Students' Pixie Art

Student art is the prime decorative medium for any classroom - the computer lab is no exception.  This year, students of all ages who opted to give artwork to the teacher were able to add it to the window display next to the computer lab door, at the front of the classroom.  Here is our beautiful end-of-the-year filled-window masterpiece!  Stop by for an better look at this lovely artwork.

Almost summer...

Wow!  We've already reached the end of the school year!  It sure has been a busy one.

Man, if these walls could talk, what stories they would tell.  This year in the computer lab we:

• made movies
• learned about being safe online
• created our own songs
• learned how to use our computers with Windows 8
• learned how to use our new iPads
• created our own stop-motion animated shorts on the computer and iPad
• built and played through our own mini-golf courses
• built slides, swings, merry-go rounds, and roller coasters for "Little Suzy"
• brushed Mr. Giraffe's teeth and fixed his cavities
• created our own Pixie animal filled zoo
• learned about how the Internet works
• studied black holes
• created our own illustrations, graphics, and logos on the computer
• studied how sound is added to films 
• made posters all about being safe online
• made and sent Valentines to residents of a local nursing home
• learned about how Websites are made
• read books on the computer and using Tag readers
• created and illustrated our own books and stories 
• took photographs both serious and silly
• built houses, sundials, and even diamond machines in Minecraft
• learned how to type
• searched the Internet for informational texts, videos, and sound files
• played educational games 

...and more!  

It's been a busy, productive, and fun year in the computer lab.  As I am every June, I am excited for summer and so very proud of every single student's hard work, but a little sorry to see the year is over. Everyone have a safe, happy summer!  See you next fall! 

Technology Notes: Lower Elementary

This week students from the Lower Elementary class did a Wow Wow Wubzy! activity on the iPad.  After that, they did a creative story activity as a group with me.

 Here are the pictures they colored!

Middle Elementary Tech Notes

This week, middle elementary students (Team H2O) are trying something new in the computer lab!  Each student was able to have some "sandbox time" with Lego Digital Designer, after a very basic one-on-one introduction from the instructor.  Starting next week, we will be using Lego Digital Designer (free download available for PC and Mac) to review many important skills and tap into our creativity.  Students will eventually make their own digital Lego creation. Additionally, students enjoyed playing "Stack the States" on the iPads or exploring the fun world of reading using our Tag reader library and pens.

Middle School Film Festival a Success!

Thank you to everyone who was involved in our Middle School Film Festival.  It was a hit!  The students' videos were awesome, the students were excellent, supportive audience members...I am very proud of all of
them!  What a wonderful capstone to our movie-making unit in Technology.

Later on this weekend, I will be posting links to the videos on the middle school Facebook page.  The videos are uploaded through my YouTube account, but are unlisted.  That way, they are available to viewers who click the link, but not searchable. Watch for these awesome short films!

Thanks again!

Talent n' Tacos Commercials!

Check out these awesome student-made commercials for the Talent n' Tacos talent show (coming up on April 8)!

This one was made to entice watchers to buy tickets and come to our talent show!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dve94imIeA


This one was made to encourage students to audition for a spot as our talent!  Auditions are over - we have several different acts including 41 of our awesome students!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lgWDwVGFIE

Finally, here's an awesome Scratch animation commercial made by LH!  Great job!
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/techteacherkq/3200328

Check out these awesome ads!  And don't forget to send in your ticket orders by March 28!

Check out the Community School Computer Lab Zoo!

This week middle elementary and upper elementary students read "If I Ran the Zoo" on the iPad and drew their own zoo animal (real, imagined, or somewhere inbetween) for display as our computer lab artwork for Spring! Check it out!

Lower Elementary Tech Update

Today Lower Elementary Students (Beth's class) enjoyed musical Seussical activities in honor of both Read Across America month and Music in our Schools month!  On the computer, we explored the game "Horton Hears a Tune" on Seussville.com.  On the iPad, students tried the Seuss Band app, playing along with songs and making their own tunes.

Middle School Film Festival Rescheduled

The Middle Schoolers have been hard at work on their film projects.  As with many movie projects, we are a bit off schedule, and have pushed back our film festival date.  We will have our in-school film sharing activity for all middle school students on April 12, from 9-10 AM.

Talent Show Auditions!

Auditions for our Talent n' Tacos Talent show are here!  Students may audition on Fridays March 8 and March 15 during recess and lunchtime (11:45-12:30).  Every audition slot is 5 minutes long.  Students are encouraged to be prepared with their act prior to auditioning. Anyone who wants to audition can sign up in the music room (there is a clipboard with time-slots sitting in the window under the flag).

Coming Up!: Middle School Film Festival

This semester, middle school students have been using Technology time to create their own short films.  Students have been working hard, and have made some really wonderful, creative works.  Because films are made to be shared, we are going to have an in-school Film Festival for students on Friday, March 15 from 9-10 AM.  The films will be shared on the big screen in the computer lab (which will be transformed into a theater for the event).  Students are encouraged to really enjoy the event - if there is student interest, we may have a "red carpet", some light, breakfast-type refreshments, and plenty of opportunity to communicate our appreciation to our fellow film makers!  It looks like we will have about 11 short films to view, ranging in length from the very short (30 seconds) to the somewhat longer (10 minutes) - most films appear to run about 3-4 minutes.

Seminar Creative Projects

Seminar students are enjoying some time to work on creative projects while their classmates are away visiting Bolivia.  This week they turned in their own "rubric", or goal sheet, by which they will measure their success at the end of the project.  

FT is sharing his knowledge of Source SDK by Valve, a video game creation tool, with RB and LK.  They are learning how to create buildings, weather, landscapes, characters, and lighting effects.  They have the goal of creating a playable video game level!

GM, CW, and FJ are making Minecraft creations.  GM is creating her own "fun house", a thing of beauty and delight!  CW is making a "trap house", fraught with obstacles and trickery.  FJ is creating an exciting and engaging adventure map.

It is exciting to watch the projects unfold, and I look forward to enjoying the finished products.

Seminar Hero Story Presentations

On February 7, Seminar students shared their Hero Story presentations.  Here's a review of their awesome work!

• LK made a wonderful hero story based on his own experiences. 
• JH created an Adventure Map including many tricky, fun elements.  
• EK & GM told us the riveting story of Peyton's Revenge. The film was well written and very entertaining.
• FT created two video game levels. His lighthouse, complete with light, door, and the beginning of a winding staircase, was great! 
• DJ wrote a moving story featuring an inspirational Olympic swimmer.  
• GW created a Minecraft inspired animated short. 
• CW shared a story featuring a heroic bird and villainous zombie.
• FJ penned a very funny script for a humorous adventure movie featuring all his friends, and told us a bit about how to make a movie.

Tools used included:  MS Power Point, Minecraft (creative mode), iMovie, Source SDK by Valve, Scratch, and MS Word.  Students also reviewed skills including: online searches, proper use of flash-drives, sharing files and information via online communications tools (email, messaging), and saving pictures from devices to computers.

Technology Update: Lower Elementary

Lower Elementary students have almost completed their lessons on computer and online safety. We've spent about 5 weeks on the unit so far, and have one week left.  

We learned:

• It's important to know who we can trust (online and offline). 
• Always keep your personal information safe (like name, address, phone number, school name, and picture). It should only be shared with people you can trust. 
• It is best to use a nickname, or username, for online games and activities, and that nicknames shouldn't reveal anything personal.  Students came up with some great nickname ideas, like Pink Princess, Mikey (Mike is not in the student's name), Sit Dog, Banana, and Spiderman.  
• We heard some new computer vocabulary, including: privacy policy, terms and conditions, register, virus (including various sub-categories of viruses and other computer related problems, such as worms, malware, trojans, keyloggers and phishing), antivirus, password, and login. 
• If someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always ask an adult you trust! 
• A pop up is a window that opens on our screen that we didn't want or ask for.  Sometimes they can cause computer problems if you click them!  Students learned they can make them go away by clicking the red X, or call a trusted adult for help. 
• We should seek help right away if we think we see or click something dangerous online.  

Next week we will have our last online safety lesson.  We will be discussing cyber-bullying, and how we can make the Internet a nicer place to learn and play.

Technology Notes: Lower Elementary

We're continuing to learn about being safe online. We discussed who we can trust and who we cannot, in Hector's World and in our world! We heard the new vocabulary terms "Terms and Conditions" and "Privacy Policy". We colored a new book for Beth's class library.

Technology Update: Middle Elementary

Students in Keri's, Tulie's, and Andrea's class are going to be doing literacy activities in the lab for the next few weeks. We will use the Raz-Kids website, Tag Readers, and iPad kids-book apps. We will read books and play games related to subjects covered in our other classes (bodies, maps, outer space, and more!).

Welcome back!

Happy New Year!

Students in Seminar and Katrina's class continue to work on their hero story presentations. Students are using various devices, apps, and programs to make a presentation they will share the first week of February.