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Are the kids getting restless because of the quarantine? Looking for something fun and educational to do? Over the years we've curated lots of great apps and they're available on the student iPads. In the digital world, our kids are often "consumers" of content - they watch videos, play games, etc. This is a great opportunity to let them become "creators", so we highly recommend the coding and creation apps. Below we will be providing you with instructions on how to learn about the apps, install them, and use them. Unfortunately we don't have the bandwidth to help with tech support unless it is directly related to a classroom assignment. We hope you find this helpful. Enjoy! Click on this link to see all the apps that are purchased by ACDS and assigned on the Second Grade iPads. Some of the apps are "installed" which means they are available to play and you'll see an icon on the iPad. Others are assigned, but need to be installed before they can be used on the iPad. The instructions to install an app are as follows: In the spreadsheet you will find a brief description of each app. If you want more detailed information, you can do an Internet search using the following search terms:
<name of the app> ios app Example: clips ios app That should bring up a link to the App Store Description. If you want to find out more information about the app, you can look for a Common Sense Media App Review. If you want instructions on how the app works, you can go to YouTube and put in the search term: <name of the app> ios app tutorial Example: fish school ios app tutorial Please also note that Common Sense Media is a great place to find reviews on movies, games, and books too.
The students have been using the Monticello Park Nature website to do research for the "Birds of Monticello Park" book. They have collected information on:
Today I showed them how to use the Merlin Bird ID App from Cornell University. This app assists people in identifying birds simply by providing the app with some basic information - the same information the students collected. They used the app to test how well they did their research. They input the information and then looked to see if their bird came up. They used this information to fine-tune their notes.
Debugging is an essential element of learning to program. In this lesson, students encountered puzzles that have been solved incorrectly. They "stepped" through the existing code to identify errors, including incorrect loops, missing blocks, extra blocks, and blocks that are out of order. This was a great activity to help students work on their problem solving skills that will help them in other areas of life. Using characters from the game Angry Birds, students will develop sequential algorithms to move a bird from one side of a maze to the pig at the other side. To do this they will stack code blocks together in a linear sequence, making them move straight, turn left, or turn right. In this lesson, students will develop programming and debugging skills on a computer platform. The block-based format of these puzzles help students learn about sequence and concepts, without having to worry about perfecting syntax.
The students were excited to do this activity again because some students didn't get a turn being both the programmer and the computer. I noticed last time that some teams were getting frustrated when their programs didn't run properly and I could see that it was a "communication" problem. We started this class off by talking about their experiences and where there was confusion. Then I asked for a volunteer to read a simple board book to the class. I handed Ava the book and waited for her to read it. I asked her why she didn't start reading and she said she didn't know how to read Chinese! So how does this apply to programming? The computer programmer and computer need to understand each other in order for things to work properly. Before starting the Move It Move It activity, students should agree on some basics:
Today we started Coding. We started off by talking about coding and what it is. They told me that software is writing down words in order that tells a computer what to do. Then I taught them a new vocabulary word: Algorithm: A precise sequence of instructions for processes that can be executed by a computer. Then I described to them the "Move It Move It" game that we would be playing. The programmer writes a program that tells the computer how to get from the start point (Compass Rose) to the goal (YAY!). They can only use the directions North, South, East and West. Here are a couple of examples: Before starting the game, we learned a couple of new vocabulary words: Bug: Part of a program that does not work correctly. We talked about how frustrating it is when something doesn't work the way you planned it. But that it's so common in Coding that they gave it a name and it is considered part of the process. We practiced our Debugging Skills as a group. Here are a couple of examples: Then we were finally ready to play the "Move It Move It" game. We split up into teams of 3.
The Directions
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AuthorEvelyn Chaleki, Angel Richardson, Sarah Shannon Frequently UsedGalleryArchives
April 2020
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