Sara's Formative Project / Blog Post

Hey Everyone! I finally finished designing the new beachside bakers logo and banner! Also I am continuing to work on putting information into the website and upload pictures. Soon I am hoping to buy the domain name and release the website to the public! Also, on Sunday I competed in the Cake War at Cakes for Occasions in Danvers, MA. Please vote for me! All you have to do is “like” this picture on Facebook (link).

John Makiej's Formative Project / Blog Post

Over the past month I have been working on a basic html website highlighting what I have
learned in HTML 5 with a dragon theme. Things such as paragraphs, headers, hyperlinks, embed code,
and a little bit of css here and there. I finally finished my website and am now pondering how to present

my website. My main idea is to showcase it through a powerpoint to show to Mr.Downs. After I present
the powerpoint I plan on making a less comical site. I am still thinking of ideas for the site. After that I
will probally present the new website through another powerpoint.

Katherine's Formative Project / Blog Post

Things have been going really well so far! Learning HTML has been a  long project, but I think I’m almost at the point where I can make something that looks semi-legitimate. I say almost, because at this point I have a good grasp on a fair amount of the basic html-- but there’s still a large difference between theoretically knowing and actually doing. Sure, I can execute examples of the skills in isolated environments (check out that pointlessly elaborate nested table I created!), but I have still had very little practice in putting it all together, mainly because I don’t have a driving concept for my work. I guess I never really considered making a website, because originally I had my heart set on this whole “interactive infographic” idea, but such is the nature of an exploratory project, I guess! Unfortunately, now that I see how far off from my initial idea I am, I’ve reached a bit of a conceptual standstill. Code writer’s block, if you will. I definitely need to regroup, refocus, and re-plan, though the lack of inspiration is certainly not helping.

Until I reach a point of resolution on the creative front, I’ll continue working on learning new concepts and such from w3 schools. There’s always more to learn, and I should probably start working on external css and/or javascript soon, too. Plus, now that I’ve gotten oriented with html, I can now open up the page sources for any websites I find interesting, and use them as a learning opportunity. With every different website examined, I become aware of many more aspects of html-- yet another exciting but daunting prospect.
Though there are many variable aspects to my project right now, one thing is for certain; I definitely still have a long way to go.

Collin's Formative Project / Blog Post

In the past two weeks I have been using HTML to create a website. I have gotten a basic template to use as the platform for my website. The website has 5 pages, and all pages are going to have content on them. Along with potentially other () used to increase the quality of the site and rank it. So far I have enjoyed making the website and learning and practicing HTML as it is something I am familiar with.

For my formative project, I am going to show my website along with other attributes surrounding the website. Also, I will show the documents I have created using google docs. I look forward to completing and presenting my project to Mr. Downs and Mr. Griffin, and I hope that my project meets my own standards.

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.

John Blog Post For the Month of March

In this month of March I have successfully learned the basics of HTML. I mainly wish to use this skill to help people build websites. My first little project is a fake Dragon website just to showcase my basic skills. So far it is about 80% done. Once it is done I will be presenting it through a PowerPoint presentation. After that I am going to make a more serious website about myself. Maybe some sort of Portfolio website.

The Difference Between Technology Use in the Classroom and Student Engagement (web 2.0,web 3.0,web 1.0 tools)

When evaluating technology use in the classroom it is important to examine the tools you are currently using and determine if you are using technology tools as a method of one way communication and passive sharing or are you asking students to engage on a deeper level with your content. Engaging students often means enabling the to  collaborate with shared documents or completing online assessments prior to entering the classroom.

Differentiating between these tools becomes a matter of understanding the differences between what are commonly called Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 tools. Here are two definitions of these tools as well as the evolving Web 3.0 tools. These are taken from Digital Inspiration (http://www.labnol.org/internet/web-3-concepts-explained/8908/)

Understanding and differentiating how these tools can be used in the classroom is an important decision which impacts the level of integration/collaboration you will get with students. Most 21st century learners engage with the use of 2.0 tools in more impactful ways than the use of “static” read only content of the pre-2006 web. Consider this list when choosing a tool and what the students receptivity to the content will be.

Further Reading:

Key Differences in Web 1.0 & Web 2.0

http://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2125/1972