Welcome Back!

Hello, Community Families!

It's been so good to see all of your lovely children back at school this week!

Enrichment classes will commence the 3rd week of school this year.  Starting the 25th, all classrooms will visit the computer lab at least once a week.

During that first week, we will be sending home the LAUSD Acceptable Use Policy for you and your child(ren) to go over and sign.  This is necessary so that students are able to use the LAUSD network during the school day.  (Students will need to go online to do research, and to have access to learning sites like BrainPop, Everyday Math Online, and Dance Mat Typing.)

We will be starting the year in technology with a heavy emphasis on typing skills.  During our field test of the Smarter Balanced Assessment last year, we noted that the students who were proficient typists were able to more clearly and easily communicate what they knew.  We don't waste brain power thinking about how to hold a pencil, but when students have to stop to locate a letter on the keyboard or to think about how to capitalize, their focus is diverted from whatever question they are actually being asked.

We have lots of other great stuff planned for the year, so be sure to check back in here periodically to see what we're up to!

Last Week of Testing!

This is the last week that 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will be field testing the Smarter Balanced Assessment in the Computer Lab!  Yay!

Sadly, there are only a few weeks left in the school year, but I'm planning some fun stuff for our final Technology Blocks.  :-)

I've included a link to another interesting article about kids learning to code.

Go here:  The New York Times: "Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Lately, Coding" -- May 4, 2014

 

Imran Khaliq, 12, helped his brother Farhan, 7, left, and Aidan Brown, 6, at a school computer

coding event in Mill Valley, Calif. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times

Kids Need to Learn to Code

An interesting article in the "Opinion L.A." section of the L.A. Times this week, about the importance of teaching kids coding:

Go here:  Opinion L.A. -- April 7, 2014

At Franklin High School in Los Angeles, students learn how to take down hackers and cyber terrorists.

Spring Break Already!

We've been so busy in the Technology Lab that I've been forgetting to update!

3rd-5th graders have been learning how to create and format bar graphs using Excel, and K-2nd graders have been creating art, using Doozla and Tux Paint, and tackling the Flappy Bird coding activity.  (Both art programs are available for FREE online -- the links are to the right under Art.)

Last week, we started the Smarter Balanced Assessment with 3rd-5th graders.  We talked about the equipment, the structure of the assessments, and took the practice tests for Math and ELA.  You can also access these practice tests online: Smarter Balanced Assessment: Practice Test Portal. 

During the three weeks following Spring Break, 3rd-5th grade students will take one assessment per week -- three total.  (This year, of course, we are only a part of the "field test" -- individual scores for this test do not count.)

The time blocks during the assessment are twice as long as the usual Technology block.  As a result, during the assessment period, K-2nd grade will not have Technology.

There will be no typing practice during school, for any grade level, during the assessment period.  Please make sure your kids are practicing at home for the next four weeks!

Two Fun Articles

When we did our brainstorming for Doodle 4 Google, the idea of a device to enable animals to communicate with humans came up a few times.  Interestingly, that "device" seems to be in the works:

Article here:  "Talking Dog Device To Hit Market Soon"

Also, we're not the only one's talking about kids coding! 

Article here:  "Teach Kid to Code with Interactive Robots" 

February Is Almost Gone!

Last week, in 1st-5th grades, we brainstormed for the Doodle4Google contest.  It was a lot of fun!  The kids had some fantastic ideas on the given topic:  "If I could invent one thing to make the world a better place ___________ ."  We discussed inventions to help your family, your classroom, your city, animals, the environment, and the world.  I hope that they continue to think about this topic, and maybe a couple of them will feel inspired enough to it a step further and create a "doodle" to submit to Google!

This week in 2nd-5th grades, we explored CMCS's online library site, as well as LAUSD's Digital Library.  Both are excellent (and kid safe) resources for research.  Most students weren't aware that LAUSD provides many "paid" sources FREE to all on its students.  Links to both the CMCS online site (you will have to scroll down to find Community Magnet) and LAUSD's Digital Library are on the right.  -->

We're getting serious about our typing.  The students have had time to get used to Type to Learn 4, now, and some are really zooming ahead.  Unfortunately, some are zooming without using proper "home row" typing position!  This week I gave a "pop quiz" and tested kids to see if they could type without looking at the keyboard.  Next week, if I find students who are still unable to at least find the "home row" keys, I will reset their accounts and they will have to take the pre-test again.  (I have let them know about this.)

In addition to typing practice, in 1st grade we created and labeled shapes using Doozla.  The students are getting better and better at using the tools in this art program to make their ideas come to life.

The kindergarteners tried two new math apps on the iPads:  Meerkat Math and Math BINGO.  They also had a little bit of "free choice" in the MATH folder.  While many went back to math apps we have played before, Hydro Math and Math Zombies were also big hits.

We've been having lots of fun in our after school Coding Club.  We did a computer-less graph paper coding project, and ON the computer we started an art coding activity which teaches kids to give specific commands to create images on the computer.  In addition, we tried the fun Flappy Bird coding puzzle that code.org posted in honor of their 1-year anniversary.  This activity is online and free!  I posted a link to it on the right.  -->

The Future

from code.org