The Digital Scoop

Lessons in Teaching Code.org Sketchnote

 

After attending ISTE this year, I decided it would be fun to try making a sketchnote.  I have also been wanting to share some of what I have learned after teaching Code.org as a major curriculum component in my Computer Science classroom this year. Seemed like the perfect combo!

I ended up using the Paper by 53 app on my iPad and Photoshop Elements on my laptop to create the note.  I did the drawings and titles in Paper and the text in Photoshop Elements. I really had no idea what I was doing and wasn't sure I could do all of the text by hand.  I am pleasantly surprised by the outcome and will definitely be trying a sketchnote again!

Teaching Courses 1-3 from Code.org has been a wonderful growing and learning experience for both me and my students.  The puzzles provide a time for them to problem solve, work on their growth mindset, and feel a sense of accomplishment.  The translation from Code.org to working in Scratch, Bitsbox, and with robots was wonderful!  I also noticed their problem solving skills and perseverance increase greatly over the year.

Be sure to check out Matt Miller's awesome Sketchnote resources!

I hope you enjoy my sketchnote and consider trying it yourself.  For me it was a chance to stretch my wings and be brave in trying something new! :)

 

Summer Reading- Crash Course by Kim Bearden

Welcome to summer blogging!  I have now been out of school for a couple of days and have eagerly jumped into my summer reading routine.  I have always loved reading and the summer provides a great time to focus a bit more on it.

I just finished reading Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me by Kim Bearden.  Kim Bearden is the co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy.  

This book was very easy to dive into!  Kim shares great details about her incredible teaching career and imparts beautiful pearls of wisdom in every chapter.  I laughed and I teared up over this book.  It made me think about myself, my students, my colleagues, and my classroom. I love how it inspired me to think of new teaching ideas, but mostly I know I will pull it out after a tough day of teaching for inspiration.

I read the Kindle edition and love the fact that I can highlight quotes and then can easily pull all of them up after reading. I am always torn between a physical book and a digital version.  I'm glad I went digital this time.  I was able to pull a couple of the quotes into the Typorama app and create some fun images.

I look forward to going back over the comments and questions she poses at the end of each chapter. I know this book will inspire for years to come.

Do you have books on your summer reading list?  I would love to hear about some more great reads!

Throwback Thursday: End of the School Year Activities

The final weeks of school are always busy, fun, hectic, and a little bittersweet.  With all that is going on, I thought it would be the perfect time to throwback to some previous ideas I have shared over the years for end of the year projects!

 

Fourth Grade Word Clouds- This activity could be done by any grade level or even by the class as a whole.

 

Three Fun End of the Year Activities- These activities will have your students reflecting over the year or dreaming about the future.

 

Portrait Poem- This is a fun activity for anytime of the year.  You could also have students write it more as a grade level...5th graders enjoy or as a class...we appreciated.

Of course you could also have students code a fun end of the year project.  Maybe they could pick a favorite event or subject and create a scene about it in Scratch!

I hope you all have a fabulous end to your school year and that you finish strong!

:) 

Moving Text Poem Using Scratch

 

I love all having students write all types of poetry.  I also love creative coding and this project brings the two together!

Students start by creating a new Scratch project and creating their own sprites using the text tool.  

I prefer to work in the Vector Mode when using text.  This way if you need to move the text or copy it, you can always go back and edit it.

I started with the words rain and clouds.  I then figured out how I might want them to move on the screen to display what they do.  I also decided to add lightning and a few sound effects.

 I've embedded the project below (if you are reading via email, you will need to visit my blog or the Scratch file to see the project in action!)

 

I think this could be done with so many other ideas...flowers growing, other types of weather, sports, etc...  Just change the sprite you would use into a text version and animate!

I look forward to having my students try this activity in the fall.  School is quickly approaching an end for me.  This means I will be doing less blogging over the summer, but will pick up again in the fall!  

Poetry Machine Templates

The Poetry Machine offers 48 templates for creating poems.  Your students are sure to be writing in no time!

 

Each form of poetry comes with directions, an example, and a form to fill in.

Once the form has been filled in, the poem can be shared in a variety of ways.  You could also copy and paste it into a Google Document or print it.

I think it would be fun to have students select their own poetry form on the site and have everyone in the room create a different type of poem for a project!  Happy writing!

Scratch Week: Books I Love!

Today, I thought I would share several of my favorite Scratch project and inspiration books!

Coding Games in Scratch- This is my current favorite!  All of the projects are fun and engaging.  I devoured the book and learned so much from the projects.  I was then able to utilize the concepts I learned with my students.

 

The Official Scratch, Jr. Book- This book contains great ideas for integrating coding and Scratch, Jr. with other curriculums.  I also learned some great tips and tricks for this amazing app!

Scratch for Kids For Dummies- This book contains fun projects and great tips for using the drawing and painting tools in Scratch.  I learned a lot about being creative and creating my own sprites from this book.

 

Super Scratch Programming Adventure!- Kids will love the comic book theme of this book.  All of the projects in the book can be downloaded in full or as project starters.

 

Scratch 2.0 Game Development- I have not completed every project in this book yet.  These projects are definitely more advanced than the ones found in the other books I shared today.

I hope you have enjoyed my Scratch Week ideas and I hope everyone has a fabulous Scratch Day on Saturday!  Get your code on!

Scratch Week: The ABC Project

Can you create a code for every letter on your keyboard?  Then, the ABC challenge is just the project for you and your students!

Starting with the when space key pressed event and changing it to a letter, students need to create a code.  The challenge is to create a different code for every letter on their keyboard.

I themed my codes around drawing and stamping.

For instance, when the A key is pressed and you move the mouse you might get something like this:

 Press the Spacebar to clear and then press the C key and you could get this:

 

Press S and you will get a bunch of Scratch!

A couple of tips I learned along the way:

Add the Stop other scripts in the sprite block to each letter event.  This will keep codes from taking over!

Use Duplicate to copy and then alter codes!  Right -clicking a code will bring up the duplicate option.

 

This project allows for lots of creativity and will really push your students to be creative.  It would also be a great group project!

You are welcome to have students open my example and remix it!  For instance, what happens when you change Go to Mouse Pointer to Go To Random Position? ;)

Check out the embedded project here or visit my blog or Scratch to see the code in action!  Don't forget to press your keyboard and move your mouse!

 

 

Happy coding!

Scratch Week: Video Sensing

 

Pop the Bubbles is one of the sample activities listed on the Scratch Day website.  My students love playing around with this project and trying to remix it!

Students will need to allow access to the computer's camera in order for the project to work.  Then, they can literally swipe their hands in the air to pop the bubbles!

A really nice feature of this particular project is the notes attached to the blocks explaining their function.

I also found this Video Sensing Studio on Scratch featuring several fun projects!

Check out this Scratch Wiki page for more info on Video Sensing blocks!

I'm sure your students aren't the only ones who will be having fun with this! ;)

Scratch Week: Playing with Animation

Have I got a great Scratch activity for you today!  It all started when a student added an image to a Google presentation and it started moving!  They were shocked and delighted.  We began talking about animated gifs and just animations in general.  This got me thinking that Scratch would be a great way for my students to make their own animated "gifs".

The hands you see above are a part of a Scratch file called Hand Waves.  It's a simple example of "gif" animations in Scratch.  In this project, I created one animation and then duplicated and remixed it.  Check out the real example below: (If you are reading via email, you will need to visit my blog or Scratch to see the project)

 

 

To create an animation:

•  Start by creating a new sprite from a picture.  You can use the camera located in Scratch or take pictures and upload them as a sprite.

• Add at least one other costume using either the camera or by uploading an image. (Remind students they shouldn't see a bunch of new sprites as they add photos.  It can be easy for students to confuse the similar camera button.)

• Then use the following code as a starting place:

 

I then encouraged the kids to either create other animations using new photos or drawings or remix their current animation by adding color or changing the speed to name a couple of examples.

My 2nd graders loved this!!!

Happy animating!

Scratch Day is Scratch Week on The Digital Scoop!

Scratch Day is coming up Saturday, May 14, 2016!  This is a day for kids and adults all around the world to celebrate all things Scratch coding related!  I decided my classes will be celebrating all week long!

Today, I am sharing a Scratch project starter.  You could also have students use it to write and illustrate stories off of the computer.

You can either project the project starter and spin.  I would use this like a challenge where everyone gets the same starting idea and have to creatively use it their own way.

You could also have students each spin and create from what they get!

I have also provided a sheet for recording what students get from a spin, so they won't have to remember while getting started.

I have embedded the Scratch file below. (If you are reading via email, you will need to visit my blog or use the link above to see the Scratch project)

 

 

Happy creating!!!