"Bits and Bytes" -- October '97

Table of Contents

The "Bits and Bytes" educational newsletter has a new format because it is now being distributed via the World Wide Web (WWW). To facilitate readers searching for pertinent information, articles are listed below in the order that they might appear if "Bits and Bytes" is being viewed in the more traditional paper format. However, Netscape or Internet Explorer users may transfer directly to specific articles by selecting the appropriate underlined hyperlink below. If one peruses an article and does not wish to continue reading subsequent articles in a linear fashion, then it is possible to return to this index by selecting the "Table of Contents" link which is found at the end of each section.

1. Notes and Quotes
   This regular column provides information on a potpourri of technological "tidbits".
2. What did you eat today?
   John Silver, of St. John's High School, shares a practical use of Encarta to assist with analyzing one's diet and food intake.
3. Teaching, Technology and Tessellations
   As an introduction to the following article, Brian Metcalfe shares some thoughts regarding the use of the computer to enhance practical classroom-based activities. A tessellation activity is singled out because it has a definite curricular-fit in Grade 6 Mathematics and can be run on all Windows-based computers.
4. A Tessellation Activity for Grade 6 Mathematics Using "Paintbrush" or "Paint"
   Brian Metcalfe continues the tessellation theme by modifying an activity created by Suzanne Alejandre for creating computer-generated tessellations using HyperStudio. This step-by-step process will help teachers and students integrate computer use into the Grade 6 Mathematics curriculum while demonstrating their creativity through tessellation designing.
5. Web Wanderer: "Working the Web for Education"
   Tom March, a Pacific Bell Education First Fellow at San Diego State University graciously allowed us to extract a segment from his larger web document entitled "Working the Web for Education". On-line educators will have a wealth of opportunities exploring this resource but in particular the links comparing the traditional and web-based approaches that are available to educators with web access.
6. Freebie Request Page
   The freebies this month include "Search and Share" web sites and Works database from Leslie Gentes and the new Netscape Navigator 3.0 Dial-Up "9-pak" for Windows 3.x users to replace Trumpet winsock shareware.

"Bits and Bytes" is in the process of being reorganized using FrontPage '97.
Please point your browser and update your bookmarks to its new location at:

http://www.wsd1.org/bitsbytes/

Brian Metcalfe - Editor - "Bits and Bytes"                                                      Copyright © 1997 (ISSN 1195-5864)
Last revision date: October 15, 1997                                                       Information has been shared with

Notes and Quotes

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Internet Access - Has your "trumpet" stopped working?
Lately some educators have called me indicating that they are unable to gain connection to the Internet using the Trumpet shareware. The documentation indicated that this SHAREWARE was available for evaluation purposes for a limited time. Unfortunately, for some who did not register this software promptly, the time limit expired. However, in this month's Freebie Request Page on the last page of the newsletter, Kenn Olson of AV and Computer Repair has found a new Netscape 3.0 Dial-Up "9-pak" for users with Windows 3.1 or Windows for WorkGroups 3.11 operating systems, in which all components can be used free of charge for employees of school divisions such as ours. Those who are experiencing Internet withdrawal are encouraged to complete the request form and send it in together with nine NEW 3.5" high density diskettes so that they can get connected to the Internet once again.

National Science & Technology Week - October 17-26, 1997
Educators are encouraged to visit the provincial NSTW web site at: http://www.eitc.mb.ca/nstw/ to find out about the variety of innovative events which are taking place. Teachers may wish to visit Canada's SchoolNet to learn about the Great Canadian Scientists and take the Great Canadian Scientist Quiz.

Free Computer Resources off the Que Publishing Home Page
Internet users are extremely aware of how quickly technology is changing. Books often get to press only to find that in the interim a new version of the software has been released. Check out the Que web site at: http://www.mcp.com/que/ Visitors can search through recently published books to gain information on-line as well as download a free WebPrinter 4-pack utility from: http://www.mcp.com/que/webprinter/webprint.html which allows one to print out the contents of Internet web sites as double-sided booklets on your regular printer.

A Problem Solving Activity
Want to challenge your students? Ask them to figure out what single numbers would go on the six faces of two cubes (12 faces in all) so that the two cubes could be positioned so that the top two surfaces could represent all the days of any given month. For example, by rearranging the two cubes, all the two digit numbers from 00, 01, 02, 03 ... 31 must be displayed. If you cannot get the answer, check the November issue of "Bits and Bytes" for a valuable hint.

Canadian & World Geography Game
Each school year a number of educators in our Division utilize the Internet to involve students who wish to sharpen their geography skills. Those wishing to gain more information regarding these projects should visit the Edmonton Public School Board web site at: http://www.epsb.edmonton.ab.ca/resources/online.htm

Quote of the Month
"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." - Malcolm S. Forbes

[Table of Contents]

What did you eat today?

John Silver - St. John's High School

Having an active 15-year-old daughter, who, by the end of the week is unable to do anything due to exhaustion, is not a comforting thing for parents to experience. For me this is especially true as visions of many dark and sinister maladies go through my overactive imagination any time anything is out of the ordinary.

This was our situation recently as my oldest daughter was consistently having this difficulty. While I checked out the reservations for the Mayo Clinic, my smarter partner asked about nutrition. We all agreed that this was a ridiculous thing to think about as Karlee, in the true spirit of the teen, always was eating. My wife, who works at Norquay School as an Occupational Therapist, told me of a TA at her school who had found a good program which gave some information for personal nutrition found in "Encarta", the electronic encyclopedia from Microsoft.

Karlee then looked this up and in ten minutes was able to see that:

• She was approximately 900 calories short of her MINIMUM intake;
• She was getting 15% of her daily-required calcium;
• She was getting 25% of her needed B₁₂;

In the last week, analyzing her diet and following her required daily intake, she has increased her energy level, and her endurance. By the end of this week she was at the same level of energy and did not need the weekend to recover.

The Program

• Go into Encarta '95 or '96 ( I have not checked '94 but have no reason to believe that this is missing in that edition)
• Go to Find and do a search for "NUTRITION"
• "NUTRITION; HUMAN" will come up. Go to this subject.
• While there you will see a "Personal Nutrition Interactivity" icon. Click on this;
• As you get into this, you will notice three headings at the bottom left hand screen dealing with "Personal Information", "Meals" and "Analyze Meals".

"Enter Personal Information"

This is the first of the screens. The information that you will be receiving is based on the assumption that the information is for an average-sized person. Please use this as a guide and not as the "definitive resource" for your needs. Fill in the information and the box to the upper right of the information will give you the energy levels that you should be aiming for. The lower box will be the recommended "Daily Dietary Requirements". This will deal with the nutrients that one needs including vitamins, and minerals. This information can be copied and put into a word processor and printed out. This is your target for the days to come.

Choose Foods

In this screen you will have three steps to follow. The first will be the list of foods to choose from. In this list you will have all the foods in the database OR if you click the small downward arrow by "All Foods" then you are able to categorize the information into the different food groups. This is very handy as you do not have to "wade" through the rather extensive list of "All Foods" looking for a pomegranate for example. There is also a search box that allows you to type in the food that you are looking for.

Once you have identified the food, then click the "Add" button. You will notice that you will be able to alter the number of portions you ate at the meal. The list of your meals for the day will now be compiled and you will be ready to go to the next stage.

Analyze Meals

This screen will be split into two and will be the point that you will want to keep for future reference.

The first screen will deal with the general nutrient groupings such as Calories, Cholesterol, Saturated Fats and Carbohydrates.

The second box will deal with the specific nutrients. At any time you click on one of the nutrients, you will receive information on the purpose of that specific nutrient. This information can also be copied and put into a word processor.

I found this to be a good "Awareness Guide" for the analyzing of one's diet and the implications of the diet. I have listed some of the applications for this program below:

• Having students track and keep a journal of their diet and how this diet may affect them and their activities;
• Have athletes, especially the serious high performance athlete, track and analyze their diets;
• Use the program to learn more of the physiology of the body;
• Use the program to analyze the worth of the foods;
• Use the program for the planning of meals in an outdoor setting ..... as these meals have to be planned ahead of time it is easy to see if the requirements will be met with the diet and then adjustments can be made.

I hope this little "gem" of a program inside a great resource will attract some of the readers if for no other reason than to prevent those unwanted reservations for the "Mayo Clinic".

[Table of Contents]

Teaching, Technology and Tessellations

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Teachers, today, are so busy that they may find integrating technology into regular class activities to be a challenge at the best of times. Some educators may adapt while others view the use of computers as merely an "add-on" to an already "over-stuffed" curriculum.

In order for a new technology-enhanced activity to be utilized successfully by an educator, at least two components must be present. First and fore-most, the activity must have a "tight curriculum fit". Secondly, if technology is to be integrated with the activity, it must have a significant impact and benefit over the more traditional classroom experiences. If the technology-enhanced activity cannot be done quicker, safer, affording more exploration, facilitating collaboration and communication, promote learning, knowledge acquisition and problem solving, then stick to the more traditional paper and pencil or "chalk-talks" that have come to be the traditional way of dispensing information.

I have always appreciated Escher art. This past summer, while searching the world wide web for an activity which I could use to help teach HyperStudio, I came across the innovative ideas of Suzanne Alejandre. Her web resources provided a step-by-step procedure for HyperStudio users to create interesting tessellations. I used some of her "tessellation techniques" and was pleasantly surprised by the innovative masterpieces created by the workshop participants.

This fall some elementary and junior high schools in our Division will be receiving copies of HyperStudio, and can follow the steps in Suzanne's "HyperStudio & Tessellations in Color" web site at:    http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/colortess.html

Presently, there are many educators who are more familiar with the "paintbrush" program that comes free with the Windows 3.x or Windows 95 operating systems. Could Suzanne's tessellation activity be modified so that students could demonstrate their creativity using the "paintbrush" software available on all Windows microcomputers? More importantly, does this tessellation activity have a curriculum fit for Manitoba students?

[Table of Contents]

A Tessellation Activity for Grade 6 Mathematics
Using "Paintbrush" or "Paint"

by Brian Metcalfe - Technology Education

Goal: To create Escher tessellations (which involves using translations - slides) as part of the Grade 6 Mathematics unit on Shape and Space (Transformations)

I would recommend that classroom teachers begin this activity by having students use scissors to construct tessellations on paper as suggested in the Grade 6 mathematics curriculum guide on pages D116 - 119. Once students have grasped the more concrete format, they are better prepared to participate in the more abstract computer-generated tessellations described below.

These instructions are written so that educators and students can use either the Paintbrush software found on all Windows 3.x microcomputers or the Paint alternative found on all computers using the more recent Windows 95 operating system. If you wish to use this article with your students, simply cross out the references to the software application (Paintbrush or Paint) for which your students have no access.

Step One
Select your favorite color from the menu. In Paintbrush, use the "Filled Box" rectangle tool to draw a square. If the shift key is held down as the "rectangle" is drawn, it will make a square. In Paint, the "Rectangle Tool" will only draw the outline of the square in the color chosen, so one must also choose the "Fill With Color" paint can tool to make the square a solid (for example, blue) color as shown. It is recommended that you save your work frequently as you proceed through this activity. Save your creations as as 256 color bitmap (BMP) files after each step (e.g. step1.bmp, step2.bmp, step3.bmp ... ). Such a procedure will allow one to recover from a mishap without the need to start from the very beginning. Now save this colored square as "step1.bmp" (without quotes).

Step Two
Using the "Scissors" (Paintbrush) or the "Free-Form Select" (Paint) tool, start on the top edge, wiggle around as you are going down and exit the lower edge of the square. Continue dragging the mouse around the left side of the square and link up with the starting point. Once the loop is complete and the mouse button is released, the "cut" line will become dotted indicating the segment is "active". In Paintbrush, the dots will outline the path drawn whereas in Paint the dots will form a rectangular outline. Depress the mouse button to drag the active left side away from the initial square as shown. The active element will be transferred to the right side of the square as illustrated in the next step.

Step Three
Reposition the "active" portion on the right side making certain that the two vertical edges align exactly and that the top and bottom edges are straight. Once the two edges tightly butt up against one another (without any overlap) and the alignment is exact, release the mouse button to re-position the cut area. Save your creation as "step3.bmp" (without quotes).

Step Four
Repeat the process but this time go from top to bottom or bottom to top. To aid in the repositioning of the bottom segment, one may wish to start the cut at a bottom corner. One can then use this as a reference point when placing the bottom segment on the top of the shape as illustrated below..

Step Five
Look at the figure. What does it look like to you? To me, the shape on the left looks like a tropical fish. Remember to save your creation as "step5.bmp: (without quotes). I am going to add "internal" contrasting colors to give this fish some added detail.

Step Six
Use the pencil, line or paint brush tool (with a contrasting color selected) to decorate the figure. In this case I have chosen yellow to add detail to the fish body. If you are viewing this activity in the "Bits and Bytes" newsletter, the images will appear as differing shades of gray whereas the true colors will appear if you are viewing this on-line. Do not add anything to the outer edges of the silhouette. Save your image as "step6.bmp" (without quotes).

Step Seven
Use the rectangular scissors tool to draw a rectangle around the image. When a dotted frame surrounds the image indicating it is now "active", click on the "Edit/Copy" option. Next select "Edit/Paste" to position a second copy of the image on the screen. Drag this "active" image and position it to the right of the original as shown. Save the image pair as "step7.bmp" (without quotes).

Step Eight
At this point, one must exchange colors between the two fish. Ultimately the blue fish with yellow highlights (on the left) will be have a partner which will eventually become a yellow fish with blue highlights (on the right). Do not use the "Paint Roller" tool (in Paintbrush) or the "Fill With Color" paint can tool (in Paint) to color the body yellow on the right fish. If you do, the entire fish shape will take on a yellow color and you will not be able to distinguish any details. You must use an intermediary color (different from either of the two color choices of the original fish on the left) for the body of the right fish. Use the appropriate tool to paint the body of the fish on the right with a different color (for example, light green) which will still provide a contrast between the original body (blue) and details (yellow). Once this is accomplished as shown above, one can now paint the details blue on the right fish. You may find the "View/Zoom" menu options (in Paintbrush) or the "Magnifier" tool (in Paint) useful to assist you. Once the detailed portions are magnified, it is much easier to zoom in and "pour paint" into the magnified areas. Remember to utilize "Edit/Undo" (or Ctrl-Z) immediately after any painting mishap to allow one to correct any mistakes. Once all the details are painted blue on the fish on the right, it is a simple process to fill the body of the fish yellow as illustrated below.

Step Nine
Now there should be one darker figure (a blue fish with yellow details on the left) and one lighter figure (a yellow fish with blue details on the right) with opposite colors as indicated. You may find it beneficial to use the "Scissor Tool" (with "free-form" star shape in the top left corner of the tool bar) to select the fish on the right and drag it further to the right. If the two fish are sufficiently separated, each can be selected by using the "Scissor Pick Tool" (shown as the top right tool with the rectangle) by quickly dragging a rectangle around each one as opposed to having to drag a mouse carefully between the "nose" of one and the "tail" of the other fish. Once the fish are separated, save the contrasting image pair as "step9.bmp" (without quotes). These two contrasting fish are going to be the basic building blocks for the tessellation that you will build by copying and pasting each fish in turn as outlined in the next step.

Step Ten
Using "Scissor Pick Tool" (which can be identified by the rectangle in the top right corner), select the blue fish and drag it near the bottom left corner of the full-sized 640 x 480 pixel screen. Likewise select the yellow fish and drag it near the bottom right of the full sized screen. These two "building blocks will be copied in turn to form the first tessellation row across the top of the screen. Begin by using the "Scissor Pick Tool" to select the blue fish near the bottom left corner. Once it is selected (or "captured" within the dotted rectangle), click on the "Edit/Copy" menu items. This action (which can be accomplished with the "Ctrl+C" shortcut command combination) places a copy of the blue fish in the computer's memory buffer. It is important that you copy the blue fish to the computer buffer rather than simply move it, as you want to keep the original available so that you can make more copies from the two fish in the bottom corners. Once the blue fish has been copied, select the "Edit/Paste" menu command (or the "Ctrl+V" command combination) to paste the copy from the memory buffer on to the screen. By default, the image will be placed in the top left hand corner. While this image has a dotted rectangle surrounding it, one can move it as it is "active" by dragging it to a new location. Drag it a short distance away from the top and left hand edge. When you click off the image, the blue fish will be anchored in place.

Now one must repeat the process by taking a copy of the yellow fish and placing it "tail to nose" with the blue fish near the top of the screen to start the first tessellation row. Use the "Scissor Pick Tool" to select the yellow fish near the bottom right corner. Once it is selected (or "captured" within the dotted rectangle), click on the "Edit/Copy" menu items to copy the yellow fish's image to the computer buffer. Next select the "Edit/Paste" menu command to paste the yellow fish into the top left hand corner of the screen. While the image is "active" (shown by the dotted rectangle surrounding the yellow fish), drag the yellow fish and carefully fit it into position so that the tail and nose interlock. Hint: If the two fish do not interlock exactly, review Steps 1 - 8 and try again. Continue with this procedure until you have created a complete row of alternating fish. Continue building up alternating rows until you have created a tessellation like the one below. Save your creation in a file called "tessell8.bmp" (without quotes).

[Table of Contents]

Web Wanderer: "Working the Web for Education"

Tom March - San Diego State University

[Editor: "Web Wanderer" will be a new article format which I hope to use on a regular basis to "highlight" informative, thought-provoking information that I (or other readers) have found on the World Wide Web. In some cases, after gaining permission to quote the author, I can include the entire original source. However in many cases, the material can be quite extensive so I will simply quote a portion of the article (indicated by the scissors "cut lines" below). A link to the original WWW site will be provided so that those who are interested may peruse the information in its entirety.]

Theory and Practice on Integrating the Web for Learning

Zen in the Art of Teaching with the Web

It's a lot like what you're already doing.

It's unlike anything you've ever done before.

Say what? After exploring the Web from a teacher's perspective, the above paired truths sang out their accuracy. Getting a take on the stuff of the Web proved comforting in that basically the Internet offers lots of information and some learning experiences. Doesn't this sound like the familiar terra firma of the classroom teacher? You might ask then, "What's so big about cyberspace?" "Big" has a lot to do with it. Teachers are frequently bound by the magazines they subscribe to, the television shows they videotape, the books available in their library, the perspectives filtered through textbooks, etc. With the Web you get the world.

Explore the Zen of Teaching with the Web

Our attempt to classify the content and function of Websites that would be useful to teachers defined seven main categories. If you'd like to find out more about each, turn to the earlier article, otherwise click, surf, and cogitate your way through the table below until the Zen truth is revealed to you. In case you need the "Teacher's Edition" to this table, skip ahead to the "correct answer."

The Benefits of the Web

If you came here for the right answer, all I can say is: Gotcha! Like religion, politics, and favorite foods, the Internet is large enough to accommodate most everyone's taste, bias, and natural inclination. It seems to have something for everybody. This is not to say it has everything for everybody. It is not an encyclopedia (although encyclopedia are available there). It is not abundant in its resources for non-reading elementary students (although there are plenty of images). It is not the storehouse for archived historical documents (yet). Conversely, it's spotty in its range and attitude toward posting the work of contemporary artists (let's be advocates for a sensible Fair Use policy for education). But the Web (just out of toddlerhood in human years) continues to grow exponentially, becoming more robust and sophisticated in what seem like six month increments. So if something you want or need is lacking, either put it up yourself, or wait a few months and check again. Now that I've made a case for there being no one right answer to what makes the Web so great compared to traditional information sources or learning experiences, it's too tempting not to at least offer some fairly obvious advantages afforded learners through the Web.

Basically, the Web-based content and experiences look a lot like what traditionally grows in classrooms. But in other ways the fruit borne of these trees tastes unlike anything educators have chanced to sample before. In other words, educators will recognize old friends like references, resources and lessons, but the breadth, depth, immediacy, passion, and interactivity available in the Web-based breathren open up an entirely new way to educate.

Browsing the Internet garden brings forth specimens that blossom with potential:

it's rich - Blue Web'n

it's immediate - Washington Post

it's passionate - Rainforest Action Network

it's clever - Barbie's Incomplete History of Art

it's funny - The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project

it's interactive - Design Paradise

it's contemporary - Yahoo!'s Picks of the Week

it's relevant - CNN's Video Almanac

it's authentic - Nonprofit Prophets

So the suggestion is, as you search for Websites, don't look for the online equivalent of your textbook or handouts (though they may exist), look for the sparks that create insights, the contrasts that excite problem solving, the bells and whistles that motivate, the passion that inspires. Needless to say, if you are new to the Web, it's necessary for you to surf, stumble, search, and lurch your way to finding your own understanding of the Web. It would be a shame to inflict the Internet on students as just one more structured, assigned, have-to dictated by the teacher. Along these lines, the next section makes a case for shifting the teacher's sphere of influence in the orbit of the classroom.

[Editor: Thanks are expressed to Tom March for granting me permission to reproduce a portion of his 12 page article entitled "Working the Web for Education". Educators are encouraged to view this resource on line at: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/edfirst/courses/web_ed.html so that you can explore many of the embedded informative links.]

[Table of Contents]

Freebie Request Page

by Brian Metcalfe

Please duplicate as necessary and complete form by PRINTING.

        NAME: ________________________________

        SCHOOL: ______________________________

                       PHONE: _______________________________

Internet users are encouraged to download these "freebies" by selecting the appropriate underlined and/or colored link below. Educators in The Winnipeg School Division No. 1, who do not have Internet connectivity, may still acquire these "freebies" by sending in this completed form with the appropriate number of NEW double-sided, HIGH DENSITY 3.5" blank diskette(s) specified in brackets. Others, outside our Division, are entitled to these "freebies" on the condition that they download these resources using the Internet.

[    ]  "Search and Share" web sites and database          (Single NEW 3.5" high density disk)                [#263]
         from Leslie Gentes of Sargent Park  
         The legacy of the "Let's Get Connected" Week of May '97 lives on through the
         generosity of participants and Leslie Gentes who collated and organized over 100
         educational web sites including such topics as Ancient Greece, Animals, Castles,
         Dinosaurs, Flight, Mysteries, Space and Wonders of the World. These sites have
         been organized as a Works database (database.wdb) and as a bookmark file (search.htm).

[    ]  Netscape Navigator Dial-Up "9-pak"          (Nine 3.5" NEW high density disks)                  [#264 - #272]
        for Windows 3.1 & Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Users.
        Note: Windows '95 users will not need this new "Dialer" which replaces "Trumpet".
        Users who wish to connect to the Internet without utilizing "Trumpet" shareware
        software are encouraged to send in 9 diskettes to acquire the new Netscape 3.0 dialer
        which can be used free by employees of educational institutions. Send in your blank
        disks as soon as possible as it may take 3-4 weeks to get all copies duplicated as requested.
        [Note: This opportunity is open available to Winnipeg School Division No. 1 staff.]
    

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