2012-13: Super Powers

Super Power Here We Come!

It’s amazing … I think it’s the closest thing we have to a super power.
~ Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox
Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer … because it teaches you how to think.
~ Steve Jobs
The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future.
~ Gabe Newell, founder of Valve

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:

2012-13: Digital Citizenship Comics

As a wrap up to their Digital Citizenship unit, each 8th grader created a comic using the Pixton app in Edmodo. Students were told to select a topic that they felt was important for 4th-8th graders and to create a comic to educate about that topic using some kind of story.


Comics #4, #6 and #10 do not enlarge correctly from the gallery; use the links in this sentence instead!

What do you think of the comics?

2012-13: Quarter 1

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:

March Madness

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:

We’re creating games using Scratch:

We’re rebuilding computers:

Weekly Opinion: Tweeting on a Field Trip

We have talked about the fact that what you post online is often much more public than you might intend it to be. Read this article and/or view this video about a teen who was thrust into the national spotlight because of a joking comment she made on Twitter.

What do you think about this? Do you think this was a private or public matter? Do you think the Governor’s office overreacted? Would you have apologized if this had been you? How private do you think things that you post online are? Add a reply to this post and voice your opinion.

If you are interested in what happened, check out this article and this one.

The Cat in Many Hats

In celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, 8th grade (and some 7th graders) created animated GIFs of the Cat in the Hat in many different hats. Each student downloaded an image of the Cat in the Hat without a hat that was shared by Becky C. on Elementary Tech Teachers and then used Microsoft Paint to create from 3-10 different hats for the cat. Once the images were complete, they were uploaded to Picasion to create the animated GIF.

Now, it’s your turn to participate. Check out the cat in all his (or maybe her?) hats below. You can click on any image to see a larger version. Once you’ve seen them all, please click here to vote for your favorite set of hats!

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Weekly Opinion: Favorite 1st Semester Assignment

Visit your ePortfolio site and check out the assignments that you completed in the first semester to decide which was your favorite. Don’t forget that creating your ePortfolio site was also a first semester assignment!

Decide which was your favorite and add a reply to this post telling me which was your favorite and why. Use only your first name and do not enter an email address. Remember to use complete sentences and proper grammar and spelling.