Extra Credit Opportunity!

Today in class we will be watching CNBC Original's "Inside the Mind of Google." You can choose to write a reaction paper on the movie for extra credit points.

How to write a reaction paper:

Introduction Paragraph- State your thesis and reaction from the movie. Use your introductory paragraph to set up your next 3 significant points that will be included in your supporting paragraphs.

Body Paragraphs- Use the body of your paper to explain 3 supporting details to reinforce your thesis.

Conclusion- Tie all talking points together. No new topics should arise in the conclusion, it should be a summary to wrap up your already stated supporting details from your previous paragraphs.

Paper should be at a minimum 1 page double spaced, print and turn into Mr. Schrauben by Monday 4/4 (first day back after Spring Break) at the start of the hour.

Daily Double 3/31/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Today our Photoshop unit wraps up and after Spring Break (YAY!) we will start our HTML unit (YAY!).


Directions: Please email me using complete sentences to answer the following the questions.

Questions:

1. Photoshop: What was the most fun tool and what was the most functional tool you learned to use in Photoshop? (since we learned so many fun ones!)

2. Web Design: Have you worked with HTML in the past? What would you like to get out of the HTML unit?

Thank you.

Daily Double 3/30/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions: Please send me an email answering the following questions using what you learned in yesterday's Photoshop lesson.

Questions:

1. What is a clipping mask and how do you make one?

2. How many steps are there to warping a layer? What are these steps?


Lesson 7 Review by Mr. Schrauben:

About type

Type in Photoshop consists of mathematically defined shapes that describe the letters, numbers, and symbols of typeface. Many typefaces are available in more than one format. When you add type to an image in Photoshop, the characters are composed of pixels and have the same resolution as the image file-zooming in on characters shows jagged edges. However, Photoshop preserves the outlines and uses them when you scale or resize type. As a result you can produce type with crisp, resolution-independent edges, apply effects and styles to type, and transform its shape and size.

Clipping Mask

A clipping mask is an object or a group of objects whose shape masks other artwork so that only areas that lie within the clipping mask are visible. In effect, you are clipping the artwork to conform to the shape of the object (mask). This was used yesterday to place the olives image in our text on our oil bottle.

Warping a Layer

Warping a layer will allow you to make its contents look like they conform to a 3 dimensional shape to give your work a realistic appearance. Warping a layer is a two step process, to warp a layer you need to first convert the label and type layers into a Smart Object. Then you need to transform the new Smart Object so that it fits your picture to appear 3 dimensional. Using a Smart Object allows you to continue to edit both the contents of the layer (the type) and the warp after you apply the transformation.

Daily Double 3/29/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions: Read the following article and send me an email answering the following questions using complete sentences.

Questions:

1. What factors does the article attribute to Target's ability to cut prices to a level below Wal-Mart?

2. Do you think Target's new concept of selling groceries will help them to continue to drive traffic? Would you shop for all your groceries at a Target?


Wal-Mart's slogan may be "Save Money. Live Better," but rival Target is challenging it by offering even lower prices on everyday products.

Recent price comparisons of grocery and household goods revealed that Target's prices are lower than at No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart.

Craig Johnson, president of retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners, compared 35 brand-name items sold at Wal-Mart and Target stores in New York, Indiana and North Carolina. They consisted of 22 common grocery goods such as milk, cereal and rice; 10 general merchandise products such as clothing and home furnishings; and three health and beauty items.

Target's shopping cart rang in at $269.13 (pre-tax), a hair lower than the $271.07 charged at Wal-Mart.

"For the first time in four years, our price comparisons between the two has shown that Target has a slight edge over Wal-Mart," said Johnson. A smaller study by Kantar Retail found similar results.

Wal-Mart typically maintains a 2% to 4% price advantage over Target. But in January, Johnson noticed that some products were cheaper at Target.

If you factor in additional discounts offered to Target's Redcard customers, the savings gap widens more considerably between the two discounters.

Said Johnson, "When you add the Redcard's 5% discount, the price gap widens to 5.7%."

Wal-Mart does not offer a similar program.

"This is a real win for consumers given the huge increase in gas prices lately," said Johnson. "Consumers have little control over gas prices but they do have control over what they buy and where they shop."

Targeting Wal-Mart: Target's undercutting of Wal-Mart's prices didn't happen overnight, said Johnson.

"Target stepped up its game during the recession," he said. "The company caught up with Wal-Mart on making its supply chain more efficient so it could bring down prices on items people frequently buy."

Groceries are big traffic generators, and Wal-Mart still dominates Target there. About half the items that Wal-Mart sells are groceries.

Johnson estimates that 15% to 20% of Target's merchandise are groceries. Koenst declined to confirm those numbers but said 16% of Target's sales in 2009 were food and pet supply purchases.

Chewing over the numbers: Kantar surveys just one Wal-Mart and one Target store in Massachusetts and found Target's prices in January were about 2.8% lower than Wal-Mart's.

Among the goods that Kantar compared, cheaper health and beauty items, and particularly smoking cessation gum, helped Target beat Wal-Mart.

But in groceries and household goods such as light bulbs, trash bags and detergent, Kantar found Wal-Mart still boasted better prices than its rival.

Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said, "We are absolutely committed to offering our customers low prices every day. If customers find a lower advertised price, we'll match it every time."

"I think Target can maintain its edge in the near term," said Johnson at Customer Growth. "But remember, Target isn't beating Wal-Mart on all items but it is on those that really matter to consumers."

Daily Double 3/28/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions: Read the article below and send me an email answering the following questions using complete sentences.

Questions:

1. Do you think having an entrepreneurial spirit can be taught or is it simply something people are born with?

2. We will be doing a 10 day long entrepreneurial section in this class later this trimester, what type of topics would you like to learn more about? What type of things would you like to see be included in this section?

EAST LANSING - Ten local high school and college students and community members will pitch their innovations tonight at the Next Bright Idea competition.

The event, hosted by the Lansing Economic Area Partnership Inc., is open to the public. There is no admission.

Contestants will pitch their ideas before a panel of judges today at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road in East Lansing.

Five high school finalists will present at 4 p.m., followed by five college and community finalists at 6 p.m.

"This event is to encourage them to submit their ideas, get some feedback and access to coaches and professionals who can help them turn that idea into action and a potentially viable business venture," said Pam Jodway, spokeswoman for LEAP, a regional economic development organization.

The first Next Bright Idea competition was held last year and was only available to college students. It was expanded this year to include high school students and other area residents.

A panel of entrepreneur support professionals chose 10 finalists among more than 50 applications.

Winners from each category will win an Apple iPad, coaching from LEAP's entrepreneurship support team and access to the Hatch, East Lansing's student business incubator.

Daily Double 3/24/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions:

Answering the following questions in an email to me using complete sentences.

Layers Review

Questions:

1. What is an advantage of using layers?

2. When you create a new layer, where does it appear in the layers panel stack?

3. When you've completed your artwork, what can you do to minimize the file size without changing the quality dimensions?


Lesson Review by Mr. Schrauben:

Every Photoshop file contains one or more layers. New files are generally created with a background layers, which contains a color or an image that shows through the transparent areas of subsequent layers. All new layers in an image are transparent until you add text or artwork.

Working on layers is analogous to placing portions of a drawing on clear sheets of film, such as those viewed with an overhead projector: individual sheets may be edited, repositioned, and deleted without affecting the other sheets. When the sheets are stacked, the entire composition is visible. When you create new layers you are adding to your stack and new layers will be positioned one layer above the currently highlighted layer in your stack. Using layers allows you to edit one portion of the file and blend to create more vivid and interesting effects.

When you finish editing all the layers in your image, you can merge or flatten layers to reduce file size. Flattening combines all the layers into a single background layer. However, you cannot edit layers once you've flattened them, so you shouldn't flatten an image until you are certain that you're satisfied with all your design decisions.

Daily Double 3/23/11 - "A College Degree Is Still Worth It" - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions:

Please read the following article and answering the questions using complete sentences in an email to me.

Questions:

1. From the article, how many times greater is the cost of tuition and fees for a public university than it was in 1980-81?

2. What percentage of jobs in the U.S. economy will require a postsecondary education in the next decade according to Georgetown University's research?


3. Do you agree with the author that a college degree from a four year university is still worth it? Why or why not?



A College Degree Is Still Worth It


Sure, it costs more, and technology is threatening high-paying jobs. But the Great Recession shows postsecondary education is more valuable than ever.

It wasn't all that long ago—the 1980s and '90s—when hardly anyone questioned the value of a college degree. Sure, a couple of skeptics liked to point out that neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs graduated from college, and parents complained about the tuition bill. Still, when college acceptances went out in the spring, people cheered, believing that admission represented the ticket to a good job and career.

The doubters have a bigger audience these days. From Charles Murray at the American Enterprise Institute to New York Times columnist William D. Cohan, a cottage industry of critics argues that the degree may be a waste of money. Recession-scarred parents and their students are dismayed at the soaring cost of college. The inflation-adjusted tuition and fees in 2010-11 at a public university is 3.59 times the tab in 1980-81, according to the College Board. The comparable number for private colleges is 2.86 times. The list of college dropouts that have done well has grown to include Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, and Jack Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter. Most troubling of all is an emerging narrative that modern information technologies are making college-educated workers an expensive anachronism. Workplaces filled with powerful computers, savvy software, and artificial intelligence linked through quicksilver global communications networks will turn lawyers and medical technicians into the secretaries and bank tellers of the 1980s.

VITAL FOR MOST U.S. JOBS

The message of the Great Recession and anemic recovery is that postsecondary education—from a certificate at a community college to an advanced degree—is more valuable than ever. The data suggest the dire conclusions are exaggerated, with the share of jobs in the U.S. economy requiring postsecondary education up from 28 percent in 1973 to 59 percent in 2008. Over the next decade that share could increase to 63 percent, estimate scholars at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. "Step back for a minute," says Terry Fitzgerald, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "If I am talking to a 17-year-old, am I really going to tell her, 'Don't go to college?' No."

Yes, it has been a rough decade for college-educated workers. The real earnings of young college graduates have stagnated. The job market has been inhospitable to newly minted graduates since the recession started in 2007, and economic research suggests an initial income hit for workers just starting out continues to exert a downward influence on their wages 15 years later. Routine white-collar jobs are being outsourced to high-tech shops at home (think legal research) and to emerging markets abroad (jobs such as processing individual tax returns).

Still, college graduates are doing better than everyone else. For instance, the median earnings of a college graduate with a BA working full-time in 2008 was $55,700 and for those with an Associates Degree (typically awarded by community and technical colleges) was $42,000. That's significantly better than the $33,800 for high school-only grads and $24,300 for those without a high school diploma.

LOW-SKILL JOBS ARE DISAPPEARING

The unemployment numbers are striking, too. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent for college graduates and above who are 25 years and older. That compares with 9.5 percent for high school graduates and 13.9 percent for those with less than a high school education. "The real damage has happened with the loss of low-skill jobs," says Stephen Rose, research professor at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Daily Double 3/22/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions:

Send me an email answering the following questions using complete sentences, rephrase the question in your answer. For example for question 1, your answer should read: "To duplicate an item in Photoshop you..."

For the past two weeks we have been working with Photoshop and have learned some basic techniques used in your daily work with the program. The following questions are in relation to your work with Photoshop:

1. How do you duplicate an item?

2. What are the various tools used to "move" an item?(give me a minimum of 3)

3. What do you currently know about using "layers" in your work? (we will cover this today, if you have no experience working with layers that is okay)

Daily Double 3/21/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

Directions:

Read the following article and write me an email (putting "Daily Double 3/21/11" in the subject line) using complete sentences to answer the following questions:

1. What are your plans for after high school? Do you plan on going to a four year university, going to a community college, enrolling in a vocational program, obtaining a certification in a trade, or entering the workforce immediately?

2. Do any of the scholarship offerings fit your situation? If so what is the application deadline?

High School Preparation Tips for Aspiring Business Majors:

If you are still in high school, and are thinking about majoring in business, there are several ways in which you can prepare and increase your chances of being accepted to a good school.

Take the Right Classes
The classes you will need to take as an active business major will depend on the school and the program that you choose to attend. However, there are certain classes that are required of every business major. Preparing for these classes while you are still in high school will make everything a lot easier. It will also give you an edge over other applicants when you are trying to get admitted into a quality business program.

Some of the classes you will want to take while you are in high school include:
-English
-Speech/Communications
-Math and Accounting
If your high school offers computer classes, business law classes, or any other classes that directly relate to business, you will want to take these too.

Develop Leadership Skills
Developing leadership skills while you are still in high school will be very beneficial when it comes time to apply to different schools. Admissions committees value business applicants who can demonstrate leadership potential. You can acquire leadership experience in school clubs, volunteer programs, and through an internship or summer job.

Research Your Options
If you want to be a business major, it is never too early to begin researching careers, scholarships, and schools. You will find numerous scholarship offers in the daily announcements posted outside the counseling office, I have copied them for you at the bottom of this page as well. You can also speak to your guidance counselor. Most counselors have information on hand, and can help you develop a plan of action.

End of article. I have listed scholarships available to Grand Ledge students below for your use.

Scholarship Opportunities:
• Delta Side Business Association Scholarship (applicants must be a resident of Delta Township). Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 15
• AAA Michigan's School Safety Patrol Scholarship Program - one applicant per school is allowed. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 15
• Michigan Oil & Gas Producers Education Foundation Scholarship -- applicants must demonstrate financial need and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• MACAC Maggie Miller Scholarship - minimum of 3.0 GPA and must be involved in community service. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• Student Insights is offering a student-view scholarship program. Log on to www.student-view.com to complete the application/survey. Deadline: April 22
• Grand Ledge Kiwanis Club $1,000 scholarship -- must have a GPA of 2.50 or higher and must demonstrate a proposed "service oriented" field of study (health, welfare, education, public service, etc.). Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: March 31
• CASE Credit Union $1,000 scholarships -- must be a member of CASE Credit Union and show financial need. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 15
• Ryan S. Woodward Memorial Business Scholarship Fund – for Seniors interested in going into business or marketing. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• Buick Achievers Scholarship Program - for students who plan to major in science, technology, engineering, math, business administration, finance, marketing or design. Apply online at www.buickachievers.com. Deadline: March 31
• Vomberg Foundation - scholarships will be awarded to students graduating from Eaton County high schools. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 8
• ABC Club Scholarship - applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 15
• Nancy Lange and Michael Kaufman Scholarship - applicants must be a choir or band student. Applications available online at www.glmba.org or in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 22
• Grand Ledge Rotary College Scholarship - must have 2.0 GPA or above to apply. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 11
• Wacousta Chapter #133 Order of the Eastern Star Scholarship - applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• St. Johns Mint Festival Scholarship - course of study must be in the field of business. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• Michigan Retailers Association - student or his/her parent must be employed at a business that is a member of MRA. Apply online at www.retailers.com or call 800-366-3699 for an application. Deadline: April 1
• MSU Alumni Book Club of Mid-Michigan 2011Textbook Scholarship. Senior must be accepted to MSU for Fall of 2011 and enroll for at least 12 credits per semester. At least one parent/guardian must be a member in good standing of the MSU Alumni Association. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 1
• University of Michigan Balanced Man Scholarship - available to any male attending the University of Michigan in the Fall of 2011. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: May 13
• Eaton Federal Savings Bank Herbert R. Black Memorial Scholarship - applicants must have a 3.0 or greater GPA and preferably show an interest in the field of business. Applications available in the Counseling Office and must be returned to the Counseling Office by April 29
• Delta-Waverly Rotary Club - must be a resident of Delta Township and demonstrate service to the community and/or school. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 15
• OMIA Foundation - scholarship will be awarded to a student athlete. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: June 1
• John Lutting Scholarship Fund - must pursue an architectural degree at Lawrence Technological University. Applications are available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: June 30
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. - must be a minority student and earn a 2.5 GPA or better. Applications available in the Counseling Office. Deadline: April 2

Daily Double 3/18/11 - Schraubenl@glps.k12.mi.us

In yesterday's lesson Mrs. Clark discussed how Basic Photo Corrections in Photo Shop are performed. Based on yesterday's lesson, send me a an email answering the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What does the Crop tool do? How do you use it?

2. What tools can you use to remove blemishes in an image?


Here is some information about Basic Photo Corrections that may help answer these questions:

Adobe Photoshop provides a comprehensive set of color-correction tools for adjusting the color and tone of individual images. You can, for example, correct problems in color quality and tonal range created when a photograph was shot or an image was scanned, and you can correct problems in composition and sharpen the overall focus of the image.

You'll use the Crop tool to trim and scale the photograph to size so that fits the space designed for it. You can use either the Crop tool or the Crop command to crop an image. Both methods permanently delete all pixels outside the crop selection area.

The Spot Healing Brush tool quickly removes blemishes and other imperfections from photos. It works similarly to the Heading Brush tool: it paints with sampled pixels from an image or a pattern and matches the texture, lighting, transparency, and shading of the sampled pixels to the pixels being healed.