August 28, 2008

8th grade ANALYZING WEBSITES

Before completeing the Analyzing Website worksheet with your partner, view the following links:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html

The 5 W's

Who

Who wrote the pages and are they an expert?
Is a biography of the author included?
How can you find out more about the author?

What
What does the author say is the purpose of the site?
What else might the author have in mind for the site?
What makes the site easy to use?


When
When was the site created?
When was the site last updated?

Where
Where does the information come from?
Where can I look to find out more about the producer/sponsor?

Why
Why is this information useful for my purpose?
Why should I use this information?
Why is this page better than another?


Choose one of the following sites to analyze:

http://oncolink.upenn.edu/

http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/default.htm

http://www.wemarket4u.net/fatfoe/

http://descy.50megs.com/mankato/mankato.html

http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm

http://www.thedogisland.com/

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

August 17, 2008

8th Grade Technology

Weeks 1/2 - Intro to IB Technology (Year 3)/Intro to Dreamweaver/Analyzing Websites
*For 7-8 weeks, students will be learning how to create a website using Adobe Dreamweaver. Each week will be focused on a topic leading up to the final creation of an electronic educational portoflio! Lessons include individual and group work. This website they create will be a personal compilation of their middle school education, and can be continued into high school.
Area of Interaction: Approaches to Learning
Guiding Question: In what ways does technology impact communication systems throughout the world?

Week 3 - Planning a Portfolio/Managing Files
Area of Interaction: Health and Social Education
Guiding Question: To what extent is organization necessary?

Week 4 - Planning & Creating a Home page/Creating Content Pages
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How does planning affect quality?

Week 5 - Linking Pages/Usability & Accessibility/Making a Navigation bar
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: To what extent does technology create understanding?

Week 6 - Quality Assurance: Technical & Usability testing
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How are we connected?

Week 7 - Publishing a Website/HTML basics
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How effective is technology in education?

Week 8 - Topic Essay
*Students will research and write an essay on a technology-related topic. Topics must be approved by the teacher.
Area of Interaction: Approaches to Learning
Guiding Question: To what extent does technology determine what happens to us?

Week 9 - A Person in Time Online
*Students will be assigned to research a President in their history class. Each student will create a web page containing the information on their chosen President's lifetime, political and social influences, geography and culture, and the historical events that took place during this person's presidency, as well as images. They will add this web page to their History section in their electronic portfolio to be used for presentations at the end of the school year.
Area of Interaction: Community and Service
Guiding Question: What human activity has the most significant impact on our community?

7th Grade Technology

Week 1- Intro to IB Technology (Year 2)/Intro to Photoshop
*Students will learn the basic skills of photoshop and do some work with patterns, collages and text features. This will help them develop the skills they will need for their projects for the rest of the 9 weeks.
Area of Interaction: Approaches to Learning
Guiding Question: To what extent does technology create understanding?

Week 2 - Photoshop: Visual Puns
*Students will use imaging effects in Photoshop to combine pictures describing puns.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How can learning incorporate technology and art?

Week 3 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Impressionist Artwork
*Students will learn about the art genre of Impressionism which incorporates light, surface, color and fast-fleeting moments. They will take pictures around the school campus and turn them into Impressionist pieces of art.
Area of Interaction: Environments
Guiding Question: What is the interdependent relationship between us and our environment?

Week 4 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Funny Ads
*Students will search the internet for their favorite snack food, sports team, logo, etc. They will then try to match the font with a font on the computer and alter the name of the product.
Area of Interaction: Humain Ingenuity
Guiding Question: To what extent can you create change?

Weeks 5/6 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Advertising Photography
*Students will research the background of a given company (i.e. Johnson & Johnson, Coca Cola, etc.). They will then create a new print advertisement for their chosen company, and present their campaign to 'representatives' of the company.
Area of Interaction: Community and Service
Guiding Question: To what extent does design affect the product?

Week 7 - Current Event Essay
*Students will research a technology-related current event, after a class discussion, and write an essay about the issue.
Area of Interaction: Approaches to Learning
Guiding Question: What are the effects of the changes in technology around the world?

Weeks 8/9 - Digital Storytelling: Foregin Film
*Students will be grouped together and work to create a foreign film using Movie Maker or Photo Story 3.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: In what ways does technology impact communication and entertainment?

6th grade IB Technology

Week 1 - Intro the IB Technology (Year 1)/All About We slideshow
*Students will pair up and interview each other based on a list of given topics. Students will then create a Power Point slideshow about their 'new' friend and present it to the class. Students will assess themselves and each other on slideshow design/creation and presentation skills.
Area of Interaction: Health and Social Education
Guiding Question: How are we connected, yet still different?

Weeks 2/3 - Intro to Movie Maker: Picture Video
*Students will learn the skills and techniques of making a picture video using Movie Maker. Each student will choose a song or poem, then research images to go along with the lyrics, and use Movie Maker to add text, effects, and transitions while timing the images to the song/poem effectively.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: In what ways can technology bring music to life?

Weeks 4/5 - Movie Maker: Bringing Books to Life
*Students will choose a book they read from the Summer Reading List or a book currently being read in their Language Arts class. They will then choose their favorite part and write a script for that part. After casting the characters, planning, and setting the scene, they will videotape their 'movie' scene. Using Movie Maker, they will edit the video and add a title (created in Paint or Photoshop) and credits.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: In what ways can technology bring literature to life?

Week 6 - Intro to Photoshop/Digital Photography: Digital Picture Art
*Students will take a few digital photography of something in nature (i.e. a tree, flower, animal, etc.) and use the filters in Photoshop to turn that photography into works of art.
Area of Interaction: Environments
Guiding Question: How can our perception of our environment transform into a work of art?

Week 7 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Painted Faces
*Students will take a digital photograph of themselves. They will import this photo into Photoshop, add a background that describes them (i.e. if there favorite place is the beach, they will import a beach background) and then choose an image to 'paint' over their faces (i.e. if they came from another country, they can paint that country's flag across their face).
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: To what extent do our eyes decieve us?

Week 8 - Video and Reflection
*Students will watch a technology-related video and then write a reflection on it.
Area of Interaction: Approaches in Learning
Guiding Question: What are the effects of the changes in technology over the years?

Week 9 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Nine of Me
*Students will take a head/shoudler picture of themselves. They will then use the filters, cropping, and layers features in Photoshop to create nine versions of the photo with a different look to each.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How can images become altered?

Week 9 - Photoshop/Digital Photography: Visual Dictionary
*Students will choose two words (from a list given by the teacher) to illustrate each using Photoshop.
Area of Interaction: Human Ingenuity
Guiding Question: How does technology impact communication and learning?