Today, we learned enough Python commands to actually write working programs that solve particular problems. Your student has written a program that acts as a short Mad Libs generator, a program that converts Fahrenheit to Celsius, and then either a 1) wagon wheel odometer, or a 2) future value calculator (depends on which pathway they chose). All the programs take input from the user, make conversions of variable types, make calculations, and then output the results. Fun!
We're ending the year with a short unit on programming. In the past, we've used Codecademy to walk us through some basics in JavaScript or HTML, but it was always a bit unsatisfactory since we were severely limited in what we could actual do. So introducing Python and our online editor!
Today, we learned enough Python commands to actually write working programs that solve particular problems. Your student has written a program that acts as a short Mad Libs generator, a program that converts Fahrenheit to Celsius, and then either a 1) wagon wheel odometer, or a 2) future value calculator (depends on which pathway they chose). All the programs take input from the user, make conversions of variable types, make calculations, and then output the results. Fun!
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The "Do it" assessment today, was basically a short assignment that required all the skills we had learned (formulas, functions, formatting, sorting, and creating a chart). Skills stick around longer than knowledge so I wasn't surprised by the strong performance by most of the students. If the student wanted to get a "4", there was an additional component which required the students to create a form, fill it in with provided information, and then filter the results. Looking towards the end of the year, we only have two more assessments: keyboarding (we've been working on this all semester) and programming ("Do it"). There's a light at the end of the tunnel! :) For this unit, there is only a "Do it" assessment, and to review for it, the students were provided a list of skills they need to have and a populated spreadsheet on which to practice. Typically, students do great on the "Do it", so I'm hopeful for their performance next class. After reviewing, the rest of class time was used for catching up on any missing work. For those students who might want to retake the unit assessment, they will need to have all their assignments submitted before being allowed to do so. Today we talked about databases. If we had MS Office, we would be learning Access, which could take up an entire quarter by itself. So for once, not having Office is to our advantage. Instead we are using Google Forms and Google Sheets to learn how to create a database and then filters to display our reports. First, the students created a "survey" using Google Forms with the various fields they needed to gather (name, height, etc.). Then, using a list I provided them of 10 people, the students filled in the data. Google Forms automatically creates a spreadsheet to display the results so the students opened it up and made some formatting changes to make it look good. Finally, the student created three copies of the first sheet and used different filters to create three different reports. This is would also work for a science project or a database of books lying around the house. There are a few times I miss using MS Excel in class and creating charts is one of them. Google Sheets does an adequate job of creating the basic types of charts, and does so pretty easily. But what is missing is all the fun ways to format those charts once they are created. The students created one of each type of chart we learned (column, pie, and line) based on both new spreadsheets and previous assignments. We also completed an assignment about interpreting charts. I created a slideshow that has several charts and tables for the students to find specific information in or interpret what the chart is supposed to show. Being able to create charts is great, but we also need to be able to figure out what a chart means. Now that we've mastered entering data into a spreadsheet and executing basic formulas and functions, it was time to make our spreadsheets look good. Google Spreadsheets is severely limited in the ways we can format our data and spreadsheets, but we were able to do enough to make some good-looking tables. If you want to see some incredible formatting, do a quick search for "Excel Art" in Google. Amazing! We also learned to sort our data. Reordering the data might not seem like a big deal until you've spent thirty minutes entering data only to find out it was supposed to be in alphabetical order! As long as the students remembered to highlight all their data, sorting was an easy task. Some of the assignments today built on the assignments from last class, so those who are caught up got a little break from the data-entry side of spreadsheets. This might make me a geek, but I LOVE spreadsheets! They are so versatile and powerful. I created my own interactive spreadsheet for my household's budget and love it more than any of the Quickens-like software I've tried. Typically we would learn Excel in this unit, which is the most powerful and popular spreadsheet program out there, but since the students don't have MS Office, we are going with Google Spreadsheets. The two programs are very similar and, actually, using the scaled-down version that Google provides can be a benefit to those students new to spreadsheets. Today we learned five basic functions (sum, min, max, count, and average) as well as how to create basic formulas (ex: =(A1+C1)/2). With these simple skills the students can create all sorts of spreadsheets that perform a variety of tasks. The students also choose between two pathways through this unit: Blue Path (the teacher-led demonstration and small daily assignments to practice) or the Black Path (student-led, independent learning and completing two large assignments over the course of the unit). Most chose the Blue Path, which is appropriate, but the few that chose the Black Path will, hopefully, enjoy a little independence. Today was the unit "Know it" assessment, covering intellectual property, copyright, and licenses. This was a short, Canvas quiz that most students aced. But in case they didn't, the students who want to retake need to make sure they've turned in all their assignments for the unit and then send me an email. After the quiz, we watched the video PSAs as a class. It was fun to see what direction the students took their topics and watch them cringe at their group's acting abilities. As long as the PSA had the required information, I was pretty lenient with the grading. But for those missing a critical part, they can re-edit and the resubmit and I'll regrade. Even though most of our time was spent on the PSAs, the "Know it" assessment is about intellectual property. So to refresh our brains about those terms, we completed a crossword and turned it in for our day's assignment. We also had the "Know it" review on Canvas (which actually uses test questions) which should guarantee the students at least a "2" on the test (next class). After the reviews, the students had time to finish and submit their PSAs. Next class we'll be watching them, so now is the time to get it to me! I'm super excited to see what the students have been filming for the past two weeks. :) With most of the scenes filmed, the students focused on editing their video, music, and text into a compelling PSA. Most groups used iMovie (since everyone has access to it) but others used an app on their phone or a computer at home. Unfortunately, this meant that only one person could work on it at a time. So we had a lot of dividing up the various tasks and Air Dropping music and pictures. Because of the absences and poor planning, not all groups finished and submitted today. That's completely fine - as long as they can get it done and submitted in time for the class viewing, we'll be good. |
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April 2024
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