RCT 3

Two of my students have started working on RCT 3 parks with me, and one student is using RCT 2 on his own. The parks in RCT 3 are working very well, although I am controlling the mouse in order to reduce the possibilities of information overload. As I said, the hardest part is getting the paths laid correctly. One student has made it all the way to the Tycoon level challenge in Vanilla Fields (the starter park), and another has made it to that section in the Splash-Water Park expansion. I asked the one student do to Splash because his research is on Sea World. We've also had some trouble connecting the slides to the pool complexes, but I don't know why. I think it might be the terrain being uneven. We'll keep working at it.
I will post some screen shots of the parks in a week or so; I neglected to bring the CD home with me this weekend, so I can't run the game.

Technology to Make the Job Easier

I have Mary Poppins singing "A Spoonful of Sugar" going through my head right now. Last week, the job coach that works with a lot of our students had the idea to label the shelves in the cafeteria kitchen so that the students could be sent to get something when they are working. She wondered if we could do it on the computer. And, as I mentioned, my duty this year is to provide tech support to the special education department. We looked at different label templates available in Word, and then the job coach and a student went back over to measure the front of the shelf.
The next day, the student came down with a list of items they had found by inventorying the shelves. I set up the template for him, and he started typing. The student already knew how to find clip art, and digital pictures, so only needed minimal assistance for that. In fact, he was able to get about 15 done in the period, with pictures, and ready to print. He only needed help when the picture wasn't clear.
The benefit to this, beyond the students being more independent, is that a lot of our cafeteria staff are not native English speakers. It will also help keep things organized on the shelves. Oh... and the student also learned a very valuable skill which he is starting to generalize to other areas.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 & Camtasia

Back in November, TechSmith was offering Camtasia 3.3 to teachers for free. Unfortunately, the offer is no longer available. I see lots of possibilities for Camtasia, though I could wish it was just a little easier to use. I think one of my problems is that I have a wide screen laptop, so when the software tries to set a region automatically, the measurements are off.
I then used Camtasia to record my screen while I played with RCT 3. I've never been really happy with the tutorials in the software, because they are very limiting, and in this version, require a lot of text to be read. It is hard to go back if you miss something, and there is no audio. In the past, I've tried to record the action on the screen using an S-Video hook-up to a TV with VCR, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped. I was able to produce a basic video that shows how to place a "ready made" ride, and some facilities. The version here is of low quality so it won't take forever to load: the original is 1 GB without audio. I just figured out how to do the audio, and so will probably try that next. Now, if only getting RCT 3 learned was that easy; as with the other versions, the thing I find hardest is placing the paths.

Pizza Crust!

I am still working on the more accessible tutorials for RollerCoaster Tycoon III, I decided to post our pizza making session today.
When the students chose the kind of bread that they wanted to research, I told them that as they finished, we could make each kind. I already posted, either here or on the wiki, or maybe both, the videos for pita bread (unleavened bread) and leavened bread. Today, we made pizza crust. I admit that we cheated a bit and used the Pillsbury refrigerated crusts... But, I don't think that really changed the experience of making the bread. After all, we measured and mixed and kneaded for the other two kinds of bread. We'll measure and knead when we make pretzels later... I think we'll do those in 2 or 3 weeks, because pretzels are a food you can easily find in an amusement park.
As usual, we took pictures. I did the work on the movie this time without help from the students since they dismissed due to exams.

Amusement Parks

Somewhere around 1999-2000, a video game called RollerCoaster Tycoon showed up. I remember first seeing it at an "educational" toy store that sold mostly videos and computer software. I purchased a copy, but found it too slow and too difficult for the students I had at that time to use. A year or so later, and I find myself covering for the 7/8th grade science teacher at my middle school who is on maternity leave. It was after state testing, and the 8th graders were antsy. In a few weeks, they were going on the annual trip to Six Flags for Physics in the Park, so I thought having them explore the science behind the rides might grab their attention. It did... We had two different software packages, a roller coaster simulator, and RollerCoaster Tycoon. I was surprised at some of the work that was turned in, and ultimately turned in the unit plan as the subject aligned lesson plan that my school required. Fast forward another year, and I was teaching technology education. On a cart. In 2 buildings. I decided to have the students do a unit using the software, and purchased 5 licenses of RollerCoaster Tycoon II. I created tutorials for the software, purchased several videos that showcased both the science around the rides, and why people went to the amusement parks. The students also had to create a PowerPoint presentation about a theme park they chose to research. Overall, the project was a huge success, and one group of students had the opportunity to present their projects at a student technology conference. Since that point, I have done at least one part of the project (usually the PowerPoint) with my students each year. The class is currently completing a webquest to find different things about amusement parks on-line, which we will turn into a simple slide show. Then, students will work on the research for an amusement park they've chosen (this year's parks are: Dollywood, King's Dominion, Six Flags, and Walt Disney World), and finish by creating parks in RollerCoaster Tycoon.
We'll be using 2 versions of the software: RCT II, and RCT III. For II, we have both expansion packs, and for RCT III, we have the waterpark expansion. Both groups of students have tried out RCT II on our older laptop, and we'll be doing RCT III together since it is only available on my laptop. I'll post a few of the files over on the wiki, feel free to take a look and/or use. The files that I've posted tutorials and such for are older versions and all matched to RCT II. I hope to get things created for RCT III soon.
Check out another post (in a few days) on an idea I had for making the tutorials more accessible to my students...

More Community Service

As I've shared before, I am one of three sponsors for my high school's Key/Community Service Club. We partner with a local Kiwanis group, and the local Red Cross (of course: how could I do any kind of volunteer work with students and not get them involved with the Red Cross???). We are trying to raise money to attend conferences. As of right now, we have the funds and permission for 3 students plus one advisor (likely me) to attend the Red Cross National convention in Baltimore. We are hoping to come up with funding for 5-8 students to attend the Key Club District convention, and for students to attend a Red Cross Youth Leadership seminar in May. This last one is going to be tough as it is in St. Louis and will require buying plane tickets. Plane tickets are really expensive, especially to the parents of a high school student!
Our local Red Cross has supported this effort by giving us things to put in the Exam Kits that we are selling. Exam kits are little bags that have some junk food, candy, a little stress-reliever, a pen & pencil, and a bottle of water. The local Red Cross provided the water to us, and then also threw in some very nice CD cases that we had been given as a promotional item. Students in the club stayed after school to finish the bags. We're also selling candy bars.
Mind, now, selling junk food really does go against my better judgment, and I've never allowed students to sell candy before, so I feel a little guilty about furthering the bad eating habits of some teens. Hopefully, the guilt will be worth it as the students get a chance to attend training sessions and network with other teen volunteers.

Masters of Disaster, Part 2

The Masters of Disaster activities that were uploaded to the IntelliTools Activity Exchange seem to be popular. I must admit that the more popular activities are the ones that are generalized to teach other skills, such as AM/PM Sorting or Peanut Butter Sequencing. I am hopeful that some of the more disaster-safety specific activities will continue to be downloaded (and they have been, just not at the same rate as the others). After several requests, I have also posted the ZIP files for the IntelliTools activities to my wiki. If I get permission from the Red Cross, I will post the paper-based activities as well.