Alligator Lego Robots

            This week in technology Mr. Gersten's 5C class is building alligator Lego Robots, which is super fun! Some of the the Lego vocabulary that we will be focusing on this week is belts, motion s
ensor, and pulley. Right before we started building our Lego Robots we watched a video of what we will be building. The video was about two little kids Max and Mia who were at a beach, Max was wearing a hat, and his hat got blown  away and then went into the alligators mouth.

     
        I asked the class if they were having fun, and I got an immediate response YES! Were definitely keeping up the good work.

Fifth Grade Technology Class Coding

This week. our technology class is focusing on computer science.  During computer science, we type lines of code.  Code is pretty much a type of computer language. For example if you were creating an application you would use code.  To use code, you would program lines of commands. Most common demands for an application is to take a step forward or turn right.  Using these commands (and many more types of commands) you link it all together and you just wrote a line of code.  Also, when your coding there is something called a  loop is when you type a line of code, and you want your program to repeat that. You put those commands on a loop so it replays it without typing all of those codes over and over.  A loop is a shortcut and makes your code easier to run.  That's only a little part of code to make an application or a program.  Remember, computer science is very tough and takes practice to get familiar with code. 

Voila...Digital Citizenship Film Fest: Rollling Out the Red Carpet

We finally finished all of our videos that are meant to teach our parents about digital citizenship.  I mean why not flip the learning, right?  As Grace stated in class today, "I was surprised by how much I learned about this topic.  There was so  much I didn't know".  We enjoyed making our movies so much that we didn't even realize that we were learning.  We could have spent days and days editing but since time doesn't grow on trees, we had to accept that a movie is NEVER done and appreciate the process as much as the product.  One thing became clear though, when Mrs. Brown said that we were going to share our videos with the world, we must not have believed her because some of us forgot to omit our last names from our movies.  Alas, we won't be able to share them on our blog and now we know we absolutely cannot include such personal information.  It is for our own safety.  Therefore, we will be sharing and reflecting on our videos and their content within the confines of our classroom.  However, we now know that to share with the world we must follow some simple rules to stay safe.   As we reflect on our creations, we will focus on the following questions:
1. What was most challenging about this project?
2. What was it like to work on a team and really have to rely on each other?
3. What would we do differently next time?
4. What aspect of this project was most challenging?
5. What did we learn about technology, in general?
6. How will we continue to be leaders in teaching our peers about digital citizenship?
7. What was most fun about this project?
8. What surprised us most in doing this project?

Now that we know more about being digital citizens, we look forward to creating a digital footprint that we can all be proud of as we grow.

Lights, Camera, Action by Mrs. Brown

Today I find myself guest-blogging on my student's blog so that they can work diligently on their projects without missing a beat.  Right now, they are in the process of filming their scripts to teach our parent community about how to "protech" themselves and be star digital citizens.  Some groups are using ipad 2's to film and some are using Flip cameras.  Each of the six groups are taking different approaches to their short film.  Some students are using text effects to get their points across whereas some students are filming scenes that outline what to do and what not to do in being good digital citizens.  One group is interviewing adults that have good digital footprints and can shed some light on ways to stay safe online and be proud of their online persona.  The possibilities are endless but one thing remains clear: the students are invested in getting their points across.  As we wrap up our filming, tomorrow we will begin editing with iMovie.  We look forward to sharing our finished products!  Stay tuned....