Welcome to NCS-Tech!

Good morning all,

Today’s featured site comes to us by way of the outstanding Diigo Educators group, but alas, I don’t recall WHO shared it, I think I have 87 Firefox tabs open at the moment and have lost track! Thank you, whoever you are!

Computer Capers is just a small part of the free and amazing Buddy Project, the work of innovative education and industry leaders based in Indiana who set up a resource site in 1988 for teachers everywhere. Currently in its second iteration, the Buddy2 project focuses on using technology to enhance learning. I encourage you to explore the entire site but want to talk specifically about the section called “Computer Capers.” It’s a treasure trove for classroom teachers and computer lab folks like me all at the same time!

Basically, Computer Capers is an enormous, easily searchable collection of cross-curricular lessons, tied to Indiana state standards, grouped by grade level. The heart of the system is the database search function. You can browse the collection by month and year, or, search by keyword, grade & topic. You can join their free monthly mailing list too.

What I like best about this site are the creative, fun, easy-to-scaffold lessons. Here’s a great example: “Crack the Code Valentines.” Simple, straightforward and engaging, this lesson uses a spreadsheet to encourage the kids to develop their own cipher and encode a secret Valentines message. Along the way, kids are learning basic spreadsheet formatting and data entry skills, in addition to being provided a great context to discuss patterns and ciphers in general. I found many other similar projects when browsing the collection; you’re bound to find several usable ideas. Check out Computer Capers today!

Hope this helps,

-kj-

Ok, so our Third Grade team is willing to give my “Four-in-a-Row Pilot” idea a try. Basically, instead of meeting once a week for 42 minutes, four times a month, we’ve agreed to meet four days in a row for 42 minutes, once a month. (Here are some visuals explaining the current and new schedules.) Contact hours won’t change, but, our hope is that four sessions in a row will make it easier for us to do more substantial, differentiated and globally connected projects.

I’ve got an idea for a third grade lesson on the solar system and would love your input. Trying to decide if this is asking too much, or, if it will be a fun, effective lesson kids will remember for a long time.

Mrs. Notaro’s students will just be starting a unit on the solar system when we return from winter recess. Kids have been making dioramas like this since forever. Solar System PowerPoint presentations are nearly just as common. I’m thinking, why not try something a little more adventurous? Why not have them recreate a scale model of the universe, with themselves as planets, and then produce a short movie about the process?

The first problem I see with this idea is that if we’re going to make it to scale, we need, according to the this National Optical Astrononmy Observatory lesson plan, a workspace 1,000 yards long! Ooops, that’s not happening. Certainly not in the middle of winter in the northeast United States. Perhaps there is a way to get this approximately right within the space we have available? (I wonder if the school gym is free…)

We have 24 kids, and so I’m thinking three teams of eight … give them the responsibility to research and create a five minute video illustrating facts about themselves (one of the planets), their relationship to the other planets (approximate distance, in terms they can relate to) and most of all, a movie of the entire solar system “in action,” that is, all of the kids orbiting the sun while rotating on their own axes. We could even have them create simple costumes if they wanted, but I’m more interested in seeing them research their planets and preparing a short oral summary (maybe with a visual aid or two) they would use in the video.

The cool part about this is that the team of 8 students could divide the work up any way they wanted, based on interest, ability, skill … maybe have a team of kids work on the research (using sites like http://nineplanets.org), others on storyboarding the movie, still others on the actual script, others on the actual movie production, or even props. Those that finished early could assist in other areas or use the time to work on keyboarding skills. Those who needed extra time could take it.  In the end we’d judge the movie (we’ll need a rubric, yikes!).

What do you think? Could we pull this off in four 42-minute class periods?

What should I add? Remove? Reconsider?

Comments would be sincerely appreciated!

-kj-

Image credits – diorama: Mike Monteiro; planets: National Optical Astrononmy Observatory; Flip video camera: Michael Conick.

… are now available on the Lessons page! Highlights include a LEGO Digital Designer project (Fourth Grade), learning about leaves with our QX5 Microscopes (First and Second Grade), Halloween Safety Tips Posters (Third Grade), and a Kidspiration activity in Kindergarten! Enjoy!

-kj-

… are posted and ready for review on the Lessons page!

… are now available. Click here!