Starting_Notes



=Better IT Systems and Documentation﻿=

We wrote **instructions** for some hobbies. The results are here:

**Finished Instructions**

> Try to find 3 techniques that are **effective** (they work well) > as well as 3 techniques or deficiencies that are **ineffective.**
 * Spend 15 minutes or so looking at various entries above.

-- Documentation --
Documentation is similar to instructions, except that it normally refers to how to USE an IT system, as opposed to engaging in a hobby.

In a **school** like ours, students and teachers use computers in a variety of ways. There are two ways to look at these uses:
 * concentrate on the **IT tool(s)**
 * concentrate on the **educational task(s)** to be accomplished

For example: > - text (the normal page) > - images - for finding pictures > - videos - for finding videos in YouTube and also on other video sites > you can click the //__translate__// link to see it in your own language
 * **//Tool Oriented Documentation//** || **//Task Oriented Instructions//** ||
 * **Using a Search Engine Effectively**
 * **Google** is the most popular search engine - you probably should use it
 * Google has several different sections:
 * Most searches produce too many results, so you probably want to type at least 3 or 4 words,maybe more
 * If you have an entire sentence that you need to find, "put it inside quotation marks", then Google will search for exactly that sentence
 * If you get a page in a foreign language,

.... probably continues for a long time .... || **How to Research an Essay** > search engine, like **Google** Notice that the **tool oriented documentation** approach produces an enormously long list of hints about **features** in the particular tool. This is similar to the **Help** files and **Tutorials** that accompany most software.
 * choose a clear and specific **topic**
 * select specific **key words** that define your topic
 * type your keywords into a
 * if you get too many results,or inappropriate results,try typing in more key words,or perhaps changing some of them
 * you might want to use the **Google Images** search to find some attractive pictures to include in your essay
 * use a bookmarking tool like **Evernote** to record your results, so that they are available from any computer,including at home
 * remember that you MUST keep a complete record of the LOCATIONS where you found useful information
 * use **Noodle Tools** to record your sources and make citations ||

In **task oriented instructions**, there are generally a fairly short list of steps and hints. Also, it's often the case that a task requires **multiple tools**, but only a couple features from each tool. Sometimes task oriented instructions need to include some details of specifically useful features in the IT tools. A middle ground would be a task-specific use of a single tool. Consider the problem of **drawing a cartoon** using **Inkscape.** This task probably only requires the one single tool. But since it has a very specific end product in mind, there is no need to cover ALL of the features of Inkscape. The instructions can concentrate on just those features that are useful for drawing cartoons. Also, since we are more interested in the finished cartoon than deep technical skills, any documentation of specific features can be relatively short and without too many small details. Furthermore, if there is only one tool and one task, it's possible to give instructions that lead from the beginning to the end of the task. In fact, it's possible to create an **instructional video** similar to the following:


 * **Cartoon Face Video :** []

or a **slide-show** like the following:


 * **Tennis Balls in a Can :**[| http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239179/comptech/ani3d/SolveIt.ppt]

-- The Power and Pain of Multimedia --
The two examples above use **multimedia** techniques - one is a video, the other is a PowerPoint Slideshow. Multimedia is **effective** because:
 * it is attractive, interesting and sometimes entertaining
 * information is clearly **sequenced**, like a step-by-step set of instructions
 * it presents information **in context**, by displaying pictures
 * "a picture is worth a thousand words" - multimedia contains more information than pure text

Multimedia also has some **disadvantages**:
 * creating multimedia presentations generally takes longer than just typing text
 * multimedia requires a computer - it usually cannot be copied to paper
 * it might be difficult to distribute multimedia - for example, it doesn't always work if it is saved on a web-site
 * some multimedia is **incompatible** with some computer systems - for example, not all computers will display Flash videos

The disadvantages are not necessarily a reason to avoid multimedia. Rather, they mean that some **care** must be exercised when using multimedia tools. Remember, the only real goal is to produce **effective** instructions, meaning that the **viewer/reader** (a student or teacher) must be able to understand and absorb the instructions, and in the end they should be able to **successfully** and **efficiently** complete the task as described.

-- Power in Numbers --
We have 24 students enrolled in Computer Technology. If we spend 3 weeks writing documentation/instructions, and each student produces at least 4 sets of instructions in that time, we will have about a 100 sets of instructions at the end.

The goal here is to make **clear, brief, effective** instructions that will enable **other students** to use our school's IT systems effectively. We will concentrate on **educational** tasks, although some other basic IT skills would also be useful, like "how to log-in to the school network".

This is a large-scale "group project". In the end, all the instructions must be **organized** and **accessible** in a single web-site. That doesn't mean a single web-page, but there must be one clear starting point, with links to all the other items, with the links clearly organized into groups. The following table is a preliminary list of tasks. We need to add more tasks, and probably more categories.

Suggested Items
Type essays - Google Docs (Text & Tables) Printing an essay from Google Docs Collaborative writing in Wikispaces Writing a web-page with iWeb Formatting text and images in MS Word Data Tables for science in MS Word Writing essays in a different language - MS Word Making a poster in Open Office ... || Drawing cartoons with Inkscape Drawing math/science diagrams with MS Word Creating a photo slide-show on Flickr Creating a slide-show with PowerPoint Editing a video with MS MovieMaker Changing video file formats with AnyVideoConverter ... || Doing math calculations with Windows Calc Drawing math graphs with Geogebra Doing research in the web with Google - using books.google.com - using Google Translator Using Rosetta Stone to learn a language Accessing library resources Drawing charts with a spread-sheet Typing math formulas with Equation Editor ... || How to find a specific book in the library database How to find a magazine in the library database MLA rules and procedures How to enter footnotes in a MS Word document ... || Using Wix to create an ePortfolio Create a podCast with Audacity Maintaining CAS info in a blog Using a Wiki for a group project Submitting an essay as an eMail attachment Creating an eMail account at Yahoo Saving a YouTube video on your local computer ... || Connecting to school wireless for Web access Installing Flash support in Linux Using dropbox for transferring files home/school Backing up your files onto an external hard-disk Cleaning up your hard-disk Copying documents from a Mac to a PC Download and install Firefox on your PC Uploading essays and other files to StudyWiz ... || We will add more tasks and tools as we go along.
 * **Writing and Publications**
 * **Graphics and Multimedia**
 * **Various Academic Tasks**
 * **Library**
 * **Web 2.0**
 * **Computer Technology**

-- Your Contributions --
Each student should use their **best skills** to produce effective results. If you like making videos - and you are good at it - then use a video camera or CamStudio. If you are good at creating web-sites, you should do that. It would actually be good if you use your best skills repeatedly. Each set of instructions that you create should go faster than the previous one. If it takes 4 days to do the first item, the next should take 3 days, then maybe 2 days - that way you will finish at least 4 results in 3 weeks - hopefully MORE than 4.

Each **item** (see the list above) must involve a **specific educational task** (not entertainment) and a **specific IT tool** (or more than one). If your item/topic is about Computer Technology or maintenance, you will concentrate on the tool - but you still need to have a specific task to accomplish, although it might not be termed "educational". "Educational" could include CAS activities, like the yearbook, but you still need to concentrate on **accomplishing a specific task.** You may do other items than those listed above, but you must **get teacher approval** before you start.

Your **documentation/instructions** should include some pictures (photos or screen-shots), and possibly videos (made with a camera or CamStudio). It is probably better to avoid using sound, but in some cases it may be appropriate. Try to think of you documentation/instructions as a STORY that takes the viewer from the beginning to the end of the task.

You will probably need to use more than one single IT tool. If you need to use a tool that you are not so good at (not very fast), you should GET HELP from the teacher or other students. Don't permit yourself to get STUCK due to lack of skill(s).

All of the little projects must be saved and linked together in one place. The central organization needs to be done by students - the teacher will help, but students should do most of the work. That probably requires 1 or 2 students to devote their efforts to central organization. Volunteers?

*** Due Date for the Entire Project = Friday 20 May** *
You may work together with other students, but you must be PRODUCING USEFUL RESULTS each day, not just chatting and having fun. But each item (set of instructions) will have ONE AUTHOR who takes responsibility for the quality of the result.