Final Two Weeks Syllabus:


A Creative, Graphical Experience for All!


(10+ Days of Innovative Instruction)


Dr. Data


Last Two Weeks of Each Semester



The last two full weeks of instruction will involve any combination of doing creative, graphical projects: newsletters, web pages, computer music creation, painting & drawing, and/or computer game design. The latest new topic is doing familly history research on the student's family. The purpose of this instruction is to develop artistic skills on the computer for designing music, painting and drawing and computer games with animation and special sound effects. Each day an assignment from the ones below when completed earn 100 points per day for a minimum of 800 points for the entire eight days! Final Projects are worth 300 points. Match your interests with these assignments and earn as many points as possible as needed to earn the next grade higher!.


Family History Research and Production

 

Since family history is the second most popular hobby in the world, I would like to design a course of study for teaching Family History for 8th graders for one week of instruction for about five hours of instruction. For those not knowledable about family history as a hobby. Go to Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_history and you will quickly learn it can be a life-long hobby for everybody your family.

 

There are many freeware family history software available that can be downloaded for free for home use outside of school. If you Google with "freeware family history software", youo will have over 1 million products available foro your perusal. Two good sources (search by "family history") for downloading free software are:

  1. Tucows at http:/./www.tucows.com
  2. Download.com at: http://www.download.com

The single feature that a good family history has to have, is the ability to save data files in GEDCOM file format so it can opened and used by just about every family history program in the world and share with members of your family easily. GEDCOM is much like Rich Text Files or .RTF in the world processing world or O positive blood in the medical porofession for blood donations..

 

Learning objectives for the instruction on doing family research are as follows:

  1. Create and print a family group sheets and/or family pedigree charts with the students name on it.
  2. Create and print the student's immediate family, including brothers and sisters to your original family group sheets and/or family pedigree charts..
  3. Input their grandparents and any brothers and sisters to the grandparents where possible to your original family group sheets and/or family pedigree charts.
  4. Research the Internet to find relatives beyond grandparents by using the Federal Census. Valuabe web sources that include the Federal Censurs from 1780 to 1930 and many moreo such as thousands of book titles, including thousands of family histories and thousands of local histories. Additionally, there are substantial primary-source documents such as tax lists, city directories, probate records, and more to research all on-line.
  5. Write a family history narration of the ancestor's orgin, immigration to the USA, and more. Much like what I have done at: : http://www.kuzmich.com/genealogy.com with the different surnames on my paternal and maternal family lines that makes for interesting family reading for ones entire family but near and far. And hopefully, for your family as well.
  6. The ultimate learning objective is to share the family research with your own relatives near and far by sending them family group sheets and/or family pedigree charts.

Students earn 25 points for each name in the priinted family group and family pedigree charts. Note: unlimited amount of points can be earn for unlimited family names submitted, saved and printed in either family group sheets or family pedigree charts.

 

In class, we will use Personal Ancestor File that can also be downloaded for free at: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Home/Welcome/simplePAFRegistration.asp

Newsletters (200 points) & Web Pages: Click for more information

(200 points each Assignment):


1.      Assignment 1: design a three-page newsletter in which all pages need to be “hot” linked together by hyperlinks. Must have appropriate graphics fitting your theme inserted wherever included on the templates.


2.      Assignment 2: Convert completed newsletter to a web page and add a fourth page all hyperlinked!



Computer Music Assignments: Click for more information

(100 points per assignment)


Note: Must Bring Your Own headphones with miniature 1/8" jack


1.         Assignment #1: Introduction: Learn How To Operate Band -In-A-Box


2.         Assignment #2: You Create Your own Musical Composition: The Blues!


3.         Assignment #3: Modify A Musical Composition!


4.         Assignment #4: Your Create Your Own Music Composition From Sheet Music!


Painting and Drawing: Click for more information

(100 Points per Assignment)


1.      Demonstrate Dazzle Draw Techniques with a "ClarisWorks Treasure Vocabulary Sheet": Assignment #1


2.      Section One: "Talking Words: Tongue Twisters and Shorthand": Assignment #2


3.      Section Two: "Constellations, Illusions and Curves from Straight Lines," Assignment #3


4.      Section Three: Monday, "Perfect Shapes, Signs, Weaving, Flags and Mazes,"


5.      Section Four: Vanishing Points I & II, Contour Map, Monograms, The Eye, Phases of the Moon, Snowflakes, Land Forms and Facial expressions.


6.      300 Point Final Project



Designing/Creating Computer Games!

(Each game level is worth 100 points)

 

Designing /Creating Computer Games!

(Each game level is worth 100 points)

 

Introduction for Klik & Play Game Development Software

 

When you first start making games you are probably going to want to make the game as soon as possible. Therefore, I advise you to start out with the easiest game making program, Klik & Play. This does not mean that Klik & Play is easy. A lot of experimentation and erudite learning is required to understand Klik & Play. It is possible to start out by making games with Game Maker, a more difficult program, but you will most likely achieve very slow progress. Klik & Play cannot be used to create complex games. When you want your games to be more complex, you should then learn how to use the game making program The Games Factory. Once The Games Factory is not good enough for you, you should move to Game Maker, the most comprehensive game creation program, in my opinion. Game Maker will allow you to make just about every conceivable 2D graphics game. In summary, I recommend progressing from Klik & Play to The Games Factory to Game Maker

Klik & Play

 

If you are starting out with game making, you should use Klik & Play . I believe Klik & Play is the best program to start out with. You can download the school version of Klik & Play from here or http://www.vetusware.com/download/Klik%20and%20Play%20for%20Schools/?id=4046 for free. Just lick on "Save File" and it starts to download to your computer. The standard version is exactly the same, except that it costs approximately ten dollars. Before learning how to use Klik & Play , you may want to see its capabilities with two games that I created with it: Bug Adventure (1.91 MB) and Mario's Super World (197 KB).

 

One major function missing with Klik & Play is side scrolling. This means that all your levels must be limited to the size of your monitor, because you cannot make a camera follow your character. Hence, you cannot make big levels like the ones in the Sonic and Mario platform games.

 

In addition, you cannot make 3D games with Klik & Play . If you want to make 3D games that run fast on your computer, you will probably end up paying money for the engine or learning a programming language such as C++ . Lastly, you can only use 16-bit color with Klik & Play.

 

Here are some of the features of Klik & Play : platform characters, jump-through platforms, solid platforms, ladders, secret walk-through platforms, backgrounds, bouncing enemies, enemies that follow paths, mouse and race car objects, characters that can only go in eight directions, text messages, question and answer objects, score and life bars, and timer objects. Thereof, if this is the stuff you want in your game, Klik & Play is the right tool for you.

 

Klik & Play is completely event driven. Here are some examples: If it is the start of the level, then play a sound looping. When an enemy object collides against a wall, make it bounce. If an enemy collides with your main character, then subtract one life and restart the level. A more advanced event would be: Every 0.45 seconds cause an enemy to face in the direction of your character, set its speed to 10, shoot a fireball object at your character with a speed of 50, and play a non-looping sound. All of these conditions would be placed in the Event Editor . In the Level Editor , you could make your levels, create objects, give them animations, pick the way they move, and make duplicates. In the Storyboard Editor , you can view your levels, title screens, and messages, create a blank level, duplicate levels (so you do not have to make everything all over again), and pick which level you wish to edit. This is basically what Klik & Play is like.

 

Klik & Play Tutorials

(See Your Class Notebook in Chapter

 

1. Step One: Outline of Klik & Play Tutorial!


2. Step Two: Now You Do It - Level One Game!


3. Step Three: Now You Do It - Add Level Two!


4. Step Four: Completed Game with Animation and Special Sound Effects!


5. Step Five and beyond: make as many levels as you desire at 100 points a level!!

Short cut for adding Klik & Play files to your Klik & Play file directory .

  1. Save your Klik & Play game as a standalone game. Make sure all files are saved.
  2. Copy file to: c://knkp/gamepack folder and it automatically loads the game to the Klik & Play file directory. Note: norm ally you will have 3 different files of the same name, but audio and graphical files will be extra so you may to update more than three files to the c://knp/gamepac folder.

Multimedia Fusion

(More Sophisticated Computer Gaming Development Software)

 

Same 100 points per computer game level. See

 

Individual Unit Final Projects!: Click for more information

(Nine Different Project Available at 300 Points Each)

  1. Earn 300 points per project on your favorite software applications instead of earning 100 points a day. Click on the "hot" link above for more information.

 

Wednesday, June 1, 2005: Makeup Day, End of the Semester Business


 

Thank you for being in Dr. Data's Class!!!!!

 

Dr. Data