Hello students! Welcome back to technology class!
Here is the link to the online Nearpod game that we are going to play to review computer lab rules:
https://nearpod.com/student/
Your teacher will give you the code to join the game.
Custom Game Piece Design
This group of fourth-grade girls has been working during recesses to create their own math game. They designed their own custom game pieces using the Morphi app that will be used with the game. We printed the pieces on our Dremel 3D40 and 3D20 printers. They are very proud of how the pieces turned out!
Disclosure: As a part of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors program, our school received a 3D40 printer. If you are interested in learning more about the Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, you may contact https://3dprinter.dremel.com/education-request. I’d appreciate it if you noted Karen Bosch/this blog post as a referral in the comments/questions section at the bottom of the form. Thanks!
3D Printing Custom Cookie Cutters for Mother’s Day!
The fourth graders have been keeping a big secret! Over a month ago they used the free Cookiecaster website to custom draw and design a cookie cutter to give as a gift on Mother’s Day! The students came up a with a wide variety of design ideas that would be perfect for mom including animals, clothes, states, and hobbies.
We have custom cookie cutters for our Spartan and Wolverine fans!
One lucky mom even received a Wonder Woman symbol – how appropriate!
The Cookiecaster website is very easy to use – simply draw or trace a shape and it will convert it into a 3D cookie cutter file which can be downloaded and printed. Here is a tutorial that students used to help them design the cookie cutters:
Our Dremel 3D20 and 3D40 printers did a great job printing the cookie cutters!
We hope mom enjoys her new cookie cutter! (Note: the plastic used to print the cookie cutters may not be food safe, so it is suggested that you wrap the cookie cutter in foil or plastic wrap when using.)
Disclosure: As a part of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors program, our school is receiving the use of the 3D40 printer for one year. If you are interested in learning more about the Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, you may contact https://3dprinter.dremel.com/education-request. I’d appreciate it if you noted Karen Bosch/this blog post as a referral in the comments/questions section at the bottom of the form. Thanks!
Category: 3D Printing, Fourth Grade /
Filter Fun and Disguises with Selfies!
The second graders had some fun this week working on exporting and importing files by using selfie pictures they took with our webcams and PhotoBooth on our Mac computers. They exported the photos onto their Macs and then learned how to import them into KidPix. Students then used the “blender” tool to explore how filters can be used to creatively alter a photo. If they forgot to use “undo” after each filter, they had to upload the file again, which was great practice and helped them become independent at working with menu commands and uploading files.
At the end of the lesson, students had fun creating disguises using the drawing, paint, sticker, and stamp tools in Kidpix. Here are some photos of their filtered and disguised faces. (Click on a photo to see it larger.)
Category: KidPix, Second Grade /
Animal Habitats – Research, Reports, and Minecraft!
Over the past few months, the third graders have been working on an animal habitat project. They began by using the online World Book Encyclopedia to do some research. We continued our researching using some teacher selected online links as well as the kid-friendly Kiddle Search Engine.
Once our research was finished, students used Word to type a first draft of their report. For many, this was the first time using an adult word processing program and it was a great chance to use their skills from Type to Learn! We focused on writing in sentences with capital letters, periods, and correct spacing. Each student wrote several indented paragraphs for their report. We printed the first draft, then students made corrections based on teacher feedback. (Note: the reports are in their computer lab folder which will be sent home at the end of the year.)
Once the reports were finished, the creative fun began! Students were challenged to use Minecraft to design a habitat for their animal based on the facts that they researched. This was a great opportunity for students to use and transfer their knowledge into a new context. My Minecraft expert students helped their classmates. I was impressed with how the third graders put their designs together and how they applied the facts that they learned!
Category: Fourth Grade, Lessons /
First Grade Selfie Stories
The first graders recently used KidPix to create a “selfie story.” This project required the students to type several sentences using the caps lock, letter, and punctuation keys. They also needed to follow multiple steps using pencil, shape, paint, and stamp tools to create their self-portraits. Finally, they had to use the save button to save their pictures. I was pleased to see the students’ growth as they worked through complex directions to make their stories and pictures. Here is a gallery showing their stories (click to enlarge):
Category: First Grade, KidPix /
V is for Volcano – with the Quiver app
Since the preK students were learning about volcanoes this week, we colored pictures of volcanoes. Then we used the augmented reality Quiver app to scan their drawings and see them come to life in 3D! Students were able to tab their volcano to make it smoke and also see inside the volcano.
More information about the free Quiver app and links to where you can download the coloring packs: http://www.quivervision.com/
Kindergarten KidPix Flowers
Today in Kindergarten Technology class, the students learned how to login into our Kidpix Program. Then we continued to work on developing our clicking, mouse, and drawing creativity skills by using different textured “wacky” brushes to draw some spring flowers. Here is a video showing the students’ work!
Category: KidPix, Kindergarten /
3D Crazy Characters eBook 2018
Click here to view the eBook 3D Crazy Characters online.
I’m excited to share that our second graders’ eBook, “3D Crazy Characters”, is now available for online viewing. The book features 3D characters designed with the Morphi app. The 3D files were printed on our Dremel 3D40 and 3D20 Ideabuilder printers using white filament which were colored with Sharpie markers. We used the Book Creator app to combine the 3D characters, background illustrations, stories, and audio narrations into one eBook. The book also includes information and videos on how we created the characters and eBook. (You can read more about how we created and printed the characters here.)
“3D Crazy Characters” also is available for free download on over 50 iTunes stores all over the world! If you have an iPhone, iPad, iPad, or Mac computer you can download the book onto your device to keep for viewing anywhere and to save as a memory for the future!
To download onto iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac Computer: To download the files you will need to use an iPhone, iPod, iPad, or Mac with the free iBooks app installed on it (or into iBooks software on a Mac computer). Use this link to download the ebook:
3D Crazy Characters iTunes Download
Notes for Educators: Our backgrounds were made in the computer lab using KidPix software. We used the Book Creator app to photograph the 3D characters on the backgrounds. Each student made an audio recording of their story using Book Creator. I used the wonderful feature in Book Creator which allows you to easily publish your books online.
Book Creator is currently available for $4.99 US for iOS. There is a lite version which will let you try out the app and create one book. It also is available for Android and Windows.
We have been excited to share our books with family and friends, but we are hoping that we can connect with even a wider “Authentic Audience” around the world. We would love for other students and classes to download our book. If you do, could you please leave us a comment so we can know who has been reading our books!
If you have a class that has created an eBook, we would love to do a book exchange with you! Please leave a comment with a link to the book file or contact Miss Bosch via email at kbosch@southfieldchristian.org or on Twitter at @karlyb.
Disclosure: As a part of the Dremel 3D Idea Builder Ambassadors program, our school is receiving the use of the 3D40 printer. If you are interested in learning more about the Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 printer, you may contact https://3dprinter.dremel.com/education-request. I’d appreciate it if you noted Karen Bosch/this blog post as a referral in the comments/questions section at the bottom of the form. Thanks!
Snowmen Having Fun 2018 – First Grade eBook
I’m delighted to share that our first graders’ eBook, “Snowmen Having Fun”, is now available for online viewing. Our writing was inspired by the book Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner. It contains colorful illustrations, stories, and audio narrations done by the students. Click on this link to read the book online:
Snowmen Having Fun 2018 Link
“Snowmen Having Fun 2017” also is available for free download on over 50 iTunes stores all over the world! If you have an iPhone, iPad, iPad, or Mac computer, you can download the book onto your device to keep for viewing anywhere and to save as a memory for the future!
To download onto iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac Computer: To download the files you will need to use an iPhone, iPod, iPad, or Mac with the free iBooks app installed on it (or into iBooks software on a Mac computer). Use this link to download the ebook:
Snowmen Having Fun 2018 iTunes download link
Notes for Educators: Our stories were made in computer lab using KidPix software. Miss Bosch printed and scanned all the stories and put them into the wonderful Book Creator app where each student made an audio recording of their story. Book Creator now allows you to publish your books directly online. This feature is so easy – simply click a button for publication. I am very excited for teachers to have an opportunity to have a user friendly way to share their students’ work with an online audience.
Book Creator is currently available for $4.99 US for iOS. There is a lite version which will let you try out the app and create one book. It also is available for Chrome.
We have been excited to share our books with family and friends, but we are hoping that we can connect with even a wider “Authentic Audience” around the world. We would love for other students and classes to download our book. If you do, could you please leave us a comment so we can know who has been reading our books!
If you have a class that has created an eBook, we would love to do a book exchange with you! Please leave a comment with a link to the book file or contact Miss Bosch via email at kbosch@southfieldchristian.org or on Twitter at @karlyb.
