Category Archives: students

Students will:

identify and discuss the role of technology in our society – its benefits and often unintended consequences
learn to use iPads to support and enhance efficiency and learning
practice effective research techniques for online information
analyze timely “tech in the news” stories from around the world
learn to use technology as a form of creative self-expression

SOPA/PIPA conversations

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6th grade student John heard about the debates in Congress about SOPA/PIPA and the public reaction to these bills. Based on what he found online about the topic, John felt it was important to inform his peers of the legislation. Our class spent this Thursday learning about why people are getting so passionate about this topic.

Students talked about the proposals for the entire period, and had many questions about copyright and fair use. In the process we touched on grey areas for copyright: homage, parody & the art of Andy Warhol.

Below is an infographic that opposed SOPA/PIPA as they are currently proposed:

SOPA PIPA cirtique

D’BOM! The Database of the Month is… BookFlix

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What is BookFlix?
BookFlix is a fantastic “interactive literacy resource that builds a love of reading and learning” and is brought to you by Scholastic!  BookFlix features a wide selection of fictional video storybooks and “pairs them with nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to reinforce reading skills and develop essential real-world knowledge and understanding.” It is designed for children in Preschool through 3rd grade and is perfect for those students who might be reluctant readers, early readers, or English language learners.  “The engaging way to link fact and fiction, BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.”

This resource is available through both the King County Library system and the Seattle Public Library system!

 How can I access BookFlix?

BookFlix is one of the many databases to which the Seattle Public Library (SPL) and King County Public Library (KCLS) subscribes.  You can access BookFlix with a valid SPL or KCLS library card and PIN number.  Here’s how:

Seattle Public Library:

  • Simply follow this link
  • Scroll down to locate BookFlix
  • Click on the BookFlix heading
  • Log in with your SPL library card number and PIN number
  • Start exploring!

King County Public Library

  • Simply follow this link
  • Scroll down to locate BookFlix
  • Click on the BookFlix heading
  • Log in with your KCLS library card number and PIN number
  • Start exploring!

How do I use BookFlix?

 BookFlix is very easy to use.  From the BookFlix homepage, you will have several general topics from which to choose, such as Animals and Nature, Earth and Sky, ABCs and 1,2,3’s, and more!


Once a topic has been chosen and ‘clicked’, you will have a wide array of fiction books to watch that are paired with nonfiction books to read along!  Coupled with the books are games, internet links, and more!  BookFlix is a fun and entertaining way to read, learn, and discover!

 

What can I do with BookFlix?

  • See some of your favorite books come to life in the video storybooks
  • Read along with those books or simply choose to listen
  • Read and learn through nonfiction books that introduce, explain, and describe!
  • Learn new words with BookFlix’s vocabulary-building feature; scroll over the highlighted words to learn definitions
  • Follow-up the stories with fun, educational games that reinforce reading comprehension, vocabulary and more!
  • Meet the Author by reading numerous author biographies
  • Learn more about topics by clicking on internet links through the Exlore the Web feature
  • Access lesson plans and pinpoint curriculum correlations and standards by exploring the Educator Resources

I have crafted this Newsletter in an effort to spread the word about the extremely handy AND free databases available through our local public libraries.  I believe that the databases featured in this Newsletter are fantastic tools that can be used in the classroom, in the library, at home, and beyond!

….stay tuned for more issues of D’BOM, otherwise known as Database of the Month, brought to you by your School Media Specialist!

Tech quiz review results

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Prior to Winter Break, middle school students reviewed their knowledge of iPad apps and functionality in 2 ways. First, they designed a multiple choice & short answer quiz to test recall knowledge of specific apps that we’ve used. Second, they designed and created assessment rubrics for various creative projects that would demonstrate an understanding of an app.

The quiz portion of our review is useful to figure out what apps we should spend more time learning about in a classroom setting, so that we can get more efficient and effective at using them. Here are a few of the multiple choice results in aggregate:

Questions about Keynote

Questions about iMovie

Questions about Technology class in general

How to turn in video assignments

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5th & 6th grade students,

Daisy and J.W. figured out that our final video assignments are too big to email. We will work in January to find a good solution for this problem, but because today is the last day before break, here are a couple of suggestions that might work just for today. There is a low quality video below that explains all the steps and shows an example.

  1. Export the movie from iMovie to the Camera Roll using the “Medium” setting.
  2. Trim the movie into two pieces for sending.

5th/6th grade end of term project choices

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Hello 5th grade and welcome to the end of term for tech class. The following projects ideas were designed by YOU to demonstrate what you have learned this term.

If you submitted a project idea, then choose an option below that is NOT the app you created a project for and send the completed assignment to Jac via email.

If you did not submit a project idea, please choose 2 projects below that demonstrate your understanding of 2 different apps for the iPad. Send completed assignments to Jac via email.

Project #1: Screenchomp (submitted by Luz & Anna C.)

Create a Screenchomp video that explains an App that you would like to create for the iPad.

Requirements:

  • 3 minutes long
  • Title page
  • Background image
  • Multiple line thickenesses
  • Voice recording
  • Multiple pen colors
  • Live annotations (you drawing on the screen)
  • Multiple slides
  • Turn in link via email

Project 2: Keynote (submitted by Kayla, Aisha, JW, Jordan, Emily, Lily T., and Spencer)

Create a Keynote presentation that explains either: what you will do over Winter Break or your experience at Westside over the last 3 months.

Requirements:

  • Minimum 8 slides – variety of slide styles
  • 2+ transitions
  • 2+ animations
  • At least one slide with multiple photos on it
  • Multiple fonts, font sizes and colors
  • Turn in via e-mail

Project #3: iMovie (submitted by Flora, Christopher, Greta and Sophie)

Create a 3-5 minute video about your life, either at school or at home.

Requirements:

  • Story has a beginning, middle and end
  • Story is understandable to someone who doesn’t go to Westside School
  • Music soundtrack
  • More than one video take
  • An intro title
  • Credits at the end
  • Explain at least 3 things that you like about school or your life beyond school
  • 2+ photographs
  • 1+ sound effects
  • Turned in via e-mail

Slideshows as a presentation tool

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This term students have used Keynote in a variety of settings as a visual aid for presentations to parent communities, other grade levels and each other. As a tool, Keynote allows us to organize our thoughts into a logical sequence and then reference images, video and charts.

As students get more comfortable with the purpose of presentation tools, teachers will be adding requirements to projects: source citations, lists and bullet points, formatting, visual design and more. That said, initial 5th grade projects demonstrate a strong technical understanding of the app’s feature set:

A history of the Olymic Coast, by Christopher (5th grade)

Animals of the World, by Lincoln (5th grade)

D’BOM! The Database of the Month is… Novelist

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What is Novelist?

Novelist is a fantastic resource that is all about reading and all about books!  It is a HUGE database of fiction books for children, teens, AND adults.  In addition to information about specific books, it also offers:

  • book recommendations and reviews
  • interesting articles about books
  • book read-alikes
  • author read-alikes
  • book lists on an array of topics
  • book discussion guides
  • award winning books and more!

This resource is available through both the King County Library system and the Seattle Public Library system, though SPL’s version deserves a PLUS because it includes non-fiction books as well!

 How can I access Novelist?

Novelist is one of the many databases to which the Seattle Public Library (SPL) and King County Public Library (KCLS) subscribes.  You can access Novelist with a valid SPL or KCLS library card and PIN number.  Here’s how:

Seattle Public Library:

  • Simply follow this link
  • Scroll down the page until you locate Novelist Plus
  • Click on the Novelist Plus heading
  • Log in with your SPL library card number and PIN number
  • Start exploring!

King County Public Library

  • Simply follow this link
  • Scroll down the page until you locate Novelist
  • Click on the Novelist heading
  • Log in with your KCLS library card number and PIN number
  • Start exploring!

How do I use Novelist?

 Novelist is very easy to use.  Simply enter a title, an author, a subject, a book description (yes, you heard me correctly!  Novelist will search for books based only on a DESCRIPTION such as ‘mystery in New York’ or ‘adventure with trolls’.), and series title in the search field and Novelist will track down titles for you.  You can then limit those results by age group, genre, writing style, location, award-winning titles, fiction or non-fiction (in the case of Novelist Plus via SPL), and more!

What can I do with Novelist?

  •  Do you love books by Gary Paulsen or some other famous author?  Discover authors that write in a similar style or about similar themes to one of your favorite authors.
  • Have you just finished reading a series, such as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, loved it, and not sure what to read next?     Novelist offers book recommendations and series’ read-alikes based on what you have already read.
  • Are you looking for a Book Discussion guide for your Book Club? Novelist maintains a massive collection of Book Discussion Guides complete with discussion points, story summaries, questions to ponder, and more.

  • Do you need to read a Coretta Scott King Award winner for school? Search Novelist’s numerous Award winning Booklists to find what you need.
  • Do you love Sci-Fi books about aliens OR historical fiction set during World War II?  Browse a variety of themed booklists to discover new titles to read.

 

I have crafted this Newsletter in an effort to spread the word about the extremely handy AND free databases available through our local public libraries.  I believe that the databases featured in this Newsletter are fantastic tools that can be used in the classroom, in the library, at home, and beyond!

….stay tuned for more issues of D’BOM, otherwise known as Database of the Month, brought to you by your School Media Specialist!