Nick's Formative Project / Blog Post

For my project, decided to program a text-adventure game in Java. I found an online compiler called ‘Browxy.com’, which saves and compiles your programs. I created a flowchart which mapped out how the game would progress, then another flowchart showing how I would actually program it. I like flowcharts.

To showcase my project, I can use a screen capture program to show me playing the game, and then show some of the actual code which I used to make it. I can also show the flowcharts I used, to show my process for writing a program. I could also talk about how planning ahead can save a lot of time, and tell stories about how I had to scrap an entire 200-line bit of code because it wouldn’t work properly.

Parth Blog Entry for March

Parth Valecha

Hi I am Parth Valecha. In the past couple months, I have been working on a headphones idea of mine. I have been researching different headphones and looked at what I can take from each headphone and each company to produce my product. I have been researching which tips provide the best noise isolation, which drives produce  crisp and balanced sound quality, and stuff like that. I also wrote about a page and a half on the benefits and functions that make my product so different and beneficial. I have recently started working on the product development side of my product and how it implements so many things into such a simple format and device. I hope to soon get a document out on how I would market and sell my headphones. I think Innovation Help Desk is pretty sweet. I like the independence as you can do really whatever you want. Sometimes that independence leaves me a little lost but that feeling is necessary in the business world. I feel like I can really get my thoughts out and develop and improve on them.

For phase two, I got an idea on how I’m going to present my idea. It’s going to be on a word document. It will have two parts, product development and benefits to customer. The first part will be pictures of a few headphones from other companies. Each headphone has a few bullet point on how I would like to implement it into my product. I might take the design of one headphone and the quality production of another. In the end, my product will be a mix of all the headphones. I do this to show what I have in mind and show that my product is viable. The second part will be an elevator pitch. This will focus more on the benefits and uses of my product rather than how it works.

Sara Blog Entry for the Month of March

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to update you on my website progress. With help from Mr. Downs, I now have a template that I am using for each of the pages. I picked out the color scheme and the

pictures that I will be using. Also, I am planning on creating my new logo soon. I learned a lot of new code, which is posted below. I now know how to change colors, as well as create new boxes on the screen.
On a side note, I was recently selected to represent Andover High in a Cake War where I will be designing a cake that is Andover High School themed. I will be competing against a few other schools in surrounding towns, and all of the cakes will be posted to Facebook. The winner is chosen by who receives the most likes on their picture. I am excited about this opportunity because I love how it connects my love for baking with technology.

Collin Blog Entry For the Month of March

So far I have been working on basic HTML and planning a webpage. I have been using codecademy and W3 schools for learning basic HTML. Also, I have been planning a template to put my website on. I will be implementing SEO on this webpage and learning/using some techniques to rank the site. These will be learned through websites online, as well as other files and PDFs found on the web.

I enjoy this class for the independent attributes it offers. I am able to do as I please regarding computers. The skills I learn in this class will be used on my own time. These are skills that if I did not learn in class, I would likely learn on my own time outside of school. It is nice to be able to learn something in this class that I will be able to put in practice.

Why We Love Chromebooks / Zachary Griffin

The Advantages of a Google Chromebook
Google is one of the biggest multinational corporations in the world, and with its goal of trying to create seamless and universal devices and programs for any type of audience, such as the Google Apps, it only seems fitting that they would create a Chrome-based laptop that takes full advantage of its App interface and cloud-based service.

Cloud-Based Interface
As is the direction Google are going with the Google Docs, the Chromebooks take advantage of the Chrome OS device. An internet-based storage system that stores anything from online video streaming to sharing emails via a social network, is all implemented seamlessly on the Chromebooks.

Despite the several advantages to an always online storage system, this could have its own negative outcome for people who are more protective of their content and don’t feel comfortable pushing their content on an always-online storage space.

Full Advantage of the Google Docs
A more cloud-based online environment is coming, and with big manufacturers like Sony, Apple, and Microsoft utilizing a streamed-based service, Google Docs will become even more efficient in creating and sharing documents in the future. Among the various things that the Google Docs allow you to do, you can also take advantage of its exclusive apps that can used for education such as Quicknote or Scratchpad.

Apps that Instructional Staff can take advantage of using Chromebooks:

• Google Books
• SlideRocket
• Google Docs
• Google Dictionary
• Alarm Clock App
• Zoho Projects

Affordability of a Chromebook versus any other standard laptop
One of the best parts of obtaining a Chromebook is how cheap they are. The Acer Chromebook C720-2848 laptop with an 11.6-inch screen is only $200. Compared to similar laptops from other manufacturers such as a Windows 8.1 Dell, which sells the Asus 13.3-inch laptop at $400 with a lower end Intel Duo processor, the Chromebook, relying more heavily on its streaming service rather than its tech, would not only provide better value, but you wouldn't need to worry about getting hardware upgrades on an always clouded device.

How we, at the Andover Innovation Lab use Google Docs
Google Forms 
We use Google forms to create various spreadsheets and forms that assist us in keeping track of our students progress regardless of where we are and what device we are using, as these are the advantages of a streamed catalog! One of the examples that we use is the Student Attendance sheet which was created using Google Forms.

Google Calendar
Keeping track of our students attendance online for the Help Desk is not only beneficial for us, but also for the students. Using Google Calendar, we posted the Help Desk’s students names and the times and days they are scheduled to attend class on the Calendar, which is set to public so both teachers and students can view it. Using the embed tool the Google Calendar provides, we can also post that Calendar on Wiki Spaces and Blogger so our students can always see it as a useful reminder as to when they are expected to attend our class.

Blogger
Among the many resources the Google Apps provide us, the Google Blogger is among our most used app at the Help Desk. Blogging is an essential way of keeping our viewers and students up to date with the current events of the Help Desk. Students are also asked to post their own blogs regarding their progress on their projects on the Help Desk blogger.

       The Google Apps are essential to the Andover Innovation Lab’s progress, and using the Chromebook interface to take even more advantage of these features would even further its value to both the staff and the students. Chromebooks are affordable, durable, and up-to-date with the newest cloud-based technology, and with Google pushing towards becoming an even more universal technology based company than it already is, Chromebooks will surely prove to be the way to go for education in the near future.

Useful Links for further information on Chromebooks:
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1056325?hl=en
https://sites.google.com/site/chromeoswikisite/home/choosing-a-chromebook
https://sites.google.com/site/chromebookclassroominthecloud/classroom-resources

Andover Innovation Lab Links:
http://andoverhighschoolstudenthelpdesk.blogspot.com/
http://andoverinnovationlabhelpdesk.wikispaces.com/

Instructional Technology Update Andover High School Week of January 27-January 31 2014 -Daniel Downs

This week at the Andover Innovation Lab & Help Desk we got off to a great start with the addition of 10 new students beginning projects using technology. The student projects range from learning Java, creating websites and also developing business plans for innovative products. In the next week we will be posting blog entries from the students describing their first week at the help desk/innovation lab.

Some of these students have been able to assist teachers in their role at the Innovation Lab/Help Desk  with a variety of technology. Students have assisted in setting up wireless projectors,adding email accounts to phones and downloading the Chrome browser on the new MacBooks.

Students at the Innovation Lab are also piloting the use of district based Google Drive accounts. Students in the lab will be urged to use these tools to assist in their research,share documents,videos,images. At the end of this semester we will ask students about their use of these tools and use their opinions to help develop a list of benefits these tools can bring to the district.

Photo:Help student Viabhav Patel installs PC for Innovation Lab students at help desk.

This week I worked with Adriana Gonzalez a teacher in the Foreign language department. I assisted Mrs. Gonzalez with creating shared Google Documents which contain her course homework. These documents enable real time updates of assignments and provides a consistent and reliable link for parents and students . Using a link shortener named Bit.ly we were able to also shorten the Google Links to personalize and shorten links. These links were then placed on the X2 portal.

Teachers are also beginning to use Google Groups to create collaborative web portals for students to ask questions,post comments and share acquired knowledge. The groups enable teachers to organize a collaborative web based environment on individual emails. Students and the teachers are sharing information simultaneously and are notified whenever someone adds to the discussion. These groups are widely used in higher education for collaboration I have included the link from Brown University who uses these groups consistently.

Link To Brown University Google Tools Site

Lauren Ream Social Studies teacher has ambitiously developed a blog to host her course materials this semester. Mrs.Ream has organized her course materials and hosted a variety of web based documents using Google Drive on her Blogger blog. Over the course of the semester she will have students commenting on discussions directly in class and will also enable students to share quickly and efficiently the course assignments and homework postings.

I was able to work within Mrs. Reams classroom this week and assist her with adding existing lessons and editing them to be posted on the blog. We also added students to become readers of her blog.  Her students blog posts engaged students with not only with learning technology skills but also improved engagement with her content. At the end of the class students could scroll through student responses and view a variety of opinions related to subject matter content. These changes will enable Mrs. Reams class to continue to develop  web based lessons and ready access to assessments.

In the coming weeks I will be offering out to teachers

more technology training after school to assist in understanding their MacBooks “System Preferences” and “Commonly Used Web Apps” such as Evernote and Skitch.

Additional training opportunity will include beginning teachers with Google Drive and Documents. I want to enable to teachers to improve their adaption of tools to their existing lessons and classroom environments.