I collected the stories today. I will need a few days to organize the class readings of the stories. We will spend our week preparing for the unit 9 vocab quiz and starting a compare/contrast paragraph to study transition words. More details will be on the assignment page when I get it up.
Interims are entered based on the grades in HAC as of today. More grades will be entered this week.
There is a lot going on in my class... as always.
Homework:
Choosing the Right Word for section 6
Completing the Sentence and Flashcards for sections HB and 3
Completing the Sentence for sections 4 and 5.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
The good draft of the sci-fi story is due Monday.
Handing in the essay on-time is not only important, it is a grade.
I need the essays in so I can start pairing them up for the competition. I am going to have students read the stories and decide which ones are the best. By the end of the week, we will have some winners!
I really like this piece because it is one of the few pieces that allows imagination. Where do the fiction writers on the best-sellers list come from? Well, after reading some of my writers, I would like to think that maybe I helped the process along. :)
Have a nice weekend.
I will be entering some grades this weekend. I will enter the interims by Tuesday. I hope to give students a grade slip by Wednesday.
I updated the rubric for how the essays will be scored. Please see the entry on 2/23.
Are you up for a challenge?
Check out this piece of writing. Can you find the errors? In class, we divided this into five paragraphs and found around ten corrections.
The other hovercrafts arrived, and twelve soldiers came together and nodded to Asad. “OK”, Asad said fiercely, “Let’s get this over with, just talk with them, no shooting or stealing, got it! A loud, “Yes, Sir!” rose up from the group. Asad second in command Khalil came up to him and asked in a quiet voice why he seemed so angry. Asad looked at him and said, “You know I hate this job” “Yeah well I sometimes feel the same, but orders are orders, so just kept it together for a little while longer.” Asad nodded and he and the rest of the men including Khalil marched up to the savages.
I need the essays in so I can start pairing them up for the competition. I am going to have students read the stories and decide which ones are the best. By the end of the week, we will have some winners!
I really like this piece because it is one of the few pieces that allows imagination. Where do the fiction writers on the best-sellers list come from? Well, after reading some of my writers, I would like to think that maybe I helped the process along. :)
Have a nice weekend.
I will be entering some grades this weekend. I will enter the interims by Tuesday. I hope to give students a grade slip by Wednesday.
I updated the rubric for how the essays will be scored. Please see the entry on 2/23.
Check out this piece of writing. Can you find the errors? In class, we divided this into five paragraphs and found around ten corrections.
The other hovercrafts arrived, and twelve soldiers came together and nodded to Asad. “OK”, Asad said fiercely, “Let’s get this over with, just talk with them, no shooting or stealing, got it! A loud, “Yes, Sir!” rose up from the group. Asad second in command Khalil came up to him and asked in a quiet voice why he seemed so angry. Asad looked at him and said, “You know I hate this job” “Yeah well I sometimes feel the same, but orders are orders, so just kept it together for a little while longer.” Asad nodded and he and the rest of the men including Khalil marched up to the savages.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sci-fi rough draft due Thursday
Here are some notes I discussed today.
Science-Fiction Story Rubric
Read the story from start to finish before marking any of these.
Story Telling
5(a) = Gripping story, developed characters, action moved to a climax.
4(b) = You were curious about the end, some characters, conflict present.
3(c) = It was a story, had characters, some conflict.
2(d) = It was barely a story. It did not go anywhere.
1(f) = Unacceptable
Was it a science fiction story? (Author's purpose was clear.)
What is the writer’s purpose/lesson about technology? Will science be the savior or the destroyer? What do we need to be doing right now to attain or avoid this?
5 = The writer made you really think about the future of some science idea.
4 = The story contained some type of science idea and its future.
3 = There was some science thing in the story.
2 = It was just a story.
1 = Unacceptable.
Dialogue
5 = Excellent use of dialogue for effect and character development.
4 = 15 exchanges with mostly correct indenting, punctuation, paragraphing.
3 = Not enough exchanges and/or incorrectly punctuated.
2 = Barely used dialogue and/or totally incorrect punctuation.
1 = Unacceptable
Sensory Details and Thoughts
5 = Vivid setting and details. You feel immersed in the story.
4 = Many sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
3 = Some sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
2 = Not very descriptive. The story was mostly just plot details.
1 = Unacceptable
Grammar
5 = Almost perfect. Very few errors
4 = Some errors. They were minor and did not distract. Writer proofread.
3 = A few too many errors. Many should have been caught.
2 = Proofreading appears to have been skipped. Distracting errors abound.
1 = Seriously?
Total: ________ divided by 5 = average
4.5 = A
3.5 = B
2.5 = C
How do you punctuate thoughts?
“That will be $31.04.”
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars, she mused as she gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.
Use italics sparingly to indicate thoughts
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? she mused as She gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.
Punctuating thoughts is not totally necessary.
“That will be $31.04.”
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four cents. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? She gave up on the pennies and handed two twenty dollar bills to the cashier, continuing her musing as he got her change.
(You don't need to punctuate thoughts like you would actual dialogue, especially when you're writing from the individual's point of view. It doesn't matter if it's first person or third person, you are obviously writing from Maddie's perspective. Because of that, things like "The sky was really blue that day" or "Since when did feeding three kids sandwiches get so expensive?" are both her thoughts and are just additions to her perspective of the world around her.)
The whole goal of punctuation is to help the reader follow what you are trying to say! If it is obvious that it is a thought, then just write the thought. Your reader will follow you.
Save “Quotes” for spoken dialogue. Use thought cues (He thought…) for thoughts.
(http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123312)
Start a new paragraph…
every time you switch speakers.
when you switch what you are talking about.
Think about television.
When a character is speaking, the camera is on him/her. All the action and dialogue that concerns that character is in that camera shot, including description of what is going on around him/her. If a new character speaks, the camera focuses on the new character. When people speak, there is a natural back-and-forth. Your written words have to show this back-and-forth visually using new paragraphs.
Don’t be afraid to use too many paragraphs. It is when you use too few that the back-and-forth gets lost and the reader looses focus.
Science-Fiction Story Rubric
Read the story from start to finish before marking any of these.
Story Telling
5(a) = Gripping story, developed characters, action moved to a climax.
4(b) = You were curious about the end, some characters, conflict present.
3(c) = It was a story, had characters, some conflict.
2(d) = It was barely a story. It did not go anywhere.
1(f) = Unacceptable
Was it a science fiction story? (Author's purpose was clear.)
What is the writer’s purpose/lesson about technology? Will science be the savior or the destroyer? What do we need to be doing right now to attain or avoid this?
5 = The writer made you really think about the future of some science idea.
4 = The story contained some type of science idea and its future.
3 = There was some science thing in the story.
2 = It was just a story.
1 = Unacceptable.
Dialogue
5 = Excellent use of dialogue for effect and character development.
4 = 15 exchanges with mostly correct indenting, punctuation, paragraphing.
3 = Not enough exchanges and/or incorrectly punctuated.
2 = Barely used dialogue and/or totally incorrect punctuation.
1 = Unacceptable
Sensory Details and Thoughts
5 = Vivid setting and details. You feel immersed in the story.
4 = Many sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
3 = Some sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
2 = Not very descriptive. The story was mostly just plot details.
1 = Unacceptable
Grammar
5 = Almost perfect. Very few errors
4 = Some errors. They were minor and did not distract. Writer proofread.
3 = A few too many errors. Many should have been caught.
2 = Proofreading appears to have been skipped. Distracting errors abound.
1 = Seriously?
Total: ________ divided by 5 = average
4.5 = A
3.5 = B
2.5 = C
How do you punctuate thoughts?
“That will be $31.04.”
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars, she mused as she gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.
Use italics sparingly to indicate thoughts
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? she mused as She gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.
Punctuating thoughts is not totally necessary.
“That will be $31.04.”
Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four cents. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? She gave up on the pennies and handed two twenty dollar bills to the cashier, continuing her musing as he got her change.
(You don't need to punctuate thoughts like you would actual dialogue, especially when you're writing from the individual's point of view. It doesn't matter if it's first person or third person, you are obviously writing from Maddie's perspective. Because of that, things like "The sky was really blue that day" or "Since when did feeding three kids sandwiches get so expensive?" are both her thoughts and are just additions to her perspective of the world around her.)
The whole goal of punctuation is to help the reader follow what you are trying to say! If it is obvious that it is a thought, then just write the thought. Your reader will follow you.
Save “Quotes” for spoken dialogue. Use thought cues (He thought…) for thoughts.
(http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123312)
Start a new paragraph…
every time you switch speakers.
when you switch what you are talking about.
Think about television.
When a character is speaking, the camera is on him/her. All the action and dialogue that concerns that character is in that camera shot, including description of what is going on around him/her. If a new character speaks, the camera focuses on the new character. When people speak, there is a natural back-and-forth. Your written words have to show this back-and-forth visually using new paragraphs.
Don’t be afraid to use too many paragraphs. It is when you use too few that the back-and-forth gets lost and the reader looses focus.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Interims are approaching. The rough draft MUST be turned in on-time!
There are only a few grades in the book right now due to the weather and other interruptions. Right now we are spending our time focusing on how to write a sci-fi story. We are not doing vocab, nor are we doing activities that are graded. The grade on the story will be very big for this marking period. If a student does not hand in a rough draft, the early grade will be affected greatly.
(The rough draft should be closer to a good draft than to a bunch of scattered notes and half-written pages.)
If you would like to help your child be prepared for a good grade, you could help him/her with a few things before the rough draft is handed in. There should be at least 15 dialogue exchanges which are punctuated correctly. The story should be a reasonable length with no grammar errors. Ideally, the story should be gripping with a strong beginning and a clear author's purpose. You can see examples of great stories at the bottom of the assignment page.
(The rough draft should be closer to a good draft than to a bunch of scattered notes and half-written pages.)
If you would like to help your child be prepared for a good grade, you could help him/her with a few things before the rough draft is handed in. There should be at least 15 dialogue exchanges which are punctuated correctly. The story should be a reasonable length with no grammar errors. Ideally, the story should be gripping with a strong beginning and a clear author's purpose. You can see examples of great stories at the bottom of the assignment page.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
We continued to discuss how to write the sci-fi story
I discussed the idea of adding sensory details, dialogue, and thoughts to the basic storyline. We read half of an example story which demonstrated the ideas I taught. In one class, I showed them how they could make a chart. The middle column is the main story in a skeleton form. The other columns add details. Instead of one short sentence about the main story, there are now multiple sentences that make each section more vivid.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Students should be working on their science fiction stories
Today we reviewed the answers from their brainstorming sheets. (See the previous blog post.) In some classes we paired up, and students had to present their story idea like a movie producer. In some classes we discussed ideas as a class. Then I gave the students time to write.
I was discussing how students could get started if they could not figure out a story. I asked them to write down all the things they do from waking up to going to sleep. Then inject their new technology into that day! How would the modern technology change the way they do things normally? Well, that is kind of what a sci-fi story does. We get to see ourselves in a setting that is not our usual.
By now students should have some sort of an opening scene. The opening to the story establishes the main character and his/her motivation. I told them it was like a curtain opening on a stage. As the audience rests their eyes on the stage, the story begins. For a a paragraph or so, the audience is being introduced to a setting or a character.
We will discuss more ideas as the week goes on. I expect students to work on their pieces at home.
We have DCAS Wednesday, so I will not see sections 4 and HB.
I was discussing how students could get started if they could not figure out a story. I asked them to write down all the things they do from waking up to going to sleep. Then inject their new technology into that day! How would the modern technology change the way they do things normally? Well, that is kind of what a sci-fi story does. We get to see ourselves in a setting that is not our usual.
By now students should have some sort of an opening scene. The opening to the story establishes the main character and his/her motivation. I told them it was like a curtain opening on a stage. As the audience rests their eyes on the stage, the story begins. For a a paragraph or so, the audience is being introduced to a setting or a character.
We will discuss more ideas as the week goes on. I expect students to work on their pieces at home.
We have DCAS Wednesday, so I will not see sections 4 and HB.
Monday, February 14, 2011
We did not present our technologies today, but...
I would like to hear story ideas tomorrow. I realized we were not where I thought we should be, especially in section 6. Here are the questions I had them complete today. We will spend lots of this time writing.
Science Fiction Story Brainstorming
Describe a problem that you want to make us think about or offer a solution for.
Describe the technology in your story.
What is it?
How does it work?
What are the current uses of your technology?
How is technology the solution to the problem (or cause the problem)?
What is your story idea:
What is the setting? (Year, location)
Who is the main character?
What is his/her goal or hope or motivation?
How is he/she being kept from his/her goal?
What is your (author’s) purpose?
What do you hope we will do as a result of reading your story?
How are you going to draw us into your story quickly?
(Start in the moment? Ask us a question? Other?)
How much time will your story cover? How will you deal with it? Watch out, it could jump around too much! Shorter amounts of time will work better. Try to have your story about some incident… or two. (You can give details in flashbacks if needed.)
Here are some suggested writing topics for those who are struggling.
Sucked into a computer
You have been physically sucked into your computer. Not only can you see everything being done on your computer, you are also able to leave your computer and travel through the Internet and view what others are doing on their computers.
Portable communications devices and use in future
This piece will be a mirror for us to examine what we do on our computers today. Do we need to worry about where our habits will lead us to in the future? Is there something we need to change before it is too late? Do you want to show us that we have nothing to worry about?
City of the future
Find a picture on the Internet of someone’s vision of how we will be living in the future. Stare at it! Imagine living there. Now think about the city and how it functions, how it is constructed. How is this city different from what we have now. Why is it designed like it is? What problems do we have today that you imagine they have solved in the future?
“Think different”
Imagine something we don’t have today that you hope we will have in the future.
Write a story about a computer that dreams.
Science Fiction Story Brainstorming
Describe a problem that you want to make us think about or offer a solution for.
Describe the technology in your story.
What is it?
How does it work?
What are the current uses of your technology?
How is technology the solution to the problem (or cause the problem)?
What is your story idea:
What is the setting? (Year, location)
Who is the main character?
What is his/her goal or hope or motivation?
How is he/she being kept from his/her goal?
What is your (author’s) purpose?
What do you hope we will do as a result of reading your story?
How are you going to draw us into your story quickly?
(Start in the moment? Ask us a question? Other?)
How much time will your story cover? How will you deal with it? Watch out, it could jump around too much! Shorter amounts of time will work better. Try to have your story about some incident… or two. (You can give details in flashbacks if needed.)
Here are some suggested writing topics for those who are struggling.
Sucked into a computer
You have been physically sucked into your computer. Not only can you see everything being done on your computer, you are also able to leave your computer and travel through the Internet and view what others are doing on their computers.
Portable communications devices and use in future
This piece will be a mirror for us to examine what we do on our computers today. Do we need to worry about where our habits will lead us to in the future? Is there something we need to change before it is too late? Do you want to show us that we have nothing to worry about?
City of the future
Find a picture on the Internet of someone’s vision of how we will be living in the future. Stare at it! Imagine living there. Now think about the city and how it functions, how it is constructed. How is this city different from what we have now. Why is it designed like it is? What problems do we have today that you imagine they have solved in the future?
“Think different”
Imagine something we don’t have today that you hope we will have in the future.
Write a story about a computer that dreams.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Monday's Technology Presentation
Monday’s Presentations: Make us dream!
You will be presenting the technology that will be included in your science fiction story.
Maybe you want to start by explaining a problem that your technology will fix.
Then go on to explain the solution and the technology.
What is it?
How does it work?
What are the current uses of your technology?
Maybe your setting is the main focus of your science fiction story.
Describe the setting in detail.
Why that setting?
For both of these, you might want to discuss your idea for your story.
What is your author’s purpose?
Do you want to offer us hope or make us rethink what we are doing now?
Here is the story I am writing:
Virtual Burial, Inc.
Problem: We are running out of room to bury physical bodies.
Technology: Digitizing a body (digitizing physical objects)
Solution: We could send the physical body by network to be buried on another planet or location on Earth, or we could store the digital body on a server somewhere, like a file, so we could visit it- like opening a Word document. There would be a virtual cemetery, like a Facebook.
Story idea: The idea is being implemented. Things are going along well for a while. Then bodies start showing up incomplete. Data is being lost somewhere. You might think no one would care because the people are dead anyway. However, the company made a promise to its customers to bury the bodies in soil. Later we find out that data is being intercepted and organs are being harvested and sold. Parts of the bodies are being undigitized and the organs reused!
Author’s purpose: I want us to think about the vulnerabilities of our current system of data transportation. It would also have us think about the value we place on the dead after life has left the body.
I got the idea for this from a variety of sources.
Trying to come up with an original idea is hard. That is why I am combining technologies into a story that is like a modern day grave robbing scheme.
You will be presenting the technology that will be included in your science fiction story.
Maybe you want to start by explaining a problem that your technology will fix.
Then go on to explain the solution and the technology.
What is it?
How does it work?
What are the current uses of your technology?
Maybe your setting is the main focus of your science fiction story.
Describe the setting in detail.
Why that setting?
For both of these, you might want to discuss your idea for your story.
What is your author’s purpose?
Do you want to offer us hope or make us rethink what we are doing now?
Here is the story I am writing:
Virtual Burial, Inc.
Problem: We are running out of room to bury physical bodies.
Technology: Digitizing a body (digitizing physical objects)
Solution: We could send the physical body by network to be buried on another planet or location on Earth, or we could store the digital body on a server somewhere, like a file, so we could visit it- like opening a Word document. There would be a virtual cemetery, like a Facebook.
Story idea: The idea is being implemented. Things are going along well for a while. Then bodies start showing up incomplete. Data is being lost somewhere. You might think no one would care because the people are dead anyway. However, the company made a promise to its customers to bury the bodies in soil. Later we find out that data is being intercepted and organs are being harvested and sold. Parts of the bodies are being undigitized and the organs reused!
Author’s purpose: I want us to think about the vulnerabilities of our current system of data transportation. It would also have us think about the value we place on the dead after life has left the body.
I got the idea for this from a variety of sources.
- The story combines ideas like digital transport from movies like Star Trek.
- Traveling through the Internet is from movies like Lawnmower Man and an episode of Fairly Odd Parents where Timmy goes into the Internet.
- The problem of burial space is from Japan where space is a premium.
- The idea of having to bury a body is from the Jewish religion that believes the body must be returned to the ground intact.
- The error idea comes from packet sniffing, which is capturing data packets on a network.
Trying to come up with an original idea is hard. That is why I am combining technologies into a story that is like a modern day grave robbing scheme.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Check out the rest of the walkmen devices here.
Now look what we have! Thirty years later, the iPhone is the ultimate communication/ entertainment device. As I explained to the kids today, 30 years from now, their children will be laughing at the iPhone4 that we thought was so awesome!
I am asking the students, then, to dream up the ultimate device. They are to overcome the limitations of the iPhone: holding it in your hands, touching it with your fingers, looking at a small screen. They need to show me the perfect device, which means they will have to make it up! That is exactly what sci-fi writers do.If you want to giggle, look at this video as if you are in the future. Listen to how "revolutionary" they make the phone seem. Trust me, this device will be a blip in the history of phones!
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Sci-Fi setting
Today we discussed how the setting of a sci-fi story can be just as important as the storyline. We looked at two scenes from Wall-e. The storyline of Wall-e is pretty straight forward: Wall-e wants to get EVE back. Where the story takes place and what the setting says about us as humans living on earth now is almost more important than what Wall-e is doing! The setting is earth 700 years in the future. We have exhausted our resources and have been living a useless life of luxury on a spaceship. The author's purpose is to show us that if we do not change how we are living now, there will be some serious consequences.
Here is the worksheet we did in class today.
Here is a picture of a future world. I asked the students to dream. What is this? Where is it located? Why was it built? This place could be the setting of hundreds of storylines!
Here is the worksheet we did in class today.
Here is a picture of a future world. I asked the students to dream. What is this? Where is it located? Why was it built? This place could be the setting of hundreds of storylines!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
What if...?
Science Fiction Writing
The question I am getting the students to think about is What if...?
Today we watched two quick (appropriate) scenes from the movie the Matrix. Here is what we discussed:
Up until now, the main character, Neo, felt like there was something bigger than this world. He had this idea of the Matrix in his head, but he did not know what it was. Before this scene, he was violently flushed out of his living chamber, he has been revived physically, and now he is going to be told the truth about his life.
All the technologies in this scene exist in some form now. The movie just asks What if…? How does the story give us a glimpse of how our present-day technologies could turn out?
What if… we allow Artificial Intelligence to have self-rule?
What if… we could live inside a computer?
What if… we needed to scorch the sky?
What if… we are living in a computer right now? Would you know?
The students need to be thinking about a technology that they will include in their science fiction piece.
On Monday, the students will need to discuss these questions:
Explain the technology.
What does it do?
How does it do it?
What are its current uses?
What problem does this technology solve, or what problems might this technology create?
What if ...?
We also went to the Book Fair.
The question I am getting the students to think about is What if...?
Today we watched two quick (appropriate) scenes from the movie the Matrix. Here is what we discussed:
Up until now, the main character, Neo, felt like there was something bigger than this world. He had this idea of the Matrix in his head, but he did not know what it was. Before this scene, he was violently flushed out of his living chamber, he has been revived physically, and now he is going to be told the truth about his life.
All the technologies in this scene exist in some form now. The movie just asks What if…? How does the story give us a glimpse of how our present-day technologies could turn out?
What if… we allow Artificial Intelligence to have self-rule?
What if… we could live inside a computer?
What if… we needed to scorch the sky?
What if… we are living in a computer right now? Would you know?
The students need to be thinking about a technology that they will include in their science fiction piece.
On Monday, the students will need to discuss these questions:
Explain the technology.
What does it do?
How does it do it?
What are its current uses?
What problem does this technology solve, or what problems might this technology create?
What if ...?
We also went to the Book Fair.
Monday, February 07, 2011
A few grades are in HAC and we have started the sci-fi piece
Friday:
We were in the library trying to find a technology that will be worked into the science fiction piece. We also took the Unit 8 quiz. We will take this coming week off from vocab. We have the book fair Tuesday and DCAS one day.
Homework:
The main assignment due now is a presentation on Monday January 14. Students will present some futuristic technology to the class and give us an idea of how they will work the technology into a story. I will make the assignment clear throughout this week. Students should be researching cool technologies. I have links on the assignment page.
Here is the science fiction assignment page.
We were in the library trying to find a technology that will be worked into the science fiction piece. We also took the Unit 8 quiz. We will take this coming week off from vocab. We have the book fair Tuesday and DCAS one day.
Homework:
The main assignment due now is a presentation on Monday January 14. Students will present some futuristic technology to the class and give us an idea of how they will work the technology into a story. I will make the assignment clear throughout this week. Students should be researching cool technologies. I have links on the assignment page.
Here is the science fiction assignment page.
Due Dates:
February 14- Present your technology to the class
February 23- Rough draft of the story is due
February 28- Final draft is due
Classroom judging begins!
Winners will be determined!
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Unit 8 vocab quiz Friday
If you would like to have your child practice for the vocab quiz, please go to this page. There are flashcards and a practice test there.
We have started the science fiction unit. There will be more information in the following week. But you can check out the assignment web page. There is lots of information there. I will finalize the due dates soon. At this point, students should be thinking about a really cool technology that they can work into a fiction story.
Today we read an article on a technology that can get an image out of the reflection in an eyeball from a photograph. Another technology in the article explained how they can use a camera and a computer to track the exact direction someone is looking. I then asked them to brainstorm a few questions. We will finish this activity up tomorrow.
Eye tracking technology:
1. It can recreate the picture found in someone’s eye.
2. It can track the exact direction someone is looking.
How could this technology be used?
Advertisers?
Game developers?
For handicapped people?
What are some ways these technologies could be used for good? Evil?
What about world domination?
Combine this technology with another technology. Now what?
If this technology becomes successful, what might the future look like in 50 or 100 years?
We have started the science fiction unit. There will be more information in the following week. But you can check out the assignment web page. There is lots of information there. I will finalize the due dates soon. At this point, students should be thinking about a really cool technology that they can work into a fiction story.
Today we read an article on a technology that can get an image out of the reflection in an eyeball from a photograph. Another technology in the article explained how they can use a camera and a computer to track the exact direction someone is looking. I then asked them to brainstorm a few questions. We will finish this activity up tomorrow.
Eye tracking technology:
1. It can recreate the picture found in someone’s eye.
2. It can track the exact direction someone is looking.
How could this technology be used?
Advertisers?
Game developers?
For handicapped people?
What are some ways these technologies could be used for good? Evil?
What about world domination?
Combine this technology with another technology. Now what?
If this technology becomes successful, what might the future look like in 50 or 100 years?
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
The punctuation unit is over!
Homework:
Completing the Sentence Unit 8
(Flashcards for section 6)
Today:
Since we have come back from winter break, I have been trying to get through a punctuation unit from our book. Today we reviewed the practice test we took on Monday. We discussed the answers, and I reviewed the rules. Then we took the test. We are done!
The test scores are on HAC.
There will be a quiz on unit 8 on Friday.
Completing the Sentence Unit 8
(Flashcards for section 6)
Today:
Since we have come back from winter break, I have been trying to get through a punctuation unit from our book. Today we reviewed the practice test we took on Monday. We discussed the answers, and I reviewed the rules. Then we took the test. We are done!
The test scores are on HAC.
There will be a quiz on unit 8 on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
