More iMovie Magic

Coming to a burrow near you!

If you give a kid an iPad...

...you may end up with something like this.

Be warned! The following preview may cause you to screeeeam like a leeeetle guurl.

Computer Critters

Meet the newest members of the Sol family. These curious little creatures give the term "computer mouse" a whole new meaning! (Actually they are Dumbo rats, but you get the picture.)

Gee, I wonder if they will log in to Class Connnect too?

Meet Buddy...

and Mikey!

 

Do not tell Vamp.

Parting Words

Welp, this is it! Tomorrow is the last day of school. I had so much fun teaching Computer Literacy and Image Design this year. What an amazing group of kids! Thanks for laughing at my jokes in Class Connect, submitting AWESOME projects, sending me thoughtful kmails, and working your tails off this semester.

I have a back-log of student projects that I want to share, so check back over the summer and leave comments for your virtual buddies.

Enjoy your summer, learn as much as you can, and always stay true to yourself.

Your fans,

Mrs. Sol & Vamp

PE + Technology x Creativity = ❤

For an end of the year PE extra credit assignment, I asked students to create a project which tells a little about the course and what they learned. I thought it might be fun to incorporate cool technology sites with a PE and exercise theme. Here is the info sheet and project choices...

[click here for printable version]

Students have until Friday to submit projects, but here are a few I have received so far.

Amazing!

Don't Summer-ize Quite Yet!

We're in the home stretch!

Time to finish up those last few assignments. 

We do not have finals in Computer Literacy or Image Design.

LAST DAY TO TURN IN ASSIGNMENTS:

Image Design - June 7

Comp Lit - June 12

Don't forget to comment on this blog for extra credit points!

Vamp is Blogtastic!

Have you heard the news? Vamp has finally created her very own blog! She is so excited, that she wanted me to share it with you!

Vamp's Blog of Awesomeness

If you are in Computer Literacy, you can use Vamp's blog as an example of Assignment 6S. She has everything listed on the assignment check off sheet. She decided to add a few extras, and you can too if you want. You can see the breakdown below.

 

[click here for a printable copy]


Here is the scoring guide, assignment instructions, and blog privacy info...

[click here for printable copy]

If you would like to see student-created blogs from
first semester, click here. More to come!

Creatively Thinking

In school, many times you are asked to give the one correct answer to a question.  However, in life and on the job, it is important to find many solutions to a single problem. This leads me to believe, that we all need to practice thinking “out of the box” to strengthen our creative or “divergent” thinking skills.

Divergent Thinking: creative, open-ended thinking aimed at generating fresh views and novel solutions (many solutions to a single problem).

Convergent Thinking: thinking that brings together information focused on solving a problem (especially solving problems that have a single correct solution).

Put on your creativity hat and use your divergent thinking skills to answer the question below…

How many unusual and uncommon uses can you come up with for this mouse?

I look forward to your answers!

Masking Images

In Project 7, my Image Design students were asked to blur the background of an image while leaving the one part of the foreground perfectly clear. They used a technique called "masking" to pull this off. A mask is a special kind of layer that lets you hide or reveal previous layers.

Here is a video to help explain how to create this effect in Gimp...

Check out these student-created samples!

 By Yamilex

 

By Maria

 By Nick

 By Angela

Amazing work kids! I love the way you created one clear image within the photograph. Keep it up!

Cute Kids!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Shelby, a student in our Comp Lit course, has exciting news to share. One of her goats 
had kids on Sunday! As in real, live, baby goat kids! 

Please take a moment to admire their cuteness (you can click on the images to enlarge).

The boy, with the brown/black ears, is named Hercules and the girl, with the white ears, is Meg.

Welcome to the world, Hercules and Meg!

Thanks for sharing, Shelby!

Image Design Show & Tell

Here are a few samples of student work in our Image Design and Editing course.

First off, students were asked to draw fruit, adding an apple, a banana and an orange to each layer in GIMP. I was not only impressed by the drawing skills my students possess, but by the detail and creativity!

By Malena

 By Angela

Next, students put everything they've learned so far to good use. They created funny comics by cutting an image from its background and adding it to a new one. Then, they were to add a speech bubble as well. These were certainly fun to grade. Check them out below!

Moon Doggie...

By Domanin

...or perhaps a karate chop moon man!

By Jeremiah

Of course there's always the girl in the desert with a sweater...

By Megan

...and a little Who-mer.

By Ivy

You guys crack me up!

Just imagine the possibilities.

More to come!

Weekly Question Hilarity

Okay, so sometimes I like to send out entertaining Weekly Questions to my homeroom students. I know this is a mandatory activity at our school and questions about goals, progress and learning are key. However, I also feel that creative thinking is also important, and in this case, pretty funny too.

For this week's question, I sent this photo to my students and asked them to come up with a title or caption to go with it.

I have received very clever responses, such as:

"Man, I love the feel of wind in my teeth just after I've brushed!"
 

"Say Cheese!"

"Wind In My Chops!!!!!!" 

"Hey look! A squirrel!"

Funny, right? I may be easily amused, but some responses just make me chuckle.

Well, then I opened this image and pretty much spit out my coffee...

 Thanks Malena! I'm glad those Image Design classes are coming in handy!

I love my job.

GIMP Tutorials

I found two GIMP tutorials that I think my Image Design students will enjoy. The first involves image manipulation, which is used to create a cool 3D photo... starring yourself! The second will come in handy as you make up your comics in Lesson 6.

Photo Manipulation

Adding a Speech Bubble

    I can't wait to see more of your creative GIMP creations this semester!

It's Never Too Early to Plan for College

There are many colleges and universities out there. Now is the time to see what is available and what you might want to pursue.

For those of you who are interested in science, engineering or scaring... Monsters University may be the place for you!

This just shows what a little creativity, a lot of patience, attention to detail, and computer knowledge can do. 
My cousin Dave is a Technical Director at Pixar, and of all his movies, Monsters Inc. is my all time favorite! Now I'm looking forward to the latest Pixar creation... Monsters University.

Check out the Monsters University website by clicking on the crest above. Then, let me know what you think!

Cover Letters: A Review

This about sums it up.

 Just don't send a fish. 

Please don't send a fish.

Now... on to Section 3: Formatting Text!

The Importance of Computer Programming & Coding

Interested? For more info visit code.org & girldevelopit.com.

Name the Class Pet

There's nothing a virtual classroom needs more than a pet.

Feel free to play with him and feed him by clicking on the cage.

Awwww...

What name should we give this little fella?

Cover Letters

A cover letter is a type of business letter that's sent to an employer when you're applying for a job. A cover letter explains to the employer why you want a particular job and what makes you qualified for it.

Cover letters explain your experience and qualifications in detail. The ability to write a good cover letter shows employers that you have strong communication skills.

A cover letter should be less than one page long. It's also important for a cover letter to be single-spaced, clearly written, without errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

Click on the sample cover letter below or view the original at Internship Guides for helpful guidelines. 

___________________________________________________________________

TIPS:

Here are a few cover letter tips from Quintessential Careers:

• Whenever possible, address your cover letter to a named individual
• Grab the reader's attention by writing an appealing first paragraph
• Highlight your three to four key accomplishments/skills/experiences
• Focus on the fit between your qualifications and the job requirements
• Whenever possible, relate yourself to the company
• Never include any negative information
• End your letter by requesting an interview
• Mention that you will follow-up your letter -- and then do so
• Cover letters should be kept to under one page; electronic versions even shorter
• Avoid all types of mistakes, including typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors

___________________________________________________________________

OTHER RESOURCES:

Cover Letter Dos and Don'ts

Sample Resumes and Letters for Students

Read Write Think always comes up with fun, interactive tools, such as...

...and...

Check out this handy dandy Resume Generator!

Now, when the time comes to apply for a job, you will be set! I look forward to your cover letters. If you create a resume, I'd love to see that too!