Tuesday 10-30: commenting in Libre Calc

OK folks, second to last thing: selecting cells to insert comment tags.

A comment tag is a little extra info that you can apply to selected cells. For example, you can leave yourself a note explaining why you made a certain column heading in the first place.

When you create a comment in a cell, it places a little red checkmark in the corner of the cell. If you do a mouse hover over that red spot, it will show the comment

To make a comment, simply right click on any selected cell, then in the menu that springs up, click on "insert comment". Type in your comment then hit enter

So let's do that right now: insert at least ten comments on any ten cells in your spreadsheet

when you are done, your work must be handed in either by email attachment or on a flash drive

cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-30: The Long and the Short of it part 2

Time permitting, I would like you to apply these formulas 

=SUM(
=AVERAGE
=MIN(
=MAX(

to the other spreadsheet, the one where you "bought" cars and "rented" homes.

Apply these formulas at least to the "Wheels", "Homes", "Threads" and "Techno"

Make sure to re-upload this file when you are finished modifying it

cheers,
Mr. L 

Tuesday 10-30: The Long and the Short of it

OK, so now you know how to use some formulas to add a column of numbers, and to find the average number. Now let's create two more simple types of formulas, and apply them to your birthday guests:

A) Just beneath where you typed in the word "AVERAGE" (not the formula!) type in the word "MINIMUM"

B) Just below that, type in he word "MAXIMUM"

C) next to MINIMUM, you will create the formula to find the smallest amount paid to your famous birthday guests. The formula starts out being   =MIN(

D) See if you can figure out the rest of the steps to find the minimum amount

E) the formula for the maximum amount is =MAX(  See if you can figure out the rest

F) If you have then congratulations! Now what I would like you to do is to apply these four formulas

=SUM(
=AVERAGE
=MIN(
=MAX(

To the other sheet tab, the one where you asked lots of questions about your classmates. Naturally, you can only apply it to those categories that have actual number values in them -- pretty tough to get a min value to "pirates or ninjas"

cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-30: Why Be Average?

OK, so now you know how to do one type of formula: how to add up a column of numbers. Here is how you find the average of a group of numbers:

A) click in cell F5 -- its the one underneath the letter F and in the same row as the number 5. Why are we clicking here? To prove that IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU TYPE IN THE FORMULA, it only matters which numbers you click on

B) Type in the phrase "Average amount paid" then click to the right of that cell. Now you are in cell "G5"

D) just like last time, you type in an equal sign first

E) then you type in the word AVERAGE, plus a (

E) the whole thing looks like this --> =AVERAGE(

F) Then, just like last time, you click in the top number in that column of money, then hold down the SHIFT key, then click the bottom number

G) Then hit the ENTER button on the keyboard. Presto! you've found the average amount of money paid!



cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-30: new Calc file part 4 -- data filtering with YOUR questions

OK, so now you have used "data filtering" to answer some of my questions. Now you will need to make up eleven questions of your own, along with their answers. They will have to be based on the categories YOU created, to fill in columns that you made to the right of “pirates or ninjas”. Email both the questions and their answers to me. Subject line should be your name plus "my data questions" Good luck!

cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday 10-25: new Calc file part 3 -- data filtering

Greetings everyone!

When last we met, each of you had created a spreadsheet in Libre Calc, and then filled it with data about yourself and your classmates. Now its time to learn to do something useful with that information. We will do it with DATA FILTERING.

Data filtering means being able to look at some data and not others and to combine data in interesting ways. Here is how you do it:

A) open up your spreadsheet

B) click into the cell marked "height in inches" -- the first column header. (btw, if you DIDN'T type in those column headers before, you get to do that. NOW)

C) At the top of the screen, click on the command marked "DATA", then go to "FILTER" then to "AUTOFILTER". This will make your spreadsheet get some arrows, like this:


D) Let's do some filtering: click on the arrow for eye color, then from the list, choose "blue". See what happens? Only the students with blue eyes are left. Now click on the arrow again and click "ALL"...this resets it

E) Now the real fun begins: use this "filtering" to find out the answers to the following questions


List all students whose favorite sport is football

How many girls are in this class?

How many boys are in this class?

List the students who are right handed who have “7” as their lucky number

How many students are less than 170 months old?

How many brown eyed students in this class are girls?

Which team has more followers in our class: pirates or ninjas?

Which student in our class is 168 months old and has a lucky number of 7 ?

How many students like the following seasons best:
Winter --
Spring --
Summer --
Fall --

How many students in this class have green eyes and own a dog?


Make sure you get me your answers, preferably inside the body of an email which you will send me -- subject line being your name plus the phrase "filtering questions" -- 

cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-23: Birthday Invites

Greetings, spreadsheet super-people!

Today, we will work again with formulas. If you recall, when we made the spreadsheet about things you could buy, we used very simple formulas, such as the "Autosum" button to add up a column of numbers, or simple division or multiplication.
A formula in Libre Calc is anything that applies some sort of math to numbers that are in your spreadsheet.  

One important thing to remember is that ALL formulas start with an equal sign "="

Here's what you need to do:

A) get into your new spreadsheet, the one with all the categories about your classmates in it

B) Insert a NEW worksheet, then RENAME that worksheet to read "birthday"

C) In that worksheet, just below "A" type in "Famous People"

D) Also in that worksheet, just below "B" type in "I would pay"

E) Just below "Famous People", type in a column of thirteen famous people you like (SCHOOL APPROPRIATE people only!!) They can be real or fictional, living or dead

F) Make sure each famous person is in the same column and each one in their own cell
(that's the little boxes you type in)

G) Next to each famous person, type in the dollar amount you would pay them to come to your birthday party. Don't bother putting in the "$" there's a better way to do that

H) Underneath the last name, type in the word "TOTAL"

I) Next to that (and right underneath the last number) type in this =SUM(

J) click on the top number in that column

K) Hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard, then use the mouse to click the bottom number in the column

L) Click the ENTER button. Presto! now you have the total amount of money for your famous guests


cheers,
Mr. L

PS at the conclusion of this assignment, expect an email from me. Be looking for it!

Tuesday 10-23: a second Calc file, part two

OK, so now you know how to create some simple row and column headers and then find and add simple data. Now its time to go beyond that. Beginning at the right of "pirates or ninjas", you will add at least seven more categories of your own. You will add each of these categories as column headers, entering them in the same fashion that you entered in "height in inches" or  "favorite season". 

Make sure that at least three of your new column headers can be expressed as a number of some kind, like "height in inches" or "age in months".
Also, make sure that all your new column headers are SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. Then, go around to each of your classmates and find their answer to each new category you have created

Make sure to upload your work to Box.com when you are finished. cheers,
Mr. L

Monday 10-22: a second Calc file

Greetings children, and welcome back!

Having finished with your first Calc spreadsheet  are going to start with a new topic: spreadsheets, in particular Excel. Excel is a program that works with numbers and formulas, and often with money. Let us begin.

A) Create a new Calc spreadsheet program 

B) Name this new file after yourself plus the phrase "its classified"

C) Create a new sheet tab named "my class"

D) Click next to the number "2", just below the letter "A". Here you will type the names of the people in this class in a column, one underneath the other, like so:


Ashfield, Jacob
Bessinger, Madeline
Buck, Frank
Cox, Matthew
Espy, Evan
Garvey, Joseph
Gasperson, Grace
Giuffreda, Robert
Harris, Tatum
Jackson, Lacey
Johnson, Alexcia
Lamoureux, Kyle
Mohammed, Malik
Otap, Christopher
Sanders, Summer
Serio, Sadie
Singh, Kiran
Watson, Yvonne
Zemaitis, Simon
Zuniga, Jaffeth



E) Next, click in the cell just underneath the letter "B", and type in this:

height in inches

F) Now, click just to the right of this,and just below the letter "C", type in

age in months

G) keep moving to the right, and in each new cell, type the following, one after the other:

eye color
lucky number
hair color
left or right handed
favorite sport
boy or girl
pets yes or no
favorite season
pirates or ninjas

H) Now, you need to fill in the empty cells next to each person's name. You will need to discover whether they are left or right handed, what their favorite season is, their lucky number, their height in inches so on and so forth

I) When you are done, make sure to upload your work to Box.com

cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday 10-18: putting it all together, part four

Greetings and welcome to the last step in your "place for my stuff" spreadsheet. Not only does it tie up all the work you did in this spreadsheet, but it connects it to the resume you created in an earlier section on word processing, where you chose some sort of career aspiration Here is what you need to do:

A) Use the website you copied into the "Main" tab to search for some different types of jobs. (Its here: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ )

B) This website allows you to find out how much money you can make at any particular job. when you find what you are looking for, type in the name of the occupation above the list you made on the Main sheet, and next to that, type in how much you make at that job

C) Next to where you typed in how much you make at that job,you are going to create a formula to figure out how much money you will make for a two week paycheck.

D) If your job lists how much money you make in a year, the formula will start with an "=" sign, followed by clicking on the yearly salary, then clicking on the "/" below the ? mark,then typing in the number 26

E) If your job lists how much money you make per hour, the formula will start with an "=" sign, followed by clicking on the hourly wage, then holding the Shift key down and clicking on the "8" key,then typing in the number 80

F) Lastly, skip down to some blank space in this part of your Calc file, and type in the words "whats left". Next to it, type an "=", then click the cell containing your paycheck, then type a "-" minus sign, then click the cell that has your TOTAL expenses, and hit Enter. Do you still have a number thats above zero?

G) When you are finished with this, make sure to FINISH ANY OTHER WORK YOU OWE, and then upload your Calc file to the blue shared folder on Box.com


Cheers,
Mr. L

ps  When and if you finish with this fourth assignment, I will be sending out a writing assignment related to this topic by email. Please answer it as completely as possible, and if necessary, finish it for homework

Thursday 10-18: putting it all together, part three

Greetings !

Today, you will be working in the "MAIN" sheet first, then create some more formulas in the "tech" and "threads" sheets. Here is what you need to do:

A) Get into your "Main" sheet. In the top left corner, paste in the following website:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/

This website gives you all kinds of information about different ways to make money. More on that later!

B) Click in the cell next to the number "6" and type in CAR

C) directly beneath that, type in HOME

D) under that, type in FOOD

E) under that, type in TOTAL

F) What you will need to do next is simple: you are going to put some numbers next to each of those items, then use the "AUTOSUM" button to add them up.

G) Next to "FOOD",plug in the number you got for two weeks worth of groceries

H) Next to "HOME", plug in any number you got for 1/2 your rent

I) Next to "CAR", plug in any number you got for 1/2 a car payment

J) How does it add up to?

When you're done with that, use the AUTOSUM button to add up all the "tech" stuff you bought; do the same thing on the "threads" sheet.

If you have time to explore the website I gave you just now,COOL. If you need time to finish up stuff you still need to do, also cool. Either way, make sure to upload your file to your shared folder on Box.net

cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday 10-18: putting it all together, part two

Greetings once again,

Let's continue on with what we did in the previous session. Here is what you need to do:

A) In the WHEELS section, click in the cell next to the first MONTHLY payment you calculated

B) type in an "=" sign, then click on the cell that has the monthly payment amount

C) type in a dividing sign "/" Its on the same key as the "?" mark

E) type in a "2",then hit Enter. This divides the monthly payment in half

F) click on that new number,then use the little black dot (autofill handle) to drag down next to all the other monthly amounts.

G) Do EXACTLY the same process for your rent in the HOME section

H) In the FOOD section, you will be MULTIPLYING by 2, not dividing.Your formula will use the "*",not the "/" sign. You get the "*" by holding down the SHIFT key,then tapping the number 8 at the top of your keyboard

When you are done, hand this in to your blue shared folder on Box.com

Cheers,
Mr.L

Thursday 10-18: putting it all together, part one

greetings, one and all,

By now, your spreadsheet should have the following items done:

1) A list of cars, with the price of each car next to the link leading back to that car

2) A list of apartments, with the per month rental price next the link leading back to that apartment

3) a list of  food items, with the price next to each one

4) a list of clothing items, with the price next to each one

5) a list of eight "tech" items with the prices listed next to each one

Now its time to start finding out how much money you'd need per month for all your stuff. Here's what you need to do:

A) put this website address into the "Wheels" sheet:
http://autos.yahoo.com/car-finance/monthly-loan-calculator.html

B) Use that website to calculate the amount every month you would have to pay for each of your cars. Don't worry about "down payments" "trade in values" or anything other than the actual price of the car

Type the resulting number in next to EACH car price

D) for your apartments, you ALREADY have the per month price for them

E) You will need to get the total of all the food you bought. Click in the cell just below the price for the last food item, then doubleclick the autosum button at the top of the screen. This button looks like a crazy sideways capital "M"


Cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-16: saving for a rainy day

Today's fun and frolic will begin with setting money aside "for a rainy day" as the saying goes. That's what the "RAIN" tab in your spreadsheet is all about, so you want to be in that sheet tab

Ready? Oh ga--rooooovyy!

You may have noticed that each time we start a topic, I try to eventually back off more and more, and let you take up a little more control. That's what going to happen today. For example, when we looked at cars and houses, the assumption is that whatever you buy, you will be paying for by the month. With food, its more like a week or two

With savings, I will leave the timeline up to you. You can tell me how much you want to sock away per year, per quarter, per month, per pay check...whatever works for you.

I am also not going to tell you HOW to stash your money away. There are as many different ways of storing your saved funds as there are stars in the night sky I suppose. I will give you a few suggestions, then I will get you started.

However, before we get to that, I want you to make sure that whatever amount you choose to save is at least somewhere between 2 and 10 % of what you expect to earn.  So whatever you figure on making , just set aside some small per centage of that to stash away, "just in case"

OK, here are some possibles you could look into:

Savings account at a bank or credit union
Boring as watching paint dry, but lots of people still save their money in a bank or credit union. Below are links to a Google search for each type of financial institution in the Charleston area
CREDIT UNIONS
BANKS

Treasury Bills and Notes  http://www.treasurydirect.gov/
Yes, I know: our government is 16 trillion dollars in debt. The good side of that is you can make money by buying some of that debt. You buy some of that debt, and then they pay you back your money, plus guaranteed interest. This website shows you how... assuming that the zombie apocalypse doesn't happen, in which case, you'll have much bigger worries than the federal government pulling a fast one with your money

Tax Liens SC
Another way of saving money is to put some into what is called a "tax lien" Basically, it works like this: some homeowner doesn't pay their taxes. You pay those taxes, and you get issued a "lien", meaning that if you don't get your money back, plus lots more money on top, you own their house. Surprisingly, most homeowners manage to find their checkbooks

GOLD & SILVER
For thousands of years, gold and silver have actually BEEN the money that was used; it's only recently that paper money has taken over. Still, some people swear by gold and silver in the form of coins, or even in bars. Here are some places where you can buy both
www.apmex.com
www.monex.com
www.roslandcapitalgold.com

There are many others as well


OK, that should be enough to get you started. Naturally, you can ignore every website I've suggested here if you have better ideas of your own. You just need to tell me what websites you used, what they offer, and how much you are socking away "for a rainy day"

cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-16: random

The topic of this thread is simple: you are going to put into the "RANDOM" sheet tab all the stuff that we have not already covered. Please make it roughly between five and eleven items that were not covered in previous assignments. That's anything you figure you will buy, that we didn't talk about yet

Remember, your purchases must be SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. If you're not sure, run your idea by me first

cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday 10-16: let's go TECHNO!

Greetings one and all,

This time,you will be working in the TECH section of your spreadsheet. You will need to "buy" at least eleven different items that are technical in nature. Here is my definition of a technical item:

A) It runs on electricity, so it needs either a battery or to be plugged in
B) it has a computer of some kind, or at least some chips made from integrated circuits

TECH items therefore can include AT LEAST any of the following: cameras & digital video recorders, TVs, stereos, cellphones, MP3 players,computers, laptops, DVD & Blue Ray players, etc etc etc

Here is what you need to do:

A) get into the TECH tab
B) set up a list that reads
Item1
Item2
Item3
Item4
Item5
Item6
Item7
Item8
Item9
Item10
Item11


C) SEARCH FOR TECH stuff that you would like.Here are some suggested websites (you probably already know of a few yourself)
http://www.bestbuy.com/
http://www.overstock.com/
http://www.circuitcity.com/
http://www.tigerdirect.com/
http://www.sciplus.com/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/
http://www.kleargear.com/



D) When you find an item that you like, replace "ITEM 1" with the name of the item. Use the "INSERT HYPERLINK" technique I showed you to make that new item a link to the webpage where you found it.

E) type in the price of the item next to the name of the item

F) Repeat for Items 2 through 11.Make sure all items you purchase are school appropriate

When you are finished,make sure that you upload your Excel file up to your blue shared folder on Box.com

cheers,
Mr.L

Mon 10-15: threads

Greetings one and all,

You will now be working in the THREADS section of your spreadsheet. You will need to "buy" at least fifteen different items that are considered "apparel". Here is my definition of an item of apparel:

A) It can be worn on the outside of your body
B) its SCHOOL APPROPRIATE

Apparel therefore consists not only of clothing,such as shirts,pants,skirts, etc,but also includes shoes, jewelry, makeup, belts,ties,etc etc

Here is what you need to do:

A) get into the THREADS tab
B) set up a list that reads
Item1
Item2
Item3
Item4
Item5
Item6
Item7
Item8
Item9
Item10
Item11
Item12
Item13
Item14
Item15

C) SEARCH FOR THREADS stuff that you would like. I won't suggest any particular websites, since I am obviously not a slave to fashion ;-) However, I will insist that the sites you use are SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. That means Victorias Secret is not an option,nor is any other site like it


D) When you find an item that you like, replace "ITEM 1" with the name of the item. Use the "INSERT HYPERLINK" technique I have shown you to make that new item a link to the webpage where you found it.

E) type in the price of the item next to the name of the item

F) Repeat for Items 2 through 15.Make sure all items you purchase are school appropriate

When you are finished,make sure that you upload your Libre Calc file up to your blue shared folder on Box.com

cheers,
Mr.L

Thurs 10-11: The time has come (the Walrus said) to talk of FOOD and things

BEFORE WE BEGIN:
ALL THE WORK YOU DO IN LIBRE CALC MUST BE IN THE SAME FILE. NOT FIVE DIFFERENT FILES: JUST ONE FILE. That's why you have many different sheets within a CALC file: different things you buy go in different sheets -- Mr. L

Greetings one and all,
So far, you should have successfully done research on cars and places to live. 

Today, you will need to work in the "FOOD" sheet in your CALC file. Your objective is to pick out a place to "buy" your food online (I have provided the usual three websites for this) and then you must purchase at least 37 items by listing them in a column, and then listing the price next to them as you go

WHAT TO DO:

A) in the FOOD section, go to the cell at the top left corner, and type in this address:
http://www.peapod.com/

B) directly beneath that address, put the next two addresses, one under the other:
http://www.netgrocer.com/
http://www.efooddepot.com/

C) just beneath those addresses, type in a column that goes from this:

item1

to this

item37

D) now, do what we did previously: use one of the websites to find not a CAR or an APARTMENT, but rather, something to eat

E) find a food item that you like, and copy the name of that item

F) Paste that item in where you had "item1" so that you no longer have the word "item 1"

G) next to the item name,paste (or type in) the price of that item

H) repeat this process for "item2" to "item37"

When you are done, save your file and then upload it to your blue "shared" folder on Box.com

cheers,
Mr. L

PS You will notice that I do not tell you what to eat, anymore than I tell you what car to drive, or where to live :-)

Thurs 10-11: There's no place like home!

Greetings one and all,

Today you will be working, not in the "Wheels" section of your Calc spreadsheet, but in the "Home" section. You will be looking at places to live anywhere in America that you'd like to be.  (Let's just START with America...if you wanna go international on me, you can do that later on)

 However, even though its a different sheet tab, you will be doing something very similar: inserting website addresses, using those websites to look up stuff, then creating links back to what you have found.

What To Do:

A) in the Home section, go to the cell at the top right corner, and type in this address:
http://www.apartments.com/

B) directly beneath that address, put the next two addresses, one under the other:
http://www.apartmentguide.com/
http://www.forrent.com/

C) just beneath those addresses, type in a column that looks like this:
home1
home2
home3
home4
home5
home6
home7
home8

home9
home10
home11
home12
home13


D) now, do what we did the other day: use one of the websites to find not a CAR, but an APARTMENT. Or a  HOUSE...whatever you can get. Just so long as it's not "in a van down by the river"

E) find a place that you like, and copy the EXACT website address for that apartment -- its in the address bar at the top of the screen

F) go back into your spreadsheet, click on "home1" and then click on the INSERT command at the top, then goto HYPERLINK

G) in the "INSERT HYPERLINK" popup,  paste in the website address, then type in the city where "Home 1" located 

H) Click OK

I) lather-rinse-repeat this process for "home2" to "home13"

J) Make sure all those links actually work,

K) Next to each apartment, type in the RENT PER MONTH (eg, $950, $870, $1565 etc etc)

When you are done, save your file and then upload it to your shared folder on Box.com. Make sure its INSIDE the folder named after you!!!

cheers,
Mr. L

PS WE do have other things going on in this spreadsheet, so as they say in TVland "Dont Touch That Dial"!

Tuesday 10-9 : first official day using spreadsheets part two

Now that you have your spreadsheet setup, we will continue to work with the Libre Calc program. You have already made a file, and set up several worksheets, each of them named for something we will look at as part of learning about this program. Since we already put some useful websites into the "Wheels" worksheet, that is where we will begin.

WHAT TO DO:

A) Make sure your Calc file is still open

B) go to the WHEELS sheet. Click in the box (its called a "cell" btw) just below the last website address.... I believe it was www.edmunds.com Type in WHICH CAR

C)to the right of the words "WHICH CAR" type in the word "PRICE"

D) click underneath "WHICH CAR". This is where you will type in the name of the first car you will search for.

E) Click on one of the website links in this part of your Excel file. You will use this website to look for cars. All of these websites have been chosen because they're easy to use.

F) When you find a car you like, you must copy the EXACT website address found in the address bar at the top of the webpage you're on -- the one that has the car you like. Then, go back to your "Wheels" worksheet, and click back into the cell underneath the words "WHICH CAR"

G) type in the type of car you found; for example, Toyota Tundra. hit Enter, then click back onto that cell where you typed in the name of the car

H) Click the INSERT command at the top of the screen, then goto Hyperlink.

I) right click where it says "target" then paste in the website address. Then hit APPLY then CLOSE

 Now you should have a link to the website for that car!

J) Type in the price listed for this car next to that link

Repeat for at least 15 more cars. You can look for sixteen cars all of the same type, or look for 16 different types of cars... whatever you like.

 When you are finished, save and then upload this new version of your Calc file to your blue shared folder on Box.com

cheers

Mr. L

PS If you still have work to catch up in the assignments from previous days, please do so after you've done this assignment in Libre Calc

Tuesday 10-9 : first official day using spreadsheets part one

Greetings, all of you amazing people!

We are about to commence on a new topic in our quest for computer enlightenment. The topic is the spreadsheet program known as Libre Office Calc, which is geared towards arranging numbers and data in meaningful relationships. I use something very similar to calculate your grades, and it is a very useful program for working with money. Here is what you need to do to begin:

A) Start up Libre Office, and then choose the "Spreadsheet" option

B) Save the file and name it after yourself plus the phrase "a place for my stuff" 

C) The next step is to add some sheets to this workbook of yours. You already have one of them, named "Sheet1". Don't believe me? Check out the little tab at the bottom of the screen!

D) OK, so how do you add new sheets? Simple: you click on the "INSERT" command at the top of the screen, then go to where it says "SHEET"

OR...... you can click the little "+" sign next to where it says "Sheet1" at the bottom

Do this at least six times. You can never have too many sheets, just like you can never have too much money

C) The next step is to RENAME sheets. You do this by going to that little tab at the bottom of the screen that says "Sheet1", and then click it with the right mouse button. In the menu that pops up, click on "Rename Sheet".  A little dialog box pops up, where you can rename the sheet, then click the "OK" button.  Call this one "MAIN"

D) proceed to rename the other sheet tabs. Here is what you need to name them
HOME
WHEELS
FOOD
FUN
TECH
THREADS
RAIN

RANDOM

E) Do not be alarmed if your sheet tabs are in the "wrong" order, since it doesn't really matter. However, if you must have the "correct" order, you can grab any sheet tab with the mouse and move it left or right. Re-arrange your sheets in any order you like!

F) You can get to different sheets by clicking on the little tabs. Each sheet will be devoted to a different thing you can spend money on.

G) The last thing you need to do -- for now -- is to add AT LEAST the following website addresses to the "WHEELS" sheet:
http://autos.yahoo.com/
http://www.autotrader.com/
http://www.edmunds.com/

Each of these addresses should be in its own little box. Place them at the top left corner of the screen

H)What's that? The address doesn't fit in the box? Well lets make it wider then!

Go above the little box to the the box with the letter in it. Then, move your arrow to the line between that "letter box" and the next "letter box". If you double click here, it will make the box you typed the address in EXACTLY big enough. OR, you can just drag the thing over..whatever!

I) Also, you need to make sure that each one of these addresses is an actual LINK that you can click on. It should be, but if its not, just select that cell that has an address, then click on INSERT command at the top of the screen, then go to "Hyperlink". Type in the exact name of the website next to where it says "Target" then click the APPLY button, then CLOSE


Cheers,
Mr. L

Monday 10-8 : remember PortaPortal?

Last week, you refined your letter and your list of qualifications into a cover letter and a resume. Its time to finish that work, and then hand in a completed resume and cover letter.

After that hurdle has been cleared, its time to go hunting for websites that will help you in your quest. And add them to a category on your PortaPortal account

Here's what to do:

A) login to your PortaPortal account

B) create a category called "CV"  -- short for Curriculum Vitae

C) Add not less than seven websites to this category

D) Each website must have some specific purpose that will help you in what you are trying to accomplish

E) This purpose must be explained succinctly in the description part of each website


Cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday 10-4 : by way of an explanation

Now that you have created your cover letter and resume, I should like very much for you to write another document named "this is why". Include in it three simple paragraphs of not less than four complete sentences

The first paragraph must include what your objective is -- the "focus" of where you would like to be at some definite point in your life

The second paragraph must elaborate on how long you have even thought about such an objective. Tell me what first inspired you, when you first began on this path, different things you have done with it

The third paragraph should be where you tell me about goals you have achieved already

The fourth paragraph should tell me about people you admire in this field, people who have accomplished the sorts of things that you would aspire to do

The fifth paragraph should be about some goal you would like accomplish that propels you past the people you admire

Make sure to upload all three documents you have created to your folder at Box.com

cheers,
Mr. L   

Thursday 10-4: what it all really means

Ahoy there, maties and fellow islanders!

Today, we will use the first part of the class to make the two files you created the other day more specific, and more specifically targeted.

This is because -- if you hadn't guessed it already -- what you created the other day was

• a cover letter
• a resume -- or "Curriculum Vitae", which loosely translated from Latin means "the course of my life"

Resumes can be used for many purposes -- the two most common are to get into a school or university, or to land a particular job or position. 

Cover letters are an introduction to your resume...basically, they exist to get someone who can get you what you want to actually READ your resume to begin with

So here's what you do: convert the letter and list of qualifications into an actual cover letter and resume

The first step is to ask what you wish to accomplish. Where do you want to go? What organization are you trying to join? Who do you want to work for, or learn from?

The second step is to modify your letter to become a cover letter aimed at the person or persons you are hoping will hire you, or teach you

The third step is to also modify your list of qualifications so that it goes with your cover letter, and will work to impress the person(s) from step two above

TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! I want you to really think about where you'd like to be. Working on these two documents will, I believe, sharpen your focus, and make your goals become much more specific.

And above all, dare to believe in your goals. If you can think it, it can be done

cheers,

Mr. L

Tuesday October 2: A letter to their Royal and most high and mighty Majesties

dobroye utro, Kamerads!

Today, you will create, using Libre Office, a document in the form of a letter. This letter will be addressed to the High Council which controls the island where you are trying NOT to get voted off -- see yesterday's assignment.

This letter will also include some of your most outstanding qualification and accomplishments which you listed in the document which you created yesterday. For the sake of brevity, make it no more than eight and no less than eight. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddd, present these in the form of a bulleted list

Here's the way it should be set up:


Your Name 
Your Email 

Today's Date 
[name of the person or the people this is being sent to]

Dear [put names in here]:
a paragraph introducing you
the list of qualifications
a paragraph to end, where you try to subtly throw your competitors under the bus
your name

save this file and call it "Their Islandic Majesties Request". Upload it to Box.com

cheers,
Mr. L 

Tuesday October 2: include your list of qualifications in a timeline

Yesterday, you created a list of your special talents and qualifications. Now, you will need to include this list as part of a bigger document, which you will name "you know that its me"

In this file, you will include these qualifications in some organized fashion. At least some of these talents should be presented in a timeline of some sort, some sort of vertically arranged list

At the bottom, you should present when and where you acquired these talents/qualifications/credentials, whatever you wanna call 'em

At the very top, you should include you name, any special titles and of course, your email address.

This file should be uploaded to Box.com as soon as you are finished. It will be incredibly bad luck if you don't   :-)

cheers,
Mr. L

Mon October 1: Made from the best stuff on earth

Hello everybody, and welcome back!

I like to give credit where credit is due for good ideas. Today's credit goes to our one and only Sadie, who discovered an online slogan maker while working on the "Free Ad" assignment. Here's what I'd like you to do:

A) go to the website Sadie found at:

http://sloganmaker.com/ 

B) Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the interface.... its pretty straightforward, just a textbox and a "submit" button

C) Type in a word or words with which you would like to create a slogan.

D) Keep it SCHOOL APPROPRIATE!!!

E) Come up with four or five that you like. Be as daring and bold as you can be. Be sure to record them/write 'em down

F) Send them my way by email...please put your name in the subject line

At some future date, we may have another vote on "survey monkey" that will determine a slogan for this website :-)  Or perhaps we can create a "stable" of them, and rotate them in and out

Cheers,
Mr. L