Mr. Damon's première IB
ITGS

Podcasts:

• National Public Radio Technology News (free subscription using iTunes)
• BBC Digital Planet download or One-click subscription for iTunes

News agencies and magazine web sites:

• CNN Technology News
• New York Times Technology News
• US News and World Report Science and Technology
• The Economist - Science and Technology (note:  access to certain articles is reserved to those with a paid subscription)
• Wired News
• Time Magazine Business and Tech

Web resources:

• Yahoo News - Technology
• How Stuff Works - Computers (not for news but for general info)
• The Pew Internet and American Life Project - first-hand reports

For bibliographical entries, you can use Citation Machine or EasyBib. 

ITGS Project Work

Project Assignment #1:

• Get a notebook to use as a logbook.  It must be big enough to be able to paste A4 sheets into it.
• On the inside make a title page: write your name, "ITGS Project Logbook", the school's name and leave a space for your candidate number, which you will get in 2009. 
• Print and paste the ITGS Project checklist into the pages after the title page.
• Do the same for the pages in the ITGS Programme guide which explain the criteria for the project.
• READ the section in the guide which explains the ITGS Standard Level project.  This section includes an explanation of what the IB expects from you and the criteria you will be assessed on. 

Project Assignment #2: 

• Complete the first criterion (Criterion G) by following the checklist and the criteria in the guide.  Include the answers in your logbook.  Among the things which are asked for are these:

1. Who is your client?  Remember, the client is the person you are helping.  He or she must be an adult and must be someone you can keep in contact with easily.

2. What is the problem that you hope to solve?  In your description of the situation, be sure to indicate the social context such as school, hospital, business, hotel...But remember DO NOT talk about a solution yet (web page, film, database) - you will have plenty of time for that later. 

3. What evidence suggests that this problem really exists?  This question is to make sure you are not just making up the problem in your head.  The evidence can be through conversations (say the names of the people) or through emails. 

Project Assignment #3:

• Using the calendar we made using Excel in class as a source of ideas, make a first draft of an ITGS Project Calendar.  You need one column for the date (or the week) and another column for what project tasks you will do.  If you want, you could have a third column showing other important deadlines such as extended essay stuff. 
• To find out what to put on your calendar, look at the checklist.
• General guidelines to keep in mind when making your calendar: 
  • You should be done the first working version of your product (film, web site, etc.) by mid June this year. 
  • Your project work (including the report) should be all done by January of your Terminale year. 
  • Note that the last section of the report asks you to comment on the impact of your product on the end users (the people who benefit from it).  In order to see an impact, there needs to be enough time for people to use your product for a while.  Keep that in mind when making your calendar

Examination Revision List

How to prepare for the the Bac Blanc exam.

1. The first things to know are found in the IB Programme Guide which you obtained from Miss Burchill.    
   • Memorize the list of Social and Ethical Issues from Section 1.  
   • Memorize the list of Command Terms at the end of that guide.  The most frequently used ones are Identify, Outline, Describe, Explain, Discuss, Evaluate.     
   • You should have flash cards to help you learn those words & definitions by heart. 
   • Otherwise, the best preparation is being aware of how IT is used all around us.  (See next point.)
2. Reveiw any ideas and uses of IT discussed in class.     
   • how computers work, internet, databases, applications, operating systems, etc. (everything up through section 2.2.2.)
   • issues of privacy, storing and accessing data  
   • Visit the news web sites (found at the top of this page) on a regular basis to improve your technical vocabulary and your awareness of how IT is used today.  When you read the articles, think of how they can be connected to the ITGS Social and Ethical Issues. 
   • Go back over the notes you have taken in class
3. Go through the Computer Confluence web site and look at the sections in any of the chapters concerning material we have covered - remember, though, some sections go beyond the ITGS program:
   • How It Works (usually has a nice Flash movie)
   • Key Terms (gives vocab but not the same as the ITGS guide)
   • End of Chapter Materials > Review Questions
   • Online Study Guide (good multiple choice questions with answers given at the end)
   • IT puzzles (crossword puzzles - fun but time consuming)

Don't forget the page about how to do well on the exams:  Mr. Damon's compositions groupées guide.