Welcome! 2019-2020 School Year

WELCOME!

We are changing back to the Computer Literacy Page! 
We have changed to using Pathbrite, and it has been great! We will use Pathbrite a lot, I will post the link for the page, but not yet, that will come after we know who will be in classes, and what level students are at. 

We will start our new class, Computer Literacy, on Tuesday, September 3, 2019. The class will be held in Wilkerson Hall, I will post a map of the campus with the hall and room number, they will be hung in Deadrick Hall, and I will also send a remind to current students. 

I am excited to be instructing this class again, I know many of you have asked about having this class again. A HUGE thank you to Dr. Perdue. She has made this all possible. She is excited to know that many of you are willing to sacrifice your time to learn such a useful skill as the Microsoft Office Suite. 

We will start off slowly, reviewing for those that have been in class before, learning the basics for those that have not. If you have never used a computer, or have only used your phone, this class is especially for you. 

We will work on learning how to use the keyboard correctly, how to type more accurately, faster, and have confidence in your ability to use the computer to communicate. By this, I mean that you will be able to use Microsoft Word 2016 to create documents, cards, invitations, flyers, resumes, and much more. The learning curve is there, but once you have used it, Word is amazing!

Another very useful part of the Microsoft Office Suite is PowerPoint 2016. This is an amazing software to create presentations. Maybe you have seen a presentations at a party, wedding, birthday, or funeral, where photos are scrolling through and maybe there is music or descriptions of the photos or a story on a screen. This is more than likely made with PowerPoint. 

This is the next step in your learning! PowerPoint is very fun and useful. We will learn all the aspects of this software, you will be able to create a stunning presentation!

Excel is the final portion of the Office Suite that we will delve into. Excel is a spreadsheet software that is much. much more. We will learn how to create schedules, pie charts, and how to merge the Excel spreadsheet with Word to create mail!

Another aspect of this class is that of learning about safe use of computers, how to avoid harmful malware, viruses, worms, etc. in your computer. Many are from emails or websites! How can you tell what is safe?

Copyright is a very important subject when using the internet and in daily life. We will learn about the copyright laws, as well as how to make sure your photos are protected on the internet. 

I look forward to seeing everyone. 

Watch for your "Remind" on your phone! 

Changes Coming to This Page!

GET READY!

Changes are coming~ 

September 2019 is going to be exciting!

Moving to Pathbrite!

If you are coming to class, you will know already that we are moving all our class information to Pathbrite.com.
You will access using your Google account. It is free... you will create your own portfolio, access the instructor portfolio for your section of class, and will use the assignment section to upload your finished classwork!

I am excited to start using this format for Computer Literacy. It is exciting to have a new way to communicate, and you will like this as well. 

I will hand out the class code to you during our next class period, please be in attendance. 

Week 2 of Intro to Computers

Hello, All!

The first week of class went smoothly, at least from my perspective. Students were informed of numerous sites we will use for learning, including Pathbrite, which is a wonderful site to be able to see your assignments and to upload your work.

Typing.com as a keyboard learning tool was used, and will be used throughout our school year. It is a wonderful tool to use and understand the correct way to position your hands, and the easiest way to learn keyboarding techniques.

Our Blog and our Facebook page will be handy tools as well. We can keep in touch this way, so feel free to comment here or on our other pages. If you have a question, it is probably better to email it to me directly, and now you have Gmail accounts, we can all use that method to communicate.

Speaking of Google, now that you have a Google account, there is so much more to use in the realm of the Google world. Blogger is where our class blog is of course, but there is also G+, Google Drive, Google Maps, Youtube, finance, news, and more...

This year, we will delve into all of these, including creating a Blogger account of your own, a G+ account of your own, and using the maps, news, finance and Youtube as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This second week of class is to get more used to using Word 2016. 

Tuesday--- Today will be Typing.com to warm up your fingers, some of you will be in late because of the Social Studies introduction, but that is OK! Come on in and get started. 

Next will be opening Word 2016, creating a new blank document. Then copy from the overhead, two paragraphs on the subject of "Me", then follow along to use Tabs at the top of the page, such as Layout, Insert, and Home. We will change the font color, the size and type of font, the orientation of the page, and insert online photos, changing the size and position of the photo. 

Wednesday ---We have Vocabulary words posted on PathBrite. It is listed as Vocabulary Words Weeks 1&2 ---Group A. 

To complete this assignment, you will need to bring up Word 2016, create new blank document, use the Restore Down button and size the window to where it is half the size of your monitor. Then Open Chrome, go to Pathbrite, log in to your account, go to Group A, scroll to the correct assignment, use the Restore Down button and size the window to half the size of your monitor. Position both windows where you can see them both. 

Key in the vocabulary words and definitions on your Word document. This is tedious, but it is a great way to memorize the terms.  When you have completed, save to your Flash Drive. Name the file: Your Initials Vocabulary Weeks1-2  (ie. MCVocabularyWeeks1-2 ).

Now you are ready to upload to your Pathbrite class. Go to Home page of Pathbrite, go to "Guided", use dropdown menu to choose Courses, it will take you to your Class, which is Intro to Computers. Click on this picture, it will take you to the Page to see where your assignment is due. Click on the assignment.

Now you are able to see the description of what to do with the assignment. There is a whole list of what you need to do, check it out, make sure you didn't miss a step in your assignment. When you are sure you are ready to complete, then click the upload button. This brings up a dialogue box, choose where your document is...

If you have saved correctly, the document will be on your flash drive, listed as: YourInitialsVocabularyWeeks1-2.  Click on this, then click on "Open" at bottom right of the dialogue box. 
While you are waiting for this to upload completely, you can fill in the boxes. First is the submission title... this week it will remain as it is in the box... Submission #1.  Underneath this box is a description box. In this you will put your first initial and your last name. 

When the file has uploaded and you can see the preview of it, check to make sure it is correct. It is hard to see, but just the overall look of the document. When you are satisfied that it is the correct document, then click on "Submit Now" button. 

           ****Advanced Class-- Continue with your Timeline, complete the Timeline ONline, when you are finished, you will upload to PathBrite! Remember to add your initials or first initial and last name to the descriptions.  

Thursday ---  Begin the day with Typing.com, remember to log in to your account. We will work for 20 minutes on this. Resume where you left off. 

Open Pathbrite, log in to your account, go to your courses. Go to your assignments. In the center of your page, there is an icon next to your teachers name. Click on this icon and it should take you directly to my portfolio, choose Group A, and scroll down to see what is next. This week, it is a link to another page. This is the Quizlet site. The Title of the quizlet is Computer Literacy.  Click on this, then click when it asks to view site. 

Now you will be in Quizlet. Choose the "Flash Cards". To view, simply click on the card, to go to the next card, click the arrow under the card. 

The next assignment for the day is to click on the "Learn" button on Quizlet. This we will do as a class. Terms you need to know, terms that are simple but take a while to learn. 

If we have time today, we will go to the next lesson on Quizlet. This is the 'Writing' portion. It is not as scary as you think. We will do them together. 

               ****Advanced Class----- Today, if you have completed all your assignments ( Assignment 1: Scavenger Hunt; Assignment 2: Timeline Word document; Assignment 2.5: Timeline ONline) and you have uploaded these to Pathbrite, you will continue on with Assignment 3. Make sure to complete and upload to Pathbrite!

New School Year!

It was great to see so many of you, yesterday! The first day of classes went well, with 170 students enrolled in morning classes, it seemed like the day was very smooth.

There are always problems when you have so many people together, but THIS group of people is great! The classes have been compacted, since we lost use of the second floor, one class is out in the 'boondocks' in another building, and still... it was a very easy first day.

Now, this is from my perspective. I hope all the students feel the same. It is sometimes full of anxiety and fear of the unknown to start a new school, job, life... but everyone I saw yesterday, seemed to be at ease.

First days are full of 'orientation' which is a nice way to say you learn about the school's policies, rules and regulations. There was paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. The real learning will take place, I promise!

For the Computer Literacy classes, we will not begin for a while. I will be recruiting for the class on Thursday, meeting new students and visiting with returning students. This semester is going to be a bit different. I have tried to find a way to understand how much each student knows before we begin classes. This way, I can teach the very beginner, guide those who have more training, and facilitate taking the MOS exam for the students who are about ready.

Our classes are going to be set up a bit different as well. The first 2-3 weeks will be only the 'New Students'.  This way, I will be able to teach those new students who have no computer skills, how to use the computer, how to use Word 2016, and the various levels of the class how to complete projects.

I know this is using up precious time that you could be working on computer skills, and this is why I have decided to open up those weeks to you, the returning student as well. I will be concentrating on the new students, but I will also have projects for you to work on as well.

The class will be noisy, possibly crowded, and you will have to work 'on your own' but I will be there if you are confused or need help. So, I encourage you to join in.

Now... about our room.  As you know, Falcon Academy has joined the college this year. This means that we do not have the lab on the second floor of Deadrick to use, they have also commandeered the extra labs in Wilkerson Hall. So, we believe that we will be using the lab in 135 in the ET building... that is the Electronics Technology Building.  I will post a map for the first day of classes, and will have maps in Deadrick Hall so you can find your way.

This room is very nice. The computers are very new, and the space is large. All of the computers face the front of the room, which is very nice. We will have wonderful technology to use!

Have a great first week, and remember to check back in to this page to learn more of what we are doing!

Returning Students

This week we have returned!
Returning students come in on Monday and Tuesday, and a few on Wednesday! to enroll in classes. Great to see you back!

The process is arduous normally, but it seems that the new system of having the forms pre-filled as  much as possible, has helped very much. This is wonderful news, especially to those who have sat for long periods of time before.  Testing is always going to be there, but it seems to have gone smoothly this Semester!

I am looking forward to getting back in class, how about you?

Weeks seem to go by quickly, but this Summer seems to have flown by very quickly. Most of you know already, but for those who do not, Odessa College is now home to the Falcon Early College High School. This means we will be sharing the building with students, so remember to greet politely all you meet.

Having new students in the building is going to be a challenge. TxCHSE has completely moved to Wilkerson Hall, and two of our classes will be in Jack Rodgers Hall, but most of the students in our classes will be in Deadrick Hall still.

Our dilemma is where our Lab will be. This has not been decided yet. I am hoping for Wilkerson 101 again. That room was the perfect room for us, with the exception of the glitches with the computers, we loved using that room!

We are awaiting the confirmation for which room we will have.

As soon as I know, I will send a "Remind" to all students.

Have you been working in Burlington English? This software is wonderful to help with pronunciation, to read books, to study grammar, and it is FREE. If you are a student, this software is totally free. If you are not a student, you must pay their fee. Please use this as often as possible to keep up with your classes, and to go the extra mile in your studies.

The other software we use in class, Aztec, is also FREE. It is very good if you are confident in your English grammar, and want to study a bit ahead.

If you have problems logging in to either site, send me an email or give me a call.

Excited to see you all again!

Summer Break and the Fourth of July

The first week of real Summer, ahhhh, it is nice, isn't it?

The Fourth of July is upon us, with fireworks, hotdogs, apple pie... We are celebrating a day that means a lot to the United States, the beginning of Liberty. This was the date, though it wasn't by any means a done deal on this date, nevertheless, this is the date that a group of people got together and decided to sign the Declaration of Independence.  The states had to  sign off, ratify the declaration, the war had to be fought, and people had to stay steadfast in their pursuit of liberty, but this is the date that was always remembered as Independence Day. 

Lives were lost, families were separated, not only by the war itself, but by the ideals of independence. Many families were loyal to the King of England. Many of his subjects wanted to stay part of the sovereign Empire of Britain, they were called Loyalists, Royalists, or Tories. Even the son of the famous Benjamin Franklin, William Franklin, the Royal Governor of New Jersey, wanted to stay under British Rule (1).

Ben Franklin had to choose between the beautiful England that he had so dearly grown to love and his native country of America. He had been in England when he was young, learning to be  a printer. Then after he had retired at 41 years of age, he was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly, and fell in love with the charms, the scientific knowledge and education, and the sophistication of the gentry. But he was born in Massachusetts, and an American he would always stay.(2)

In 1765, The English Crown imposed a Stamp Tax that sent the colonists into a rage, quite literally. They fought back with rebellion against what they saw as an outright burden imposed against them. 

With acts like the "Tea Party" in Boston harbor, the rally where some colonists went a bit overboard, along with crates of tea imported by the British, they left no doubt  that the colonies were tremendously angry.

Over the next few months, things got a bit out of hand, but you would have to look back to actually see where the colonists were at the brink, and resorted to ever increasingly violent acts of rebellion.

1761 saw the British in financial trouble with their 7 years war raging, so they ordered that their Navigation Tax be enforced aggressively. This did not set well in Boston, especially when taxmen were allowed to search any premises for smuggled goods.  

 The British had imposed the Sugar Tax in 1764, which included taxation on Sugar, wines (though not all), coffee, and calico. Women formed the Daughters of Liberty, and boycotted imported goods, like calico fabric, and took to creating their own fabrics to show their disdain for the taxation. (3)

There were fines and taxes that seemed to the colonists an undue burden, there were people like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere who seemed to keep the agitation stirred up, Revere with his artwork, and Adams with his leadership and voice in his newspaper with words like "Liberty can never exist without equality". 

British soldiers had a dislike for many of the colonial citizens as well. Many of the colonists were a constant source of agitation, and were hurling abuse, both verbal and physical, aimed at the soldiers. This led to higher tensions between the two groups.

In 1768, General Gage had marched new troops into Boston(4), as a show of force, the towns people were outraged, this was, to them, a tightening of control by the Crown.

The presence of the army was more a source of irritation with the inhabitants of Boston since the 1765 Quartering Act forced them to house the soldiers in houses and empty buildings, the troops also had set up tents in the center of town, and the citizens of Boston saw them as occupiers.   

The new soldiers were there to help keep the peace, and it must have seemed to the colonists a heavy hand to have "Redcoats" everywhere. A relative peace they kept, for the most part, incidents of rebellion were at a minimum. 

However, in late February of 1770, protests of imported goods being sold by a few local shop keepers turned nasty and brought about a boy being shot. This infuriated the whole of the city of Boston it seemed. His funeral was a chance for the Sons of Liberty to have a political rally.(5) 

There was much disdain for the British at this point, and it led to more tensions between the British, those loyal to the British, and the colonists who wanted to be free from the rule of England and it's King.

Into March, tempers flared in Boston.  Skirmishes between British soldiers and citizens broke out but nothing serious came about. That is, until March the fifth, when an angry mob met up with British soldiers, and the skirmish got out of hand and one thing led to another and the "Boston Massacre" began. (6)

The rest, they say, is history.

If you would like very good books on the subject, I would highly recommend the book, Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution, by A. J. Landgguth, also, Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, written by David Fischer, and the book Washington's General,  by Terry Golway



References:

1. Wikipedia, Loyalist (American Revolution), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)
2.  PBS, Explore- Benjamin Franklin, Worldly Ways 
     http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/exp_worldly_england.html
3.  Fisher, David, Bill O'Reilly's Legends and  Lies: The Patriots, New York: Henry Holt and Company; May 24, 2016, 
      pgs 27.
4.  --- pg 38-44.
5.  Landgguth, A. J. , Patriots: The Men Who Started The American Revolution, New York: Simon and 
      Schuster; September 17, 2013, pgs 65-69.   ISBN 9781439127124, 
6.  Fisher, David, Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Patriots, New York: Henry Holt and Co; May 24, 
     2016 pgs    .