BrainPop Blogs

brainpop1Subject:

Technologies

Year Level:

5/6

Strand:

Digital Technologies

Sub-strand:

Processes and Production Skills

Content descriptors:

  • Acquire, store and validate different types of data and use a range of commonly available software to interpret and visualise data in context to create information (ACTDIP016)
  • Explain how developed solutions and existing information systems are sustainable and meet local community needs, considering opportunities and consequences for future applications (ACTDIP021)
  • Manage the creation and communication of ideas and information including online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (ACTDIP022)
  • Design a user interface for a digital system, generating and considering alternative designs (ACTDIP018)

 

Link to other learning areas:

  • English (Language & Literacy)

Link to resource:

https://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/blogs/

General Capabilities:

  • English
  • Information and communication technologies

 

About the resource:

  • This is a fantastic resource as it supports year5-6 English in a number of ways whilst managing the creation of communication ideas and proving opportunity for online collaboration. Blogs provide teachers the ability to support the students learning by including software and word processing programs that encourage student to edit, publish, be selective and add visual or audio elements to their English work. It is a website that allows students to safely blog with how to videos, tips, frequently asked questions as well as quizzes and other activities. The blogs are allowed to be about any chosen topic, which encourages students creativity and additionally enables them to attach videos, or music files to enhance their blog.

 

Class activity:

 

  • Teacher begins by showing the students the animated video which describes what a blog is, what it is used for and some background history on why blogs are so great.http:/https://www.brainpop.com/about/tour/ – link to the animated video.
  • Students then discuss in groups some topics they might like to blog about. Students log in the computers and access the Brainpop blog website. They are encouraged to spend 15 minutes on the website, firstly reading through the FYI part of the website.
  • The teacher then demonstrates how to create a new blog to the students and they have a go themselves.
  • Students create a blog post that will introduce the topic which they have decided to blog about during the regular ICT class.
  • All students are instructed to save their post and have a read of some of their classmates new posts. Each student must write one encouraging comment on one other blog post.

 

Reference:

“Blogs – Brainpop”. Brainpop.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Aug. 2016.

“Whack a Mole” using Scratch

Subject:

Technologies

Year Level:

5/6

Strand:

Digital Technologies

Sub-strand:

Processes and Production Skills

Content descriptors:

  • Examine the main components of common digital systems and how they may connect together to form networks to transmit data (ACTDIK014)
  • Design a user interface for a digital system, generating and considering alternative designs (ACTDIP018)
  • Design, modify and follow simple algorithms involving sequences of steps, branching, and iteration (repetition) (ACTDIP019

Link to other learning areas:

  • Math

Link to resource:

Scratch Website: https://scratch.mit.edu

General Capabilities:

  • Information and communication technology (ICT) capability
  • Critical and creative thinking

About the resource:

This is a free program through the Scratch website that will “jump-start” your students into programming. Scratch provides teachers will a stimulating and very adaptive resource to use in the classroom, along with multiple blogs, videos and advice on how to best use this technology in the classroom.I have chosen this ICT activity because I believe it caters for the diversity of all students. This activity is student-paced, giving the opportunity for students to work through coding at their own pace as well as having the opportunity to be creative. The teacher must set reasonable and achievable goals along with the correct instructions for students to get the most out of this resource.

 

Class activity (40 mins):

Prior to teaching this lesson students must have had a basic lesson on how to use scratch, familiarity with this resource is critical for success.

  • Students are told they will be creating a whack a mole game and become familiar with coding through this lesson.
  • Teacher demonstrates how to add and remove characters using the Scratch resource online. Student will then sign into the website scratch.mit.edu and add a sprite to “whack” and remove any unnecessary characters.
  • After a teacher demonstration, students will clock and drag out the blocks to build their code and ensure that they begin using the green flag, teacher ensures that all students understand how to pull out the green flag.
  • The teacher demonstrates how to ass the forever code to ensure it works through the whole game, not just once. Students then have some time to experiment with hide/wait codes, seeing their characters appear and disappear.
  • Then students will be told how to add a scoreboard by making a variable. Students add in the variable code for the scoreboard. The teacher then tells the students that the mouse in this game is the whacker. And use the mouse when the sprite is clicked block. Students are abe to try out each others game and the class discusses what changes they will make in the next class to improve their game.
  • Improvements will be learning how to add a random code, changing the scoreboard and duplicating the characters.

Reference:

“Scratch – Imagine, Program, Share”. Scratch.mit.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 5 Aug. 2016.

Kids App maker

Kids App Maker

Subject:

Technologies

Year Level:

4/5/6

Strand:

Digital Technologies

Sub-strand:

Processes and Production Skills

Content descriptors:

  • Design a user interface for a digital system, generating and considering alternative designs (ACTDIP018)
  • Design, modify and follow simple algorithms represented diagrammatically and in English involving sequences of steps, branching, and iteration (repetition) (ACTDIP019
  • Manage the creation and communication of ideas and information including online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (ACTDIP022)

Link to other learning areas:

  • English

 

Link to resource:

http://www.kidsappmaker.com/home

 

General Capabilities:

  • Information and communication technology (ICT) capability
  • Critical and creative thinking

 

About the resource: 

The website above provides teachers with the software that allows their students to create and design their own app. Allowing a 21st century technological ability into the classroom. Apps are everywhere and everyone uses apps, however what apps we use and choose to buy is very individual. Bringing this technology into the classroom allows teachers to produce very individual work allows for a teacher to cater for the diversity of all students. Having this activity in the classroom allows for students to have fun technology, as this website makes making apps, fun, reliable and relatively quick. As kids work more constructively when their learning if fun and efficient I feel this is a fantastic opportunity to produce some high quality digital technology work.

Class activity:

  • Teacher goes over an example App on the interactive whiteboard. Students are each given an Ipad in groups of 4/5 and encouraged to go through a number of different apps. They must complete a worksheet by identifying the title, icon, and description of each App. Followed by the cost and the name of the designer.
  • They will then need to plan their App. Using an App Maker template, they will first draw out their app and explain their idea to the teacher.
  • Once they have planned their App, they will then move on to creating their app using the software on the ‘kidsappmaker’ website. Students work through the helpful video links as they create their new app.
  • Once completed students can then present or share their App with the class.

Reference:

Kidsappmaker.com,. “Kids App Maker”. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Jan. 2016.

Code – Academy

Subject:

Technologies

Year Level:

5/6

Strand:

Digital Technologies

Sub-strand:

Processes and Production Skills

Content descriptors:

  • Design a user interface for a digital system, generating and considering alternative designs (ACTDIP018)
  • Design, modify and follow simple algorithms represented diagrammatically and in English involving sequences of steps, branching, and iteration(repetition)(ACTDIP019)
  • Implement digital solutionsas simple visual programs involving branching,iteration (repetition), and user input (ACTDIP020)
  • Manage the creation and communication of ideas and information including online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols(ACTDIP022)

Link to other learning areas:

  • ICT

Link to resource:

http://www.codecademy.com/

General Capabilities:

  • Information and communication technology (ICT) capability
  • Critical and creative thinking

About the resource:

The website above provides teachers with the ability to bring coding into the classroom, a must have with the new curriculums’ emphasis on bringing coding into the classroom. This website allows teachers to introduce coding at an early stage in students learning. They are taught the basics of coding through a series of activities that they can work through at their own pace. This ability to work at their own pace allows for diversity of students needs to be catered for. Students can be assessed as they go, through a screen shot of their work, as the ‘codeacademy’ tracks students’ individual progress. They will begin to understand how and why websites have an ‘hmtl’ in front of their links and how to make their own. And therefore create a website of their own allowing again for diversity within the classroom as students websites can be of their own creation. This is an educational opportunity to bring coding into the students range of skills within the technologies curriculum.

Class activity:

  • Teacher goes over the fact that every website is developed with a ‘Hypertext markup language (HTML) code’. And that code allows people to access the website, games, application from anywhere in the world using the Internet. Teacher explains that they will learn more about this through the work they will be doing on ‘codeacademy’.
  • Students then log into their codeacademy account and work through the activities. Students are able to work collaboratively with their peers when they do not understand a question or topic. The learning is designed to allow student to think independently and work accordingly.
  • Once completed students complete an online quiz, which can be sent to them through an email to their Google account. The quiz will be based on what students have learnt through the ‘codeacademy’ website.