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Iterated Teacher

~ An elementary teacher's journey from practitioner to researcher

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Introduction to Scratch

24 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by ryespy in Uncategorized

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Today we are going to get started using Scratch in order to use this tool with elementary students. While there are plenty of great videos created by the MIT Scratch team at scratch.mit.edu, we are going to go over the basics of using Scratch to draw with the pen tool. Feel free to create an account at scratch.mit.edu or feel free to use mine (I will make the credentials available in the classroom). Before we jump into the activity, first I would like to provide a bit of context.

Seymour

Scratch is a programing environment developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab. The research group’s leader and LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research, Mitchel Resnick, reminds us to honor the vision for child-centered computing that Seymour Papert advocated for with Scratch’s predecessor LOGO. Mitch extracts four essential elements from Papert’s Mindstorms (1980): projects, passion, peers, and play. You should read Mitch’s piece on these here:

https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/the-seeds-that-seymour-sowed/

In summary, children should be: working on projects that they are passionate about, working together with peers of varying experience providing constructive feedback, and doing so with a playful approach to testing out ideas and overcoming challenges. The reason I share all this before getting into my lesson is to remind everyone that this is one way to start learning Scratch, but should be learner-centered once the student has the basics. My hope is that that once you make a square and another shape, you start thinking of how to make something that interests you.

Start here

After trying the Start here challenge for a few minutes, we are going to have you work with a partner on the LessonHandout sheet that was passed out in class. You will also need a turtle (green triangle with a hole for a pen). As a team try to make the turtle follow the script on the handout by moving it around on the stage. Next, you will translate the script into your own words.

LessonHandout

Simple Square

Square with Loop

Repeated Rainbow Squares

 

Make Code Thermometer

05 Monday Feb 2018

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I have been starting to mess around with programming for the Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express. Here is my first program to use the multicolor LEDs (neopixels) on the board to display the current temperature. The temperature is rounded to the nearest ten. Each light represents 10 degrees (1 light => 5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Screen Shot 2018-02-05 at 11.24.45 AM

Below is a link to launch the simulator. You can make it fit the screen by adjusting the width of your browser. Click the A button to activate the thermometer for five seconds. Adjust the temperature by clicking and dragging on the red thermometer in the top right.  This is the link in case you want to edit the program: (https://makecode.com/_FVbiPfTY7D6T)

https://makecode.adafruit.com/—run?id=_4cM80VD06UKd

 

 

Day 3/4 Sewing Up Science

07 Friday Aug 2015

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Today we will be modifying an existing program to run on your Gemma Arduino. You will want to use Firefox for visiting the programing site. Please visit my codebender.cc page to find the STEM-U code here:
https://codebender.cc/user/ryespy 

You can find the templates for the STEM-U Lesson Plan on the Center for School of Tomorrow here:
http://csf.usu.edu/stem_u

RAFT Kit Standards
http://www.raftsac.org/ideas/Binding%20Comb%20Battery%20Holder.pdf

Next Generation Science Standards for engineering in grades 3-5
http://www.nextgenscience.org/3-5ets-engineering-design

House keeping:
Please take the Post Survey here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Post_STEM_U
Please take the strand post assessment:
https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1IaF5hqN13b6etT

Day Two of Sewing Up Science Workshop

05 Wednesday Aug 2015

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Yesterday we explored parallel and series circuits with copper tape, through-hole LEDs, CR2032 button batteries, and card stock. Today we will revisit these circuits using conductive and non conductive dough. Before hooking up your squishy circuit, watch the following video.

This page from the creators of our squish circuit kits provides videos showing how to make conductive and insulating doughs. They have additional information on safety precautions and how to apply Ohm’s law. Thank you Dr. AnnMarie Thomas and the Playful Learning Lab at St. Thomas University for developing and sharing these materials. http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/SquishyCircuits/

Let’s see what happens when we try to make a series and parallel squishy circuit. How might you be able to integrate a squishy circuit into a lesson you already teach?

FullSizeRender (2)

Next we will begin to create some e-textiles. You may say, “what is an e-textile?” An e-textile in our case will mean using conductive thread(stainless steel fibers) to sew LEDs, buzzers, and microchips into a piece of fabric. Lets start with a very simple circuit. We will wire two red Lilypad LEDs in parallel to a Lilypad battery holder with an on-off switch. First you should always sketch out your circuit. I like to trace the components to help me see how everything will line up.

FullSizeRender (3)

Matt has created a video for tutorial on threading a needle. He can also show you in person.

When starting a stitch I put a double-knot at the end of my thread and fold the thread over the needle so it overlaps about 4-5 inches. It is best to keep your stitches short (1/8″) to maintain conductivity. In the circuit drawn above I will start my stitch on the back of the positive end of the LED on the right and stitch around the tab 4 times before stitching towards the next led. You will want to use one piece of thread to continuously stitch the entire positive line from led, to led, to battery, and then tie off. You will use a drop of clear nail-polish to secure the knot. Repeat this procedure for the negative(ground) line. Insert your battery and test your circuit. This first e-textile was mainly to practice stitching.

Now that you have a little practice with stitching with the conductive thread, let’s try and make a bracelet. Here is a nice tutorial on Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Cuff-Bracelet/?ALLSTEPS

Image

Test

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

image

Posted by ryespy | Filed under Uncategorized

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Sources for Electronic Components

04 Tuesday Aug 2015

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Tags

links, supplies

www.sparkfun.com LED’s, Lilypad, copper tape

www.adafruit.com micro-controllers(Gemma Arduino), neopixels

www.digikey.com coin batteries 2032

http://chibitronics.com/ Sticker based paper circuits Chibatronics

My Old Blog

01 Friday May 2015

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Please visit www.rysci.wordpress.com to view the couple of blog posts I wrote while still working as an elementary science teacher in Bedford-Styvessant. I miss all my kids and coworkers very much. I am looking forward to working with children in the near future.

IMG_0857An image from my last visit to Brooklyn

PennApps

22 Saturday Nov 2014

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Here are the best projects that I have made in the past few years. I am more experienced with the fabrication than programming. I would love to partner with someone else that is a programmer to make clothing that interacts with pulse in a way to encourage physical activity between friends. Ideally this device would communicate with other such devices through the internet. Thank you for reviewing my application.

PennApps PennApps PennApps PennApps

http://rysci.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/the-makerbot-saves-our-fish-again/

http://rysci.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/moving-from-planning-to-production/

Hello World!

19 Friday Sep 2014

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Welcome to my new blog. I am surviving the first month of being a PhD student. This past summer I packed up my family in NYC and headed west. I miss teaching elementary science in Brooklyn, but it was time to follow our family’s dreams. This will be a space for me to record my growth as a researcher in the hopes of making a dimple in the field of education. Thank you for visiting.

Recent Posts

  • Introduction to Scratch
  • Make Code Thermometer
  • Day 3/4 Sewing Up Science
  • Helpful Resources for Sewing Up Science
  • Day Two of Sewing Up Science Workshop

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Recent Posts

  • Introduction to Scratch
  • Make Code Thermometer
  • Day 3/4 Sewing Up Science
  • Helpful Resources for Sewing Up Science
  • Day Two of Sewing Up Science Workshop

Recent Comments

Day One of Sewing El… on Name Tag

Archives

  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014

Categories

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  • Utah State University

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