8th grade
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.
8th grade project spotlight: Cillian
Dec 18th
8th grade student Cillian is working on an independent project with Passports with Purpose, a fundraiser that is using online donations to build a school in Cambodia.
Cillian is using his skills as a programmer to help out with this project, which was recently featured online by the New York Times. Take a moment to enjoy an interview with Cillian:
Community class focused on digital identity
Dec 17th
The new group of 8th graders enrolled in Community Class have turned their attention to digital identity in preparation for a January 20th presentation to parents.
The Parent Education committee has requested an evening to discuss “what exactly do students know about social networking and tech usage in general.” The 8th grade sees this as an opportunity to educate parents about screen-time, gaming and social networks and to teach parents what kind of questions to ask.
The class has split into 3 groups:
- Parent/Teacher survey about screen-time and online habits, both for the parent and for their children
- Student survey about digital device interaction (texting, accessing media, gaming, etc)
- An online resource website for parents with links to studies, news stories and FAQ around digital identity.
Results will be posted once data gathering is complete!
Chemists use YouTube to understand scientific concepts
Dec 1st
8th graders appeared in the lab this afternoon to take advantage of our Promethean interactive whiteboard. Students researched chemistry concepts online and shared some resources through a collaborative document. In the below photos, students use YouTube to understand diffusion.
Documenting community
Dec 1st
One 8th grade class is photographically documenting the meaning of the word “community.” After an introduction to some well known photographers, students used our new interactive white board to sort thumbnail images into a Venn diagram (shown below). We differentiated between artists that convey their theme purely through subject and composition v. those that use treatments after shooting to express themes.
Students then took to the streets to capture the Green Lake community. Once back in the lab, most chose to use a Hockney-esque treatment to convey their theme.
Chemistry – lemon batteries
Oct 30th
By Annaliese F. and Cillian M.
parts of a battery
On Wednesday, October 21st, the 8th grade class A created actual working batteries out of nothing but copper rods, zinc coated nails, and lemons. The lemon batteries were connected to LEDs by alligator clips, and the LEDs actually lit up! You might wonder how a plain old lemon can power a light. It all has to do with the acid in the lemon juice. Normal batteries work by having an anode, which is the + side, and a cathode, which is the – side. The anode and the cathode are separated by an acidic solution, which contains positively and negatively charged ions. An ion is an atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons. The positive ions are attracted to the cathode (+ attracts –) and are called cations. Likewise, the negative ions are attracted to the anode and are called anions. The acid is known as an electrolyte because it conducts electricity. This is because of the presence of ions. In our lemon batteries, the copper rod acted as an anode, the zinc coated nail acted as a cathode, and the lemon juice acted as the acid. We connected all 14 of our lemons, linked it up to two LEDs, and turned off the lights. The attached pictures capture the moment that they were lit. To quote a famous man: “It’s Science!!!”
Do you want a new cell phone?
May 12th
During this year’s design week, one group studied the theme of “cycles” by looking at product cycles. As a part of their exploration, this group examined consumer cycles and the need for the newest, fanciest new products. This often has a big effect on our environment, especially when it comes to electronic devices like cell phones, computer, printers and anything made of computer chips and plastic.
8th grade student Michael created a short video game that illustrates this problem.
Special thanks to artist Chris Jordan for permission to use his incredible photo of discarded cell phones.
For more information, check out the EPA’s “cell phone life cycle poster.”
Scratch Game goes live
Mar 12th
8th grade student Sinclair just released his first video game, created using Scratch.
Players can choose to play the game in easy, medium or hard mode. Every game gets more difficult as the score increases. Backgrounds change colors, there are sounds when you intersect the goals or obstacles and the baddies move faster the longer you play. Try your hand at, “GAME”:
