notes from the tech lab
8th grade
Mesopotamia Illuminated
Aug 18th
8th grade Integrated Human Sciences students decided to share their understanding of Mesopotamia through a massive collaborative project. Students worked with teachers Rebecca and Sarah to research, organize, delegate, and proof a 260-slide presentation. The result is phenomenal:
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:
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:
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.
Digital Arts updates
Apr 30th
The tech lab is the place to be on Monday and Wednesdays afternoons. 2 weeks into DigiArts, students are knee-deep in a variety of excellent projects:
- Jake successfully installed Linux on a donated computer and also harvested motors from a DVD/VCR combo unit.
- Alex is trying to change the infrared filter on an old video camera to capture a light spectrum invisible to the human eye.
- Ella and Cillian have got the Arduino boards communicating with a couple of lab computers, and are writing basic programs (so far just output but soon we’ll tackle input as well).
- Rachel, Torri, Remy, Charlie and Griffyn are working on 3 different screenplays and will begin filming next week.
- Noah completed his first hand-coded website. Click here to view his iPad review and then click here to learn more about it.
- Lexi is recording a reharmonization of a Miley Cyrus song.
- Mike dismantled a laptop and is ordering a couple of kits from the MakerShed.
- Elijah has been working with a mixing board for turntables and an old Yamaha keyboard.
Community class sets their sight on a site
Apr 19th
8th grade students have begun their final rotations this year, meaning 14 soon-to-be graduates have cycled up to the tech lab for Community Class. Students already had a strong understanding of the definitions and complexity of community, having recently spent a week studying the subject with a variety of teachers and team-based activities.
Past groups have explored community from different angles: 1st term focused on community service and documenting our neighborhood, 2nd term surveyed the student population and shared findings of digital identity with the parent community. This term, the group is planning on creating a website for future Billings students that documents all of the trips students take over the course of 3 years.
This website will be a team effort and will include trip overviews, maps, photos, do/don’t lists, gear lists, how-to videos and more. Stay tuned as our website takes shape!
Google Apps for Edu updates
Apr 12th
Teachers, 7th and 8th grade students use Google Apps for Edu daily to collaborate, present, capture information, and express creativity. Google just announced an upgrade to the system with some great new features that will help us be more productive. Watch the official video for more information:
2010 digital identity survey results – cell phones
Feb 20th
The 8th grade Community class has been analyzing the results of their 2010 Digital Identity Survey. 88 students (out of 103) completed the request for information. There is a lot of information to work through – from social networking accounts to gaming consoles to parent perceptions of tech use. Below is a small sample: student cell phone ownership and texting trends.
Applied Math Lab: Avalanche!
Feb 11th
8th grade students have been learning about the aspects of avalanches as well as safety and awareness (partly in preparation for the February snow camping trip). They simulated three different avalanche terrains on a flat board, and used flour, salt, sugar, and potato flakes to simulate varied snowpacks. As they increased the angle of the board, they measured the angle of incline as they observed what was happening to the different layers. They looked for slab and loose avalanches and reported at what angle they occurred as well as the distance of the slide. They used their data to derive generalizations about snowpack and incline in nature.
Applied Math Lab: Newspaper = Structure
Feb 4th
The engineering section of 8th grade Applied Math Lab (AML) has just finished a unit on structure building. Using a required number of newspaper sheets, students worked in groups to create a structure that could withhold the weight of one small book, two small books, a math book…?!, a dictionary…?!, two dictionaries…?!, all of this combined, and more! Students followed a design process that included building, testing, evaluating, and redesigning.
