Thurs Nov 19 -- Wrap up

Today the students had a competition to see who could build the best house on LEGO Digital Designer. Once that was done they got to finish editing their videos and learned how to burn them onto blank CDs.

Tues Nov 17 -- Read Posters and Various Photoshop Projects

A variety of activities were going on in PNG today. The beginning of the class was devoted to finishing up the student's READ posters. Students got all ready to pose with their favorite book. After the creation of the posters, the students had a choice to work on a podcast or creating a trading card.

Thursday Nov 12 -- Filming

We started off class by having the students take pictures and make READ posters. Once the posters were done, the students brought in props and costumes to film their video. After filming they began to edit their video.

Tuesday Nov 10 -- Movie Week continued

Wow, what a busy day! The class got started with each student creating their own e-mail account. After they had their e-mail, they got to create their own websites on Weebly.com (such as: www.meganshotsight.weebly.com). The students got the chance to resume the movie project by writing scripts for their videos. We plan to film the movies during the next class.

Nov 5 -- Change of Plans

We decided not to continue the movie project until next week. Instead, the students made autobiographical slide show presentations on PowerPoint. They also had to interview each other on video as part of their presentations.

Nov 3 -- Movie Week Pt. 1

This week we are focusing on film-related projects. The students got started by making movie poster spoofs of recent movies. After they were done with the posters, the students got to learn how to use PNG's new cameras.

Oct 28 -- Radio Broadcasts

Today the students got to make their own radio broadcasts. They started off by writing scripts for their shows, which included segments such as weather forecasts, celebrity interviews, and commercials. After the students were done recording they had to edit their sound clips together while also adding songs to their broadcasts.

Oct 27 -- Powerpoint Presention Day

In loom of halloween, the students made scary adventures using powerpoint and the hyperlink feature. After that, the students became magazine publishers of a tabloid. Some magazines featured Dora the explorer!

Thursday Oct 22 Make your own!

Have you ever wondered how to make cool backgrounds for you desktop. Well today the students got the experience to create custom backgrounds. After that, we focused on making our own version of R.L. Stine books. Using a power-point sideshow, the students created a mini story.

Oct 20 - Comic Strips

Comic strips! Students took pictures and edited them using facebook. They took those pictures and put them into a comic strip template

Thursday, Oct 15th -- Sales Pitch

The students finished their product inventions from Tuesday's class after doing typing practice and playing Boggle. Once their Photoshopped inventions were finished, they had to come up with a sales pitch and accompanying PowerPoint presentation for their product.

Tuesday Oct 13 -- Photoshop

We started class by doing typing practice. After that, the kids learned some photoshop basics that would help them on their first photoshop project. Each student had to come up with their own new invention, illustrated using Photoshop.

Tuesday Oct 8th -- Pivot Man and Typing

Typing and Pivot man! The beginning of class started with a test of the student's knowledge of the 50 states. After that, they worked on improving their typing skills. The class closed with an introduction to pivot man.

Tuesday, October 6th -- Jeopardy Boards

The first day of PNG was a success! We started off with name games to help everyone get acquianted. After that, the students jumped head first into creating jeopardy boards. The students all got a chance to be the host of their game. The rest of the class were the contestants.

Fall Session 2009

PNG is just around the corner. Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm-6pm. Sign up sheets are at the Youth Library reference desk. Be ready to learn all sorts of cool things and make new friends!]

Monday, August 3rd --- Photoshop/T-Shirts

Today we learned to do even more cool things in Photoshop. We then created t-shirts that were related to PNG.

Wednesday July 29th --- Recording Radio Broadcasts

Continuing last class's project of creating radio broadcasts, the students began to record their materials. Each group used a microphone to read their own parts. After they recorded their parts, the students worked together on ULead to add special effects and sounds. The students also created sample billboard advertisements with themselves as DJ's.

Monday, July 27th --- Radio Broadcasts

Today we started work on radio broadcasts. Each member had to pick to be either a weatherman, newscaster or special guest.

July 22 --- Business Cards and Tabloids

The students continued their experience as a business owner. We kicked off the class by creating personalized business cards featuring the student's own original product. After printing them out, the students became editors of a tabloid magazine. They used photoshop to create unique tabloid covers.

Monday, July 20th -- Business Owners

Today the students got a glimpse of what it means to be a business owner. The first task assigned to them was to create an original product for them to sell to the open market. Ideas ranged from a lasertaser to an automatic shower and dryer. The kids also learned how to make original desktop backgrounds by using photoshop.

Wednesday, July 15th --- Videos (Finally!)

After exploring Sporcle some more and brushing up on the the countries of the world we finished our sound recordings for the videos. We lost the ones we made on Monday, so we had to start over, but the finished projects are definitely something to be proud of.

Monday, July 13th --- Moviemaking Magic

Today we opened up class by introducing the website Sporcle. It tests you on your knowledge about a wide variety of subjects. We took the test to name as many U.S. Presidents and 36/44 was the most we were able to name. Then we took our movies and edited them in Ulead. We added sound and were able to upload finished projects to Youtube.

Wednesday, July 8th --- Movie Magic

Today we starting filming after identifying some well-known corporate slogans like Just do it or Have it your way. The kids got experience using the camera in video mode and we will be adding sound after we upload the videos on Monday. We can't wait to see the videos on Youtube!

Monday, July 6th --- Movie Scripts

After playing a number game, we started creating movie scripts. Everyody had very good ideas, but we will have to see if they work when to try to film on Wednesday. The ideas range from extreme action sequences to sitting quietly.

Wednesday, July 1st --- Movie Posters

Today we started off class by playing a game about naming countries, songs, authors, etc. that started with various letters of the alphabet. We then moved on to making movie posters. Each student looked up pictures from their favorite movie from the past, present, or future. We took these pictures to customize them into a unique poster. They ranged from The Blues Brothers to Taken to Harry Potter. Spanning the 80s and into the new millenium, everyone came up with cool ideas and used Photoshop to make them come to life.

Monday, June 29th --- Calendars

After doing a bellwork about rhyming, we got straight to work. We opened up Microsoft Word and starting making calendars from scratch. Everyone got a chance to personalize them and learn to work with tables. Then we played charades to pass some time. At the end of class we had some free time and will finish our calendars on Wednesday.

Wednesday, June 24th---Powerpoint Directions & Google Earth

For bellwork today we unscrambled the 50 states. We then created powerpoints about how to get from our houses to our schools. These directions were very R.L. Stine-esque. Going the wrong way or choosing the wrong option could get you in trouble or make you late. We learned about how to skip from slide to slide using hyperlinks and print screens to copy into Paint. To end class, we looked at volcanoes in Google Earth.

Monday, June 22nd---Photoshop Comic Strips

Today we put emphasis on really getting to know Photoshop. The kids split into groups and came up with an idea for their unique comic strips. Ideas ranged from being pickle men to superheroes. They really enjoyed editing their photos and putting their strips together. Here's one of the comic strips where the girls save the day.

Wednesday, June 17th-- Introduction to Photoshop

Continuing yesterday's lesson of creating Jeopardy boards, the students completed their boards. After a few playing a few of the boards the students received a tutorial on the application of photo shop. The students examined different tools to select pixels and manipulate them. With their newly learned skills the students created collages about themselves.

Morning - Day 1

Today was the first class of the summer session! Interest this summer is up again, so we have both morning and afternoon classes. This morning class was excited as they met each other and learned about each other and their summer plans. We then moved on to create our own versions of Jeopardy with specialized categories and questions. On Wednesday we will be playing some of their Jeopardy games to get to know each other better. We took a small break to play Typer Shark and hone our typing abilities. Plus, Chris baked fresh brownies this morning for everyone to enjoy as a snack!

04-01 -- April Calendars

Today was April fools! In spirit of the holiday, the students created calendars starting from today's date. They created the calendar using word and tables. They customized the calendar by using different fonts, pictures and quotes.

03-30 -- Charades

Today, the students chose charades out of a hat. They chose three suggestions and acted them out. They were recording themselves on a video camera. They will be working on creating a power point presentation with all three videos

03-25 -- Radio Interviews

The students today acted as reporters and formulated a list on interview questions to ask eachother. Connor asked Rosa asked questions and Kamil asked Connor questions. They recorded the information and put it on a ulead document. After, they recorded video to accompany the audio. The timing was a bit off :)

03/23/09 -- Radio Broadcasts

The png students experienced what it was like to be in a radio show. First, they got toghether and made a script including the weather, localand breaking stories, and self made advertisments. Today we started recording segments of the broadcast, filled with special sound effects and editing.

The Spring Session Has Begun!

PNG is now open for the new year and we are glad to see some returning faces. Spots are still available for new or old students., so please sign up at the Youth Services desk if you are still interested. Our next class will be this Wednesday at 5:00.

Today we handed out rules and expectations. A variety of new projects are planned for the upcoming session and we hope everyone will enjoy! This session we will be putting emphasis on teaching basic skills in a wide range of Microsoft programs. We will also be putting together a radio broadcast project. Stay tuned to keep track of this sessions fun and exciting projects!

Spring Session Is Almost Here!!!

Sign up now for PNG's Spring Session. Starting Februrary 16th and continuing Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm - 7pm until April 8th.

For more information about PNG in general, click here.