4th&5th Grade Makers and 3rd Grade programmers!

3D Printing with 5th Graders:

This week students designed little ball&maze trinket toys.  They used SketchUp to design their maze.  We printed them on a MakerBot, cut up silver clasp Ball chains (which we measured with a pair of calipers to size the maze), and used transparencies for the cover.  Many of them worked perfectly.  Many wanted to improve upon their design.  Way to go little mini-makers!

Make your own X-Box controller with 4th Graders:

These guys learned how to build buttons on a piece of cardboard fashioned in the style of an X-Box controller.  Students used a Makey-Makey kit to connect it all together and Scratch for the programming.  They created a very simple 2-player Maze game to test their controller out on.  On the last day, they played head-to-head matches with each other.  One week was definitely not enough time.  Game on!

Mini Programmers with 3rd Grade:

Students learned how to program sensors using LegoWeDo.  By the end of the week, students were programming their own cars, catapults, and trap-doors.  Everything was documented in their GoogleDrive accounts.  We are developing programmers!

But first, let me take a Selfie...

The following is a quick run-down of a beginning-of-the-year activity with 3-5 graders, but scaffolded down for grades 1-2.








To begin the year in what was formerly known as the STEM Lab (renamed this year as the #GeekLab), students created a Selfie project using iPads.  The apps:
-Google Drive (free)
-any free painting app
-Sketchbook Express (free)
-WordFoto (paid app)

To keep the teacher from being the source of information, students (Grades 3-5) grabbed headphones and followed an instructional video on their own device: https://goo.gl/QueRuw
This video was created by the teacher (with a little help from the Chainsmokers)

They are encouraged to work in groups, a partner, or just by themselves.  Rule: the teacher is here only to help clear-up any misunderstandings from the video.  But no help would be offered unless 2 things occurred:

1. The student must risk making a mess of things by trying to use their smart brain and solve the issue on their own.
2. Talk to their peers at their table (9 times out of 10, kids figure it out with each other)

The message to kids is clear, and they hear it every day:

"I hope things don't go perfectly for you today.  That's boring.  The fun is when you have to figure things out!  And boy, doesn't it feel good when you are able to solve the problem?"   

As a result, the Kindies love to excitedly cheer and shout out, "Teacher, Teacher, look....I have a problem!!!!" They have no idea how to solve the tech issue, but are just happy to have a problem.  The point is to set a positive mindset.  Model that solving problems is fun, not frustrating.  

        

When completed, all the "Selfies are printed in color and hung up (see examples above).  However, it is made clear that any spelling mistakes will not be printed..."google the word, you'll figure it out," is a commonly used phrase.  The colorful work covers the walls of the GeekLab.  The kids love coming in to see all the "geeks".  

Students roll through the Lab for 1-week/month as part of a specials rotation.  This project does not take the 4th and 5th graders a week.  So as kids finish the project, they move on to the Creative Challenge.  They are asked to think about the apps they have used.  Can they figure out how to create an image of them walking on the moon?  Swimming with a Great White?  Climbing the Pyramids?  This lends itself to design elements such as lighting and shadowing.  It is amazing what kids create.  Many classrooms took these projects back into the classroom and used them for creative writing projects. 

At the end of the week, Several students move beyond the Creative Challenge where they get a taste of green-screen technology using the Doink Green Screen app (not free + $30 for green screen materials on Amazon).  

The students do not ever receive a unit on digital citizenship.  Instead they receive instruction on digital citizenship EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.  In this Selfie unit, students used an app where adds constantly pop up.  What a great opportunity to discuss the purpose of adds and how to handle them appropriately/responsibly as professional students.  They use images from the web: a perfect opportunity to learn about appropriate use and copyright.  GoogleDrive lends itself to a host of issues with the sharing of photos.  You could hear a pin-drop as shocking stories of past mistakes are told. Every unit has its own lessons on digital citizenship.  

From time-to-time a student will have an error in judgement.  THUS elementary school is the perfect environment to make those mistakes and learn about appropriate behavior so as to avoid dangerous decisions later in High School.

The Selfie project is a huge hit every year.  The students are always highly engaged.  The lab becomes a social place for students to design and create together.  Can't wait for next week!

The Geek Lab

The GeekLab

A few days ago I was working with a group of 1st Graders in a Technology/STEM specials rotation.  We were learning a bit about programming logic through the customization of the game, FlappyBird.  I was not stunned when every boy & girl, was highly engaged with this exploration of programming logic.  I was, however, surprised when one student, Peter, opened up the Element Inspector within the site and started changing the appearance to many of the icons on the web page.  I said, "Peter!  This is amazing.  How did you figure out how to do this?"  He replied by explaining how he accidentally right clicked on a part of the page that gave him access to the Element Inspector.  He continued to click around and figured out how to change icons on the Flappy Bird page.  He spent the entire time manipulating the page instead of programming.  He made it clear that he knew what was going on when he started modeling the steps for a few of his buddies.  

This helped affirm something that's been gnawing in my gut over the last 2 years: In a traditional elementary school, the athletes have an outlet in P.E.  The musicians find a home in Music.  The artists love going to Art class.  But what about the geek?  We have a growing contingency of kids who love to tinker, build, and make through the use of logical reasoning.  Where do they go?  It is my firm belief that we need to add a new Specials to the elementary school.  We've also begun to see an explosion in the STEM movement: a fantastic way to integrate technology into the classroom.  Also, many schools have added "technology" as a rotation or hired an individual to coordinate technology with a classroom teacher to integrate with the curriculum.  We need to see continued growth in this area as technology standards increase for teachers.  But applying technology in the classroom is completely separate from what takes place in a GeekLab.  We need to serve the nerd and give these kids a place to explore freely.  I pose that we need a new movement.  We need a brand new program with a new set of standards for elementary schools to adopt.  Schools need to invest in a new Specials: Programming Logic.   I've searched far and wide for a curriculum that uses this term as its umbrella, but I've found nothing.  It does not exist. Nor do any standards live to support what a geek does. We are seeing a movement thanks to Hadi Parrovi and his Hour-of-Code.  But we need to take this further.  A geek needs a video-game-design-invention-kit-robotic-programming-3D Printing-Photoshopping-MovieMaking-SoundBoarding-MineCrafting-JavaScripting-Engineering-algorithm-rocket-building-quadcoptering place to tinker, create and make it possible to physically touch that which is imagined.   He or she needs to explore in a place where they make a ton of mistakes to finally arrive at a successful product.  Walls need to be filled with student-made quotes like the one from Edison: 

I have not failed (to make a lightbulb).  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

and
People tend to forget that play is serious (David Hockney)

and

Newbs only!

(And of course a solid representation of posters from StarWars, Lord of the Rings and Calvin&Hobbes.)

The room should be flexible with creative ways to sit, work & tinker.  Some kids stand, some kids sit, some like to chill-out on the floor.  The surfaces should be made available to support the jotting down of ideas &/or doodling with expo markers.  

I'm new at this.  And I'm certainly no where near the brightest of the bunch, but thanks to our savvy district and social networks, we've begun pursuing a variety of ways to explore programming logic in a maker-type of environment, but in a Special's rotation.  Here are a few things I've tried or will be attempting soon:

• Code.org
• Scratch
• Makey-Makey
• LittleBits
• Lego Robotics
• programming apps for the iPad
• Stop Motion Animation using iPad's, iMovie, GarageBand (Mac only)
• Photoshopping using iPad's
• Rubix Cube Algorithm
• Low Orbit Balloon Launch (Cherry Creek District initiative by Jon Pierce)
• Programming of Sphero's
• Primo

Some of these are free, some cost a little, some cost a lot.  But so does starting Music, PE, and Art programs.  In addition to each of these programs you have things like "field day" for PE. With Music you have performances.  With Art you have art-shows.  So, with Programming logic, you'd have Invention Fairs.  

I'm not saying that traditional technology classroom integration should evolve to this. STEM programs and Technology Educators will ALWAYS have a place to support the learning in the classroom.  The GeekLab aligns with the Arts, it's completely separate from the classroom curriculum.  We live in 2015.  Our kindies will be graduating in 2028. We should probably give them a place to freely take time to design, create, goof-up and apply logic & programming by the time they graduate.

CHVE STEM activities for Nov-Dec 2014, K-5

Image: Emily Haddon

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: Nov-Dec, 2014

Kindies - Our little guys started learning how to apply programming logic in code.org.  Try this at home:

• Mrs. Thomas' class
• Mrs. Barsch's class 

1st Grade

• Dance Mat Mondays!  Students practice proper typing technique by completing one stage.
• Engineering & Design with Lego's: In this week's project, students developed a simple fan and tested it's success.  This was followed by an exploration in gears. Students were then tasked with using their knowledge of gears to come up with a way to make their fans spin faster.  It was amazing to see what kids came up with. Click here to see an example.  Most of their work was documented using Wixie.
• Through the course of a week, students participated in "Hour of Code"... First, students logged into their "Code Accounts" by visiting our Learning Links and scrolling to the bottom of the page.  Here students are able to learn at their own pace and solve problems by applying logic using object oriented programming. Students extended this exploration in programming logic by learning a bit about Scratch.  Finally, students concluded the week with the iPad app, Kodable.

2nd-3rd Grade

• Dance Mat Mondays! 
• Remember these days?  Sitting at home on a Saturday in front of a 300 lb TV with a screen size that was 18"x18"? You jammed the cartridge into the Atari Console for the 3rd time cause the screen kept flickering.  When you finished, you walked around shaking your wrist cause you jammed the joy stick up in order for it to work at least 3 out of every 5 times.  Ahh, the classics were great.  It was time to bring this back.  Student were given a week-and-a-half to create a single-player verison of this game using the program Scratch.   Students did a great job and all their work was saved to the web to access anywhere.  As Scratch is a public Web-app, this gave us the opportunity to cover the value of being extremely careful with identity.

4th Grade 

• Makey Makey Mini Fair!  Students were introduced to our new set of Makey Makey kits.  Students used these kits "to turn everyday objects into an interactive touchpad".  Our key concepts for the week: open and closed ciruits.  Their imagination ran wild as they created everything from working cardboard piano's to video game controllers.  At the end of the week, students "toured" the room to interact with the ideas of their peers.  Our own little Makey-Fair!  

• During their second week, students were given the opportunity to work with SketchUp, google's 3-Dimensional design program.  Used most frequently for architecture, students were charged with the task of designing a doghouse while getting to know how to interact with a VERY difficult piece of software.  We modeled our work from YouTube video's.  If they can master a few basic functions in SketchUp, they will have the opportunity to turn their own design into reality using our MakerBot! 

5th Grade

• Students spent one week programming in Scratch. Their options for designing included: story creation, animation, game with multiple levels, maze game, Pong, target games, and scrolling games (like Super Mario Bros).  Those with something proud to share posted their work to the CHVE Studio where they all could comment and "favorite" each other's work. This lent itself to the perfect opportunity for learning about responsible online behavior.

• Lego Robotics + Scratch = 1 amazing week!  This was by far one of the most exciting weeks.  Students took their Scratch skills from the previous week and integrated them into the world of Legos.  In this week, through the motors and hubs from the Lego Wedo sets, students participated in a variety of Lego builds with the purpose of operating them from the Scratch website.  One group designed a race car that was programmed to move forward and backward on the ground.  The students in this group added to their programming to make their Lego car move forward/backward if math questions were answered correctly/incorrectly on the screen.  The goal was to get the Lego race car to the finish line (a piece of tape laid across the ground) Amazing creativity.  Can't wait for what the next week will bring!