Life as an Undergrad, Wk 5

One of the things that I hate the most about being a student is the lack of good health insurance. I'm too old to be on my mom's plan, but I don't have a good job yet that offers benefits without working like a million hours. It would have especially come in handy this week, when I simultaneously came down with the flu and an eye infection. Yuck. I hope I'll be able to make it to class this week. If not, you'll all know why!

Week 5, Post 1 Melissa

I hope this is right....
Objectives: 1. Be able to write a basic five-paragraph essay containing an introduction,
support, and conclusion.
2. Be able to visually represent a brainstorm using Inspiration software.
3. Be able to visually represent a floor-plan using Microsoft Word Autoshapes.
4. Be able to use the dimensions of their floor-plan to find area (feet squared.)
5. Be able to correctly use adjectives to create an original menu in Microsoft Word.
6. Be able to use the prices on said menu to calculate mean, median, and mode.
7. Be able to use the equations function on Microsoft Excel to determine percentages.
8. Be able to use Microsoft excel to create a table.
9. Be able to write an original script using Microsoft Word.
10. Be able to perform said skit for the class.
11. Be able to use their experiences to write a reflective five paragraph essay.
Process:
Week 1: I will begin by telling an anecdote about my favorite restaurant. I will use this to relate to the students, and begin a 20 minute question and answer session to inspire creativity. Day two will consist of instruction on the five paragraph essay. The rest of the week we will go over techniques for writing a good introduction, conclusion, transitions, etc. Their weekend homework will be to write a five paragraph essay about their favorite restaurant.
Week 2: Students will be broken into groups of 4-5. They will get instructions on day one. For day two, they will be given instruction on Inspiration software. Day three will consist of Inspiration play. Day four will consist of brainstorming without computers within groups. Day five will consist of groups getting together to commit their brainstorms to Inspiration. Week 3: Day one will consist of instruction in Microsoft Word Autoshapes, and they will be allowed time to experiment and play. Day two, they will design a floor-plan with their groups. Day three will be instruction on area. Day four will be practice with area. Day five, the students will calculate the area of their floor-plans. Each student will have his or her own copy of the group floor-plan and calculate the area individually.
Week 4: Students will break off into their groups. Each group will assign a recorder, a discussion leader, a word wizard, and a researcher. Together, they will come up with a menu for their restaurant with at least four items per student. They will write down entrees, appetizers, desserts, etc. on their own paper. Day two, students will be introduced to Microsoft Word Processor. They will learn about columns, backgrounds, word-art, fonts, etc. Day three, students will get together to work on their menus in class. The rest of the week will be dedicated to finishing the menu.
Week 5: Students will be introduced to mean on day one. They will receive homework on mean to be turned in on day two. On day two, they will learn median. Day three will be mode. On day three, they will get an overview worksheet as homework. On day four, students will be given an in-class quiz. On day five, students will break up into groups to calculate the mean, median, and mode of their menu.
Week 6: Students will spend the first two days of the week learning about Microsoft Excel. They will spend days three and four learning about tips and very basic percentage functions. They will use the equations function to determine the average tip based upon the mean, median and mode of their menu. This will be handed in on day five.
Week 7: I will give instruction on effective advertisement on day one. On day two, the kids will be broken up into their groups to create a commercial about their restaurant. They will get the rest of the week to complete it.
Week 8: The kids will use the first half of the week for presentations. They will get the second half of the week to write a reflective essay on their experiences. On day five of the week the kids will organize their restaurant portfolios and turn in their projects to me.
Evaluation: The students will be evaluated on the math portions based on correct answers. On the essays, I will grade at home and offer a chance for rewrites with constructive criticism. The menu and commercial will be evaluated for creativity, originality, spelling, and use of adjectives.

Week 5 Post 2, Melissa

Last week, I purchased my first car. As I drove home in my “new car glow”, I smiled as I sang along to my newly activated XM satellite radio and watched my shiny new toy zip down US41 on my spiffy new navigation system. I rushed home and offered to take everyone out for coffee in a not so discreet effort to show off my new baby. It was in the Starbuck’s lobby that I realized the extent to which technology has affected our lives.
For my post 2 this week, I decided to go way back to the beginning. The above excerpt is from A1, our technology autobiographies. I picked this particular assignment because I wanted to kind of contrast with the work that I have already done. You can look at this assignment, and then check out a few of my other post 2's and see just how far I've come. It's a pretty interesting read, so if you want to read further, click here!

Life as an Undergrad, week 4

I know that this is out of order (again) but I felt that this post was necessary. I just found out that a friend from high school passed away on the 9th of this month. His name was Matt Trude, and he was one of the nicest, most caring kids in my graduating class. He was fun to be around and could always make you smile. We hadn't kept in touch much since we graduated in 2003, but I remember him well and am heartbroken at the loss of such a vibrant young life. He had just turned 21 on February 21st. I just wanted to let everyone know in case any of my classmates by chance knew him. If not, I would just like to say please be careful. You are not invincible, and taking risks and chances does not pay off. Think about the people you love before you do anything you might regret. Matt was not here long but he will be greatly missed. I can only imagine the pain that his mother and father are feeling right now, and my heart goes out to them. This posting goes out to Matt and to anyone who has ever lost someone close to them. In loving memory, Matthew Aaron Trude, 2/21/85-3/9/06.

Melissa's Classroom Activity, Week 4

I know everyone is excited to read my classroom activity. It seems to just keep getting longer and longer...to make things easier on those who are reading this, I have highlighted all changes in red. If you like them, let me know! If I need work, feel free to throw small stones and hiss.
Title: Let's Eat!
Objectives:
The learner will:
1. Be able to write a basic five-paragraph essay containing an introduction, support, and conclusion.
2. Be able to visually represent a "brainstorm" of ideas using Inspiration software.
3. Be able to visually represent a basic floor-plan using MicrosoftWord drawing.
4. Be able to find area (feet squared) using their floor-plan .
5. Be able to create a menu on Microsoft Word using adjectives.
6. Be able to use the prices on their menu to determine mean, median, and mode.
7. Be able to use Microsoft Excel to determine percentages.
8. Be able to create a commercial script and perform it for the class.
9. Be able to use their experiences to create a basic reflective essay
Prerequisite Knowledge: The learner must have prior knowledge about: Basic typing skills, and basic knowledge about a restaurant (how a menu looks, basic layout.)
Materials Needed: Students will need: Computers (at least one per group), pen and paper, props for their commercial.
Software required: Microsoft Word (processor), Inspiration Software, Microsoft Word (Drawing tools), and Microsoft Excel.
Set Up: The grade level targeted is 6th. This activity will span roughly six to eight weeks, depending largely upon the number of students in the class and their knowledge base. This activity will take place in the classroom/computer lab.
Process: The kids will start by writing a basic five-paragraph essay about their favorite restaurant. They will detail why they like it, who they go there with, and their favorite food. I will then grade the essay and submit it back to the student for revision. Next, they will break off into teams where they will create an inspiration map about the design of their restaurant, with the off-shoots containing design ideas, color schemes, entertainment, etc. Then, they will design a floorplan using Microsoft Word Autoshapes. They will assign dimensions and calculate the area of their restaurant. Next, they will work to design a menu for their guests. They will include prices as well as detailed descriptions of each dish using adjectives. Then, they will calculate the mean, median, and mode price of their menu to get an idea of the basic cost for their patrons. Finally, in their teams, the kids will write a commercial script and assign jobs (director, actors, producer, etc.) and perform their commercial for the class. The commercial must be short and entertaining, but also detail why someone should visit their restaurant. They will be allowed (but not required) to bring in food for the whole class to try (given that an adult has helped to prepare it). Next, I would like to include a brief lesson on percentages and tipping etiquette. The kids will use Microsoft Excel to create a class table of menu averages. They will use the equations in excel to determine the proper tip for each restaurant's average meal. So, the table will include each group's restaurant, the mean, median, and mode prices of the menu, and an 18% tip based on the each. To finish the project off, each student will write a brief reflective essay on their experience as a restauranteur. All of their restaurant materials will be kept in a group folder that will be turned in at the end of the project.
Outcomes: The learners will submit their folders containing-
Individual: five-paragraph essays from day 1
Individual: rewrite of five-paragraph essay
Group: Inspiration map of ideas for decor, color scheme, entertainment, etc.
Group: Floor-plan with dimensions and total area in square feet.
Group: Menu containing food items with prices and descriptions created on Microsoft Word.
Group: Excel spreadsheet containing the mean, median, and mode prices as well as tip information. (I would like this submitted on a disc as to ensure that they used the equation functions in Excel rather than a calculator.)
Group: Script for commercial, as well as everyone's role in the skit.
Individual: Reflective essay on the experience.
Evaluation: By reading the first and second drafts of the students' essays, I feel that I will be able to provide them with constructive criticism as well as check their writing progress. I will use a presentation rubric for the presentations, and hand out guidelines for the menu, floor-plan, spreadsheet, and inspiration map. If the students can effectively follow the instruction set out for them in the guidelines, they will recieve full credit. By allowing for revision of the essay and working with the students as they complete the math portions of their assignments, I can be fairly sure that they will get good feedback and come away with more knowledge about writing, basic math function, and creative design.
Follow-up: The parts of the assignment that will be done for homework will be: the revision of essay 1 and the reflective essay. Throughout the eight weeks that the project will go on, I will also hand out various practice worksheets on area, mean, median, mode, and percentages.
Resources: For this activity, I have taken ideas used by my teachers when I was in school and modified them. I further modified these ideas given the hints from my peers and mentors. I have also consulted with my mom, who is a technology teacher for sixth graders.

Melissa's Post 2, week 3

This post is about family. Everyone has one, and most of the time they are kind of crazy. (At least I hope so, because I know mine is.) I couldn't include an excerpt for this post because it isn't exactly written. The assignment that I picked for this assignment was my family tree. Before you look, I think I should probably let you know, you're in for a treat. My family is big and loud and noisy. My mom is one of four children, and my cousins and I are all incredibly close.
One thing that struck me was how fun it was to do this assignment. As I used the organizational charts on Microsoft Word, I was kind of shocked at how many people are now in my family. With all of my cousins growing up and getting married, it keeps growing. Being able to see the visual representation of this growth was very cool. All I have to say is that I'm glad I didn't have to do my husband's family too, because his mom is one of 22 children and his dad is one of 19. Yeah, and I thought my family was big! Well, if you want to take a look at all of my crazy relatives and see how we are all intertwined, click here.

Post #2, A-7

The only two pieces of technology that he (my grandfather) owned were a car and a radio. The car was a Ford Coupe that ran on gasoline (which was no more than $.25/gallon back then!). He considered electrical appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, and toaster ovens to be technology along with what we think of now, like cameras and cars. One interesting story that he had for me happened when he went to pick up my grandmother for a date. He ran out of gas before he could get there, so he got his grandfather to help him out. The only problem was, his grandfather didn’t know how to work a car and put the gasoline that he used to clean his paintbrushes in the gas tank. Needless to say, the car was ruined.

The above quote is from my A-7, my intergenerational interview paper. I know I talk about my grandfather a lot in these papers, but you'll have to deal with it because he means so much to me! The thing that struck me about this paper was how much I learned about someone who I am already so close to. Talking to him about how things were when he was my age really helped me learn more about why he is who he is. He has given me so much in my life, and as he is getting older, I realize how important his stories are in addition to all of the material things that he has helped me with. If reading this excerpt makes you want to call your Grandpa, click here.

Melissa's Post 3

Ok, I know I'm going a little out of order this week, but I will not have my laptop until tonight to post #2 and I have some things I want to get off my chest. First off, my life as an undergrad this week has been the most hectic ever. Forget last week, last week was nothing! To start, I totally missed class on Monday because my son got an eye infection. Then, on Tuesday, I had some issues with the CCPD. Yep...that's the Collier Police for those who couldn't guess. I won't go into detail, but it involved me getting out of bed at 1 am to go and get someone from the pokey. On top of all of this, I have a public speaking midterm today at 5! I only hope that I don't get caught in traffic on the way up there, because I commute from almost Marco Island and I-75 is a pain. If there are any fellow commuters reading this, I feel your pain. Truckers need to stay in the right hand lane and people who aren't comfortable driving over 60 need to stay off the highway. Well, I know this has seemed like just a rant, (ok, so thus far it has been) but I promise that I'm studying too! Oh, and finally some good news-I got my midterm grade back for my history midterm...150/150!!! YAY!!! Suddenly I remember why I'm doing this!

Post 1: Lesson Activity Revision

Ok, we have some pretty specific new guidelines to go by for this one, so here goes! (By the way, I know it's long and I'm sorry, but we've all got to do it!)
Title: My Restaurant

Objectives: The learner will: 1. Be able to write a basic five-paragraph essay containing an
introduction, support, and conclusion.
2. Be able to visually represent a "brainstorm" of ideas using
inspiration software.
3. Be able to visually represent a basic floorplan using Microsoft
Word drawing.
4. Be able to find area (feet squared) using their floorplan
5. Be able to create a menu on Microsoft Word using adjectives
6. Be able to use the prices on their menu to determine mean,
median, and mode.
7. Be able to create a commercial script and perform it for the
class.
8. Be able to use their experiences to create a basic reflective
essay

Prerequisite Knowledge: The learner must have prior knowledge about: Basic typing skills, basic knowledge of Inspiration software, basic knowledge about a restaurant (how a menu looks, basic layout.)

Materials Needed: Students will need: Computers (at least one per group), Pen and paper, props for their commercial. Software required: Microsoft Word (processor), Inspiration Software, Microsoft Word (Drawing tools).

Set Up: The grade level targeted is 6th. This activity will span roughly five to six weeks, depending on the number of students in the class. This activity will take place in the classroom/computer lab.

Process: The kids will start by writing a basic five-paragraph essay about their favorite restaurant. They will detail why they like it, who they go there with, and their favorite food. I will then grade the essay and submit it back to the student for revision. Next, they will break off into teams where they will create an inspiration map about the design of their restaurant, with the offshoots containing design ideas, color schemes, entertainment, etc. Then, they will design a floorplan using Microsoft Word Autoshapes. They will assign dimensions and calculate the area of their restaurant. Next, they will work to design a menu for their guests. They will include prices as well as detailed descriptions of each dish using adjectives. Then, they will calculate the mean, median, and mode price of their menu to get an idea of the basic cost for their patrons. Finally, in their teams, the kids will write a commercial script and assign jobs (director, actors, producer, etc.) and perform their commercial for the class. The commercial must be entertaining, but also detail why someone should visit their restaurant. They will be allowed (but not required) to bring in food for the whole class to try (given that an adult has helped to prepare it). To finish the project off, each student will write a brief reflective essay on their experience as a restauranteur. All of their restaurant materials will be kept in a group folder that will be turned in at the end of the project.

Outcomes: The learners will submit their folders containing-

• Individual: five-paragraph essays from day 1
• Individual: rewrite of five-paragraph essay
• Group: Inspiration map of ideas for decor, color scheme, entertainment, etc.
• Group: Floorplan with dimensions and total area in square feet.
• Group: Menu containing food items with prices and descriptions created on Microsoft Word.
• Group: Script for commercial, as well as everyone's role in the skit.
• Individual: Reflective essay on the experience.

Evaluation: By reading the first and second drafts of the students' essays, I feel that I will be able to provide them with constructive criticism as well as check their writing progress. I will use a presentation rubric for the presentations, and hand out guidelines for the menu, floorplan, and inspiration map. If the students can effectively follow the instruction set out for them in the guidelines, they will recieve full credit. By allowing for revision of the essay and working with the students as they complete the math portions of their assignments, I can be fairly sure that they will get good feedback and come away with more knowledge about writing, basic math function, and creative design.

Follow-up: The parts of the assignment that will be done for homework will be: the revision of essay 1 and the reflective essay.

Resources: For this activity, I have taken ideas used by my teachers when I was in school and modified them. I further modified these ideas given the hints from my peers and mentors.