TECHS Build a Computer Day and Web Page
Nick, Daniel, Whitney, Caleb
by Margalee Thomas
Build a Computer Day
On Tuesday February 10, 2009, the Heartland TECHS team went to Milford and participated in the build a computer day at ESU 6. There were nine schools and about 35 students involved in making a computer for their schools. The schools included Falls City, Auburn, Freeman, Plainview, Johnson County, Osmond, Johnson Brock, Sterling, and Heartland. We learned how to build a computer; we installed the motherboard, the CPU processor, the DVD player and the RAM. We then installed Linux operating system.We learned how to use Jing, Cha Cha, Gabcast and how to poll over a cell phone. Jing is a tutorial with words, or a video. Cha Cha is a device used over a cell phone to ask a question and receive an answer.Gabcast creates podcast from cell phones. Overall the day was a fun one and enjoyed by all. The photo below shows the 2008-2009 TECHS team of students; Whitney, Nicholas, Caleb, and Daniel.
Click on the following link to view the video created on the BAC day:
Wii
project
The Wii project consisted of designing a pen that you can write on a regular white board and it would work the same as if you were using a SmartBoard. It is a much cheaper way to interact with your computer than buying a SmartBoard. We had to find a casing to place the inner components . One of are groups chose a sprinkle container for confection and the other chose a Sharpie magic marker. An infrared light was purchased to communicate with the Wii remote and a wireless bluetooth device was connected to laptop computer. Also used in the pen was one AA battery and a holder with wire connections. The wires were soldered to connect the light to the battery and a push button so a connection was created when pen is in use.
Free interactive software was downloaded to the laptop so that the pen could be alligned with dots on a regular whiteboard. The students set the wii remote on a camera tripod and directed it at a forty-five degree angle at a whiteboard. The students then used regular software programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel to write and interact with.
Jing Project
Jing is a program that helps you to teach others steps on the computer. The program copies what you see on the screen, and also copies your voice as you complete the steps that you are teaching. The longest you can record is five minutes.
Tutorial on inserting a watercolor image behind the text of a Word document.
Click here to see this tutorial.
Tutorial on how to add a header/footer to a word document.
Click here to see the tutorial.
Tutorial on how to add WordArt to a Word document.
Click here to see the tutorial
Tutorial on inserting a table in a Word document.
Click here to see the tutorial.
Tutorial on how to print multiple PowerPoint slides on one page.
Click here to see the tutorial.
TECHS homepage is at this website: TECHS web page
Another project for the TECHS team was to create a web page. The students used a new Web 2.0 software called WordPress.
In the future, projects include creating podcasts and videos, proposal of a new lab including software, hardware, and costs.
To view a short video showcasing the TECHS home page, click on the following link:
Jing Short Video on TECHS Home Page
