Scratch - Gaming in the Classroom

Each term our school undergoes PIN's workshops each term.  The idea of these are that students can take part in something that relates to a Passion, Interest or Need they have.  At the moment teachers choose something of interest to students or themselves and offer to run the workshop.  Alongside teachers we have teacher aides, management and parents running or supporting a workshop.  Last year another teacher and myself ran an 'in-class PINs' where students decided on topics needed and then ran workshops that other students could take part in.  Highly successful with lots of learning curves - but more on that in another post!

In our Term 1PINs I took my second workshop around the use of Scratch.  Scratch is an amazing game making piece of software that works on windows and mac machines.  It's free to download and has an extremely strong community of people and educators behind it.  (You can read more about the basics of Scratch in a previous post here).  So for students it is a perfect platform to begin the basics of programming and gaming.  Students learn about creating games through arranging and compiling a range of blocks to make scripts for their sprites (characters or game pieces).  I was originally introduced to Scratch through Tim Kong and a student of his who had moved from Scratch into creating apps.  She taught me enough to get me interested and on my way to exploring the possibility of Scratch more.

The last time I used Scratch during a PINs workshop was with a group of Year 4 students. In hind sight the task was a little too high.  Especially for 15 kids to learn Scratch in 1.5 hours who had never used it before. Yep. So, this time I tackled it very differently.

I went for simple and scaffolded options along the way to make the tasks more difficult (if they wanted to or were able to).  I was also armed with a second game plan that the students could tackle if they zoomed through the first.   The idea was for the kids to have a 'how to' sheet they could work through by self-pacing themselves to create a game.  With added elements and areas that kids could change up - colours, sounds, adding point systems, through to random ideas the kids had that we tried to implement!

One area that I was a lot clearer about sharing with the students at the start of the session, was that Scratch came down to problem solving.  If something wasn't working, it was because of something in their script.  It could be a block in the wrong place or the wrong block altogether.  But they had to stop, think and solve.  It was just a problem and it had a solution!  It became a HUGE part of the session - talking and sharing problems and how we could solve them.  The best part was for the kids to see me getting down on the floor with them and problem solving alongside them. No, I didn't know the answer!  "Oh, it doesn't work... let's have a look together..." was a common theme.  What was great was that the conversations and problem solving were not just student directed to teacher.  They moved to student discussing/sharing with another student in this way.  The students saw that as a collective group we were moving through the learning together and sharing their own knowledge was key to their success but also the success of others.

The first game the kids created was a Pong game.  Yes, the classic game we came to know and love as kids (not like the fancy games of today).  Intially the kids were a bit 'hmmm?' about creating such a basic game.  But as they got going, and saw what it takes to create a game through simple scripting the enthusiasm grew.  The problem solving, conversations, laughter and creative ideas that flowed through the room were fantastic.  Students discovering out they could record their own sounds.  Or that a certain number in the axis corresponded to a place on the stage and so much more!

The kids seemed to take quite an interest in the fact that I had been learning how to use Scratch over the last few years and were really keen to see games that I had created also!  A fun conversation where the kids were seeing me as a life long learner... even if one of my car racing games was re-named 'Nana Kart' because the car moved so slowly!

Below is an example of one of the Pong games created by a student - click here to play:

Classic Pong game wins the day!

One of the great things around Scratch is the community that is involved in commenting, playing and re-mixing games.  Within minutes of uploading our first games some of them had comments from kids sharing their high scores.  There were even kids taking the game to 'remix' them.  Remixing is where you can download the game script to use and make changes to the game.  So kids can add levels, change elements of the game and re-load their re-mixed game back up to the community.  This also allows the kids to see how their game can change and evolve.

Underneath a game students can see how many views, remixes and downloads their game has had

Though this is a basic start for the kids, it was great to see such a keen and passionate group of kids who are keen to keep going in Term 2.  We are going to look at a way in which we can maybe run a lunch time group where the students can opt in and meet, share ideas and continue to problem solve together.  Highlight... one of the boys coming up to me a week later during lunch telling me about how he's downloaded Scratch and is re-working one of his games! 

In a following post I will post up the hand out sheets that I used with the students for you to download and use.  A great starting place are the Scratch starter cards!  Also check out the Scratch Education Community for more ideas and links.  The education area of Scratch is strong and has a wealth of knowledge and resources that are great for educators.  If you are completely new to Scratch and want to know more, the 'New to Scratch' page is a great place to start.  Also, to have a quick go at Scratch without downloading the programme try the Beta browser version here.

Happy gaming!

Future Wheel

Our term focus is looking at miss-takes/re-takes and the learning process.  To kick start our term we've been investigating our school values - Respect, Success, Team, Fun and Integrity.  Across our school this is often a common place where we start to have a firm values base with our classes.  It's at the core of class expectations and treaties.  A shared language we have when talking about expectations, behaviour, learning and attitudes.

We have been working through a range of different tasks to use these values and examine life with and without them.

In comes the Futures wheel otherwise known as consequence wheel.  The idea behind this thinking tool is to get students to think of the 'what next...' to something happening.  What would be the consequence of this happening - good or bad.

So, we split into groups and each group took a value.  They then talked about what would happen at our school if this value wasn't used or we didn't use it.
This lead to some great discussions in groups around this value and it's importance in our daily lives.  It gave the students a chance to also consider a range of perspectives.  How would this outcome affect parents, siblings, classmates, teachers, our deputy principals, principal? What would this mean for them?

For the first time using this thinking tool with them it was a success - some of them found it very difficult to 'put themselves in other people's shoes' and think about how the outcome might affect that person.  Others were able to articulate a range of ideas and outcomes from many different perspectives.  Some were also quite simple but others had far reaching perspectives and consequences.  Such as the the lack of success leading to people not being able to become olympic athletes because they didn't know what 'success' felt like or how to achieve it.

I can see how the level of questioning with the students will become more and more important as we use this tool further.  Getting the students to work in a range of perspectives and think from different angles and mind frames (positive/negative) will be a basis of my questioning for the next time we use this tool.

The tool would be very effective in a place where you were looking at positive and negative outcomes and getting students to think on both sides of the coin.

Below are a few examples from our first session using the Future Wheel.
You can download my template here - this is A3 size.

Fotobabble

This year I've begun to look at student voice in the classroom and how students can use voice tools in their learning to more effect.  Fotobabble is one app/website that can be used in such a variety of ways and students enjoy using it.  Fotobabble is one of our 'go to' apps and websites because of it's simplicity.

The idea of Fotobabble is simple.  Take a photo, drawing or image of any kind and upload it to Fotobabble   From here all you need to do is press 'record' to record your voice talking about the image.  Press 'stop' to stop recording then 'play' to listen to it. Simple? Indeed!  From here you are able to name it and save it ready to upload to websites, intranets or link to from tweets and more.

If you have an ipod touch, iphone or ipad this process is even simpler by taking a photo from right in the app. Pressing the 'record' button to record your voice and press it again to stop.  From here you can listen to it then get it ready to send to the Fotobabble site or embed into a blog or wiki etc

The simplicity of the website and the app is what makes it so beneficial to a range of learners - young to old.  Here are a few examples of Fotobabble in the classroom - we used it to share our learning and understanding about different aspects of ANZAC Day: https://sites.google.com/site/2012sps8/anzac-day/anzac-work

Independent Planner Reflection

We have a range of learning spaces in our class which provide the students with a chance to decide where they learn. Tall tables to keep an eye on the class, bean bags to slouch in, individual tables/spaces to work solo through to group tables that allow small to larger groups to work and learn together.  It's been great to have the opportunity to watch students learn about what best works for them. Some subjects students prefer the hustle and bustle of group learning spaces and then other subjects they prefer to work on their own.  If students know they have a lot of work to complete they often move themselves to the right space for them.  It's been a great learning curve for myself and students.

Over the last term and a bit I have been working with my class of Year 5/6 students to plan their learning at the beginning of the day.  Thus giving them a chance to decide when in the day their best learning happens.

A natural progression for the learners was to move into independent timetables.  Though these are still a transition point.  Everyday we discover a new way of doing these or small changes that help make this work.  At the moment we plan on paper - day by day for the week to allow for changes each day.  We have learnt to be increasingly flexible and work with what each day throws at us!

A few students plan on their iPod touch using the calendar feature and this works well for them.  The planning at the start of the day allows the students to locate other students they would like to work with and to decide when their best learning happens and how.  For some, this means getting the task they like the most completed first while for others it allows them to plan in more time for a task they know takes them a bit longer than what I would be able to allow them in a more structured setting.

Students work on a 'Must Do' and 'Can Do' system - where Must Do tasks are listed for their group - Maths, Reading and sometimes Writing.  The 'Must Do' tasks MUST be completed by the end of the day and the 'Can Do' tasks allow for early finishers, other learning focuses or tasks that need to be completed.  This means that at one time in the class students could be working on Xtramath, Brain Box sheets, reading to self, writing, completing reading tasks, filming, working with the teacher or any other variety of learning tasks.

At the start of the day the workshops are listed on the class planner.  At the moment workshops are offered by groups moving soon in to needs as well.  Each morning the student looks at the class planner to see what is on and when during the day will be independent planning time.  They also need to check here to see when their teaching workshop is.  They then check their group 'Must Do's' and 'Can Do's' and plan in their activities from here.

For some the planning of their learning came easily - it worked well for them.  For other students they have required lots of checking in, reflection and conversations to help guide them on their way.  It has required a lot of time and discussion as a class about what behaviours and attitudes we need to show and have to make it work in a respectful way for each other.  It's a huge ask - but they are doing it and on asking my students what they would prefer.... hands down, independent planners are their choice.

One of the hardest things with the planners were students perception of time and time it would take to complete a task.  Many would plan in unrealistic time frames - either too small or too big to complete tasks.  This has been one of the hardest elements to develop in planning.  We are moving towards more of a 'To Do List' type planning.  Where the students list what they need to do and then add it to their planner when they have completed it.  Knowing what they need to do and their timeframe could be a better way to plan the day for them.  As adults this is generally the way we would go around planning our own learning - so it could be a more natural way of working through this.  Especially for those students that find the time management harder to keep?

This has required a lot of big picture thinking combined with a lot of finer detail thinking and planning. The students enjoy it and it's great seeing learning conversations happen in the morning where students plan to meet up and complete tasks together - knowing that they work well in pairs or groups. There is still a long way to go but the changes and ideas that have formed from this have been great. I've been exceptionally lucky to share an office and a learning space with a very passionate teacher who is on a similar journey of independent learning with her students.  We have had some amazing conversations about the challenges and the successes of this style of classroom.  Without these conversations and a great thinker to learn alongside the process would have been more challenging. So, I'm very thankful for that opportunity.

Below I have attached links to free downloads for our planners that the students use.  These have been refined and developed as we have gone along.  They refinement and changes have come from the students.  Some like the space to plan while other find knowing 20 minute blocks more manageable to plan within.

20 Minute Planner

Open Spaces Planner

Ten minutes before lunch we get together and reflect on our learning - plan in for the next day any learning that we haven't completed.  The students can also plan with other students if they know they need some help or to work on something together.

We have a long way to go - but I'm proud of how far the students have come.  I'm really happy with the journey we've made

Top 5 iPhone Travel Apps

It's been a fair while since posting here!

Over the last 5 weeks I've taken this small kiwi girl to the big wide world as I travelled around Europe.  I have had the most amazing adventures and feel like through all my experiences I've brought a lot to my life as well as into my classroom.

I downloaded a lot... many... heaps... of apps before I went away and there were a good range of them that were quickly deleted!  This post is a quick wrap up of the travel apps that I found to be the most beneficial and worthwhile.

Here are my top 5 (+1) iPhone travel app picks:

Tripit - Free - http://www.tripit.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/tripit-travel-organizer-free/id311035142?mt=8

This handy little app was suggested to me by a well travelled friend.  Boy was it worth it's weight in gold! Tripit is simple in what it does and it does it well.
Once you create an account with Tripit and link it to your email it scans through and locates any trip information emails and automatically adds it to your itinerary for that trip.  So you don't need to enter in details and bits of information for your trip - it does it for you!  This was super handy with a trip that had around 11 flights within it! A few minutes after the confirmation email was sent through to my email I would receive an email from tripit letting me know it had been added to my itinerary.  I could flick open the app on my iPhone and there in my 'Europe Trip' would be the new flight added.  There was one flight that Tripit didn't pick up - this was extremely easy to add in my myself from within the app (it can also be done on the website).  The best thing about this is that via the app or website I had access to all my travel scedule, numbers, locations and more!  You can also pay for the full version which includes many features such as a flight checker - that checks to see if your flight is on time or delayed.  If you're a frequent flyer it would be a handy feature!

TripColor - Free http://www.tripcolor.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripcolor-social-travel-sharing/id459934160?mt=8

Tripcolor was by far my most used app for the entire trip.  It's such an easy to use and effective app that allowed me to be able to share my trip with friends and family via online photo albums.
Once you set up your account you create a new trip - from here you can add photos to your trip, date/timestamp and information/notes about the photo.  The best feature of TripColor was the fact that it used the location information to keep a map of where each photo had been taken.  For example, on my trip to Berlin, I could see all the locations in Berlin I had taken photos.  When viewing it online via the trip photo map I could roll over on the location dot and it would show the photo that was taken in that location! Fantastic!  Check out the TripColor Demo albums here - you need to click on the individual trips to view the map and images.  I will continue to use this even though I'm home - it's a great way to record small trips as well as large ones!

Instagram - Free  http://instagr.am/
http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/instagram/id389801252?mt=8

If you're a photo freak you'll know about instagram.  It's kinda hard not to after their 1 billion dollar sale to Facebook.  Anyway - Instagram is a photo sharing app that is a must have if you love to take photos.  Create a network of friends and new friends to share your photos with!  You can add hashtags (#) to your posts to link them to certain areas, places and countries along your travels.  It's a great way to link in and find some great places to visit while you are there too!

Guidepal Apps - Free - http://guidepal.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/guidepal-city-guides/id507161832?mt=8

Guidepal offer apps for a huge range of cities!  The app provides you with a guidebook to the area you are visiting.  I found their range of apps to be one of the easiest to navigate.  Once open it gives you a chance to explore in areas such as history and information about the city, attractions, nightlife, food and more.  In each section it's clearly laid out and gives a range of information that is very worthwhile reading.  You can also have a look on the map to see what's close to you.  Augmented Reality is built in to the app - once you open the 'Nearby' section it will show you the name, distance and direction to local attractions and more.  A great range of features!

Timeout - Free -  http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/393/time-out-travel-apps-for-iphone

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/london-travel-guide-time-out/id406332146?mt=8

Timeout offers a range of guidebook apps for cities around Europe.  This was my other 'go to' guidebook that I located a range of interesting attractions and points of interest in the cities I visited.  Timeout is a magazine that is published for purchase around London.  It lists the what's what and main events that are great to attend at that time.  It's seasonal and up to date which I really liked.  The app had a great range of suggestions and led me to a pretty amazing Flamenco dancing show while I was in Barcelona! Worth having a look through when you're new to a city to get a range of ideas and information.

Happycow - $3  http://www.happycow.net/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/happycow-vegan-vegetarian/id435871950?mt=8

Being vegan and travelling to different countries with a range of languages can be a bit daunting! Not with this app! Happycow is a website that lists vegetarian, vegan and health stores in your area.  The app does exactly this but with the added bonus of using your gps information to tell you how close or far away cafes and restaurants are from you.  This was a great app to locate yummy restaurants through the review feature, where previous customers can leave a review and star rating.

Educating Boys

Around 6 months ago a friend recommended a book called 'Educating Boys' by Michael Irwin to me.  I started it and then, like most books in term time, it got put to the side. Even thought I've been desperate to read it!  These holidays have meant that I have picked it up again and continued to read it.  It's a worthwhile read for anyone who are working with boys in education or who have boys at home.

Not a lot of the ideas and concepts are all that new to me e.g. boys need more movement, action learning and hands on approaches. But so far it has reinforced a lot of key teaching and learning concepts and approaches as well as ones that I have changed or don't use as much as I have previously.

A concept I linked into with learning is the idea of 'Play' as a basis for learning.  A place to hook old learning into new learning and to make discoveries.  Last year as part of our Daily5 reading work the students did 'Work with Words' which is basically spelling/grammar work.  As part of this I gave my year 4 students purple sand to draw words into and wikki stix to make letters with, amongst other tasks.  Initially I thought perhaps they wouldn't use them as they might deem them as 'babyish'.  Interestingly enough these were the items that were first taken by the students working in this area over and over again.  There was also a student developed system for letting people know you wanted to use them next.  Both of these were play items and I will use them with my Year 5/6 students this year again!  I also really liked the idea of having 'explorer' areas where there are things for the students (not just the boys!) to create or dismantle.  But also it's made me think about how I can create more areas for play in curriculum areas to diversify the teaching and learning process.

Exercise and Physical Education as a catalyst for more focussed work.  I know this and do a lot of this already as I see a huge difference in the students when there is more activity in the day.  But it's made me interested to look at starting each day or the breaking the middle block with a burst of focussed physical activity.  I've done this previously with 'Brain Breaks' and it's made a huge difference but it was something this year that I didn't use.
Also how I'm teaching Physical Education and the importance of making time for it.  Our school is well set up with our syndicates taking part in syndicate wide sports each term for at least 1 hour and also whole school Jump Jam each week.  This is a great base for our students and I know that my boys are always the first ones to be asking what sports they will be undertaking during this time and the first to complain if the weather is bad on sports afternoons!

It was interesting to read about the students who are coming into schools and the importance of teaching them to read and write from the first day and as early as 5.  Irwin talks about the fact that a lot of the teaching and learning for literacy has moved away from play based, making and creating into more 'talk and write' examples.  He stresses the importance of linking back to the play concepts and developmental play in the early years.  There has been a lot of talk about the Finish education system lately and how they excel with teaching and learning in worldwide comparisons.  Irwin interestingly points out the fact that students don't start school in Finland until they are 7 giving students more time to be involved in play.  Such a focus on literacy which in turn pushes out areas such as The Arts, Physical Education and Science out of the daily curriculum.  All areas that boys tend to excel in but don't get the opportunity to be as involved in.

So, I will continue to read, reflect and make links to my teaching practice and challenge ideas I have or have had and why I may not do them anymore.  I think it is a worthwhile read and while the focus is on educating boys, I do believe many of the concepts and ideas can equally be forwarded to girls and their learning needs.