Extra Credit 2

In order to get this extra credit, you must have all your assignments complete. You can blog about a game or social issue for extra credit.

Gaming Blog Post

1. Post a link to a game, or embed a video about a game

2. Identify and discuss the game ingredients - We learned about game ingredients in the Play To Learn Chapter.

3. Tell us how you would make the game better

4. Do you think the game has a psychological effect on the gamer and if so, what is it?

Sentences need to have capital letters on the first word, proper grammar and punctuation.

Bring to my attention that you did extra credit by COMMENTING on THIS post and I will check your work.

Social Issue Blog Post


You can also blog about a social issue which you are working on in class.
Examples of social issues are:

Cyberbullying
Peer Pressure
Gangs
Sustainable Energy
Pollution
Recycling
Child Abuse
Alcohol and drug abuse
Animal Abuse
Teen Pregnancy
Nutrition - Anorexia, Obesity
Homelessness, Poverty
Child Soldiers


1. Post a link to a website or a video that is relevant.

2. Begin a discussion with your online community. State your opinion, and ask others what their opinion is about the issue. 

3. How do you think the community can improve the situation?

4. Follow up with comments that come in. It's a discussion so stay actively participating.

Sentences need to have capital letters on the first word, proper grammar and punctuation.

Bring to my attention that you did extra credit by COMMENTING on THIS post and I will check your work.

You May Improve Your Grades

If you turned in poor work, and received a failing grade, you have the chance to improve on your work. You may go back to it, and improve it, and then in the comments field of this blog post, send me a message to go back and check it again.

If you fail to tell me in the comments field of this blog post, I won't know to go back to look at it, and you will keep the low score. The highest grade you can receive for improved work after the fact, is a 70.

A Child Soldier's Day

What's it like to live as a child soldier in Columbia?

This report was written by Sebastian Brett, senior researcher in the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch.

It will give you lots of ideas for your game on Child Soldiers!
Follow the nav at the top of the page to see more.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/colombia0903/9.htm#_Toc29

NASA's New Ship

There's a pretty cool video of the new space ship that NASA will test in 2014 on

http://www.space.com/16395-orion-space-capsule-nasa-unveiled.html.

Typing Game

Here's a great typing game if you need to work on your typing skills!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/levels/level1.shtml

Austin Pet Laws

Lots of you are researching Animal Cruelty for a hidden object game.
Here is a good roundup of Austin Laws regarding treatment of pets from the Austin Humane Society.

http://www.austinhumanesociety.org/blog?page=7

Animals Have Conscious Awareness

Scientists have declared that animals have conscious awareness just like humans! Read all about it here on io9.com

http://io9.com/5937356/prominent-scientists-sign-declaration-that-animals-have-conscious-awareness-just-like-us

Wolf Endangerment

Some of you are researching wolf conservation. Here is a great site all about that.

http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfEndangered.html

Drug Paraphernalia

We've been discussing drug paraphernalia in class in association with creating hidden object games about drug abuse. This is a good site that explains drug paraphernalia for different drugs, and might be of use to you in creating your hidden object games.

http://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com/identify/what_kinds_of_things_are_paraphernalia.html

Flash Keyboard Shortcuts

Some people say that taking a short cut is missing out on what you experience by taking the long road. I say, shortcuts make you a faster more efficient designer. Learn these keyboard commands to be really great at Flash! http://helpx.adobe.com/flash/kb/flash-keyboard-shortcuts.html

Frankenstorm!

Here comes Frankenstorm!

"Folks out on the East coast of the United States and Canada are bracing themselves for what could be a remarkably severe storm, one that has been dubbed 'Frankenstorm' on account of its tripartite composition. The mega-storm is expected to make landfall early next week just as three major weather systems collide — including Hurricane Sandy which is currently ravaging parts of the Caribbean. Here's what you need to know about the storm of the year."

http://io9.com/5955145/[draft]-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-frankenstorm?popular=true

Robot Swarm Farms Field

These robotic swarms are able to take over farming work by drilling holes in the ground and planting seeds.

Tell us what you think of that in your blogs.

Robot Walks on a Wire

 Warning! The music on this video is banana nutz!

The official website for this robot is in japanese. http://ai2001.ifdef.jp/ This bot was built by Japanese roboticist Masahiko Yamaguchi, better known online as Dr. Guero. It uses it's arms for balance and has thin notches in the feet to allow it to walk on the wire.

  What do you think robots will be able to do next? Tell us in your blogs.

Grades For Past 3 Weeks

My students,

These are the assignments I'll be looking at next week, for your grades.

1. Play To Learn Part 1
A. Answer all the questions on your project pages
B. Paste in correct links to your blogs.
Here is an example of a correct URL:
http://streckfusglobaloria.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-single-story.html

Your URLs must match up with the assignment post for each assignment.

2. Choose a Learning Topic

A. Answered all the questions on your project pages

B. Pasted in correct links to your blogs

3. Plan A Game Scene 

A. Answered all the questions on your project pages

B. Pasted in correct links to your blogs

4. Learning logs are up to date from 10-15-12 to 10-26-12.

5. Class Dismissed
Make sure your blog post is published answering questions about Malala


6. Student IDs
This was a class assignment on paper as well as a blog
http://streckfusglobaloria.blogspot.com/2012/10/student-ids.html

***7. Extra Credit
Write a comment responding to ANY of my blog posts on my Blogger(except this one). It's your choice. I need three complete sentences, with proper grammar and punctuation.
You can write your responses in the comments section of my post.
If you missed an assignment, you can make up some extra points for it by doing this blog post response to get extra credit. You can only get the extra credit one time, but feel free to comments on as many posts as you like. Remember to follow my blog, and add me as an author on your blog.

Nuggets of What

What's really in fast food chicken? Most of it is not even from a chicken! Read this article about how chicken nuggets are created, and you might think twice about eating fast food nuggets ever again.

http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/what-is-in-fast-food-chicken-hint-its-not-chicken.html

Student IDs - Reposted

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Student IDs That Track the Students

By MAURICE CHAMMAH and NICK SWARTSELL

Published: October 6, 2012

SAN ANTONIO —  For Tira Starr, an eighth grader at Anson Jones Middle School, the plastic nametag hanging around her neck that she has decorated with a smiley face and a purple bat sticker offers a way to reflect her personal flair. For administrators, it is something else entirely: a device that lets them use radio frequency technology —  with scanners tucked behind walls and ceilings —  to track her whereabouts...

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE AT NEW YORK TIMES and then answer the following questions in your blog.

1. Why did the school initiate this program?

2. What was the technology originally DESIGNED for?

3. What are the practical advantages of the IDs?

4. Do you foresee any problems with the IDs that the students might have?

5. How would you feel if this system was used at EACP? Why?

Childhood Obesity

For those researching obesity there are some very good statistics, facts, and causes about childhood obesity at this site.

http://www.epidemicobesity.com/

Teen Pregnancy Research Site

Some of you are researching teen pregnancy. Below is a link to The National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy site.

http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/

There are valuable tools on here that will allow you to compare statistics from three different states of your choice, and get nation wide statistics.

Cyber Bullying

There's a great animated video on Brainpop.com about Cyber Bullying. Check it out and let us know what you think on your blogs!

http://www.brainpop.com/technology/computersandinternet/cyberbullying/

Fewer Students Joining Austin Gangs

Some of you are researching the effects of gangs on youth. Here is an article from KXAN about the gang situation in Austin. It sounds like it is getting better and less students are joining gangs!

You can let everyone know what you think about gangs in your blogs.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/fewer-austin-isd-students-joining-gangs

Presidential Debate 4

The fourth Presidential debate full video. This debate was about Foreign Policy. Follow the link to watch the video. Let us know your thoughts in your blogs!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/presidential-debate-video_n_2005094.html

You can watch all of the past debates at this URL.

http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-schedule/2012-presidential-debate-schedule/

Hidden Object Game: Progress 3

I've added decoy objects, messaging, and scoring to the game

A Single Story

Join the Community

---

Blog About It

Answer these questions on your blog:

1. What does it mean to have a 'single story' about a place or community?

A 'single story' about a place or community is a stereotype. It could be for instance, that people in Africa only listen to tribal music. As globally aware citizens, we must make efforts to not make quick judgements about a general group of people, but instead, make efforts to learn as much as we can from all sides of the story before making up our minds. If different media outlets are all saying the same thing about a subject, that is still a single story. Usually, the major media outlets all say the same thing, and repeat the same headlines.

1. Describe a single story you have heard told about your community. What is missing from that story? How could people learn more about that community?

I once heard that people in Texas all ride horses.

What is missing from that story, is that few people ride horses, and most people drive cars, like all over the country. If people want to learn more about a community, they can ask questions from someone who is from that community in question.

1. Describe a single story you have heard about another community. How did you learn that story? How could you find out more about that community?

As a boy, I was under the impression that native americans had bad intentions towards settlers. I learned this from watching old cowboy movies. I could learn so much more about native americans by reading books, learning on the internet, or talking to native americans in person.

1. How could a game let players experience many stories about a place or community?

A game could teach users about a community, if the game was about that community. Within the game, there could be a popup informational window that tells facts to educate the user.

Hidden Objects Game: Progress

I've adden hidden objects in the game.

Hidden Object Game: Paper Prototype

I drew my background on paper, and now I'm going to take a photo of it, drop it into the Flash project library, and then trace over it.

Hidden Object Game

I'm drawing my background scene for the hidden object game. I've decided to simpify the illustration for style reasons. Flash 6 is moving slow on my mac. What's the deal?

Child Soldiers

Some of you are interested in the issue of children's rights, and in particular the issue of children being recruited to fight in war. This is a good website to learn more about the topic - Amnesty International.

Raising Chickens

Some of you are researching raising chickens. Here is a good website about that.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

Vote For Your Favorite Rock & Roll Hall of Famer 2013

You and your friends can vote for this years inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. At the end of voting for your five favorite top forty artists that are nominated, you can see who is winning! Have fun and tell your friends! Who did you vote for and why? Tell us in your blogs. By the way, this is a pretty good example of an online poll.

http://rockhall.com/get-involved/interact/poll/

Joan Jett Vs.

Rush Vs.

Public Enemy Vs. 

Kraftwerk Vs.

The Marvelettes

Cancer Educational Site

Some of you are researching cancer. Here is an excellent fact gathering site about Cancer.

http://www.eschooltoday.com/cancer/cancer-facts-and-tips-for-kids.html

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is a famous artist. His most recent showing at Tate Modern in London England displayed art such as cows cut in half, and a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. One of the pieces used butterflies. Over 9,000 butterflies died in the exhibit.

Do you think that's ok for Damien Hirst to use the butterflies in his art if they might die?

Answer in your blogs.

Here is the story by Claudine Zap.

Lucy Cooke: Zoologist

Lucy Cooke

She's on a one-woman crusade to show the world why some of the most unlovable animals are actually the most interesting and deserving of our attention, study, and protection.

Read the article below and write your thoughts in your blog.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/lucy-cooke/

The Effects of Drug Abuse

This is a pretty good article on the effects of drug abuse on the mind and body, including alcohol, hallucinogens, barbituates, opiates, inhalants, and the social effects of drug abuse.

http://www.projectknow.com/research/effects-of-drug-abuse/

Pollution!

Some of you are researching pollution. I found this cool web site that tells you a lot about pollution, and what you can do to help stop it.

http://tiki.oneworld.net/pollution/pollution10.html

FLAMIN HOT CHEETOHS

School districts in California and New Mexico are trying to ban the popular snack food Flamin' Hot Cheetos because they say it is a health hazard to students. School officials say the concern is their nutritional value, or lack thereof.
Each bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos contains 26 grams of fat and a quarter of the amount of salt that's recommended for the entire day.

 GO HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, AND DISCUSS IT IN YOUR BLOGS.
 1. WHY IS THIS SNACK BEING ATTACKED?
 2. HOW MANY GRAMS OF FAT ARE IN ONE BAG OF FLAMIN HOT CHEETOHS?
 3. HOW DO CHEETOHS GET THEIR COLOR? IS IT NATURAL?
 4. WHY DO DOCTORS SAY THAT CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKEY TO BEING ADDICTED TO FLAMIN HOT CHEETOHS?
 5. FRITO LAYS SAYS THAT IT IS COMMITTED TO ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES, WHICH INCLUDES NOT MARKETING TO KIDS UNDER 12. IN YOUR OPINION, DOES FRITO LAY MARKET TO KIDS 12 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER? IF SO, HOW DO THEY DO IT?

Answer the questions above in your blogs. Read the article at the URL below.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/schools-aim-popular-flamin-hot-cheetos-125501497--abc-news-health.html

Go to this URL to see the nutrition information on the back of a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetohs. http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/cheetos-flamin-hot.html

 Take a screen shot of the label and post it in your blog. What do you notice on the label? What do you think of the front of the bag? The character of Chester Cheetha?

Cyber Bullying

Please take time to watch this video about Cyber Bulling. Post your comments in the comments field at the end of this blog post.

 

Felix Baumgartner's Supersonic Freefall From Space

Explore the interactive Mission Timeline for Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall and answer the following questions in your blogs.

1. How fast did the capsule climb attached to the balloon?

2. What element was the balloon filled with?

3. What happens to the atmospheric temperature and air pressure as the balloon rises in altitude?

4. How high did Felix go in the ballon before it stopped rising?

5. What speed was he hoping to reach on his way down?

6. What speed must he slow down to before opening his parachute?

7. Where did the balloon launch from and where did Felix land?

8. How was Red Bull energy drink involved with this mission?

http://www.redbullstratos.com/the-mission/mission-timeline/

Space Time Capule

A multi-media artist named Trevor Paglen has worked with scientists to choose 100 black and white photos to place inside a time capsule which will then be put into orbit around the Earth. The capsule should last billions of years in space. Read the article at the URL below, and discuss this project in your blog.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57528820-1/photo-time-capsule-to-last-billions-of-years-in-space/?ttag=gpwl

Skylanders: Inside the Magical Tiki

Skylanders is the best selling game of 2012. Check out this behind-the-scenes-look at where they make the game, and at how they design the characters!

http://www.wired.com/video/gaming/gamelife/1235790416001/skylanders-inside-the-magical-tiki-development-room/1847488220001

Watch the video about the fantasy adventure game and in your own blog discuss what you learned from the video.

On Oct 14th Watch Felix Baumgartner plans to break the sound barrier

You can watch Felix Baumgartner attempt to break the sound barrier, by jumping to the earth from 23 miles up at the edge of space. Supported by a team of experts, Felix will ascend in a helium balloon to an altitude of 120,000 ft / 36,576 m where he will take a leap of faith into the unknown in an attempt to become the first person to break the speed of sound during freefall.

He is scheduled to jump at 7 AM Central time on Sunday Oct 14th.

http://www.youtube.com/redbull

Why is this an important experiment?

What could scientists learn from this event?

Write your responses in your blogs.

Here is more info on this amazing mission.

http://www.redbullstratos.com/

Vector Art Halloween

Look at this vector art by Petros Afshar. He is using simple shapes and color to produce amazing images.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Halloween/2359002

Do you like this style or if not, why not?
What do you think of the subject matter?
What do you think of the colors, especially the black background?
Discuss it in your blog.

Try to create an image in Flash using the Pen tool to produce vector shapes.

Eating by Color

This article in the New York Times, describes how you can eat healthier, by choosing different colors of food. Share your reaction to this in your blogs. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/14/health/personal-health-the-color-of-nutrition-fruits-and-vegetables.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Powers of Ten

Powers of Ten.  This is a film made in 1977 by Charles and Ray Eames, two very good designers. Watch this nine minute film, and then discuss it in your blog. Did you find this video fascinating? What ideas came to mind while watching it?

Samarost 1 and 2

SAMAROST 1 is a really cool Flash game that will test your puzzle solving skills. Check it out at the below URL and let us know what you think on your blog!

Rate the following qualities 1-5, 5 being the best.

Graphics 1 - 5?
Sound / Music    1 - 5?
Story 1 - 5?
Difficulty 1 - 5?


Follow this link to play SAMAROST 1 >>> http://amanita-design.net/samorost-1/



If you really enjoyed this puzzle game, then you might then try SAMAROST 2!


Follow this link to play SAMAROST 2 >>> http://amanita-design.net/samorost-2/

Journey

Journey has been voted one of the best games of 2012. Watch this video of 9 minutes of gameplay and in your own blog, discuss what you like or dislike about it. How would you DESIGN it to make it better?

Vice President Biden Debates Congressman Paul Ryan

The one and only Vice Presidential debate of the 2012 cycle between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan. The debate took place at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The moderator was Martha Raddatz, ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent.

Let us know your thoughts about this video in your blogs.

http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012/10/video-watch-the-vice-presidential-debate-from-oct-11-at-centre-college/

Student IDs

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

Student IDs That Track the Students

By MAURICE CHAMMAH and NICK SWARTSELL

Published: October 6, 2012

SAN ANTONIO —  For Tira Starr, an eighth grader at Anson Jones Middle School, the plastic nametag hanging around her neck that she has decorated with a smiley face and a purple bat sticker offers a way to reflect her personal flair. For administrators, it is something else entirely: a device that lets them use radio frequency technology —  with scanners tucked behind walls and ceilings —  to track her whereabouts...

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE AT NEW YORK TIMES and then answer the following questions in your blog.

1. Why did the school initiate this program?

2. What was the technology originally DESIGNED for?

3. What are the practical advantages of the IDs?

4. Do you foresee any problems with the IDs that the students might have?

5. How would you feel if this system was used at EACP? Why?