Clarifications April 6

How can I help?

Your assignment is to come up with ideas how you can help. You'll get full credit for thinking up unique and useful ideas.

Whether you choose to follow up on these ideas is up to you. If you choose to create some kind of poster, web site, app, or other communication tool, there is no deadline on making that happen. If your implementation is good, I will give you extra credit. Also, I will send your products to the school so they can post them on our district's social media, with credit to you. From there, your home school may re-post on their social media.

Assignment 5: Log in to Infinite Campus

Several of you have not logged in to IC for three weeks or more. If you don't log in, you won't know what assignments you might have forgotten or what comments I had on your work.

Therefore, I am going to check how often you log into IC. If you don't log in to IC for a whole week, your Career Readiness grade will go down. Your assignment is to log into IC at least once per week. (More is better, but you don't need to log in every day.)

April 6–10

Prerequisites to this week

Before you can even start working on this week's homework, you need to do several things.

1. You need to log in to your metroed.net email address. I posted instructions how to do this on March 25. That was two weeks ago. Several of you have not done this yet. 
2. You need to download Adobe Illustrator. Using your metroed.net email address, you should get the special deal where you can use Adobe Illustrator for free for the rest of the school year.
3. You need to create a list of app icon sizes in Google Docs and HTML. This was due a long time ago.

Assignment 1: App Icon Export

You will learn to export an app icon in several different sizes for use in your app. I give you a sample icon you can use for this assignment. You could work on an icon you think might be appropriate for your final app, but at this point, we don't really know what your final app will be. If you have Xcode, you could also insert your app icon into an app project.

There are short videos that show you how to do all this. This assignment should take you only 20 minutes or less to finish.

Assignment 2: Resume in HTML

You will put your resume into an HTML page so you can insert it into your portfolio. (Bonus question: why can't you just insert your Google Doc resume into your portfolio?) There are videos that show you how to do this. This assignment may take from one to two hours depending on how complicated your resume is and how much detail you wish to have in the styles.

Assignment 3: Participate in Google Hangouts

We will hold class virtually. Each class will meet two times for 90 minutes.

PM Class	Monday	12:30–2:00 pm
AM Class	Tuesday	8:00–9:30 am
PM Class	Wednesday	12:30–2:00 pm
AM Class	Thursday	8:00–9:30 am

Your participation in the Google Hangout is just like your participation in our normal classroom. It is required, and we will take attendance. Your absence will impact your grade negatively and will be reported to your counselor and home school.

I sent a hangouts invitation to your preferred email. If you did not receive the invitation, let me know.

Assignment 4: Participate in Canvas

We are going to be using Canvas as a chat room. You may have received an invitation to Canvas and you may have had a problem logging in. So here are the most recent instructions, which seem to work for several classes. (Thank you to Chris for being the test subject in our class.)

1. Visit this link: http://svcte.instructure.com/
2. You do not need to sign up.
3. You need to log in using your metroed.net email address, not any other email address.
4. That's all!

After logging in to Canvas, you really should see only a few things. You may see some announcements. And you should see some discussion forums. Your assignment is to log in to Canvas every day (except Hangout days) and contribute something to the discussion. Let us know how you are doing. Let us know what you are working on. Let us know if you are having a problem. Help someone else solve their problem.

AM Class	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
PM Class	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday

Your participation in Canvas is just like your participation in our normal classroom. It is required, and we will take attendance. Your absence will impact your grade negatively and will be reported to your counselor and home school.

Make sure to let me know if you have any problems logging on or if you can't find the discussion forums.

How can we help?

At least one person in the PM class sent me a full-blown HTML web page with helpful hints and links. At least one person in the AM class sent me a poster/meme to benefit homeless people. I definitely want to see how you can take the skills you learned in this class and use them to help others at this difficult time.

Spring Break

Our spring break will be next week, April 13–17. For this reason, all your work this week is due at 11:59 pm on Friday, April 10.

Your Resume as an HTML Page

You will move your resume from Google Docs into an HTML web page so you can add it to your portfolio.

Prerequisite: you must have a resume in Google Docs or other document processing program.

Materials required:

1. Brackets text editor
2. Web browser (Firefox, Chrome, or Safari; Internet Explorer not recommended.)

The process:

1. Copy your resume from Google Docs or other program.
2. Paste into Brackets.
3. Edit HTML and styles until it looks good.

Videos:

1. Resume part 1: Basic styles (22.5 minutes)
2. Resume part 2: Adding background color or image (7.5 minutes)
3. Resume part 3: Adding a second column or sidebar (11 minutes)

This assignment is due on Friday, April 10, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

App Icon Export

Prerequisites

1. You must have a metroed.net email address
2. You must have downloaded Adobe Illustrator
3. You must have completed the list of app icon sizes

Note: two of the above three are previous assignments. You must turn them in to get credit.

Instructions

I created two videos for you to follow. The video cut off in the middle so I had to finish it in a second video. In this project, you will:

1. download an Adobe icon I made previously, 
2. export it in many different sizes, and 
3. if you have a Mac and Xcode, you will create an app project that incorporates your exported icons.

Videos

1. Video 1: 10 minutes
2. Video 2: 3 minutes

This assignment is due on Friday, April 10, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

Hand Washing App

Someone made this hand washing app. Could you make something like this?

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/semmelweis/id1503031837

A raywenderlich reader,@lean4nier, has made this cool (and free!) iOS app teaching people how to properly wash their hands. 

 

This app showed me I definitely wasn't using proper technique. Nice design and illustrations too - check it out!

 

Keep your hands clean and safe from virus and bacteria. This app will guide you to the process of hands cleansing, following the recommended instructions. You'll also learn about the importance of keeping your hands clean. For you, for your loved ones and for your community.

• With the about-1-minute walkthrough, your hands will be clean and safe.
• Step by step animations.
• Instructions on screen.
• Listen to the instructions or mute them.
• Choose a song to listen while cleaning your hands or mute it.
• "Add to Siri" built-in button to add a Siri shortcut so you don't even have to touch your device to start the tutorial.
• Setup reminders.
• Access to educational material.
• Dark mode.

Completely free. Spread the word and keep your loved ones safe.

***** 

Very useful for self education or to teach your kids how to properly wash your hands specially at this time of our history!

***** 

This is one of the best apps i have found till now. Appreciated your hard work.

 

Update Thursday April 2

School Year

Yesterday the governor made the announcement that we will not be back in the classroom this year. We will continue to work online until the very end. This course ends on Wednesday, June 3. So far, our administration is not making any changes. We will have our Spring Break the week of April 13–17. I won't assign any work that week. But you could certainly use that time to catch up if you are behind. There is more information at www.metroed.net.

Due Dates

This week's assignments are due at 7:30 am on Monday, April 6. If you turn them in after 7:30 am on Monday, I will count them as late. However, you may have noticed that there is not any penalty for late work. I just need to get you started on another week's work on Monday, so it's hard if I'm also grading a lot of late homework.

Adobe Illustrator

Tech support has supposedly made sure that if you registered for Adobe using a metroed.net email account, your Adobe is good until the end of the school year. Make sure to let me know if you continue to have a problem.

Desktop

I will try to get to you all the work that was on your classroom desktop. If the file is small, I will send a zip file in email. If your file is large, I will provide a download link.

The Future and Priorities

• Email. You need to get a metroed.net email address as soon as possible. Send me an email from your metroed.net email address. This is an assignment. If you have a problem with metroed.net, here are instructions for resetting your password: http://mobileapps1920.svctestudents.org/materials/Password_Recovery.pdf
• Adobe Illustrator. You can use the metroed.net email address to download Adobe Illustrator. Some of you already have Adobe Illustrator using a different paid or other school account. You don't need to switch accounts, but you can keep using your existing account.
• Google Hangouts. We will hold meetings using Google Hangouts. For this activity. you'll need either a metroed.net email address or a gmail.com email address. (metroed.net is actually gmail in disguise.) We will take attendance at these meetings and it will affect your grade.
• AM Class: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00–9:30 am, starting Tuesday April 7
• PM Class: Monday and Wednesday, 12:30–2:00 pm, starting Monday, April 6
• At the hangout, we will discuss any problems you're having, just chat, and maybe do a quick project together.
• Canvas. We will be using Canvas as an asynchronous chat platform. That means you can post what and when you want, and someone can answer your question later when they are logged in. Canvas will serve three purposes:
• It will let you ask questions of me and others.
• It will let you answer questions that others asked. This is important for you to learn.
• It will provide a way where you can check in every day and I can make sure you are keeping up with the class. (Sort of a way of taking attendance every day.)

Upcoming Assignments

• You will draw icons using Adobe Illustrator, so make sure you get the metroed.net email address first, then download Adobe Illustrator.
• Make your resume into an HTML web page. I will post a video that shows you how to do this.
• Update your portfolio by inserting your resume. I will send a zip file with your portfolio so you can modify it. 
• Draw sketches of your final app.
• Plan out your final app.
• Finish your final app.

March 31–April 3

Coding Assignments (2)

Please do two more coding projects this week. If you have a Mac, you can finish the Personality Quiz and move on to lessons in Unit 4. If you do not have a Mac but you do have a Windows computer, you can do two more lessons in the JavaScript for Kids book.

Mac Projects

For the Personality Quiz, to get full credit you need to personalize it. This means you have to ask questions other than the ones they gave you in the lesson. I need one additional or different question of each type (there are three types). You can also change the theme of the quiz.

For the Unit 4 projects, you need to turn in both the tutorial project and the lab project at the end of the lesson.

JavaScript Projects

To get full credit on the JavaScript projects, you should think about some of the Programming Challenges. For example, the Hangman project has several challenges on page 121. In this case, you should be able to add all these features to the program. Some challenges might be harder than others, but see what you can do. The ones on page 121 are all easy.

How can you help?

Please do the How can you help essay. Be serious. After you write it up, I will ask you to do what you have suggested.

Get a Mac

At this point, I am going ask you to do your best to beg or borrow a Mac that you can use for the course work. Finishing the final project in this course requires that you have a Mac. Right now about 40% of you have a Mac. You'll need a relatively recent Mac. (I have one from 2014 that works fine.) It needs to have enough room to install Xcode. Windows won't work for this project, and neither will an iPad. See if you can borrow one for the next few weeks. Let me know what you can come up with.

Adobe Illustrator

A few of you have got back to me about problems installing Adobe Illustrator. We are trying to work out those problems. If you have not tried installing it yet, please wait one more day before trying.

We only have one or two small assignments that will use Adobe Illustrator, but I need to know that you were or were not able to get access. If you didn't get back to me, I don't know whether

• you did not try installing it, or 
• you did not make a metroed.net email address, or 
• you had problems.

For that reason, I am going to make these assignments. Your first assignment is to just send me an email from your new metroed.net email address. (The instructions are elsewhere on the blog.)

Next Week

Next week, two new things will be happening. We will start using Canvas, and we will start using Google Hangouts.

Canvas

I will send you instructions how to get on to Canvas. If you haven't used it before, Canvas is similar to Google Classroom but has more features. On Canvas, I will create discussion groups so you can all help each other with your projects.

Google Hangouts

We will start having face-to-face sessions every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:00 am. We will take attendance. I will send you a link where you can register. I may do a voluntary test run on Friday of this week.