Students are working in Adobe Flash CS3 and there are two things they can work on over the next two days.

When I return we will start video game design but for now it is easier for student to try website design first in flash. Here is a comprehensive tutorial students should work through to try and make an interactive website.

http://www.vineyardesigns.com/tutorials/flash/website/index.shtml

Later when I return I will show them how to add more interactive media to their sites. If and/or when students get to frustrated with errors from their tutorials they can work on their annimation assignment.

The students annimation assignment is for them to create a simple 30 second - 1 min annimation and to use objects and drawings using the pen tool and the drawing tools. 

Enjoy working in Flash

Mr. Vaughan

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As I will be away for two days I have left more then enough work to keep you challeged for both days.

Today we will be starting to learn about Job Interviews. I’ve made a handy dandy YouTube Video to break down and describe a typical interview.

The supply teacher will have instructions on how to set up the projector so that you can watch it as a class or you can watch it on your own here.

After that we will be looking at specific types of Interview questions and how to answer them. Here is another awesome video that you can check out where I describ all the different types of interview questions.

Now that you have a bit of an understanding on how an interview is layed out and the types of questions to expect we are going to look more closely into specific types of interview questions starting first with Behaviour based Interview questions.

Behaviour based interview questions can be the hardest type of interview questions to answer if your not prepared for them. These questions usually require you to come up with an example from your past and explain how you resolved a conflict or problem. The most popular method of answering these questions is by using the STAR(R) method. STARR is just an acronym for the questions you need to answer when resolving the problem.

Situation - Explain the problem in as many details are required, try to keep this simple
Tasks - What were your goals, objects, or duties required to resolve this problem.
Actions - All the actions you took to resolve the problem. Use ‘I’ to describe only your actions. This portion usually requires the most detail.
Results - As a result of your actions what transpired. Were you successful or not?
Relate - The last R is the most important section of all, this is where you speak about how you abilities to resolve the fore mentioned problem relates directly to the job you are applying for.

Sample Question: - Source www.wlusu.com

“Tell us of a time in your past when you had to exhibit problem solving skills to ensure the success of a group project. What specific actions did you take to make the project successful? How would you apply this to the position you are applying to?”

Sample Answer:

Situation: A time that I had to use problem solving skills to ensure the success of a group project was when I was the organizer of the Senior Prom in High School. It was a day before the prom and all of our decorations were missing

Tasks:It was my responsibility to ensure that the prom was a success and to support the team. I had to take steps to fix the problem

Actions: I quickly called the company that we had ordered decorations from, I went to the wholesaler to pick them up, I directed my team members to individual tasks and made sure that they stayed calm

Results:The prom went very well. We didn’t get all of the decorations that we were originally going to get but we made due with what we had and everyone was happy with the way that it looked.

Relate:In this situation I used quick judgement, I was proactive and I supported my team mates in a stressful situation. These are all qualities that would be useful for (Emergency Response Team as an example) because as an ERT member I will be called on to respond quickly to injuries and accidents on campus, remain focused and calm, and support my shift partner in those situations.

Class Work

Now that you have an understanding of Behaivor Based Intervew Questions its time for you to try out some of your own. From the list of questions bellow Choose 5 questions and come up with 5 different stories to help answer these questions. Type up your response to these questions using the STARR method

Sampel Questions: (source http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_behavioral.html)

 
• Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
• Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.
• Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone’s opinion.
• Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
• Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete.
• Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
• Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
• Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.
• What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
• Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
• Tell me about a difficult decision you’ve made in the last year.
• Give me an example of a time when something you tried to accomplish and failed.
• Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
• Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
• Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
• Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
• Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
• Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
• Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
• Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
• Please tell me about a time you had to fire a friend.
• Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

More Work

Check out the site bellow to see some tough Logical thinking interview problems. See how many you can answer before looking at the answers.

http://www.coolinterview.com/type.asp?iType=103

Also check these questions that are reportedly used in interviews at google.

http://tihomir.org/crazy-questions-at-google-job-interview/

Hope you have a good couple days and enjoy checking out all the interview questions.

Mr.Vaughan

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To start out in planning your Resume students will begin by producing a visual resume. Your goal should be to market yourself to a potential employer using only visual means. Use images, graphics, and drawings, to highlight your skills and experiences. Begin by deciding what skills and personal attributes you will be marketing then produce or organize images to support that skill. The resumes that will do the best in this assignment will be the ones who use more inderect support for their visuals. Ex. How do you show that your are organized using only visuals? You make your entire layout organized. You don’t just put an image of an organizer.

Later your actual resumes will be focused on a specific job or job market so for now you may choose to do that aswell or keep it general to any job.

Mr. Vaughan

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Lessons for Friday May 1^st for Mr. Vaughan
A copy of this document is also posted as the top story on www.MrVaughan.com
Miss. Wilson is volunteering in our classroom and is a great help with classroom management.
Period 1 GLC205- Room 111
Fermi Problems
We’ve been focusing on problem solving and challenging interview questions. To start things out have students partner up and hand each pair one of the attached Fermi questions. Students are to make reasonable attempts to answer their question. Have them type or write out their answer clearly outlining their logic, explain each assumption they made and why they felt their approximations are valid. Each group should come up with an answer and be prepared to share it with the class on Monday.

This should take approximately 15-20min.

Problem Solving
To expand on their problem solving abilities student are to attempt to solve the famous Einstein Problem. With the right focus and determination this problem is solvable however it was reasoned that 98% of the population would be unable to solve it. The answer to this is all over the internet but looking it up doesn’t do anything to help your problem solving abilities

Facts:
1: There are 5 houses in 5 different colours.
2: In each house lives a person with a different nationality.
3: These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar and keep a certain pet.
4: No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same drink.

Use the facts provided and the following information to determine the answer to the question: Who Keeps Fish?

1: The Brit lives in a red house. 
2: The Swede keeps dogs as pets. 
3: The Dane drinks tea. 
4: The green house is on the left of the white house. 
5: The green house owner drinks coffee. 
6: The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds. 
7: The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill. 
8: The man living in the house right in the centre drinks milk. 
9: The Norwegian lives in the first house. 
10: The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats. 
11: The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill. 
12: The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer. 
13: The German smokes Prince. 
14: The Norwegian lives next to the blue house. 
15: The man who smokes Blend has a neighbour who drinks water.

Portfolio

If students get through both of their problems they can use the remainder of their time to begin working on their portfolio. The requirements for their portfolio are available on the student’s common drive at S:\careers\mrvaughan\. Beginning their portfolio can be a daunting task and the best way to start is to start! Student can begin by listing all sorts of experiences they may have that could be included in their portfolio, and then decide what categories those experiences might best support. Or they could choose to focus on a specific skill and write a description of an experience that might support that skill (ex describe a time where you demonstrated strong leadership abilities). A popular item they might include in their portfolio is a technical skills inventory. For this item they might list and describe every computer application or ability and provide examples of how they might be able to use that skill.

Lessons for Friday May 1^st for Mr. Vaughan
A copy of this document is also posted as the top story on www.MrVaughan.com
Miss. Wilson is volunteering in our classroom and is a great help with classroom management.

Period 2 TTI 1O1 – Room 111

Have students turn off their monitors and turn and focus on you before you give the instructions. (If there monitors are on they are not paying attention).

Airplane Assignment - Please remind students that their airplane reflection assignments are due Monday. I have attached a few extra copies in case anyone has lost theirs. Some students have already handed theirs in.

Small Scale Design – Student have just begun a new unit where we are learning to use Google’s Sketch Up (a 3d modeling program).  They are still experimenting and playing around with it so they may get stuck easily. To support them encourage them to refer back to the tutorials, ask a neighbour for help, or let them know that there are many ways to accomplish the same result in this program and they may try and come up with another approach. A lot of the errors they encounter come from not looking at the model from the correct camera angle. If they use some of the camera tools to view their model from a different angle they can usually see area’s in their model that don’t line up properly because of how the object was created in 3d space.

Their task for today is to construct a model representation of an object in the room (desk, chair, computer, etc.) This assignment works best when the object they choose that are small and specific,( I.E. not the whole room or a person in the room). This class would probably be more than happy to work on this program for the whole period with very little disruptive behaviour. Their goal should be to try and design something in the room as I will be checking it when I return on Monday but if they get stuck/frustrated/ or board they may try designing something of more interest to them like a house, skate park, or fortress.

Enjoy the morning and I will be back Monday.

Mr. Vaughan

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Your next technology assignment will require you to put YOUR PICTURE on the cover of a popular magazine. The image that is going on your cover will be used to showcase your new photoshoped look. You are to use the headshot taken in class or you may stage another shot to suit your concept.  You  may go with a traditional glamour shot image or manupulate your image to any creative form. For this assignment you will be required to demonstrate the following skills and performe them on your cover.

1-Title Text - You need to produce a unique magazine title and format the text in an original and appealing way.
2-Background- You will have to cut the entire image out from its original background and place it on a new background of your choosing, you can choose an external file, or create your own backdrop.
3-Eyeballs - Demonstrate that you learned how to enhance/transform eyes by manipulating them. (color, red-eye reduction, whitening)
4-Hair - Manipulate your hair by performing transformations such as changing the color or texture, adding more hair, or changing its shape/style.
5-Skin - Correct any imperfections, smoothen your skin, or give yourself a tan to demonstrate this skill.
6-

You will also need to demonstrate some of the following additional skills that we will be covering in class
1- Make up - Lip stick, Eye-liner, Eye Shadow, Blush, Eye Lashes
2- Scars
3- Tattoos
4- Shape Transformations

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Behaviour based interview questions can be the hardest type of interview questions to answer if your not prepared for them. These questions usually require you to come up with an example from your past and explain how you resolved a conflict or problem. The most popular method of answering these questions is by using the STAR(R) method. STARR is just an acronym for the questions you need to answer when resolving the problem.

Situation - Explain the problem in as many details are required, try to keep this simple
Tasks - What were your goals, objects, or duties required to resolve this problem.
Actions - All the actions you took to resolve the problem. Use ‘I’ to describe only your actions. This portion usually requires the most detail.
Results - As a result of your actions what transpired. Were you successful or not?
Relate - The last R is the most important section of all, this is where you speak about how you abilities to resolve the fore mentioned problem relates directly to the job you are applying for.

Today in class each student will be given a behaviour based interview question and you will pair up with a partner to try and answer each question, later you will present the answers to the class and write the answers up so you can publish them on the school forum.

Mr. Vaughan

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When you go to write your resume there are a number of things you need to consider.

Format:

Here is a link to a file I made describing a skills based format that I prefer to use.

resume-format-skills-based

Additional I will be posting other examples for you here

Wording:

In your resumes you need to use certain types of words to emphasize your experiences, you want to use action words that show your accomplishments in a positive light. Here is a link to some power words to use in your resume

http://www.careerowlresources.ca/Resumes/Res_Frame.htm?res_power.htm~right

Resources

Additionally I found this article from About.com outlining all the important things to consider while writing a resume.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumes/a/resumeguide.htm

Good luck preparing your Resumes

Mr. Vaughan

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Found an article I like better for showing you how to write a cover letter. It breaks down each paragraph and provides a sample cover letter for you to follow.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/coverformat.htm

Mr. Vaughan

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When we are shopping for a computer you need to think about all the parts you might need to buy.

Heres a list to get you started.

Case - Must fit with power supply, and motherboard
Power Supply -Must fit case,
Motherboard- Processor sockets must match (eg 775,776), How many RAM slots, what type? (DDR,DDR2,DDR3)
RAM -must match motherboard
Processor- Sockets must match motherboard
Processor - cooling - 1 size fits most
Video Card - PCI express, check if it needs its own power supply. Some people build computers with 2 power supplies.
Hard drives- Most people use at least 2. They are either SATA or IDE, SATA is the more modern of the two.
CDR/DVD/DVDRw - most are pretty standard connections
Keyboard
Mouse
Monitor (or 2)
Additional Fans
Lighting
Media Readers
Lots of other fun stuff

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I literally get this question asked to me every couple weeks. Most people go out and spend way more then they need to on a computer.

Your next computer assignment will require you to use a budget to purchase a computer. Check out the descrition for it from previous semesters here.

http://mrvaughan.com/mu/blog/2008/09/08/what-computer-should-i-buy/

We will likely be making changes to some of the requirements and I will notify you of them here.

Mr. Vaughan

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