Chrome Bookmarks

If you thought bookmarks were just for books, think again! This video shows you how to create bookmarks in the Chrome web browser.

Computer Science Education Week

Back in October I posted "An Hour of Code" to this blog. Well, the week has finally arrived! Computer Science Education Week is officially December 9 to 17.

Since October, many of our tech students have been learning to code on their own for extra credit using the CodeHS (Code High School) website. This week students will also be given access to the Tynker.com website, a very fun and engaging but also eduational site that teaches students how to write computer programs.

Please take a few minutes (actually 2 minutes 44 seconds) to watch the latest video from "An Hour of Code". It's really quite amazing how many excellent and high-paying jobs there are in the area of computer programming.




“I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.”
- STEVE JOBS

History of Nintendo

Did you know Nintendo started out as a playing card company? Watch this video to learn how they grew into the massive gaming company that they are today!

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong, and the game it inspired, Mario Bros., are some of the most popular video games of all time. Watch this video to learn a bit about their history.

Gmail Backgrounds

Would you like to spice up your gmail window? Watch this video to find out how to set the background.

Social Media

Original Post: The Importance of Modeling Positive Use of Social Media

Excerpts:
"Cyberbullying. Stalking. Pedophilia. Narcissism. Screen time. These are the headlines that grab the most attention around the topic of students using social media.  These articles and reports strike fear into parents and schools to the point that has resulted in the banning of social media.  By banning, we put our heads in the sand and cross our fingers that somehow, in some way, students will avoid using social media or somehow miraculously figure out how to use it in a positive manner.  When we do this, what actually ends up happening is we get students sneaking around using social media tools and teaching themselves what is and what is not appropriate."

"As adults, we need to be the teachers.  We need to be the models.  Much like with other skills and behaviours. We need to focus on the relationships we have with our students/children and model and teach digital citizenship."

How are you (or your children) learning Digital Citizenship, especially as it relates to Social Media?

Google Drawing

Google Docs includes a nice little drawing tool. You can draw almost anything with it, save it to the cloud and even download it as an image file. Watch this video to see how to use it.

SD Cards

Your camera probably uses an SD card. Watch this video to learn more about it.

Minecraft Basics

Minecraft is a very popular game, especially among teenagers. Watch this video to learn how it is played.

Tech Jobs

The 10 Fastest-Growing Job Titles Are All in Tech
(Mashables repost)

Here are a few excerpts from a recent post on Mashable:

Source: The 10 Fastest-Growing Job Titles Are All in Tech

"Of the fastest growing job titles over the last five years, seven of the top 10 are technology positions that necessitate specific technical skills for developing software and mining data."

"Indicating a trend beyond employment, four of the seven fastest-growing technology jobs — DevOps engineer, iOS developer, data scientist and Android developer — did not even exist on TheLadders five years ago."

Students in Calvin's Technology class are learning how to teach themselves how to use new technology, so they are prepared to learn skills that will be required for technology-related jobs that do not even exist yet today.

Google Presentations

Here's a really quick tutorial that shows you how to create a Google Presentation!

Apple's History

A byte into Apple's history...

Weight of the Internet

Did you ever wonder how much the Internet weighs? Watch this video to find out!

Set Desktop Background

Watch this video to learn how to use the image of your choice as your computer desktop background.

Create a Google Account

You can create your own Google account, which includes Gmail and many other things, in just a few minutes by following these instructions.

Computer Games

Watch this video to learn about the history of computer games.

Add Video to Google Sites

Do you have a Google Site? There is a very easy way to add a video to your site. Watch this video to learn how.

History of Mario Bros

Have you heard of this computer game? Watch this video to find out how it all started.

History of Phones

Do you know where your phone came from? Watch this video to find out!

History of Galaga

Watch this video to learn more about this fun game from the 80s!

An Hour of Code

Calvin Christian's 7th grade Technology class will be participating in "An Hour of Code" this December. This one-minute video explains why learning to code is important for everyone. For even more information, watch this 5 minute video, and/or visit csedweek.org.

Uploading GoPro

This video explains how to move files from a GoPro to your computer, and then upload them to YouTube.

Searching with Ctrl-F

Did you know you could use <Ctrl><f> to quickly find a word or phrase on a website or in a document? Watch this video to find out how!

Slide Backgrounds

This video explains an easy way to add a background of your choice to a slide in a Google presentation.

Themes in Chrome

Watch this video to learn how to spice up the look of your Chrome browser and Gmail.

Creating Online Surveys

Have you ever wanted to quickly create an online survey? This video will show you how to do it using Google Forms.

The Rise of Online Video

(Reposted from the PewResearchCenter)

God is the Lord of all things, including online video. But how prevalent is online video in our world today? For starters, 31%  of adults surveyed have uploaded videos to the Internet. Watch the video below to hear more about the latest findings from the Pew Research Center.

Adding Chrome Apps

Want to add a game app, or any app for that matter, to Google Chrome? Then watch this short video...

History of Computers

This video gives a nice quick overview of the history of computers starting in 1936 and ending with the IBM PC...

Cool Google Tricks

Well here it goes... the first "real" post to the CCS TTnT blog! This video shows you how to easily play a couple games right from Google's search engine. This may come in handy if you need a quick break from your computer work! Enjoy!

Welcome

Welcome to Technology Tips and Trivia, TTnT, the blog of Mr. Steenstra's 7th grade technology class at Calvin Christian School! Between our two 7th grade tech classes, we hope to publish four blog posts every week. That's one post for every one of our class periods.

To start off the blog, our posts will be in the form of video screencasts created by us, the 7th grade students. Our next post is scheduled for the week on October 7, 2013, so stay tuned! We would love it if you would subscribe to our blog!

We are doing this as a service to others, for anyone who who would like to learn more about technology and/or about what is going on in our tech class. We hope you find this blog interesting and informative!

In Christ,
Mark Steenstra
7th Grade Technology Teacher