technology with intention
Projects
Tech-related projects from integrated subjects, digital arts and independent study.
Chromebooks in Middle School!
Billings recently purchased 30 Google Chromebooks for a pilot program across all three grade levels (6,7, & 8). We were looking for an easy and fast way for students to access web-based resources and since we’re a Google Apps for Ed school, Chromebooks made sense for us. So far the Chromebooks have been a rousing success. The kids have been using them in a variety of different classes; from science to geography to language arts to math.
Catherine, our 7th grade Geography teacher has been using the Chromebooks a lot in her classes. She comments, “the Chromebooks have put geography tools at my students’ fingertips and allow them to work simultaneously, but at their own speed. Doing so means kids can form a deeper understanding. For instance, while taking a Google Maps “tour” of Washington State, kids were able to develop the important navigating skills at their own pace, insuring the mastery of those skills. As I moved around the room, I could show more advanced tools to those who had already achieved the objectives of the lessons.”
Linda, 6th and 8th grade Language Arts teachers is excited about the mobility the Chromebooks provide. This allows students to work in comfortable spaces. The Chromebooks also allow for quick and easy research or other online activity (they log on in seconds).
But, in the interest of being fair, we have had some (minor) challenges with the Chromebooks. The touch pads are a little finicky at times and some kids have difficulty navigating sites like Google Maps. We’ve also found that at times the kids are tempted to play around online more with the Chromebooks because of their mobility (maybe they feel like no one is watching them work?) Now, these are not problems that don’t have relatively easy solutions. USB or Bluetooth mice are pretty inexpensive these days, and classroom management and boundaries are a reality with any tool.
Overall, it seems like the Chromebooks are a great tool for many classes so far. We’ll see how things go, but hopefully, we’ll continue to move forward. I’ll check in again as the school year continues.
Spreadsheets and Snowshoeing and Scratch, Oh MY!
Wow, sorry it’s been so long between posts. Between the Winter program, snow days, and Christmas break, we’ve been extremely busy!
The 6th graders have been working hard on learning the program Scratch, developed by MIT Media Lab. This is their first classroom experience with programming, and many of them are taking off and really enjoying it! So far, they have completed two of the four sets of challenges, and by the end of the unit, they will be able to use the program to create video games, animations and more!
7th grade has been working to develop their skills with spreadsheets, and are currently making their own “battleship” game with Microsoft Excel. This week we worked on using the “if” function with numbers and text. Pretty soon, we’ll be able to match up and play our games.
8th Grade has taken a little bit of a hiatus from the tech lab since they snowshoe on their day of tech class, but pretty soon we will be working to develop a survey for the entire school on uses of different technologies both in and out of the classroom. They started by thinking about how they effectively use technology at school and the different ways teachers at Billings use tech in the classroom to enhance learning.
What is “PLAY”?
656 days
What happens when you give 67 middle school students access to a camera, a question and no adult supervision?
Billings students receive an Eco-code award!
704 days
A few weeks ago, Ronan, Rebecca and Peter got together to reflect on the ways we are trying to be environmentally responsible as a school. This conversation turned into a rap, and other students contributed their voices. The result was sent off to the wonderful people at the National Wildlife Federation as an entry for their annual Eco-Schools USA celebration.
Congratulations go out to all the schools that entered – it is heartening to think that there are so many students in the world that are taking responsibility for the future and present of our planet.
Learn more about the contest on the National Wildlife Federation’s blog.
Billings Middle School Eco-School Eco-Code
729 days
As a proud member of the National Wildlife Foundation’s Eco-School partnership, Billings students took some time to reflect on some of the ways we try to be environmentally conscious as a school. From recycling to switching off lights to spending time outside, all of our actions fall into the 8 pathways to sustainability.
Ronan, Peter and Rebecca took the time to organize our thoughts into a song, and they were joined by Eli, Abe, Mason, Tati, Kyri, Rowan, Isabelle M, Isabelle B, Ben C and Ben B to record.
Here is our result: Eco-Code
And the lyrics:
Hey it’s Billings,
School environmental,
Earth day all year round,
Now roll the instrumental…
Perfect lawn, our school don’t need it,
Catch roof run-off and reuse it,
In the lunchroom we compost,
reduce the waste, recycle the most.
Energy is what comes when you recycle
Don’t waste this world, it’s just a cycle.
Playing at the park,
Watering the rain garden,
Having some fun too,
These are all the things we do.
Take a ride, on the Spud,
a bio-diesel bus that we all love,
Takes us places we can’t walk,
Trucking graceful, like a hawk.
Get on a bike reinvent your life,
Save the world, fight the good fight,
Feeling good on your commute,
Do the math, it all computes.
Green hour, gain some power,
Play outside for one or two hours,
Get unplugged and have some fun,
Feel the rain, soak up the sun.
All our actions are connected,
The Earth is precious, help protect it.
Take a moment to reflect
On your life, please show respect.
Playing at the park,
Watering the rain garden,
Having some fun too,
These are all the things we do.
Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 inventory checklist
729 days
by Jac de Haan
in Projects
Students love Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 kits but trying to put the kits away is no easy task. We couldn’t find an inventory checklist online so created our own, adapted from http://peeron.com/inv/sets/9797-1.
Posting here for any other educators to download & print: pdf | doc
Students celebrate Media Arts
736 days
Rory, Jake, Cooper, Ben C, Enzo, and Milo headed over to Seattle Country Day School today for the first Northwest Middle School Media Festival. It was standing room only in the screening room.
There were entries by students from Eton, Whitman, McClure, Vista, Woodinville Monessori and Catlin Gabel. Billings students represented the interactive category, with websites and games. Ben and Cooper entered their Battle of Fredricksburg film, which was well received.
We were honored to be joined on our journey by Noah, a Billings alum who helped found our DigiArts program and one of the organizers of the first Maker Faire trip that we took 2 years ago. Thank you Noah!
Googlers tinker too
753 days
by Jac de Haan
in Projects
Seattle middle school student explores a circuit board designed by the incredible Joe Grand as part of a trip to the Maker Faire.
One of the most exciting places to be at our school is the BricLab – a kinesthetic learning center where students take apart electronics and repurpose them for art projects. The work done in the BricLab is a nice deviation from class and also compliments many of the projects from other subjects.
Turns out Google thinks that hands-on time is important too. The Official Google Blog just posted an article about their Workshop: a place employees go to play with miter saws and plasma cutters.
In the spirit of our BricLab, this year teachers Sarah and Rachel are taking a group of students to San Francisco for the Maker Faire…a 60,000 person celebration of tinkering and do-it-yourself exploration! Click here to read about our 2009 trip to this amazing destination.
Design week: alphabet improv
765 days
by Jac de Haan
in Projects
This Design Week, one group looked at our theme of PLAY through the lens of musical and dramatic improv. They documented their experience with Flip video cameras and then edited the footage in iMovie. The soundtrack was recorded in Garageband and used only real instruments played by members of the group.
The prompt was simple: Sing the alphabet song in any style you like. Enjoy!
Blog for iPad
769 days
Just for fun we installed the onSwipe plug-in on our WordPress blog. This snippet of code re-formats content into a magazine-style layout for the iPad. Screenshots of the results are below:
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