Where we are...

Here is a quick update as to where all classes are in the Computer lab...

2nd grade

• finishing their work on their History documents
• writing
• editing & revising
• formatting
• searching for relevant & appropriate pictures
• downloading & inserting pictures into their documents

3rd grade

• beginning Google Presentations
• taking History document and converting essay content to bullet format
• adding slides
• discussing the difference between conveying information on slides versus an essay

4th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

5th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

As always, feel free to contact me at any time with any and all questions.

Thank you!

Mr. Casal

Grade 4 - Panorama

4th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will do the following assignment, answering the questions as comments.

Once you have successfully posted a comment you can finish work on your "Me2013" Google Presentation.

Have you ever wanted to look at something from above? Have you ever wanted to look at a monument of city from every angle?



A panorama is a wide-angle look at something. 360 degrees is a full circle...

There is a website that has taken 360 degree panoramic images of famous places and made them available for free on the internet. The company uses helicopters and a variety of cameras to make these 360 degree panoramic photos.

These photos are wide angle looks at various places, wide-angle views from every angle in all directions.

Your assignment:

• Go to the site http://www.airpano.com/
• Chose one or more of the 360 panoramas (you can select from their home page, from the World Map link, or from their full list)
• If you have any trouble loading a panorama click on the "iPad/Android" link to get a version that will load more quickly
• When you open the panorama, explore it, more the image around, look up & down, left & right. Use all the tools such as the ones I've circled in the picture below:

Post a comment with:

• The name/location of the panorama you looked at
• The things you observed
• What  the images made you think of
• Your thoughts & ideas about the website & pictures in general

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Grade 5 - Yosemite

5th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch the video below and answer the questions. When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

The United States has many National Parks. Yosemite is one of them.

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

The video:

Yosemite HD II from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Some informations about the video:

A 200+ mile backpacking experience through Yosemite National Park captured by Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill. This project was filmed over the course of 10 months. We spent a combined 45 days in the park capturing the images in this video.

If you want to read more about the makers of the video, click here

Your questions:

• Have you ever been to a National Park?
• Have you ever been to Yosemite?
• When you watched the video, what stood out to you the most?
• What did the video make you think about?
• After watching the video, would you want to go to Yosemite?
• What are your overall impressions of Yosemite after watching the video?

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL). Please respond in full and complete sentences. Double check your work before posting your comment.

When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Grade 3 - New York Day

3rd graders.
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will be watching a short video and answering a few questions related to it as comments. You must answer all of the questions.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

As students are probably aware I am a big fan of time lapse videos. I think they are great ways to see the world and experience things in a very different & exciting way.

I have discovered another New York City time lapse video...

New York Day from motionkicker on Vimeo.

I found this video on Mashable.com, a great resource for all things tech. Here is what they said about it:

Timelapses have been a particularly popular trend as of late, and New York City has always been a hot spot because of its' edgy beauty — but Samuel Orr is taking the entire concept to a new level with "New York Day."

The photographer hopes to create a series of timelapse videos that chronicle life and people in a sprawling city. Each video is a small story — people coming to life in the morning on their commute, going about their day, eating and then homeward bound in the evening — all compiled to show what an average day in New York is like. Orr says that including the sounds of the city makes the series "more of an immediate experience."

"It can be tricky shooting timelapse in a place like NYC," Orr tells Mashable. "People are challenging, but in general they're kind, interested, and helpful. Or at least don't bother you - except for the guy who was concerned I was taking too many pictures of the Empire State Building."

Orr's path to timelapse photography was unexpected. He began as an ecologist, which led him to develop nature documentaries. During that time, he realized timelapse would be the perfect way to demonstrate how natural landscapes and plants change over time.

Read the passage above and watch the video.

Post a comment with your response to the passage & video

• What did you think about it?
• What stood out to you?
• Are videos like this interesting?
• Do you enjoy seeing these type of videos?

Remember to post your comment in full and complete sentences with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Post as "Name/URL" using your first name and last initial

Enjoy!




Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Grade 2 - History of Typography

2nd graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch this video and then answer the questions below. After you have posted your comment you can open up Word and continue on your History document.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.





When we are typing we are entering our text using a particular font, or style of writing. But fonts aren't just fonts, they are "typography" or the art or technique of arranging type in order to make language visible.

Before computers there were typewriters and before that, handwriting. In order to make writing universally legible there needed to be typography.

Watch the video below and answer the questions as comments...

The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest from Dezeen on Vimeo.



The questions...

• What did you learn about typography?
• Do you remember any of the typography style names? Which was your favorite?
• What did you think about the style of video?
• Did you like the way the video looked and was animate?
• If you saw this video last year, have any of your thoughts or opinions on typography changed? Did something new stand out to you?

Answer these questions in full and complete sentences as a comment below...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL). Please respond in full and complete sentences. Double check your work before posting your comment.

When you are finished you can open Word and continue working on your History document. Remember:

• 5 sentences
• edit & revise
• Format
• title
• centered
• underlined
• different font
• different size
• essay
• different font (one font for whole essay)
• different size (one size for whole essay)
• 5 pictures related to your writing

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL). Please respond in full and complete sentences. Double check your work before posting your comment.