Mr A's Blog

May 9, one new addition

2008-05-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Skills 2 students

I added a slide show of images to the left. This is the new addition to the blog. The images are kind of fun! Can you tell the which images are real and which ones are fake/edited???

Mr. A

Blog Additions

2008-05-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hi to all my Skills 2 students

I added 2 items to my personal blog. I added an image to the header so the text goes over the graphic. I also added a picture (Glacier Park Montana) I like from my 2002 bike ride.

I'm not happy with the way the header turned out so I will be continuing to work on it. Eventually I will find (or make) an image for my header that will represent me.

Mr. A

My Real Hero PPT

2008-04-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Rod Carew PowerPoint presentation (created by Mr. Rodin and edited by yours truly) can be viewed by anyone in this post. This example is not a perfect example of a finished product. The errors are left intentionally for class discussion and improvement.

This is the first time it has been uploaded to Google docs so be patient as we work out "the bugs". It is designed to "run" on its own, but online it won't advance to the next slide automatically so you will have to do so manually. Be sure to check the requirements for this project on my webpage.

Mr. A

Readability and Comprehension

2008-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

I added a link to "My Links" to an excellent example of how to make text more readable on the web. In the "Readability Example" link you will find a section of text from an online class at Oregon State University for an Earth Science class. The Google document has 2 images; 1 showing the original text and the 2nd the revised version.

The process of making paragraphs of text easy to digest online is not easy and there is never a "right answer". And, it can always be improved. It is always a work in progress.

Thank you to Barry Jahn and Dale Adkins for their part in this project.

Hex Code Color Chart

2008-03-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon a website that has a great way to help find hex colors for your website. I have trouble finding a color like "gold" in the typical hex code color chart. I have trouble telling the difference between "yellow" and "gold" with the tiny color squares offered in most sites.

The site in this link allows you to search for a color by name (ctrl-f using the browser's find feature worked nicely) and then get the corresponding hex code. I found it very helpful.

Superheroes

2008-03-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

As a class activity students in my Computer Skills 2 classes were asked to create their own Superhero and have on going episodes in a Google document. In addition, they were required to post this document into their blog and also link from the blog directly to this document. Students certainly have creative minds and it has been fun watching them create their own characters and come up with story lines. Students are early in the process having only introduced their hero and added "Episode #1". It will be fun to see these stories develop.

To model the concepts I am teaching students, I have asked several teachers to participate as well. Currently, we have 3 teachers co-editing a Google document, adding their own Superhero story lines. We are very early in this process but my hope is this will be fun way for kids to watch teachers model the learning process. Stay tuned.

Below you will find links to the student's work and the the teacher's work as well.

Period 1 Blogs
Period 3 Blogs
Period 7 Blogs
Teachers' Superheroes

Enjoy!

Google documents - explained

2008-03-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2008-03-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog. I created it because I thought I needed one central place to post information about school related news. I hope this blog proves to be a resource to Sprague High School's staff, students, administrators and the community as well.

Mr. A