Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Quotes about learning, learning google docs part 1

Today's assignment is to use Google Docs to prepare a page with multiple paragraphs that includes bold, underline, italicize, and other features.

8/29/2012.  Please compose a document that looks just like this, being careful to get the centering, spacing, underlining, italicizing, all matching.  You should then keep your assignment inside google docs and bring it to class on your computer next week (no need to print it).   If you are missing your computer, we can still pull it up on google docs from another computer.  If you are absent, send me an email prior to class with a sharing link to the document.  10 point lost for each day late.

Quotes about Learning
by Sean Caldwell
your-email@gmail.com


  • Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.  (Henry L. Doherty)
  • “It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.”  (Claude Bernard)
  • The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.  (Abraham Lincoln)
  • You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.  (Clay P. Bedford)
  • Complete projects on time and you’re already halfway there.  (Sean Caldwell)
  • And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.  (Luke 2:52)


Extra credit:  create a page break then a table like this
Mondaytype what you would like to eat for breakfast
Tuesdaytype what you would like to eat for dinner
Wednesdaytype what you would like to eat for lunch
Thursdaytype what you would like to eat for a snack
Fridaytype what you would like to drink at dinner


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Welcome to class!  Type in your information and we're on our way.


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

End of Year Project details

First Christian Academy, Computer & Technology Class
Group Project:  Integration presentation.  May, 2012.

Our final project for the year will integrate the material we’ve learned throughout the year.  You will get into groups of 3-5 people and decide who is doing what portion of the project.  You’ll turn that in today.  Then you’ll have two - three weeks to work on the project in and out of class, and will then present your project by having your files on your computer for me to check, and presenting the project to the class (5 minutes to present).

You are an entrepreneur and are considering opening a business.  You’ll need to search and hire employees, formulate a budget, prepare a business plan, present your idea to potential investors, design an advertisement, and open up the business!  There are four choices below.  Your group will pick one of the four and also turn that in today.

Business choices:

Doggie Day Care.  Your business will take care of people’s pets when they go out of town.
Sports Collectables Shop.  You’ll buy sell and trade sports memorabilia.
Army Surplus Store.  Your store will buy and sell various military supplies and equipment.
Used Clothing Store.  Your business will buy and sell used clothing.

Here are the minimum requirements to receive a passing grade.  Go above and beyond, make it creative, and receive additional credit.  Each group member will do at least one of the following major parts of the project.  If your group is smaller, each person may need to do two.

Search for employees:  Create a one page job description for at least TWO positions inside the company (ideas here).  How many hours will the job require?  What days and times will the person work?  What will they do?  What skills are necessary to do the job?  How much will the job pay?  THEN find out what it costs to place an advertisement in the Tampa Times or on a job website like Monster.com and list that cost in your advertising budget spreadsheet.

Create a budget:  How much income will the store bring in each month?  What will the store cost to operate for a year?  How much is your lease for retail space?  Do you need to buy computers or other electronics?  What will utilities (water, electricity) cost?  Phone / Internet / Cell Phone?  How much will it cost to pay the TWO employees you’ve hired?  Will you have to buy products to sell?  Use a spreadsheet that will total all of these up monthly, and then also show a yearly figure for each row (multiply the monthly by 12 to get the yearly figure).  I will be checking to see if you use FORMULAS for calculations and not a calculator. (this is very important, if you don’t know what that means, please see me quickly).  This is a major part of the project.

Prepare a business plan.  Start here to see a sample of a business plan.  Complete at least three sentences for each of the items; Business Plan Executive Summary [5-10 sentences that describe what you’ll be doing], Market Analysis [who are your competitors?], Company Description, Organization & Management [who is doing what?], Marketing & Sales Management [how will you advertise and get customers?], Service / Product Line [what will you be doing or selling?].  Use google docs or word or similar to create a nice looking business plan.  It should be at least one page, no more than two.  This is also a major part of the project.

Present your idea to potential investors.  Create a presentation [google docs or power point or keynote] that has at least 10 slides.  It should show the concept of what you want to do for a business, and give an idea of how much money the potential investor could make.  Use pictures.  Use graphs if you like.

Design an advertisement.  Use whatever software you like to create an advertisement.  It could be a nice looking presentation slide (google docs or power point) or a video or something else creative.  Make it interesting, creative, and clear to see what you’re selling or the service you provide.

(on the next page, tell me what business you’re opening up, and list who is doing what on the project.)


page 2


The business we are choosing to open is (check the box next to the one you’ll open)


⃝ Doggie Day Care.  Your business will take care of people’s pets when they go out of town.
⃝ Sports Collectables Shop.  You’ll buy sell and trade sports memorabilia.
⃝ Army Surplus Store.  Your store will buy and sell various military supplies and equipment.
⃝ Used Clothing Store.  Your business will buy and sell used clothing.



Now, write in the names of who will be doing what.  If your group has THREE members, then at least two of them will be doing TWO of the items below.  If your group has FOUR members, then one person would be doing two of them items.  If your group has FIVE members, each member does one of the below:


Job Descriptions / Search for emp:     ____________________________________


Create a Budget / Spreadsheet:    ____________________________________


Prepare a Business Plan:        ____________________________________


Present your idea to investors:    ____________________________________


Create an advertisement:        ____________________________________

By signing above, you agree you have read this entire project assignment and understand this is a large project that will require you to work a number of hours in total in the next few weeks.

This project is DUE Wednesday May 23, 2012 at the beginning of class.  You will be graded on progress each week (May 9th and May 16th).  Be prepared to show me your progress at the beginning of class each week.  Print out the paper portions of the project to turn in and also have them on your computer (google docs or similar).

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Welcome to Class

Hi Students!

Welcome to FCA's middle school Computer and Technology class. Please fill in the form below, submit it, and see you next week. Mr. Caldwell.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Middle School computer class info 2011 / 2012

Middle School Computer Class Information (2011/12)



Welcome to Middle School at FCA! This year we will be learning about technology, computing, the internet, collaboration, presentations, word processing, spreadsheets, email, safety, virus avoidance, and much more. Here are some important points for parents and students to begin the year.

Your middle school student will need to bring a laptop each week and have access to a gmail email address.

Laptops
Many have asked about what kind of laptop will work. Any Windows or Apple Mac laptop will work fine (iPads or other tablets, while really neat devices, will not be able to be used in place of a laptop). Need to buy a laptop for your middle school student? Here are a few ideas:

If you want to buy a netbook (light, tiny screen, long life battery), the Samsung NF310 ($390) is a favorite. Larger regular sized laptops (larger screen, faster): The Dell V131 ($450) or Asus A53 ($350) are great choices.


Buy some of the above at www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com, or www.dell.com. I also have a few used Dell Latitude D610 laptops for sale between $180-$200. They run well and have virus protection.



Email address
Each student will need to have access to a gmail email address. We make use of the free google docs applications that are associated with a free gmail account instead of requiring each student to have Microsoft Office available. Parents will need to set up the account for their student, since students’ age prohibits them from having full ownership of the account. The parents birth date should be used when signing up. Please keep a record of your students email address and password; it was common last year for students new to email to forget their email address or password for a few weeks. Sign up for free at www.gmail.com. Please have this completed by August 22nd in anticipation of our first class.

Assignments will be turned in through email at times, other times will need to be printed out. All assignments will appear on the engrade website that is used by all middle school teachers.

Looking forward to a great school year! Please share any thoughts, comments, or questions with me at: sean@firstchristianacademy.com.


Sean Caldwell