April 21
Find a picture of a bridge on line, and create a replica with one of the following sites.
April 16th
Check out Wonderopolis
Check out this site. Click on the search bar and explore wonders. You can learn about anything!
Here’s today’s three questions on Earthquake lights. The article will answer the questions below, as well as read the article if you need it, and offer vocabulary words, extra links, and optional quizzes.
Have You Ever Wondered…
What are earthquake lights?
What causes earthquake lights?
How common are earthquake lights?
April 15th
Try out this game- It’s a lot of fun. You Try and combine elements by dragging them over the top of other ones to make new things. Drag elements on the screen to get points. In the lower corner you will see your point total. (Points are in the bottom left corner)
April 14th
Check out Sploder. It is a great site to make and play games on. *Click on play games at the top to check out some of the games that have been created. You can also join challenges.
*Click on Make a game, and you can literally start making the game. You can edit it as you go. Its really easy!
April 13th
Create an underground city on Voxels. Name it and explain the purpose as well as how it is different from other cities.
April 9th
Look at the scratch assignment from yesterday.
In sticking with today’s Pirate Ship Idea- Create a Scratch project about a Pirate ship or a Pirate collecting gold.
See example. Use the background, change the character and have him or her move.
- Choose a new sprite (find a picture) save your computer, upload it as I did the pirate. When you click on the pirate and click on costumes, you can make it bigger or smaller or edit the picture you downloaded. (When you are in costumes, you can click on the picture, and then click on select you can make the picture bigger or smaller)
- Click on code to go back to writing your project.
April 8th
Check out Scratch: Scratch Coding Site
If you want to start coding, scratch is a fantastic way to get started.
*You can make an account right away, or you can get started and save your work after you have created something.
To make something, click on Create at the top:
- Start out by watching the green tutorials in the center if you like. Or click on the X in the corner to get the tutorial out of the way.
- Set a background: In the very bottom right click on blue circle that pops up “Backdrops” Either use what is there or upload a picture from your computer
3. Choose a Character (Sprite) Next to the backdrops, It is the blue circle with the cat right next to the backdrops. Keep the cat or change it. You can also add more than one character.
4. Now click on the character and begin writing the script in the middle by dragging the blocks across.
*If at any point you lose your script that you begin writing- click on your character at the bottom (make sure that background is not clicked on so that you can write the script for the character)
5. Click on the yellow button in the center on the left hand side. It’s called events. You have to start your program with an event. I like “When the green flag is clicked” but you can choose any event you like.
6. Now click on Motion (Blue button on the left hand side)
- Drag the motion options over to snap under the event block. Everything needs to attach and click into each other.
7. To get the character to say something, Click on Looks which is right below motion (that you just used). You can edit the box that says “Hello” and have it say something else.
8. You can try your program out at any time by doing what you chose for your event starter (For example) I chose when the green flag is clicked so I should click the green flag on the screen to try and run my program.
9. Control- If for some reason your character does not do all of your actions, add a control (the Orange button between things you want it to do.
If you click on Explore at the top: You can search for and see a bunch of projects.
- When you find one that you like, click on it, and you will see directions as well a “See inside option”. That will allow you to see the code and formula used to make the project.
- You can search anything from stories, to well-known games or ideas.
* Remember to save your project and make a log in if you are interested.
*Also I will add more to the directions and options tomorrow.
April 7th
Edit the following document and make a poster below the directions
- Take this document. Click file (in the top left corner) and then Click on make a copy. -Click on yes to rename it copy of (or choose another name)
- Now that you can type on the Document, Take the text to edit and change the font Do this by clicking on “Arial” and select more fonts.
- Scroll down. Click on the font called Lobster. Use that font for the words. (Highlight the words below and click on Lobster.
- Change the size of the words to as big as you would like. The size of the font is where the number 11, in almost the center of the tool bar is.
- Click on Center to center the text now. That is the square that has four different lines (it is right above the 5 on the toolbar)
- You can delete any directions when you are done.
Text to Edit
To Error is Human
To Arrrr is Pirate
Here is the document to edit : Edit by clicking on this link
Extra coding activity:
This week, we’ll welcome actor and investor Ashton Kutcher, along with Mia Gil Epner, a cybersecurity expert and former software engineer for the National Security Agency (NSA). Together we’ll learn how data is protected, and we’ll try an interactive teaching format that’s a first for us.
Wednesday, April 8 at 10am PT / 1pm ET
To participate:
1) Add Code Break to your calendar
2) Download Zoom on your computer or smartphone in advance. An option to watch via your web browser will also be available at the start of the episode.
3) 2 minutes before the episode, visit this page for the link to join.
4) Bring a pen + paper, you’ll need it
Present your code creations to Ashton Kutcher!
We will pick a few lucky students to personally demo their code to Ashton Kutcher. To participate, as you complete last week’s activities, share your interactive card or app. Post a share link to social media with #CodeBreak (or email it to us at codebreaktech@code.org).
Join us early for a unique interaction with our special guests
Everybody will get to participate in this class, but we have a unique interaction planned for the biggest fans. To participate on camera, join this limited Zoom meeting 1 hour before the episode, first come, first serve.*
We want your help
Last week we had students join Code Break from as far away as Bangalore, India and Ghana, Africa. Help spread the love — invite other parents, students, and even entire schools to join. Share this email, or share on Twitter, or on Facebook. And thank you for all the loving tweets about #CodeBreak, keep them coming! 🙂
Hadi Partovi
Founder, Code.org
April 6th
Pirate Week:
Check out this resource to help you answer today’s questions- About Pirates
Questions:
- What are sloops? And how many people and cannons could they carry?
- What are schooners and brigantines?
- What were these pirates typically after?
- Where did Pirate Sam Bellamy’s, ship Whydah sink?
- What did the pirate diet typically include? What do you think about this?
- Name two books that you can read about pirates.
- Think about one question you have about pirates, their diet, their quests or life. See if you can find an answer to that question by doing a basic Google Search on line.
April 2
Find a copyright free photo to use. * Copyright free photos allow you to use them however you would like. Unsplash is one of my favorite sites, and you don’t need an account.
Here is one site that you can use:
1. When you open the link, type in the topic “Surf” in the search bar.
2. Click on the picture you like.
3. You can either download it or right click on it (or two finger finger click on the mouse if you are on a chrome book) and save it to your downloads or your files.
4. Now you can use this as a profile picture, a picture in a blog, a picture on a website, or a picture to edit freely.
April 1
Find two surfing locations (Either spots for surfing, or surf related business by searching Google ahead of time, or using the search circle on Google Earth.)
*Explore the Locations.
Note: Google Earth will either be downloaded on your computer (you can access it with the windows icon in the lower left hand corner searching “Google Earth” or Google “Google Earth” as I did. And in a few minutes, it should work.
March 31st-
Create a Table on Google Docs and Organize information about surfers.
- Click on insert.
- Click on table
- Then click on three columns and 4 Rows.
- Then paste in the appropriate information for each box and surfer. (You need a picture, place where he or she is from, and one of the accomplishments in the final box.)
- See example.
March 30th-
Theme of the Week – Surfing
*All assignments are related to the theme
Today’s work: Here is the Google Document: Background Surfing Day 1
March 27th, 2020
Here’s a great game to try your hand at.
March 26th, 2020
Finding a copyright free picture on Google Docs and editing it.
First open up a picture in Google images: click on insert, then image, then search the web. On the right hand side search the topic you want to find a picture of. Then click on the one you want and insert it.
Now, to edit it-
Click on the picture. Click on Image Options
On the right hand side (click recolor, adjustments or whatever else you would like to do to edit the photo).
March 25, 2020
Design an island on Voxels. Today’s assignment can be done by any student of any level. Start clicking the cubes, rotate and build. If you want to change the color, click on different numbers on your keyboard.
Click on Voxels (it’s kind of like Minecraft) Link for Voxels
*Note, it won’t save. You can do one of two things, right click on it to copy and paste it to somewhere or copy the link to a document and then go back to it. However, as the link gets really large, it may not work.
Feel free to tag me in a picture on Facebook or instagram or twitter.
Instagram: lmcdonell2001 Twitter: lmcdonell14
Typing.com and Typing.club are also awesome ways to learn how to type. Make an account, it’s free!
March 24, 2020
*Play with Use Cubes
Click on “design” to build something.
Click on the block, and drag the mouse with the arrows. It will build. If you click on “Brush” you can change the colors.
*You can click on “explore” on the home page and check out the community of designers.
(This will save with a Google Drive or email account)
March 23, 2020
Taking a Screenshot with a Chromebook.
Directions:
*Click control (CTRL) and the center key above the six with a square and two lines. Hold them both down at the same time. Your image will appear and you can click on it and then click downloads to save it, or save it to another location.
*If you want to insert it into a google doc, click insert, from your computer and then click on the picture and it should appear.
*Sometimes you want to take a picture of what is on your screen and save it or send it somewhere. Taking a screenshot is an awesome skill that I use frequently. On a chromebook it is a little different then a regular desktop computer.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Edit a Photo
Directions:
- Click on https://pixlr.com/x/
- In the middle of the screen click: Start editing.
- At the bottom there are a bunch of photos: Click:Try editing photo now.
- Click on the photo and it will appear in the edit area.
- On the left hand side, use the tools to play around and have fun!
- When you are done, if you want to save it, click save (Blue button at the bottom)
- Then, in the same spot, click download (it’s also blue)
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Re-create a logo on Sketch.
Find a logo you want to create. See how close you can get. See how many details you can capture. Then use the Link for Sketch
Want to be really creative? Create a unique logo for your family, or yourself.
To Save and Share it: There is an icon on the right hand side at the bottom called export. Click on that, and download will appear as an option. If you download it, you can save it to a file, or attach it.
Did you enjoy this? Graphic Design and marketing might be awesome career goals!
*Feel free to tag me if you create something cool!
Instagram: lmcdonell2001 Twitter: lmcdonell14
March 18, 2020
Welcome to the Daily Computer challenge! 
Design a sunrise on Voxels. Today’s assignment can be done by any student of any level. Start clicking the cubes, rotate and build. If you want to change the color, click on different numbers on your keyboard.
Click on Voxels (it’s kind of like Minecraft) Link for Voxels
*Note, it won’t save. You can do one of two things, right click on it to copy and paste it to somewhere or copy the link to a document and then go back to it. However, as the link gets really large, it may not work.
Feel free to tag me in a picture on Facebook or instagram or twitter.
Instagram: lmcdonell2001 Twitter: lmcdonell14
Typing.com and Typing.club are also awesome ways to learn how to type. Make an account, it’s free!
Enjoying Every Mile 