Jan 31st and Week of February 3rd - 7th, 2020

Welcome to Principles of Computer Technology, Spring 2020 Edition!

Friday, January 31st:
Welcome!
Discuss rules and expectations, course outline, current events assignment, "Good Questions" homework for next Tuesday.

Monday, February 3rd:
Homework due at the beginning of class today: register for turnitin, bring back parent/guardian contact information sheet, take this survey to help me know a little about you.

Begin unit 1: Digital Representation of Real World Information
Essential Questions:

• How can a computer work with so many kinds of information if all it can do is process ones and zeroes?
• How can a computer turn physical phenomena like sound and pictures into ones and zeroes?
• How can a computer turn ones and zeroes into physical phenomena like pictures and sounds?

Ones and zeroes: introduce binary/hex numbers
Give out binary/hex worksheet for Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Homework due at the beginning of class today: "Good Questions", binary/hex worksheet due

Complete binary/hex numbers discussion.
Begin discussing digital representation of sounds and images, digital cameras, CAT scans

• What is Unicode?
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Autotune
• Audacity - free audio software

Begin discussing digital representation of sounds and images, digital cameras, CAT scans
Give out internet vocabulary sheet - due Thursday

Wednesday:

Current events group 1 due today:
P1: Ayah, Lucas, Sejal, Paige, Olivia
P2: Isha, Areebah, Christopher, Jacob, Alexa
Remember to enter your topic here and be sure no one else from your section is already doing it.

Continue discussing digital representation of sounds and images, digital cameras, CAT scans

• A little bit about pixels from code.org (5:49)
• Pixel widgets from code.org (optional)
• Aloe Blacc talking about compression from code.org (3:23)
• Text compression widget from code.org (optional)
• Video compression as fast as possible (6:09)
• Let's enhance. . . (1:43)
• Amped Software - from the crime scene to the courtroom (2:30)
• Gigapixel images
• Jordan Peele uses AI, President Obama in fake news PSA (2:31)
• Fake videos of real people - and how to spot them (TED talk) (7:15)
• How hard is it to make a believeable deepfake? Very interesting article.  Includes this Deepfake Quiz
• In Event of Moon Disaster

Thursday:
Homework due at beginning of class today: Internet vocabulary

Wrap up digital representation of images and sounds, CAT scan
Discuss internet try-at-home, due Monday

Begin Unit 2: Basic Principles of the Internet
Essential Questions:

• What is the Internet? 
• Where did it come from, and how did it evolve?
• How does it function?
• What is a protocol? 
• What is an open system?
• What characteristics of the Internet have allowed it to become so pervasive?
• How does the ability of computers to communicate with one another affect our lives?

Begin internet discussion of internet history and technology

Videos:

• The Lighting of the Beacons
• Pneumatic Tubes

TCP/IP try-at-home for next Monday:
Do TCP/IP try-at-home for Windows 7, and Mac OS/X.
Windows 10 users, this page may be helpful if you can't figure out how to get telnet to work.

Friday:
Quiz on binary and hex numbers, digital representation of information
Continue with discussion of Internet technology.

Videos:

• What is the Internet?
• Wires, Cables, and Wifi

Week of January 27th - 31st, 2020

Monday:
Please take one last survey.
Opportunity to ask questions before the final exam
Everyone working on last Processing project

Tuesday:
Opportunity to ask questions before the final exam
Watch this video of Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University back in 2005.

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
- from "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver 

Wednesday:
(Even though it's a final exam day, we will have regular 85 minute periods in the morning.)
Opportunity to ask questions before the final exam.

Optional final exam review session after school Wednesday 2:30 - 4:00 pm.  You can stay for as much or as little as you want, but please make sure you can be picked up by 4:00 pm.

Thursday:
Final exam for both sections in media center.  You will have about an hour to study before the exam.

Friday:
Begin second semester!

Week of January 20th - 24th, 2020

Monday:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school

Tuesday:

Preliminary homework for last Processing project due at beginning of class.
Second period: Steven and Juju give their AI/Robotics presentations
Video: Rubber Duck Debugging
Everyone working on last Processing project - remember to update your journal at the end of class.
Give out review sheet for final exam

Wednesday:

shortened periods, Rutgers testing starts at 9 AM

Everyone working on last Processing project - remember to update your journal at the end of class.

Thursday:

shortened periods, Rutgers testing starts at 9 AM

Everyone working on last Processing project - remember to update your journal at the end of class.

Friday:

Everyone working on last Processing project - remember to update your journal at the end of class.

Week of January 13th - 17th, 2020

Monday:
Introduce last Processing project.
Start packet on additional processing capabilities.

Tuesday:
Finish final packet on additional processing capabilities, begin working on last project's preliminary homework.

Wednesday:

Robotics and AI presentations will begin today. Everyone must have shared your Google Slides presentation with me by 5:00 AM this morning.

Important - name your presentation or powerpoint file "period lastname", like "per2 Jones". This makes my life a lot easier.

You must be ready to present on today, even though you may not actually present until Thursday or even Friday. Presenters will be chosen at random by a computer program.

Thursday:

Continue with presentations.

Friday:
The completed Pong assignment is due by end of lunchtime today.  If you did the Pong extra credit, please show it to me as you are turning in your programs. Note that the lab will be closed from 10:30 to 11:00 on Friday for the yearbook meeting, so plan ahead!

Complete any remaining presentations.

Preliminary homework for the last project is due no later than the beginning of class on Tuesday, January 21st.

Week of January 5th - 9th, 2020

Monday:
All students working on first Processing drawing project.  The actual project is due by the end of lunchtime on Thursday.

Tuesday:
Flip day, 2-1-3-4, NJSLA testing
AI/Robotics papers due at beginning of class, on paper and via turnitin.

About 45 minutes at beginning of class to work on Processing drawing project

Introduce interactive programming with Processing

Remember, you can download Processing for free. Just go to  https://processing.org/download

After downloading it, you'll need to add the Python mode.  To do that, start it up and click on the button in the upper right hand corner that says "Java", and then click "Add Mode...".  Select "Python Mode for Processing 3" and click Install.  When the green check mark appears, restart Processing, and click Java again.  This time, select Python.  You'll now be in Python mode. . . and ready to go.

Wednesday:
Continue interactive programming with Processing, start working on Pong game

Thursday:
First processing sketch (assigned last Friday) is due by the end of lunch today.
Everyone working on Pong game

Friday:
Last class time to work on Pong game. If you're finished, you can work on your AI/Robotics presentation. Presentations will begin next Wednesday, Jan 15th.  Everyone must have shared their Google Slides presentation with me by 5:00 AM Wednesday morning.