Spreadsheets Notes

I have begun posting powepoint presentations for spreadsheets. I am following along with my vocabulary to do this.

I make no promises regarding how much or how often I will post, but it has begun. Enjoy!

QR-Code Generator

Web Site: QR-Code Generator.

A QR-Code is an image somewhat like a bar code that can encode a link to a web site, phone number, or even a short text message. They look like this:

Image Source: http://www.stevelaube.com/the-wave-of-digital-creativity-in-books/

According to the site above,

What makes these unusual is that with the right app on a phone you can take a picture of the image and it will then take your phone immediately to the web site embedded in the barcode. The QR technology is very big in Japan.

Given the concept of convergence with regards to cell phones wherein more and more features are added until that single device “does it all”, this apparently is the next thing to be added. A cool concept nonetheless.

Proper Formatting for Contact Information

Are you having trouble with your students incorrectly formatting addresses and phone numbers? I seem to recall learning the proper format for addresses in 2nd grade. Today’s students seem to have missed that lesson and it’s required knowledge for producing publications in objective 3.02 of Computer Applications I. So, I put together a PowerPoint presentation to share information about proper formatting with my students.

Note that the official USPS information on the web shows address information on letters and envelopes in all caps and without punctuation. This presentation teaches students the more common mixed-case format with limited punctuation which is more suitable for publications like business cards. Examples from the PowerPoint presentation:

Dr. Tom Jones, Sr.
213 Maple St
Berry, NC 28772

Tom Jones
MacroFab Corporation
2282 Main St Ste 16
Durham, NC 28772-9900

How to Print a Full Page of the Same Label in Microsoft Word 2003

Open Microsoft Word 2003 and do the following:

1. Select [Tools] > [Letters and Mailings] > [Envelopes and Labels...]
2. Select the [Labels] Tab
3. Type your label in the space provided.
4. Choose “Full page of the same label” in the options below.
5. Click the default label in the options area below (it’s clickable though it doesn’t look it) and select your label type.
6. Click [New Document] to preview your labels, save, and print.

CustomGuide – Free Computer Training Quick Reference Cheat Sheets

Download free quick reference cheat sheets from http://www.customguide.com/quick_references.htm.

I’ve used these with my students and they’re just plain handy. Many computer users would benefit from having a laminated copy of one or more of these at their computers.

As you can see from the image above, each reference is packed with information in a highly-organized and compressed format. It may not answer all your questions about how to use a particular piece of software but it will answer most of them.

New Online Safety Videos

I’ve updated my old Viruses, Spam, and Spyware presentation notes and reorganized them into the new Computer Hazards. I’ve also (finally) organized the online safety material into Online Safety and Personal Conduct. (Whew!) They are both available online in my box.net account.

The latter took a lot of time and thought to bring together all the different elements that had to be included. Everything in the state curriculum is included with additional sections covering:

• Identity Theft
• Additional Spoofing Attacks
• Sexting
• Netiquette

I also managed to squeeze in 14 videos, 3 articles, 1 podcast, 1 quiz, and an editorial cartoon for explanatory power. I virtually guarantee that no one will fall asleep in your classroom the day you show this.

Enjoy with my compliments!

The Anatomy of a URL

At long last I am finally adding to my box.net account. I have just completed another powerpoint presentation for objective 1.02 – The Anatomy of a URL. Enjoy!

BTW, it really is supposed to be “a URL” and not “an URL”. Use ‘an’ when the next word has a vowel sound. Just because URL starts with a vowel does not mean a vowel sound is used in its pronuncuiation nor does it require the use of  ’an’ before it. In this case the pronunciation of URL by spelling its three component letters out loud means it does not. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/591/01/ for a brief explanation and read the note at the bottom of the page for more information.

Final Exam Questions Weights

The North Carolina Computer Applications I curriculum released in the summer of 2008 contains a provision for a separate mid-term exam from the final exam. Extrapolating the course weights for the latter half of the objectives results in the following table.

Objective Number	Objective Title	Course Weight	Number of Questions
4.01	Spreadsheets	20%	34
4.02	Charts and Graphs	5%	9
5.01	Database Tables	20%	34
5.02	Database Queries, Forms, and Reports	5%	9
6.01	Presentations	3%	5
6.02	Presentation Procedures	5%	9
		58%	100

In summary, the final exam can be expected to be 1/3 about Spreadsheets and 1/3 about Databases with the remainder split among the other four objectives.

Presentation Procedures Mnemonic

The North Carolina Computer Applications I curriculum released in the summer of 2008 contains a somewhat arbitrary procedure for creating a professional presentation using presentation software such as Microsoft’s Powerpoint. The official list follows:

• Determine the Purpose
• Identify the Target Audience
• Storyboard the Content
• Plan the Design
• Edit the Master Slide
• Enter the Content
• Add and Format Graphics
• Add and Format Audio and Video
• Add Transitions*
• Add Animation

(* Note that Transitions were somehow overlooked in the official list. I include them before Animations because it seems the most logical place.)

The above list can be greatly simplified by picking out the nouns and removing everything else. Applying that process results in the following list:

• Purpose
• Target Audience
• Storyboard
• Design
• Slide Master (or Master Slide)
• Content
• Graphics
• Audio / Video
• Transitions
• Animations

This in turn further results in the following string of letters:

• P
• T/A
• S
• D
• S/M
• C
• G
• A/V
• T
• A

I held a small contest with my students to come up with a mnemonic to remember it. One of those entries rose to the top and is just too good not to pass on. Here is her mnemonic for remembering the order of presentation procedures:

• Powerpoints
• That
• Suck
• Don’t
• Make
• Cool
• Grades
• And
• Trash
• Averages

40% Complete

I just uploaded a new Pie Chart activity which changed my completion status to just over 40% complete.

Hooray! (I’ve been muddling around in the 30s for a while now.)