These past few weeks my students have been engaged in some fun & relevant tech projects. I haven't found one kid who wasn't excited about learning how to edit videos, some with aspirations for becoming the next big YouTuber... and then there are the robots.
The how-to video I created on making a New Folder in Google Drive involved navigating some intentional errors, even a sneeze mid-clip. One of my go to rules for video recording: tape it once, trim out the excess when you are ready to edit. The tools and vocabulary we practiced included crop, zoom, trim (cut), titles, credits, exporting, rendering, saving locally, storing work in the cloud, routers, and our own version of closed captions. Using text boxes with the 5 key points they made their tutorial accessible to a larger audience.
There was discussion about flattening files, connecting some skills we used with Google Slides to Video Editing with Screencastify. For example, when they downloaded their Google Slide file as a .png all of the layers in the slide were "flattened" into one png file. png files have transparent backgrounds and can be cropped to make your character look like they are sitting in a car or looking out a window. Similarly, after exporting their editable Screencastify video into a more universal mp4 file, this new video includes the edits but you don't see them as editable parts like you do with Screencastify. We again talked about downloading the file locally and the need for adding it to Google Classroom or Drive for access at home or from a different device. Here is a screenshot of an editable video in Screencastify. Notice the green zoom segments and the salmon title segment. These will not appear once you export your file as an mp4 in this case. The video is rendered into one clip.
Grade 5
In fifth grade students installed a school approved Chrome extension called Screencastify. They will use this extension to edit and record video. Their first job was to edit and export a pre-made, 1+ minute, how to video, into a cleaned up version lasting in the ballpark of 45-50 seconds. While installing this extension we discussed learning some basic computer care and responsibility. Later we did some simple Chromebook housekeeping to keep them running efficiently.The how-to video I created on making a New Folder in Google Drive involved navigating some intentional errors, even a sneeze mid-clip. One of my go to rules for video recording: tape it once, trim out the excess when you are ready to edit. The tools and vocabulary we practiced included crop, zoom, trim (cut), titles, credits, exporting, rendering, saving locally, storing work in the cloud, routers, and our own version of closed captions. Using text boxes with the 5 key points they made their tutorial accessible to a larger audience.
There was discussion about flattening files, connecting some skills we used with Google Slides to Video Editing with Screencastify. For example, when they downloaded their Google Slide file as a .png all of the layers in the slide were "flattened" into one png file. png files have transparent backgrounds and can be cropped to make your character look like they are sitting in a car or looking out a window. Similarly, after exporting their editable Screencastify video into a more universal mp4 file, this new video includes the edits but you don't see them as editable parts like you do with Screencastify. We again talked about downloading the file locally and the need for adding it to Google Classroom or Drive for access at home or from a different device. Here is a screenshot of an editable video in Screencastify. Notice the green zoom segments and the salmon title segment. These will not appear once you export your file as an mp4 in this case. The video is rendered into one clip.
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Grade 6
Sixth grade students continued using the RootBots, writing code to draw a variety of polygons. When they used the simulator to break codes and make music, they worked independently. This time around they practiced pair programming. With pair programming one student is the driver but both students contribute to the logic, design and debugging of the code. On a given day, one partner is the "driver" and the other our "materials handler." The driver is responsible for typing the code and completing shared documentation. The materials handler makes sure the robots are off and returned to the parking lot, the station is clean, and any borrowed materials are returned to their location for the next class.
| Parking Spaces | Polygon Requirements |
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