Independent Project Spotlight: Jake
Jul 31st
Recent graduate Jake made a short film about one of his independent projects from DigiArts. Students Noah and Lexi assisted with the filming.
Jake blended low-tech objects (M&M container, string, rings) and high-tech (i-Pod, scavenged speaker) to create the illusion. His magic left viewers speechless:
Last 6th grade tech of the year :(
Jun 4th
The last tech class of the year ended as we began – out of the lab in a group discussion.
We started by using emoticons to share our feelings about our tech journey coming to an end. Some students felt 
and others 
or 
Students shared their favorite technology experiences this year:
- writing and executing programs with post-it notes
- independent projects
- visiting technologists
- revolution vs. evolution
They also offered suggestions for improvements next year, ranging from school-provided laptops to more time in the lab.
Finally, our conversation turned to summer plans. We talked about healthy screen time, concerns over cell phone over-usage and non-tech related summer activities. The 6th grade is planning on an amazing summer outdoors – some activities they’ll be engaged in include:
- parkour summer camp
- dog walking
- swimming
- playing checkers and other board games
- tennis
- ultimate frisbee camp
- writing letters
- learning a new language
- basketball
- cooking
Thanks everyone for a great year, 7th grade will be even more amazing!
Project spotlight: Noah & Digital Arts
Jun 3rd
8th grade student Noah, one of the co-founders of the Billings Digital Arts program, just completed a circuit-bending project using a Speak & Math. He used Reed Ghazala’s book as a reference and did some of the work at local create:space Metrix. Check out the video he posted:
Video game reflection
May 23rd
For the last month, 6th grade students have been chatting with professionals who use technology on a daily basis. Hopefully you’ve heard some stories about Michael’s (Google engineer) dog-friendly workplace or Emily’s (Cheezburger Network) love of music and reading when in middle school. If not, please ask your student, or visit the tech blog to get an overview (http://www.billingsmiddleschool.org/beta).
Our final guest speaker visited Friday and we had a presentation about how video games have shifted from text-based stories all the way to photo-realistic interactive movies. As always, students asked relevant questions and offered ideas for future products.
Towards the end of the class period our speaker showed off some amazing footage of their current video games. Part of these clips were graphically violent and may be on students’ minds. Some t-shirts and other give-aways were handed out, some of which depict these ads. Here are a few questions you might consider engaging your student with:
What makes video games so much fun to play?
Do you think video games can affect your mood?
Does your body and mind react differently to violence in a video game rather than in a movie?
Does your body and mind react differently to violence in a video game rather than in the real world?
How do you know if you’ve been looking at a computer or tv screen too long?
Our speaker also talked about the need for families to have clear rules about how much game-play is appropriate. His teen has a “1 hour per day” policy, but duration might be dependent on age, personality, exercise, school performance, chore completion, etc.
Does your family have guidelines about gaming systems?
Do you understand the video game rating system ( http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp)?
Are you familiar with signs of video game addiction ( http://www.video-game-addiction.org/symptoms-computer-addiction-teens.html)?
Do your gaming systems use the internet to connect players to others around the world?
Is gaming a social or private activity at your house? Where is the console or computer located?
Do you have a clear plan for this summer (camps, sleepovers, trips) that creates a balanced environment beyond gaming and/or computing?
Tech in the News updates
May 23rd
7th grade is focused on technology in the news. The last few weeks we’ve been following the upcoming iPhone, Facebook privacy updates, and a lawsuit against Google for Street View information.
iPhone updates:
iPod touch with camera shows up in Vietnam
Apple loses a second 4th gen iPhone, new insights discovered
iPhone Finder Regrets His ‘Mistake’
Police Raid Gizmodo Editor’s House, Confiscate Computers
Facebook updates:
Facebook Users Plan to Quit the Service on May 31
Senators’ letter to Facebook
Facebook and Others Caught Sending User Data to Advertisers
Google Street View troubles:
Google faces U.S., German probes on data collection
Guest speaker: Gabe Newell of Valve
May 21st
Gabe Newell sat down with technology students today to speak about his rise from self-identified nerd to founder and CEO of Valve Software, a gaming and entertainment company with many successful titles including Left for Dead and Half Life.
Gabe showed us the first games he used to play with computers, punchcards and text-based strategy games. He talked about working at a tiny company while in college many years ago (by the name of Microsoft) before starting his own. We got to take a virtual tour of the Valve offices and watched some previews for some of the company games.
We learned about all that goes into making a video game – artwork, sound, a gaming engine, the actual code, and distribution channels. Companies need people with these skills in order to make successful products.
Gabe also talked about the need for families to have rules around how much time is healthy for adolescents to spend gaming per day/week. He likened Valve’s single-player game experiences to an interactive movie – you might watch a movie on the weekend but certainly wouldn’t think to watch movies non-stop from the time you wake up to when you go to bed.
Thank you Gabe for spending so much time with us and sharing your life!
Bike to School 2010
May 21st
Imagine combining a series of simple machines (lever, wheel & axle, screw, plane) that would allow you to travel faster than a human can run with less effort involved. And what if this new technology had close to no impact on the environment once it is built?
Well, the future is here! 13 students (13%) and 5 faculty/staff (17%) participated in Bike to School day today – flexing their understanding of technology and their muscles to brave the weather and power themselves to school.
Thanks to everyone who participated this year, and to the Cascade Bicycle Club and Gregg’s Greenlake cycle for the organization efforts.
Guest speaker: Michael from Google
May 17th
Class 6B were lucky enough to spend a class period with Michael, an engineer from Google who works on the Gmail team. Michael used Google Maps to show a street-view of his middle school in Alabama, and talked about how his life choices resulted in East and West Coast employment through his interest in technology. He shared screenshots of the code he creates everyday and explained how he spends his hours at work communicating with machines and people.
Thank you, Michael!
Summer technology opportunities
May 12th
Summer is fast approaching and students have been asking about technology and computing opportunities around town. Of course summer is a time to get away from a screen and explore a world of sunshine…that said, here are some offerings to compliment fresh air and exercise:
Lego Robotics @ Billings: Billings Middle School has our very own Seattle Lego Robotics camp, presented in conjunction with the amazing educators at EdLab. 2 sessions – August 2-6 and 9-13.
iD Gaming Academy: Held at the University of Washington, this 2-week overnight game development camp is a great opportunity to learn about video game creation. 6th grade student Gray says “you get to make your own unique game and play it as well as play other peoples games.”
911 Media Arts: Classes in making movies, digital storytelling, website design, and more.
Reel Grrls: Get hands on with animation and video production day camps – girls only!
TechReach: SeaBots – Dive into science. This girls only one-week camp is a great intro to programming and Lego robotics.
Youth in Focus: Intro to digital photography classes are offered 2x a week. Applications are due end of May.
