EVERYONE MUST READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS. 

READ THE WHOLE POST BEFORE STARTING!!




Copy and Paste all of the questions you chose below into an email to the
instructor (hscribnercaa@gmail.com.  Once in the email.  Use the links
(SOME LINKS DO NOT WORK RIGHT) to find the answers from this post, or
from the website listed above.  When you are finished you may work on
anything else you like.  Good Luck!!  Tomorrow we will discuss your Research Paper for next week.  You will need to create a 3-4 page MLA Short Format research paper with 4 different sources.  This paper will be properly cited and due by the end of next week.  You will also learn how to create proper CITATIONS for
Bibliographies and other work.  Good Luck!!



YOU MUST LIST ALL OF THE WEBSITES YOU USE BELOW EACH ANSWER THAT YOU POST IN YOUR EMAIL!  KEEP A LIST OF ALL WEBSITES AND SOURCES YOU USE FOR EACH ANSWER.  ONLY SEND ONE EMAIL WITH ALL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS LISTED TOGETHER FOR CREDIT.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




1. What is the cryosphere?


Watch the Cryosphere Movie from NASA.


a. Who lives in the cryosphere?


b. Even if you do not live in the cryosphere, it matters to you. 

Explain why the cryosphere matters to everyone.


2. The other day I drove past a water tower. I wondered .... 
Find the answers at How Stuff Works


a. Why is it so high?


b. When does it release water?


c. Where do cities put their water towers?


d. Does the water in the tower freeze in a very cold winter?


Research challenge - What is the source of potable water for your community?


3. Go to TerraServer. 



TerraServer provides free online access to USGS digital aerial photographs. 
Select
the appropriate links to view the images related to your State. What
are the physical geographic features, visible in the image, that help
you pinpoint the location of your town? List them.


Example: I live on a mountain near the confluence of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River.


4. Think about the last time you put ice cubes in a glass and then added water.
What did you observe?


The ice floated to the top of the glass.


Use a search engine to figure out - Why does ice float? After all it is solid water!


5. There is a time in everyone's life where math comes in pretty handy. That is cooking time. 
Here is a measurements equivalents chart
. Use it combined with your math know how to solve the following problems.


a. How many tablespoons in 1 and a half cups of flour?


b. The recipe calls for 5 cups of cream. 
Your choices at the grocery store are pint size containers of cream or quart sized containers.


*5 cups is how many pints of milk?


*Five cups is how many quarts of milk?


*What would you buy? Explain why.


c. How many teaspoons are in 1/8th cup of sugar?


d. You are making chicken noodle soup from an 8 fl. oz. can. The directions say to add 1 cup of water. You do not have a measuring cup. What can you do? Explain.


6. Some silly scribblers use alliteration solely to supply information on a sour subject or serious situation.  What is alliteration?



What is the subject of the video?


Give three examples of objects that are this geometric shape.


8. In February 1881, Mary Walton received a patent for her invention. 
How did her invention improve people's lives?


9. Watch The Laws of Exponents @ Math Dude.
(Read the questions, first. Start and stop the movie as needed to answer the questions.)


When do you add the exponents?


Solve: formula



Identify a lunar eclipse that will occur this year.


Will you be able or were you able to view it?


What is a lunar eclipse?


Observe the August 2007 eclipse on this page.


Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness - Where do you rank this eclipse on the Dajon scale?


Think about it - Name another scale that scientists use to rate/rank a natural event.


11. Dessert Challenge - use this to find how much exercise you need to burn off the 
calories in a dessert served in the cafeteria today.


Dessert:


Amount of exercise -


BTW - (By the way) Negative calorie foods burn more calories in their digestion, than they offer. 
Celery, Oranges, Strawberries, Tangerines, Grapefruit, Carrot, Apricots, Lettuce, Tomatoes
Cucumbers, Watermelon, Cauliflower, Apples, Zucchini. 




12. Gertrude Belle Elion is a scientist who earned earned a Nobel Prize in medicine.  

But that did not give her the greatest satisfaction. What gave her the greatest satisfaction?





 Extra Credit Searches:


* Learn CPR in 2 minutes CNN.com Explain the steps to use when administering CPR to an Adult.




* Watch 3 of the TV Spots from the Foundation for a Better Life. 

Rank them regarding how much each one inspired you to act.


Write the titles of the spots you viewed from least inspiring to most inspiring.




* The Wall Street Journal provides an interactive map of the potential pay outs of the Stimulus Package 2009 H.R.1.


a. How much money will your state receive?


b. The table reports amounts per capita. What does that mean?


c. Consider the Transportation spending. Do you agree with the distribution of the dollars? Explain.




* Watch your representative's speech on the Health Care debate. (If
your representative's speech is not posted, select another
representative from your state.) Do you concur with or disagree with
their argument?




* Keeping Time Across the Ages - listen to the tale. What would you do? (3-4 Sentences)




* Explore Science videos at DFTV - check it out and then do a Try It 

(Write A Paragraph About Your Findings)




* Science - Observation skill builders - Complete one! (Write a paragraph about it)




* Watch: Make Rectangles: Solution Part 1 & Make Rectangles: Solution Part 2 -
Write a new problem that would require similar math skills and strategies to solve.




The work above was taken from the following sources:

Cynthia J. O'Hora. , posted 1/2002. You may print a hunt for use in a classroom setting..Mail image This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. 1/2009


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




IF YOU ARE SMART, YOU READ THE WHOLE POST BEFORE BEGINNING. 



YOU MUST WORK ON THE CONSTITUTION (BELOW) QUESTION FIRST:



Copy
and Paste the question below into the top of your email to me
today, then complete additional 3 searches from the
questions above.  When you are finished, before you send it, you should
have the Constitution question at the top of your email, and 3 other searches below that in your final
email to me today (4 Total Searches).  ONLY COPY AND PASTE THE SEARCHES
YOU ARE COMPLETING.  ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS INSIDE THE EMAIL PRIOR TO
SENDING. Good Luck!!



1. The Constitution outlines the three qualifications to be President. What are they?





 HAVE FUN WITH THIS ONE TODAY!!



- Mr. S 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Internet Research Introduction (Worksheet 100 points / Extra Credit 100 points)

Internet Research Presentation

VIDEO TO WATCH

This video will show some of the ways to make sure the websites you use are credible.



Today we will be learning the difference between good sources and
questionable sources on the internet. We will watch a short video about
different research sites and follow a PowerPoint presentation.  Please
fill in your notes from the class discussion on the Internet Research
Presentation Worksheet provided.  That worksheet will also be used for
tomorrow's discussion, and you will hand it in at the end of the week. 
The Worksheet will count as a quiz for this Project.  Below is a link to
the presentation today:



Presentation PowerPoint



TODAY'S Practical Exercise (WE WILL WORK ON THIS ONE TOGETHER IN CLASS):

(Write ANSWER at the bottom of your WORKSHEET)

You must write down the day of the week of the birthday for the United
States Secretary of State for 2013.  You must also write down each
specific website you used to find the information.  You may not
reference Wikipedia or any Search Engine Website (Google, Bing, etc.)



ASSIGNMENT:  INTERNET RESEARCH QUIZ WORKSHEET AND VOCABULARY

All students must complete the Internet Research Quiz & Vocabulary Worksheet that was given out in class.  You will only get one copy of this worksheet.  It must be completed by this Friday (Feb. 21st) at 4pm for credit.  This worksheet is worth 100 points toward the 3rd Marking Period Grade.



STARTING TOMORROW: Anyone who shows me a valid Free Library of Philadelphia Library Card in their name will get an additional 100 points of extra credit for the Third Marking Period.  Later this marking period there will be a presentation of all the benefits of using a library card online for research, checking out materials, and the resources available to students.



- Mr. S

Monday, February 10, 2014

PIXLR COLLAGE PROJECT (100 points)

We Will Start with a presentation about basic Digital Photography.  If you miss it, please (CLICK HERE) to review the Powerpoint.  On your own, there are tons of basic photography videos on YouTube or Kahn Academy.  Please feel free to use your time to watch some of them.  Do not waste time on videos that are off task or not helpful for this specific project.





Today you will be creating a Photo Collage with PIXLR.COM like the one
above.  Please make sure that you leave a space on the collage for a
"key" (Description or Title for each picture and how it corresponds to
the assignment requirements. Also make sure that you upload and make all
changes, editing or cropping decisions before starting the collage. 
Have all seven pictures finished and saved to the desktop before
beginning the collage.  The collage function on pixlr.com will not save
work.  You start and complete the collage in one session.  See below for
the photo topics.  YOU MAY ALSO USE COMICLIFE TO LAYOUT YOUR COLLAGE IF YOU LIKE.



You will create the following photographs (each topic is YOUR
interpretation of what that picture should be,  be creative and show me
what you think represents each topic below) for this assignment:











1.  Architecture With Attitude



2.  Self-Portrait



3.  Blur Blur Blur



4.  Black and White



5.  Comic Book



6.  Food For Thought



7.  Micro-World



You must take all of the photographs yourself or find them online.  You
may not just "Drag and Drop" photos into your project.  You must
manipulate them with pixlr.com in some way.  Add a background, text, or effect to make them yours.  You can use anymaking.com or cartoonize.net
to change pics into cartoon mode.  Do not download the trial, just use
the online version.  Your email should include a description of each
picture in the format below:



YOU MUST EMAIL ME YOUR FINAL COLLAGE AS A JPEG ATTACHMENT.



Body Of Email (Sample):

Picture 1:  Architecture With Attitude:  Taken by me at Pyramids of
Giza.  Overlayed picture of me at Pyrimids with picture of Sphynx to
show size comparison.



Picture 2:  Self-Portrait:  Taken on the Subway from City Hall on the way to school in the reflection of the window.



Picture3:  Blur Blur Blur:  Taken on the train platform at City Hall (Subway) with Negative Mode on camera.



Picture 4:  Black & White:  Taken on corner of Broad and Dauphin of
the building accross the street.  Cropped on PIXLR.COM and added Sepia tone for old
time look.



Picture 5:  ComicBook:  Taken of UCHS Cheerleaders (2011) and then used Cartoonize.net to change into cartoon look.



Picture 6:  Food For Thought:  Cupcake shot from Christmas last year.  Cropped with PIXLR.Com



Picture 7:  Micro-World:  Tear of Friend.  Face picture taken last
year.  Cropped and Zoomed with PIXLR.COM to show only the tear. 



You may copy and paste the above sample to keep formatting, but you must use your own information on each picture.



Thanks for being creative.



-Mr. S

Friday, February 7, 2014

COMICLIFE (AAHF Project) WRAP UP & PIXLR.COM REVIEW

The first thing you need to do today is open your ComicLife Project and finish it.  Once finished, YOU MUST ATTACH YOUR FILES TO AN EMAIL.  PLEASE SEND ME A JPEG FILE AND A PDF FILE OF YOUR COMIC PAGE.  In the body of the Email, you MUST provide the SPECIFIC WEBLINK to your resources of information for your ComicLife Page.  BOTH FILES MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE EMAIL AS WELL FOR CREDIT.  When you are finished, follow the directions below for the preparation for next weeks work:



Today we will be working online with pixlr.com.  This is a powerful website (CLICK HERE) to help you work with and manipulate digital photographs.  Please use
the time today to explore this software using pictures from Google
Images. We will eventually be learning to take pictures and create a
photo project book for the entire school.  This will be an artistic
project aimed at helping you to use photography, journalism, and Mac
Pages.  We will be learning to use this software so you can create your
own part of our Yearbook later this year. 




MAKE SURE YOU USE PXLR.COM IN EXPRESS OR ADVANCED EDITING MODE



ASSIGMENT:  Find a picture online or take on (Ask Me To Use A Camera)
and use PIXLR.Com to change it and make it your own.  Email me your
finished picture and then put a copy of it on your Weebly.Com Front
Page.  Make sure to label it appropriately.



I hope you enjoy this project as we start to think 2014.









- Mr. S

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

African-American Heritage Month - COMICLIFE PROJECT 2014 (100 points)









Ok Everyone,



Today
you will choose an African-American Historical figure from my
list and create a 1-2 page comic-book about that person's
biography.   Include where they are from, what significant
contributions they have made, and why they are a prominent historical
figure.  Your page must include when and where they were born, some
reference to where they lived, and where they are now.  I encourage you
to create your page with some "flow" to it.  You must collect pictures
to go with your story and then use
ComicLife to create the comic book pages.  YOU MUST USE AT LEAST 6 PICTURES.  YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST 2 QUOTES. We will work on one together
in class today and your story is due by Thursday, February 6th (4pm). No two projects can be on the same person.



Use these websites to choose a historical figure:



http://www.factmonster.com/spot/bhmbios1.html



http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/tp/famousafricanamericans.htm



I MUST APPROVE YOUR CHOICES PRIOR TO YOU STARTING YOUR PROJECT!  A list will be available online to reference the choices made by everyone.



Here is the list of People's Choices (CLICK HERE)




I found the first sample (Above) online.  The sample below that was
created by me this morning in about 10 minutes.  Take your time and use
the whole page please.



You will be graded on the following basis:



30 points - Accuracy of Historical Facts

20 points - Grammar and Spelling

20 points - Creativity and Layout

30 points - Turning it in completely and on time.



Good Luck and Have Fun!!  Final Projects should be submitted in both JPEG(image) and PDF(adobe)
format by emailing me at my school address.  I will compile them, and you
will see them all next week as my screen saver.  I will try to print them in color to display them.  Get to work!!



YOU MUST INCLUDE A REFERENCE TO WHERE YOU FOUND YOUR INFORMATION.  LINK TO WEBSITES MUST BE SPECIFIC!



When you are finished, I will review it for accuracy and return a copy
if you need to make changes.  If there are no changes and you are
finished, you should post the picture of your ComicLife Page to your Weebly Website.  Have fun and relax with this project.



Mr. S




Dragons Breathe Fire

Dragons Breathe Fire