notes from the tech lab
6th Grade
Tech class happenings.
Where do we go from here?
Dec 14th
The 6th grade concluded Internet boot camp this week. Everyone is clear on why Billings provides computers and Internet access and their responsibilities as users. We took a moment to define some common terms that will be used throughout their middle school technology experiences.
Student definitions:
| Web broswer | an application used to connect to the internet. |
| Application (app, program) |
software that can be installed on a computer to complete a task. |
| Software | a set of instructions telling a computer what to do when it receives input from a keyboard or mouse. |
| Search engine | a website you visit using a web browser so that you can find information on the internet. |
The difference between a web browser and search engine has been murky in the past for some students. We reinforced our Microsoft Excel skills from STeM class to build a comparison chart:
| Company | Web Browser | Search Engine |
| Microsoft | Internet Explorer | Bing |
| Chrome | ||
| Apple | Safari | x |
| Yahoo! | x | Yahoo! |
| Mozilla | Firefox | x |
| Wolfram | x | WolframAlpha |
| Opera | Opera | x |
Scratch Lab Lunches
Dec 8th
As the weather turns colder (22 Degrees F this morning!) some students are opting to eat lunch indoors. A group of 6th graders have organized a Scratch Lab Lunch series – Tuesdays upstairs. Today was our largest showing yet…5 students worked on various personal projects.
One team conceived and executed a brand new game, available to play below. Coding by Ben, artistic direction by Milo, and creative suggestions by Truman. This game was built in about 30 minutes…there is still a little debugging to do. Enjoy!
Objective: move the cows to the mothership
Directions: use the arrow keys to navigate and the space bar to deploy your tractor beam.
Smart surfing, smart emailing
Dec 4th
The 6th grade continued their foray into the wild Internet today with a lesson on phishing and tips on identifying suspect URLs. Students got the chance to play Anti-Phishing Phil, a teaching tool developed at Carnegie Mellon that helps students spot questionable internet addresses. All are encouraged to try playing the game in their free time.
We also continued our discussion about email. Students got their school email accounts last week and tested the service by sending emails back and forth. This week, we talked specifics:
What is SPAM?
Student definition: any email you get that you didn’t ask for and didn’t want. This means you can get SPAM from someone you know!
What is sarcasm?
Student definition: jokes or messages that mean the opposite of what the words say. You can tell sarcasm by how people say something with their tone of voice or body language – eye rolling, head shaking, etc.
Because an email doesn’t contain these non-verbal cues, sarcasm is really hard to figure out when words are just on a page or screen. Some people use emoticons or text language (j/k, lol, etc) to try and give readers a hint about their intent – but as a general rule, we avoid sarcasm in emails so that our friends don’t get the wrong message.
Billings – digital style
Nov 20th
Ah, the moment many 6th graders have been waiting for – the introduction of an asynchronous form of communication using technology – email!
Just before we head to Thanksgiving break, students are introduced to their own school email accounts – to be used for connecting with teachers, parents and other students. There are a few very clear rules that we have to have in place in order to enjoy our email experiences:
- computers, email, and internet access are provided for academic uses
- our school is a safe place – no harassing messages should be sent to others
- we use email to transmit important information – no spamming others
Students went over the To, CC, BCC, Subject and Body fields. We learned to accept the security certificate and sent a test email.
We also took some time to review the logic statement (if-then-else) that we practiced last week.
Scratch re-runs!
Nov 14th
6th graders are excited about Scratch! After last week’s introduction to this amazingly free 2-D animation software students demand more time to get to know the ins and outs of programming.
This week we looked at a specific type of script – the logic statement (also sometimes referred to as an if-then-else statement). We started our day in the Lab Annex with post-it notes and a random name selector (slips of paper in a box). As students names were pulled out of the box, they brought one element of a program up to the board…either an “if”, a “then”, or an “else” statement. Once our programs were built, we ran them!
Some class favorites were:
IF you are Jac,
THEN eat a post-it note,
ELSE sit down.
IF you have an older brother,
THEN do 10 push-ups,
ELSE go to sleep.
IF you have a dog,
THEN sing the “Elmo” song,
ELSE bite your thumb 15 times.
Everyone quickly came to understand logic statements, so we headed to the computers to create them using Scratch. Results were really cool – spinning breakdancers, jumping cats, singing fish and more!
As a stretch, a few students learned about broadcasting – sending a trigger from one object to another to activate a script. Broadcasting allows our sprites to interact with each other…we’ll be looking at this further before the end of the term.
Scratch your brain
Nov 6th
The 6th grade makes magic happen with an introduction to Scratch – a free introduction to programming from MIT. This amazing program lets users create animations and games without writing code.
The interface is much like a play or musical. Every actor (sprite) needs a script to follow, a costume to wear and a stage to stand on. Our first day was mostly play, but in the near future we’ll use this software to learn about coordinates (math), boolean search terms (research) and logic statements (life!).
Students are encouraged to help their parents install the program so the fun can continue at home!
Click and hold your mouse to check out this Scratch art project by current 8th grade student Gabe.
SynchronEyes your learning
Oct 30th
This week the 6th grade was introduced to technology as a medium for communication. We differentiated between synchronous and asynchronous communication, and played with a public chat space on the school’s network.
Students also used the interactive board to collect data about frequency of computer, television, cell phone and internet use among students. This data was graphed on the big screen, supporting the learning from math and science classes.
Finally, we talked about the idea of digital natives and digital immigrants. Ask your student to explain the difference!
6th grade blasts off!
Oct 23rd
Only half of the 6th grade made it to tech this week, because of conferences. We spent the day exploring the lab computers and learning about 2 programs that support the work that is going on in Science and STEM.
Microsoft Student has an interactive learning tool that explores how speed and angle effect orbits. We spent some time playing with the 2 variables to create circular and elliptical satellite rotations.
The rest of our time was spent in Google Moon (a feature of Google Earth). On the Moon, we found evidence of humans (decommissioned, crashed satellites), entered panoramic photographs taken by real astronauts on their visits, tracked the paths of rovers that have been deployed, viewed video footage on lunar landings from YouTube, and overlayed historic maps of the Moon’s surface. In the process, we learned to use Google Earth’s layers and navigation controls.
Picky Passwords
Oct 15th
Picking a good password might not seem like a very important skill, but after today’s class all of the 6th graders can tell you otherwise.
Chester Bennington, the lead singer of the band Linkin Park used an easy password (his middle name) and it caused his life over a year’s worth of frustration, confusion and stress (please note: the Wired.com article contains direct quotes with strong language). 6th graders heard this tale of grief, confusion, sleuthing and nuclear facilities.
Here are some handy password tips the 6th grade came up with:
- Use UPPER and lowercase letters
- Use numbers – replace an “o” with a zero or an “i” with a 1
- Use symbols – replace an “a” with the @ symbol
- Make your password a passphrase – 2 or more words together
- Make your password at least 8 letters long
Eliot explains lab guidelines
Sep 24th
Thanks to our guest instructor, 3 month old Eliot (see presentation below)! 7th and 8th grade are ready to move full steam ahead with all computers and full internet access after reviewing lab and internet guidelines, demonstrating an understanding of password-protection, and learning about Google Apps for Edu.
Note to everyone: The School provides online typing instruction to ANY Billings student interested in improving the speed and/or accuracy of their typing. Just check in with Jac for an account. (6th grade students are all assigned an account and are expected to use it regularly.)
