In Kindergarten we have been working on learning how to use a digital drawing tool to draw a picture and using a text box to type our names. We also have been working on how to use an algorithm (set of directions) to program our BeeBots around the Community Map. It has been fun watching all the collaboration and fixing problems that program creates.
In First Grade we have been working on learning some "important" keyboard keys (delete, spacebar, shift, period, return keys). This was important information as we used Word and Photo Booth to create a document with an image and a typed sentence. We have also been working on our iPads exploring and learning the PuppetPal application. We are learning about story elements, and will be creating our own stories using the app PuppetPals at the end of the semester.
In Second Grade we have been persevering with our Google Account logins. This is the year that students have access to their Google Suite to enhance learning. This is also the year that students begin using the Typing Pal tool to support their learning of this skill. Students were asked to use the Google Drawing tool to show a time that they had to use Perseverance. They had great success logging into their accounts and using this digital tool, we had fun taking a Gallery Walk to see everyone's drawings.
In Third Grade, we have been busy creating a spreadsheet to track our Typing Pal growth from now through 6th grade. We also worked on reviewing how to use Keywords for Google Searches. This will help with digital research for their Expeditions. We had fun role playing being a Google Search Engine and trying to guess what someone was wanting to look up. We have just now moved onto using the Google Earth tool to explore what an Urban, Suburban, and Rural community might look like in real life. This is a fun tool to use!
In Fourth Grade we have been very busy creating our Blogs. Students have been watching video tutorials to create a Blog using design principles and lots of creativity. It is a fun and timely, but look for some of their writing to have a larger audience.
In Fifth Grade we started working in Code.org, and learning some Computer Science fundamentals. To kick off the course we started with an Unplugged activity called GraphPaper Programing. This activity helps to develop the connection between code and what it can produce. We then ventured into the plugged activity puzzles using block coding. We will follow this course intermittently throughout the year. We just kicked off Strategic Searching to support finding digital research needed for our Expeditions. Learning to use some of the tricks for more successful searches.
Lastly, in Sixth Grade we have been busy reviewing Citizenship around our Digital Footprint and Respecting Creative Work. These lessons were gateways to creating our Digital Portfolios. This year sixth grade will create a Google Site as the tool to share their Digital Passage Portfolios. We also used the Vertical Day to have fun with a Breakout EDU game on Digital Citizenship. Students needed to solve different puzzles on citizenship, to open locks, to save lost passwords that fell into the wrong hands.
