Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Chrome Theme



Step one, use the browser Google Chrome

Feel free to try out this Lane theme. 

The themes, or skins for various applications make the GUI (Graphic User Interface) fun to use and personalized to your own style. Today create a theme using this website below and then send me using Drop it to me the finished "pack and download theme" file which ends in the extension .crx.

http://www.chrometheme.net/chrome-theme-creator-online.html <- CREATE IT HERE.

Be creative, do whatever you want for colors and pictures (school appropriate).


Step 3. Once you have finished. "Pack and download theme"

rename it to your name.crx

hurst.crx

Then upload the completed file to me using drop it to me.
password: lane

http://dropitto.me/lane <- click this to upload completed file. 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sugar in candy spreadsheet



Today we are going to look up facts about candy and how much sugar is in them. Then we are going to take those facts and assemble them into a collaborative spreadsheet. 

Everyone will have a different column, be respectful and just work on your own column, don't mess with others.
I can ban from free time and assign typing practice to those trolls that are not contributing to this healthy learning environment.

Click HERE to get started

Monday, October 29, 2012

Vector vs Bitmap

Today we are going to learn in a hands on way about vector image files verses bitmap image types.

The scenario is that you've found this small image and want to use it covering the full screen.


The screen you are on has 1024 pixels wide and 768 pixels tall,  to make this pumpkin image fill the whole screen you need to re-size it to around 1000 wide, lets do that and see what happens.


If you download and use the Bitmap image file, as you scale the image larger it will look blotchy or blurry.

Basically a bitmap image is made up of pixels, tiny dots that made the picture show, this pumpkin image has a pixel definition or size of 150 pixels or dots wide by 137 tall that is quite small and would be considered a low resolution image.
As the individual pixels times by 6 (150 x 6.66 = 999) they will duplicate over and over six times so that the original pixels that made the image are in the same places relational to each other just larger on the screen.

This process is called Pixelization.

Lets do this so that it makes a little more sense.

First load the program Inkscape
(Start > Programs > Inkscape)


Second download this image and open it in Inkscape, or copy and paste this image into Inkscape:
Then export the bitmap (File > Export Bitmap) and set the width to 1000.

Save to Y drive, give it a name, then go look at the image and see what you think of it.

Vector images are geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves or shapes which the computer makes based on mathematical expressions that represent images. These mathematical expressions are not connected to exact pixels like a bitmap is so that if you want the shape larger or smaller the computer can simply multiply the math that makes that image to get a larger image. Let's try it out and see..

This time while in Inkscape click Path > Trace Bitmap.  Then click Ok.    (This will turn the bitmap into a vector)

Next select and move the pumpkin vector away from the pumpkin bitmap. 

With the vector selected you can change the color if you want, other wise simply export it as a bitmap to Y drive, with the width 1000 pixels again and go compare it with the first.

Compare the two images that are in your Y drive, maybe have them named bitmap.png and vector.png.

If you would like you can turn them into me, but mostly I just want to see that you completed this exercise so that we can build on this concept in later assignments.


password: lane

http://dropitto.me/lane <- click this to upload completed file. 



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Blender Game Engine (BGE)

Today we are going to learn a little about making video games.

First download this file.
www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/pages/lane/pages/bge_spider.blend

Once opened in blender put your mouse on the spider and press P.

wasd, space to move.

Then look on the left to see the sensors and the actuators, expand using the arrow one or two of them to see what input is causing what result.

Try changing colors, sizes, inputs, adding objects, anything to basically learn how this game was put together.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Carve a digital pumpkin


Get started here - theoworlds.com/halloween


Once finished, click DONE CARVING, Done and then the Internet address (URL) copy and paste as a blog comment using the name URL profile.