Research, and Videos, and Scratch, Oh My

This week students completed research and took notes about their name or a name of their own choosing like Sybil Ludington. Really now, that was my name of choice but those who chose names other than their own did come up with some interesting options. We also practiced searching for and saving images using both the right click "save image as" or with hot key shortcuts to take screenshot of interactive graphs. Of course either method requires citing your sources which we also reviewed. 

Another element of this project is practicing file management and organization. Although I love tools like Google Classroom as learning management systems can help to keep our work organized and us to connect on each specific assignment, but most of the work happens in the background so the students have no need to think about how it works. With the final portion of this project, coding a Scratch project, students have to download, rename and then upload their file to Google Classroom. Whenever they need to save their changes, they complete this process changing the file name to reflect the new "version." that they have saved, just like updates to apps on phones. It was great to see them make this connection as they repeat and practice this step. 

Take a peek at the steps of the project and what we are doing here. 

Watch the corresponding how to videos on my YouTube playlist.

We hope to share these projects next week. They will use the design process to write and debug their code over the next few days. Stay tuned.

What Are You Thankful For?

This week hybrid students created simple Scratch projects as they practiced file management, organization and some starter block coding. Check out some of the work they shared in the video recording below.

New Beginnings :)

Ms. Dee and I are excited to join you this second quarter of 20-21. We have a lot of fun projects planned for you this term. Stay tuned each week to see what is happening in class. You can bookmark this page or launch my link from my weekly email.

I work with three different groups of students each day who after this week will not be on the same page. I teach 2 fully remote classes that I see on alternating days and Ms. Dee joins me during the two 5th and 6th grade hybrid courses.There are a handful of similar activities that we will complete but the primary focus in both classes is digital literacy and computer science. Each quarter kicks off with some getting to know you activities and review of expectations. Each day begins with a "Do Now" to get the kids started.

Grade 5 - Exploration into Coding and Educational Tech - is a course that offers a broad exploration of computer programming and education technology. This course has a considerable range of content; but typically will include the introduction of block coding, file management, video tools, and other computer technologies as they relate to industry applications.

Grade 6 - Coding and robotics is a hands-on course designed to introduce the basic concepts of computer programming, robotics, and the design process. This course has a considerable range of content; but typically will include an introduction to binary code, algorithmic thinking, block and text based coding, video tools, and other computer technologies as they relate to industry applications.

Don't forget to bookmark this page so you can come back to see what we are doing in school.