Race to the Finish

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Holiday Break. Now that we're back, the goal is to have a strong finish to the Semester which is literally 3 weeks away (including finals). Below is our agenda for the week:

• Please complete our White Balance Unit:
• Post your Photoshop Assignment correctly in Schoology
• Post your White Balance Blog (with photoshop assignment and chosen images)
• Complete the White Balance Quiz: https://goo.gl/SZpD7C
• Begin our Composition Unit
• Complete the Composition Quiz: https://goo.gl/U9k4gC
• Read the Assignment and Review the Lecture Materials (including this weeks blog)
• Prepare for taking photographs this week by brainstorming different ideas.
• Completing our Composition Unit
• Download and Complete the Photoshop Assignment attached in Schoology.  I have laid the groundwork for you - all you have to do is insert the images and update your name/background color if desired.
• Respond to our Composition Blog

Next Step: Prepare for Finals!

Photography Blog Post #7 - Composition

This week we are finally transitioning from a focus on basic skills and camera operation into creating some unique compositions and taking artistic photos.  Remember this week that you can adjust the aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance to properly capture whatever images you want (within the assignment's confines of course).

For this blog please:

• Post your Photoshop Assignment highlighting the 8 photos that "Use Composition to Show Who You Are."
• Give a detailed explanation of each of your photos and your overall vision for what you set out to show in each photograph.
• How well do you think each of your photos tells a story about who you are?  If you had more time, what would you have done the same?  What would you have done differently?  Do you believe the gallery of photos you have taken tell a story themselves?
• Which of the elements of composition did you personally like the most?  Why?  Can you think of other things you would like to photograph now that you have studied these different elements?
• What did you enjoy about this assignment? What challenges did you face?  How did you enjoy this assignment in relation to our previous assignments?  Explain why you either enjoyed it more or, alternatively, not as much.

Thank you!

Photography Blog Post #6 - White Balance

You are really learning all the tools of the camera aren't you ... well, not really - there's a long way to go but you are learning about some of the most important adjustments you can make on your camera so that you can truly take unique, one of a kind, photos!! That's honestly, pretty awesome!! This week we learned about white balance and why we need to be good about telling our camera what color the light we are shooting in is. For today's blog:

• Please post your Photoshop Assignment and 3 favorite images you took this week.
• Discuss White Balance. What did you notice about the different settings you used this week and how did each setting specifically affect the color of the image you took.
• Do you notice a significant difference between the images you took with different WB settings? Having completed this assignment does it seem important to adjust these settings or not particularly?
• Discuss whether you think the best photo taken for each subject was the one that aligned best. For example, if you took a picture of a flower on a bright sunny day, did it look best under the "Daylight" setting or did you think it actually ended up looking better using a different setting?
• Discuss what you enjoyed about this assignment? Were there any challenges you faced? What could you have done, if anything, to make the process go smoother.

Thank you!

Photography Blog Post #5 - Shutter Speed

This week you had the opportunity to learn about and experience what various shutter speeds can do for your photography!  Shutter speed is another amazing tool you can use to create incredible images and gives you the specific power to freeze motion or show motion with your photography!!  For today's blog, please complete the following:

• Post your completed Photoshop assignment along with your two favorite images from the week.
• Respond to the following questions:
• Explain to your readers what shutter speed is/does.  Be sure to explain it clearly and discuss how your images above demonstrate the different shutter speeds you used.
• Explain how you would show motion and how you would freeze motion.  This is a good opportunity for you to discuss what slower shutter speeds can do for you and what faster shutter speeds can do for you.
• Discuss a few situations where you would definitely want to use a slower shutter speed and show movement in your photography.  Discuss a few situations where you would definitely want to use a faster shutter speed to freeze movement in your photography.  At minimum, you should discuss 2 examples of each.  Be sure to also discuss how shutter speed can affect your audiences perception about what is going on in the image.
• Lastly, discuss your experience this week with our assignment.  Did you enjoy the assignment?  Did you face any challenges?  What were they?  What did you enjoy about the assignment.

Thank you!!

Photography Blog Post #3 & #4 - Mastering Photoshop Filters and Layer Blend Modes

Week 3 has come and we are taking a brief break from our field assignments to focus on some of the creative elements you can add to your photography by using Photoshop. This week you will complete two assignments. The first one gives you an opportunity to take an image and use Photoshop to create a watercolor painting effect. The second assignments allows you to take another image along with a texture of your choice and learn how to blend your chosen textures with your photo in Photoshop.

For today's blog there are two parts, please complete them as separate postings:

Watercolor Painting Effect

• Post your original image and adjusted image for the watercolor painting effect assignment
• Please discuss the following in detail:
• Discuss the different filters you used to complete this Watercolor Painting Effect.  Be specific and, as much as possible, discuss what each of the filters you used accomplished.
• What did you think of your final product in comparison to your original image?
• Discuss an image you would like to take and how adding a water color painting effect would either enhance the original image or detract from it.  Does this seem like a tool you would like to use again with your own work?
• What is your impression of Photoshop and what have you liked about working with it to date?  You should include 3 things you think are "neat" about working with the program.

How to Blend Textures with Photos in Photoshop

• Post your original image(s) and your adjusted image for the blending textures with your photo assignment.
• Please discuss the following in detail:
• Discuss the layer blend modes and what that does to your original images.
• Discuss the different blend modes and how they affected the look of your image - be sure to address the Normal, Dissolve, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, and Hard Light blend modes and the effect they had on your image.
• Which Blend mode did you ultimately choose to use?  What did you particularly like about this blend mode?
• What does the desaturate command do for your image and did you like the outcome? What about inverting the texture, hue/saturation, Gaussian blur, etc?
• What do you like about the final image and its effect?  What do you not like?  Does this seem like a neat tool to you? Why or why not?  Lastly, what did you think of this project? Easy, challenging? Would you be able to use this for any photographs you have or would take?

Week of November 2nd - 6th

Welcome to the week of November 2nd - 6th.  Please see the outline above for what we will be working on this week.  I recognize with our field trip last week (1/2 of you out) and, again, this week with the other 1/2 of the class, there was limited time to complete all work to the very best of your ability.  For that reason, I am offering you time in class today, Monday, to complete all of the requirements from last weeks assignment.  In addition, this week, partly because I will be off campus almost every day and partly because I want you to build your Photoshop repertoire I have posted two assignments, neither of which require you to leave the classroom.  These assignments will be due in Schoology on Friday and we will post them to our blog next Monday, November 9th. Please make the most of your time in here this week and make sure you are right on track with meeting all requirements for the course!

Thanks.  I am excited to return to Adobe with the 2nd half of you and also look forward to you learning some fun and creative Photoshop tools.  

Photography Blog Post #2 - "Aperture and Depth of Field"

For today's blog, please respond to the following questions:

1. Discuss the different subjects you chose to photograph. Why did these subjects appeal to you and why did they seem appropriate for this specific assignment?
2. Analyze a series of photographs that show various depths of field.  What technique do you like the most? Why? How do you think the aperture affects the feeling of an image?
3. Discuss why you chose this set of photos over the other 3 sets you took (why do you like it, how does it fit the requirement)?
4. Explain the camera setting/modes you used and why! You must include the f/stop and shutter speed numbers with an accurate explanation of how the aperture values affected each photo for full credit! Remember to discuss the concept of “everything in focus” vs. “one thing in focus” and how your camera settings affected this for each photo.
5. What skills did you learn and use completing the Photoshop element of this project?  Be specific and thoroughly outline each of the tools you used to create your final product.
6. What decisions did you make and/or challenges did you encounter while physically taking the photo. If your answer reads, “I did not make any decisions or encounter any challenges,” you will not receive credit. Be a conscious and intentional photographer, and remember, “You don’t take a good photograph, you make it.” –Ansel Adams

A reminder to post your completed photoshop assignment on your blog along with 3 of the 6 images shot, one that clearly shows “everything in focus” and one that clearly shows the same subject with “one thing in focus.” Then pick an image between the two that shows the transition. Refer to the image I posted as an example.

Blog for the Block Day and Friday!

Alright everyone - read carefully!!  I've made the decision that I am going to allow you to continue using the cameras today (block) day but I am not particularly pleased with the past two days.  Yesterday in 3rd period a few students were reported as going into a classroom taking pictures - as you can imagine I am not happy about that.  In 2nd period on Tuesday the following was very disappointing:

• Students didn’t return in time to upload photos - you need to be back in class with a minimum of 10 minutes to upload your photos and put your cameras away neatly.
• One student left their memory card in the computer - your SD card always needs to be placed back in your camera before returning it to the closet
• One camera was left on desk - that is not a safe place for a $1,000 piece of equipment!!  
• Lens caps were left off while not shooting images.
• Some students students were not using the class time well to complete assignments.  Photos, Blog and Photoshop Assignment are due Friday by the end of class.
• Lastly, my personal materials brought to class for you to photograph were left scattered around room for me to clean up.

I hope you can understand why this would be upsetting for me, especially when I am trusting you with valuable equipment AND to represent the program well when out of class.  I expect that each of you have read the above and will respect these expectations today - especially with Ms. Solomon here in my place while I am at SAP.  My only reason for allowing cameras out today is because I don't want to penalize those of you who respected and followed the instructions and who waited patiently Tuesday for your turn to take the cameras out.

Please work well today, use the instructions and tutorial videos posted in Schoology and don't forget to respond to the blog (thoroughly) with the required images!

Thanks!

Photography Blog Post #1 - "Pop Art"

For today's blog, please respond to the following questions:

• What is Pop Art?
• Pick one artist, research them and discuss their work.  Why is this artist’s work considered Pop Art?  Why did you pick this artist and why do you like his/her work? (this discussion should be ~5 sentences)
• What would you say are some of the most iconic images in the 21st century?  Think about marketing, mass media, consumer products, etc that everyone your age is familiar with.  Were you able to capture one of these images in one or more of your twenty photos? (this discussion should also be ~5 sentences)
• How did you choose the photo that you used in your Photoshop project?  What about it made it your best photo for this project?
• What skills did you learn and use completing the Photoshop element of this project?  Be specific and thoroughly outline each of the tools you used and what adjustments it allowed for - in other words, what filters did you use for each of the nine grids in your Photoshop assignment
• What did you learn and enjoy about this project?  Discuss both the Photoshop tools you worked with and the experience you had with the camera itself as you took photos.  Were there things you realized about the photo taking process as you completed the project?

For this course you will be posting one blog each week.  The expectation is that the blog will be thorough and well thought out.  Remember at the top of your blog you should have 4 images. Your 3 best original images and then your "Pop Art" Photoshop Assignment.  Please spend some time formatting the blog as aesthetics will factor into your grade.

Adobe Flash Quiz

Please click on the following link and complete today's 30 question quiz at goo.gl/xVDxZK!  Happy End of the first quarter!  As soon as you have completed the quiz, please confirm the following:

• Any/all missing assignments have been submitted
• Blog is 100% up to date!

Mid-Term Exam Questions/Terminology to Review

If you feel comfortable with the following questions you'll be happy with your results on Friday's quiz without a doubt :)

• What is Adobe Flash? 
• When we talk about the "stage" in Adobe Flash, what are we referring to? 
• What does it mean when you save work as a .fla file? 
• What does it mean when you save work as a .swf file? 
• What is the "toolbar" used for in Adobe Flash? 
• What is the benefit of creating your drawings to symbols? 
• What is the timeline in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a tween in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a keyframe in Adobe Flash? 
• Why is it important to work with many layers within a single animation? 
• If you have multiple layers, which would be considered the background? 
• What is a "frame" in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a "frame" in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a "motion guide" in Adobe Flash? 
• Which is the best example of a time we used a motion guide in this class? 
• What do you use to organize your work into layers and frames so you can create animations?
• Name the main working flash file where you create your flash content and flash animations.
• What would you call a frame that has no drawing on it? 
• What is an animation on an invisible line? 
• A type of animation where you tell the computer what is to happen at the beginning and end and let the computer figure out what happens in between. 
• What is an animation where object change in each frame? To know if a shape tween is created successfully - Click Control > _____________. 
• The main working area in flash where you will create and manipulate art work is ... 
• You use the selection tool to click on some objects on the stage. You see a blue box around your object. Which panel gives you the information of whether what you selected is a symbol - text - movie clip - etc.? 
• What does the selection tool allow you to do? 
• What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 
• What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 
• Which project did you find the most fun this quarter. Be sure to specifically address the project and 3 reasons you enjoyed working on it. 
• Name 3 specific challenges that you faced during the quarter. Describe how you were able to overcome those challenges. Be specific. 
• In your own words, describe what Adobe Flash is and how it helped you grow as a student. Think about the challenges you faced and problem solving skills you developed as a result. What does it mean when you save work as a .fla file? What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 

Final Block Day of Quarter 1

Here is your agenda for today - our final block day of the 1st quarter:

• No blog post - check to make sure you have responded to all blogs since Q1 Progress (6-11 posts depending on how you completed blogs for Picasa and Google Sites Assignments):
1. Windmill Assignment
2. Butterfly Effect Assignment
3. Car Driving Assignment
4. What is a Mentor (9/29)
5. Reminiscing on Mentor Meeting #1 (10/5)
6. Gearing up for Graduation and College (10/7)
• Complete any assignments that are still marked as missing in the grade-book.  Today is your final chance!
• To receive credit for any assignment marked missing, you must email it to me at crubin@seq.org
• Work on any missing assignment for any class - you have to check your School Loop - if assignments are highlighted (like below) MAKE THEM UP!

• Quarter Ends Friday.  My grades will be finalized Thursday night with the exception of your blog and edutyping.  We begin our photography/Photoshop unit on Monday!

Gearing up for Graduation and College!! (Should have been posted 10/7)

Good Morning!  Somehow I overlooked posting this blog last week when we reviewed our grades!!!  A few weeks ago we took a moment with our mentor to brainstorm goals for the future.  While it is fun to look to the future and envision our hopes and dreams, there are also specific requirements that exist to accomplish some of the goals you have expressed interest in achieving.  Above is an image that demonstrates one such example - the different requirements that have been established if you want to "graduate," attend a "CSU" or "UC."  Today's blog is going to be a bit longer than normal but I am going to ask you to really take a moment and analyze each of the questions posed below.  

• Question 1:  Do you think it's ever too early to start planning for High School Graduation/College?  Why or why not?  Why would starting to plan early important and/or how could it be helpful for you?
• Question 2:  What is the difference between a "California State University," the "University of California," and a "Private University?"  Describe the different requirements to get into these schools, a few examples of the schools that fall into each category, and which might appeal most to you from your knowledge of each and why it would appeal to you.  
• Question 3:  Based on your completion of the chart highlighting courses completed, what are you currently on track for?  Are you headed towards high school graduation?  CSU eligibility? UC eligibility?  Explain whether you are happy about your progress and what you can/want/have to do to accomplish your goals.  In particular, what courses do you need to take to be eligible for the school(s) you want to attend?  Do you feel like you still have time to get on the path you want to be on?
• Question 4: This week you will be taking the PSAT.  Why do you think the school has decided to offer this exam to every 10th and 11th grader at the school - keep in mind, this is not free!  We pay for each test given!  How does it benefit you? How does it benefit the school?  Why is taking full advantage of a test like this so important and how could it help you get into college?

Thanks for a thoughtful response.  While I will enjoy reading them, the post is even a better opportunity for you to reflect on where you stand academically and realize what your realistic goals are as you approach high school graduation and make college/career plans!

October Begins

Good Morning and Happy Monday - October 5th. Shockingly we are two weeks away from the end of the first quarter and YES, that includes this week! I honestly can't believe it.

I'd like to begin today by reminiscing about Friday's mentor meeting. Please respond to the following:

• What did you think of the mentor event as a whole? Was it what you expected? Why or why not?
• What did you enjoy about the mentor meeting?
• Was there anything that you did not enjoy about the mentor meeting?
• Do you feel like you made a good first impression on your mentor? What would you have changed about your interaction, if anything?
• Did your mentor make a good first impression on you? Why or why not? What could they have done differently if anything?
• Now that you have gotten a taste of the program and who you'll be working with this year, what specifically do you want to get out of it?

Thanks for your honest and, of course, thoughtful feedback. After completing the blog, we are going to walk through how to animate our car driving so that you have an outstanding finished product by the end of the day tomorrow!

Lastly - as I mentioned at the start of the post, we are incredibly close to the end of the quarter. We do have a few more assignments that need to get done before the quarter ends on October 16th but I want to make sure everyone is successfully completing each assignment. Today, please work on completing your car driving (due by 10/8 at the latest):

Once complete, please also post this animation to your blog and respond to the following questions:

• Describe the assignment you just completed. What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
• What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment? Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment. ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, symbols, etc. Reread the assignment description or watch the tutorial to remind yourself
• Was the assignment easy to complete? Did you have any trouble? What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue? What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
• In this assignment you made a car drive with rotating wheels, you used a pan and zoom effect and even incorporated a shape tween.  What other ideas do you have for animations you could now successfully create using similar tools to the ones used in this project?

Thanks for doing a great job!!
Mr. Rubin

September 30

Good Morning and Welcome to the last day of September. Below is our agenda for today:

Ensure you have completed and submitted:

• The Flying Butterfly Effect

Ensure you have posted a blog for the assignment that includes the posted youtube video and a response to these questions:

• Describe the assignment you just completed. What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
• What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment? Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment. ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, symbols, etc. Reread the assignment description or watch the tutorial to remind yourself
• Was the assignment easy to complete? Did you have any trouble? What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue? What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
• Besides making the butterfly flap its wings consistently and using the pan and zoom features in your animation, what other types of animations could you make successfully now using similar tools to the ones used in this project? How do you think the pan and zoom effect will help you with our next assignment that will involve a car driving down the road?

**Note: if you are having trouble posting to youtube, try exporting your file as an .avi file today and see if that works better.  It worked for me this AM.

Moving forward:

• Begin drawing your background and key symbols for our next assignment - Creating Shape Tweens, Car Driving Assignment.  See my image posted on the blog as an example.  After this assignment we will begin working with frame by frame animation.

Complete name tag for Friday's mentor event (to be done at the end of class)

Although I had wanted to take a moment to work on the large chart and track grades today, I don't currently have access to IC and therefore could not print transcripts. This is on hold for the time being.

Thanks!
Mr. Rubin

Academy Mentor Program Begins Friday!

Good Morning Academy Juniors and welcome back from an unexpected long weekend!  Today we are going to jump into one of the most unique, and in my opinion, powerful experiences the Academy program can offer you.  Our Academy Mentor Program.  Beginning this Friday you will meet with a mentor from our local community 4 times this year.  Those 4 times (if you want to make a note for yourself) will be October 2nd (this Friday), December 4th, January 29th and March 4th.  Similar to last year, these mentor meetings are meant for you to establish a relationship with an adult from our local community who is interested in helping you pursue your goals and dreams.  The 4 mentor meetings will be spent discussing goals and aspirations along with how you plan to achieve them, discussing college and preparing to successfully complete a college application, taking the time to develop a comprehensive resume and discuss different career pathways available to you and, finally, developing professional business etiquette via mock interviews and more.  All of these activities are developed with your success in mind, but, it is important to remember, that you are the one in control of your own success.

With that said, please respond to the following questions thoroughly in a 5-7+ sentence paragraph.  You can and should use your experience from last year to guide your responses:

• What is a mentor in your own words?
• What are your thoughts about being paired with a mentor?
• How do you think that a mentor could help you?  Is there any way you can think of that having a mentor would not help you?
• What would you want in a mentor?  Is there anything specific that you would absolutely want your mentor to help you with?  Think about things that would be appropriate to ask a mentor for.  Is there anything that would be inappropriate to ask your mentor for?
• What are your top 3 goals and aspirations?  How do you plan to achieve them and how could a mentor help with this process?
• What are 3 keys to making a great first impression when you meet your mentor on Friday?
• What else would you want to know about this program before getting started and/or what concerns do you have (if any)?

Thank you for a thorough, thoughtful response ... now I need you to respond to a short survey regarding the program so I can successfully pair you with someone you can/will work well with.  After that, we will discuss this program, specifically how Friday is going to work, in detail.

Survey link: https://goo.gl/DdVqDy

Week of September 19-23

Below are the expectations for the week of September 19-23.

Adobe 2-D Flash Animation:

Students are expected to be working on the assignment introduced Friday 9/18 entitled "Continuing our Work with Symbols & adding a simple panning technique - The Flying Butterfly Effect."

Although the due date is specified as the block day (9/21-9/22) it must be submitted as a .swf file in Schoology by the end of class on Friday September 23rd!  If you finish the assignments early I encourage you to add additional creative elements to the project to make it outstanding.

Be sure to utilize the step by step instructions in Schoology.  In addition, please watch the video tutorial I created (I completed the same project) posted on youtube.  The link can be found on Schoology.  If you have no assignments to work on for another class you should work on creating the background for our next assignment - for that assignment you will need a car, a mountain range, trees, etc and need each of those to be on separate layers (see image below).

A reminder that each assignment you complete is required to be posted in schoology as a .swf file and on your blog through youtube.   On your blog, please also respond to the same questions listed from your Windmill Assignment for your Butterfly assignment - I have also copied them below:

• Describe the assignment you just completed. What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
• What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment? Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment. ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, symbols, etc.  Reread the assignment description or watch the tutorial to remind yourself
• Was the assignment easy to complete? Did you have any trouble? What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue? What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
• Besides making the butterfly flap its wings consistently and using the pan and zoom features in your animation, what other types of animations could you make successfully now using similar tools to the ones used in this project?  How do you think the pan and zoom effect will help you with our next assignment that will involve a car driving down the road?

Please stay focused this week.  Because I am not present does not mean that deadlines will not be adhered to or rules will not be enforced.  As a reminder, phones should not be out during classtime and headphones need to be put away (unless you are using the headphones attached to the computer).

Thanks so much!

It's Friday!!

I'm going to be honest - I feel like every other time I start writing a blog post it's Friday!  The weeks are flying by - we are already sending out progress grades and the quarter is going to be over before we know it!!  Today, as we get going, please make sure you have posted a blog for the "Working with Symbols and Managing our Library" assignment - also known as the Windmill Assignment. Similar to previous assignments, the blog questions are:

• Describe the assignment you just completed? What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
• What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment? Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment. ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, symbols, etc.  Reread the assignment description or watch the tutorial to remind yourself
• Was the assignment easy to complete? Did you have any trouble? What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue? What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
• Besides making the windmill rotate consistently using these new skills, what other types of animations could you make successfully now using similar tools to the ones used in this project?

Think of today as another new start (especially for your blogs).  The work that was previously assigned is over and done with.  For those of you who had a great start, keep it up - for those of you who struggled as we got going, now's your time to stay focused.  In the scheme of things, we haven't done that many assignments so grades can still fluctuate a lot with each assignment!  For your blog - please be sure to write well written thorough responses that you would be proud to share your friends, family and, of course, ME :)

After you have completed this blog post, we are onto our next assignment - "Continuing our Work with Symbols & adding a simple panning technique" ... due to the nature of the assignment we will also refer to this as "The Flying Butterfly Effect."  Step by Step instructions and a video tutorial (by me) can all be found in Schoology - so be sure to login and read the assignment description!!

Thanks everybody and, hey, Happy Friday!

Grades Posted for Q1 Progress!

Good Morning Academy Juniors -

I have some great news, some good news and some bad news!  That news really is dependent on your current grade in my class. While a few students are currently earning an A+, with some even over the 100% mark, there are others of you who are well below 50%.  That is not good news at all.  Academics are important - in particular, your 11th grade year (especially for those of you who maintained above a 2.0 GPA last year) can be incredibly important when it comes to your post high school options ... and you want post high school options!  Just look at the chart above.  The first key to keeping those options open is taking care of business when you come to school.  For this class, that means being in class on time everyday and working to complete every single assignment on time and to the best of your ability.  Unfortunately, some people are not following through with that expectation.

Today is a one time opportunity for our first quarter progress grade.  Read carefully -

• Today only I will offer a make-up opportunity for any missing/incomplete assignments.  Login to School Loop and check your current grade in my class.  While a few of you have 100% or higher (great work) some of you have already fallen below the 50% mark.  Check which assignments, if any, you're missing and know that because of the few assignments completed to date, one missing assignment can have a significant impact on your grade.
• NOTE** The only assignment score I will not regrade is your blog.  If you want to improve it for the sake of having a good quality blog - go for it.  Click on your blogs, edit them, add text, an image, etc but that will be for your personal satisfaction only.
• For ANY assignment you want to receive credit for, follow these instructions:
• Complete the assignment as specified in Schoology.  
• Complete any/all missing assignments and send them to me in 1 single email.  I do not want 4 separate emails from the same person.
• Files must be emailed to me as a .pdf (Ever Growing, Changing ME) or exported .swf file to crubin@seq.org.
• All assignments must be received by the end of your class period today, 9/16 or 9/17
• Any assignment received after that time will not be accepted under any circumstance.
• Grades will be finalized and posted for Q1 progress by Thursday, September 17th @ midnight.

Please take advantage of this opportunity.  Assignments submitted late will not receive full credit but will significantly raise your grade vs. the current "Missing" score.  Those of you who currently have an A in the class - today is not "FREE" time! I encourage you to take this time to work on assignments from other classes (academy or non-academy) so you have a glowing (ALL A's) report card mailed home that you can be proud of and that will create amazing opportunities for you in the future!

Again, please read the instructions above carefully so that you can take advantage of this 1 time opportunity to raise your grade. I hope to receive 1 email from each of you with an assignment (or multiple assignments) before the end of class.  Obviously any extra time should go towards working on your Windmill Assignment.

Thank you!

Mr. Rubin

Tuesday, September 15th - Minimum Day

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday -

Once a year, those of us living in San Mateo County are scheduled to be on call as a potential juror - it is how our justice system works.  Today is that day for me.  Although I am gone, you are expected to make the most of today's 30 minute class period.

Please come in quietly and get right to work.  You should be working on the Windmill Assignment we began yesterday which focuses on working with symbols and managing our library!  Here are some basic reminders for how to successfully complete the drawing of your windmill:

• Insert > New Symbol > (name appropriately) > Draw one of your windmill fans (or feel free to draw the entire windmill fan) > click back to scene 1
• (optional) Insert > New Symbol > (name appropriately) > Drag your windmill fan in, copy and paste it until it looks good to you > click back to scene 1 
• Insert > New Symbol > (name appropriately) > rotate your windmill. This will require 4 keyframes. You need to rotate the windmill 90 degrees (or a 1/4 of a turn) each keyframe. Remember on the final keyframe not to rotate it the full 90 degrees so it doesn't look like it stops/has a glitch in the actual animation > click back to scene 1

In scene 1, drag the rotating windmill to your screen. Make sure it has its own layer. You may then add additional layers to include a creative and colorful background scene.  Remember, in addition to a functional windmill on your animation, you should also be showing growth in your understanding and ability to use the drawing tools!

If a video tutorial might be more helpful, you can find one for this assignment here: https://youtu.be/BpzzXjIsHno

Today is Monday!! 9/14/15

Good Morning and Happy Monday!  I wish I could say we finally have a regular week BUT that's not true - tomorrow is a minimum day!  Before jumping into what we have planned for this week, I wanted to take a second to reflect on Friday's field trip.  Here are a few things I'd love for you to think about and write a summary paragraph on:

• Based on your first few weeks in the Academy, how would you describe the program in your own words?  Are you enjoying being a member of the Academy?  Why or why not?
• Friday's trip was an all inclusive, community building field trip.  What does that mean to you?  How would you describe to someone the purpose of the trip?  Do you think the trip itself actually accomplished that purpose? How or how not?
• How did you like Shoreline lake personally? Did you love it? Hate it? A little of both?  Why? What other suggestions would you have for an all inclusive type trip like the one we took Friday?

After completing the blog, I need you to:

1. Confirm you have successfully submitted all assignments to date on both Schoology and on your blog!  These assignments include:
1. The Ever Growing, Changing Me
2. Getting Acquainted with the Flash Interface
3. Working with Motion Guides
4. Working with Layers and Keyframes
5. Working with Symbols (well, this is coming up)
2. In addition, you should have 7 thorough (5-7 sentence) blog posts.  Please confirm you have all 7 Blog Posts.  Those should include
1. (3) one for each of the Flash Assignments we have completed including a detailed response to the posted set of questions for each.  
2. (1) the start of our write-up for our Ever Growing, Changing ME
3. (3) prompt responses from 8/17, 8/20 and 8/31.  Also be sure that you completed the blogger form so I can access your blog easily: https://goo.gl/coim

Thanks for taking a moment to confirm all of the above and update anything incomplete so we can make sure we all start the school year as strong as possible.

Block Day Post 9/9-9/10

Good Morning! It's already our block day for the week and Friday I won't see you here in the classroom since we're headed to Shoreline Park for the day!! I'll see you on the water though :) I'm excited - it should be a really fun day!! Today we are working towards completing our "Working With Layers and Keyframes" assignment and posting it to both Schoology and our blog.  A reminder to double and triple check the requirements in Schoology and/or School Loop where all of the assignment details are posted. For this assignment you are required to use a minimum of 4 layers to create a background image, a plane flying from one side of your screen to the other while doing a flip in the air as it follows a motion guide. Work to have a very detailed background as you use this as an opportunity to develop new skills using a variety of drawing tools. Remember, the more creativity, the better.  Once you have completed the assignment, post it to be Schoology as a .swf file and to youtube as a Quicktime file so that you are able to embed it on your blog.  In addition to posting the video on your blog, be sure to respond to the following questions:

1. Describe the assignment you just completed?  What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
2. What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment?  Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment.  ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, etc.
3. Was the assignment easy to complete?  Did you have any trouble?  What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue?  What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
4. Besides making a plane fly using these new skills, what other types of animations could you make successfully now using similar tools to the ones used in this project?

Once you have finished your assignment and posted to the blog that's it for today.  You should use any additional time you have (if any) to complete work for your classes that is either due soon or is past due.  In addition, remember you will be missing your non-academy classes on Friday - it is important to complete the work for those classes so the teachers will sign your permission slips in the future!

September 8th - We're Back!

Good Morning and Happy Monday!!  Today we have a few things to tackle before moving onto our next assignment - don't worry though, once you're done with these short tasks the assignment is ready and waiting for you in Schoology :)

For today's blog you will be posting a Google Form and responding to a few questions.  Before doing that, however, please complete the following:

• Click on this link: https://goo.gl/coimwo and complete the short form.  It asks you to submit your blog so I can view it.  To do this please carefully follow these directions:
• Go to blogger.com.
• Login
• When your homepage comes up, instead of hitting the orange pencil. click where is says "VIEW BLOG" You should get a live view of your blog - just how anyone else in the world can view it.
• Go to the address bar at the top of the window and copy it.  This address should end with .blogspot.com ... if it says blogger anywhere in the address it is the WRONG address!!
• Paste the correct address into the form and click submit
• be sure you submit the correct address PLEASE!
• Click on this link: http://goo.gl/forms/4scYsWkRZ5 and complete the short form.  
• Once you have opened this, if you know for a fact you completed it previously you don't have to do this.  
• If you have not done it or are not sure - it must be completed!!
• Go to Schoology.com and continue with your assignment "Week 3 - Working With Layers and Keyframes."  On schoology you can find written directions along with a video tutorial for this assignment (Produced by me) which can be found at https://youtu.be/98yO_QdkC7k

Labor Day Weekend! Planes will Fly!

Hello and happy Friday!  Today we are going to continue building on our skills by learning how to better manage layers in our animations, and make simple scenes that can ultimately be strung together to make more complex animated movies.  For this lesson we will continue with our use of keyframes and motion guides and will add 2 new key concepts.

1. We will develop a better understanding of how we work with a more complex graphic by adding multiple layers and drawing only one thing on each layer.  Not only will this make it easier to edit our animation, it also ensures each moving part will function well.
2. We will also learn how to work with keyframes along a motion guide to control our object.  A part of this, we will also learn how to work within a keyframe.  Something that will give you better control over objects you convert to symbols and will also allows you to make your objects a bit more complex.

For today's assignment you will be required to use a minimum of 4 layers to create a background image, a plane flying from one side of your screen to the other while doing a flip in the air as it follows a motion guide.  Your background should be detailed.  Use this as an opportunity to develop new skills using a variety of drawing tools.  Remember, the more creativity, the better.  

For a video tutorial of how to complete today's lesson please visit: https://youtu.be/98yO_QdkC7k.  Remember to be very good about labeling each of your layers and always drawing on the appropriate layer.  Also, when the time comes, remember to make sure you have the free transform tool to rotate your plane as it flies up into the sky.  Insert a keyframe at the desired spot and then rotate, insert a keyframe at the desired spot and then rotate - continue this until you reach the end of the motion guide :)

Most importantly, sit back, relax and have some fun!

First Week of September Block Day!

Logging in today! You will use your Google Username (Student ID) and Password (LD032300). There is a chance you won't have access to your FLASH Files - stay calm and I'll locate them if that's the case :)

Moving forward - good morning and Happy Wednesday!! Thanks so much for working well on your Motion Guide Animations yesterday. You are learning a lot of new skills and, while there is still a lot to learn, this first part can often be the steepest of the learning curve!! Stay calm, focus and you'll do great!! A reminder that once you are done with your motion guide assignment, please export it to a Quicktime file and upload to youtube for your blog and please export it as a .swf movie file and upload to schoology. For more specific instructions, please refer to our previous blog.

Under the video you post to the blog, please quickly respond to the following:

• Explain the assignment in your own word for the person who may be viewing this assignment.
• What were you expected to do to successfully complete this assignment?
• What were 3 different tools (or more if you want to be extra thorough) that you had to work with in Flash to successfully complete this project?
• What did you enjoy about this project? What was challenging? Why, when sometimes things are difficult, is it an important characteristic to be resilient?

After completing and posting this assignment, please hang tight - you may use any additional time before we move on to complete homework or classwork for another class or work on something quietly at your own computer!! Let's see how everyone is doing and then we'll move on!

Thanks and looking forward to a great block day and seeing some amazing animations!

Note:  Here are some basic tutorials that might help those of you having some trouble:

1. Bouncing Objects: https://youtu.be/bdGTzlBUI9Q
2. Using Motion Guides: https://youtu.be/LuR-Yg26JBA
3. Saving, Exporting and Posting Your Files: https://youtu.be/uXiIB2GLMwE

Monday! Monday! Monday!

Hey All -

That's right - believe it or not we are in our 3rd week of the school year!  Hence the 3 Monday's above - although I guess it's technically only our 2nd Monday of the school year ... oh well - here's today's agenda.

1. Today I am going to ask you to post a quick response to a blog.  Also remember that you are required to have responded to Friday's blog post that included your first animation embedded as a video! For today's blog post, please simply describe the google animation for the day.  You can find it at https://g.co/doodle/nkrw62 or you can see it above.  Here are some discussion points I would like you to touch on:
• do you like the animation?  What do you like about it?  What would you change?
• watching the animation, can you tell when it restarts?  In other words when the animater set it to loop and repeat itself?  How can you tell?
• having learned a few tools so far, do you think you could create something like this?  What aspects would be easy for you to create and which elements (look closely) would be challenging?
2. We are going to start a new lesson today after taking a few minutes for your blog post.  You can look into what we are going to be doing on Schoology.  The assignment is named working with motion guides.
3. A reminder that if your "Ever Growing Changing Me" hasn't be submitted - it's now or never.
4. Finally, below is a reminder for how to submit your flash assignments:

For your blog:

• Export your animation by doing the following:
• File > Export > Export Movie 
• Give your file a name (Motion Guide Assignment) and select "Save As Type" and choose "QuickTime"
• Next, upload this QuickTime file to your youtube account.
• Once the file has been uploaded, grab the embed code (you may have to wait until the file has finished publishing), go to your blog, click the HTML button on the top left and paste that embed code in under the existing code. 
• Remember to then switch back to the Compose respond to the blog prompts directly underneath the video that you posted.

For Schoology:

• Export your animation by doing the following:
• File > Export > Export Movie 
• Give your file a name (Motion Guide Assignment) and select "Save As Type" and choose "SWF Movie"
• Simply go to Schoology and upload this SWF file where it says "Submit Assignment".

Adobe Flash Friday!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  Today is your chance to show off your first Adobe Flash Animation!  With that said, please complete the following before the end of class.

1. Complete your Flash Animation.  Remember to refer to Schoology for the complete requirements but at minimum, ensure you have 
• created 5 objects that will bounce around your screen
• your entire animation will last 80 keyframes
• every object must be different
• different shape, size, color
• each shape must move at a different, but consistent, speed
• your largest object must appear on the bottom and your smallest object on top.
2. Save your Animation in your home drive
3. Export your animation by doing the following:
1. File > Export > Export Movie 
2. Give your file a name and save as type "QuickTime"
4. Next, upload your file to your youtube account.
5. Once the file has been uploaded, grab the embed code (you may have to wait until the file has finished publishing), go to your blog, click the HTML button on the top left and paste that embed code in under the existing code.
6. Switch back to the "Compose" mode and respond to the following questions:
1. Name a minimum of 3 different tools that you used.  What does that tool do and how did it help with creating your final animation?
2. Which tool would you say was the most helpful in creating your animation?  Were multiple tools important?
3. What did you enjoy about this first Adobe Flash animation?  What was challenging?
4. Lastly, having been introduced to Adobe Flash and completing this first assignment, what is one thing you would like to learn how to do using this software?

Great!  Two other things I need you to do today:

1. Your Every Growing Changing Me MUST be complete by the end of the day!
2. Please complete the form at http://goo.gl/forms/4scYsWkRZ5

The Big Day!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!!  It's really not that "big" of a day BUT our first assignment of the year must be submitted today.  It's very important that this is submitted correctly.  Once submitted as a .pdf I cannot make any changes and if it doesn't print out correctly, you will be stuck without full credit.  Here are the submission requirements again:

Your final draft MUST be in .pdf format

Be sure your document is formatted correctly

• Body of the document, Font size 12
• Ensure you have quality titles and great images

Your Central Image Must be Of You!  Absolutely no exceptions!

Preparing to Print

• Be sure your document still has the same style as the template - one page only and there is nothing hanging off the page; it's easy to change the zoom to ~25% so you can view the entire document
• Go to File > Export. It should automatically bring up a save window with PDF and Name your File "Chris Rubin Ever Growing Changing Me" and save into your home drive
• On the pop up window that follows, towards the bottom please change the jpeg quality to high

You're all set! We will submit your file into Schoology together shortly!

**Amazing Opportunity: Win a brand new laptop!!  Simply write an essay titled “Why I need a brand-new laptop computer.”  Send your completed, thorough and high quality essay (proofread) to kayton@alum.mit.edu."**

Week 2! August 24

Good Morning and Happy Monday! We are going to kick off the day by making sure that we are set to publish our "Ever Growing, Ever Changing Me" by the end of the class period -- tomorrow!  I know it takes a lot of work when there is a lot to format, many pictures to include and, of course, descriptive text to write.  While there is no official "blog post" today, lets get right to work on our InDesign document so nobody falls behind!

Your first task for the day is to ensure that you have done all the writing:

• Name at the top, quotes, headings and titles, some adjectives about yourself and then the main body text - first an indepth discussion of who you are right in the middle of the document.  Off to the right you need to discuss first your High School goals followed below by your plan to achieve them.  Lastly, at the bottom, is your chance to share some of your hopes, dreams and ambitions.  Be thorough in what you write - there is only one of you and what your interests, passions, background and more are will be interesting to those who care about you!  If you need some suggestions on what else to write, don't hesitate to ask me.

Your second task is to ensure you have 4 great images on your document that help tell a visual story/paint a picture of who you are.

• The main image in the center must be a picture of yourself! You should have a picture but if you need help, I can take a picture and send it to you.  That will be the central image on your printed document.  The other images are up to you but should either be of you or of things you discussed that are of great importance in your life.

Your third task is to adjust the look of the document - specifically, we are only changing background colors.  Do not change, move, alter the text boxes.  If you do, your assignment won't be done correctly and may not print properly which would not be good.  Remember, if you accidentally move a text box just hold down ctrl + z and the action will undo.

After confirming all of the above, read through your document and ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors!  Spelling and grammar errors demonstrate carelessness and you don't want anybody to make that assumption of you when they read your "Ever Growing, Changing Me"

Once you are happy with your document, the following is what you will do.

• Verify the format of your document.  In particular, be sure you text is no larger than 12 point font - if you didn't fill the columns, go back and think of what else you could write - you need to be thorough!
• Be sure your document is one page only and there is nothing outside the margins - an easy way to do this is hit w on your keyboard and change the zoom to ~25%
• Once you are satisfied with your document you will go to File > Export. It should automatically bring up a save window with PDF and Name your File "Chris Rubin Ever Growing Changing Me" and save into your home drive
• On the pop up window that follows, towards the bottom please change the jpeg quality to high
• You're all set!  We will then submit your file in Schoology together!

First Friday Back!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  It really doesn't matter to me what Friday it is, Friday's are good days!! Today we are going to take a moment and make sure we are all on track before we move forward into week 2 of the 2015-16 school year - can't have anyone falling off the ship before the first week is over!

Today I am making time for you to do the following:

1. Ensure all blog posts are complete
1. Title
2. Image
3. Thorough Post
2. In particular your second blog, the one entitled "Blog Post Day 2 - August 19th!" is very important.  While I know the majority of you did not complete the blog that day, remember, we said "to be continued" I am going to ask you to go back and make an edit on it today.  Under where you wrote "to be continued" before class ends today I would like you to post an image of what you have done so far with your inDesign project.
3. Finally, before leaving today, please ensure you have successfully set up your Schoology account for access to assignments and that you are logging into your computer using your student id.  Also - never forget to save your work in your "home" drive.
4. Register for "Reading Partners" if this is something you might be interested in: https://goo.gl/rlpzHd

Here are a few helpful hints if your stuck on something:

• Have an extra blog you don't want anymore that might be confusing you?
• Next to the blog you want to delete, select Settings from the drop-down.
• Select Settings.
• Under “Settings” on the left side of the page, click Other.
• Go to "Blog tools" - it's at the very top of the page
• Click Delete this blog.
• Remember to always hit new post - the orange pencil when you are getting started in my class
• Want to simply edit the post you didn't finish to add the image I'm talking about?
• You can edit your posts by clicking on "Posts" from the drop-down menu on your Dashboard.
• From there, click the "Edit" link next to the post you'd like to edit
• That will take you to the posting form, which includes all posts you've written that are either published or saved as drafts. When you're done editing, you can click Preview to see what your post will look like on the blog, or go straight to Publish.
• Finally, need a reminder on how to take a screen shot on your pc.
• Open Snipping Tool by clicking the Start button (it might be in the dock at the bottom of your screen)
• Click the New button, select Rectangular Snip and then select the area of your screen that you want to capture.
• Save the file and upload it to your blog!

Collaborative, Social and Playful!

Good Morning and Happy Thursday! You've already almost made it through week one. In my opinion the first week can be one of the hardest so stay focused, keep working and you'll be enjoying your Friday afternoon before you know it.

For today's blog I would like you to consider the following.

• What is the difference between a collaborative, social and playful environment. 
• Give a brief description of each of those ideas in your mind (or feel free to get some insight from Google) 
• For each of those types of environments, think of a place you are familiar with where each would be appropriate. Are there places where more than one is acceptable?
• Based on the definitions you have given, how would you characterize school? Do any of those three work? Can you think of different adjectives that would describe the school environment?

We'll talk more about this and where my classroom falls before we keep going.

Agenda for today (actual):

• Log onto your computer using your new username and password
• Explanation of how to create blog posts and not new blogs each day.
• what to do if you mistakenly added a second blog yesterday
• how to follow my blog
• finishing unfinished blogs
• Respond to the blog
• Review Planner
• Work on completing your "Ever Growing, Changing Me!"

Day 2

Good Morning - it's Wednesday, August 19th and the second day of school. While we'll make sure everyone is getting off to a good start, we are going to start moving a little faster now. Today we are going to use our blog post to brainstorm for our first assignment - that's right, if you do a great job with this blog post you'll be able to simply copy and paste the majority of your writing into your first assignment. I have titled the first assignment "The Ever Growing, Changing Me" which, similar to last year is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself but also an opportunity to contemplate how you have changed over the past 12 months as a student, an individual, etc - it's important to continue to evolve into you. While last year I offered a variety of prompts, this years intro is entirely yours to write.

Here is our tentative agenda for today:

• Come and see me to set up a new username and password (username = student id)
• Log onto your computer using your new username and password
• Log into Google Account and access Blogger (http://compapps1516.blogspot.com/)
• Respond to the blog
• Login to Schoology @ schoology.com (and/or register if you haven't already)
• Period 2 Access Code = 8Z4QV-88V7N
• Period 3 Access Code = 558RX-5M6R5
• Download and begin assignment #1 - The Ever Growing, Changing Me!

MultiMedia - Let's Go!

Good Morning and Welcome back to M-A! This place is looking a little different than it did when we left in June!! Today we are going to begin our year long blog for our MultiMedia course. This blog will be similar to the one you used last year, providing a good opportunity to use technology, but will also be the way we jot down notes and reflections about current topics and display the many unique projects we will be working on this year.  Your blog will consist of your opinions, information and more and will be updated (typically) 4 times each week. For today, the question is simple. 

• How does it feel to be back at school? 
• How does it feel to be a junior?
• What's exciting about this year for you?  What makes you nervous? What do you want to build on from last year?
• How was your summer?  Mention 2-3 highlights. 
• What are some things you are hoping to achieve this school year? Even though it's August, this isn't a terrible time to establish an academic new years resolution.  I know I have!

With each blog post, you are required to include one picture that represents your post. While some o you did an amazing job of this last year, many of you have not.  Obviously, given that today is our first post since being back, I will review just how you can do this!

Welcome Back!! I am excited for a great 2015-2016 School Year!

Agenda for today:

• Log into Google Account and access Blogger
• Login to Schoology @ schoology.com
• Period 2 Access Code = 8Z4QV-88V7N
• Period 3 Access Code = 558RX-5M6R5
• Review Syllabus
• Begin Assignment #1 - The Ever Growing, Changing Me!