Technology+Applications+I

__chorton@chinquapin.org__ (214) 908-9200   Residence M

About me: My name is Chris Horton, and I am from all over. I was raised in Ennis, Texas but I then went to college for 2 years in Corsicana, Texas. Then I decided to finish my education in Northern California at Cal State Chico (Go Wildcats!). I’m also married to Kacie Horton AKA nice blonde lady who also works here!

Things I like: My son Lyndon, My animals ( I have a dog “Cooper’ and a cat “Calvin”) The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco Giants! Music. (I’m listening to a lot of Appleby right now)

Why am I here? I decided to come and work at Chinquapin because I am a huge dork that loves to ask questions and learn. I was so interested in asking questions that I thought “why can’t I help other people become giants dorks, that love to ask and investigate things with me?” Therefore welcome to my class, I’m so happy to finally meet you!

We will have 3 major goals for Tech Apps this year.

Become proficient in the use of Google apps for education. Create original works of performance art in imovie iphoto, and garageband. The remainder of the semester will be focused on an application called Alice. Alice is an object oriented 3D programming application. You will build different worlds and learn the basics of programming.

Major Expectations:

We will always practice elements of good conversation. We will respect the tools and resources that we have been provided for our learning. We agree that struggling and questioning is part of working hard and learning. In our classroom we will respect our sacred place.

Monday through Thursday from 9 am through 8 pm   Times you may call me: Monday through Thursday 7 am - 9 pm Friday through Sunday 10 am -5 pm   Times you may email or text me: Anytime! But if it is after 9 pm you must include a funny joke or picture or I will not respond! ||
 * Times you may come to my house:

Our “Social Contract Our classroom is an example of a “Social Contract”. This means that we agree to a couple of basic rules that the class follows in order to build a safe and open space for us to learn and grow in. When we accept to “govern” or “police” ourselves we empower ourselves to care for each other as a team. The following Expectations, Rules, Consequences, and Rewards are our Social Contract.

Rules Only choose to use language that builds our knowledge and community up, never down. One voice, using body language speak one at a time and respect the speaker. Treat this classroom as your space, keep it clean and in a way that reflects our mission. Respect our teammates personal belongings and by honoring our personal space.

Tardies: If you enter the class late collect your laptop, Raise your hand using the Question signal. Absences: If you miss class you must email or text me the day of or morning after, let me know the date that you missed and request the homework and a make up packet.

Grading Daily Exercises: (15%) Daily exercises will be during class time. They will be guided practice of the concepts I teach in class. The daily exercises are critical for you to be able to understand how to use the applications on your own. Attention to the demonstrations and active participation during the daily exercises will lead to your success in this class.

Projects: (40%) There will be several projects designed to implement the different applications we use in class. You will be given class time to work on them. The projects will help you learn how to apply your new technological skills. The projects will make or break your grade in this class. Do not waste the time you are given in class, you WILL NOT be allowed to work on the projects outside of class. Work hard on the projects and you will make a good grade.

Quizzes/In-class Projects: (15%) A quiz will be given about once every two weeks. Quizzes will be mini-projects for you to complete in one class period. Quizzes will be designed to test your newly developed computer skills.

Computer Monitors: (10%) You will sign up twice a week for computer monitor duty.

Final: (20%) The final exam will cover all of the applications in iLife, as well as Alice.

__Laptops:__ In this class we have the privilege of using the apple laptops. You need to treat this laptop very carefully, and make sure you do not break it. I will assign you a laptop at the beginning of the semester, which you will use every day. At the beginning of each class you need to get your assigned laptop from the closet, log in, and be ready to begin when the bell rings. Five minutes before the dismissal bell rings, you need to shut down your computer, and replace it to the appropriate slot in the laptop cart. If the laptop is not returned, or the cord is not plugged in correctly, your daily exercise grade will be docked.

Curriculum Outline:

Mac OS Tips and Tricks.

Hardware and concepts:


 * 1) CPU, RAM, Hard Drive, easily removable media, input devices.
 * 2) Take apart a laptop.
 * 3) Smart Phones.
 * 4) Take apart a smartphone.
 * 5) What are the input devices?
 * 6) What are the output devices?
 * 7) Pixels and bytes.
 * 8) Digital Cameras and videos.
 * 9) Analog to digital: audio and visual.
 * 10) Digital to analog

Operating Systems: Windows, Mac, Linux

Alice:


 * 1) Set up the worlds, and use the alice interface
 * 2) Methods.
 * 3) Capture Pose and animation techniques.
 * 4) Animation
 * 5) Storyboard.
 * 6) Variables and Parameters.
 * 7) Decision Structures.
 * 8) Loops.
 * 9) Events

Searching: your computer, and the web.

Specific Applications:
 * 1) iTunes, iPhoto
 * 2) GarageBand, Audacity
 * 3) Gimp
 * 4) Scribus, Google Drawing, and PowerPoint
 * 5) Inkscape and Blender
 * 6) iMovie, WeVideo, YouTube Editor, Quicktime Screen Capture.

Online Resources for going further into Computer Science:
 * 1) Code Academy
 * 2) Coursera
 * 3) Udacity
 * 4) edX
 * 5) Khan Academy