Project 5 Task 1

What are the benefits of Blogging for students?
Blogging is very similar to an academic journal.  It chronologically organizes activities we do in the computer lab from day to day.  Prior to managing a site, blogging is an easy way for teachers to pass along digital information to their students.  I find it useful in providing links to particular webpages for students as well as provide directions for students so that I don't find myself repeating myself multiple times per class period if a student arrives late or was preoccupied with other thoughts/technology.  Blogs can also prove useful as a way to record dialogue if used in an interactive fashion through comments or forums.

Click on the link below to access PDC.
Professional Development Courses

Political Science-LawCraft, February 24, 2014

Today you will be testing out software called LawCraft.  The intent of this game is a interactive wrap-up of the unit on Congress.  Just like the last software game you were asked to evaluate, you are asked to evaluate this in a similar fashion.  Play it once all the way through and if you have time, start a second round to see if you can improve, or just simply try some different things.  In the final 5 minutes of the hour, you will be given a sheet to construct your evaluation.  Simply answer the following questions:

1. What did you think of the game overall?
2. What did you like about it?
3. What parts of the game could stand to be improved?
4. Would you be willing to try to evaluate more software from this website in the future?

Here is the link to the website:
https://www.icivics.org/games

You will need to click "Play"-> Next you will need to scroll down and click on the "View All Games" link located about halfway down the page->then look for LawCraft.
Good luck!

Political Science-Executive Command; February 7, 2014

Your job today is to be a software evaluator.  Take 45 minutes to play Executive Command on the iCivics webpage.  For the last 10 minutes of class, you should record your ideas on a half sheet of paper and tell me the following:
1. What did you think of the game overall?
2. What did you like about it?
3. What parts of the game could stand to be improved?
4. Would you be willing to try to evaluate more software from this website in the future?

Click to get to the website http://www.icivics.org/games/executive-command

Political Science-Roles of the President CSPAN: Jan 30, 2014

Given the six roles of the President you learned about yesterday.  Your task is to unearth clips of the President in action fulfilling each of the following roles:
1) Party Leader
2) Commander-in-Chief
3) Chief Executive
4) Chief of State
5) Chief Diplomat
6) Chief Legislator
Use the examples and guiding questions on the sheet provided to help you determine which clip best fits:
Below is the link to CSPAN clips for president Obama.  If you prefer to look for clips of a different president, all you need to do is type the former President's name in the search engine.
Happy hunting!!

http://www.c-span.org/person/?55625

Econ-Wall Street Survivor Sign Up: Jan 24, 2014

Finally its here...

Today we have to get you signed up for Wall Street Survivor.

1) Click on the following link to get to the page to get started:

http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/league/ArneEconAHSW2014

2) Next you are going to need to set up an account.  Right below the "Sign in with Facebook"
is a link that reads Create an account on WSS.  Click on that and proceed with the steps to set up your account.  Make sure to uncheck the boxes for e-newsletters and promotions unless you like getting extra email.

3) After setting up your account you should see a screen that looks like this:

4) Now you need to join the league for our classes.  On the gray bar that has the Wall Street Survivor Logo, there is a button for leagues.  Click on that and then search for "Arne Econ AHS W2014".  You should be able to join the league and then get the password from me in class.


5) Always make sure to check the black bar to see which game you are in.  To the right of your dollar amount is a drop window that says "Practice Portf...".  This is for you to get used to the game before actually starting our contest.  To change to our contest, you need to click on the Window that says "Practice Portf..." and select the "Arne Econ AHS W2014" option like the picture below.

6) You can access this game 24 hours a day from any location so you don't have to be in class to make changes.  Just keep in mind if you sell a stock after the market closes (3PM CST) it will sell for the opening price the next day (8:30AM).

7) Good luck and enjoy the experience.

Political Science-Special Interest Groups Jan 21, 2014

Today you will choose a special interest group to research and create a report.  To find a list of interest groups, use the following link:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/kfountain

Political Science-MN Election Maps Jan. 17, 2014

Use the information from the 2012 election maps provided by the Mn Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, to help you identify the dominant political parties in the 8 congressional districts in Minnesota as well as how each county in MN voted for the Governor's office in 2010.  The purpose of the activity is to allow you to see where the Democrat and Republican voting bases are located in our state.  Fill out your blank maps with the appropriate color for the political party candidate that won the district (in the case of the 2012 US Rep elections) or the county (in the case of the 2010 Governor election)

Here are the links to get to the proper maps for the activity:

2012 US Congressional Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1734
Select US Representative, margin by district

2010 MN Governor Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1634
Select Governor, margin by county