Super Power Here We Come!

Students were welcomed to the school of wizardry and magic at St. Martin’s. No, it wasn’t the same type of magic that you might find at Hogwart’s but it was magic just the same – magic that gave them a unique super power. A power that help helped them to think through problems and solve them in a logical way. A power that let them create and control what was going to happen.

What they did? Each student chose how they wished to learn about this super power and then they created something using it. They were free to try out their new powers in whatever way worked for them and were allowed, no encouraged, to make mistakes along the way. They kept track of their successes and their missteps and posted to their Google Sites about their process and what they learned.

Here’s what they learned & in most cases what they created:

• Travis
• Erick
• Greg
• Jared
• Gemma
• Brianna
• Nyala
• Carla
• Sarah
• Jasmine

It’s hard to believe that the first quarter is over but it is and here’s what 8th grade did in the Computer Lab for the 1st Quarter:

• Self Portraits: The first thing that classes do every year is to create their self-portrait and 8th grade is no exception. In 8th grade, self-portraits are used as avatars in Edmodo.
• Keyboarding Speed Assessment: At the beginning of each year students take a series of speed tests and calculate their average speed to see what their current typing speed is. They will be taking additional assessments during the year to see if their speed has improved.
• International Dot Day: All grades (Kindergarten-8th) participated in International Dot Day this year. In 8th grade, students had to create a dot that represented how they wished to make their mark in life and then they wrote a short essay about what their dot represented, how they planned to achieve their goals and who they felt might mentor them in the process.
• Excel Crossword Puzzle: Middle School students are required to create a crossword puzzle for an English assignment. To help them with this, they learn how to create a crossword using Excel.
• PowerPoint Animal: As a fun activity, 2nd grade through 8th grade, used PowerPoint to create animals using simple shapes based on the How to Draw Funny Cartoons site. This was a good review of using the shape tools and background formatting tools in PowerPoint.

If you are interested in more details about any of the assignments for the 1st Quarter, you can read more about them on the Computer Lab wiki. If you’re interested in what the finished projects looked like, check out the 8th Grade Quarter 1 posts on the student ePortfolio sites:

• Erick
• Greg
• Jared
• Travis
• Brianna
• Carla
• Gemma
• Jasmine
• Nyala
• Sarah

The first week in the Computer Lab, 8th grade reviewed the procedures in the Computer Lab, chose the computer they will be using for the year and started drawing their self-portrait.

No, it’s not about basketball but it is a little crazy! Each 8th grader has chosen something that they want to learn and are busy trying to learn it! This is self-directed learning with no consequences for failure – in fact failure is expected and encouraged! There is a possibility of an end product in what is being learned but it’s not about the end product but about the learning along the way. Follow along as 8th grade learns something new!

We’re learning Javascript using Codeacademy:

• Alexa
• Amaya
• Genevieve

We’re creating games using Scratch:

• Anthony
• Emma
• Gabriella
• Jason
• Jocelina
• Matthew
• Paolo
• Sage
• Simone
• Tony
• Violet

We’re rebuilding computers:

• Cooper
• Jonny
• Nicholas