4th Grade Update- April in Review

4th graders have been particularly excited to come to technology class over the last couple of weeks because we have started using Scratch.  Scratch is a programming environment created by the MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten group about 6 years ago.  If your child is really interested in Scratch, it is available for download FREE from the scratch website.  A new beta version of Scratch 2.0 is also available if students want to explore it.

Students have been learning how to use Scratch by completing the Scratch cards provided by MIT.  This week students are also starting to learn how to use the LEGO WeDo kits with Scratch by completing the "Scratch and WeDo Getting Started" activities with partners.  Pretty soon they'll be building LEGO models that can interact with the Scratch programming environment with motors and sensors.

Update on LEGO WeDo at the Lower School

4th grade students just completed their second LEGO WeDo creation and are beginning their third model. Students built and programmed a mechanical lion that makes sounds and is motorized to lift and lower its front legs as if it is sitting up and lying down. They “trained” their lions to sit up and roar, then lie down and snore when they threw it a “bone” made with a tilt sensor. Now the students are in the process of building a mechanical bird that makes sounds which are activated by manually tilting the bird up and down to lift and lower its head and flap its wings.
(The looks of surprise captured on the children's faces in the photograph above are due to the lion's head popping off as the students were trying to figure out the correct motor power and number of rotations required to make the lion sit up properly.)

-Megan Haddadi

WeDo at the Lower School

This week, 4th graders at BB&N will be using the LEGO WeDo kits for the first time. Their first project will be to build and program an alligator that opens and closes his mouth in response to sensing an object in front of the motion sensor in his mouth. Check back for updates.