Hello, India?
April 21, 2008
Read the New York Times article Hello, India? I Need Help With My Math and then respond on Moodle. (If NYT asks you for a password, you can get one from BugMeNot.
Recently, we have been learning about products and markets. Consider the challenges for TutorVista in that context.
Here are some questions to think about before you respond: What is the product? What is the market? Are you part of the potential market? Would you try a service like this, or tell a friend about it? Where does this business fit in our new vs. established product and market table? How does technology enable or restrict this business? What are the biggest challenges that face this business?
Please respond to your classmates’ ideas — it’s fine to respectfully disagree.
Make Your Own Quiz Questions
April 21, 2008
Our upcoming quiz will cover all assignments starting with the Wikipedia article. This includes the topics of social networks, blogs, RSS, tagging, and applications of these technologies. Be sure you know the vocabulary and the concepts.
Today’s assignment is to create five multiple choice questions and post them in your class forum on Moodle. Remember that we have done this before, so you should know what makes a good question. However, do not mark the correct multiple choice answer when you post in the forum. Instead, wait until someone responds to your questions, and then you can grade their responses. After you finish writing your questions, answer someone else’s questions and post your answers as a reply to see what you can learn.
Quiz Dates
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 (for 3rd period)
Thursday, April 24, 2008 (for 2nd and 4th period)
At least two questions from each class forum will appear on the quiz. If you are the author of a selected question, you will get extra credit.
Brower Youth Awards
April 16, 2008
Watch the following video featuring Jon Warnow (one of the 2007 Brower Youth Award winners), then respond on Moodle.
Dream Workstation
April 14, 2008
New project: Model and texture your dream workstation. You need to have at least a desk, chair, monitor, and keyboard. You can probably think of many other things your ideal workstation will have.
As we continue using UV maps, check out the feedback and suggestions on the Gamestepper Forums.
You might also want to see some examples of workstations created by other students.
This is the last project of the marking period and will be due Friday, April 25, 2008.
Product-Market PowerPoint
April 11, 2008
This week, we studied the table below and supposedly thought
of examples that fit into each cell. The names in this diagram are slightly
different, and we will eventually discuss this vocabulary. (Someone
can add the terms to our glossary in Moodle if they’re not there
already.)
Anyway, this thing is called the Ansoff Product-Market Growth Matrix — the name isn’t too important, but you should read the Wikipedia article to make sure you understand the concepts.
In
today’s assignment, you will be creating a PowerPoint presentation to
illustrate this particular way of thinking about business. After a
title slide, you’ll create a slide showing the grid above, but with
your own examples in each of the boxes. Don’t copy from anywhere — be
original! Make the grid look nice. Then, in the next four slides, you
will explain why each of your examples fit into their category. In
your last slide, explain why the greatest risk and greatest possible
rewards are in the New Product / New Market category. So, to recap the
requirements:
- Title slide including your name
- Slide with an overview of the grid and your examples in it
- Four slides, each explaining one example and why it fits in the grid where you’ve put it (must explain the product and market for each example)
- Conclusion slide or slides discussing New Product / New Market
- Cite any images and sources you use! (Creative Commons licensed sources are required.)
Due next week (Friday, April 18, 2008). Mr. Chun will be out most of next week, so make sure get help right away if you need it! Also, feel free to post and discuss on the Moodle forums.
Surveys
April 11, 2008
Seniors, please fill these out:
Thank you!
The Internet, Bah!
April 7, 2008
Read the article called The Internet, Bah and answer the following questions:
1. When was this article written?
2. Do you agree with the author’s conclusions? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think the author wrote this article?
4. Pick three predictions or assumptions that the author makes and discuss them relative to what we know today.
Answers on Moodle! Note that article is two pages long. When you’re finished, you might be interested in seeing the author give a talk.
The Other Guys
April 2, 2008
Today, we’re going to look at
other school’s web sites. You can search for college or high school web
sites, inside or outside of California. Perhaps you will want to seek
out a specific school, or perhaps you will want to do a more general
search for a list of high schools or colleges.
Look at a
few different sites and find one that you like the most. Then answer
the following questions about the school web site you’ve chosen:
- What school did you find and what is the URL of its web site?
- Does it have an RSS feed? How frequently is it updated?
- What work of students can you find on the site? Look carefully!
- How does the site communicate to the different audiences (parents, students, alumni) that might be reading?
- List three differences between this web site and galileoweb.org. For each difference, which site’s way do you prefer?
Post your answers on Moodle, then look at two other web sites
posted by your classmates. Reply on the forum with your reaction to
each of the two sites. Remember, we want to know what you think of the
web site, not the school!
Who Needs College?
April 1, 2008
First, read this article called Who Needs College? The Triumph of Young Web Founders.
Then, reply (on Moodle) with your reaction to what you read. A paragraph or so should do it. You may want to consider the following questions.
Do you use any of the web sites mentioned? In what ways are these sites significant? Did you know the founders of these companies were so young? What do you think of the decision made by some to drop out of college to pursue a business idea?
New Currency
April 1, 2008
A couple of weeks ago, the Department of the Treasury introduced a new five-dollar bill. They have a web site at http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/
Take a look at the site. Then choose one of the following topics to write a paragraph about, and post it on Moodle:
1. How does the new $5 bill use more advanced technology than the bill it replaces? Make sure that you explain this so someone who doesn’t know what a “watermark” or “microprinting” is can still understand. Do you think this new technology is important and worth the effort?
2. How did the Department of the Treasury choose to announce and explain this new bill? What technologies were used on their web site? Make sure you explain in a way that someone who isn’t a computer expert will still understand what you mean. If you were in charge of announcing this new bill to the United States, how would you do it?
