The Hour of Code is Almost Here!

The week of December 9^th -15^th has been designated Computer Science Education Week.  Students across the Shorecrest campus along with more than 5 million students (and counting) across 164 countries will participate in The Hour of Code sponsored by Code.org.

With computer programming jobs growing more than two times faster than students entering the field, it is essential students get an early start in learning these important skills.  Even if your child does not become a computer programmer, coding teachers them to think logically and systematically as well as problem solve.

Shorecrest students will engage in conversation with their peers, explore coding apps and software on their iPads and classroom computers, and work with self-guided tutorials in various programming languages during CSE Week.

Learn more about The Hour of Code at http://csedweek.org/ and be sure to check out next week’s E-bytes for pictures and videos of campus events.

We would love families to consider spending time coding at home too. Here are some of the iPad apps students will be using next week.

BeeBot: FREE (Ages 3-6) The Bee-Bot App is based on the Bee-Bot floor robot. The app uses directional language and programming through sequences of forwards, backwards, left and right 90 degree turns. The app has 12 levels.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bee-bot/id500131639?mt=8

Daisy the Dino: FREE (Ages 4-6) Learn the basics of computer programming with the easy drag and drop interface. Kids will learn the basics of object sequencing and loops by solving this app's challenges. After playing Daisy, kids can choose to download a kit to program their own computer game.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/daisy-the-dinosaur/id490514278?mt=8

Move the Turtle: $2.99 (Ages 6-10)
Move The Turtle teaches the basics of creating computer programs using intuitive graphic commands. Students can also create their own programs from scratch.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/move-turtle.-programming-for/id509013878?mt=8

Kodable: FREE (5 and up) The Fuzz Family crashed their spaceship on Smeeborg and need your help to explore the planet's mazes. Drag and drop instructions for Fuzzes to follow. Hit Play to watch them roll through the maze.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/kodable/id577673067?mt=8

Cato's Hike: $4.99 (5 and up) Cato is a little boy who likes to play. One day Cato was playing outside when a portal to another world opened up! Cato stepped through and discovered that this world didn't follow the same rules. Every time he tried to take a step he'd find himself stuck in place until he discovered the rules in this new universe.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/catos-hike-programming-logic/id574335479?mt=8

Cargo-Bot: FREE (5 and up) Cargo-Bot is a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates.  Includes tutorials to teach the game along with easy, hard, and advanced puzzles. A game about programming, programmed entirely on iPad.                                         https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/cargo-bot/id519690804?mt=8

Hopscotch: FREE (5 and up) Hopscotch allows kids to create their own games and animations. Hopscotch programming language works by dragging and dropping blocks into scripts. As you get more advanced, you can add more objects and use custom events, such as shaking and tilting the iPad, to run your code.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/hopscotch-coding-for-kids/id617098629?mt=8

Light-bot: $2.99 (5 and up) A programming puzzle game that use procedure, loop, and conditional commands to guide a robot to light up tiles and solve levels. Features 40 levels. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-bot/id657638474?mt=8

i-Logo: $2.99
LOGO is a 1967 computer programming language. It has functional programming capability. Students can use variables and test calculations with polish notation, test recursively, and use arrays. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/i-logo/id435280247?mt=8

Codea: $9.99 AU
Codea is a code editor that lets you create games and simulations. Turn your thoughts into interactive creations.  Codea is built on the Lua programming language. Uses visual editing tools. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/codea/id439571171?mt=8

Here are links to some of the online programs students will be using in the computer labs and library.

http://www.kidsruby.com/

Software available for Mac or PC utilizing Ruby as its programming language.

http://light-bot.com/flash-lite.html

A programming puzzle game that use procedure, loop, and conditional commands to guide a robot to light up tiles and solve levels. This is the free flash-based lite version of the app by the same name.

http://scratch.mit.edu/ 

A tile-based visual programming environment and toolkit, lets kids make games, animated stories, interactive art, and share with others.

http://www.tynker.com/

Easy to use, step-by-step curriculum by grade level. The premium version has additional lesson plans. Uses a drag-and-drop interface.

http://edu.kde.org/kturtle/

KTurtle is loosely based on the Logo programming language. Simplifies programming by translating commands and error messages into the native language of the programmer.

http://www.alice.org/index.php

Teaches students computer programming in a 3D environment. Students drag and drop graphic tiles to create a program. These tiles correspond with standard programming statements in Java, C++, and C#.

Another Round of Monsters

It is hard to believe the school year is almost over. Even though there are only three weeks of school left there are still so many technology projects to wrap up with the students. This week third grade will be finishing up their Pixie presentations on European Explorers, fourth graders continue to work on their iWeb digital portfolios, and first grade will begin recording facts in their Under the Sea VoiceThreads.

One project that just wrapped up today, which also happens to be one of my favorites, is the Monster Project. This year 33 first, second, and third grade classrooms from around the United States and Canada drew, described, typed, and exchanged monsters as a way to learn about the power of descriptive words to paint a picture for the reader.

Here are few examples of student writing, the original monster, and the redrawn monsters that came back to us as well as the links to each class set of monsters:

Mrs. Deegan's Class

Mrs. O'Mullane's Class

Ms. Graham's Class

Mrs. McKenzie's Class

 

Instagrok - A New Kid-Friendly Search Engine

When researching with young children, I typically utilize a Symbaloo to organize sites by different topics and to make access easy. Symbaloos are simple to create and edit, and are easy to pull up both on computers as well as the iPads. Just last week, the first grade students launched their individual research on ocean animals using sites provided on Symbaloo to get started. Here is the link to my page: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/ldcomputerlab

Fourth grade students, on the other hand, begin practicing their own searching skills to learn about individual states during colonial times. Rather than using Google, which is really geared more toward adults, I introduced students to several more kid-friendly search engines. Some of my favorites include Kid Rex, Boolify, and Quintera for Kids. I also started to use a new search tool called Instagrok.

What makes Instagrok different is how it utilizes both a visual and traditional interface to help kids see connections between topics and ideas. Kids are able to customize their search and even share their results with others. Searches can also be saved for later reference. Check it out at www.instagrok.com

New Word Cloud Site

This week I came across a new 'word cloud' site called Word Clouds for Kids. Sponsored by www.ABCya.com, this site allows students to input text to create a graphical representation from a block of text or other list of words. If words are entered more than once, they are given more prominence in a word cloud.

The idea of creating word clouds is not new. Websites like Wordle, Tagxedo, and WordItOut have been around for many years and have been used effectively by our students. What is different about Word Clouds is its easy to use interface. It is also Flash-based rather than Java-based. Word Clouds is recommended for grades 2-5 but can easily be used by younger students as well.

Here are some of the ways our students have been using word cloud sites this year:

Introduce themselves at the beginning of the year
Practice spelling words
Build story or character clouds based on a book
Create USA clouds
Reinforce vocabulary words
Review important terms and concepts when reviewing a chapter
Reflecting on a project or activity

Scratch Projects... Finally!

Thank you to the very patient third grade students who have been anxiously awaiting for me to post their final Scratch projects from their last rotation in the lab. They all did an amazing job! I can't wait to share their projects with the first and second graders over the next few weeks. You can access the projects here.

It has been a busy few weeks so far in the Technology Lab. Many grade levels are immersed in research projects, and it is always wonderful watching the children as they engage in learning about new topics.

Kindergarten has launched individual research projects on animals and have been introduced to the online encyclopedia World Book for Kids (WBK) to help learn about them. WBK is not only easy to navigate but it has a text-to-speech option which allows the children to have the articles read to them.

The children began recording facts on a graphic organizer and will continue their research in the classrooms. They are learning about how their animal looks, how it moves, where it lives, what it eats, and other interesting facts.




Second grade wrapped up research on various bodies of water last week. This week they used Pixie to write and illustrate riddles they will share with each other. Here are some examples:

Third graders spent several days working with partners to research European explorers. This week they will begin work on creating multimedia slideshows using Pixie. Each team will create a slideshow that will include audio, hand-drawn images, images from the Internet and text. The slideshows will cover the explorer's early life, reasons for travel, expeditions plus other interesting facts.

I Love Geocaching!

Taking my students geocaching across the Shorecrest campus is one of my favorite activities. Typically I geocache a bit later in the year, but I just had to take advantage of the beautiful weather we had last week. So, I setup caches for both the second and fourth graders.

As the second graders have been learning about the seven continents, I thought it fitting to also learn about some of the different bodies of water around the world. Hidden inside their caches were slips of paper listing the names of the oceans as well as gulfs, seas, bays, and rivers. After a class discussion about the differences between these bodies of water, students used WorldBook for Kids to research a specific body of water. Next they will write, illustrate, and record riddles to share with each other.

  

The fourth graders have been studying the concepts of latitude and longitude in math, so learning how to use a handheld GPS receiver was a wonderful hands-on opportunity to better understand absolute location. They also learned how to track distance and use the built-in compass. Hidden inside their caches were coordinates and riddles related to famous places important during the American Revolution.  Back in the lab, the students used Google Earth to look up the coordinates to figure out the important city or colony named in their riddle.

Pixie Introduced in Kindergarten

Since returning to school after winter break, the kindergarten students have been learning how to use a new technology tool, Pixie.  Pixie allows students to draw pictures, publish stories, and create slideshows using original artwork, images, video, and voice narration.  During the initial introduction students were introduced to six basic drawing tools including their favorite, a 3-dimensional brush. Last week, students practiced using the shape tools and fill bucket. Each student was challenged to draw a picture utilizing at least five different shapes. Next week they will be introduced to the text tool to label and add writing to their pictures. Here are some wonderful examples of their creativity:

'Harlem 1958'
Photo by Art Kane
http://harlem.org/images/mainimage.jpg

At the end of January, the 4th graders will be performing in their annual show We Haz Jazz.

To help prepare for their roles, the students worked with partners to research a famous American jazz musician and then share what they learned using the online tool, Glogster.

Each group was asked to share 15 facts about their musician and include at least three pieces of media such as pictures and videos on their glog.

Students also learned about the importance of properly documenting media according to 'Fair Use Guidelines'. You can check out their amazing glogs here.