3D Printing Geometric Robots!

Students in 2nd grade studied three dimensional shapes in their classroom.  They then worked with partners to make their designs come to life.  Students used Tinkercad to create their original designs.

Students were shocked and amazed to see the 3D Printer in action!

Printing takes about 20 minutes time depending on the size of the robot design.  It will be several weeks before all of the robots are printed.  After the printing is complete, students plan to use a variety of materials to add details to their robots.  Not bad for a day's work!

Robotic Poetry?

What a challenging and engaging week it has been working with a class of 2nd graders who want to learn more about Robotics and Poetry!  At the beginning of the week I helped facilitate learning the different types of poetry: Acrotstic, Shape, Haiku, Alliteration, Senses...to name a few.  I discovered I personally enjoy the challenge of creating a Haiku poem!

First, we worked with students to learn about the different types of poems.  We looked at examples and discussed how that type of poem was different or similar to other types of poems.  In each case students were asked to write their own example of each type poetry.  I enjoyed challenging our students to think beyond the simple and think of more complex examples.  Creativity!

Where does robotics and poetry meet, you ask?  With LEGO WeDo Robotics!  We spent time building a particular animal included in the set.  Students chose from an alligator, bird, monkey, or plane.  This is the second project this particular group had worked on, but they still were challenged with the building aspect.  If you have ever followed the directions using only the pictures in a LEGO booklet you will understand that many of the steps are clear, but there are always a few requiring a second look to make sure you have it perfect.  If you make a mistake at any point you will have to figure out the solution in order to proceed with the building.

Once the basic building was completed, it was now time to make these objects do something!  Students programmed the alligator to chomp, the birds to spin, the monkey, to bang a drum, or the plane to spin its propeller using the motion sensor.  Changing the basic program steps to add more actions or sounds is one aspect students enjoy when using LEGO WeDo.

Then the real work began!  It was time to bring the poetry back to the focus of our lesson.  Students were challenged to create an Acrostic Alliteration poem for the LEGO build of their choice.  Have you ever struggled to come up with words beginning with vowels for 2nd graders!  I'm very impressed with how the students worked with their partner to explore words and their meanings.  It's not always easy!

We had a great time exploring robotics and writing our own poetry, all at the same time!

Google Calendar and Tasks

I love to cross things off my "to-do" list!  I have been known to add something to my list just so I could cross it off and feel some sort of sense of accomplishment! (You know what I'm talking about!) I have recently noticed I have a difficult time remembering all the details and things that need to get done if it is not in writing.  Google Calendar to the rescue!  Tasks is another feature of Google Calendar.  What this short tutorial on how you can use Tasks to help you keep yourself organized and on top of all your business!

Embedding a Google Calendar into SchoolWires

Managing different calendars under one account allows you to quickly manage multiple areas from one originating source.  By creating different calendars you can easily share different calendars with different groups of people.  One way to share a specific calendar is to embed the calendar in another source using the html code.  This tutorial will show you where to find the embed code and how to insert it onto the html view of a SchoolWires page.  And, the best part is the calendar is instantly updated without having to log into another source!

2 key things to remember when sharing a calendar in this format:
1. Make sure sharing is set to public so the information will show up for those viewing the calendar.
2. When you are adding an event, be sure to select the correct calendar so the event will show up on the correct calendar.

Good luck streamlining your calendars and communication with others!

Calendar Basics - Part 1

I love using my Google Calendar!  It's simple to create events and customize the look and feel of my calendar to fit my needs.  In this tutorial you will learn how to customize calendar settings, change views, add events, and add calendars.

Hope this helps!