Quarter 3

Updates from Room 328

We are off to a great start getting to know each other while getting creative with some cool Google Slides tools. Take a look at the awesome letters the students of room 328 made as a kick off for our Google Slides unit. They started with some new line tools and gradients. They were required to save a png file including a letter with a transparent background. Some opted to make words or names.

Learning Google Slides

Intro Slides Tools

Next up, students worked with arrange on the menu bar to organize layers or "objects" to align them, change their order, and rotate them at specific angles. They focused on grouping, patterns, and rotation to create either a flower or a snowflake. Can you find yours on the slide decks below? 

Flower Garden	Snowstorm

Stay tuned for their final projects using Google Slides tools. I am so excited for them to finish these and can't wait to share them with you. 

Data Data Everywhere

Students worked together to share ideas about a positive classroom learning environment. From their ideas shared through a Google Sheet, I manipulated the data slightly so they could make WordClouds to better understand and share their results. Of course I explained how and why I manipulated the data to make this happen. Know your source, know their purpose.

The prompts:

Their voices:

Getting Creative with File Types

Our classes are exploring another side of Google Slides as they learn about some drawing tools and different image files. To kick things off they were tasked with making a letter with the curve or polyline tool. This letter needed to be downloaded as a png file with a transparent background. The kids explored different colors, borders, and some used the gradient tool. A few kids had fun making words and first names. 

Next up, students will create a simple drawing before completing the final task of making a digital avatar of themself. Stay tuned for these gems. They will be awesome, I promise!

Then students explored grouping objects together and rotating their object to form snowflakes and flowers. Take a look at our snow storm file which included snowflakes from every class and our flower garden for friends who chose to make flowers instead. 

FLOWERGARDEN

Tag Your It Web Design Projects

Our eighth graders recently worked on some basic web design projects learning basic HTML and CSS around a topic of interest. We began with some discussions around the internet, the world wide web, browsers and search engines along with a brainstorming activity to identify topic ideas for building their website. 

After topics were identified we discussed and explored some basic HTML tags. Students began building their website while research their topic and in some cases building their own resources. W3 Schools, a resource for learning new HTML, CSS, and Javascript was introduced and explored. Here are a few examples. Enjoy!

Letters of Letters	Mythology
Violas	InPulse

Quarter 1 Scratch Studios

For our final Scratch project students worked on musical compositions. Their work included classics like Baby Shark, Twinkle Twinkle, some Van Halen and I was even Rick Rolled. No prior music reading was required. The kids worked at their own ability level and I'm so proud of the work they have done. Some students with a musical background collaborated on pieces so that they could each build the music for their instrument and put them together into an ensemble. Others who finished early added animations and more. They are all AH-MAZING! 

At the culmination of our music project students were asked to choose their favorite of the 4 projects introduced in class. Click the links below to see what they added to their class studio. 

Green	Pink	Yellow

Using Variables

Counter Variables 

Our seventh graders have been busy exploring Scratch. Those fairly new to Scratch worked on simple clicker games to get started. Clicking as fast as they could on a Sprite trying to bet their high score before the countdown timer made it to zero. They started with some basics and if time allowed included some enhancements. Other, more veteran Scratchers opted to build alternative games with other challenges like collecting objects or adding levels of play. 

Check out some student examples that they shared below.

Abstraction, Algorithms, & Lego Sculptures

Students worked together on an unplugged activity in which a "robot" would select from a variety of legos to build a structure on a thick-green 8x16 lego baseplate. Each team member picked at least 1 brick, placed it, wrote a line of code to move it, and also tested and debugged it. Teams rotated through this process until every student had an opportunity to complete each task at least one time. If time allowed they were encouraged to add more bricks to their sculpture. Using binary code we broke down the lego brick description as follows.

We started with a review of binary code to to identify how many bits were needed to identify the assortment of colors we were using, as well as the height, width, and length. Bits were carefully placed in a pre-determined order so the robot could communicate their intentions with the group, see the images below. Our sets of lego bricks include 7 colors so we needed 3 bits to represent each color. In the end we needed 12 bits or 3 nibbles to represent the bricks in our kit. 

Next students used more abstraction to create a symbolic language to help the "robot" grab a brick, move it, and place it before retracting its arm and repeating the process. One student suggested calling the language they created Legottoson. It was interesting to see some overlap of the symbols as well as some differences. We stressed the importance of using abstractions that make sense. We could have used anything really, like pumpkins or squirrels, instead of arrows. 

Finally, students swapped and executed each others code to see if they could replicate each others sculptures. They identified any known errors along the way and after the "Big Reveal," see below. When pictures of the original sculptures were shown on the projector screen they attempted to identify, debug, and fix any mistakes. We continued to discuss the importance of a common language, that mistakes are OKAY and normal, and that finding the mistakes to fix them was part of the fun of coding.

An example of the original code with debugging and some students at work. 

Who Am I?

Students expand their knowledge of Google Slides, file types, and file management to create imagery including avatars of themselves. They also explored hex code to color their skin tones and hair. Below are some examples of their work, or as I like to call them digiforms. 

To get started with our Google Slides getting to know you activity they first learned about the polyline and the curve tool. Later they explored features found under Arrange on the menu bar to help organize and maneuver the objects in their file. 

While exploring these tools and adding the use of the grouping tool they created either a snowflake or a flower. The spent most of their time building a snowflake point or a flower petal, adding details then grouping these parts together. Next they duplicated these parts and used the rotation tool to build a symmetric creation. 

After working with these tools they were tasked with working independently to build an avatar of themselves using hex codes to match their skin tones. We had an opportunity to discuss file management and naming conventions as they downloaded these files with transparent backgrounds as png files.  They are a talented bunch and you’re gonna be amazed by some of the beautiful creations they’ve made. Here are the png files from grade seven. Our seventh graders will use their creations as Sprites in Scratch projects.

Collecting Data

In the first week and a half, students in Comp Sci have been busy sharing, collecting, and analyzing data that they ultimately used to build our classroom constitution which was voted upon and signed. They shared everything from "What a positive classroom environment looks like" to "How can my parent's or guardian's help support my learning." We looked at and discussed ways data is manipulated to tell someone's version of a story and the importance of knowing the source of the information and understanding how it is being used. We also talked about online tools that may collect user data and to make smart choices about what we share online. 

Below are some examples of the word clouds created in class along with their corresponding prompt. Keep scrolling to see what they had to say.

The final word cloud was created using the raw data collected by parents and guardians during open house. They were asked to share 2 words to describe their child. Interested in making one of your own, try it, wordclouds.com.

1) I think a positive learning environment looks like .....

2) One way I can support a friend(s) when working in small or large groups is to ....

3) To make sure I am ready for class, I always ....

4) If someone is speaking in my group, I should ....

5) Submitted work should reflect ....

6) Teachers can support my learning by....

7) Parents, guardians and caretakers can support my learning by....

Parents, guardians and caretakers were asked to provide 2 words to describe you. Here are the results of the raw data. No modifications were made. 

New Horizons

Welcome to room 238! I AM SO EXCITED to become a member of Ottoson Middle School. I cannot wait to start the new school year with each of YOU! Bookmark my blog and stay tuned for classroom updates through out the course. 

I hope you had a restful and fun summer break! I look forward to hearing all about it, getting to know each of you, and an awesome school year!

Below is a collage of some of the things I like to do. Can you guess some things I like to do outside of school. Maybe you like some of these things too! :)

 

H.A.G.S.!

In the spirit of computational thinking, students wrapped up the year with a digital breakout "Caught in the Code." Before this collaborative project, they worked independently or in small groups to create something related to the tools and skills we have focused on in class this semester. Their final project involved choosing a tool or skill that they worked on this semester to create something, anything at all, so long as it was related to the following: 

Grade 5	Grade 6

Enjoy some links to group work and projects that can be shared. 

Class of 2028

Class of 2029

Randomness

Micro:bit Pet Robot

In sixth grade students used the tools they garnered when exploring other Micro:bit projects to build a robot pet. Their pet build was based on the interview of a classmate to learn about their dream pet. After working in pairs to interview each other, students used the data to sketch a prototype before they rolled up their sleeves to build and code a pet robot! Check out the lesson activity from Micro:bit.

Before coding their project the were tasked with writing pseudocode to think through and record their ideas for how the code would work. 

Check out some projects on the Google Slide below. Watch the video to hear directly from some students about their pet project. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Everyone Loves a Parade

After MCAS some students explored remixing a Scratch project. Together with their avatars they practiced downloading and uploading local files, to ultimately share a new file type for Scratch, .sb3. 

Next up all grade five students will explore some coding projects using Scratch.MIT.edu. Because the kids are under 13, we did not use Scratch accounts. Instead we practiced file management and continued discussions about file types as students downloaded Scratch .sb3 files locally to their Chromebook. 

F. A. B. Constitution Comic

To wrap up our unit with Google Slides the fifth grade classes created comics using their self-made avatar  png files and some storytelling. Using imagery from our school and classroom, they created background panels along with gutters, scene setters, a Word Art title, and a monologue to reflect on the three articles of our classroom constitution. Take a look at these beauties below! I'm so proud of the work they have done!

Student Comics

Coding & Animations

We have been busy in the Innovation Lab. Take a look at what the kids have been doing these past few weeks.

All classes enjoyed a Computer Science Themed Breakout called Stop the Pigeon upon return from break. In two groups they utilized teamwork skills and problem solving to decode a series of challenges with a computational thinking theme. Solving algorithms to break out of the box! 

Fifth graders have wrapped up their Avatar project, learning about file types like png and gif as they got creative with Google Slides. We will continue to incorporate their creations in future projects. Check out these beauties below or click here.

The sixth graders are busy learning some basic coding with MakeCode and Micro:bits. Though there are many coding platforms to choose from we are focused on MakeCode.Microbit.org. Students have explored 3 new programs, Rolling a DIE, Shaking a Magic-8 Ball, and most recently the radio feature to play Marco Polo. For each of these 3 projects, we began with a simple version before adding enhancements while getting more familiar with the code. Give some a try below. Missing the DIE from your favorite boardgame? Don't let that stop you. Open up your child's digital DIE and let the games begin.

Name	Play It
DIE with Numbers	Click to Play
DIE with LEDs	Click to Play
Magic 3 with Icons	Click to Play
Magic 8 with Strings	Click to Play
Radio Radio	Click to Play
Marco Polo	Click to Play

Google Slides & File Management

Our fifth graders are using some underutilized tools in Google Slides. The end result will be a series of digital drawings as transparent png files and jpg files to make portrait and landscape imagery. We began with the polyline and curve to building bubble letters before introducing objects and layers sprinkled with some geometry. Next they built the point of a snowflake or the petal of a flower. To complete the snowflake or flower, they first grouped these parts together. Grouping them together ensures that no parts are left behind when resizing or moving the object. To keep the object proportional they practiced using the SHIFT when using click and drag. Once this new "layer" was ready they duplicated pieces (Control + d) then rotated them to complete their digital drawing. 

For a six-sided snowflake, each part would need to be rotated in 60 degree increments, 60, 120, 180, 240, 200 and the original at 0/360. If their flower only had 5 petals each would be rotated at an increment of 72 degrees, 10 petals, 36 degrees each. Now they are working on making stop motion projects with Google Slides using these snowflakes and other creations made by myself or former students. I can't wait to show these to you soon. 

See some examples:

Alphabet Letters - Criteria: Curve tool, blue interior, green border, transparent background, saved as png file. Don't see your letter, make sure you saved it properly and added it to Google Classroom.

Snowflakes

Flowers

 

Abstraction, Algorithms, and "Human Robots"

Sixth graders have been busy continuing work with abstraction and algorithms. We have spent the past two weeks creating abstractions to write our own computer language. On the first two days we reviewed base 2 to identify how many bits were needed to identify 4 parts of a lego brick: the color, the height, and the number of pegs to identify the width and length when holding the brick in portrait position, see "Brick ID Binary Key." Each class developed a lego brick binary string of 12 bits and agreed upon symbols to move our "robot arms" to build their lego sculpture, see "Brick & Robot Symbols."

Brick ID Binary Key	Brick & Robot Symbols

After modeling and practicing writing algorithms with each class using their abstractions, groups worked on writing algorithms of their own as they built a lego sculpture. Together they rotated through turns to ensure that everyone in the group was included. For example, person 1 would pick a brick, person 2 would place the brick, person 3 would write that line of code, and person 4 would check that line code. Then they rotated these jobs until everyone had at least one chance to contribute and participate. Some groups stuck with 4 bricks in their sculpture while others challenged themselves with some sculptures having 8, 9, or 10 bricks when they were done. 

Take a look at the sculptures they created in class.

On the fourth day, students were given another group's lego kit which included a new algorithm and possibly a slightly different key. They were tasked with reading this new code and key to rebuild the other group's sculpture. This activity made clear the importance of abstraction and algorithms. Without a common language and sequential sets of instructions, a "robot" could not replicate the same structure.

As a final review before we embark on our Root Robot journey, we reviewed some before and after builds using examples that needed some debugging. It is important to me that my students understand that mistakes are okay. In fact, most programs usually require  some debugging, especially in the early stages, or enhancements as time goes on. Having a common language and well written algorithms is critical in running a successful program.

Stay tuned for our upcoming robot adventures with RootBot and Root Robot!

Data Collection, Visualization, and Interpretation

Fifth graders worked in small groups to share ideas about what a positive classroom learning environment looks like. Afterwards they completed a Google form survey to share what they thought was the most important response to each of 7 questions. To visualize their responses, each student built a word cloud to share this data. Some discussions included how data is collected online and being careful about what information we share while online. Finally we reviewed alternative ways to represent and read data.

The statements they considered:

1. I think a positive learning environment looks like…
2. One way I can support a friend when working in groups is to ….
3. To make sure I’m ready for class I …
4. If someone is speaking in my group I should …
5. Submitted work should reflect …
6. One way my teacher can support my learning is to …
7. One way my parents or guardians can support my learning is to …

We used a word cloud generator, WordCloud. With this tool, students explored Shapes, Fonts, Text Direction, Colors, and Masking. More popular or frequently occurring student responses are larger while those equally important but less popular are smaller. Take a look below to see these awesome creations.

After building our word clouds we discussed ways data is collected, Google forms, browser history, apps we use, and also different ways we can visualize and interpret data, like pie charts, word clouds, and more.  

Finally, using their data I generated our classroom FAB Constitution. Students reviewed this document, its preamble and 3 articles. They had an opportunity to review, discuss, and offer amendments. No student expressed that their ideas were not reflected in this document. Next they signed and I printed one for each class. Here is an example. 

Stay tuned for our digital drawings with Google Slides. ;-)

It's All Ones & Zeros

We are wrapping up a unit on abstraction that focuses on binary code or machine language. Students have dabbled in converting back and forth between decimal and binary numbers, and writing kind, positive words with binary code for uppercase letters of the alphabet. For the culminating project, we tried something new. 

We brainstormed words and considered symbols to represent binary code.

Next they created binary words and put them onto construction paper.

The final products are numbered and hung on posters around the classroom.

Getting creative with cardboard to make switches for their final project.

Students teamed up to create a variety of artifacts showing something about binary code. Some options included counting in binary, showing letters of the alphabet, or spelling out words and acronyms. I was excited to try this final project and love the creativity and enthusiasm I saw from all of my classes. 

Check out some of these gems by clicking on the links and videos. 

Welcome Semester 2 Friends!

We are off to a great start in the Innovation Lab! It was great to see returning students and to meet lots of new ones. On day two we followed up with a scavenger hunt to learn more about our space. 

Both fifth and sixth grade classes are getting to know their way around our learning space and the curriculum. We started with a short slide show, tour of the room also known as, "The Motherboard," and finally a scavenger hunt. As part of this experience students also identified their "street address," by number and name using their location and a map of the motherboard. The rows and tables in room 88 have street names related to computer things. Take a walk down Grace Road or find classroom supplies stored on Hard Drive.

Returning sixth graders had a chance to review their classroom constitution from last year. They are still FAB and they know it! Classes voted unanimously to move forward with their existing constitution, no amendments required. Fifth graders will complete some activities before finalizing their classroom constitution.

Both grades are learning about abstraction, one of the sub-strands under Computational Thinking in the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science frameworks. Click here to download a copy. We are discussing using symbols and letters to communicate abstract ideas with a focus on machine language or binary code, base2. Currently they are learning to convert between the base2/binary and base 10/decimal systems using a tool called the Flippy Do which you can find on the Code.org binary numbers lesson, see Flippy Do below. 

I was excited to learn that the sixth graders are coincidentally learning about abstraction in Social Studies as they focus on the cuneiform alphabet and in Math they are exploring exponents. This provided a great opportunity for them to connect concepts across the curriculum. 

Next they will use "alphabytes" to create words and messages using an alphabet decoder key. Correctly completed student work will be displayed around the room and used in an upcoming Challenge. Stay tuned for more on binary code and abstraction.

Click the image to the left to make a copy of your own Flippy Do from code.org. To learn more about how you might use this tool see their lesson plan or wait for my next post to see how we used it in class.