CHVE Technology: 2014

Friday, October 17, 2014

CHVE STEM Lab Activities for Sept-Oct, K-5

CHVE STEM Lab

What STEM activities are students doing at CHVE? Each month, come here to take a peek. Visit our tools: CHVE Links.

PARENTS: Visit this fantastic site that reviews movies, games/apps, and promotes responsible use of technology at home.

For the months of: Sept-Oct, 2014

Kindies - Robert Munsch! Only the best kid's author around. Through Tumblebooks, kids could listen to the actual author read his stories. It puts a smile on your face to listen to the kids giggle for our time together.

1st Grade

Dance Mat Mondays! Students practice good typing technique by completing one stage.
Students continued to challenge each other with math facts in Play Live using Education City. Many conversations were had about being a good sport.
Wixie!! Students got their first experience using Wixie. The best place to create

stories, slideshows, comics, paint, draw, record, you name it! Do it at school, home, on an iPad or at your laptop.

2nd Grade

Dance Mat Mondays!
Students constructed several lego projects to learn about the relationship of gears. The big question was, "What happens when a large gear turns a small gear". All students used Google Drive to take snapshots and reflect upon their work.

3rd Grade

Dance Mat Mondays!

Students had their first look at the Lego WeDo system.

This gives students an opportunity to construct objects that can be programmed with the WeDo software to perform any number of tasks. Students begin to use programming logic to manipulate their Lego contraption to perform specific tasks while learning about engineering and design.

4th Grade

Students begin class typing at Dance Mat, TypingClub, TypeToLearn4 (download),or TypingWeb. Hands are covered with a paper towel. Goal: by the end of 5th Grade, type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
Student have taken a dive into the world of Scratch! This incredibly diverse software developed at M.I.T., allows students to work with object oriented programming. Their job is to build their first video game with guidance from vid1, vid2, & vid3. The quality of the videos are poor but the goals are great! When the students are finished they have a chance to share their work to the Scratch Studio where they can review, "Love", and "Favorite" each other's work. This lends itself to a great opportunity to learning about responsible online behavior.
Into May: 3D Imaging: Students embarked upon their first experience with 3D imaging and design using Google's free program: SketchUp. The students walked through a 3-Part YouTube series on the basics of SketchUp. Our ultimate goal: In 5th Grade, design a product in SketchUp, print it out on our new MakerBot printer, and sell it in a "3D bake-sale".

5th Grade

Typing at Dance Mat, TypingClub, TypeToLearn4 (download), or TypingWeb. Hands are covered with a paper towel. If they pass the test (type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy), they are on the wall of fame. Currently there are 22 Fifth Graders at this level. No trick, just practice typing without looking at the keyboard.
3D imaging! Last year, these students created objects using Google's SketchUp. Now, they use the same free software to design their own objects and print them out on our 3D printer. Mathematics and Engineering take hold as students work with a partner to create their own object manufactured right in the classroom! Their goal was to create a tool that will help organize their desk. They range from pencil & marker holders to a variety of sticky trays. See a few examples below:

K-5 Tech/Stem Activities for Sept, 2014

Image: Emily Haddon

CHVE Technology

What STEM activities are students doing at CHVE? Each month, come here to take a peek. Visit our tools: CHVE Links.

PARENTS: Visit this fantastic site that reviews movies, games/apps, and promotes responsible use of technology at home.

For the months of: Aug-Sept, 2014

Kindies - Learning how to use a trackpad. ABCya lends itself to several activities to help acclimate new users to laptops. Every year, I'm always amazed at how many little people try to activate a laptop by touching the screen. They all know how to investigate an iPad, but seem to find laptops a struggle...at first. They adapt so quickly, but I'm inclined to wonder about what tools are most suited for such young learners...

1st Grade

Students had their first lesson on how to type using home-row typing. They applied their skills in Dance Mat Typing.
1st Graders learned how to access their account in Education City. Most popular activity: peer-to-peer math fact and spelling practice in Play Live.

2nd-5th Grade: SELFIE PROJECT!

To begin the year, students created a Selfie to display on the walls on the STEM room. This project was done on the iPad.

2nd Graders and 3rd Graders used the apps: GoogleDrive, SketchMe, one of several painting apps, and SketchBook Express. They took Selfies using SketchMe and then applied one of several filters to "cartoonify" themselves. Next they painted a background. Finally, they learned how to use layering to place their photo onto their background using SketchBookX. They used GoogleDrive to get it printed.
4th and 5th Graders added another component: They applied WordFoto to their background. They used adjectives that described who they were. Several lessons were incorporated to promote good design qualities. When they finished, they learned how to "photo-shop" themselves around the world. Ex: kicking over the Leaning Tower of Pisa, swimming with sharks, climbing the Grand Canyon, etc.,

Thursday, April 24, 2014

K-5 Technology/STEM activities for March-April 2014

Image: Emily Haddon

CHVE Technology

What STEM activities are students doing at CHVE? Each month, come here to take a peek. Visit our tools: CHVE Links.

TO DOWNLOAD THE BEST MATH FACT PRACTICE ON THE PLANET, CLICK HERE (free for CHVE students)!

PARENTS: Visit this fantastic site that reviews movies, games/apps, and promotes responsible use of technology at home.

For the months of: March-April, 2014

Kindies - Use 10-Frames to build number fluency. Goal: recognize a set amount without having to count. Subtraction!

1st Grade

blogs-images.forbes.com

Dance Mat Mondays!
Students spent time on activities involving programming logic.

code.org
light-bot.com
scratch.mit.edu: We took 2 days to fully understand the step-by-step guide.
for the month of May: FlappyBird!

2nd Grade

Dance Mat Mondays!
Students constructed several lego projects to learn about the relationship of gears and pulley systems. All students used Google Drive to label and take snapshots of their work.

3rd Grade

Students begin class typing at Dance Mat, TypingClub, TypeToLearn4 (download), or TypingWeb. Hands are covered with a paper towel. Goal: by the end of 5th Grade, type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
Students explored programming logic through an introduction of Scratch. Students created accounts, ran through the Step-By-Step guide, and worked through the "How To" section to gain understanding of the different commands in Scratch.
Into May: Students learned how to program Tilt and Motion sensors through the construction of a variety of robotic projects using Lego WeDo.

4th Grade

Students begin class typing at Dance Mat, TypingClub, TypeToLearn4 (download), or TypingWeb. Hands are covered with a paper towel. Goal: by the end of 5th Grade, type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
Remember flip card animation? (draw a stick figure, flip the page, draw it again...etc,) Students spent a second week in Scratch learning how to create animation. The goal is learning how to add animation to a character when designing your own video game. Check out our animations here. Some of them are really good. We also explored the concept of responsible public commenting.
Into May: 3D Imaging: Students embarked upon their first experience with 3D imaging and design using Google's free program: SketchUp. The students walked through a 3-Part YouTube series on the basics of SketchUp. Our ultimate goal: In 5th Grade, design a product in SketchUp, print it out on our new MakerBot printer, and sell it in a "3D bake-sale".

5th Grade

Typing at Dance Mat, TypingClub, TypeToLearn4 (download), or TypingWeb. Hands are covered with a paper towel. If they pass the test (type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy), they are on the wall of fame. Currently there are 22 Fifth Graders at this level. No trick, just practice typing without looking at the keyboard.
Stop Motion Animation: In a two-week project, using iPad's, student created a 10-30 second story. The students captured their story using the apps: StopMotion HD and iMovie. The format choices: White-board animation or Brick-films using Lego's. All projects will be exported and shared here. This also provides another opportunity to learn about the value in being responsible with personal information.
Into May: 3D Imaging: Students began their first experience with 3D imaging and design using Google's free program: SketchUp. The students walked through a 3-Part YouTube series on the basics of SketchUp.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

K-5 STEM/Technology Activities for Jan-Feb 2014

Image: Emily Haddon

CHVE Technology

What STEM activities are students doing at CHVE? Each month, come here to take a peek. Visit our tools: CHVE Links.

Best free app: LightBot. This was part of a constellation of experiences where 1st-5th interacted with the fundamentals of coding.

For the months of: Jan-Feb, 2014

Kindies - Through Education City, students were scored on the their ability to complete a variety of math concepts. Education City: click here to gain access at home.

1st Grade

1st Grader, Marley, documented her Lego Contraptions

Dance Mat Mondays!
Education City: Students were asked to solve a variety of math problems. Click here to gain access at home.
Using Lego's, students learned about Gears and Friction to create a wind-powered car. The unit culminated in a car-race. Things got loud...you may have heard us. Students documented their work using Wixie.

2nd Grade

Dance Mat Mondays!
Through Code.org, 2nd graders interacted with the basic concepts of coding.
Students created their own Comic Strips by using Presentation inside their GoogleDrive accounts. Students learned some basics in graphic design and being responsible with public documents.

3rd Grade

Students begin class practicing typing at Dance Mat or TypingClub. They must have their hands covered with a paper towel. Our goal by the end of 5th Grade is to type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
Using Lego's (bottom, left clip in YouTube video), students learned about the effect of gears and pulley systems on their contraptions.
Students created their own Comic Strip (See Ex) through the Presentation App inside their GoogleDrive accounts. Students learned some basics in graphic design and being responsible with public documents.

4th Grade

Students begin class practicing typing at Dance Mat or TypingClub. They must have their hands covered with a paper towel. The goal by the end of 5th Grade is to type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
Through Code.org, 4th graders interacted with the basic concepts of coding.
Using Scratch, students started to build their own video games (student ex here). Students learn how to create one of 4 types of games: Pong, Maze, Car Chase or Drawing.

5th Grade

Typing at Dance Mat or TypingClub. Hands are covered with a paper towel. If they pass the test (type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy), they are on the wall of fame. Currently there are 20 Fifth Graders at this level.
Through Code.org, 4th graders interacted with the basic concepts of coding.
Lego Robotics! Students created Lego structures (top and bottom left in clip above) which required simple programming to perform creative tasks from local software.
Using Scratch, students started to build their own video games (student ex here). Students began learning how to create one of 4 types of games: Pong, Maze, Car Chase or Drawing.