OCTOBER 1, 2007- MONDAY

Podcast--PROJECT ON HOLD UNTIL GARAGE BAND GETS FULLY INSTALLED
STUDENT EXPECTATION:
Gain firsthand knowledge of the capacities of currently available storage media.

Materials
Computer
Floppy disk
USB flash drive
Sample photo, video, sound, and text files

Procedure
DOCUMENT-AVG SIZE 132-200MB
SOUND-MUSIC 2.8-3.0 MB
MOVIE 600-700 MB

1. Work with a partner to create a table in a word processing document or on paper. Enter the types of storage media you will be working with in the left column and leave the right column blank for listing the items you can store on them.
2. Locate the Sample Files folder on your computer that your teacher may have provided for you, or create a folder of sample text, image, video, and sound files. Be sure to use only copyright-free material. One safe resource for image, video, and sound files is the Library of Congress American Memory site at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem.
3. Insert the floppy disk into the A: drive. Copy a text file onto the disk. Copy an image file onto the disk. If the disk is full, stop. If it is not full, try copying a sound file or video file onto it. If there is not enough room for either of those, try adding another copy of the text file. Be sure to rename the file so it does not overwrite the file you already put there. When the disk is full and you cannot copy anything else to it, record its contents on your table.
4. Follow the same procedure with the USB drive. To save time, estimate how many files you will be able to store by calculating the size of each file and comparing it to the size of the storage device. For example, if the USB drive can hold 128 MB, and each video file is 20 MB, then you can put 6 copies on the drive. Most text files are smaller than 1 MB, and sound and image files range between those two sizes.
5. To avoid wasting resources that are not reusable, instead of actually saving files on recordable CDs or DVDs, calculate the maximum number of each of your sample files that could be saved on each. CDs hold 700 MB and DVDs hold 4.7 GB. Record this number in your table.
6. Find the cost for each type of storage medium and determine which is the best buy. Consider factors such as reusability, durability, and security, as well as cost.

Extension
Explore the limitations of external storage media. Are some more versatile than others? Can USB drives contain any type of file but CDs or DVDs only certain types? Can each be read by any computer, or are they all platform-specific? Determine which storage medium is best for text files, video files, and mixed files.

WARM UP-Post Analogy/Word/WPM to blog
ANALOGY/WORD/WPM
What word completes the analogy?
HAIRBRUSH : BRISTLED :: _____ : mythical
1. real
2. dragon
3. ancient
Word Quiz
deface
Someone might deface a wall by
1. using spray paint to mess it up.
2. hanging some nice pictures on it.
3. patching it, then applying fresh paint