6th Grade- "If You Really Knew Me..." Project Update

Because of Hurricane Sandy, the deadline for the Language Arts Scratch "If You Really Knew Me" project was moved to today.  All final projects will be posted on my Scratch gallery by the end of the day today.  Check them out!

6th Grade- "If you Really Knew Me..." Project

6th graders are starting their Scratch "If You Really Knew Me" projects this week.  After finishing their "The View from Saturday" discussions in Language Arts class, they had a challenge day where they shared  stories about themselves as a way to get to know each other better and build community.  As a follow-up to their class discussions, students are now creating Scratch projects about themselves in Technology class.  The projects include a background, a narrative which will be recorded, and an avatar, a virtual version of themselves.  The final projects will be posted on one of my scratch website galleries so students can view each other's projects before departing for Hulbert.

6th Grade Scratch in the Classroom

6th Grade students are starting to use MIT's programming environment called Scratch.  Their first assignment will begin when they finish reading and discussing "The View From Saturday" in Language Arts class.  They are learning how to use the software by completing the Scratch Cards and several mini projects.

6th Grade Update- September in Review

6th graders started their year in technology organizing their network folders on our school server for storing electronic schoolwork such as PowerPoint presentations and Word documents as well as getting acquainted with their brand new BB&N GMail accounts.  Earlier this week students set up blogger accounts for both history and language arts blogs.

Please ask your child to tell you about SmartMoves, a "body puzzles for the mind" program I am trying out with the students this year for transitioning into the classroom and improving focus.  "SmartMoves is an award-winning cognitive fitness program that combines music and movement to transform the classroom and change the way students learn."  (http://shop.fablevisionlearning.com/smartmoves/learnmore/overview/fa/shop.detail/productid/2564/)  

Reflecting on B-12 English Department Meeting

At our recent B-12 cross-divisional faculty meeting the English Department shared a variety of technology-related projects. From the Lower School we heard about Dibels reading assessment software, Lexia software for students' self-paced reading instruction, and Scratch programming projects for developing facility with oral and multimedia expression. From the middle school we watched several student-produced videos that demonstrated a high level of engagement with their novel study and great use of video-editing as a publishing format. From the upper school we heard about the advantages of class blogs and FirstClass conferences for communication and passing of electronic documents.

We also heard about Ms. Kornet's "ning" project for her class's study of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. [A ning is a social media platform on which participants have a profile page, blog, and discussion threads, as well as a feed of all activity on the site, not unlike Facebook.] In Ms. Kornet's project each student assumes the role of one of the characters from the novel and participates on the ning in the manner of that character. Students don't learn the assumed identities of their classmates until the end of the project. Here is a screenshot from the ning site (click on it to enlarge and read the content.) What a wonderful way to build engagement with this novel!

What struck me about this meeting of the English Department was not only the great number of innovative "tech" projects going on (and great teachers!), but also that our basic curricula around reading, writing, and oral expression has in many respects adopted digital tools that we take for granted. For instance, the use of word-processing, keyboarding, and reading online didn't come up as a topic at this particular meeting. I think this is because these tools are embedded on a daily basis we don't necessarily think of them as "tech," and certainly not as innovative. Part of my role is to articulate our vision of what we ask ourselves and our students to do with technology, and I think we are well-positioned to consider next steps in our basic expectations for routine use of digital tools for all students. For example, all students should learn to produce compelling written text published digitally that has embedded hyperlinks and multimedia elements that model current best practices of publishing on the web. Students should gain fluency and independence communicating and writing collaboratively using free tools like Google Docs and personal blogs. Students should routinely use digital tools for brainstorming, bookmarking, and citing sources. Students should gain experience and support with non-linear but focused patterns (and habits of mind) of reading online. I think we have several shining examples of these technologies in our classrooms, but I'd encourage us to move from conceptualizing them as "tech" and move towards the day when these will be the tools we take for granted, embedded across the curriculum. 

Lastly, in relation to our English curriculum I'd echo nearly every library mission statement I've ever read which is encouraging a lifelong love of reading. We want our students to truly enjoy reading and writing in all its forms. This is a good topic for a future meeting, and when we work together, teachers, librarians, and technologists we are the better for it. I welcome your comments and reactions, and encourage your participation in this digital text forum by use of the "comments" feature below.

6th Grade "If You Really Knew Me" Scratch project

Sixth grade students at BB&N just completed their first Scratch project of the year. This collaborative Language Arts and Technology project supported the students’ reading of “The View from Saturday,” which involved a mini Challenge Day where students shared a piece of themselves with their classmates. Check out the online gallery of the students' final projects, and let them speak for themselves!

-Jaime Goldstein and Megan Haddadi

SmartBoard in Upper School Science

Newsflash- new SmartBoard in the Upper School Science department! Rachel Riemer gets a SmartBoard in her classroom as part of the science lab construction over the summer. Since Rachel has wanted this SmartBoard in her classroom for years, the board has been in constant use since its installation. For tips and tricks, see Rachel.

In addition, please see the resource pages below:

Teaching with SmartBoards

Smart Exchange:

Math (Algebra)

Science

English/Language Arts

History/Social Studies

Geography

World Languages

Art

Music

-Letitia

ATS Picks 10/8/10

1) Ways to Use Voicethread in the Classroom

The Digital Library is a database of articles about successful VoiceThread projects. Our hope is to create a resource that offers guidance and inspiration for people undertaking new projects.

2) Internet4Classrooms... Helping You Use the Internet Effectively

At this site there are a large number of games that kids can play that help review math, social studies and language arts skills. The games are organized by grade level and the site is very easy to navigate.

3) Sketchcast... a New Way to express yourself

Record a sketch with or without voice. Explain something, have fun, or create art. Then embed the sketch player in your blog or point people to your sketch channel.

4) VocabGrabber- Visual Thesaurus

VocabGrabber analyzes any text you're interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context. Just copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and then click on the "Grab Vocabulary!" button. VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from your text, which you can then sort, filter, and save.

Select any word on the list and you'll see a snapshot of the Visual Thesaurus map and definitions for that word, along with examples of the word in your text. Click on the word map or the highlighted word in the example to see the Visual Thesaurus in action.