All good things must come to an end...

Hopefully, for you, the proverb "All good things must come to an end" sums up your experience in Gr. 8 I.T. For many of you, it was a valuable introduction to vr, drones, and breakout.For students with some experience, I hope that it has opened your eyes to the possibilities that exist in I.T. for your future.


Now is the time to reflect on the experience. 
Please take the time to answer all the questions below.
Answer all questions on your Gr. 8 I.T. Blog

Questions

1. Reflecting on this trimester, what has been one of the most valuable skills that you have learned?

2. Next, choose 2 School Wide Learning results to describe the knowledge that you have gained in class. Explain ( be sure to provide evidence and examples to support your ideas).

3. What activities do you believe could be included in the class if it was offered in the future?

When you have completed the questions on your blog, please create a new page in your eportfolio. 

Title the page - Grade 8 I.T. - Then embed your blog into the google site page. 

If you are unsure, on how to embed your blog, view the following youtube. 



When done, continue with your coding :)
Looking forward to our breakout session on Friday!

Enjoy
Mrs.N


Graphic source 

The next step - Hour of Code

Globally each December, Millions of people worldwide will take part in this initiative. 



To entice people to take part  Code.org has designed some basic coding activities to get people ready for the event. 

Accelerated Intro to Computer Science Course
In order to give students the skills necessary for computer science courses and logic programming, Code. Org has developed a course that covers core computer science and programming course. It is designed for students 10-18. 

As a starting point, navigate to CODE.ORG's website... https://studio.code.org/

Select Student sign up. 

Once you have signed up, select the ACCELERATED COURSE ICON. 

CLICK HERE to access the course

Skills for Future

The skills that you will need in the future are diverse. 

One fact that numerous researchers agree upon, is that programming is a crucial skill that should be taught in school. The major problem is that not all educational institutions view programming as a necessary skill.
Let's look at some facts:-

As a starting point,  uncover your skills, passions, and wishes for our next mini unit.  

Reflect upon your programming skills and interests. 

1. What prior experience have you had with programming. What programs do you know?

Python

Java

C++

Xcode

Scratch

HTML

Swift

2. What have you created with the programs that you know? Please explain

3. If you had the choice to work on any programs in the class, what would you like to do?

4. Phew, next find an image that portrays you as a programmer. 

8. Spell check, grammar check, publish your blogpost and send the url to Mrs. Narsiman, via google classroom. 

Graphic Sources:-
1. Code.Org

Everyday connections

It's amazing to reflect upon the way in which technology is a vital component of our everyday life. Truly it touches the majority of activities that we complete daily; in class, at home, while doing homework, contacting friends. Indeed technology is second nature to us, a facet of our life that we take for granted.

As a starting point, let's look at unusual ways in which our knowledge and activities can be interconnected. 

Enjoy

Mrs. N. 

Resource article
Knitters and Coders - Separated at birth

Drone Symposium.

Finally, we can all breathe a sigh of relief and be glad that drone research is complete. 
But wait, there is more...

Presenting your Drone Research

Over the past few weeks, you have conducted research, gained your drone license and began to formulate ideas on how drones could make our lives easier. 

We know that an integral piece of research is the presentation of data. 
One missing piece of data is market analysis, this is an additional requirement. 

This is your chance to choose a medium to present your findings. 

You have the latitude to choose from a myriad of tools. Pick your strength, focus on what tools that you know. 

This will one of your final summative assessments for the unit. 

Learning about Drones

Next week, you will all have the opportunity to gain your very own ISKL Drone License. To gain your license, you will need to complete 2 formative assessments and a final summative assessment. All information is contained in the following three documents; Lesson 1, Lesson 2 and Lesson 3. Both Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 will take place on Monday in the classroom (followed by short quizzes), and the final lesson (on the lower field) will occur on Wednesday. The major element of this lesson is practical application related to flying the drones in an open space.  

Please take the time to prepare for your drone license by,:-

a) reviewing all three lesson documents (hyperlinked above). 

and then,


b) In a well structured blogpost, highlight the following;-

1. Uses of drones (both professionally and as hobbyists).
2. Benefits of using drones as opposed to other technologies.
3. How drones will be used in the future.
4. Dangers of using drones. 
5. Conduct some action research via google forms to friends, teacher etc. 

Be sure to include, text, visuals and where necessary video.  You need to have citations for your research as well. 
Enjoy


Mrs. N


Citation