It's been an adventure.

Don't forget...

Stumbling is fun and good for you; web 2.0 is important; google things you don't know (or ask.com if you wish); blogs are great for keeping up with things; don't believe everything you read on wikipedia but don't deny everything on there either; Craig has a list and it's free to use; don't be afraid of monster(.com); building web pages isn't hard; games help people think; starting a business isn't hard; learning isn't something you do for teachers or parents; public school labs are the only places on earth to still use computers made by "ABC"; Firefox is open source and Microsoft isn't perfect; online documents are easily shared; you are your own best teacher.

Stay curious. Peace.

Think of where you fit into this.

We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.

-taken from 'Fight Club'. Accept it.

Here's an example of what you could be writing about.

Essay questions (10 points each):

• Describe how a business can use open-source software (Firefox, Open Office, Linux) to increase their productivity. What are the benefits to open-source alternatives? What are the benefits to Microsoft products?
• How can a small-business utilize Google's services and products to increase their exposure and profits?
• Explain the steps in creating a web site from scratch using a program like Dreamweaver from inception to getting the word out after publishing the site online.

DUE ON THE DAY OF THE FINAL USING GOOGLE DOCUMENTS. YOU MUST ADD ME AS A COLLABORATOR ( DAVID.FREER@GMAIL.COM )!

YOUR DOCUMENT MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING HEADING:

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
Period Number #
FINAL ESSAY EXAM

First period is due on May 24th 2007 before 2:30 pm.
Third period and Fourth period is due on May 25th 2007 before 2:30 pm.

Your responses may range from a single paragraph to five paragraphs but you may not copy a single sentence from anyone else without giving them credit for their work! This is very important and you will absolutely receive no credit if you copy work from other people.

See me if you do not have a Google Document account.

You may redo the assignments from yesterday. Many people did not even attempt them!

Future of advertising:

Three posts today for grades.

First read this article.

This is from the blog of the guys who wrote the book "Freakonomics".

Three questions:

• What is 'product placement'?
• How much does Martha Stewart charge to mention a product on the air?
• Do you think her use of this is hurting her ratings?
• What do you think of product placement?
  

Read this article about a new book search.

Questions:

• What has changed with the book search?
• Do you think people will still be reading books in 10 years? Why or why not?
• How long do you currently read online per day (in hours)? How long do you currently read offline per day (in hours)?
  

First read this article and summarize what her advice is for the class of 2007.

Next, explain whether she is optimistic or pessimistic. How can you tell?

Thirdly you will write your OWN 300 word speech for current graduates. What advice do you have for current graduates?

Click here to go to a good site.

First article summary on your blog (out of three).

Linux vs. Microsoft:
Visit this site: http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
-According to this obviously biased site, when should people stick with Windows?
-Which are the three most compelling reasons to migrate to Linux, according to the web site ? Elaborate on each.
-Create a hyperlink to the above website on your blog. A hyperlink is able to be clicked and doesn't need to be copied and pasted into the address bar.

First read this article concerning the loss of history and digital archives.
-How does the situation today compare with what happened at the library of Alexandria?
-Give a summary of the article and your own feelings as to whether the American government should invest money in this project.

Write at least two paragraphs.
This will be a grade in the grade book.

There are a few aspects of this performance that are important to high school students. Read this:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963202.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562

An astute student suggested printed out copies of the study guide!

So on Monday you will get a paper copy of the study guide.

It will be complete so you can study away from the computer.

Over the weekend read the following articles all the way through:

1. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/pf/0705/gallery.credit_score/index.html is an article about credit scores.
   
2. http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/18/news/economy/record_gas_retail_hit/index.htm?postversion=2007051807 an article about rising gasoline prices.
3. http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-05-18T110313Z_01_WEN8226_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-GENERALELECTRIC-DC.XML
   
   is an article about GE selling its plastics division to a foreign company.
4. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN1627079220070518
   is an article about a new computer chip by AMD.
5. http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=:ePkh8BM9E0KzgxVohwELPluMBB6t_Jx2-ebKL8mz7pxoDWE7DABzuBGM/2-0&fp=464db1ca70324c14&ei=15RNRqneKL2KtAH8mJHrAg&url=http%3A//www.reuters.com/article/TechnologyMediaTelecoms07/idUSL1872411020070518&cid=1116427049&sig2=nPbTGhjM0Lcp0aLY9s04Fw
   is an article about advertisements on cell phones.

Staying current is one of the most important things in business.

Day 4 Questions for Midterm:

1. What are Internet cookies?
2. What are packets?
3. What route do packets take over the Internet?
4. What is a 404 error on the web?
5. What is 'e-commerce'?
6. What is the difference between ebay and craigslist?
7. What is SSL?
8. What are the two major ways for home users to connect to the Internet via a high speed connection?
9. What is a T-1 line?
   

Essay questions (10 points each):

• Describe how a business can use open-source software (Firefox, Open Office, Linux) to increase their productivity. What are the benefits to open-source alternatives? What are the benefits to Microsoft products?
• How can a small-business utilize Google's services and products to increase their exposure and profits?
• Explain the steps in creating a web site from scratch using a program like Dreamweaver from inception to getting the word out after publishing the site online.

DUE ON THE DAY OF THE FINAL USING GOOGLE DOCUMENTS.

YOUR DOCUMENT MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING HEADING:

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
Period Number #
FINAL ESSAY EXAM

First period is due on May 24th 2007 before 2:30 pm.
Third period and Fourth period is due on May 25th 2007 before 2:30 pm.

Your responses may range from a single paragraph to five paragraphs but you may not copy a single sentence from anyone else without giving them credit for their work! This is very important and you will absolutely receive no credit if you copy work from other people.

See me if you do not have a Google Document account.

More FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS (not midterm as I said in yesterday's post):

# Who edits Wikipedia?
# What is Web 2.0?
# What is a social network?
# Which corporation owns Myspace.com?
# How do Digg.com and Reddit.com work?
# Why do people visit Monster.com?
# What does FTP stand for?
# What does HTTP mean?
# What is the file extension for Flash media that is available to see online?
# What is the file extension for Microsoft Word files?
# What is the file extension for Microsoft Excel files?
# What is the difference between Excel and Word?
# What is the file extension for Microsoft PowerPoint?
# How is Google Documents different from Microsoft Word and Excel?
# What is Linux?
# How does Linux differ from Microsoft Windows?
# What is Adwords?
# How would one profit from Adsense?

Today's questions for the midterm:

Day 1 Questions -

1. When were the following companies founded? (a) Google, (b) Microsoft, (c) Yahoo?
2. Who were the founders of each of those companies?
3. Last year (2006), what did the following companies make in revenue (a) Google, (b) Microsoft, (c) Yahoo?
4. What is .NET?
5. What is the Google Page Rank Algorithm? Basically, how are the placements of searches made?
6. Which company purchased Flickr.com?
7. Which company very recently purchased Chrysler?
8. What is the difference between a private equity company and a public corporation?
9. What is money coming in to a company? [Erase the incorrect answers.] (a) Accounts payable (b) Overhead (c) Wages (d) Revenue.
10. What is a share of stock?
11. What does Alcoa do? [Erase the incorrect answers.] (a) Mine diamonds (b) Make computers (c) Mine aluminum (d) Accounting.
12. What does the abbreviation GE stand for?
13. What does the CEO do in a company?
14. What does the CFO do in a company?
15. What is the NYSE? NASDAQ?
16. What does the board of directors do in a corporation?
17. What is an IPO?

PUT YOUR ANSWERS ON YOUR BLOG!

Having trouble with uploading the information?

I made this tutorial for you! It should make the process simpler!

CLICK HERE!

You are going to create a web page using Dreamweaver and uploaded to the class server.
Year-end Retrospective/Online, Digital Portfolio


Links and explanations:
5 grades.

1. Link to your 3d warehouse. No need to comment since the models should be self-explanatory. You find your models by going to http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/
and log in. Click on "My models" and copy and paste the URL into your Dreamweaver.
2. Business information. http://finance.google.com and explain the process for finding out additional information about a public company. Do you find Google Finance easy to use?
3. Stock market game. Link to the site and evaluate your performance in the market with your fictional 100,000.
4. Link to your personal stumbleupon.com page and give your impressions of the Firefox add-on.
5. Link to mozilla.org: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ and give your impressions of Firefox. Which do you prefer Firefox or Internet Explorer (or indifferent)?
6. Link to the class message board: http://www.davidcfreer.com and give your impressions of the site.
7. Link to your start-up business web page that you created with the template from http://www.oswd.org and you uploaded to davidcfreer.com. This page is hosted at davidcfreer.com/~YourUserName. How realistic is your business idea?
8. Upload one of your Flash creations you made this year to davidcfreer.com/~YourName. Link to your creation on your page. (Extra credit if you embed the Flash in the HTML! It's not hard, just go to Insert->
9. Link to your class blog.
10. Link to the class blog: www.killianbusiness.blogspot.com


Pictures:
1 grade.

1. Find a picture of a server and put it on your page.
2. Find a picture of Killian Senior High.


Layout:
2 grades.

1. Are the links and explanations arranged logically and neat?
2. Is there appropriate color on the page? Is there a background?


Due Friday May 11th 2007
Here's my retrospective up to this point:
http://david.freer.googlepages.com/home.

P.S. If you get a gmail account you can use pages.google.com instead of Dreamweaver.

Your passwords for the class server can be found here.

1. Start up Fire Ftp in Firefox.
2. Upload your Flash files to the server.
3. View them by going to user davidcfreer.com/~User/filename.swf
4. Post on web page using Dreamweaver.

Look how many times this has been viewed. Youtube.com so not visible at school.

There are many people who did not post their Sketch Up online or do the work when the substitute was here. You can still do this without penalty! Post this on your blog today!

This doesn't seem fair but it's done by an algorithm.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=12462578235233164229

Here is the assignment from Thursday when the sub was there:

Review two articles from http://money.cnn.com/. Article reviews must be at least 50 words long.

After you are done with this, finish your three designs using Sketch-Up. Upload your house and your other two creations with Sketch Up 6 by go to File-> 3-D Warehouse-> Share. From there pick a nickname and upload your work. Once your work is on the screen click on the link to the art and put the link on your blog.

Review two articles from http://money.cnn.com/. Article reviews must be at least 50 words long.

After you are done with this, finish your three designs using Sketch-Up. Upload your house and your other two creations with Sketch Up 6 by go to File-> 3-D Warehouse-> Share. From there pick a nickname and upload your work. Once your work is on the screen click on the link to the art and put the link on your blog.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=a650983093f8c1cc2c4fe531a1ae4fc7

I wrote a bit about myself in a PowerPoint. You can read it here.

You can open it with Internet Explorer, Firefox is going to ask you to save it.

The future can seem scary!

Finish your home and design two other things of your choice! Put them online by going to File -> 3-D Warehouse -> Share.

After the tutorial...

I installed Google Sketchup 6 on the computers in the lab in room 319. Today you are going to finish your house and design two other models which you will place online in the 3-d warehouse. Once your work is online you are to put a link to it on your blog.

I was sad I missed any...
but I didn't use Google for any questions!

Here is the program we used in class:
http://sketchup.google.com/

Here is an example of some work done by a student in my second period:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=12664904406918692112

Guy's just trying to make a buck.

Drug companies and doctors.

Sports are big business. This racer says NASCAR is fake.

Credit cards can ruin your life!

Don't lose your cell phone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman_of_the_Federal_Reserve

not for life....

Presentation about corporate accounting. Quiz on Monday.

Open with Microsoft Internet Explorer or save to your desktop.

Second presentation concerning basic economics: click here.

No websurfing during the presentation. Self-control is lacking.

According to this study, smarter people make more money.

Today you are going to look specifically at some of the largest corporations in the world (most founded in America).

• General Electric
  
• Alcoa
  
• Chevron
• JP Morgan Chase
• Cardinal Health
• Morgan Stanley
• Altria Group
• Procter and Gamble
• Boeing
• Statefarm

For each company you are to do the following:

• Write a sentence describing what each company does.
• Include a picture of their "core competency".
• The company's profit, revenue, and total current assets.
• A paragraph describing your prediction of the company's future.

Due on Friday but finish today. It's quite easy.

This is a good site for information: http://finance.google.com

Write it up with docs.google.com and add me as a collaborator.

First you are going to add me as a friend on stumbleupon.

First click here:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/find_friend.php

And search for
mrfreerkillian

I finally got the phpBB forum up and running! Please register here:

www.davidcfreer.com

I don't have a way to email passwords (Bellsouth disables port 25), so there will be an error message...but do not despair. Simply go to Login and use the user name and password you just created. Extra credit if you leave a message in one of the forums I created.

When you successfully sign up for the forum, you will get the following message:

Ran into problems sending Mail. Response: 502 Command is locally disabled

DEBUG MODE

Line : 126
File : smtp.php

THAT MEANS IT WORKS! Just click on login and leave a reply or new topic.

(SMTP refers to sending emails, which like I mentioned, Bellsouth blocks.)

What should be taught in high school? Notice how the author annoyingly writes "highschool"...oh well, the ideas are insightful.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

How I spend my time (an interesting pie chart!)

Create two graphs and place links to them on your blog using this link.

The first will be a bar graph with all the expenses for your college experience.

The second will be a pie chart with a pie chart showing the amount of time you spend out of school doing the following things:

• Listening to music
• Playing sports
• Doing homework
• Working for $
• Doing nothing
• Or whatever you do!!

Create a link to the chart and paste it into your blog.

http://www.wired.com/software/softwarereviews/news/2007/04/lavidagoogle

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18cnd-virginia.html?hp

• Assuming an interest rate of 6.8% what is the total cost of a $50,000 loan if the minimum payment is $200 per month?
• Assuming an interest rate of 4.8% what is the total cost of a $50,000 loan if the minimum payment is $200 per month?

Assume a payback of 10 years.

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

ATT has a cool speech demo.

How gratifying is the work?

Continuing the theme of higher-education week, today we will focus on the costs and benefits of university using Google Spreadsheets.

Select one of the colleges from yesterday and find out the following information:

• Tuition for a semester (five classes)
• Average cost for books per semester
• Cost for a dorm for a semester or an apartment or house
• Find a meal plan for a semester on the school website or guess your food costs for a month
• Give costs for transportation
• Shopping costs?
• How much will you spend on fun?

Include links to everything you find online.

Investigate two possible majors on your blog. Write a summary of them. Here is a link to start.

By the way, here is a link to investigate the best universities and colleges in the country.

Investigate three prospective colleges.

Put a link to three universities or colleges and write a brief summary why you are interested in the school. If you are a senior, write about three schools you considered and the school you chose.

http://www.2addicted.com/words

This game is really addictive.

Two blog posts:

Do you agree with the author about "cutting and pasting" being an important skill?

Paul Graham got a lot of attention for saying this. Do you agree with his assertion?

----
If you were interested, Goowy is making a lot of people notice. Check it out.


Also don't make these grammatical errors.

Colleges are more selective. Don't be lazy.

In demand jobs.

For each of the ten jobs you need to answer the following three questions:

• Are you interested in the job? Simple yes no answer.
• What type of salary is available? (Put a link to the information.)
• What type of education is necessary for the job?

First as a class we will discuss the following terms:

1. Blog
2. Web Site
3. FTP
4. HTTP
5. Web services
6. Podcasts
7. RSS feeds
8. VOIP
9. Web mail
   
10. Web browser: Firefox vs. Internet Explorer
    
    Then you will consider each term on your own blog and whether it is relevant to a small business or a large corporation.
    

First go to this site:

http://fireftp.mozdev.org/

Click install.

Next go to edit options and ALLOW the site to install.

Restart the browser and go to Tools and click on FireFTP.

Click on Manage Accounts and enter the information I gave you on the sheet exactly as it appears.

Then click connect.

Then find your HTML and SWF files and upload them to the public_html directory.

This is just too strange...

Download template for a personal website from www.oswd.org. On the personal website include information about your personal goals and aspirations. Think of the theme of this personal website is "aptitude" and "interest". Bring together their personal and professional interests, aspirations, and favorite links and pictures.

We will put this and your business web page and business Flash online tomorrow.

Today you are going to create an excellent, professional Flash for your business!

Extra credit:
Put your template online. Here are some links.

google.com/calendar

Quiz on networking terms tomorrow.

Second, go to your business template and add three links to important businesses.

Most people saved it to the Desktop or My Documents.

Everyone of you has a blog. Apparently Israel does too.

And a Myspace (You have to watch a brief ad to read that one.)

Americans are more likely to default on their mortgages lately. Look at what this cartoonist thinks:

Today I want you to answer three questions about Warren Buffett on your blog. Who is he and how did he make all his money? Also read the part about what he is doing with the bulk of his fortune and explain on your blog.

---

Questions from yesterday due Friday before 10pm! Add me as a collaborator with your Google Docs today before you forget.

Question #4 is a Java applet to trace Internet traffic and view IP addresses.

Piggy-backing refers to "borrowing" a neighbor's signal without paying them or letting them know.

---

Today we will be customizing templates for your business that you created for the Herald business plan.

OSWD.org

1. What is a server?
   
2. http://compnetworking.about.com/od/tcpiptutorials/a/ipaddrnotation.htm How many IP addresses can IPv6 handle?
3. What is a computer network?
4. Remember traceroute? Check out this cool implementation of it here: http://visualroute.visualware.com/ and search for any web site you choose. Write a brief review of this Java applet.
5. On the home side of things, click here: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm Define 'technophile'.
6. Still at howstuffworks.com, what does a router do?
7. Consider the question of 'piggy-backingo' off a neighbor's wireless router. Is it the wrong thing to do?
8. Follow the link about 'Phone Line Networking' and summarize how it works in five sentences!
   
9. http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/wireless/2007/0129wireless2.html What is 802.11n all about?
   
10. Summarize three other articles at http://www.networkworld.com/.
11. Define 'bandwidth'.
12. Do you think this is cool? http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448 Would you ever do such a project?
    
13. What is DNS?
14. http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/ssl.asp Where can someone get SSL certifications?
    
15. What is a VPN? What is it used for?
    
16. What is an application server used for?
17. What is a print server?
18. What is the difference between an Intranet and Internet?

Answer these questions using Google Documents and put everything you don't write in quotation marks. Due tomorrow.

An Internet classic. First person to leave a comment on the blog with the year it was published wins an extra A.

The guy who founded Craigslist.org. He could be amazingly rich but he's not. Find out why he doesn't put ads on Craigslist.org.

Two questions:

1. Of all the things we've done this year. which are the most useful and important up to this point?
2. What do you WANT to learn about computers in the last 9 weeks?
   

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070319/ts_nm/usa_subprime_detroit_dc

Even though I love Mozilla Firefox, in this case you will need Microsoft Internet Explorer to get the resume template. Go here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC063685891033.aspx?pid=CT101449351033

Click on install Active X and verify. Download the template and fill in the information.

Save this file as Resume.doc inside a folder named "Resume" on your H:\ drive.

Read this article and write a summary on your blog.

The Fourth Nine Weeks. Lots of exciting things are planned!

http://tinyurl.com/2nuaup

Business Ethics:

Local Edition.

Story 1
Story 2
Story 3

After reading all the stories answer the following two questions:

• Was the developers' behavior ethical?
• How can this be avoided in the future?

Finding a job online.

Using the most well-known site www.monster.com you are to search for three different job descriptions in two different industries. Simply copy and paste the job descriptions on your blog. In total you will have six different jobs on the blog.

Next you are to write a cover letter asking to be considered for employment to ONE of the employers. This will be a separate post.

Go through the tour of this site:

https://www.buxfer.com/tour.php

Write a review. Is it a good idea or not? Would you use it or not?

Answer on your blog.

Business plans due before 10pm tonight.

DF

Steps to adding all the student blogs from this class to your Google Reader:

1. Go to http://www.google.com/reader
2. Click on "Manage Subscriptions" on the bottom.
3. Click on "Import/Export".
4. Browse your H: drive and select googlereader.opml
5. Click upload.
   

The Internet has revolutionized the entertainment industry. Now everyone can be a published, world-renowned movie critic.

Today you will write a critique of either (1) your favorite movie or (2) the last movie you've seen.

Today's site is http://www.imdb.com.

After you visit the site put a link to the movie main page.

Here's an example, based on a movie I saw yesterday, written by me. This is just for reference as to the length I'm looking for, I really don't care what movie you write about.

Click, by Adam Sandler and starring the familiar cast of characters from all his movies, seems to reflect Sandler's personal transformation into a devoted family man from a wild egotistical comedian. The film's lesson is simple: family before money and career. Though Sandler's character toils endlessly, he's stuck on the corporate treadmill watching others provide all the materialistic comforts he cannot yet afford (even bicycles for his young children, in fantasy movie-land junior architects make less than janitors).

At his breaking point, he finds himself drawn to a Bed, Bath, and Beyond (beware the product-placement, I found myself drawn to the store the next day) where he encounters a mad-scientist played by Christopher Walken. Walken's character gives him a remote control over every aspect of his life for free with the caveat that it can never be returned. Too bad the remote couldn't control for overly-sentimental movies.

But the message is positive and you'll feel for our collective sorry position as we forsake everything else that counts for the comforts of "Bed, Bath, and Beyond". Sandler says to embrace family, faith and fun. I loved the message and the obviously nonsensical plot moved the theme adequately. For a movie that was totally panned by the critics, however, it was a memorable film.

Final Business plan due Monday at 10pm.

A somewhat ignorant discussion of the FCAT on the Herald message board. Check it out.

This man inspired the Matrix. He died.

These are the categories to explain in your business plan:

1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Company Summary

3.0 Products

4.0 Market Analysis Summary

5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary

6.0 Management Summary

7.0 Financial Plan

Taken from a student response:

You know those kids that you see, who dont seem to care?
Those students who just fail all the time and say they dont care.
People just are'nt born that way, they have experiences which result in their current behavior.
My proposal is to change the elementary school system first. The whole school is system is horrible, for lack of a better word. The fundamental to eduction is the wanting and craving to learn. To have the student have fun and enjoy learning. You cant make a person learn, they are going to want to. The grading system deserves ridicule, the reward system in elementary schools is disgusting, and all this creates the environment before you. This here, this forcibly creates in schools what you call the smart kids, dumb kids, and those kids who dont care. The smart kids get praise from their teahcers and the others are shuned. They give up, what do you expect?
There should be a system where kids in the early grades not follow a curriculumn but follow their curosity, and their teachers leading the way. It is important the individal drive be initiated at thier early ages.

http://plantsfromparadise.blogspot.com/

One suggestions to make class more conducive to learning.

How can a system be designed so students care more for learning?

China has blocked LiveJournal. It's like a Giant X-Stop!

In order to help better understand what a business plan should have, you are to read through the following business plans.

What do you notice about all the business plans?

Read through the following sections on this website:

1. Basic Company Information
2. Thinking Strategically About Your Company
3. Establishing Baseline Numbers For Start-up Companies
4. Describe Your Product or Service
5. Competitive Comparison

Now you need to start evaluating your business (service or product) according to the five categories above. Below what you wrote yesterday, you will need to explain your business and add me as a collaborator on Google Documents.

The Miami Herald Business Challenge.

You will be entering this.

A sensitive racial issue relating to business.

Cool way to add sounds to your Flash!

Click here.

Search for .wav sounds.

It's important to get in the habit of reading the news. There are a number of great online resources.

Divide your blog post today into three sections. Separate each section with -- as I did. Also most of you don't need to leave comments anymore.

There are many companies working to make renewable energy possible. Of course there are profit motivations, perhaps there are ethical concerns as well. Read this article and summarize it on your blog in your own words.

--

Companies state their earnings every quarter. In this case an international company is not making as much as expected: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/technology/02dell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Why aren't they as profitable now? Answer this question with information from the article and your own personal insights.

--

How much should environmental concerns play into business? What are the states doing here?
Is it a good idea? Read the second page. How does Maine deal with recycling electronics?

My cat.

Do you have a facebook?

Kinda spooky.

Gator chomp.

The next Flash animation is either going to be of

Your favorite animal at the zoo

or...

A sporting event

The Flash needs A.) Full color B.) Animation C.) Smooth motion.

After finishing your flash, you need to put the Flash animation online at http://50megs.com within an HTML page. Then put your link on your blog.

Due tomorrow!

http://funwithflash.50megs.com/smiley.swf

1. First go to http://50megs.com
2. Sign up for a free account and free sub domain.
3. Go to File Manager and upload 1 SWF file.
4. To access the SWF file you need to publish the Flash first.
5. Then click on the SWF file and post a link on your blog.
   

My first animation online!

Another great article on what people actually read online.

Perhaps this post can help us all. Concise is the important word.

HTML is still important and we will learn it in here.

By now you have created one or two Flash animations using a motion tween and different colors. Today I'll collect your first Flash through the network but first you need to put your name at the end of the animation.

Next you are going to create a Flash animation for a business. The business you create the Flash for will be based on your last name. For instance, if your last name begins with the letter F you could create a Flash for a "Fashion Designer" or a "Football player" or ...?

We are going to put the Flash animations online. http://50megs.com offers free hosting without any ads.

An article from someone who thinks our schools are totally outdated.

We are all going to put our Flash files online eventually. Look at this cool Flash from my first period:

http://img47.imageshack.us/my.php?image=piecu6.swf

What are your first impressions of Flash? Do you enjoy it?

This guy is actually suing his school because he feels discriminated against because he is a slow typist.

I have two words for him: Micro Type.

Go to http://google.com/reader

Sign up for http://killianbusiness.blogspot.com
and three other blog feeds (at minimum).

Today we are going to start with the debate over the merger with XM and Sirius.

Start by reading the article and the opposing viewpoints.


Answer the following questions ON YOUR BLOG: Is satellite radio going to make it? Will the merger hurt or help the industry? Will the merger hurt or help consumers?

Leave your comment here only if I don't have you as part of my Google Reader.
------------------------------------------------------


Next we are going to be experimenting with Google Sketch-Up. Everyone get it started and experiment with making a house!

Later you will write me a letter about your experiences using Google Documents (http://docs.google.com).

The "Game of the Week". I hope X-Stop allows it. What a neat Flash game!!

If you are at all interested in philosophy here is a good summary.

1. On your blog write about something interesting you do online.

2. Write a summary of this article using Google Documents and add me as a collaborator (david.freer@gmail.com):

http://www.medialoper.com/hot-topics/google/how-would-you-deal-with-a-global-bandwidth-shortage/

docs.google.com

Write a paper: Which would you invest 100 million dollars in, Google and Yahoo?

Add me as a collaborator: david.freer@gmail.com

There are perhaps 5% of the population that simply *can’t* think.

There are another 5% who *can*, and *do*.

The remaining 90% *can* think, but *don’t*.

-- I find this true of my students as well.

Try out a fun game made by a student in my computer class!

You can make 100K per year blogging.

Fourth Period Leave a comment here.

Third period post your 3 links and ultra brief summaries here.

Now you are going to compare Google.com vs. Yahoo.com data can be found at : http://finance.google.com/finance?q=google

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=yahoo.

Copy Total Revenue, Gross Profit, Total Operating Expenses, Net Income from the Income Statement. Copy Total Current Assets,

Total Assets, Total Current Liabilities, Total Liabilities, Total Equity from the Balance sheet of both companies. Students will copy Net Income/Starting Line, Cash from Operating, Cash from Investing, and Cash from Financing. Then you will create a bar graph to compare the two companies for each of the italicized categories. Use information from the fourth quarter of 2006.

Students are to put the URLs to three articles from http://news.google.com and post summaries on their blogs. Explain how news.google.com will provide suggestions.

How did someone this stupid even accumulate the money in the first place?

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=48715

Pretty good site to practice for the SAT.

Fourth Period leave a comment.

Third period leave a comment here.

For your edification and pleasure:

Web 2.0

Really funny and true graph.

Silent reading today.

Read this.

1. "When it is more important to be seen than to be talented, it is hardly surprising that the less gifted among us are willing to fart our way into the spotlight." - Lakshmi Chaudhry. What is your reaction?
2. What would you do if someone took a compromising picture of you and posted it on the Internet? Should people have a right to say if they don't want a picture online?
3. Is the "truly private life" an illusion? Why or why not?
   
4. What does the author mean by the "Creolization of media"?
5. “Things that were not silly. I tried to make my posts highly stylized and short, about things I would imagine people would want to read or comment on.”- I've wondered this about websites like reddit.com. Could the same be said for newspapers?
6. "When she worked at American Apparel, management posted encouraging remarks on employee MySpace pages." Personally, I find this weird. What do you think?
   
7. Iamfacingforeclosure.com is a site written by an idiot. Acknowledge he is an idiot for getting in so much trouble with money.
   
8. What is your reaction to the article? Did you enjoy it?

Title this post: Online Life.

Maybe we are becoming more illiterate?

Three posts today.

I posted this:

We are witnessing the rise of the articulate and the marginalization of the inarticulate, whether in our political and business leaders or in our leading brands and most favored Internet sites.


http://ben.casnocha.com/


earlier in the week but the budgets consumed all of our class time.



1. You need to post the definition of "marginalization", "inarticulate" and "political" on your blog post.

2. What does this mean? Post your answer on your blog.

3. Next give your opinion. Is it true or not?

Then you need to do the posts below:
http://killianbusiness.blogspot.com/2007/02/after-you-finish-with-spreadsheet.html

After you finish with the spreadsheet, answer the following questions :

First read this:

The Internet is undergoing a profound and much needed shift. In its earliest days it was an instrument of individuals, but quickly evolved into a sphere dominated by corporate interests. It got a whole lot fancier and prettier when that happened, but it also got boring. The recent explosion of the read/write (and view/record) Web is putting the Internet back into the creative hands of individuals and the communities they form.

As those of us who are content creators and knowledge managers strive to surf the crest of this rapid change, our most important move may be to simply get out of the way by providing playgrounds where free and freewheeling exchanges of information can take place.

http://toshen.com/work-design.htm

First post. Title it "Internet History":

1. To what does "Web 2.0" refer?
2. How do you personally produce content for the web?
3. What does the "Dot Com" bubble mean? When did it occur?
   

Second post. Title it "County Information Online"

1. How does knowing that property information is completely accessible online http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/property_search.asp make you feel about personal information being too accessible?
2. What are the drawbacks of having such info that can be found at the clerk of courts website available online? http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/dadecoc/
   
3. Find the link to pay for parking tickets in Miami. Post it here.
   

The budgets are coming along nicely.

Today you are going to compare your salary with what the government says is the average salary.

First, click here.

Find Miami. Do you make more than the average or less than the average in 2005? Put this in your Excel worksheet below your total salary.

You will be graded for the following:

1. Calculating your salary correctly and finding the average salary for Miami.
2. Including links for automobiles or bus passes, furniture, housing, communication, and gas (MPG).
3. Color coding your worksheet and applying the proper formatting. If the numbers are hard to read and in a sloppy fashion I will take off points from this grade.
4. Dividing everything correctly (pay for the larger purchases over the proper amount of time - autos 36 months and furniture and TVs 12 months) and summing everything up correctly.
   

This is a four grade assignment. Due at the end of class.

Save your Excel worksheet as "MyBudget.xls".

Today you need to add a television in your housing costs. You may try to find the best deal you can.

Although I hate to promote buying "on time" for the purposes of this simulation we will just divide the television and furniture over 1 year as opposed to the 3 year plan for the automobile.

Today you are going to divide your spreadsheet into the following categories:

Transportation
Housing
Clothing
Food
Entertainment
Misc/Total Saved

Add to your budget the following. Do you want the following?

Cell phone? If so, which plan? Provide the monthly price and a link.
Internet connection? If so, which plan? Give the monthly price and a link.
Cable television or DSL?

Also you need to add the average cost for gasoline each month. First find out the miles per gallon for your car or truck or SUV. Pretend you will drive 1000 miles per month (the average) and calculate the cost per month based on $2.10 per gallon. This is really simple math.

Look at these two points of view:

She doesn't mind living on 12000 per year.

She's scared about it.

Living on 12000 per year would be quite a challenge!!!

Today you are going to create an average meal when eating at home for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make a new section in your "Cool" budget Excel worksheet below the "Entertainment" section and title it "Food". Find the links to each of the foods and leave them below the foods.

Multiply the number of dinners by 30, multiply the number of lunches by 30, and multiply the number of breakfasts by 30. That is, if you never eat out. If you prefer to eat out, and most Americans do, indicate that in your cell by adding the appropriate amount for your meal out. Then subtract the number of dinners or lunches or breakfasts you would

You can buy your furniture used or new. Put the links next to the price.

Now you are going to add a new section to your worksheet which you will title "Clothing". Find one professional outfit online, add the price and the link. Next find a casual outfit and add the price and the link. You can't avoid buying clothes or you'll look like a high school teacher. It isn't pretty.

Now that the budget is taking shape it is time to find out the monthly payments on the vehicle you selected.

Assume a 3.5% interest rate on a new car and a 7.5% interest rate on a used car.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/calc/CalculatorController

Give yourself 3 years to pay off the car if you are buying it outright. A lease is up to you, but note the fine print when you are comparing leases. Some leases have a high price when you are finished.

Add $108 per month for insurance if your car is not a sports car and $150 per month if it is. This number was a rough calculation based a general group of young drivers and is merely for the sake of the simulation. I figured having everyone contact insurance companies might have been beyond the scope of the class. But it still might've had pedagogical value.

Once you have all this information total up your monthly spending and compare it to the fictional salary. Are you in the red or the black? Can you splurge on a nicer car or are you in over your head?

You will need a cell with your total expenses. Below this cell you will subtract your total monthly salary from your total expenses, this is your total amount saved per month. You'll need savings for your life, notably retirement and the inevitable downturns.

...

On another note, EVERYONE will need a google account for the new blogger. We are going to be using their spreadsheet program, their reader program, and Google Groups. I gave my computer students google accounts at the beginning of the year and now it's your turn.

...
I've been too terse with this blog. Instead of merely saying everything in class, I will try to out it out more completely.

It's just funny. No need to comment.

What to say, really?

We are witnessing the rise of the articulate and the marginalization of the inarticulate, whether in our political and business leaders or in our leading brands and most favored Internet sites.


http://ben.casnocha.com/


What does this mean? Post your answer on your blog.

Today's site is www.reddit.com

1. Who decides what articles are at the top?
2. Compare reddit with cnn.com.
3. Who started reddit?
4. What articles are most interesting to you?

This is going to be the Spreadsheet we use. We'll go over it in class.

Today's web site is related to SATIRE.

On your own blog,

1. Pick the three funniest headlines.
2. Provide a definition of satire.
3. Think of another example of a satirical publication or movie.
4. Make up a satirical headline for something around Killian.
   

Look at the relationship between income and life expectancy.

Fourth Period leave your comment about Craigslist.org here.

Third period.

Today's Web site is Craigslist.org.

Do you think you'll use it?

What's the best thing about it?

Could it be improved?

Some of you did not understand the assignment last class or you did not leave a comment. Refer to the posts below and comment there if you have not yet done so. Not having a password is no excuse. Make a new blog if you forgot your password!

First assignment today:
#1 Pick four of the "big questions" and summarize the answers.

#2 Finish page 94, 96, 101 out of the book!

Comment here when you are finished.

Assignment 3 & 4 for a grade:

Read the following article.

1.) Are you interested in the movie?
2.) Do you agree with the premise of the movie (according to the reviewer)?
3.) Are "we" getting dumber?


Read the following article.

1.) Did you watch the State of the Union address?
2.) What was the hardest part of the job for the writers?
3.) When did Bush propose sending humans to Mars?

Friday (assignment #1 & #2- for a grade. Don't spend more than 30 minutes on this, you'll need the time for the "Business Mistakes assignment.")

Assignment #1
Read the following article:
Cyber-bullying.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

1. What is cyber-bullying?
2. What has Myspace done about it?
3. Has a bully ever demanded you send them money via Paypal? All kidding aside, have you ever known anyone as the victim of cyber-bullying?
4. Toward the end of the article, various plans are mentioned. What's the best approach in your opinion?
   
5. Read through the comments on slashdot. Should schools be worried about cyber-bullying at all?
   

Friday Assignment #2

Read this.

1. What is it all about?
   
2. Do you agree with the direction this technology is taking?

When you are finished leave your comment here.

What a show-off!

Once you finish with your letters d0 Page 94, 96, 101 out of the book!

Data for the table.

Salesmen and saleswomen:
Smith sold 4 cars
Jones sold 5 cars
Freer sold 5 cars
Bartlett sold 11 cars
McMandon sold 3 cars

Of course add the salesman from your previous letter and the number of cars he sold. Save this as Table.doc.

Write a letter commending a co-worker for his amazing month of car sales. Specify in the letter that the co-worker will receive a raise and promotion. Save as “Promotion.doc”.

You will need to save all your work in a folder on your H: drive known as WPWork. Create the new folder on your network drive by right clicking, going to "New" and then "Folder".

Move page 81, 83, 85 into the folder along with the mini paper and the letter to the company.

What speed are you getting?

We will be doing a research paper based on whatever you choose. Leave a comment on your blog in one sentence WHAT INTERESTS YOU THE MOST RIGHT NOW!

• Center align the title with a larger font.
• Offset text copied and pasted from someone else by a half an inch.
  
• Add a footnote with the URL where you found the information.
• Leave a 'user comment.'
  
• On the third page of text make it three columns and continue adding information.
• Add a picture and experiment with the alignment of the text.
• Add a hyperlink.
  

First period leave a comment here:

Look what football can do to your brain!

You purchased a trial offer online and you called to cancel but you notice a bill from the company on your credit card. Compose a letter to the company using Microsoft Word with a minimum of five sentences.

Here are the details on which you are to compose your letter:

• You signed up on 11/13/06
• You cancelled on 11/15/06
• The three day trial offer was for $3.95
• Your Visa was billed for November and December with the amount of $15.95.
• The $15.95 was billed as "Computer Associates Inc."
• The agent who canceled your account was Marcia Ramirez.
  

Save your letter as "Unfair bill".

Print out pages 33, 35, p. 39, p. 41, p. 43, p. 46, p. 48, p. 50, p.52, p. 54, p. 56

Looks like typing won't be gone for a while!

Seems like a cool way to learn Word 2003. Sponsored by HP!

You will need these for many years to come!

We will have a test on these later. Start reading and using them NOW!

Word Processing Assignments:

Pay attention to the page before the work for the name to save the work.

page 48, 50, 52, 54, 56.

After every assignment is finished, we will print them out.

Too many distractions.

January 9, 2007

Assignments:

p. 39 - Use 36 font, arial black
p. 41
p. 43
p. 46